God And His Shoes

Same named Twins and their questions

Does God wear shoes? This question was posed by one of the twins to his mother one fine day. The mom answered the question of the older twin, the one who by nature was the more inquisitive of the two. He was the one who popped out first at the appropriate moment at the time of birth. They named him Jim after his grandfather who didn't mind because he was already long gone from the picture and completely deceased from all accounts and all  reports.

Mom responded methodically to her children with gentle tenderness, kindness and sweet kisses because she was raised that way, responsible and Catholic. She didn't even abort them at birth. How sweet is that?

In response to the little boys question she said, “I'm not sure Jimmy.” “I've never seen Him in person but I have seen pictures of his Son and He wore sandals and a halo over His head.” “The truth is; He made the universe so if He wants shoes He can have them.” “Would you like a sandwich?”

It was easy to distinguish the boys apart. One was bald. The other was not. Both boys were perfectly healthy and happy, so not to worry about the head, the hairless one or any medical condition speculated therein on said head in question. Jimmy wore a baseball cap to cover his lack of hair and had a strong character inherited from his dad, who was a steel worker and also by happenstance wore a hat and was a Catholic too as chance would have it. He had big muscles,strong back and a heart to match. The other brother was called Jim as well. The parents figured it was such a great name why not use it twice.

The Munch family were a mix of Irish and German savages who sprang up from a sorted past, a lineage, a breeding not royal by any definition. They came from a history that was an extraction, a refinement of a barbaric people stretching back through the corridors of time, back to a pre-colonial era where they and it had almost been snuffed out by war and pestilence.

They come from a tribe of wild scavengers; pickers of fruits and berries, who evolved from their violent pagan ancestry into what we have today. They go by Mr. and Mrs. Munch. They live in obscurity in a cul de sac down the street, tucked away nicely in middle America, in tranquilized suburbia in relative peace.

They live with their two sons in harmony there in a Dutch Tutor duplex in the heartland with a perceived sense of safety that might not at all be true but moving on.... and they live with high expectations for a glorious life for the four of them with a bright and happy future for one and all.

They live under the umbrella of God in His glory and power and protection on a new continent, a place discovered by some Italian Catholic guy or some guy from Norway or by some Indians right here on this very land in America. How mysterious is that? How can you discover a place that already exists?

on a new and prosperous continent still overflowing with the growing pains of a fledgling powerful nation in the making. The creation and manufacturing of steel was the backbone of the country and Conde was proud to be a part of the production. More importantly, he was able to support his family in the process.

They were a normal nuclear family living an ordinary life in every respect. The mother was named Mary and the dad was simply Sam but no one called him that. He was known as Conde around town and everywhere else of that matter.. No one, not even his wife knows why.

Bald Jim was seven. He was not satisfied with the moms answer to his question about God and His footwear so he pressed his dad. “Does God wear shoes? Conde thought, smiled, scratched his head and other parts of his body contemplatively and responded quietly in measured intonations, “It does not matter.” “He does not need them.” “Where He travels shoes are not necessary.” “He flies around in space or floats through the universe at great speeds in a matter of seconds.” “I guess if He is vacationing in Hawaii or Florida He might use them as a fashion statement.” “We are made in His image.” “He moves in mysterious ways.' “We are to interpret that as not our ways.” “Your guess is as good as mine.” “With or without shoes He is still sublime.” “Use your imagination.” “I can only say definitively, there is a God and I am not Him.”

Life is one big distraction. Jimmy nodded his head, left his dad and the easy chair to their leisure and moved on quickly to other interests.

The Jimmy with the hair was already preoccupied with one of his favorite subjects....Food... He was working on a tuna sandwich, potato chips and dill pickle combo with a tall glass of ice cold milk to compliment the meal. This whole operation took place under the tutelage and guidance of Mother Mary. The lad was satisfied with his station in life and mothers guidance in such matters. Watching cartoons was of primary importance to him. At times like these, playing with helium balloons would be his greatest pass time and pleasure. This activity of setting them free, declaring them “UP” in the afternoon atmosphere after lunch gave him the greatest thrill. He could care less about shoes and their place in the universe.

When the two boys got together with the other children in the neighborhood to play, they were obligated to use nick names so as to avoid confusion. Two boys called Jimmy was one too many for people to comprehend. Understanding has never been a strong suit for humanity.

The bald Jimmy would ask his friends to call him James. He would introduce his younger brother, (younger meaning by three minutes) as Jim.

School was another problem. The teachers insisted on calling them Jim one and Jim two. This created a pecking order that was uncomfortable for both boys. Teachers can be cruel.

Bald Jim, a/k/a “James”, enjoyed science and religion. Jim or Jim Two liked math and play time. Over time they developed a coded language known only to themselves. Their parents and teachers didn't like the idea. They thought the boys were saying mean things about them behind their backs but more importantly, they might be saying things right in front of them. That could not and would not be tolerated.

Adults also frowned upon the idea of the boys having some power, some control, something unknown that they themselves could not control or understand hanging over them. They commanded the twins to stop using the coded language. They referred to it as demonic and uncivilized.

Mysterious unknown things frightened older people. Citizens in town became suspicious of the bald child. Many thought that James was an alien, speaking an alien language. They thought it was unnatural for a little boy not to have hair on his head and to top that off, speaking in a foreign tongue, an alien tongue at that, was truly unacceptable. They could not comprehend. Jimmy and Jimmy became sad and reclusive, spending most of their time at home alone, shut off from the community. There was no way to escape school.

It was the law that all children must attend without exception. When in school the boys would keep to themselves and study alone. It became a chore....an unhappy...unhealthy chore.

Both boys became interested in God. It was speculated that the mom and dad had something to do with that. It is an obvious observation that even a child could have guessed. For what ever reason, they were on a quest.

Bald Jimmy brought up the topic of God and the business about His shoes at the dinner table one Summer night after they said prayers. He questioned his father and mother again about the nature of God and the nature of man. Both parents were limited in their abilities and scope of the Man upstairs.

They directed the boy and his brother, who seemed to be gaining interest by the moment, to see Father John at the local church. Bald Jimmy was like a magnet operating under his own forces in nature. His brother Jimmy Two was more like an iron nail. After being exposed to a magnet long enough it too gains magnetic properties and power.

The priest was happy to receive the boys and willing to answer any questions they might pose. Father John raised an eyebrow, actually he would cast a critical eye and the thick brow would rise on the boy for asking such questions about God and His footwear. Never the less he proceeded on a long dissertation, speculative at best, on how God gets about in the universe. Shoes were not included in his sermon. He had a few far fetched ideas on the modern God that we know and love. He suggested that God had already made this and other planets and suns and wondrous things in this existence. After He completed His work here He stepped outside our existence and created a new existence and 12 other alternate universes where our physics and science did not or do not apply. God left us with our own devices to figure things out here before introducing us to His new inventions and creations elsewhere. That elsewhere is a big question mark on existence as we know it and as we all know, God works in mysterious ways doing mysterious things all the time and through all of space. Time and space are always being reinvented and reshaped at His convenience and command.

When bald Jimmy brought up one of his dad's ideas about God vacationing in Hawaii or Florida, the priest lite up like a Christmas tree. He thought it was a brilliant concept. He agreed with Conde on that plausibility. He stated for the record, “God is everywhere.” “Why not Florida?” “Why not Hawaii?” “God might want to take a brake from working all the time.” “Remember the bible.” “God created the universe in six days and rested on the Seventh.” “For all we know, God is resting on a beach somewhere with Ukuleles playing and palm trees swaying.” “At the snap of a finger He can be off in an instance to some alternate multidimensional universe to pick up where He left off.”

Naturally the boys were more confused after they left the church rectory. They both were more confounded than before they came to the priest with questions. Bald Jimmy told his brother on the way out, using their invented forbidden language, “I'm thinking about changing my name.” He simply did not like the name Munch and wanted to change it to Smith. His brother agreed and they went off to get ice cream with the money they had just stolen from the poor box. Things taste better when stolen in their estimation. We can only pray that God will not come down on them when the other shoe drops. If not they are in for stormy weather.