Growing Up Mormon – Apartheid Billy – Part Five

Things between Billy and my father were coming to a head.  Billy couldn't repair a television if its only problem was that it was tuned to a dead channel.  William and Billy wouldn't work together another day.  The shop was losing money like a sieve.  Every day Dad would yell at me and every week he'd promise to pay me some money next week.  My mom worried all the time and cried a lot.

There was only one thing to do:  Pray.

And pray we did.  We prayed in the early morning before work or school.  We prayed every night before bed.  When we weren't praying, we were arguing and when arguing didn't work, blaming did.  I was blamed sometimes but not often.  The situation just wasn't working for anyone. 

Billy had another idea.  For him praying wasn't enough.  Dad got a phone call and then made a trip to the LDS Stake Center building. When he got home, we had a family meeting. 

“We're going to branch out into the video business,” Dad announced.

Mom had her arms crossed.  “How are we going to afford that?”

“I've been assured that the Lord will provide.”

“Maybe the Lord will help pay for the inventory.  Maybe he'll pay the mortgage.  At least the payment we're behind.”

“Dear, it is not your place to question what the spirit dictates.”

Mom's eyes became glassy.  She'd heard enough, but my father wasn't done speaking.

“I am the priesthood holder in this family and the Spirit will communicate through me.  The stake presidency and I prayed about this decision and it's the right thing to do.”

That was the end of it, and we branched out into the video rental business.  Dad took out another business loan and rented a store thirty miles away in Idaho Falls.  He put Billy in charge of that location to rent out movies and players – remember in those days people would rent the player along with the movies – and picking the inventory.  Billy wouldn't have to fix televisions, he wouldn't have to work with William, and he wouldn't have to come into our shop anymore.

Of course it didn't work.  This brave new venture couldn't pay Billy's wage.  It couldn't even pay its own rent.  Before it completely collapsed Billy jumped ship.  He took a job selling appliances at the Sears store.  He left without notice and my dad and I drove up to the video store and packed everything up to bring it home.  That's when we found out that Billy had stocked twenty-percent of the inventory with R-rated movies featuring nudity and sex.  Dad was horrified.

In the nature of all stories, there is some good and some bad that comes at the end. 

We never heard from Billy again.  He went on with his own life and his hatred of all brown people.  My dad purged all the R-rated movies and struggled to keep that television shop open for another year – to no avail.  Bankruptcy came and the Lord didn't stop it.  The Mormon leadership didn't come around with job offers or financial assistance then.  His mismanagement was his own fault.  He should have been more faithful in listening to the Spirit and the guidance would've been clear. 

Oh yeah, the good thing.  Well, not all those R-rated movies got tossed.  I squirreled a few of them into a ceiling panel.  They were my first and even though they were awful, I must have worn them out. 

- rick, former Mormon, without any phony spirit.

Comments

[a rose is a rose]

nastassaja is ONE beautiful woman.
does NO ONE talk back in the mormon church (to those in charge i mean)? does NO ONE question?

[jane]

I gotta say, every type you have LDS in a story, it being in all caps it catches my eye, and for a split second I always think/hope there is something about LSD in your story. There never is. It's always LDS.

BTW, doesn't Spock say LDS instead of LSD in that one Star Trek movie where they go to current day Earth to save the whales?

Jane, rambling

[CV Rick]

Rose, to talk back is to leave. It's a church that brooks little dissent. Those who question things openly are asked to leave.

Jane, I sometimes see LSD as LDS to tell the truth. And yes, Spock does say LDS in that movie. I could write an LSD story for you . . . I have a friend who was caught holding the largest amount of the stuff of any person in the history of Minnesota law enforcement, yet never had to serve prison time - he's white, middle class, and had a great attorney. Of course, this was 15 years ago and the drug war was concerned with the drugs that poor people took - - - oh yeah, it still is.

[Success Warrior]

It was Kirk talking about Spock.

"Too much LDS in the sixties."

[CV Rick]

You're right. Movie trivia is your thing after all . . .

that and being able to differentiate airplanes by sound alone.

[a rose is a rose]

every time i mention THAT particular star trek movie (where scotty says, 'capt'n there be whales!' y'all make fun of me

oh and do you know who the NEW scotty is? simon pegg (shawn of the dead and hot fuzz).

oh and i'd never make it as a lsd, oh i mean lds on the no talking back and no questioning items alone.

geeze rick, how the hell did you do it for SO LONG?

[CV Rick]

It's true, Rose. We all do make fun of you. It was such a bad movie that everything surrounding it gets made fun of.

Simon Pegg? Scotty . . . I'm just not seeing it.

and when you're in the cult you don't really know it's a cult. for you, it's just a way of life and a really busy one at that.

[The Angry Young Man]

Pia Zadora?!!

[The Angry Young Man]

This is hilarious. Van der Fah fah and I occasionally squeal "I've gotta save those whales!" at one another. That movie is too easy to make fun of.

[CV Rick]

Pia Zadora, it's sad, and true.