The Lessons Life Teaches, A Collection of Short Stories.

The Real Meaning

The English language is tricky. Some words, like run, have many different meanings. From "to run in a race", "run for public office", "watch a machine run" and so forth to name just a few of the various meanings. Then some words sound the same but have totally different meanings. For example, "stake" which is something you drive in the ground to secure something or to "stake a claim" sounds the same but is entirely different from eating a big juicy "steak". To add to the complication, some of our words change in meaning through time. For example, when I was young and you described someone as a "square", that was a compliment which meant they were honest, and they would give you a "square" or fair deal. Now the common meaning is that they are old fashioned or unsophisticated. Which brings us to our story.

My mom, whose maiden name was Appleby, had a cousin, named Rosalee Mills Appleby, who was a missionary. Rosalee Appleby was born in 1895 and passed in 1991 at the age of 96. She served as a Southern Baptist missionary to Brazil from 1924-60. Through her life she wrote approximately six short books telling stories about her life and times as a missionary. If you are ever interested, you can still find copies of a few of these books on Amazon. For some reason, my mom never mentioned her or if she did, I did not retain it. One Christmas when I was in high school, probably in about 1970, my mom gave me two of the books that she had autographed by Rosalee Appleby. I realize now that I am much further along in life, that this was a very kind and personal gift. But as a teenager I did not understand this. The first book was "White Wings of Splendor" which was written in 1962. The other book was written much earlier, in 1945. Its title was "Flaming Fagots". I remember asking my mom why a missionary would write a book about flamboyant gay men. My mom was horrified that I would say such a disrespectful comment. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the older meaning of the word fagot or faggot was "a bundle of sticks" used for firewood. And indeed, the book was actually about when Rosalee would stand by the light of the campfire and teach about God's love to the Brazilian villagers. It was a wonderful book with a very meaningful title. However, the word's meaning changed through time and unfortunately took on a less warm and more disrespectful common meaning. So, I have come to learn through time, the old adage is true. Just as "you cannot judge a book by its cover", you cannot know a person's true character by their appearance. You must turn a few pages.