“Thy kingdom come . . . on earth” is what we are saying. And if that were suddenly to happen, what then? What would stand and what would fall? Who would be welcomed in and who would be thrown the Hell out?
—Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark
I see the long-ago mother’s day column in my mind’s eye—clear and bright, distinct and wise. I go to the local library and mention the author, Erma Bombeck, to the gray-haired librarian, who quickly nods her approval and starts looking in the stacks. She finds the wildly popular humorist’s collection Forever, Erma. I open the book and immediately spot the column. “That’s it.” The librarian smiles.
