Ida Rose

Kentucky winters are fickle.  A snowstorm can be followed by a sixty-degree day filled with sunshine.  On January 24, 1979 a snowstorm was heading toward the Ohio Valley.  It was a Wednesday and chatter filled the school bus as Ida Rose and her friends anticipated the foot of snow that was predicted.  Homework took a back seat as they planned their winter escapades fully planning that school would be cancelled the rest of the week.

The snowflakes began falling as the bus exited the interstate and merged onto Dixie Highway.  The flakes were large.  The bus driver was committed to safety as he proceeded cautiously down the major highway passing the malls and businesses and turned right onto Greenwood Road toward suburbia.

The south end of town consists of small brick or wood frame homes generally owned by blue-collar families. The bus slowed and with the STOP sign firmly in place, Ida Rose and her brother exited and crossed the street.  Their small wood frame yellow home was near the end of the road and they were in good spirits, giggling as they ran and slid down the street in the freshly falling snow.  

The tranquility of the falling snow and quiet hush of the neighborhood contrasted with the exuberant spirits of two elementary school kids giddy to hurry home positive that they would not be back at school this week.

Jack would be eight in four days.  He was small in stature but large in personality.  Everyone liked Jack and he liked everyone.  He was the family comedian whose role was to make everyone laugh.  Sometimes Ida Rose was amused but other times she was jealous.  

“Watch this”, he screamed as he dropped his math book to the ground and pushed it so that it slid several yards.  

Ida Rose wasn’t about to be outdone and quickly yelled, “I can do better than that”. Sliding her social studies book down the street and running after it.  As she ran upon the book, she placed her right foot on the book and pushed off with the left foot thinking she would catapult herself forward like a skateboard.  But as she pushed off, her feet went in two different directions and she landed face forward clumsily trying to catch her fall with her hands.  

Jack burst into laughter and started teasing her, “You’re not Ida Rose, you’re Ida Hosed!”

Tears started down Ida’s face.  She was furious, angry, embarrassed and worst of all she was bested by her little brother as he pulled off the stunt perfectly.  Jack could instantly tell that Ida was getting ready to blow.  He had witnessed her temper before and contemplated whether he should run or help her.  She certainly would not have helped him.  Knowing he would likely regret it later, he walked over to her and held out his hand.  Ida refused to take it.  She was not finished sulking.  

“Come on Ida”, we better wipe off our books and get home before Mom comes looking for us.  Jack started to walk away.  

Ida lashed out at him, “well at least you could give me your hand!”  

Jack shook his head and turn around extending his hand a second time.  Ida met his hand and as he pulled her up, he noticed the blood running down her nose.  

“You are bleeding”, he informed her.  

“Shut up Jack!  Leave me alone,” Ida picked up her book and tears continued to flow until she walked in the door.

Bridgette was changing the baby’s diaper when she first heard Ida Rose crying as she navigated the driveway. “MOOOOOOM!   MOOOOOOOOM!” soon rang through the house followed by sobs and blubbering. “MOOOOOOOOM!  Where are you?”  Bridgette put the baby down and met Ida Rose in the kitchen.  

“What happened to you”, she asked.  

“Jack pushed me down,” Ida lied as she sneered toward Jack.  

“I did not!” Jack insisted. 

“Why would I make that up?” responded Ida Rose.  

“She’s lying, Mom!  She fell,” Jack replied.  Jack had been caught in many webs woven by Ida and he wasn’t going down without a fight.  

Bridgette intervened, “ok, ok, enough!  Ida, go to the bathroom and get a washcloth to clean yourself up and go to your room.  Jack, you go to your room too.  We will deal with this when your dad gets home.  It’s Wednesday, go ahead and start on your bible lessons.”  

“It’s snowing outside, and we are supposed to get a foot of snow.  Are we still going to church?” Ida contested.  

“When your dad gets home, we will know if the roads are too bad.  Now get moving,” Bridgette nudged them toward their rooms.

Bridgette busied herself making goulash for dinner.  It was 4:30 by the time she put it in the oven.  She had one hour to help the kids with their church lessons and homework before dinner was ready and Kurt was home from working on the railroad.  Dinner would be on the table at 5:30 as Kurt entered the back door.  He would ask one of the children to offer a prayer, eat with the family and have an hour before heading to Bible study.  This was their Wednesday night ritual.  

Ida Rose cleaned herself up and went into her lavender bedroom.  She loved her lavender bedroom with the flower wallpaper on one wall.  All of the rooms in the modest, three-bedroom house were painted white except for hers.  She relentlessly begged for colored walls and her parents made an exception.  But they drew the line when she insisted on whitewash furniture that many of her friends had.  With Bridgette being a homemaker, they did not have the extra funds but they painted her furniture white which satisfied her, at least for now.  Her brothers shared a room.  She was so upset when her mother came home from the hospital with a second baby brother.  She wanted a sister so badly that she would not even look at baby Brady for several days, but she eventually came around and now she was happy that she did not have to share a bedroom.

She sat on her bed with her Bible and lesson book on her lap.  She loved going to Bible class with all her friends.  She especially liked her teacher this quarter, Miss Cynthia, who was always very kind and loving to everyone.  She made Ida Rose feel special.

Ida Rose read about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5: 

“5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”

Tears welled up in Ida Rose’s eyes again.  She was like Ananias and Sapphira.  She looked around her room and thought “please don’t strike me dead God.”  She knew she would have to face her dad soon.  If she told him that she had lied to her mom, he would surely spank her.  Ida Rose answered the questions at the end of her bible lesson and then pulled out her homework.  

Dad arrived home and dinner was ready but two family members were not present at the table.  Mom filled him in on the family crisis of the moment.  Ida Rose heard dad walk into the boy’s bedroom.  She couldn’t make out what was said but her stomach dropped when she heard his footsteps and then her bedroom door creak open.  Dad was intimidating.  He kept a beard and maintained a strong physical presence.  He was not one to openly give hugs and kisses but was a stern man who was serious minded.  “Ida, how did you get a bloody nose?” he gently asked.  Ida Rose’s mind was doing somersaults.  She wanted to tell the truth, to be free of the lie.  She did not want God to strike her down.  

Ida Rose couldn’t find the courage to tell the truth, “Dad, Jack pushed me and I fell.  I tried to catch myself but I tripped over a book and another book must have hit my nose as I fell to the street.”  She didn’t want to lie but she didn’t want to be punished either.  

“Well,” Dad said, “that doesn’t line up with Jack’s story.  One of you is lying and if someone doesn’t tell the truth I’m going to have to spank both of you.”  

Ida insisted she was telling the truth as did Jack so he spanked both of them and told them to come to dinner once they wiped away their tears.

Ida tried to reason with herself about why it was okay that they both got spanked.  Surely Jack had done something that went unpunished and this simply made up for it.  Ida was quiet during dinner.  She drank her iced tea and ate her goulash and went back to her room until it was time to leave for church.  Her Bible was still open to Acts 5 and she reread it.  Why was she feeling so guilty?  She had lied before and it did not bother her.  

She lied about stealing $2 from a girl at school and when her mom discovered the money that she knew was not Ida’s, Ida had told a fib that she won it at school at a lunchroom contest.  Mom was skeptical and called the school and was told there was no lunchroom contest so Ida told her mom that someone had dropped it in the schoolyard.  Ida Rose proceeded to claim that she didn’t know why she made up the lunchroom contest but probably because she just likes to win at things.  

Then there was the time that Ida lied about poking holes in the lotion bottle.  She was sitting on the commode doing her business when she saw a straight pin.  She picked up the lotion bottle and poked the pin through it again and again and again, several times over.  Later that day, her mother found the bottle with the lotion oozing out from all of the holes.  Ida said she didn’t do it.  Jack said he didn’t do it. They were both spanked.  Ida Rose figured she was getting spanked either way so what good would it do to tell the truth.  

Ida wasn’t new at lying but feeling bad about it was new.  Her conscious kept eating at her while she fiercely tried to squelch it.  Dad declared that they would attempt the snowy roads to attend mid-week Bible study and partly because it appeared that his children could use some godly direction after this evening’s fiasco.  They loaded into the maroon 1974 Ford LTD and started down the driveway and toward church.

Ida Rose and Jack were mesmerized staring at the large flakes falling around them.  As the snow fell so did Ida Rose’s tears.  “Please don’t strike me down for lying God,” kept circling through her mind.  Ida Rose didn’t know what to do with her new found conscience.  She couldn’t shut it down no matter how hard she tried.  

She closed her eyes and prayed to herself, “Dear Father in heaven, please forgive me for lying.  Please do not strike me down like Ananias and Sapphira.  I’m sorry Lord.  In Christ name, Amen.”  

As Ida Rose opened her eyes, she heard her small voice speak up, “I want to get baptized.”  

Kurt and Bridgette glanced at each other as Bridgette turned around and asked “what brought that on?” Bridgette did not have the quickest wit about her but Kurt knew exactly what brought it on.  Kurt expected that Ida Rose had lied earlier and he expected that lie led to this moment.

“Ida, why do you want to get baptized,” Kurt asked.

“Because I don’t want to go to hell”

“Why do you think you will go to hell?”

“Because I know I’ve done wrong and I don’t want God to punish me.”

“Can you give me some examples?”

Ida Rose was proud and did not want to give examples and broadcast her sins in front of everyone in the car.  Jack was staring at her trying to figure out where this next show would end.  Ida Rose took a deep breath and said barely audible, “I lied today.” A look of absolute smugness covered Jack’s face and upon noticing Ida Rose stuck out her tongue at him and looked away.

As they pulled into the church parking lot, they noticed the weather was keeping several members from showing up tonight.  The preacher, David, was standing inside the door greeting everyone as they entered. Kurt shook his hand and said “Ida Rose has something that she would like to talk to you about.”

“Is that right, Ida Rose?” David said with a smile as wide as Tennessee.  David was the nicest preacher that Ida Rose had ever met.  He made her feel special just like his wife, Cynthia.  “How about we walk in my office for a bit?”

Ida Rose followed him into his office.  She could feel the heat buildup inside her.  She was not very good at expressing herself, mainly because she lacked the confidence to just be herself.  She started to get flustered and tears started down her face.  

“It’s okay, Ida, now what is this all about?” David inquired.

Ida mustered her voice, “I want to get baptized.”  

“Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?”

Ida nodded sheepishly and said “Yes.  And I don’t want to go to hell for my sins.”

“Okay, well then let’s go take care of this right away, darling.”  David led Ida out of his office to 

Kurt who was waiting outside the door.  

“Dad, I think she’s ready!”  David said as he patted Kurt on the shoulder and winked.

Bible class was cancelled due to the snowstorm and all the members were summoned to the auditorium to witness the baptism of Ida Rose.  The members sang a couple hymns while she dressed back into her clothes and after many congratulatory remarks, the Swisher’s started their return home.

The car was quiet when Jack’s quivering voice broke the silence. “Is nobody going to say it?”  With all of Ida Rose’s drama, the fact that Jack was unjustly punished had escaped Kurt and Bridgette’s attention.  Bridgette furrowed her brow, not understanding Jack’s question but Kurt caught Jack’s deflated demeanor in the rear-view mirror and felt immediate remorse.  

“I am truly sorry Jack,” dad offered. “Ida Rose, what about you?”

Ida Rose rolled her eyes.  After a long pause, she crossed her fingers and smiled at her dad in the rearview mirror and then looked toward Jack, “I’m sorry too Jack.”