Estelle pranced up and down the plastic
runner in the hallway of her home practicing her pageant smile and doing her
queenly wave. Estelle would line her dolls and stuffed animals up and down the
hallway as her audience. Her cousin became the announcer in a loud voice and would
always announce Estelle as the winner. This then gave her time to pretend a
shocked look as Cousin Mort put the plastic red roses in her arms and then slid
the plastic tiara comb in her long brown hair. It was silver with three fake
red jewels. This could go on for hours until dinner or homework won out. The
memory made Cousin Mort smile.
At the age of twenty, Estelle became
first runner up at the Miss Lovely Lady Beauty Pageant. She eventually won the
title when the reigning queen, Viv Cushman, was dethroned because it was
discovered that she was over the legal age of twenty-six for the pageant, married
with children, and not a resident of Lacy. The iron-clad pageant rules of age,
single, and no children could not be broken if one hoped to win the pageant.
Viv thought she’d gotten away with it all,
and the myriad of lies she’d told would help her win the title. She’d managed
to keep her birth and wedding certificates hidden as well as the other stuff. Viv’s carefully constructed house of lies soon
fell apart during her being crowned Miss Lovely Lady. After a judge eyed the
wedding ring Viv forgot and left on her finger, the rest of her lies were soon
discovered with a minimal amount of research.
Viv had done all of this to be seen as
beautiful. She’d been told all her life by her parents in anger how homely and ugly she was. This pageant would
have proven that a lie. One of the vulgar judges on the panel (Harry Xerman)
promised he could make this whole ugly scandal disappear, and she could have
her crown back if Viv would do a little strip tease dance for him and his
drinking buddies at their next Friday night poker game. Viv quickly let Harry
know what he could do with that idea.
Estelle’s yearly pageant duties soon came
into play as she appeared at charitable functions, food drives, banquets,
grocery store openings, festivals, and parades.
Judge Harry discovered a secret about Estelle
soon after her reign began that very well could have dethroned her also. When
Estelle was seventeen she was date raped. Three months into the pregnancy she
miscarried. A word from one of the other judges meant she did not have to
relive the whole horrible ordeal over again. At this time, she still held the
title and crown.[i]
BIBLICAL
INSPIRATION:
This is what happened
during the time when Xerxes was king. Xerxes ruled over the 127 provinces from
India to Ethiopia. 2 King Xerxes ruled from his throne in the
capital city of Susa.
3 In the third year of Xerxes’ rule, he gave a party for his
officers and leaders. The army leaders and important leaders from all of Persia
and Media were there. 4 The party continued for 180 days. All
during this time, King Xerxes was showing the great wealth of his kingdom and
the majestic beauty and wealth of his palace. 5 And when the
180 days were over, King Xerxes gave another party that continued for seven
days. It was held in the inside garden of the palace. All the people who were
in the capital city of Susa were invited, from the most important to the least
important. 6 The inside garden had white and blue linen
hangings around the room. They were held in place with cords of white linen and
purple material on silver rings and marble pillars. There were couches made of
gold and silver. They were sitting on mosaic pavement made of porphyry, marble,
mother-of-pearl, and other expensive stones. 7 Wine was served
in golden cups, and every cup was different. There was plenty of the king’s
wine, because the king was very generous. 8 The king had given
a command to his servants. He told them that each guest must be given as much
wine as he wanted, and the wine server obeyed the king.
9 Queen Vashti also gave a party for the women in the king’s
palace.
10-11 On the seventh day of the party, King Xerxes was in high
spirits from drinking wine. He gave a command to the seven eunuchs who served
him. The eunuchs were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.
He commanded them to bring Queen Vashti to him wearing her royal crown. She was
to come so that she could show her beauty to the leaders and important people.
She was very beautiful.
12 But when the eunuchs told Queen Vashti about the king’s
command, she refused to come. Then the king was very angry. 13-14 It
was the custom for the king to ask the advice of the experts about the law and
punishments. So King Xerxes spoke with the wise men who understood the laws.
They were very close to the king. Their names were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. They were the seven most important
officials of Persia and Media. They had special privileges to see the king.
They were the highest officials in the kingdom. 15 The king
asked them, “What does the law say must be done to Queen Vashti? She has not
obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs had taken to her.”
16 Then Memucan answered the king with the other officials
listening, “Queen Vashti has done wrong. She has done wrong against the king
and also against all the leaders and people of all the provinces of King
Xerxes. 17 I say this, because all the other women will hear
about what Queen Vashti did. Then they will stop obeying their husbands. They
will say to their husbands, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought
to him, but she refused to come.’
18 “Today the wives of the Persian and Median leaders have
heard what the queen did, and these women will be influenced by what she did.
They will do the same thing to the king’s important leaders. And there will be
plenty of disrespect and anger.
19 “So if it pleases the king, here is a suggestion: Let the
king give a royal command and let it be written in the laws of Persia and
Media. The laws of Persia and Media cannot be changed. The royal command should
be that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Let the
king also give her royal position to someone else who is better than she is. 20 Then
when the king’s command is announced in all parts of his large kingdom, all the
women will respect their husbands. From the most important to the least
important, all the women will respect their husbands.”
21 The king and his important officials were happy with this
advice, so King Xerxes did as Memucan suggested. 22 King Xerxes
sent letters to all parts of the kingdom. He sent them to each province,
written in its own language. He sent them to each nation in its own language.
These letters announced in each person’s language that every man was to be the
ruler over his own family.
5 Now there was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai. Mordecai was the son of Jair, and Jair was the son of Shimei, and Shimei was the son of Kish. Mordecai was in the capital city, Susa. 6 Mordecai had been carried into captivity from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He was with the group that was taken into captivity with King Jehoiachin of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah. She didn’t have a father or a mother, so Mordecai took care of her. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a very pretty face and a good figure.
8 When the king’s command had been heard, many young women
were brought to the capital city of Susa. They were put under the care of
Hegai. Esther was one of these women. She was taken to the king’s palace and
put into Hegai’s care. Hegai was in charge of the king’s women. 9 He
liked Esther. She became his favorite, so he quickly gave Esther beauty
treatments and special food. He chose seven slave women from the king’s palace
and gave them to Esther. Then he moved Esther and her seven women servants into
the best place where the king’s women lived. 10 Esther didn’t
tell anyone she was a Jew. She didn’t tell anyone about her family background,
because Mordecai had told her not to. 11 Every day Mordecai
walked back and forth near the area where the king’s women lived. He did this
because he wanted to find out how Esther was, and what was happening to her.
12 Before a young woman could take her turn to go in before
King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments—six months
with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. 13 When
her time came to go in to the king, she could choose to wear or take whatever she
wanted from the women’s living area. 14 In the evening the
young woman would go to the king’s palace. And in the morning she would return
to another area where the king’s women lived. Then she would be placed under
the care of a man named Shaashgaz. He was the king’s eunuch in charge of the
slave women. She would not go back to the king again unless he was pleased with
her. Then he would call her by name to come back to him.
15 The time came for Esther to go to the king. She was the one
Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail. All she wanted to take
with her was what Hegai, the king’s officer in charge of the women, suggested.
Everyone who saw Esther liked her. 16 So Esther was taken to
King Xerxes in the palace. This happened in the tenth month, the month of
Tebeth, in the seventh year of his rule.
17 The king loved Esther more than any of the other young
women, and she became his favorite. He approved of her more than any of the
others. So King Xerxes put a crown on Esther’s head and made her the new queen
in place of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a big party for
Esther. It was for all his important people and leaders. He announced a
festival in all the provinces and sent out gifts to people, because he was a
generous king.
19 Mordecai was sitting next to the king’s gate at the time the
young women were gathered together the second time. 20 Esther
had still kept it a secret that she was a Jew. She had not told anyone about
her family background. This is what Mordecai had told her to do. She still
obeyed Mordecai just as she had done when he was taking care of her.
21 During the time Mordecai was sitting next to the king’s
gate, this happened: Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who
guarded the doorway, became angry with the king. They began to make plans to
kill King Xerxes. 22 But Mordecai learned about these plans and
told Queen Esther. Then she told the king. She also told him that Mordecai was
the one who had learned about the evil plan. 23 Then the report
was checked out. It was learned that Mordecai’s report was true. The two guards
who had planned to kill the king were hanged on a post. All these things were
written down in a book of the king’s histories in front of the king. (Esther 1-2)
That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther everything that belonged to Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. Then Mordecai came to see the king. 2 The king had gotten his ring back from Haman. The king took the ring off his finger and gave it to Mordecai. Then Esther put Mordecai in charge of everything that belonged to Haman.
3 Then Esther spoke to the king again. She fell at the king’s feet and began crying. She begged the king to cancel the evil plan of Haman the Agagite. Haman had thought up the plan to hurt the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. Esther got up and stood in front of the king. 5 Then she said, “King, if you like me and if it pleases you, please do this for me. Please do this if you think it is a good idea. If the king is happy with me, please write a command that would stop the command Haman sent out. Haman the Agagite thought of a plan to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces and he sent out commands for this to happen. 6 I am begging the king because I could not bear to see these terrible things happen to my people. I could not bear to see my family killed.” (Esther 8:1-6)
BIBLICAL
PARTICIPANTS:
Queen Esther, Cousin Mordecai, King Xerxes, Ex-Queen Vashti
[i] Adapted from the book, All for One: the Towns of Ohio Complete Trilogy by Robert A. Kinker, part two (“They’re Just Like Us”), chapter four. All scripture is from the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) of the Bible.
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