Adversus Judaeos

The story of a brief romance in Warwick, Rhode Island

So this is just a true story about my dating activity before I was married. I have told this story to many people over the years.

When I was in my early twenties, I met a young woman a year or two younger than I. We got along okay and dated for a few months. Her parents were of Irish ancestry in the second generation and still held the strict ways of their ancestors, but seemed to

not have any tolerance of any other ethnicities or religions, and were quite verbal about it. 

This young woman seemed to be neurotic even hearing her parents voices and would try to get away from them as much as possible, but at the same time, not wishing to offend them as they had promised her their home and bank accounts in their wills and she without any real education, or skills other than secretarial, wouldn't really have much of a chance at any type of affluent life style without that, and they knew it and used it, routinely to control her. One mainstay threat was, promising to leave everything to the Roman Catholic Church.

Upon our first meeting, she had to told her parents that I was a Roman Catholic and Irish. With my Scottish last name, it wasn't too much of a stretch and I normally tiptoed around any questions of faith when around them.

I know that I should have seen this coming from the way that I had heard them talk in my previous encounters with them, but anyway, one Sunday early afternoon, her parents had just gotten home from mass and her father, had just gotten out of his car and started complaining about water from the next door neighbor's sprinkler hitting his car.

I guess the pressure was up slightly too high. Anyway he suddenly said, "That Goddamm Jew should watch what he is doing or something to that effect. I then made light of it and said, "Oh we have to remember that Jesus was Jewish, right?"  His reply, simply stunned me and I was unable to continue in any conversation. 

He said in a loud irritated voice, "He was like hell. He was a Catholic, He was the first Catholic"

I knew right then and there, that there was never be any hope for this conversation and within a few day, I knew there would be no longevity in this relationship and I made plans to move on. I did happily move on and eventually met the right woman.

Rev. Edward McClelland 11/9/2023.