Taking a Walk After Dinner OR Brangelinjen Spotted

 

Things were looking good for Coyote’s pet projects, so he fell into a nice

habit—evening walks with Utina, around the 55+ age-restricted condo.

In front, they saw a few of their neighbors from Canada.

“This is like an old-age ghetto isn’t it?” Coyote asked.

“Yes,” answered Utina, “and these are snowbirds.”

Coyote looked at the bent backs and awkward gaits, white hair

and tans, and commented “Snowbuzzards, snowgeese, snowgeezers.”

“Don’t say that, they are nice and thoughtful.”

“Q-tips, like looking at walking dizknee q-tips, even

the blacks here have white hair, and—”

Utina tuned out Coyote as they walked;

it was a beautiful night. She turned and looked back as far as she could

see, then looked forward. She remembered a night last month when they

passed a mugging at the CVS on Cortez Street: Coyote had chased one

fast black man who jumped into a waiting SUV and sped off, while she

spoke to the old man with white hair and led him into the store to call

the police. Coyote said he was getting close when he was passed by a red

mustang apparently chasing the getaway car. As he stopped to go back,

an old Chevy passed him to chase the mustang—either it was a whole

gang or 2 senior citizens trying to get the license number.

“Let’s walk north,” Coyote said, interrupting her thoughts.

 

After ten minutes, they walked by the Catholic Church on Twenty-sixth

street. Coyote commented on all the cars and Utina said it was probably

an evening mass.

Coyote’s eyes lit up and he said, “Wait here for

a minute,” and raced into the church. Utina wondered about the liveoak

tree at the end of the parking lot and went over to examine its leaves.

 

Coyote stood in the back as the Minister spoke.

“Few of us,” Stan Vinton projected his voice as if trying to reach

all those outside the building, “realize the part that angels play—yes,

still play—in human events. Even today, there is bitter conflict between

the holy angels faithful to God and the those allied in darkness with

Satan.” He paused, glancing upwards dramatically.

Coyote looked closely at him, then upwards.

“We will recognize the beast by his number ‘666.’ It is deadly to

doubt the Word of God! Satan’s dastardly strategy is to persuade us to

reason, as he did with Eve. Eve reasoned with the serpent and began to

doubt the Wisdom of God! Satan went to work and the subtlety of his

tongue, the clever ‘ifs,’ the if of this and the if of that, drove a wedge

between Eve and her creator. With consequences for all history.

This is where death began! Where sin began!

And we are depraved by nature! We inherit it from our parents (Romans

3:19). We each bear the garland of guilt and the stain of sin. And Satan

is still working to make us think ‘if I live a good life, if I go to church, if

I do not covet or steal, if I help others, I’m in!’ But! But, these ifs do not

meet God’s requirements for salvation. These are Jesus and God’s big

‘buts’ that surround Satan’s long shaft of ‘ifs’! Listen! Jesus said ‘You

must be born again’ (John 3:7). We can only find eternal life in Jesus

Christ. Say yes to Christ, now! Come to Christ now!” Stan bowed his

head in prayer.

Many in the audience filed to the front.

Coyote followed. When he got a wafer, he removed his Denzel mask

and was revealed as Coyote. The women and children closest, and some

men, ran to the exits, screaming. One man shouted “Look, it is

the beast!”

But, another said, “No, it’s a pint-sized beast—”

“333!” someone

shouted.

Someone laughed hesitantly, then a few others, then

the congregation all acted like it was a Halloween joke.

Coyote, unhappy with this development, growled

and ran.

“Get animal control,” someone said.

 

Coyote saw Utina under the tree and grabbed her, and they ran through

several backyards. Utina said, “I hope you didn’t set race relations back

a hundred years?”

Coyote frowned, “What races? They all look the same

to me.”

“You’d better put on a face now, so we can get back.”

When they slowed down, Coyote formed a Brad Pit mask

and said to Utina, “This should thrill the neighbors.”

Utina smiled and formed an Angelina face, “I think so.”

They held hands. After a block or three, Utina changed to Jen.

Coyote hugged her, then after another block, Utina changed

her face to Hannah Montana.

Coyote asked, “Who’s that?”

“She’s a Dizknee singer.”

“A mouse?”

Utina started giggling and could not stop, “Sort of,” then she released

a full-throated laugh. Coyote smiled and walked with her, waiting for

enlightenment.

The next day the local paper noted that Brad and Angelina

had been spotted in Bradenton. The editor suggested renaming the city

to Pittown. On page 4f was a small note on a disturbance the Catholic

Church. Fox News had a comment on Brad seen with Angelina and Jen,

while The Puffington Post suggested that there might be a foursome

with Hannah Montana, and that the visitation of Satan at the same time

foretold the end of humanity.