Once I taught 1st grade, but my 2nd husband Jack Trunable didn’t want me working so much so I got a job in the high school as register. I only had to come in most days in the mornings and basically oversee the office. Then Jack died and I wanted to go back teaching full-time, but there was no appropriate opening. So I stayed in my position as school registrar.
Everyone at the high school knew Roger Thurburg the algebra teacher. He was 47 and never married, he lived with his sister Margaret. She had also never married and looking at her you could see why. Margaret was very different, chunky where Rodger was lean, and Margaret was masculine talking groans to growl. It was like two men lived together.
I never knew Rodger until I began working at the high school and for my first year my only interactions with him were about his attendance sheets. He was not too careful about accuracy in calling the class roll and reporting absences. H just cared about his subject, 9th grade algebra. Everyone said, ‘Thurburg is a great teacher, but his students don’t like him much.’
At the Christmas Party for faculty I was seated next to Rodger at the table. Everyone else in the school was married, and sitting with wives or husbands. Hack had died 8 months before. I think putting us together was sort of cute joke by the party planners, but Mr. Thurburg and I talked the entire party and after that we talked at school. Rodger was not a dull fellow, like my first two husbands had been. He was an artist and drew landscapes and faces. I first went to his house to look at his paintings. They were his major talent.
He asked me to go to church with him, he was a member of the New Church of Devine Obsession. It was the newest church in Rosewood Texas and very pretty inside and out. The philosophy seemed to be, “be happy and know we are all Devine. We are all God.”
The mission it seemed was social and I liked everything about the church and so I joined my first night there. Rodger liked that a lot and after I joined he first asked me to marry him.
I said, “I’ll think about it.” We were on the church steps when really I didn’t want another complication in my life. But I did think about Roger and getting married and even told him my thoughts at a church dinner one night. There were two other people at our table who were dancing and he said again, “won’t you marry me Mable, we’ve waited 6 months.” It was true that at school he was hanging around the office so much everyone there had us married already. He even bought a ring and wanted me to wear it.
“The time is not exactly right I think something is about to change first.” I said, but I had no clue as to what would change, or that I wold marry him. I was even thinking about round the world cruises. I had been looking at brochures and I even thought about moving to Dallas or Oklahoma City and spending some of my money. I no Rosewood I lived like I was a pauper. The house I owned was bigger and better than Rodger and Margaret’s, but now by much. My bank account was about the biggest of anyone in Rosewood. I had money in all the banks. The bankers knew that, and treated me like royalty at their establishments. Both my previous husbands left large bank accounts, property and life insurance policies.
I lived in my house with only one servant Jackie. She did everything around my house, yard work and domestic chores. She was about 30 when Jack brought her home. He bought her at a convict sale at the courthouse.
I told Jack, “I really don’t need any help” and he said, “You just don’t want another woman around the house, especially a younger woman. Get over that, and use her the way you would use a pair of shoes. Wear her until she’s too worn out to be attractive. Dress her in slave clothes, hell, shave her head if she’s too pretty.” I adjusted to having her around. In fact I did work her as much as I could, to keep her worn out. I don’t think ever put his whanger into her, and I did cut her hair very short and at the shoe repair shop down town, I had her left hand branded. I had MT put there. When ever Jackie wasn’t humble enough around me or didn’t move fast enough I said, “If you don’t improve I will ask Jack to punish you.” That was all it took and she really did improve.
When I started going to church with Roger Thurburg he came over to my house a few times and was quite impressed that I had a slave. He continued to ask me to marry him and I had made up my mind not to when Don L Baxley came in to register as a freshman.
I put him in Rodger’s algebra class, but I remember how small Don was and how we seemed very shy, really didn’t look me in the eye and was evasive about what his parents did for a living. Don was rather nondescript as a boy. If anything I would have questioned his age, he didn’t look old enough for 9th grade.
So right after I sent him to Roger’s classroom, the school burned down, mostly irreparable. My office and the main office for the school was just cinders. All out records were toast.
I heard right away that Rodger was injured and around 6PM Photus Miller the school principal came over to my house to tell me Rodger was dead. I had a special relationship with Photus because right after I started working at the high school I heard Gerald his older son was in legal trouble and I had my husband Jack go see Photus a large loan to buy him out of trouble. It was $100,000 and Photus just paid me the interest on the note. I could demand repayment, but having the loan was like owning the principal. He and his family were as much my debt slaves as Jackie was my convict slave. His wife Lorie knew about the lan and it’s hopelessness and when she or Photus were with me alone i required they bow and crawl like the slaves they really were. IN public they just agreed with everything I said. I used Lorie on occasions like that night.
The principal went home and Lorie drove over to take me to the funeral home. Lorie was a slim trim fifty year old woman. After Jack’s death I met with Photus and Lorie in my living room and we established their secret slavery. They started out sitting in on my couch drinking gin that Jackie brought them and then I said, “For now you two just need to sign these documents,” I removed a folder on my coffee table and they could see the lifetime indentures for themselves and each of their 7 children.
“But I thought interest payments were OK by Jack?” Photus said in a very weak voice.
“Jack is dead and we might as well get my ownership of you all very clear right now.”
“But he’s paying all the interest,” Lorie said, “that’s hard with seven children at home and a house payment.”
“Sign all the papers, “ I said
“But Photus got the loan from Jack to save our oldest son from slavery.”
“The loan wasn’t paid. Look I can publically call in the loan and have you all chained up and sold or we can work out a slavery arrangement private like.” Thats when they signed the papers, I told them after they had both signed all the children’s papers and theirs, “Now things will be changed for you. Your children will go to school and live normal seeming lives and I won’t record these indentures in the courthouse. I will keep copies of them in several places and you will consider yourself as my owned creatures every day. At school Photus you will make decisions with my approval. Lorie will come over to my house 3 days a week and help Jackie work at my house. Jackie will help you be a good slave for me. Your children will all be employed after school and will give you most of the proceeds and you can say,’”Because of Gerald’s debt, to get him out of jail.’
“Now get off that couch slaves and crawl over to my chair and each of you remove one of my shoes and I want you to suck my feet and toes. If you are vigorous enough in sucking I will not strip and give you 20 lashes on your bare skin.” They worked like beavers and were quite noisy.
So that had been our arrangement at school and at home until Roger Thurburg died. That night Lorie came right over and drove me to the funeral home. Evers-Rachet was the main funeral place in town and Jack owned a portion of the business, but not a majority. So I met Margaret in the lobby and she said, ” Oh God they won’t let me see Reggie, Mable!”
“Sure they will,” I said, “who did you ask?”
“I don’t know, but all they would tell me Mable was that he was in the Blue Sky Room and was not ready to view yet.”
“Well I saw my previous husband in that same room and they will let us see Rodger”
“The man said it was ‘police business’ and no one could see him until the police said.”
“Well it may be police business, but it’s also school business and I’m the register at the high school, and Rodger was teaching there, and Lorie’s the principal’s wife.”
That’s when I went to see the night guy Sim, and all I told him was, “I’m Jack’s wife, you know who I am, and I came to see the body of Rodger Thurburg.”
“Of course,” he said and led us back there.
There were maybe 20 covered up dead people in the Blue Sky Room. Most were completely covered up. No one else was back there, “Don’t tell Mr Wiggins that I let you ladies come back here,” Sims said, “He’s very strict, about this room, but you being who you are Mrs. Turnable, I know it’s OK.”
“I’m his sister,” Margaret wailed, “and you told me it was about the police I couldn’t s see him.”
“Well I’m sorry but Ms. Turnable owns part of Evers-Rachet”
“I thought Anson Evers and Morrison Rachet owned it?” Lorie said in surprise.
“It’s a corporation, but Jack Turnable probably owned more stock than anyone else and he ran the meetings for stockholders once a year. So now Ms. Turnable is mostly the owner of the place. Would you like to completely uncover him,or only his head?” He was looking at me.
“Pull the whole cover off,” I said.
He jerked it off, it seemed to be stuck in some places, and there was roasted and baked Jack. His face was black on one side where the flames had seared it like a steak. His clothes were burned, but some parts of his suit were intact. His right hand was extra well done and looked like steak on a stick. I had to pull the screaming Margaret off of Rodger. Lori looked very sick.
“He’s in pretty bad shape,” was all that Sim could say. We stayed and heard Margaret screaming for maybe a half hour, then I said, “We better go home now Margaret, and come back after they fix him up, tomorrow.”
She nodded and let me lead her out of the room. She was ten years older than me, but acted like an old woman. She could hardly walk. I drove her car to her house and Lori followed me over there.
I helped Margaret inside her house and got her to a chair, she was so unresponsive I figured she would sit there all night, but I left and Lori drove me home. On the way I said, “Tell me about your family.”
I saw the whole family on Sundays after church. The Podius Miller family all became members of my church, The New Church of Devine Mission. They had been Presbyterians, but when you own people they are quick to change churches.
I didn’t talk to Lori much when we were alone, mostly at my house as she worked scrubbing my floors or cleaning toilets I would question her and slaves must tell their owners everything.
“Lois my youngest girl we are having the most trouble with now, boy trouble, she has a high school boy Mot Henderson who has been meeting her downtown.”
“He’s not a good boy for her to see,” I said.
“That’s what Photus told me and told her, but she said, ‘I think I’m in love.’ “
“He’s 14 and she’s 11,” I said.
“It’s worse than that, she taunted us last night by saying she is already had sex with him. She said, ‘It’s the kind of sex that don’t get you pregnant.”
“So she’s having oral sex or anal sex with Mot Henderson.” I said.
“So what do we do Mable?”
“Well she, starting tomorrow, gets a neck collar and brand like Jackie.”
“She’s only a little girl of eleven mistress.”
“She looks thirteen or fourteen and we are going to do this someday. She’ll get over Mott Henderson working in my bathroom as a maid.”
“She’s willful mistress, and she’ll run away.”
“The chain won’t extend any further than my bedroom.”
“It will be a terrible life for my little girl of eleven mistress.”
“You’ve heard Jackie say how much she loves me haven’t you?” I said.
“She says that a lot when I’m over there.”
“Don’t you think she means it?”
“The way she says it, it sounds like she means it.”
“In a few months Lois will live me more than Mott Henderson.”
“it would be a different kind of love.”
“A little different, but not so very different. When your around me more, during the summer you will begin to love me more. Jackie began saying she loved me like she does now after her 2nd really hard whipping. You haven’t even had one yet.”
“You hit and kicked me mistress. It really hurt.”
“No a real slave beating is being chained up almost naked and being smacked 20 times with a thick strap. I’ve only given you a few love taps. So Lois would be going into the 6th grade?”
“She’s in the 5th now and would be in 6th next year.”
“Well she knows enough for what I will have her doing.”
“If you have her branded down town, everyone will know. Our secret will be out and Phodus will lose his job as principal.”
“No I’ll do it myself here at home. I’ll gag her and mark her.”
“Oh my God!”
“Just bring her an hour before school and say nothing to her tonight, don’t even tell your husband because one of the others might hear and tell her. Just bring her over and tell her, ‘Your staying with Aunt Mable today.” Of course Aunt Mable will be at the church where you once attended instead of the burned out school. I’m going to let you and Jackie chain her to my bedroom box strings frame. If she screams Jackie will gag her.”
“This is one of my housekeeping days. Do I come over as usual and continue scrubbing your floors.?”
“Sure, your no less my slave just because she’s now an official slave.”
“What do I tell the school?”
“Take her books back and tell them she’s off to stay at your sisters place in?”
“Oregon”
“Yes Oregon, and ‘She’s going to live with your sister in Oregan’. If pressed say, ‘We’re having boy problems with a creature called Mot Henderson’.”
“Yes mistress.”
So that was that, and Lois walked in looking really puzzled and I had Jackie just take the arm her mother wasn’t holding and we walked her into the bedroom where I had a neck collar and leg chain ready. She was too surprised to struggle much before being securely locked. Just before the gag was put in her mouth she screamed, “Your not my fucking Aunt Mable.”
Then I put the keys in my pocket and went to the church where school was going to take place. The busses came in that morning half to one-third full, so most kids just took a burned out school holiday.
First thing that morning i met with Podius and he told me he planned to have an assembly and only have classes one half day. “Mostly,” he said, ” were at school today so the police can talk with the children who were in the room when poor Rodger burned up.”
“He burned up”, I said, “did Lori tell you how crispy he looked.”
“Terrible, and he was telling everyone he was going to marry you.”
“That was his plan,” I said, “It’s probably better if we have a real short day, so alert the busses to come at 10:30 or 11 instead of 1PM. We have too few students to have regular classes.”
“All the police are focused on is this one boy Don L. Baxley. I have the police this morning to interview him and his parents. They think he set the fire.”
“He wasn’t in class 30 minutes when the fire started. He was a scared little mouse of a boy. If he would do something like that it fools me.”
“If he did it, it was real slick and quick. I went out to my new office, the church office, and told students over the intercom system, and told students to report to the sanctuary. I had the busses all there by 10:30
The faculty meetings were just for teaching staff, but most of the observant staff noticed that Podius asked me for advice all day long and it was expected that I be there. Podius’ children of high school age were bussed all the way across town to the other city high school so their would be no conflict of interest.
The afternoon meeting just started when the door opened and Rodger Thruburg came walking in as big a you please, in the same outfit he was dressed in yesterday. I had to catch myself to keep from falling out of my folding chair. I had a hard time breathing for a while.
Well his entrance stopped the meeting. After him in the door was this school board member named Aluie Smudley. He was a fat farmer type of character who didn’t have a farm anymore.
“Well you all ar wondering what happened, well this smart alack boy Don Baxley kept saying that Mr. Thurburg was not dead, so we took the mouthin off kid to the funeral home to teach the varmint a lesson in manners. Well we went in the Blue Sky Room where I last saw my mother after she fell off our roof, so anyway Mr Thruburg was not dead, but sat up form the slab and said, “I’ve been sleeping and I’m real hungry.” Well we had several members of our party who fell out over that, like he rose from the dead. I put it all in the AMAZING category of my life. So when we all started back to school the kid Baxley was nowhere around.” So everyone clapped and Rodger got up and took a bow. He was sitting right next to me and didn’t even smell smoky. I remember last night when the covering came up and you could smell the burned flesh and clothes. None of the flesh seemed burned and his clothes were all intact. Even his shoe strings were tied. When the meeting was over he kissed me and everyone shook hands with him. I was driving my own car and we went to Western Sizlin for lunch. the paper outside the restaurant said, ‘Algebra Teacher Burned to Death at Rosewood High’ There were pictures of Rodger and the burned up school.
It was local news on the national news front page. No one in that restaurant knew us, or noticed Rodger’s picture in the paper. Most of the traffic at that eating place was directly off the interstate.
I did see one boy who went to our high school named Kenny LaGrand he was a senior and he came in with two farm girls. Well they were dressed in farm girl homemade dresses. Kenny didn’t come over near us, and probably didn’t even know Rodger was dead and came back. I was eating a #1 the petite sirloin and Rodger had the #6 which was called The Cattleman’s Special, the two-inch delux steak. Rodger put his hand over on my arm and said, “Mable that’s Homer La Grand’s son Kenny and I see a black thing all around his neck, he’s going to die soon.”
“I don’t see anything black near or around him Rodger,” I said eating a piece of my meat as I said it.
“That’s not all,” he said, “see that family sitting near the door?”
I said yes because an overweight woman and 2 little children were eating with a big burley man that had on a sweatshirt that said, ‘Florida Gators’.
“Well that whole bunch is going to die real soon, like in the next two hours!. They have black all over their food and all around their table. I don’t know why I know these things but I do. Should I go warn them, like don’t get back on the interstate!”
“No they would think your crazy just let them go,” I said.
When we got t Rodgers house the ambulance was there and the medics were carrying Margaret to the Fire Rescue vehicle. We rushed over to their vehicle, and Rodger said, “What’s wrong with my sister?”
“Well from what we can tell your neighbor told her, ‘Rodger your brother rose from the grave!’ Well no one would believe that crap, so when she heard it on the radio, she had a heart attack.
We followed the ambulance to the hospital. As we drove there Rodger said, “I could hardly see Margaret. I think she’s already dead.”
They rushed her in the hospital, but a young sandy-haired doctor in dirty scrubs came out to the waiting room and said, “She was dead on arrival and we couldn’t revive her.”
We drove back to my house and I had forgotten about Lois until Jackie opened the door and I could hear the muffled screams of Lorie, even behind closed doors.
“What’s that Mable?” Rodger asked.
“It’s a new slave girl and this is her first day of slavery.” I said, “Jackie has she been screaming all day?”
“No mistress, but she heard your car pull in the garage.”
“How old is the slave girl, and how did you get her Mable?”
“Her family used her to pay off part of a debt and she’s age eleven.”
I thought Rodger should be with someone overnight and I told him, ” You can sleep in Jack’s old bedroom and I think I can keep the new slave quite.”
Rodger was intrigued about owning slaves and the way Jackie did everything for me. “I never was in anyone’s home that actually owned a house slave. Mostly I’ve seen slaves in stores. Most are too expensive. And you own two of them.”
“One of the household slaves needs training.” I said.
“Well that one,” he pointed to Jackie is well-trained how long have you owned her?”
“Maybe 2 years, Jack brought her home. She needs very little adjustment to perform her functions.”
“Could I see the other slave, the screamer?”
“Sure you can but I have to get your promise first, a promise that you tell no one else our secret.”
“I promise, I’ll keep your secret, but is it about the 11-year-old slave?”
“Yes, you know her.”
“Now I’m really curious, but I promise to keep all your secrets, until death do us part.”
We went in the bedroom with Jackie opening the door and Lois was sitting on the floor with her mouth gagged and hands and feet clamped to the ends of iron rods — it is called being yoked. It is a slave training tool, Jack had brought it home with Jackie, and we still had it in a closet. Yoaking gets the slaves attention. She was near the bed, and she quit struggling when she saw Rodger and I.
“This is the principal’s youngest daughter, is it Lois?” Rodger said.
“Yes it is her first day of slavery.” I said, “Nod your head slave girl if you will speak only when allowed.” She nodded and I motioned for Jackie to take out her gag.
“This morning when you were brought to me I had no time to explain your situation, of course you know your my household slave.”
Lois looked pleadingly at me, and I knew she wanted to talk, so I said, “Yes Lois.”
“But why did this happen?” Her voice was squeaky because she had been screaming so much thru the gag her voice was strained.
“Your father took out a loan and the family was security.” I was saying it as much for Rodger as for Lois. “the loan was made by my husband Jack before he died. When he died i looked at all his assets and papers and the loan your father got was far far behind so I foreclosed. Do you remember when I first started eating Sunday dinner at your house?”
“Yes maybe a year ago. I wondered why you were over at the house so much, we all did. You weren’t kin to us or anything.”
“Well I owned you all.”
“Then Rodger said, “You own Potius Miller and Lois Miller?”
“Yes, them to, that’s what the secret is about. I assumed ownership of Potius and Lois about a year ago. I let him remain principal, but I actually run the school and of course he gives me his paycheck after he cashes it every two weeks.”
“That’s when he, father, put all of us children to work. He found jobs for my brothers and sisters and I had to clean the whole house, by myself.”
“Do you know where your mother went every day?” I asked Lois.
“She was over here scrubbing floors all day today. She told us she was working at the new church. She was never there when we called the church. We thought she had a job there.”
“No she does the really hard work that i don’t want Jackie to do. Jackie is more of a kitchen slave and your mother is what is called a drudge slave — a dirty job slave.”
“But mother is an older woman like you, and Jackie is probably only thirty. MOther isn’t as strong as Jackie.”
“Jackie is my supervisor slave and she will boss yo around and smack you with the strap if you aren’t obedient. Your mother is lucky to have a job and a mistress that lets her work at a needed task.
The reason you didn’t keep going to school was your sexual doings with Mot Henderson. Your mother and father didn’t know how to stop you, and of course as a slave of mine your life is my decision now, so I told them you would be my bath room and bedroom maid. Of course whatever I say is their law, I own them both.”
“How long do I stay locked up like this Ms Turnable?”
“You will stay chained by the neck, but I’m willing to unlock your legs and arms if you promise to obey. Mostly my slaves crawl around my feet. You see Jackie crawling unless her task requires standing. Your whole purpose in life is to serve your owner, and that is me and although you will know my name, you will call me ‘mistress’.
Since I am training you at a young age and you will see few people as a bathroom and bedroom slave, you will learn to love me. If you listen to Jackie and watch what she does you will see she loves me, don’t you Jackie?”
Jackie was bowing on her knees on the floor with her head bowed, “Oh yes mistress, your my whole life. All I think about all day is how much I love you and wish you were home.”
“I may be your slave mistress, but that’s really sappy. You have taught Jackie to lie, maybe she must lie.” Lois said.
“No,” Rodger said, “Jackie is telling the exact truth, she loves Mable and only wants to continue living to serve her. I can tell things like intent since I rose from the dead.”
“No one can tell what another person is thinking, or their intent and no one rose from the dead but Jesus or maybe Lazarus. I’ve been to Sunday School all my life.” Lois said.
“I can even quote your thoughts slave girl, “No fuckin neck chain is strong enough to keep me in this old fat woman’s house. What would Sarah and Pam think if they found out I was an old creeps bedroom slave?
Mot has free girls who act like his slaves, he calls them whores, I should have agreed and been one of them. An the old bag says I will love her, she’s crazy as a flushed turd.”
“Please stop mister, I’m sorry mistress I don’t know how any human could read my mind. I wouldn’t dare run away, oh my god, he knows my thoughts, oh shit, I don’t ever want to think anything again.”
“Now your thinking, ‘I love my mistress’ over and over. I think you better think of nothing else.” Rodger said.
“Can you read my mind Rodger?” I asked.
“Yes, and your right we are getting married but I won’t say any more around your two slaves.”
“Good, ” I said.
We left my bedroom and went in the living room and watched television and on the midnight news there was a final note, “An algebra teacher Rodger Thurburg of Rosewood Texas was burned up in a fire yesterday, but today he has risen from the dead. Mr. Thruburg hasn’t been home today for confirmation but some people reported that he was just asleep in the funeral home. today he appeared at a faculty meeting and was later seen eating in a Western Sizlin Restaurant, he was reported as being really hungry by Cindy Taylor his wait person. I guess so, coming back from the dead can give you a real appetite.
As a further note hundreds of people are forming groups to go to Rosewood Texas, and see the man who beat death. He was burned to death, and came back –CREEPY! Look out Rosewood Texas the crazies are coming.
This is WSRL in Dallas, Rollin Mathews reporting.’
Rodger and I sat up late and watched the Eleven Texas News about Rodger. There was news about a student suspect in the school burning and then the report was that 2 police officers ran around naked in the streets of Downtown Rosewood and 3 high school girls and two boys saw it. There was also a clip of Rodgers house and on his lawn were dozens of tents and the reporter said, “Hundreds of people arrived in Rosewood today and tonight looking for algebra teacher Rodger Thurburg, ‘Why did you come sir’ the reporter asked a long-haired strange man with a cleric collar and large loop ear rings.’
‘We came in search of God and Thurburg is God, I have had 7 visions and in each I see his face.’
“That’s right he has had visions and he waits to hear me preach tomorrow.” Rodger said.
“But there will be school tomorrow Rodger.” I said.
“No the school will stink so much tomorrow that we will dismiss early and I will go to my church and preach The Devil has let loose an evil smell in the church we are using as the new high school.
“So what could you tell all these people?”
“I will tell them what they are thinking and have them give up their worthless lives so they can follow me.
We will get our marriage license tomorrow after we leave school and get married in two days. That s the Texas waiting period.”
“Did you look it up Rodger?”
“No certain things I know. Mable all the Pilgrims will want to empty out their pockets and sell their worldly possessions and they will bestow all that money on you.
We better open a checking account for the money.”
“Will it be a corporation?”
“No, just our names Mr and Mrs Rodger Thruburg..”
“Will you start a church Rodger?”
“No we will use the old one for now.”
“But what about Pastor Jackson.”
“Why don’t you think of things he could do Mable, he will do for us with the devotion of a Jackie. He is in his church right now praying to me. Why don’t you call him at the church and tell him, ‘Rodger has heard your prayer offered tonight and will accept you as his humble servant.
Tell him he is forgiven for leaving the scene of the accident when he was sixteen, and his sister’s death was not his fault. Tell him what he does in the prayer closet is only human, and he is forgiven of that. In fact if he gets relief from it, then enjoy. He can wait in the church for further orders from us.’
He answered the phone on the 20th ring and I told him exactly what Rodger said to say. There was silence on his end of the line and then he said, “Oh God, my prayers are answered and God has a wife.”
Somehow those who sought out Rodger would know to go to his church. There was no radio announcement, or ad in the newspaper or spot on TV. People just came.
Neither Rodger or I had slept a wink all night, we sat on the couch and held hands all night. The couch in my living room. Rodger said, “Having my hands on you Mable will make you very young again. I don’t know how but you will be twenty when we go to our church. All it takes is my hands touching you all night. We sat in sort of trance playing a tape over and over of the long ago singer Kathy Young singing ‘A Thousand Stars’. I don’t know if that has anything to do with what happened, but it was a transformational night for me.. Rodger looked the very same in the morning.
Really as the night went on the song put me into a sort of daze, and I felt younger and younger. Rodger said in the morning, “You will look twenty again when we go to the church Mable.
I was afraid to look in the mirror in the morning. I was Rodger’s first miracle, I mean after coming back from being a crispy critter.
Jackie and Lois were amazed at my looks, I could look at their faces and see that it even scared them.
Jackie cooked bacon and scrambled eggs and we had orange juice and I said, “Rodger I think you can cure diseases.”
“Yes I can.” He said.
The New Church of Devine Mission sat on a hill in what could be called the new construction part of Rosewood, it was near the college and the morning we arrived there were probably 5,000 tents and campers all around the church. Pilgrims were camped in the building lots where construction of homes would go on soon. Many of the lots just had signs with a beginning construction date. A few had painted on their campers, “Going to see the New Jesus.’
Rodger met with Roland and then we went in the sanctuary that held a thousand people and it was stuffed. There was no introduction, they all knew Rodger was Rodger and there was a group in wheelchairs, the sick and the dying old and young were all up front
Rodger first went off the platform and found this deformed boy in a special wheelchair. I thought ‘He hasn’t cured anyone yet, and he picks the hardest.’ It took him all night to make me young and beautiful and now he picks a twelve-year-old boy who has some horrible disease. The boy couldn’t control his hands, and they fluttered like feathers like an out of control bird.
Rodger picked up the boy, just lifted him up and held him flipping around like a fish out of the water. The boy didn’t agree or disagree with leaving his chair, I think he was not even on a verbal level, but deeply retarded.
“Calm down,” Rodger said and the boy got all at once still, the audience got hushed, we weren’t on the pulpit, but down among the sick and unwashed. I guess there was no shower facilities on the road coming to Texas.
“What’s you name?” Rodger asked the boy and the sandy-haired boy, who I expected not a word out of, said, “Robbie”.
Then Rodger carried the deformed boy on the stage. The place was constructed in a large circle with the place the preacher spoke at one point on the circle’s side. I followed Rodger to the stage area.
“You stand up Robbie, “ Rodger said and he slowly let the boys feet down, and I thought, ‘There is no strength in those feeble, pencil looking legs. He will fall’ Well the boy somehow stood, not tall but in the position of a pecking hen. You couldn’t say he was really standing except he wasn’t falling down either. something kept the boy from not falling off the stage. His legs were still bent like in the wheelchair and he probably didn’t weigh 40 pounds. He was a bag of bones. When the boy said his name ‘Robbie’ the crown gasped. The crowd gasped and a woman who had been attending him at his wheelchair screamed.
So the boy stood for a while on the stage and I thought ‘Is this all Rodger can do for the boy? He’s the same mess, but still horribly deformed.
It was all like blank air on the radio when nothing was happening. Americans expect action in their shows, but Rodger was not the typical showman. Then I saw a man several seats behind the diseased front rows hold up his hand like he wanted to speak, like someone might do in algebra class. He was a big man about thirty years old, he had on a worn brown shirt. “What do you want?” Rodger said, looking away from the boy, he had just been intently watching the boy, as we all had.
“Well sir I’m an escaped slave” He pulled off his shirt, “I came here seeking peace.” The man turned around and there was a brand that you could read two big letters ‘C.T.’
“”I was branded, whipped and castrated and I ran away yesterday to follow you.”
Rodger said, “Yes you have been branded and castrated and your owner Cecil Terr is next to you in his chair. He told you to lie to me about being an escaped slave so that we would feel sorry for you. You are not an escaped slave, but there are three that are in this room. I say do not cheat your owners and when I call your names get up and go back home to your masters and take your whipping. Bernie leave now!”
A little man in a flowered shirt got up and walked out. Now Charlene go back to Sam, you are going to have his child. A young woman got up and a man got up with her. “No you stay here Eddie. She will find her way back to Dallas, and screwing her after seeing her band makes you a thief. Don’t steal any other man’s goods. Eddie sat back down.
“Back to you Cecil Terr. Do you admit being a reporter and owning this man who lied to me?”
“It was just a question, I wanted to know how you felt about slavery. Now I know.”
“What do you know?”
“That you approve of slavery and sent the slaves packing back to their owners.”
“Two of them, why do you think I didn’t call the third name?”
“I’m sure it will be interesting to write about Rodger, tell us.”
“The third name is about justice. Come up her Gertrude. Come up now Gertrude,” Rodger looked to his left and a woman yelled, “I’d rather just leave.”
“No come down here and help this poor boy Gertrude.”
“There’s noting I can do.” This woman about fifty said.
“Contrary, show the people your brands Gertrude”.
“I can’t take off my clothes in a church.”
“You’re an animal Gertrude and you sliced Mr. Brown open with a kitchen knife. You stuck it in his stomach. Why were you a slave Gertrude?”
“I killed my husband.”
“How?”
“Another knife.”
“That time from his own pants pocket and you stabbed him in his left eye. Right thru the lid while he slept.” She wasn’t coming up so Rodger said, “some of you near Gertrude bring her up so that she can help Robbie. Two big men dragged her to the platform. They stood holding her, with everything Rodger took too long.
“So I want everyone to see this woman is a slave animal and she is branded with a “N.H.’ for the state of New Hampshire on her left bottom cheek. tear off those clothes and on her right arm with a ‘T’ for Teddy who was her murdered master.”
The two men tore off her dress and her panties and left her so that everyone could see the brands were exactly as Rodger said they were. So the woman stood naked except for a bra on the stage and Rodger said, “Why didn’t I send you back to your master Gertrude like the other two?”
“Maybe because he’s dead and buried.”
“You killed him how?”
“Like you said, with a kitchen knife”
“Well someone inherited his property so I could send you to a daughter or son, he had both.”
“They would kill me.”
“Yes they would, so what will I do with you Gertrude?”
“Justice, you said, so I guess you’ll kill me. Probably you’ll do it with a kitchen knife. Mr. Brown was a fair master, and I’m sorry I killed him. I haven’t had a good meal since I ran away.”
“Guilt, you’re guilty about how good he was to you, and how you stabbed him. You liked killing your husband.”
“Yes”
“So all you have to do is come up and hug Robbie slave woman. But first get her bra off of her. I want you to press yourself against Robbie slave woman and hug him tight, and kiss him with your mouth open and slobbering.”
“Why?, what will happen?”
“Well I won’t have you given you 50 whip licks chained to the altar if you do it quick.”
She had big breasts and pressed them hard against the frail boy and then Rodger went over to the two of them and pushed their heads together and said, “Kiss him Gertrude, one big sloppy open-mouthed kiss and if it’s sincere enough I won’t strap off all the skin on your back.”
She kept kissing him and Rodger kept pushing their faces together. This went on 15 or 20 minutes and the audience got restless, some went to the bathroom. One man I could see well was picking his nose and rubbing what he got out in his hair. The audience was extremely restless, someone was making noise with their feet and it was loud.
Someone yelled out, “What is this, what’s going to happen? Is this some ugly nudist church?”
Gertrude gradually began shaking and the boy began pulling her to him, like in a real kiss. It was like the boy sucked the stand up essence of Gertrude. She went flat like a balloon deflating. Like her body fluids were transferred to the once frail boy, he looked better and better.
“Help Gertrude to your old wheelchair Robbie,” Rodger said.
Robbie did, a very small boy now pulling the big shaking,, naked woman toward the wheel chair. She crawled to the chair and she pulled her now frail body into it.
“What will happen to the woman?” someone said as Robbie was hugging his mother.
“She can beg food on the church grounds unless someone wants a crippled slave. If they do they can have her.”
Then Rodger stood up straight and said, “Today was my sermon about justice, Next time I will come again to heal and punish.”
We left by the back way and our car was surrounded, I was driving so I inched forward and the masses moved away rather than get run over.
We decided to fly to Oklahoma to get married, there was no waiting period there. We didn’t take the first plane because it looked troublesome to Rodger, but the second one was fine. We rode in 1st class and this talkative woman of about the age I once was said, “Is this your daughter?” to Rodger about me.
“No this is my wife to be,” he said.
“Oh I see,” she said.
“Were going to Oklahoma City to be married.” I said.
“I haven’t been married for 20 years, ” she said. Then she started talking about Smitie and how before his death he designed buildings. She talked on and on and Rodger seemed to listen, but I must have dosed off. When I woke up she was talking about her family. She was kin to the Dukes of North Carolina and the Vanderbilt’s.
“And what do your wife to be, and you do for a living, Mr. Thurburg?” the woman asked.
I was a high school algebra teacher, but now I’m an evangelist and psychic.”
“You see the future?” she asked.
“Yes, and know the past,” Rodger said.
“Then I don’t need to tell you about my family or husband, you already knew those things.”
“Yes I know about your family, but you don’t believe me. So ask me a question.”
“What was Smitiie’s middle name?”
“Gonar”, Smith Gonar Bradley.”
“How could you know that?”
“Questions like that are easy, because as you asked me you were thinking of the answer and I just read your mind.”
“So what am I thinking now?”
“You still don’t believe that i can read your mind, and know that I won’t know your brother Bill is a homosexual that dresses up like a woman. You are now wishing that you never got on this plane and you wonder what this nice looking woman sees in an old misshapen man like me?”
“Do you cure the sick?” she replied.
“Yes he does,” I said fully awake now.
“If you don’t mind, let him answer,” the fat woman said, “he’s said I was thinking some pretty outrageous things.”
“He wasn’t wrong, he’s never wrong.”
“He must be supernatural?”
“He’s super and what he does is not a natural thing.” I said.
“This is making me very sick” the fat woman said.
“Everything about your life to this point is sick and diseased. You know those tests you had in Dr. Shave’s office last month?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Well he didn’t tell you that your going to die soon. Well he told his receptionist Sally about it. Remember the day you went about the results, Sally had her little brown dog with her.”
“Yes, but that wasn’t in my mind, how could you know that which is not in my mind if you’re a mind reader?”
“I know lots more than is in your mind.” Rodger said.
Just then we had to fasten our seat belts for landing and we quickly landed and began getting off the plane.
“Look”. the woman said, “you just told me I’m going to die!”
“Yes we all do sometime or other and with you it will be soon. That’s why you feel bad. That doctor could do nothing for you.”
We were walking out of the airplane and Rodger said, “Hand Irma your carry-on bag Mable she’s agreed to be our slave.”
“I didn’t hear her say that.” I said, but Irma the fat lady took my bag and Rodgers and carried them out of the airplane. She walked behind us with our bags and Rodger said, “You see when she understood that I could cure her disease, but I was going to leave her and not do it, because I don’t really care if she lives or dies, then we had a little mental negotiation and she is rich. I do not want or need to be paid by her to save her. She agreed easily that it was better to live as my slave than to die. She knows her pain and I will cure her after she signs the indenture papers.
She has a home in Oklahoma City and it’s on Oclair Drive. So honey we don’t have to rent a car, her’s is a storage parking and she can drive us to our new home.”
As we rode the tram out to the parking lt I said, “shouldn’t we get married first. like we planned?”
“Yes, first things first.” Rodger said.
As Irma drove us it the justice of the peace down town he had Irma’s pocket-book with him in the back seat and he was looking at the large selection of credit cards in her wallet. She had almost every type of card, some I had never heard of.
“I guess our fat slave Irma will be traveling with us just to sign the credit card slips,” Rodger said.
“Slaves aren’t a bother but a help” I said, “I’m use to having Jackie around, it’s like having two extra hands.”
The wedding took less than less than ten minutes and Irma signed as a wittness as if she was still human. She also signed the credit card slip to pay for our wedding.
When the old preacher said, “You may now kiss the bride” I realized that Rodger had not really ever kissed me before. It was a kiss like no other I had experienced . It’s hard to explain power. Other people talk about power, but he had power. He didn’t talk to me in my mind, but he did to Irma. She would stand or bow or run get something just by what he said he told her ‘in her mind.’ Maybe he thought it would scare me if he did it to me — it would have.
Near the chapel Rodger saw the Hilton Oklahoma City and he said, “Lets go there tonight and go to our fat slaves former house tomorrow.” We checked in and the bell boy brought us 3 indentures that Rodger ordered, “Why three?” I said when the bell boy brought back a notary and the papers.
“Irma has two teen age children and she will sign for them and for her.” Irma also signed a power of attorney that was unlimited and all was notorized.
Of course I was a bride for the third time, but I looked better now than at my first wedding services. Well anyway Rodger wanted to leave our rooms and go eat in the restaurant first.
The restaurant was crowded for lunch and had ‘businessmans specials’ so there were maybe 200 people in the place. Rodger looked around and said, “Slave there are two men in here I may allow one of them to have sex with you. This is part of your treatment to get you well. These two men are going to die sooner than you, maybe even today. You will go with the one I choose to his room or he will get a room and then you give him a good screw.”
“But I’m not very attractive master I don’t think either man will want me.”
“Don’t worry about that, they will find you very appealing. I’ll see to that you just make their last screw a memorable one. Your going to come back to my room after you are fucked. You will leave your disease in the chosen one’s belly, but they will not have it long. Understood?”
“Yes master” Irma said and bowed her head, like slaves do.
“Keep your head up and look at the man I talk to and smile at them OK?”
“Yes master I will smile.”
Rodger went over to a man sitting at the bar who had 3 empty glasses in front of him. The man stood up and looked at our table and then walked with Rodger toward us. The man was tall but with pattern baldness, “Beetle meet Irma” Rodger said, “Now go do what you both want to do.”.
They left and our meatloaf special came. The waitress who brought our meal said, “You look familiar, like someone on TV.” to Rodger.
“You saw the video where I cured the crippled boy.”
“Yes,” she said, “You’re the new Jesus.”
“Not exactly,” Rodger said.
“I’ve prayed to you,” she said, and she was a tall waitress, with bleached blond hair. Her name tag said ‘Sally’
“About you boy, Ralph” Rodger said.
“Oh God you know!”
“And you would do anything to make him well.”
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To contact the author e-mail Ray Cates at : rcates2@cox.net or fax him at: 1-352-629-1573
