Today at church was one of my favorite gospels. It's the one where so many people have come to see and hear Jesus that they crowd around the house he is staying in. There is a paralyzed man that his friends are trying to get near Jesus, but the crowds are so thick that they go to desperate measures. They take off the roof of the house and lower the man's body near Jesus. Then Jesus forgives his sins and cures him, but my favorite part is all ready over. THEY TOOK THE ROOF OFF THE HOUSE.

Now see, that's what makes a good story. A little detail, but it tells so much. A good story teller knows this technique, put in all the little details that will make the whole picture clearer. Bucky was good at that. She could tell a story, add names and faces to the characters and little details. One I will never forget was her friend Gertie who had a tape worm removed. Now that is a story in itself, but Bucky knew how to enrich it. They kept the tapeworm, put it on the mantle and it stretched from one side to the other! Now that's visual. And you want more. Why keep it? And why for heavens' sake put it in the living room on the mantle?

Now back to today's gospel...what happened after? Did Jesus say, "Hey who is going to fix this roof?" Did the man just get up and leave, or did his friends lift him back out of the roof? What kind of roof was it? Maybe straw? Did it have a skylight in it? I doubt that, but anyway, the priest didn't even talk about the gospel today. He's still on Obama health issues and why we are losing our first amendment. I would rather hear about taking the roof off.