Sundays

It was Sunday morning in our little town. Through my window, I could see the Durzies heading to the Church of Jesus, and I knew it must be 8.15 am.

When I think back to those Sunday mornings all those years ago – goodness life was so very different than today. If I close my eyes, I can still see them like a photograph seared to the back of my mind.

The procession was always led by Eugene, their youngest, both he and his siblings were all blessed with their mother’s burnt read hair.

April and Jimmy were behind Eugene. If I can recall correctly at that time, Jimmy was eleven, April, ten and ‘Gene was going on seven.

The father, Joseph, was from a Scottish family who had come to this US in the early 1900s.  He had been born here, had attended school with Helen (his red-haired wife) and had never loved, nor wanted to love, any other woman.

He was the town dentist, and Helen was his receptionist. They lived in a large villa on the edge of town – although thinking back, that was all eaten up by the city in later years, and nowadays it sits right in the middle of things.

If I remember correctly, Jimmy went away to some war and never came back. April worked as Elvis Presley’s hairstylist for a few years, and then she fell for one of The King’s backing musicians, had seven children and spent most of her days being a mother.

Eugene became Mayor of our town and he was a good one until he took sick and left us, a little too early, I might add.

Helen, well she still lives in that large house that once sat on the edge of town but which now stands in the middle of things. Her grandkids come to visit at Christmas, and sometimes she moseys on down to Georgia where her daughter calls home.

They knocked the Church of Jesus down a while back to make way for a Freeway that leads all the way into the city. It only takes 15 minutes to get there, and a whole lot longer to sit in the house of God.

I still stand at my window and watch the folks passing by – but, to be honest, Sundays ain’t what they used to be.

Bobby stevenson 2020