On that day in boiling August, during a brave game of ring-a-levio, I threw myself rolling under a black car near the enemy jail, which was Junior’s stoop. I smacked my head laughing on the asphalt street, pulled myself face-sideways through stones and grease and waited on my cheekbone for the jail to be loosely guarded. 

From an early age, I could sum up religion as one titanic struggle. The forces of Hell, Satan, assistant Devils, Snakes, Sin, and Death were arrayed against Heaven, The Church Militant, The Churches Suffering and Triumphant, Jesus, God The Father, and The Holy Ghost, all of the Saints, and The Virgin Mother. You wouldn’t think it would turn out to be much of a battle, considering the resources available and the advantage of having The Word on your side, but believe me, it was.