Al Shifflett

The Blue Ice Patrol Al Shifflett

On the first day of summer vacation three seventh grade boys lay on an island in the middle of Lake Papakeechie. On that day two jet airliners crisscrossed in the blue Indiana sky, and one of them dropped a round blue object that hit the lake and bobbed to the surface like a giant blue cork. The boys retrieved the object, and discovered it was mushy and salty and toilet bowl waste which they called Blue Ice from Heaven. They stashed it in the freezer until something could be done-that something was a fiendish plot to use the ice in the blueberry punch for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Lake Papakeechie. On the day of the celebration the boys spiked the punch with the blue ice and waited. After speeches, the Homeowners Association lifted their glasses to toast the lake--down the hatch went the punch! For a fleeting second all board members had the most painful expressions. Color drained from their faces and they looked like human geysers about to blow. The boys cracked: "the blue ice is working!" Instantly, the proper ladies on the Homeowners Association hiked their skirts and rubbed furiously at their mouths turning in circles like banshee spirits! The male board members stomped, coughed and yelled like savages and behaved like the non-elect with more cursing than when the devil was kicked out of heaven. The boys took in every glorious moment with such riotous hilarity that it was obvious to all that they were guilty as sin. The old Judge present tried the boys on the spot and sentenced them to community service around the lake; their names would be inscribed into the minutes as the infamous "Blue Ice Patrol." Only Providence would provide a way to lift their shame. Al Shifflett is from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and holds a B. S. in Business Administration (Bridgewater College) and degrees from Ashland Theological Seminary (M. Div. & D. Min.). He has written many published articles and has three books: Blue Jeans Theology of James, The Beast of the East, and Night Auditor. He presently lives in Ridgeland, SC., and pastors two United Methodist Churches.