Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 18:49:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: ed swanky <edswanky@yahoo.com>
Subject: Christopher-answers Ch. 25
If you are underage or graphic sexual stories are prohibited in your
community...do not read this. This story is completely fictional. I would
appreciate all comments especially those of a constructive or encouraging
nature. My e-mail address: edswanky@yahoo.com
Christopher Answers
Chapter 25
Tim was the first person Craig sought out Thursday morning before
classes began. He told him about his phone conversation with Coach Walters
while outlining his plan to form a 'Gay Students and Friends' club. He
hoped to have the meeting scheduled for tomorrow after school. At the
end of their phone conversation, Craig enlisted Coach Walters to act as
their faculty advisor. Since Tim was the unofficial head of the so-called
'gay underground' it would be his job to contact the 'out' and 'closeted'
gays. Tim was very concerned about the possibility that Principal Jordan
may be fired from his job. He and Taylor had two more years to spend in
this school. The thought of a return to the anti-gay atmosphere that
existed prior to Principal Jordan's arrival was scary. He eagerly accepted
the responsibility.
Principal Jordan was standing inside the foyer in his usual spot,
greeting the students as they arrived. Craig and Tim asked if he had a few
minutes to talk with them privately. He led them into his carpeted office
and listened to Craig sell his plan to form the gay students and friends
club. This was exactly the kind of thing that Ed Jordan had hoped would
happen in his school. He gave them his permission to post a notice on the
bulletin board and distribute copies among the students. Craig had the
notice ready on a computer diskette that he made at home last night. He
went to the library computer, filled in the date, time, and room number.
He gave a printed copy to the librarian, Ms. Phillips, and asked if she
would make two hundred copies for him. She read the flyer, took Craig's
word that it had the proper approvals and promised to have them ready
between the first and second class periods this morning. She liked Craig
Allwein, he was always so polite and charming.
Craig was the connecting bridge that spanned the gulf between the
'gay' and 'straight' students. He worked the lunch crowd in the cafeteria
like a charismatic politician. His genuine smile and sharp wit combined
to engage the help of leaders in the freshmen through his own senior class.
The stated common goal was to save Principal Jordan's job.
The way the meeting was structured, those gays who were in the closet
could choose to stay there if they wanted. No one would have to declare
themselves as 'gay' or 'straight'. Craig masterfully set it up that way to
ensure the highest possible turnout. They would also have the 'cover' of
attending for the specific purpose of helping their Principal.
Craig understood people and how they think. A look into the future
found him in a high paying job in advertising and sales. He was married
with four male children, 21, 17, 15 and 14 years old. The 14 year old had
just tentatively told him that he was gay. Craig saw how nervous he was
and hugged his son while kissing him on the cheek. "You have nothing to be
ashamed of, sit here with me, I want to tell you about some friends of
mine back when I was in high school."
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Martha was up early and busied herself in the kitchen until she heard
her brother-in-law come down the stairs. "What would you like to have for
breakfast," she asked. "I'm afraid that I've run out of eggs but have just
enough milk to make pancakes."
Russell looked at her and found it difficult to hide his feelings of
love that precipitated his moving away ten years ago. He averted her eyes
for fear of what she might find there, fighting off an overwhelming urge to
draw her into his arms and confess the sin of coveting his brother's wife.
"I would like to take you out to breakfast. You need to get away from
this house for awhile. Afterwards we can stop at a grocery store and pick
up whatever you need."
"I think I would enjoy that", Martha said. She was starved for real
conversation like the two of them had last night and with the boys earlier
in the evening. Russell was always such a kind and gentle soul, she had
forgotten how much she missed him. She was beginning to come alive again
and it was a wonderful feeling.
The two of them spent the day together, breakfast, grocery shopping
and the sad task of final arrangements for Gary. Martha, with Russell's
help, picked out a casket and decided to forego the traditional viewing.
She wanted to have a simple ceremony on Saturday morning at the church
and burial immediately following. She just wanted people to remember
Gary as he was in life.
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School let out and the boys met in the parking lot to talk about what
needed to be said tomorrow afternoon at the inaugural meeting of their
hastily formed club. It was difficult to tell how many would actually
show up. Most students contacted by Craig and Tim had promised to be
there but with something as controversial as this, they just couldn't be
sure. Craig volunteered to act as spokesman. Coach Walters would be
there to emphasize the importance of everyone attending the School Board
meeting on Monday evening.
Ed Jordan walked toward his car and saw the group of seven boys talking
in the parking lot. He knew them all by name and the fact that there were
three couples and Craig. He saw Tim with Taylor West and called for him
and Craig to come over to him. "How did it go with recruitment for your
new club," he asked, directing his question at neither one in particular.
Principal Jordan overheard a few remarks in the halls, enough to determine
that his predicament with the school board was going to be discussed at
their first meeting. He was proud that these boys were going to bat for
him but figured that the impact they'd have would be minimal at best. They
represented the reason he was under fire and doubted that anything they had
to say would change the minds of the school board members. In fact it
would probably serve to galvanize their opposition toward him. He did
however appreciate the thought and their efforts.
Craig answered his question by expressing his uncertainty as to how
many students would show for the meeting. Tim, the sophomore was still a
little in awe of Principal Jordan and only nodded assent to what Craig was
saying to him. Ed decided not to let on that he knew about their support
of him. He figured that they would tell him if they wanted him to know.
"You boys are doing a good thing, I'd like to see a lot more tolerance
around this school and believe that your club will provide that. If you
need anything more from me, my door is always open to you." Tim and Craig
both thanked him and the brief encounter ended as Ed got in his car and
drove off. When he got to the end of the parking lot he saw Coach Doug
Walters walking toward his car parked near the gymnasium.
"I'm really grateful for your support Doug, but I'm worried that you
will become a victim in this thing. Taking the job as faculty advisor to
the club that Craig Allwein and Timothy Rohrer are forming exposes you to
the same kind of prejudice that will most likely bring me down on Monday.
You are a good friend but I don't want you to do something that you might
regret later on. Both Mary and my daughter know about this and I've
already started to search for another job."
"Don't worry about it Ed. My wife and I are in agreement that if I
didn't take this stand, I could never look in a mirror and feel good about
myself. You are worth fighting for and I'm going to do everything I can
to help you. I wish I could say that other faculty members will join me.
I think many of them would like to see you survive this but won't stand in
defense of you and your policies. At the meeting tomorrow night, I plan
to enlist the aid of whoever shows up and try to get their parents to
be at the School Board meeting on Monday evening. We have to get a large
enough group to make them think twice before they rubber-stamp the
recommendations of John Watkins. He is a dangerous man and needs to be
stopped."
"Whatever happens Doug, it's nice to know that I have a friend like
you. I just spoke to the two boys and thanked them for their efforts.
They are all good kids and I worry more about them than anyone else. I'm
sure I'll see you sometime tomorrow, let me know how the meeting went. I
will be at Gary Watkin's funeral on Saturday morning but plan to keep a
low profile. It is always a shame when someone dies that young."
Ed extended his hand through the window of his car. They shook and he
drove off. Doug just stood there for a minute and watched as he turned the
corner toward home. The Ed Jordans of the world are in short supply, he
thought to himself and hoped that his efforts were not too late.
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Russell phoned his brother John. His offer to come visit him was met
with a less than enthusiastic response, but he agreed to it. It was
8 PM Thursday evening when Russell knocked on the door to his basement
apartment in the church. He was shocked when John answered the door. He
was unprepared for the lifeless eyes that looked at him briefly and then
turned away. Rather than invite him inside, John stood at the door and
mouthed the unconvincing words that it was good to see him again. Russell
could smell the dankness coming from the apartment, a small lamp was the
only light he saw inside except for the flickering of a small television
set. Russell was very uncomfortable but made an offer to help his brother
if he needed anything. "I don't." was the terse reply. Russell attempted
to make some small talk but John was either silent or gave an equally short
response. His doorway meeting lasted no more than two minutes. John
seemed anxious for him to leave and so he did. Russell returned to his car
in the church parking lot. He sat there for about 15 minutes trying to
remember the good times that he, John and Michael had when they were
growing up. This was not the brother he knew then. This was a sad, bitter
man that seemed to have lost his purpose and joy in living. Russell
thought about Michael and how sad he would be if he knew the torment that
his death had caused his brother John.
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The final class on Friday had ended. Craig met Tim and Taylor in the
hallway and they made their way down to the meeting room. Justin and
Chris, Tom and Dave were seated up front along with four or five others
at the back of the room. Tim and Tay took seats up front alongside their
friends. The meeting was scheduled to start in ten minutes and so far the
turnout was very disappointing. Tim recognized three of the boys at the
back of the room. Two were sophomores and one, a freshman. They heard a
commotion outside in the hallway. Coach Walters had arrived, followed by
what seemed like the entire rest of the baseball team. The seats filled
quickly and now there was only standing room left in the 30 seat classroom.
More noise in the hallway as John Gulley, the big football player, and
most of his teammates tried to come inside.
Coach Walters was smiling broadly as he announced that due to the
large turnout, the meeting would be moved into the gymnasium next door.
As the students filed out of the classroom they saw another large group
of students standing in the hallway. The baseball and football teams were
like pied pipers. Students who were still undecided had followed them
downstairs. The rows of bleachers filled up and a quick head count taken
by Craig was 150 and they were still coming through the doors in small
groups of four and five at a time. The crowd noise in the large gymnasium
reverberated, making it sound like the beginnings of a pep rally.
Coach called for them to quiet down. He sent Taylor to his office for
clipboards and pencils and to make additional copies of the sign-up sheet.
"Welcome to the initial meeting of the Gay students and Friends Club." he
announced as silence soon replaced the cacophony that had been echoing
off the walls. "I'd like to introduce Craig Allwein who is responsible
for organizing this meeting with help from Tim Rohrer and others."
Craig stood in front and addressed the crowd.
"It is great to see this huge turnout. The first order of business is
to line-up all the gays so they can have a large red 'Q' tattooed on their
foreheads. That is probably what will happen anyway if the School Board
is successful in firing Principal Jordan." Nervous laughter filled the
room as the word picture that Craig painted suddenly didn't seem all that
absurd.
"For those of you who don't know, there is a special meeting of the
School Board that will be held here on Monday evening starting a 8 PM. The
only item on their agenda is Principal Jordan's policies on gay students
and the negative impact they have had on this school. The real purpose of
the meeting is to call for his resignation. If they are not stopped,
Tuesday morning he will be gone sure as God made us all different and
unique. The freshman class weren't here to experience the difference under
the former Principal. The rest of us remember and many of you just
accepted that as the natural order of things. At the assembly the other
day, Principal Jordan taught us about prejudice. It is too bad that our
parents couldn't have witnessed that. I'm asking each of you to go home
and do what you can to convince your parents to be here on Monday for the
meeting. Unless enough of them show up in opposition to their decision to
fire Principal Jordan, he will be fired, don't kid yourselves about that."
Coach Walters was amazed at the way Craig stirred the crowd to action.
He had planned to add his words but decided that Craig didn't need any
help. He had never seen Craig exhibit this kind of leadership before.
This was a turning point in Craig's life, he finally found something to
believe in and use the talent of persuasion that he only evoked through
humor prior to this afternoon.
Christopher's answer only one short week ago transformed Craig and
the future direction his life would take. The full impact of it had
changed so many lives that it was impossible to measure. Craig's, as yet
unborn, 14 year old gay son and others like him would benefit from the
acceptance of parents made possible by Christopher's answer.
end chapter 25
Please let me know what your thoughts are?
What do you like/dislike about Christopher-answers?
My thanks to those who continue to respond and
help to shape this story, I appreciate it more
than you may realize. ed swanky
E-mails to: edswanky@yahoo.com