the air and the fish in the stream but hes not a fool. I light the candle,
I kneel at his statue and beg him to get me out of fifth class where Im
stuck with my brother, who is probably going around the lane now
bragging that his big brother was kept back. St. Francis doesnt say a
word but I know hes listening and I know hell get me out of that class.
Its the least he could do after all my trouble coming to his statue, sit-
ting on steps,holding on to walls,when I could have gone to St.Josephs
Church and lit a candle to the Little Flower or the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Himself.Whats the use of being named after him if hes going to desert
me in my hour of need?
I have to sit in Mr. ODeas class listening to the catechism and all
the other stuff he taught last year. Id like to raise my hand and give the
answers but he says, Be quiet, let your brother answer. He gives them
tests in arithmetic and makes me sit there and correct them. He dictates
to them in Irish and makes me correct what theyve written.Then he
gives me special compositions to write and makes me read them to the
class because of all I learned from him last year. He tells the class, Frank
McCourt is going to show you how well he learned to write in this class
last year. Hes going to write a composition on Our Lord, arent you,
McCourt? Hes going to tell us what it would be like if Our Lord had
grown up in Limerick which has the Arch Confraternity of the Holy
Family and is the holiest city in Ireland.We know that if Our Lord had
grown up in Limerick He would never have been crucified because the
people of Limerick were always good Catholics and not given to cru-
cifixion. So, McCourt, you are to go home and write that composition
and bring it in tomorrow.
Dad says Mr. ODea has a great imagination but didnt Our Lord
suffer enough on the cross without sticking Him in Limerick on top of
it with the damp from the River Shannon. He puts on his cap and goes
for a long walk and I have to think about Our Lord by myself and won-
der what Im going to write tomorrow.
The next day Mr. ODea says,All right, McCourt, read your com-
position to the class.
The name of my composition is
The title, McCourt, the title.
The title of my composition is,Jesus and the Weather.
What?
Jesus and the Weather.
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