May 18, 2006

Vacation BS

It's that time of year, kids! Vacation Bible School registration! I've seen lots of signs around, and it seems that most churches are using the same themed program - that being, "Fiesta!" - so kids all about town will be partying with Jesus this summer. Ahhh, it just takes me back ...

I went to VBS at some holy roller church the summer before 4th or 5th grade. A bunch of kids in my neighborhood were going, even though none of us went to that church, and what I remember most about the whole experience is that we went at night, and we were transported to and fro on The Joy Bus. It was an old school bus all painted up with crosses, hearts, and flowers, and we had to sing Sunday school songs all the way there - most notably, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart ..." The ride was so long, I usually ended up falling asleep on the way there and would wake up disoriented and quite annoyed with all that Joy flying around. Looking back, I really can't believe my parents let us go - At night! To a random church! With me, about 10, in charge of my brother - who was 5! What were they thinking?

The other highlight of the week was when I burned my eyeball while "making potions" in my best friend's mom's bathroom one afternoon, right before The Joy Bus was due to pick us up. I sprayed either the potion or some perfume right in my eye, and it was stinging and weepy for the rest of the week. I had a tissue permanently affixed to soak up all the tears and gunk. I got so used to the tissue that I forgot it was there, and I even had it on there when we performed our Passion Play at the end of the week. Our "costumes" were painted plywood with holes cut out for our faces, and somehow I managed to hold that thing up with one hand and the tissue on the eye with the other. As I delivered my lines, you could hear people in the audience whispering, "I didn't know Pontius Pilate wore an eyepatch."

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