Page 161 - The Circle of Life

Once, being obnoxious according to the perplexed Chaplain, I asked why the

issued Bible repeated itself in the first four books of the New Testament and
would it not be better just to choose one gospel and get done with? It was not
as if you needed more than one statement on the same subject because the

Apostles were fairly reliable witnesses and would not any of the gospels do? And

then add something practical, like Proverbs perhaps? He had no answer, and just
shook his head and muttered to himself under his breath about the
obnoxiousness of Flying Squad members. Obviously I was ahead of my time

because it made a lot of sense to me. It still does.

I remember a friend being ordered into the Chaplains’ office because he was
concerned about his heavy drinking. He asked: “Son, I understand that you have

a drinking problem?” My friend answered in all righteousness. “Yes Chaplain, I
do not earn enough money to support it." Yeah, he was send to the wine school

immediately and we only saw him a few months later, sober, upset, and
divorced, since his wife thought that he’d become too boring now that he was

sober, (true). He had died the next year while on border duty, and she had
promptly married another policeman. When he died in a car accident while

chasing criminals, no one would even look at her after that. For obvious reasons
she was now regarded as the angel of death, to be avoided even though she was

wealthy from of all of the insurance money. At least the kids were left well off.

A coloured policeman, while enduring a heavy mortar stonking on the border
was overheard praying: “God come down and help me before I am compelled by

the f terrorists to come up and meet Jesus before my f time! And come down
Yourself and f help me. Please do not f send Your Child for what we have here is

a man-sized problem in case He hasn’t noticed." I heard that same prayer
rumour being attributed to the Army’s Cape Coloured Regiment, so it might have

happened elsewhere.

There was no such thing in the Police regulations regarding an atheist. Every

cadet had to belong to some recognised church denomination, or he would be

made to choose one on the spot. One really had no choice in the matter! Believe
or don’t, but you will attend church and look like you are enjoying it too. Every
day began with a prayer at the parade ground regardless of where you were

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