A TRUE »TORY
them in passing before. But now I examined them more closely. The brief bits I read were strangely exciting. I rationalized that every church member, and especially a Sunday school teacher, should know the full contents of these so-called sexy books which were flooding the market. So I bought my first dirty book. That night I read my first dirty book. It did things to me. I had biological churnings never before experienced. I became so emotion ally involved in the story that I dreamed about it that night. And the next day at work I just couldn’t shake the love scenes from my thinking. On my way home from work that night, I bought my second dirty book. This one was better than the first. Soon I was an addict. Nightly I lavishly delved into the literary world o f promiscuity. Bible read ing took second place. My wife never knew what I
was reading because I always tore off the covers and told her they were westerns and mystery sto ries. It was the first time I had ever lied to her. Soon the love scenes and orgies became a little “ flat” and I didn’t get the “ charge” out o f them I used to. But I found a remedy. I found that if I drank a glass o f liquor before reading a dirty book, it would again have some “ excitement” to it ! I drank vodka and juice. I was told this type of drink could not be detected on my breath. This was important, be cause I had to keep all this activi ty from my wife. I even started chewing gum just in case. Of course, this had its effects. I started making mistakes at work, so much so that my boss had a private “ session” with me. I was short-tempered with my kids. My Sunday school class suf fered too. Somehow, the Bible les sons didn’t seem very important anymore. I stopped praying. One 21
D ir t y b o o k s are cheap. And once you start reading one, it’s almost impossible to set it aside. The story I’m about to tell is being told anonymously because I’m too ashamed to reveal my true identity; but its telling might help someone else. So, here is my story and the price / had to pay for the dirty book. I always considered myself a good Christian. I taught a Sunday school class, was active on several church committees and longed to see souls saved. My position with the company where I worked gave my family a certain amount of security even after tithing. In short, I considered myself Mr. Average Church Member. One day while waiting for my two daughters to drink their milk shakes in a drugstore, I wan dered over to the bookrack which held hundreds of dirty books. I wasn’t shocked because I had seen
JULY/AUGUST, 1969
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