Monday 12 September 2011

The Rev. E. Nant

The Revenant
Andrew Wyeth - 1949




The Rev. E. Nant  had enjoyed his funeral tremendously. His wife had followed every word of the instructions he had left behind about the big day; the ceremony had done him great honour and the whole congregation had taken part. It might have had something to do with the promise of a lavish celebration of his life after the service and his interment. In fact, the only flaw in the ointment had been his white suit, made of paper rather than fine silk. Never mind, the day would come when he would be able to take her to task about this omission, he determined to leave her in no doubt that she had badly betrayed his wishes in this respect.

Some members of the congregation too had been less than fulsome in their praise of him.  While he had been their shepherd he had spent hours telling them the righteous way, the only way, the way he himself laid out for them. They had not always shown him  gratitude for his selfless actions then, but he certainly would have expected them to see the error of their ways after his death. Again, he made a mental note to remind them of their gross dereliction of duty towards him, as and when they joined him in heaven. "That is, of course", he said to himself,  "if they are given the great mercy to join me here."

He would enjoy keeping a tally of the people who had accorded him less than the full appreciation and veneration, to which he knew he was entitled.

In fact, he'd have a word with St. Peter about it. He would, no doubt, meet him very soon now, a man of his rectitude would not be kept waiting for long.

Just one thing puzzled him, why were they keeping this ante chamber so overheated ?  He'd be glad to settle somewhere cooler soon . . . . . . . .

57 comments:

  1. his rectitude...bwahaha...yes, i hope he likes the heat...smiles...too fun friko

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  2. ah you have a devilsh mind...and I love it!
    I have known Rev's like that

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  3. Oh, My!
    I believe
    the Rev Wyeth
    is about to fry!

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  4. Smiles... such a devious mind you have. Fabulous take on this one!

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  5. Another brilliant one Friko!

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  6. Dear Friko: Was the Rev hoping for the cooler temps from the batting of angel's wings. Not quite ready for this Rev with bad attitude!Great! Fun read!

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  7. Most excellent! I do believe I knew the Rev. E. Nant, and I am very sure I know his incarnation in the female version.

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  8. The Devil may well show him the door , too . And fast !
    Where do people like him go then ?

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  9. Very good! But I must confess that to me he also looks rather handsome and appealing - although that doesn't stop him being self righteous and annoying, I'm sure! :)

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  10. Very clever. Thanks for the chuckle.

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  11. Never mind, the day would come when he would be able to take her to task about this omission

    Doing that very thing is some people's greatest joy in life...I guess in death too. ~Mary

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  12. Bonza story on the after life and the expectations of the dearly departed :-).

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  13. He is a bit slow catching on to the way things are..poor Rev. Had to read on after his name appeared!

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  14. Andrew Wyeth is under-appreciated. Obviously, so was the Rev. Nant.

    Don't know how Google Earth found you, or didn't, as I simply typed in Valley's End (I believe that's right) and zoom, there I was in a sleepy little village on the Welsh border.

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  15. Perfect!
    You expertly show the un-self-aware
    mind of these troublemakers, Friko!
    Notice too: lack of gratitude is key.

    Aloha from Waikiki;


    Comfort Spiral


    > < } } ( ° >

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  16. I consider you quite cultivated, so am touched to see a Wyeth; they were the artists of the country I grew up near.

    The 'first' N.C. Wyeth was an illustrator who famously produced pirates and other fantasy material around 100 years ago...

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  17. Rev. E. Nant...I love it! Smiled all the way through!

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  18. What a treasure, Friko! Short, sweet, and oops, defeat!

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  19. The Reverend must have been feeling the warmth of Dante's upper circles...only beginning to realize how much hotter it would be as he descended to join all the other sanctimonious folks...

    Excellent as always!!

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  20. Very entertaining - a unique and clever response to the prompt:-)

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  21. Ah, never be too sure of yourself. A fine piece with a nice ending ...

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  22. Oh, Friko! I love your sense of humour! I burst out laughing at the final paragraph! He was far too pompous a man by the sounds of it, anyway, to have gone anywhere other than to the overheated chamber :)

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  23. Ah: I love it when pride takes a fall. I detect a touch of the Roald Dahl in your stories Friko.

    Anna

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  24. Great fun Friko .. endorsing totally what Burnett says above .. wickedly funny .. cheers Hilary

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  25. Good one! A paper suit, ideal for the place in which he has landed.

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  26. How sweetly you dealt the poet's
    blow to hypocrisy, arrogance, and
    so many other maladies foisted upon
    us by the reverent, who may in fact
    become revenant. You wicked, and it
    is wicked, sense of humor, becomes
    more appreciated daily out here in
    the world beyond the UK.

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  27. As always Friko, I enjoy your irony, bits of cynicism and diabolical twists--particularly when it comes to the religious.
    Linda

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  28. Oh, Friko, when you do these tongue-in-cheek, witty short stories, I always read so seriously and then get to the end and break into raucous laughter. Thank you for the enjoyment this posting brought me.

    And thank you, also, for your comment today on my recent postings. I know that you understand the journey I've taken. Thank you for sharing the following: "When the voice rises up and tells you the reasons for being unloveable yet again, just knock it on the head and say back: you're taking nonsense." Now that is truly helpful.

    Peace.

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  29. "Flaw in the ointment" indeed. Not much good then for all those first degree burns?
    Thanks for the first laugh of my day, you genius!!!
    XO
    WWW

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  30. Wicked, wicked, and all the more amusing for it.

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  31. Great title; great story! Sizzling, one might say!

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  32. So clever and wicked ... I love it!

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  33. Laughing. Who would have guessed? Finely tuned tale...

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  34. The Reverend in in for a surprise when he wonders where everyone went. It's even worse than playing with matches.
    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  35. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing. It made me smile. :)

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  36. paper suit should burn nicely ... delightful to read you again Friko

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  37. He would hardly have been alone. Tho' if he was Catholic I doubt if Purgatory has any temperature or other physical attribute, other than the sense of claustrophobia created by the vast crowds waiting for the Order of Release.

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  38. Too funny, and following your "Crimes and Misdemeanors" perfectly. So who was the recipient of his sausage.

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  39. oh the twinkle at the end! Your imagination is brilliant.

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  40. He gets his well deserved cummupance!
    (There's a Man of the Cloth rather like your Rev.E.Nant in Barbara KIngsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible")

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  41. Oh my Friko, you did it again!!!! I love your imagination and your way of expressing it in words.

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  42. haha:) i enjoyed this very much. this is my first time here, and i felt the wonderful influence of perhaps emily bronte here. sounded marvelous.

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  43. makaber, lustig und einfallsreich, dies scheint man alles nur hier bei Dir zu finden!
    Dir ganz liebe Grüsse und einen wunderschönen Tag, liebe Friko!
    Renée
    (in einer Woche werde ich wieder mehr Zeit haben und dann wirst Du wieder öfters von mir hören. Inzwischen verzeihst Du mir, ja?! :-)!)

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  44. Friko - that was ace I loved it -Jane

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  45. Wonderful!! Dare I say you have a...wicked...sense of humor ;-) Thank you (and thank you for the kind words you left at the window last week).

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  46. I am still giggling over the title...good one, Friko...

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  47. He does look too smug by half in that get-up! But the white may keep him cool . . .

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Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.