Sunday School Bribes

The rewards for being good in church varied at times. Over the years most of the time I spent with my dad was in Indiana where one of his wives families are from. Time living in Indiana was pretty much divided between the outskirts of Indianapolis, or Ft. Wayne.

Being good in church in Indianapolis meant someone was going to Dairy Queen!  To this day I still reward myself with ice cream, it's just too bad there are no DQ's within twenty-five miles of where I live now.

The rewards for being good at church in Ft. Wayne were toned down but still exciting at times. On occasion we would stop at White Castle! Again not available in my area unless I want to buy microwavable... it just ain't the same.

Dairy Queen and White Castle weren't the only incentives for going to church. We had paper drives on Saturdays in Ft. Wayne.  A small church in Tulsa, Oklahoma offered softball and a chance to sit next to a beautiful girl who was the cousin of a neighbor. In Oklahoma City I went to a church that took us to a buffet after services. There was one that offered pot luck lunches too.

In the early eighties I was introduced to what I consider to be the ultimate in my limited experiences with going to church.  I was hitch hiking in California when a young charismatic man offered me a ride. This was my first time in California and had no clue as to what to expect, or where I was going. I was just hitching a ride.