Lutherans

In the past few years my father has become rather active in the church choir. This sounds quite wholesome; however, bear in mind that these are Lutherans we are talking about. The choir director of this motley crew is more or less the rock star of the Lutheran choral scene in Miami. During one of his many choir parties he insisted that my father accept one of his most prized paintings as a gift. A generous gesture indeed! This was not just any painting! No, this was a rather large portrait of a nude woman with all the class of a 1970’s gentlemen’s club on the outskirts of town.

Upon the arrival of this elaborate gift there was great deliberation as to where to hang it. After convincing my father that Rosa surely was joking when she suggested that he hang it in the living room next to the portrait of my great, great grandmother, he finally decided upon the guest room as its proper home. By coincidence, the guest room also happens to be where I reside when visiting my father.

I have come to know her as “Sasha.” She smiles down on me in my slumber and guards my dream life from evil. I wish there was a deep take home message in this story, but I’m really not sure that there is one. Try as I might, there is no part of Sasha that I can translate into any semblance of a female role model. Sasha is just a friendly reminder of those crazy Lutherans, their lively choir parties, and curious taste in art.