The truth in Cotton Gin

It was the biggest scandal to hit the town of Cotton Gin, Mississippi since Edna Mae Smith started taking her clothes off in the middle of First Nazareth Baptist Church. Jennifer Rollins suddenly started speaking her mind. While Edna Mae was under the influence of fermented Welch’s Grape Juice, the folks in Cotton Gin had no clue why Jennifer suddenly lost her Southern tact and charm. “Bless your heart” suddenly turned into “@#$% you.”

“Martha Rae, you can’t cook and your dye job is bad.”

“Bill Franks, everyone knows you’re sleeping with Martha Rae except your wife and her husband.”

“Jimmy Jones, your breath could knock a buzzard off a gut truck.”

“Mayor Franklin, I didn’t vote for you because you lie like a rug.”

“Bill Knight, I hope you’re wearing asbestos underwear ’cause you’ll need them where you’re going. Laying off folks at the mill was just wrong.”

Jennifer Rollins had become a one-woman, truth-telling, lack-of-tact wrecking machine.  Like the Honey Badger, she just didn’t care.  And Cotton Gin felt her tongue’s wrath.

Such honestly can have huge social repercussions in a small Southern town. The PTA kicked her out.  The First Methodist church prayed for her living soul. The little old ladies at the local garden club vacated her “Yard of the Month.”  Nothing so serious had plagued Cotton Gin.

Jennifer Rollins cackled at them all.  Because she had been given a gift.  She knew what was really important in her life.  One simple phone call had allowed her see clearly and speak frankly.

Jennifer Rollins had cancer. And for the first time in her life, “getting along,” no longer mattered. Instead, she focused on what really did:

She loved her husband with all her heart.

She spent every moment with her child.

She created memories with those who she truly loved.

She savored every bite of food and breathed as deeply as she possibly could.

The moment her doctor had placed a cap on her life, her tolerance for phony BS hit an all-time low. And if the town of Cotton Gin didn’t understand, well, they could kiss her big ol’ Southern butt.

Old women whispered as she walked by.  Old men secretly admired her candor.  And while the town prayed for her, God didn’t just heal her tongue.  He healed her tumors as well.

Jennifer Rollins had finally figured what life was truly about.  As as a prize, she was allowed to continue on with her life.

Martha Rae took a cooking class and quit sleeping with Bill Franks (but still had a bad dye job.

Bill Franks and his wife went to counseling.

Mayor Franklin tried telling the truth (and survived.)

Bill Knight found a heart to go with his shrewd business acumen.

And Cotton Gin, Mississippi was never the same again.  (Although Edna Mae Smith did get naked again in the First Nazareth Baptist Church.)