{"id":70333,"date":"2017-10-01T16:56:03","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T23:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=70333"},"modified":"2023-01-05T15:53:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T23:53:04","slug":"danger-cycle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=70333","title":{"rendered":"Danger Cycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(Author\u2019s Note: <\/strong>This excerpt from my forthcoming novel <\/em>Beautiful Revolutionary takes place in the summer of 1969 \u2013 a period in which many hippies and college-educated youth were drawn to Peoples Temple. After his first wife leaves him for Temple leader Jim Jones, young pacifist Lenny Lynden finds himself in an arranged marriage and living communally in Northern California. While a generally idyllic time, the seeds of destruction are there: infighting, superstitious thinking, white favoritism, Jones\u2019 self-aggrandizement and interference in his followers\u2019 sex lives. Here, Jones is seen manipulating the relationships of Lenny and his new wife Terra, and another young couple, Minnie and Roger Luce.) <\/em><\/p>\n

Most nights, they eat quick at the Red Creek commune, sopping up lentil stew with home-baked bread. Quick because their days have made them hungry: long hours at the mental hospital for Lenny, at the Temple daycare for Terra. Because there are chores, allotted and taped up on the fridge: dishes to wash, clothes to iron, animals to feed. Because they haven\u2019t had a honeymoon, and time alone is precious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe you like me even when I smell like chicken poop.\u201d Terra giggles, stripping off her overalls in the bathroom. For the first time all day, they have a few minutes to themselves. She admires her reflection. \u201cWell\u2026maybe I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to wash your hair?\u201d Lenny likes helping with Terra\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope. I washed it Saturday. Martha\u2019ll kill us if we use up another bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sister Martha is a single mom who lives in the back part of the house with her twin sons, Joey Dean and Bobby James. It\u2019s Martha who starts banging on the bathroom door within five minutes, yelling about hot water.<\/p>\n

\u201cDried-up bitch was probably timing us.\u201d Terra rolls her eyes, turns the tap off with a hiss. \u201cDon\u2019t you think it\u2019s racist how she always sits so far from Nessa at the table?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust watch. <\/em>Every time they\u2019re side-by-side, she holds her arms like this.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>She tucks a towel under her armpits, curls up her hands like a cripple. \u201cSome of these old white people, it\u2019s like they\u2019re all about integration on Sundays, but when it comes to living <\/em>it\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenny watches her pat her breasts dry, her belly; twist the towel around her dripping blond locks and pull it off seconds later. She shimmies into her waiting shift dress; combs out her hair; checks her flushed face. As an afterthought, she steps into her underwear\u2014the wholesale Woolworth\u2019s kind they all wear, T. Lynden <\/em>sharpied on the waistband.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s quick. Why not? They\u2019ve got a meeting to get to.<\/p>\n

Sister Nessa is in the kitchen, mashing something in a bowl. A tiny girl, hair in tiny braids, belly a boulder between her and the counter. Practically mute and prone to flinching when Lenny or any other white guy comes upon her unexpectedly. But she seems to like Terra; flashes her gums and mumbles, \u201cNah, I\u2019m okay,\u201d when Terra fusses over her being on her feet so late in her pregnancy. Not for the first time, Lenny wonders what it\u2019ll be like having a newborn around, then wonders whether he and Terra will ever have one, then guesses if they do, it\u2019ll probably be adopted. In the den, Brother Corbin is helping Joey Dean with his homework, and Terra leans over their shoulders. \u201cYou know, Moby Vagina <\/em>is a way better book,\u201d she says straight-faced, then rears up laughing. She\u2019s still laughing as they walk under the dark trees to the station wagon, and Brother Eustace is running the engine of his pickup, nodding his head idly to a murmur of Motown. He looks up when they reach the station wagon and nods, \u201cHey,\u201d and Lenny nods, \u201cHey\u2026you going to work?\u201d and Eustace nods again, \u201cYup,\u201d showing him the nightwatchman\u2019s cap on his dashboard.<\/p>\n

Lenny doesn’t quite know what to feel about him and Terra being the only ones from the commune invited to this meeting. Lenny doesn\u2019t quite know what to make of all the meetings, but he doesn\u2019t dwell on it; the drive is too nice, balmy night air blowing and a first-date excitement in his belly. When they reach the Temple, there\u2019re fewer cars in the lot than usual and, in the meeting room, about fifteen young people gathered, all white except for Minnie Luce. Lenny wonders if he and Terra are tardy, but Jim Jones just waves them in with a lilting, \u201cLyndens,\u201d and keeps advising Roger and Minnie, seated Indian-style at his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026People looking up to you. Means there\u2019s people gonna talk behind your back, that\u2019s inevitable. I know <\/em>it. Every day. But you gotta be above it. Don\u2019t have an ego, you won\u2019t be touched by personal attacks. Minnie, you\u2019re stronger than most; damn sure stronger than this whiteboy. His weakness, can\u2019t let it affect you. Now, I\u2019m not saying total abstinence\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care about that, Father,\u201d Minnie speaks up. \u201cI just thought, now Roger and I are married\u2026we\u2019d make each other stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, honey. And don’t get me wrong, you\u2019re well-matched. Wouldn\u2019t have advised this union otherwise. But Roger\u2019s got issues to work through and you can\u2019t let him hold you back. Strong, proud black woman like you\u2014I think you could stand to be more withholding, Minnie.\u201d Jim gestures from Minnie to all the young couples clustered on the plush carpet. \u201cMasturbation, that\u2019s fine. But no sex. We don\u2019t want any pregnancies at this time and we don\u2019t want ego-trips. It\u2019s egocentric to waste time on sex when you could be contributing to the Cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenny catches Terra\u2019s eye. She smiles a little and bobs her head. Lenny does the same.<\/p>\n

After that, Jim lectures Roger for a while. Lenny is sort of glad to see Roger Luce in trouble. Roger is handsome. Roger\u2019s nose side-on is like a Greek statue\u2019s. Roger\u2019s eyes are blue ice chips. Roger lived in the same house as Terra, until recently. But the incessant talk of \u2018overcompensation\u2019 and \u2018latent homosexuality\u2019 is boring; Lenny has heard it enough times in midweek meetings, where guys like Roger and Johnny Bronco are often brought up for being vain or playing the field. So Lenny turns his attention to the carpet, pretending it\u2019s blue moss; to the children\u2019s fingerpaintings tacked on the wall; to his new wife and the women who aren’t his wife: Jo\u2026Laura\u2026Minnie\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only when Jim\u2019s speech takes a sudden turn that Lenny\u2019s ears prick up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy marriage ain\u2019t no different from anyone\u2019s. I trust all you here to understand that,\u201d Jim utters modestly, hands clasped, chin doubled down at the carpet. \u201cThere\u2019s highs and lows. Strength and weakness. Rosaline, I love that woman, never saw a better mother, but she\u2019s not so strong.\u201d He shakes his head. \u201cPhysically and mentally, she\u2019s unstable. It\u2019s not easy for her, living with the burden of my future assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a melancholy hush. It\u2019s not the first time Jim has mentioned that he will someday have to die for the Cause, but it\u2019s always a bummer to think about.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, darlings, the burden gets too much for Mother. She loses sight\u2014and this is something not many in this church know, but I think you\u2019re advanced enough to hear it\u2014loses sight of her destiny as a mother to our people.\u201d Jim sighs. \u201cSome of you may have heard rumors. Lenny, Terra\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

They flinch, one after another, as if catching a jolt of static electricity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank you for your discretion. You\u2019ve shown yourselves to be deeply worthy of my trust. But we don\u2019t got nothing to hide.\u201d He unclasps his hands. \u201cSo long as Mother is struggling, I\u2019ll continue to hold her up. I know how much you need her, and she needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can we do?<\/em>\u201d Jo pipes up, her voice dopily drawn-out.<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly what you\u2019re doing, sweetheart. You keep on putting our Temple family first, that\u2019s enough. Mother, she\u2019ll regain her strength, but till then, we gotta maintain the order. Make sure the old folks, the little ones, they don\u2019t worry their heads over empty gossip. Children need to know they\u2019re loved.\u201d<\/em> Jim raises his head. \u201cTerra? Terra, sweetheart\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenny watches Terra stir; flick her hair and rub her legs, as though cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cSister Phyllis tells me you doin\u2019 wonderful work at the daycare. Now, some of us been talkin\u2019 \u2019bout putting together a camping trip for the school-age kids. And we want you to be Head Counsellor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?<\/em>\u201d Terra widens her eyes. \u201cWow\u2026Hey, what\u2019s \u2018Head Counsellor\u2019 do anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, first order, honey, you wanna nominate some co-counsellors. I\u2019m thinking five sisters, five brothers\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Terra beams over her shoulder. \u201cBrother Lenny?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNotsofast, there.\u201d Jim laughs. \u201cI want you to be objective as possible, sweetheart. Bear in mind, Lenny\u2019s got his own responsibilities: alternate service, weekend job\u2026Right, son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Lenny says, feeling the glow of Jim\u2019s gaze. \u201cI guess\u2026it\u2019d be hard to get the time off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to mention, we gotta keep the communes operating smoothly. Both of you gone from Red Creek, gonna put an unfair strain on the other residents, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Jim turns back to Terra. \u201cI want you to consider this socialistically, honey. Don\u2019t be swayed by personal attach\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura?\u201d Terra butts in. She starts counting on her fingers. \u201cDale, Jorge, Angie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSonofabitch, you gonna let me talk?\u201d Jim blusters, and they all laugh. \u201cI said, not so fast. You see Phyllis tomorrow. Give her ten names and she\u2019ll pass \u2019em on. Got it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terra straightens her back like a class pet, and everyone laughs some more. Jim\u2019s sunglasses flash as he tilts his head, twists his lips. \u201cCan\u2019t get a word in edgeways, that\u2019s the truth. Now, all you: don\u2019t matter if you\u2019re part of this or not; your contributions, they\u2019re just as valued. Every letter you write, every toilet you scrub, it helps the Cause\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He goes on in this vein for some time, before turning to Dwight Vandenberg, the desirability of Su-mi taking a secretarial job in the DA\u2019s office instead of starting college as planned. Terra rests her arm against Lenny\u2019s, mouths, \u201cSorry,<\/em>\u201d and Lenny smiles, shrugs. Sure, he\u2019ll miss her, and sure, there\u2019s a feeling he doesn\u2019t want to acknowledge, like milk left to sour. But a couple of days, her and a bunch of kids in the woods, no big deal, right?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nearing midnight when the meeting breaks up, and Lenny\u2019s stomach is grizzling again; his legs are tingling and stiff. Jim says, \u201cRemember, we\u2019re in a danger cycle, so don\u2019t forget to walk around your car three times,\u201d then embraces each of them as they filter out in hazy, foot-dragging clusters. \u201cSon<\/em>,\u201d Lenny notices Jim beckon Roger just as he and Minnie are making a beeline for the door, \u201cI need you to stay for one-on-one counselling, remember.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Roger blanches. Blinks quickly and mumbles something Lenny doesn\u2019t hear. Too bad for him, Lenny thinks, without really feeling bad.<\/p>\n

But Minnie, she\u2019s got those beautiful dark eyes flashing at the sight of Jim encircling Roger\u2019s neck, talking close, his tone at once chastising and tender. Minnie drops her gaze. Shoves her hands deep in the pockets of her India-print dress; heavy-lidded eyes, long eyelashes; long neck, lovely oblong face, widow\u2019s peak. Hurries past Lenny and Terra through the sanctuary, out to the parking lot, then stops, like she doesn\u2019t know where to go for all those galaxies blinking down on her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinnie!\u201d Terra calls. \u201cWait up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Minnie turns. Swipes a tear.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinnie, what\u2019s wrong?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

She only shakes her head, mutters, \u201cOh, Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all she\u2019ll say, no matter how much Terra coaxes. Unease eats at Lenny as he looks away from the girls: at the clouds drifting over the moon like dirty water, the blinds lidding the sockets of the great glass windows. Or maybe he\u2019s just hungry. He looks across the parking lot at Laura, Jo, and Dwight as they laughingly trot in circles around Dwight\u2019s shiny Aston Martin\u2014a gift from Dwight\u2019s rich dad, frowned upon by the Temple. Terra asks if Minnie\u2019s going to wait for Roger. Minnie doesn\u2019t know. Terra looks at Lenny.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey\u2026Can we give you a ride?\u201d he offers.<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

They drop Minnie at her parents\u2019 house down in Prosperity. Ursa, Minnie\u2019s adopted white sister, runs out to meet the car in her nightie like a kid from some Amish backwater, and spends a long time admiring the yellow paintjob, making Minnie admonish, \u201cUrsa<\/em>, it\u2019s late<\/em>.\u201d Then there\u2019s the dark, winding journey back to Red Creek, just a hamlet to the northeast, named for the trickle running through its red dirt. Through the ride, Terra talks about poor Minnie, who Roger shouldn\u2019t take for granted; she\u2019s so nice, so smart, so pretty, not just \u2018pretty for a black girl\u2019, but maybe prettiest in the Temple\u2014don\u2019t you think? On and on until they get inside and have to be quiet, can\u2019t wake Martha and Nessa needs all the sleep she can get before the baby comes. Looking at the strip of darkness under Nessa\u2019s door, Lenny thinks of the times he\u2019s seen it lit up, Nessa and Eustace\u2019s voices crawling out from under it, and wondered if black couples talk about the same things in private as white couples do. In their own room, Terra turns on the lamp with the colorful scarf draped over it, casting psychedelic patterns across the walls, the bed. She sets the alarm for four-thirty. Undresses. Lies down, hands on her midriff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe Father chose me,\u201d <\/em>she says, to Lenny or maybe to the ceiling.<\/p>\n

(Laura Elizabeth Woollett is an Australian writer. Her <\/em>Peoples Temple novel\u00a0<\/em>Beautiful Revolutionary\u00a0is due to be published in Australia in early 2018. Her guest blog for the Melbourne Writers Festival about her research trip to the United States is\u00a0here<\/a>. Her other piece in this edition of <\/em>the jonestown report is Leaving Jonestown<\/a>. Visit her website at\u00a0http:\/\/lauraelizabethwoollett.com<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(Author\u2019s Note: This excerpt from my forthcoming novel Beautiful Revolutionary takes place in the summer of 1969 \u2013 a period in which many hippies and college-educated youth were drawn to Peoples Temple. After his first wife leaves him for Temple leader Jim Jones, young pacifist Lenny Lynden finds himself in an arranged marriage and living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":71043,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-70333","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70333"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120837,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/70333\/revisions\/120837"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}