Response to a Blog Post Week Two

I did a response to Jo Brachman's : Memory 1 - Pine Lake Jehovah Witnesses - Week 2

(Inspired by the Spoleto Jehovah Witnesses)

"I catch a glimpse of the two older, black women wearing shrouded black dresses as if in mourning. They stand in the middle of the street at the corner, wiping their brows, trying to decide which narrow street of Pine Lake to go up, away from the lake or continue on around the lake. I fear they are moving towards my front porch, designed to welcome visitors. I grab my cell phone and hurry to the back of the house out of sight. I call my friend five houses up and warn her that there are JWs in our midst. She curses, thanks me for letting her know. Says she will hide out in the spaceship, her nickname for her closet office. My doorbell rings. I stay hidden in my bedroom; modulate my breathing as if they can hear; wait for what I think is the appropriate time for them to disperse and peek out to the living room, then beyond out the sidelight windows of the front door. The two women once again stand in the middle of the road in the sun looking like ancient mourners at the Wailing Wall. They inch up the street so slowly I know it will be awhile before they are ringing my friend’s doorbell. I wonder if their ankles are swollen; if their salvation hangs on their willingness to go into neighborhoods; how many doorbells they must ring, how many pamphlets they must hand out or leave. I think of two black slugs sliding along the uneven pavements of our roads, and text my friend, “No hurry, but here they come.”"

This is what I wrote to her. 

"This is such a brilliant image. I immediately thought about when we were introduced to the Italian Jehovah's Witnesses. What I was most taken with was the line "The two women once again stand in the middle of the road in the sun looking like ancient mourners at the Wailing Wall." I feel like this could be the start of a really interesting poem about this. You could use the experience with the women in Italy who were doing the same thing as the women from Pine Lake. I also love the idea that your friend is so upset with these JW's. Why? What has happened in the past that she is bothered by these women when instead of hiding out or cursing them, one could do what Joanci did and gently close the door and say "no we are all set." I think that would be one way to go with it. The other thing I think you could do is challenge the triggering idea of the JW's and write from the perspective of the woman ringing your doorbell. Flip it, your friend finds them irritating, what about the woman trying to talk to your friend? What does she think when people don't answer the door?
I love this idea though...maybe because I was there when the Jehovah's Witnesses came, or maybe its just something that doesn't happen often. Either way, you could do a world of awesome with this image!"