Given the latest deluge of Trump-related foolishness going down, it seems like we sure are hearing “thrown under the bus” a lot lately. Whenever it is said, I am reminded of the first time I ever heard that phrase used. You see I was the one “thrown under the bus” courtesy of a pastor named Reverend Martin. (I am withholding his last name because I am about to be very critical of him here in the following account.)
This is the story of how I got tossed under the bus courtesy of Reverend Martin.
I was taking wedding photos at Trinity Church in St. Mary’s City where the Good Reverend was the pastor at the time. Trinity is a nice little church but because it is so small, it is a tough place to try and take photo’s. The center aisle is very short, the side aisles are extremely narrow and there isn’t much room in the back of the church. Overall, it’s just too small a place to negotiate around comfortably and do what you got to do to try and photograph a wedding ceremony there.
On top of that, Rev. Martin did not like photographers and made no bones about it. He told you that right up front. (Note – it is a well known trade secret that most priests, ministers, and wedding officials simply hate photographers and view/treat them as a major pain.) To his credit though Rev. Martin was very honest about all this to the point that when I first introduced myself to him he replied “I hate wedding photographers.”
So I knew where I stood with him and adjusted accordingly. I was always very careful to mind all of his rules. I had worked with him several times and had a good understanding of what he was ok with photo-wise and what not to do. Or so I thought.
I was at an evening ceremony there and I set up in the rear of the Church to photograph the couple at the altar as they exchanged vows. Before the vow exchange though, Rev. Martin was making his remarks. He was not doing so at the pulpit as usual but was standing in the aisle talking about what a wonderful occasion it was, with a wonderful couple they were and all the usual blather commonly said in a wedding sermon.
However, as he was right in mid sentence Martin stopped, hesitated a moment and then called over the altar boy. He whispered something to the altar boy and then waited while the altar boy strolled down the side aisle. Everyone in the congregation turned and watched as the altar boy came up to me and informed me that Martin wanted me to put my equipment away and get out.
Upon hearing this, I looked directly at Martin up the aisle and pantomimed asking “Me, out?” I pointed at myself, gestured thumb out and gave him my best WTH expression. He nodded very sternly, gave me the umpire’s thumbs up signal for “Out” and just for good measure nodded his head sideways to make sure that I had gotten the message.
I folded up my tripod, grabbed my gear and beat feet out the door. As I made my way out the door I could heard Martin apologizing to the congregation and continuing with his remarks.
When he finished talking, Martin called upon the couple to exchange their rings and vows and proceeded to marry them. I very gingerly slipped back inside the Church and took the photos I needed. As I did so though, I kept my fingers crossed that Martin wouldn’t toss me out a second time which he didn’t.
Following the ceremony, I immediately went back to Martin and asked him what I had done wrong to warrant my eviction. He said that he was very sorry, but that he had lost his train of thought as he gave his remarks and needed a diversion to try and buy time to regroup and to collect his thoughts. He explained “So I threw you under the bus to make it look like it was your fault. Sorry”
I only felt a little better knowing that it was on him and not something that I had done. Too, knowing that I would have to work with him again in the future, I played it off that it wasn’t that big a deal and that I was relieved that he wasn’t really upset with me after all.
That’s what I said to him but deep down inside what I really wanted to do was throw him somewhere like out the door onto the sidewalk and beat the crap out of him.
However, ironically, as mad as I was back then when all of this went down, now every time I hear “thrown under the bus” a part of me laughs recalling the night Martin threw me not only under the bus but also out of the Church. Not everybody can say that they have had that particular experience. Too bad Trump doesn’t go to Church so perhaps he too could match Rev. Martin with his type of diversionary tactics.
Johnny Paycheck also knows what it’s like to be thrown out of a Church; he even wrote a song about it: