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the entire Negro population of the community) must be seated in the prestigious and coveted downstairs pews, before the altar - the white mourners seated only in the uncomfortable, tucked-away-out-of-sight balcony pews. It was, in Dan's view, a clear issue of priorities.
On the morning of the funeral services for Dan Williams, the church was filled to overflowing, the seating arrangement dictated by his will adhered to strictly, according to Dan's dying wishes - and the shock of surprise on the humiliated faces of those who were ushered firmly to the balcony pews was something to forever remember. Throughout the services they sat there, ramrod straight and red-faced, in barely suppressed resentment. The Archer had the last word, all the way.
I am certain that somewhere in the place of worship on that miracled May morning, probably over near the stained-glass window through which the Sun was streaming the brightest ever, stood the astral figure of the honour guest, fully cognizant of the scene before him (as all souls who have recently made transition from this dimension to the next always are), with an enormous grin on his face, like a mischievous boy. His widow, his children, and his friends were all smiling too, through their tears, in sheer delight, which lightened the sorrow burden of their loss that day in the Christ Episcopal Church. And Christ was smiling with them - also Jesus, the carpenter. Dan's Scorpio wife, Nettie (who was secretly proud of his gesture), was to later remark that, although the whole affair embarrassed her dreadfully, she was nevertheless grateful that Dan had decided to play the last of his infernal practical jokes on someone besides her for a change. (But Nettie William's Pisces Ascendant was pleased.)
When I heard this true story, my joy was interrupted for an instant by a puzzling question. "How was it," I asked Mary Ann, "that Dan was so sure h'ed be able to pull off his glorious Jupiter caper, his thundering chord of Truth? After all, the offended whites might have turned at the door, and left, in a fury. The deacons of the church could have refused to honour his final request, and tactfully suggested that the services be held at home, or in the local funeral parlour. Your father must have been someone important in that southern community. What was his profession?" Her answer is the most delicious part of the story.
"He was," Mary Ann twinkled, with a trace of her dad's mischievous grin, "the Democratic ward leader - and the Chief of Police."
Is the magic working Has it reached all those Pisceans who dream of the Neverland of Brotherhood and Sisterhood, and who are therefore nearer to the Sagittarian ideal than they think? Are you Fish and Archers hopefully grinning at each other now? Do you Pisceans admit that the Sagittarians who bug you are just the type to pull off such a prank, and if you thought you could get away with it, you'd join them? Fantastic! We're making progress.
Just as the frequently cleansing (but also sometimes rude and unnecessary) Sagittarian habit of slinging the awful truth in the face of a friend and stranger alike wounds and annoys Pisces, the Fish's habit of playing subtle games with truth hurts and infuriates the Archers, who often angrily accuse the Fish of being outright liars. That's not fair, Sag. Pisces people don't lie. They just now and then avoid the truth. Think about it, and you'll see it's not the same thing. Have you thought about it? Good. Now, think about this. Pisceans have only two reasons for avoiding the truth, on those occasions when they do it. They swim away from an explicit answer or statement of fact either because it (1) involves something very intimate and personal about their own private lives, in which case it's none of your business, or anyone else's (will you please admit that?); or because (2) it might possibly, in the Fish's compassionately considered opinion, be hurtful to someone, and therefore would serve no useful purpose - in which case, you must recognize this as an ethic somewhat less abrasive than your own. Right? Your Jupiter ethic is honesty, whatever the cost or the damage. Their Neptune ethic is evasiveness, to avoid the emotional drain of conflict (for themselves and others) whenever possible. But an ethic is an ethic,
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