“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.”
Matthew 13:3,4

The Parable of The Sower and The Seed

THE BIRDS

August 1974

The sun shone its brilliant rays directly behind him creating an aura around his entire body. “You’re going to hell,” the celestial being said. I couldn’t make out the face, just the outline of a large tool belt—and that voice—there was no mistaking it: “Go away, Ray,” I said, “you’re blocking the sun.”

I watched Ray, maintenance man and official Bible thumper, saunter out of the pool area completely unperturbed by my response. Clad daily in frayed bell bottoms and a skivvy tee shirt fashioned from his Woodstock days, Ray was known in the apartment complex as the resident Jesus Freak, complete with large dangling metal cross and leather sandals.

A host of sparrows suddenly swooped beneath my lounge chair startling me. “Shoo!” I said. I rolled over on my back and made a mental note to post more no littering signs as soon as I returned to the clubhouse. I adjusted the ties on my new black bathing suit, and wondered as I sipped my lukewarm Dr. Pepper, why I thought I could squeeze sunbathing in over my lunch hour.

“Hey, my turn.”

“Oh, Mary. Sorry, what time is it?”

“A little after one.”

I liked Mary, she worked under me, but we both managed the apartments together. We had even shared the same apartment, till she married Tim three months ago. On our lunch hour we liked to take turns laying out by the pool.

I grabbed my canvas bag and Jackie O’s, while Mary settled in the chaise next to me. “We need to post signs out here; residents aren’t using the trash cans and the birds are everywhere.” I said.

“Yeah, okay. Speaking of posting, did you see what Ray pinned on the bulletin board? An invite to his church to join a Bible study at his church.”

“Who cares?”

“It’s tonight. Tim and I might go.”

“You’re not serious?” I said.

“I asked Ray why he keeps telling me I’m going to hell and he explained it more. He and Tim stayed up all night talking about it.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing—you really believe in a hell?”

“Well, you must,” Mary laughed, “you tell people to go there all the time.”

“Now, you’re getting weird on me,” I told her. “Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off. Don’t you need to go buy a Bible or something?” Another round of sparrows clustered around my feet, pecking away. “But first tell your preacher man to post those signs.”