The Second Doublewide on the Right, part 12

I’m Fixin’ To present part 12 of The Second Doublewide on the Right:

Things got a little hectic sometimes, but Rev. Ricky Lee Jones was determined to be a lone wolf, so he never took on any help, or offered any service other than Sunday morning worship. He had long since abandoned wearing a suit and tie, and everyone knew they were welcome to attend his Sunday morning worship dressed as casually as they pleased.

Rev. Ricky Lee had enhanced his living space in the attic of the church to include plumbing for a bathroom and a kitchen. This work had been beyond his skills, but he made sure the contractor he used was from outside the county. He never invited visitors, just lived there alone, praying and meditating, asking the Lord to help him still his passions and never to be driven away again.

The reverend had put up a lovely permanent wooden sign close to the road that read simply, THE CHURCH—SERVICE ON SUNDAYS—WELCOME ALL. He still used the portable sign to post bible verses and catchy sayings. His current one read, “SIGN BROKEN GET MESSAGE INSIDE.”

He was also the gardener, and one day when he had been cutting the grass around his signs with a chugging little push mower, the young man whom he had bought the portable sign from several months ago, pulled up in his old Ford pickup, stuck his head out the window of it and shouted, “Good morning, Rev.”

Rev. Ricky Lee cut the mower off, wiped the sweat from his brow and answered, “Good morning, son. I don’t think I remember your name.”

“My name’s Jimmy Ray. Hey, I got a real nice Snapper riding mower on the back of my truck. I’ll let it go real cheap since this here is a church. With this thing you can mow your whole property in less than an hour and be riding while you do it.”

Rev. Ricky Lee walked back and visually examined the mower and asked, “How much you looking to get for it, Jimmy Ray?”

Jimmy Ray got out of his truck, walked around to the rear of it and lowered the tailgate and said, “This here mower is almost brand new. The cheaper models go for about 15 hundred, but this one is the deluxe model. Probably sells new for about 24 hundred. Seeing as how this is a church and all, I ‘d be willing to let it for for seven hundred.”

“Does it run all right?”

“Yes, sir, it runs like a top,” Jimmy Ray said as he pulled two wide boards down from his truck bed to be used as a ramp. “I’ll get her down, start it up and show you how it works.”

After all that Rev. Ricky Lee mounted the mower and cut a broad swath down along beside the road. Then he doubled back to the truck and cut the mower off. When he dismounted he offered, “I’ll give you four hundred for it.”

Jimmy Ray scratched his head and said, “It’s worth a lot more than that.”

“That’s cash money and I’ll even throw in a prayer for you,” the reverend replied.

Jimmy Ray grinned and said, “Now you done made me an offer I can’t refuse. Lord knows I need the prayer about as much as I need the cash.” As they were shaking on the deal Jimmy Ray asked, “Is there anything else you might be in the market for around here?”

“I’ve been thinking about a new roof, but the materials are mighty expensive. Think you could help me out with ‘em?”

“Are you thinking about shingles or metal?” Jimmy Ray inquired.

This was how Rev. Ricky Lee Jones and Jimmy Ray Hurd formed a business relationship which turned out to be quite profitable to each of them, but the reverend never was able to convince him to attend his worship service.

Speaking of the church, the reverend spent one day each week visiting and handing out flyers offering salvation in a casual atmosphere without commitment or pledges or memberships. This activity was what led him down to Apt-To-Miss, and to the eventual end of his abstinence, early on Thursday afternoon.

He was driving south on Hwy. 86 when the little strip mall came into view. The reverend slowed down, and pulled up to the building in the center of the parking lot. Down the way, at the south end of the strip, there were a lot of cars parked. He had heard they served a real good lunch there.

His intentions were to visit the first shop and work his way down. But like Leon had done, he gazed through the plate glass of the beauty shop and observed the heavenly sight of an Angel brushing her long, golden hair, and he knew right off where he was fixin’ to go first.