Softly and Tenderly

Driving through the desert yesterday,  I thought of Jessie Mae.

If you saw "Trip To Bountiful," (1985) you know Jessie Mae, the bossy daughter-in-law of Mrs. Watts (brilliantly rendered by the late Geraldine Page.) Poor Mrs. Watts.  Stuck in the city of Houston, in a cramped apartment, she has little to do but sing hymns--to the eternal frustration of her son's grouchy wife.

Mrs. Watts has one fantasy trip in mind before she dies--to her hometown of Bountiful, Texas.  She pleads with her son to take her, but he's too busy.  She tries sneaking off, but they always find out and stop her. When she has trouble sleeping, she sits in the living room and hums hymns, like "Softly and Tenderly."

So yesterday in the desert, my iPod set on random, up came that very song.  I sang along.  Then another of those old classic hymns--I know every one by heart, every word, every verse.  They were the soundtrack of my childhood.

I'd recently watched the movie again, still feeling sorry for poor Mrs. Watts.  But this time I could also see the story from Jessie Mae's point of view, at least a little.  If I were a young wife, and if my mother-in-law camped out right outside my bedroom door humming hymns in the middle of the night (humming anything for that matter), I might also be a tad frustrated.

Finally, Mrs. Watts makes her escape, and boards a bus in the general direction of Bountiful.  She almost gets there--but finds out that no buses go to that town anymore.  In fact, there is no longer such a town, she finds out, and her one remaining friend has just died the week before.

She's so close!  All she wants is one last trip.  She begs the sheriff to please take her there before her son comes to pick her up.  "I can't go back!" she wails.  "I'm turning into who Jessie Mae thinks I am!"

Though her childhood home has grown decrepit, and though no one she knew there is still alive, the going evokes good memories.  She walks around the empty house.  She imagines that her mama and papa are there, to meet her at the door. For a few minutes, she's home again.

By the time her son's car rolls up, you can see that she's at peace.  She is softer and more tender, even toward Jessie Mae.  Her heart is lighter.  "I've had my trip," she says.

Everyone probably has a place like Bountiful. We should go there, no matter what.  Going There is a bounty.  Going there is a reminder of who you--apart from what anyone else has to say about it.