Next time, ear plugs

"You cannot disregard the truth,"  said the man in the chair next to me at the hairdresser today.  He was talking about infant baptism and he was loud.

(Now, look, my point here isn't going to be about baptism.  I've had both my boys baptized as babies, but on those Sundays there was a full-page disclaimer about infant baptism in the bulletin.  It wasn't a big deal to me to have them baptized as infants but it was a big, big, big deal to my in-laws, so why sweat it?)

My chair neighbor got louder.  He was part of a new church which had left their old church because they disagreed with a point of doctrine their denomination established recently.  Perhaps you know what I am talking about.

I tried very hard to focus on my book.  I read the same page over and over.

His hair stylist said, "Well, I never talk about religion or politics.  It just upsets people.  Say! You know (that big church in town)?  Well, they had some big falling out and people got mad and left and their offices are in that building downtown that used to be the library."

Well, first of all, it used to be the post office.

"Hmmmm," said her customer.  "All I know is they aren't (MY denomination)"

Friends and loved ones, there was more to this conversation that got my blood a-boiling, but the bottom line is they were talking about my new little church with the name that continues to make me chuckle to myself.  Now, lookie here.  I can laugh and criticize my new church all I like but how dare, how DARE, HOW DARE they even speak of darling Cataclysm Catalyst without knowing what they are talking about?

Up I sprang from my chair hair dye flying everywhere.  "ExCUSE me, but everyone got along at that church perfectly well.  It was a large church, and we decided to plant a new one." And I turned on my little heel and marched over to the shampoo bowls where I sat with self-righteous indignation and read that same page over and over and over until it was time for my rinse.

Oh, there were so many things I could have said.  I could have quoted scripture.  I could have pointed out that they were gossiping. I could have gone the sweeter route and invited them to see what we are doing or to my home for small group.  (I don't think they would have been interested.)

I could have just sat there and pretended like I couldn't hear and read my page over and over.  How often do I kick myself because there is a time and a place to keep your mouth shut and I don't always know it?

It's too late to go back now, so let's think what we've learned from this:   Leave dear CatStevens Catalyst alone and bring head phones to the salon.