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Talitha Cumi Update
The contest is over now that we've had 4 winners. The correct
solutions to both the Talitha Cumi question and the extra credit surprise bonus
question about Tabitha Cumi, are in the journal narrative below that my father
sent to me after a visit to the Amarillo Texas Waffle House.
(My father is a recognized Biblical Scholar)
Talitha Cumi at the Waffle House
Amarillo, Texas. On the Interstate there are endless
motels and restaurants. We arrived at rush hour. Missed our exit for the Quality
Inn--for which we had a $5-off coupon. We wanted to go to the Big Texan for
dinner--the home of the FREE 72 oz. steak--if you could eat it all at one
setting. But you couldn’t even find a parking place. So we checked into the
Quality Inn (remember the name doesn’t say what level of “quality” you will
find) in what turned out to be the truck stop section of town.
We decided to walk to the Waffle House for dinner. We had driven more than 500
miles already and didn’t care to get back on the Interstate at 6:00 o’clock in
search of a place to eat. So we crawled under the rail fence that stood between
us and the Waffle House. The Barbecue Barn and its parking lot had been closed
and fenced off. But we crawled through the fence and ordered dinner at the
Waffle House. It wasn’t the cleanest place and when the waitress dropped the
Sweet and Low packet on the floor she just picked it up, laid it on the table
next to my ice tea glass and then put the ice tea spoon right on the dropped and
dirty packet. I struggled through convincing myself that I had survived worse
food in the Philippines and Mexico.
But then something happened that made the experience exquisite. it wasn’t the
sausage that I would be belching up for the next 12 hours. Rather it was a sign.
From where I sat I could see into the back room--not a scenic view really,
supplies stacked and aprons hanging, and a sink for dirty dishes. But there was
also a white board that the manager used to write the special instructions to
the workers in felt-tipped marker. Besides the list of workers scheduled for the
night shift there was an admonition. “ALL waitresses are required to complete
their assigned chores 10 minutes before shift change!” Below that message was
written like a signature the words Talitha cumi, words I recognized at
once. There’s a Christian on the loose somewhere around here,” I said to Bettye.”
I asked the waitress who had written the sign. “The manager, or that college
girl who works here, I suppose.”
“The manager or the college girl wrote Talitha cumi?”
“Guess so.”
“Know what that means?”
“No clue.”
Excitedly, I explained, “Talitha
cumi is the Aramaic phrase
Jesus used when he raised
Jairus’s daughter from the dead.”
“Hm,” she said and was off to deliver a pecan waffle to a truck driver at the
next table.
She returned with Bettye’s side of bacon. "Do you know what Talitha cumi
means?” Since she had already told me she didn’t, I explained,
“Idiomatically translated it means “Wake
up, girl!”
She tried her best not to smile, but couldn’t keep from it. All chores done by
10 minutes before shift change—Wake up, girl!
When she brought our check, I couldn’t keep from adding, “And
you know that in the Book of Acts when St. Peter raised
Dorcas,
also known as Tabitha, from the dead he used the same phrase that Jesus used
changing just one letter. Changed the “l” to “b.” He said to the dead woman,
Tabitha cumi—Tabitha,
wake up! And she did!”
Our waitress, wearing a badge with the name Irene on it stared at me holding a
steaming pot of decaf in her hand. On her face was an expression that I
interpreted as I swear, in this business you meet all kinds....
The Texas Panhandle is as boring as your ceiling on a sleepless night, but when
you bump into Talitha cumi at a truck stop restaurant you’ve found
something more interesting than mile-markers and tumble weeds. Imagine meeting
Jesus’ miracle working words at the Waffle House in Amarillo!
Translate this phrase, identify who spoke it and on what occasion.
Win any Tshirt we have for sale at
our Ebay store:
It's just that easy, check out our ebay store and pick out a T-shirt (Check the Mary Magdalene T-shirt link on the left hand side at the store) then, send me an email with your name, shipping address, choice of T-shirt, and last but not least your translation, with the name of the speaker. If your translation is right or close, and you nail whose words they were, I'll send you one of our unique t-shirts at no cost to you. Shipping is free anywhere in the United States. (For extra credit and a surprise bonus gift, also identify who spoke, "Tabitha Cumi".)
Send your entry to dwaynaw@verizon.net