He heard something
that conflicted him.
It was about a fellow

parson who violated
vows. He was angry
at the parson’s acts

like a gut punch out
of nowhere, a black
mark on the calling.

The conflict is that
he feels compassion
for the young parson

who lives in the shad-
ow of his esteemed
pastor father and will

be thought the son who
brought shame on the
family of the esteem-

ed pastor father. He
thought, There go I
but for the grace of

God and thank God I
am not a kid in the
family of the esteem-

ed pastor father try-
ing just to find a way
to sneak into the shad-

ow of that esteemed
pastor father and then
trying desperately to

find a way out from
under the shadow of
that esteemed pastor

father. And then he
thought to himself
that the kid actually

had found a way.