#2 – What was the savings as a married couple? Was it worth the hassle?
Larry Robertson
Finance Dept, Westminster Printers
From: Oscar Brandt
To: Development Team
Subject: Re: Preparation for the second meeting
First, I’ve already got a Bible.
Second, good article Zack, a great read. I suspect there were cultural differences in your story that would have made the situation more complicated. If you know of any them, they might be worth pointing out. The staff may have had reason to suspect your parents were trying to take advantage of the system. Maybe they had different cultural ways that husbands and wives demonstrated their relationship. If you know any of those cultural points, they might be worth elaborating on.
Also, while the headline verse is great, I wonder if this one might be more relevant (and funnier). “When Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him fondling his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech called for Isaac, and said, ‘So she is your wife!’” - Genesis 26: 8-9a (NRSV)
- OB
From: Gus Leighton
To: Development Team
Subject: Re: Preparation for the second meeting
Good day all,
We have a Bible in our home, but it’s so large it would be cumbersome to bring it along to every meeting. It is a family heirloom as well, so moving it with any kind of regularity would risk damaging it. Thus, I would be happy to receive from you a smaller more portable version, however, while I know there are a number of newer and more “contemporary” translations available, I find none of them compare with the poetic form and cadence of the old King James.
With regards to the submitted article, there are a number of grammatical inconsistencies, but to fix them, I’d have to rewrite the whole thing, so I’ll save my corrections for the meeting. I disagree with Oscar’s point though; I think there is already too much emphasis on other cultures. Making every effort to defend their host culture doesn’t make the point any stronger, and any energy spent explaining who they were and why they acted as they did is energy not spent on explaining your point. This draws attention away from the issue at hand. If I fully understood the point here I would tell you how best to elaborate more fully, but since I don’t, all I can say is to explain yourself more clearly at the end.
Sincerely,
Gus Leighton
From: Sheila Thompson
To: Development Team
Subject: Re: Preparation for the second meeting
I have a Bible, but I appreciate the offer.
I don’t have any specific comments about the article except that it’d be interesting to know just what the officer found that convinced him they were married. It might be fun to speculate on what it was that he found. I wonder if that officer would find the same thing in many of the homes of our modern married families.
From: Melvin Bamford
To: Development Team
Subject: Re: Preparation for the second meeting
I think I have a Bible somewhere. The hotel people want you to take them home right? I can’t say I’ve opened it any time recently, but maybe if I knew where more of Oscar’s fondling passages were I’d probably read it more often. I’ll try and remember to bring it along to the meeting.
I agree with Gus’ point too about putting too much emphasis on world cultures. Sure Zack’s family was in another country when this happened, but this isn’t a book on the cultures of the world, it’s a book on Christianity, so let’s keep the emphasis where it belongs.
- Melvin