All Comments on 'National Confess Your Adultery Day'

So how many of his kids were actually her lovers' bastards?

The setup was good, but you ended it before we found out if Stanley was a hypocrite.

Surely the demand for “finish the damn story” will be loud, but that is not, I assume, Mr. Richard’s point. The burden of a truly thoughtful response to what happens next is, I suspect, squarely to be borne by the reader. Who are you? Forgive or avenge?

The continuum of reactions to adultlry should be necessarily as nuanced as the complex and multi-variable possible circumstances of a fling/affair - assuming the offended spouse has the emotional wherewithal to react thoughtfully. His/her ultimate response though will be as much a statement of the nature of his/her own character as a judgement of the “sinner”. Who are you?

Thanks for the story. A little bit of Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce stirred into the Loving Wives stew.

Damn, the real story was what happened next. Her confession could be seen coming from two miles away.

and all the implications intended = TK U MLJ LV NV

. . . I ended the story before we found out if the Reverend Roberts was a hypocrite. In fact, I set it up so that he was trapped: he had no choice but to forgive Dottie’s adultery! If he did not, all of his plans to become a successful televangelist would come crashing down.

Are all of Dottie’s four children, plus the bun in the oven, his? Not only is he trapped into forgiving her, he is trapped into not getting them DNA tested. The forgiveness he preached won’t allow him to treat any of the children differently, nor pursue investigation. He’s just plain stuck.

The idea for this story came to me, in the shower, on Wednesday morning, and was written in one sitting.

It's a good, fun tale and I hope it scores well.

After all we need to see if the Reverend has forgiveness or spite in his heart.

I'm firmly of the belief that an ended affair, NEVER to be repeated, should NOT be confessed.

That simply transfers the burden of guilt off of the guilty party and dumps it onto the shoulders of the innocent victim.

. . . to anyone who wishes to use National Confess Your Adultery Day as the start of another story. I set it up so that millions of people might just confess to their husbands or wives that they had strayed, with the expectation of forgiveness, but not every spouse will forgive, or forget. Since it’s nationwide, you can set the story anywhere.

Guess you wanted to add arrogant ignorance of his own wife being the town slut? And of course, religious hypocrisy when he kicks her and her bastards to the curb. Wonder how many Christian marriages and lives will be destroyed by the fallout. I suspect it makes you all warm and fuzzy, imagining the uptight self-righteous prigs getting their just deserts.

Guess I should have more sympathy for your intended light hearted lampoon of Christian aspirations and human failings. Maybe you could next do a story about some arrogant successful oncologist losing his wife and children to various forms of cancer. What a hoot.

Massive increases in divorce rates? Violence?

I like cute and original. 5*

[By the way it was the worst idea in history -- confession may be good for the soul, but it is horrible for relationships. Too bad the Rev didn't know that -- ha, ha).

We need to talk? Then the end or the beginnings. Please finish

Reed we know how much you hate religion and all, but I found a twist in your story. While you set it up for his wife to be the adulterer I took it as she was going to say she forgave him. Eat that.

No tension and no follow up

The damn story. You had a good hook, but you killed it by not giving a resolution.

His Mrs was about shake his world!...Story was quite "As they say.

...Breath of fresh air " Wow can you imagine the Ramifications of such a Day!...I suppose it's followed by National Divorce Day or is it...Find a new Reverend Day.. So I come to the end of my comment!..5 Stars..★★★★★ WOOF!

Another idiotic bible thumper. When Dottie tells her husband none of the kids are his she's about to find herself broke and with nowhere to live because Stanley is gonna be outta there! The hell with being a national figure. No man, even a crazy preacher, is going to raise another man's/men's children. This was a deadend story. Poorly thought out and badly written.

... is nonsense. Just to nitpick that one, since I hate to see people quoting it as gospel.

The study is literally used in college statistics classes as an example of how *not* to accurately sample a population; it was a voluntary response study in which only 4% of people bothered to mail back the questionnaire (and given that 98% of them stated they were unhappy in their marriage, the response population might have been a bit biased).

Also, unable to read the original German to know if this is a valid complaint, but there's a claim that she asked whether the person had ever had "sex outside of marriage"... which respondents took to include sex with anyone before they were married.

The studies which show 20-25% for men and 10-15% for women are a lot more plausible.

Yes, it was predictable. That's ok. I wanted the reveal though!

You cheated me out of the glory! Ha ha ha

But you gave me an idea for a story...

...and original. I must admit I didn't understand what many of the commentators were whining about. I'm a believer but here in the US much of what passes for religious observance is patently absurd and more-than-a-few kleptomaniac pastors take advantage of the credulousness.

You say "The idea for this story came to me, in the shower, on Wednesday morning, and was written in one sitting."

The LW commentariat can't tolerate stories that don't tie all the ends off in a nice neat bow. Even a whimsical little idea like this one must be drawn to a proper conclusion.

Maybe a long soaking bath before your next story?

Lue

Ps: I liked it, and whether or not the Shere Hite study (or any other of these disputed studies) was valid is irrelevant.

Good one Reed. Put the Rev in a pickle here. Back to the humor. I like it.

This was original (rare in this category) and a great starting point for continuations, like Troubador's "How High a Price."

... is the rest of it?

Now, how many extra police officers would any town have to hire in order to get through that one day? The homicide and domestic violence rates would spike, not to mention the alcohol-related crimes. Spouses who did not cheat would be afraid to even speak to one another for fear the other might misunderstand the intent. Oh boy, that would be a bad day! <smile>

for the cardboard bullet you fired at the end?

No Sale!

I knew it was coming but I kept on reading this clever and fast paced story. To those who want chapter two I say this was a joke and "we need to talk" was the punch line.

R.

With 5 kids in as many years (almost) and the Rev working all those hours to grow his congregation I thought Dottie was getting some 'help' in the baby-making department. I liked the way you tied in bible verses to flesh out the story. The ending was perfect. Good job RR.

Luedon, old friend(s). Can you ever.lighten up on comments about the dear commenters. Without the commentariat, a lot of us lose a lot of reason to read, excepting entertainment and all that. Find another windmill to tilt against, one not quite so Quixotic.

Enjoyed the twist at the end, even if it was expected. Now for the follow up.

A national move on with your life without your slut wife or husband day. It’s healing to forgive but it’s liberating to forget. So on Sunday he should come out and forgive her publicly. Nothing is more easing as sharing your pain with others. This way his wife won’t have to go through life with the pain of acting pure. She can move on knowing that everyone knows she is a slut. So that will take care of the forgiving. Now for the forgetting. Let her know that she is free to continue her lifestyle unencumbered by any feelings of guilt about what she did to his love, trust and respect for her. Since it no longer exists. Take the St. Louis job and wish her well in whatever she does. But, as far as he is concerned she no longer matters and will not be involved in his future plans.

I don’t know about you but forgive and forget really sounds cleansing to the soul. DONT YOU THINK!!?!!? What great way to finalize the event. Can’t wait to see how the 2nd annual event plays out..........

. . . I had no particular vision in my head that any of their children weren’t his. Musing about it, if there were an enraged question about paternity, I picture Dottie saying, “Oh, good grief, just look at them, and you can see that they’re all yours!”

. . . no man, not even a crazy preacher, is going to raise another man’s children. Given that the Reverend Roberts is a Christian, and Christmas is about, among other things, Joseph rearing a child that isn’t his, perhaps that comment isn’t quite accurate.

"he had no choice but to forgive Dottie’s adultery!"

We always have a choice. Some choices might be totally abhorrent, but in a moment of temporary insanity anything could happen. People have lost their faith under far less traumatic circumstances and a godless man in a vengeful fury might be capable of anything... Especially if he felt backed into a corner.

Assuming he didn't just kill his wife and her illegitimate children in a murderous rage, he might quit his ministry and just abandon his family. He might decide he couldn't live with the slut and divorce her, hypocrisy and his career be damned. He might have a breakdown as his world is destroyed. He might kick her to the kerb and become a fire and brimstone preacher that hates adultery...

For each additional child that is a bastard, the chance of him doing something drastic greatly increase. If none of the children are his, I'd say that by far the least likely scenario is that he'd forgive the wife.

Great idea for a story.

And a strong solid plot.

Right up to the end of the story.

Which felt not to be the end of the story.

The end showed how much was missing.

That is the relationship of preacher and wife.

Before the end, this was an excellent story.

4 out of 5 from me.

Until the ending. The plot device was good although it gave away the ending. I liked the dialogue. The non ending left a lot unsaid. Was she cheating on him? Were the kids his. So much was left on the table. I would have liked to see what happened.

&quot;Reed we know how much you hate religion and all, but I found a twist in your story. While you set it up for his wife to be the adulterer I took it as she was going to say she forgave him. Eat that.&quot;

You've gotten it completely wrong: I don't hate religion at all! I do have some contempt for the televangelists who get so very wealthy.

&quot;A national move on with your life without your slut wife or husband day. It&rsquo;s healing to forgive but it&rsquo;s liberating to forget. So on Sunday he should come out and forgive her publicly. Nothing is more easing as sharing your pain with others. This way his wife won&rsquo;t have to go through life with the pain of acting pure. She can move on knowing that everyone knows she is a slut.&quot;

This comment -- and many others -- assume that if Dottie committed adultery, she is a slut. Did she cheat just one time? Did she have one affair that lasted a short time and ended? Has she been screwing around their entire marriage? None of that was specified. but the comments are written as though it was the last possibility.

From a Christian perspective -- again: her husband is a Protestant minister and we're coming up on Christmas -- when Joseph realized that Mary was pregnant, and not by him, Matthew 1:19 states, &quot;Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.&quot; Joseph was not going to accuse her of adultery, which would have resulted in her possibly being stoned to death, nor have Mary punished in any way other than by divorce. In effect, he was going to leave her in a state in which she could have gone to another community and claimed to be a young widow, and find another husband.

Your comment would have had this Christian preacher treating his wife worse than Joseph was going to treat Mary, before the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Would a preacher who came up wit the idea of National Confess Your Adultery Day have acted that way?

Congratulations you had me involved. So True

We want certainty in life, and we hope that our parents will provide it.

As we accumulate years and experience, we realise that there are few certainties and learn to tolerate ambiguity. Some do it better than others.

Lue

Or did she mean that she knew HE had committed adultery, and in the context he owed it to her to fess up?

Story belongs in Humor & Satire. Moderately enjoyable bit of fluff.

To end with such a joke ending. We knew from the start she was going to confess to adultery, so why all the color commentary just to have her do that? It would be more interesting to see what he would do once he found the snake in his own garden. Would he follow his own preaching and forgive? Or would he admit to his own congregation that he couldn't? Would all his plans come spinning down around his head? And then if any of the kids were not his (especially since you set it up with his insistance of no birth control)! I was waiting for that one! As it stands, it is a big build up for a small no surprise surprise party.

How many marriages did he ruin? A national disaster as tens of thousands of couples follow his advice? I wanted to see the meltdown his naivete would engender. You set it up as a big splash and it ends with barely a toe tip. So my complaint is more "big hat, little cattle" or "much Ado about nothing" since you spun the narrative of your one trick pong well enough. Too bad, could have been a good one. 2*

(And WTF are you doing in DeGarde? Make up your own fictional town ffs!)

From the start, I saw her confession coming. I expected more than dropping it after the dreaded sentence. The whole point seemed more about his reaction, than a cheap punch line. Definitely disappointing that it ended on a whimper.

A good.one from back in thebday, when Reed was funny. Good story.

Spoilt when we did not get the confession of when,how and who with explanation.

Needs a better conclusion. How many of the kids are really his? How long and how many affairs??

I liked the story

I knew his wife cheated on him the story implied it

Then it happen and we’re left hanging

We’re any of his children his

How bad was she as a slut or whore

Did he do as he said reached or ran and ran far

Hilarious. Perfect ending.

Ha! 5 stars. Would have been better, if she confessed it at church, in front of everybody!

Not enough people have heard White's Chappaquiddick Theorem: The sooner and in more detail you reveal the bad news, the better (unless nobody finds out).

Cute; 5* from me.

Good story, but you needed to use a different church denomination. From other readings, I have gathered that the Methodist church has a hierarchy of administration that places preachers in churches. The congregation doesn't look for a new minister and Methodist ministers don't interview for jobs.

Damn whore

Unfortunately, the author didn’t write about the talk OR what happened during & after the church that & following days. The start of the story was misleading. Did the minister’s wife speak up during church or alone with hubby.

As such, a 3 when it could’ve been a 4-5. — Bob

I enjoy the story’s plot, but sure would have enjoyed more of and ending.

Les

Why would you leave the readers hanging at the end with "Honey, we need to talk" come on Finish the dam story.

No, that ending works perfectly.

Usually the story isn't good enough to be unfinished, but in this case it works as well as one of Roald Dahl's "Tales of the Unexpected".

The whole POINT of this story is to leave the reader hanging on an unexpected twist and it's done very well indeed here.

So the Christian preacher's wife is a whore.

Excellent.

Wonder how many of those kids are not his? DNA tests when the kids come in for lunch...

The "Honey, we need to talk" could easily be something innocuous. Though, the 'steeling herself' comment bodes fearful and exciting anticipation!

I agree with the other commentators that why should we rack our brains? RR should be the one.

Yup! I read this being a reader not an author.

Finish the damned story!

Bill S.

Gee, I thought the ‘twist’ would be obvious once We-The-Readers heard about Sweetie’s fecundity. There are nuances with FTDS, but the original within LIT, I think, was when an author submitted a story with a Ch1 in the title and a TBC at the end but left the story with a couple were eating breakfast before catching a plane to Hawaii for vacation. Several months later, that author submits a tale in a vastly different category, but the earlier story is still unfinished 6 years later. A story which needs to be finished.

A story which ends “and then the blade of the guillotine is released!” probably does NOT!

Addendum

There seem to be some authors (matched by some WTR commenters) who take us to the death bed, complete with great-grandkids, of a character who Burned The Bitch and Blinded The Bull 55 years before. Also unneeded, finish wise!

"Oh, I DO wonder what she is about to say? I can NOT imagine WHAT she is going to tell him? Can YOU?"

"Perhaps she is about to ask his opinion on which frock she should wear today, or what to cook for dinner later?"

ok but for the predictable cop out ending

Expected and Enjoyed the outcome. Thanks for your writing.

Agreed the ending was pretty obvious.

The abrupt ending doesn't really bother me. There is one question I wish had been addressed by a couple of additional paragraphs. How many of the children are actually his?

I imagine that fire and brimstone preacher’s cheating is way about the average. Remember the Jimmy”s Saggert and Baker. The wife probably banged the sheriff. But not the deputy.

Another incomplete story. ;-(

Which kids are his?

Did the preacher forgive his wife?