Christmas Dog

 Sitting in a room with two scholars arguing over divinity and science I couldn’t help but notice my pet dog lift his leg up to take a piss on our Christmas tree. I quickly interrupted the argument as we all sat and watched the dog pee on the tree and then kindly shake his leg. He then decided to go lay on the Christmas rug to look out the window and watch the snow fall.

This was a special moment. It was clear that it was in the dog’s nature to not care. Now that he’d pissed on the tree it was his territory and there was nothing we could do about it.

Noticing my two friends end their conversation we all decided to squash the debate and just enjoy the holidays.

The Christmas Dog.

Christmas Depression

 My room sat at the top of a skyscraper. Looking down I saw white snow on the ground. For a moment it felt like the spirit was gone. It felt as though the world stopped believing in anything. There was no magic. Now in my forties, I’d seen it all. Women with Santa hats on, kids believing in made up holiday stories. It was as though I’d been suffering from Christmas depression. After realizing that no one cared anymore to celebrate I stood on the ledge and looked down. I then looked up at the North Star and asked God for one more sign. Feeling the wind, I saw a shooting star. “What was the odds of that?” I said to myself.

“Maybe I should keep going, try and live until my body gives out,” I thought.

I needed something more, I’d done everything I could imagine. On my way to take the leap I couldn’t help but notice a note on the ledge. It read: “I too stood on this same ledge but Yahweh came in the form of a shooting star.”

After reading the note embedded in the metal ledge, I decided to step down. Hungry and poor with no money to pay my rent, I decided to go back to the fundamentals. I started reading my Bible myself and while navigating my endless mind I found the true joy and reason for the season. In that moment of truth my Christmas depression turned into The Christmas spirit. I found hope. I found a holiday for me to smile and waive at people I’d never met before. I found the most wonderful time of year never to contemplate suicide again. Yeshua saved me, he saved us all. What were the odds of an old story like his saving a reck like me?

The End of November

I chose to be alone.

It was quiet.

I turned off the radio for the first time.

I had no access to my phone.

It was as though I were dead but alive.

If someone would have dropped a bomb the only thing I would have felt was the earth shake.

If I’m the answer or the problem I found true peace while being alone at the end of November.

The next day I went back to work. I fell back into reality.

The End of November 

My Thankful List

 1. I’m thankful for the gym. It’s been a blessing to me. I’ve made it a habit to go there and work myself to death sometimes for no reason at all. I love watching the young kids play. I see a part of my youth in them. I’ve been to a few places on the East Coast of the United States, but everywhere I visit, I always want to know how the gyms are. I’ve even played a few pickup games at poor gyms and I’ve always enjoyed shooting basketballs off of the old wooden backboards.

2. I’m thankful for educational institutions. Being a veteran of the world’s most amazing Navy I found out how to work my brain until it goes numb. I spent the majority of my younger adult life learning and it nearly killed me because my brain almost shutdown completely at age 18. You may think this is a lie, but I had to read the Bible just to get well. I’ve read so many books since that time only to come to the honest belief that there is a creator and the people who publish and write books are so drunk on knowledge that we all seem to get very depressed once we figure everything out. This depression often leads us back to the belief that a creator is watching over us. The more I study, I often remind myself never to get too arrogant to the point where I forget that the Bible healed me. In that statement I keep reading it.

3. I’m thankful for the animals. At the moment that I’m writing this I’m still working at my own business. I live in a state with a lot of parks so I face off with a lot of animals. This may sound funny but I’ve been fighting with rats for the past three months. They’re hard to kill and they don’t seem to care whose property they invade. I’ve been a faithful user of traps that sometimes don’t work and when they fail it gets messy. If you’re receiving this message I don’t know how this is going to end, but at the moment that I’m writing this piece I have a wounded rat trapped inside of my bathroom. It’s been a fight. I tried to help him and he got upset so I closed the door with rat blood everywhere that he’s run to. He’s currently locked inside of the bathroom with a rat trap and I have no clue how this is going to end. The last time I checked on him he would not cooperate and literally jumped to the top of a bathroom shelf. Outside of this bad experience I’ve gotten used to feeding the cats in the back and even created cheap animal spaces around my building. The crows, sparrows, and blackbirds seem to love me. I often catch them watching me wash cars. I think they’ve become attached to me because one injured blackbird wouldn’t leave my side at one point. He died in the back of the building, I honestly believe that it was his dying wish because the New Years before he died they all sat in a tree and brung in the new years pooping on my car. They did it two times just to get my attention and just to show me that I couldn’t do anything about it. I could hear them chirping while watching me clean it. How ironic. I honestly think the animals just swing by just to see my reactions. One cat literally looked at me then darted across a traffic filled street just to see what I would do. A fox did the same thing. One Christmas before they gave hunters the okay to kill deer, a reindeer literally stopped in my backyard and gave me a head nod as if he knew me. For their continued enthusiasm in keeping me busy I’m thankful for the animals.

4. I’m thankful that some of my fellow humans seem to enjoy seeing me suffer while also taking the extra time to comeback and check on me after literally watching me climb out of a very sad situation. The key word is “some” not “all.” I seem to have spent the majority of my life trying to keep it together because of damage that other people have caused. I humbly say that this has made me a better person, but I’ve come to learn a lot about myself, my family, my friends, and most of all, I’ve come to learn why some of us are made to just listen and take a beating so that others can find their own inner strength.

Well, that’s my thankful list this year. I’m also thankful for music and all aspects of the arts. Creativity is a powerful gift that the good lord gives us because just like him we can create.

Now that I’m done with this list I guess I’ll go check on the bloody rat that’s locked in the bathroom. One of us has to win this brutal fight. Sadly, this rat is paying no bills and has literally ruined my weekend, but even in this fighting back and forth to get him out of my building I’m still thankful.

I’m assuming this must be just like the Indians and Cowboys felt fighting over territory. I’m assuming that the pilgrims were just serving their purpose in what we now call the Americas and the United States. 

In all of the wild and crazy experiences, I guess I’m thankful to be a part of this grand experiment. I’m also thankful for my grate grandfather who received a Purple Heart in World War 2 I believe. So maybe God does have a plan. What’s the odds of me serving the country and surviving to tell about it? In this wild-Wild-West I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but I guess that’s why they coined the phrase “In God We Trust.” I’ve spent three long days fighting with a wounded bloody rat that’s locked in my bathroom, but even if I lose this fight. If you’re reading this message, I’m still thankful.

The End.

The Files

“On this island everything you do and say stays here,” Epps explains.

“Oh my God is that,” Kelly says before he’s cut off.

“Quiet, relax, and take your clothes off,” Epps says kneeling in front of a horned statue.

Women from all over the world of all ages shapes and sizes enter the room as everyone begins the ritual. In the distance a baby sits in the middle of a five point star as candles burn around him.

“Is that a child? Sir, I think I should be going,” Kelly says before he’s interrupted again.

“Friend, you were chosen, we need your energy. You will get used to it after a while. The child is one of us. Here; drink. Just relax, the pleasure is divine. Carl, give him the good ink, tattoo a triangle on his back. We will need you to relax okay,” Epps says trying to calm Kelly down. 

Half naked, Kelly sees complete freedom on this island. He sees a lot of people that he used to see on Television. He sees young girls not of age all in a room with men twice their age. Deep in his mind Kelly feels his conscience setting in.

“Sir, I think I should be going,” Kelly says while feeling a hand touching his leg.

“Let him enter you,” Epps says.

Completely freaked out Kelly feels the urge to jump through the window to escape but it’s too late. The drugs enter his bloodstream.

“Now you see what we see okay, Diana, he’s your’s now. Give him the maximum pleasure treatment. No less than twenty girls at a time. Drain him until his voice changes. Break his conscience, purge his soul into complete submission. We can use him, he’s strong,” Epps says as Diana takes Kelly to the upper level.

In a robe and flip flops, Epps takes a drink and finishes his fruit bowl while taking his seat in front of the huge statue of a goat with horns. He watches like a king as the sex party begins. He feels relieved that Kelly now knows his place, a new soul lights the flame and Epps feels gratified.

The Files

Sweet Chocolate

When she went to bed she fantasized about big daddy John. She dreamed of the two of them dancing the night away drinking smoothies. Even while performing with Ricky, John was on her mind. Eating lunch with Steve she remembered the first time John called her Sweet Chocolate. It was a love affair, but when she went home it was her husband not John. In the midst of making passionate love with her husband she screamed out John’s name. Sweet Chocolate had been slowly melting and her obsession with John was becoming evident. She’d owned everything and had everything that she always wanted except John. After a long conversation with him she begged him to attend her show but he refused. In his rejection she collapsed on stage thinking about John. She needed him, she wanted him and the more he rejected her the crazier the obsession became. Sadly, craving attention, she started taking nude photos and still John paid her no attention. When she found out that John was getting married she desperately tried to ruin the wedding. At the moment John said “I do,” Sweet Chocolate went crazy. She became dangerous. Smashing her fist through the mirror she knew exactly where his wife would be that night so she wrapped up her hand, got into her car and began to drive. It soon began to rain and at the moment she saw John and his wife kissing under the restaurant awning she snapped. Off in the distance she parked her car but left the engine running, trembling with jealousy she could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket, but she ignored the call. It was her husband, the rain began to come down stronger as John’s wife began to walk across the parking lot. It appeared as though she forgot something in her car. Seizing the opportunity, Sweet Chocolate put the car in drive, pressed down hard on the gas and ran John’s wife over. Witnessing the tragedy, John saw his life destroyed in a hit and run. He literally saw the love of his life flip over a car hood only to fall bloody and lifeless in the parking lot. Sweet Chocolate then drove her car over a cliff and took her own life as well. John never felt vindicated after the tragedy, he spent the rest of his life paranoid at the evils of the opposite sex. After becoming a priest, he finally found the courage to read about the obsession that Sweet Chocolate had for him. One woman possessed by the illusion of being with John made him a better person. It drew him closer to God. Sweet Chocolate, the lady of the night, brung him to his knees, but she did not break him. If she did anything, she made him a better man. Her psychotic tendencies to steal a man’s heart and soul turned him into a man of God who devoted the rest of his life spreading the gospel of Christ. John learned a valuable lesson, this lesson made him wiser. This lesson made him spend the rest of his life celibate.

The End

A room filled with Veterans & Poets

 “Oh the raven,” Edgar says dropping the microphone.

Darius shortly takes the stage, “Free! That you know what owes me money. How can I get over it? Bang, bang.” He too drops the microphone and exits stage right.

The room gets quiet.

Marcy who is hosting the event picks up the microphone.

“Anyone else want to say anything? We still have the place for thirty more minutes,” she says.

Curtis and Brenda stand in line.

“You can go first,” Brenda says.

Curtis gladly grabs the microphone, he’d been waiting for this moment since he lost everything and got ripped off by his brother who fraudulently claimed his veteran’s benefits.

“Am I the president? Or am I just a soldier? Who do I complain to? I think I’ll pay for my free meal. I think I’ll take my clothes off and stand outside naked for freedom,” Curtis places the microphone on the stand and starts taking his clothes off. Brenda hurries and stops him. 

She grabs the microphone,

“It’s a hard knock life, please pay him no attention.”

At this moment the audience thinks it’s a part of the act so Brenda hurries and hugs Curtis before he pulls down his pants.

“I love you Curtis,” she says as the curtain closes.

The place erupts with clapping and laughter. 

The End.

A room filled with veterans and poets.

The Giant Elephant

 They tried and tried to get him to move out of the way, but Donny the Giant Elephant would not move. They shot at him, and even ran a truck into his back legs. It got so bad that the people in the village went wild and crazy trying to get him to move, but no matter what, Donny the Giant Elephant would not get out of their way. The people taunted and tortured that Giant Elephant for four long years, but he would not move. In the fourth year after fires broke out and all hell broke loose Al attached a bomb to a donkey and blew up not only the donkey but tried to blow up the giant elephant also. Watching, the people saw the donkey splattered, but the giant elephant was still there. Feeling the hit from the bomb, Donny the Giant Elephant took one step and mistakenly smashed the entire village. If they only knew that the reason why he stood in the same spot for four years is because he was afraid that he would smash them and sadly he did. Noticing what he’d done they provoked him to make a mistake that he’d tried so hard to prevent. In the silence, he now could go about his business with no fear of harming them because it was already done, if only they could’ve found a way to get out of his way so he could move they probably would have prevented a tragedy. After four years he could now walk away in peace.

The Giant Elephant 

Starvation

 “Mom, I’m hungry.”

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Grandma, I’m hungry.”

“Grandpa, I’m hungry.”

“Mom, I’m starving.”

“Dad, I’m starving.”

“Grandma, I’m starving.”

“Grandpa, I’m starving.”

“Hey, John, have you noticed something about Lana and her family? They don’t have a clue, they’ll eat the president, they’ll do anything for money. They’ll eat anything. They’re fearless. They were shaking and trembling last time I saw them,” Will said.

John, finished up his meal, “It’s not because they’re hungry, Will, I believe that family is starving. We better feed them or pretty soon they’ll eat us.”

Starvation.

Nightmare

 Psychologist: “What do you see Carl?”

Carl: “Well, I voted, I got involved with the political system then all hell broke loose.”

Psychologist: “Tell me, what happened?”

Carl: “It was like the movie about taking the red and blue pill. It was like I woke up and everyone else was asleep. Or like a dream that turned into a nightmare and as I awoke no one was around to feel my pain. I was completely alone. That’s how I ended up in here. I wanted to feel alive, I wanted to believe in a dream that everyone would be holding hands happy and singing with me, but that’s not the case.”

Psychologist: “Are you having suicidal thoughts?”

Carl: “No, it just feels like I’ve been thrown into a crowd of angry people who are ripping me apart. I don’t know who’s with me. I guess I’m just like everyone else. Wondering in the wilderness trying to survive.”

Psychologist: “How is your sleep?”

Carl: “I sleep well, I’ve learned not to talk politics though. It’s like I awoke from a good dream only to find out that reality is a nightmare.”

Psychologist: “Here’s another red pill to keep you awoke at night.”

Carl soon realizes that he can’t go back to sleep, he can’t go back to the way things used to be.

Nightmare 

Human Brake

 “Johnny’s a good man,” Lola said.  

See watched him and served him faithfully until the voices started.

“He’s weak Lola, he’s too nice. He has no backbone. How can he protect you? His money, his car, his entire life could belong to you,” the voice said over and over again.

“Lola’s world,” she replied to the voice.

“Yes, Lola’s world,” the voice said.

Giving in to the voice Lola became overwhelmed at the duty of serving mankind so she sat at the table and watched her husband eat rat poison that she’d stirred in his food. She then took her cooking knife and stabbed him a hundred times.

“Till death do us part,” she whispered into his ear.

At this moment the superiors noticed a flaw in human nature. As an innocent man who honored and served his wife laid in his chair lifeless the superiors noticed the evil force gaining another soul. 

Seeing this and the hearts of his creation this angered the superiors so they unleashed angels from the heavens to mediate and protect the living from the negative energy that haunted them. On the other side, Lola’s husband saw his wife die slowly asking for forgiveness behind bars. He found his place in heaven and she found her place in hell. Why she did it and why she thought the grass would be greener on the other side is what everyone wanted to know.

God hit the human brake. Lola ruined a good thing.

The End

The Cleansing

“He’s hiding something?” Bret said to his top Ensign.

“Do you think he went back to his old ways?” Tim replied.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

That night, Bret and Tim paid their buddy Ronnie a surprise visit before going into battle. While slowly pulling up to the side of his corner home they noticed a strange car in the driveway and his top floor light on while people were coming in and out so Bret and Tim snuck in only to find their top man drunk and high laying sideways on the couch. The man was lifted. He was so wasted that he thought Bret was his father. Naked women were sniffing white lines off in the corner, the guy had over done it. He was partying to the tenth power. 

Tim couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

“You’re a coward. You would rather celebrate while we go off to war believing in the greater good of the public. Why, Ron? Why are you doing this to yourself?” Bret asked disgusted at his right hand man.

“I don’t want to fight for this dump anymore. God left me when he took my mother. The fire is gone in me, but you two still take pride in the red, white and blue. Now get off of my property and go serve your president, in my house I’m the leader of my castle and if you didn’t come to party then why bother me,” Ronnie said tipping over off of the crazy horse and alcohol.

“You heard him Bret, we go in alone,” Tim said.

Bret felt his heart beating faster and faster. He was so angry at his old friend that he was shaking.

“Come on Bret, it’s not worth it, take it out on the battlefield.” Tim said.

The whole ride to base was quiet. The next day as Bret and Tim approached the helicopter Bret saw Ronnie’s parachute and said nothing.

“It will be okay friend, God is with us. We’re fighting for the good people not the bad,” Tim said to his friend.

Bret was still in shock, he’d known Ronnie his entire life. They’d fought so many battles together but this fight was different. Ronnie was not behind him nor was he next to him as they parachuted in. Taking heavy fire Bret felt like he had nothing to fight for anymore. 

“Are you okay?” Tim asked 

“I want to go home,” Bret said.

Tim looked around at the carnage, “Bret, this is our home. This is all we know, now get your head out of your ass.”

Feeling the weight of a soldier’s curse he sat on a building ledge with his sniper scope aimed at his target.

“It’s an underage sex camp, I have him in sight,” Bret said.

“Take the shot and then we’re done. We can go home and begin our cleansing from this war,” Tim explained.

Bret took the shot.

“I got him.”

Tim saw the teen girls running from the camp half naked.

Soon after everyone else scattered also.

“Mission accomplished, now let’s go home,” Tim said.

Bret seemed to feel a lot better after taking the shot to end the war. He’d just took out the number one source that started the entire rage.

“Ronnie must know something,” Bret said breaking the silence.

“Well, we just take orders and deliver. We did our job, now we begin our cleansing,” Tim said.

“He’s enjoying his freedom. What ever he knows, it forced him to back out.”

“A soldier can win a thousand battles only to die facing reality Bret. Our job is done, now we leave the battlefield in the past and we begin our cleansing. We won and whatever Ronnie knows he sacrificed his honor and left us to fend for ourselves,” Tim explained.

The next morning Bret woke up listening to the news that the war was over. He then heard a knock at the door. It was Ronnie.

“What do you want?” Bret said.

“I heard what you did for us Bret. I’ve been going to rehab.”

“Good,” Bret replied.

“My dad used to say that only a cleansed soldier wins the battle between good and evil. Thanks for motivating me to get clean. I’ll see you when I get out,” Ronnie explained walking back to his car.

Bret felt a supernatural force in his spirit. He finally felt like a real superhero and even when the truth came out his righteous will reflected a true image of God’s new world order.

The vision was clear, God wanted it all cleaned up, and now the real cleansing began.

The Cleansing

The Jungle

 If someone were to ask me about my life I would be honest. Everyday it has been like a jungle. It’s been like a wild beast chasing me devouring everything and everyone around me that I love. I’ve watched everyone die begging for mercy fighting for more life. Drugged up in pain smoking, drinking, and overdosing. It’s been rough being a positive thinker living a clean life. Now Mom is gone, eaten alive by cancer, and as I swim trying to save other family members as I catch my breath here comes another challenge. It’s like I’m the only one standing, one of the few from my tribe left. If there are laws to the universe and a God that controls it, I have to convince myself that he’s the reason to keep fighting. I can’t give up. I have to keep believing that the impossible can be done. I have to escape the jungle, I have to defeat the beast. The dragon that wants to end all time on earth.

Is anyone still with me? Can anyone see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Is there an end to the madness?

The Bull Market

 “Oh Gloria, we can finally afford the home we always wanted,” Raymond said hearing a knock at the back door.

“Ah sweetheart it’s a beautiful bull, someone must’ve left him here for us to raise as our very own.”

Raymond’s wife straightens up, “Honey, we can’t afford to raise a bull.”

The bull then rages through the house bouncing his horns off of everything and everyone.

After terrorizing Raymond and his wife, he burst through the door to terrorizing the entire neighborhood.

Raymond looks at his wife while noticing the damage, “I tell you honey, that thing doesn’t discriminate, and none of us are going to be able to buy anything if he keeps raising his horns. Who’s going to fix this door?” Raymond says hearing screams and the local market crashing.

His wife emerges from the back room, “That’s the least of our worries Babe, a bear just got in,” She explains.

Raymond can’t help but notice a trend. He contemplates grabbing a gun. He and his wife decide to just escape through the back door. They’d been cornered and decided to pull out and settle for less. They came back later to assess the damage, “Thank God we diversified our portfolio,” Ray said smiling at his wife. He cashed in all of his gold and they began to rebuild another nest egg.

The Bull Market

Human Nature, It’s wild

 I’m still wondering how my cousin ended up in the middle of a shootout, he’s getting gunshot wound treatment right now.

Jessica never told us that she swings both ways, what a secret to tell your father at his surprise birthday party. He seemed like he took it okay, I think.

I just noticed that I’m mixed and my mother was a proud member of the KKK and my dad was a black panther. I have no clue which side I’m on. I think I’ll sit these racial fights out. Please don’t vote for me, I just want peace and quiet.

I was at a football game when my cousin out of all people threw a pick six on the game winning drive. It’s going to be a long ride home. I noticed the scouts leave before the second half.

Sadly, one simple birthday party turned into a wild twerking session. They blamed it on the music, but I honestly think someone spiked the punch.

My uncle keeps leaving a trail of wild Irish liquor bottles everywhere he goes. Lord knows what he and his friends were doing at the old house grandma left him. Panties were hanging from the chandelier and his best friend was found lifeless with no clothes on in the hallway. Til this day we have no clue what happened in that house.

As I get older I’m learning more and more about human nature and it’s wild.

Shootings, heart breaks, unexpected deaths, and doctors searching for a cure. Tina kept her money problems a secret. At this moment no one knows how she hid it because everyone thought she had it all. I guess she finally humbled herself after selling everything. I saw her at a bus stop and somehow we ended up in Vegas taking vows with a pastor in a clown suit.

Human Nature.

It’s wild.

Money Blues

 “Hey Joe Play that tune,”

I just got paid and all my money is gone.

Kids keep crying, I told them to pay for their own phone.

The world keeps spinning and politics keeps winning.

Joe keeps asking me for money and the reverend is calling, but I keep sinning.

I got the money blues, money bluuuuuess, yeah.

I ain’t getting no lovin because I’m afraid of what it will do to me.

Momma’s dead and she left me with the bill to pay Fred.

I got the money bluuuues, money bluuuues that won’t go away.

I’m grateful for another day so I guess there’s no need to pray.

I got the money bluuuues, the money bluuues.

I just got a check but the bank holds it for seven days.

I can’t pay my bills on time so I guess I’ll borrow it from Shay.

She told me it will come with interest, I’m disapproved, maybe next time it will go my way.

I got the money bluuues the money bluuues.

I went to college and lord knows I still have to pay.

That attorney told me to sue, but I changed my mind because they need money too.

I got the money bluuuues, money bluuuues oooo weee.

I just got a spam call and I hung up for free.

Even my rich friends are hounding me.

I got the money bluuues, money bluuuuuuues.

“Alright Joe, that’s a wrap, tell the band I’ll pay them once I get my check.

Money Blues

The Fundamental Universe

 “David, close your eyes and tell me what do you see,” Crystal said to her child.

“It’s dark,” he replied.

“Are you blind?” She said, turning out the lights making sure the room was pitch black.

“Mom, I can’t see,” he said running into things.

She quickly turned on the lights.

“Now tell me, do you think this all happened spontaneously or do you think we’re beautifully made?” His mom asked.

David looked around, his eyes were now open to the extent of man’s imagination.

At this moment David’s mother planted something inside of her child. She questioned herself after she saw him standing on the roof the next day.

“David, what are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself,” his mother said.

“I’m creating my own path in time Mom. I’m getting it over with,” he said falling flat on his face.

She rushed over to help her son.

“I’ll see you on the other side Mom. I figured it out. Fear is our worst enemy,” he said as his soul left his body and floated through the darkness of space back to the source. 

His mother was never the same. In all of her years of studying physics she never thought she would have to deal with something so fundamentally flawed. Sitting alone in a dark room she contemplated suicide. She blamed herself over and over again never letting go of a fundamental decision that we all must make. In deep guilt and depression, she gathered up her life savings and sold everything. Her son’s last words stuck in her head, playing in her mind over and over again. She spent the rest of her life running marathons and memorizing Bible verses until everything faded to black.

“Crystal, open your eyes,” someone said reviving her.

“I saw him at the finish line,” she said.

“Who?”

Exhausted, she tried to get up.

“Crystal, relax, we have to get you to a hospital,” the voice said as she came in and out.

“No, just sit me over by the tree,” she replied.

She was so tired that she could barely move. Passed out at the finish line she’d pushed her body to the max. The image of her son jumping off of the roof played over and over again.

“He’s not coming back,” she said to the water-boy.

Still shaking from a grueling marathon she then tried to get up.

“Mam, you have to rest,” the water-boy said.

“He had wool hair like you,” she said as the water-boy rubbed her head with a cold rag.

“Mam, you have to relax.”

Deeply faint, her soul left her body and floated to the edge of space back to the source.

She felt her son.

“Mom, it’s not your fault,” she heard.

Floating through the darkness of space like a speck of dust her soul entered a huge ball of light.

At that moment she could feel a force pushing her back into her body.

“I’m okay now,” she said.

“Well, we thought we lost you there for a second.”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Whatever created us and the universe is merciful,” she said sitting up against a tree as the other runners crossed the finish line.

“You mean ‘God’?” One of the emergency staff said.

“Yeah, that’s what we call him. I’m okay now. I now believe in something greater, I’m not afraid,” she concluded.

“Mam, you just completed the longest marathon in the world. Do you know what you just did?”

She then found the strength to get up and grab her things and live the rest of her life telling others about how she’d ran to the edge of space fearlessly facing a merciful force that allowed her to speak with her son. She lead the entire world that couldn’t see through the darkness back into the light. 

Sometimes we spend our entire lives searching and teaching about fundamental truths that many don’t see in plain sight. Crystal’s journey revived a fundamental belief in something greater than mortality.

The Fundamental Universe 

In our search for complex answers we often find fundamental truths hidden in plain sight.

Man Cave

Deep inside of me there’s a selfish beast. At night while I’m asleep in my cave I can hear a roaring voice talking to me. This is my cave and none of that political, feminist, crying over another man’s losses is allowed in my cave. I fantasize about things that feeble minded people may not be able to stomach in here; women, wealth, power, and success. I pay the bills in here and only man stuff is allowed in my cave. When I go out and hunt for game I earned my keep. Deep inside there’s a monster on some ape stuff dwelling inside of my bones fueling the entire atmosphere in my cave. At night I dream in my cave and everything revolves around me and if I have a guest I politely hide any of my weapons in the back of my cave to be polite. Only man things go on in here and if that snake starts talking, I choke him until I get tired. I can feel the outside world plotting on my territory. I can hear sheep getting terrorized and eaten in the wee hours of the night by wolves. Only man things go on in this cave and when the big bad wolf comes to blow at my door it’s made of stones so nothing moves. My triceps get stronger and stronger every time I open my heavy door. Deep inside there’s an ego the size of a mountain that no one can move. I read in this cave, I sleep in this cave  and when the world around me is full of B. S. I hibernate in this cave until they flush that smelling stuff down the toilet and move on with real man things. When females be on the same stuff out in the world while I’m plotting on my next meal, I go to my cave to focus on man things.

My Man Cave is my Home, it’s my prerogative, and when I pass on to the next life, I’ll still be haunting my cave.

Boo!

Man Cave

Don’t bring that B.S. around here and if I get hired to do a man’s job I expect to be paid a man’s wage.

Man Cave

Hear me roar.

Let it go

Anger and time are like an unwinding toy, beware of how you react because you may regret it later. Be patient and find a reason to be happy. In the ghettos of every nation although the probability of living may seem slim there is beauty in the struggle. 

Frustration and time are like waves settling on the beach. The truth is that we often say things that we don’t mean and when we think people hate us they’re actually trying to make us stronger. Those whom we harm often haunt us if we fail to give them closure in the end. 

I say let it go. The middle finger at the traffic light. The angry wife nagging you to take out the trash. The supervisor hounding you to work harder. The policy that may not be in your favor. One thing that’s for sure is that even if you don’t get your moment today time is your best friend.

Eventually with patience you’ll be all good.

Let it go.

The Power Monkeys

“What did you see John?” The reporter asked.

“I saw thousands of them. They were leaping from tree branch to tree branch. It was as though they were chanting as they got stronger and stronger. They went from one town to another terrorizing the people,” John explained.

Trembling in fear he saw hundreds of them headed in their direction.

“Run!”

He and the reporter were the only ones close enough as everyone else stood by watching from a distance in a nearby town.

Keisha grabbed her camera. It was as though the monkeys were receiving some form of divine power. They were filled with energy. Pummeling through the small town. One of the Monkeys smashed through a kerosene store window and pretty soon the entire town began to burn. People were running in fear and no one could figure out what caused these monkeys to just snap. It got so wild that one of them jumped inside of a running abandoned car and started running people over. The rage was obvious, but no one could figure out why these monkeys were so upset. Emergency sirens began to go off. 

“They came from the East and there’s more on the way, we’re going to need weapons,” John said to Keisha.

In the distance as they both hide in a nearby store, you could hear windows smashing and people screaming while running for their lives. 

“Why were we not prepared for this? Why are these monkeys so angry?” John asked as Keisha frantically searched for something to fight off the monkeys with. He noticed an old man hiding under the store counter.

“My gun is in the basement,” he said while taking notice of John, but it was too late, in a matter of seconds the monkeys came smashing through the window and ransacked the small store.

Hiding in fear, John could see them dragging the old man from underneath the counter. Massively outnumbered, it was not too long before they overtook him and Keisha.

They came like a thief in the night and destroyed the entire town and everyone in it. 

They were powerful and their strength came in numbers.

This alone gave them power.

They were the Power Monkeys and nothing could stop them. It was their time.

The Trail

 As a child I ran 100 laps around my Aunt Denise’s duplex. My cousin couldn’t keep up. I then noticed that I’d been running for so long that it became quiet. It was as though everyone passed away and I’d been running in heaven while feeling like hell. It was hot, and when I looked down I’d made a path in the yard. When I got done, I was sweaty, and threw up. No one asked me if I was okay nor did anyone offer me water. Tired and exhausted, I drank from a garden hose with no fear of pesticides. I took this journey not knowing if I was going to return home. I had no food. After a few breaths, I went off course, and no one came looking for me. I ran through the woods; Age 8; fearless. Pretty soon the street lights were on and I could hear my mother calling me. Mom cared, she always did care so I  left the trail to return home. Tired and exhausted, like most young boys at my age, at the end of the day I soon realized that mom was the only one who actually cared and when she died it became quiet. I grew up, no wife, no kids, just me and the trail so I ran until I passed out. In the end, eventually someone would drop all of their bad habits and find me kicking up dust, passed out on a rock completely exhausted, yearning for a breeze and a second wind. Passed out under an apple tree on the trail, I had the weirdest dream that mom was calling me, but when I woke up it was just me alone on the trail. I guess that’s why we dream, so no one dies, even the person running.

The Trail.

Nobility

 I was supposed to be in honors English before I got transferred. Standing in front of noble scholars I read the same sentence 300 times only to find myself buried in a pile of study material. Striving for perfection I noticed a period in the wrong place after submitting my paper. Anticipating my final grade, I stood in front of a wishing well hoping to advance to a higher level of achievement. Sitting in front of the computer, clicking refresh over and over again hoping for an A plus, I got a B minus instead. I soon learned that average was not a quality of nobility, I had to be better so I kept drowning in knowledge only to find myself falling asleep reading noble books. Striving for academic excellence I became a doctor enlightened and cascading through images of the sun’s rays. After graduating I’d been left with a forgotten image of achievement, I still had not reached my goals and the image of myself being a world class doctor soon faded in a pile of college bills with little to no income to pay them. Defeated inside, I began to question nobility in a wild and spontaneous world. Never losing sight of my character, I noticed my gray hairs. I soon realized that, I, like my colleagues, were fighting for nobility.

Nobility

The Porn Scene

This piece was written to help us all make a conscience decision. It was not written to harm or offend anyone, but to help the many victims who suffer from sexual abuse. Please read with an open mind. Thank you.

Before you enter please be advised that you must be an adult. Even though the actors may seem like they’re acting the reality will shock you. Porn actors are stuck in a cycle of abuse and many wonder if they’re actually making conscience decisions. The porn business thrives, billions of dollars on one oily booty. Looking in the mirror, know that we all have the desire to have sex, but if any of us saw a woman getting raped or abused honestly many would probably wonder what led up to her abuse. Would we help her or sit back and watch like many of us do with porn. Sit back and fantasize. Sit back and beat yourself up about a conscience decision that will haunt you when you have to make a better choice. Women and men often find themselves in the same position every time. Beautiful, but fragile. Sadly, being pimped is a conscience decision that leaves many of us in the same position every time. Bent over and given a raw treatment of reality with no Vaseline. Having old intimate feelings of MILFs and desires that are natural. Sex is natural, sex feels good, but the pain endured after something natural and so amazing takes place is just like a porn scene. Get out, the thrill is over, put it away and thanks for the clicks, “customer,” then you’re left alone, no money to do it the natural way and left to kneel at an altar being sent to hell for being a normal human being. Ironically, the sex scene is real and the people and characters acting are all members of a business that’s brutal and filled with drug addicts and prostitutes that deep down inside have been used for their beauty and body so that little men and women can go blind in front of a computer screen with their wife by their side eager to get off. Welcome to adulthood, “children,” where the real truth behind the children’s characters of Dick and Jane may shock you. Now drop the lube, put your hands up, and keep this piece between you and me. Don’t tell a soul what just happened in this room unless they too can comprehend nasty. The gates to the garden are closed and our eyes are open. Now get out and don’t get caught with your pants down by another God, because he may not be as merciful as me and cover up that snake, as a matter of fact take it with you and populate the earth in conscience pain.

The End.

The Porn Scene

Sober Tory & the Gatekeeper

 “I love you Tory, but why did you cheat? I was going to marry you, but you screwed that up,” John said slamming the door on his now ex-girlfriend. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly under her breath.

Her son stood by the steps as he heard the liquor bottle rattling from the counter.

He hurried down the stairs while noticing that his mother was so drunk that at first sight of him she fell to the floor.

“Your dad loves you Curtis, he love you okay,” the words slurred out of her mouth.

Curtis was a righteous child and he hated seeing his mother like this.

“Mom, why do you keep doing this to yourself, you’re going to kill yourself before I even graduate,” he said.

She slipped out of his arms and fell flat face to the floor.

“Mommy loves you Curtis, okay,” she said, falling to sleep on the cold bare floor.

The next morning she heard the birds in the cage singing. She had no clue what happened the night before.

“You really did it this time.”

Tory got up off of the ground slowly.

“Who are you?” she said.

“I’m the gatekeeper, the voice that’s been telling you to slow down your entire life. Oh, you really pushed yourself over the edge this time. Look at your body laying on the floor,” the gatekeeper said as Tory couldn’t help but notice her body lifeless, flat on the floor.

“Am I dead?” She asked.

“Do you really think that the supernaturals who engineered this life would allow a righteous child like Curtis to be left alone. I was told to take your soul for a journey since you never listen to a good word of advice from me or any other rational thinker. You’re a drunk Tory. This is the life in between,” the gate keeper explained.

He then grabbed her arm and took her through the upstairs walls to see Curtis crying in misery. 

“You’re going to turn him into a murderer, Tory, that’s if you don’t slow down, he knows you cheated on his father. Every child that has to deal with the consequences of terrible parents always comes to me at the gate when they’re asleep. Curtis came to me last night because of you Tory. He loves his mother and father. You have to change Tory before it’s too late,” he said.

He then took her to John’s place.

“John will never be the same because you got drunk and had sex with his friends, he’ll never trust another woman again. You’ve set yourself back,” the gatekeeper explained.

“Is it too late for me to go back? I can change. I know I can,” she said while watching the gatekeeper close the gate.

“Don’t let me down,” he said as Tory woke up picking herself up off of the floor.

“Mom, is everything okay? You were talking in your sleep,” Curtis said.

Tory quickly jumped to her feet and hugged her son. 

“He gave me another chance to make things right,” she said.

“Who? Who are you talking about mom?” Curtis said.

“The gatekeeper, he gave me another chance.”

Curtis hadn’t seen his mother this motivated since his first day of school, but this was the moment he’d been waiting on.

After eight years of being sober she was back with his father at the altar ready to tie the knot.

Curtis couldn’t believe it. Holding the rings he couldn’t help but notice a strange man winking at him behind the reverend. The man then disappeared. 

He’d opened the gates to a new beginning for Curtis and his family. It was good.

The End.

The Bully Strategy

 “We took in three hundred billion dollars from these punks. Hey, tell Pete I got his money,” Sydney said while counting his paper (Money).

He and his goons were set. They’d shook up the world and everyone around them. 

“We are winning and once we’re done we’ll all be paid,” he concluded.

“Will, are you okay?” John asked while picking his friend up off of the ground.

“Why did Sydney do that? He pushed a handicap man to the ground and took off with his cane. Will didn’t deserve that, he’s a good man,” Trina explained “We have to do something,” she concluded.

Bob and his men were ready for a fight. They’d heard about what happened to Will and in their bloodlines were a whole generation of heroes.

“I got word that Sydney will be taking one of his sluts to the bowling alley tonight. I’m just letting you and your crew know. Everyone in town is getting tired of him. He’s gone mad and he now even has the mayor paying his bills and assisting getting more of his goons out of jail,” Pete said, tipping Bob off so he could get a clear shot at maintaining his hero status.

“What do you think caused this?” Bob asked.

Pete gave Bob a smirk, “The bully strategy only serves one purpose. It gets lazy ass people and cowards off of their ass until one nutcase has the balls to stand up for themselves. Sydney is gaining ground because no one is brave enough to challenge him. He sees justice in his rise to power, but he’s pissed off a lot of people in the process. Russian Roulette Ray is also gaining ground, him and Sydney have a bond, but when you put two bullies in a room they’ll be laughter at first but the guns will come out in the end. If we don’t take him out we’ll have to join him,” Pete explained.

“I bow down to no man, but I’ll rather get pleasure out of being the hero in this story,” Bob said.

Later on that night, Bob and his crew waited at the bowling alley by the pool table. Sydney came in soon after with his girl Trish by his side. It was like watching a mob boss enter church, he had everyone’s attention. Bob could feel a trickle running down his spine.

“This is it,” Bob said to his men.

“I don’t know about this Bob,” Kenny said.

“Don’t punk out now,” Bob said.

Soon after Bob ran and pushed Sydney to the ground and started pistol whipping him with his weapon.

“This is for Will!” He said as the crowd gathered and some scattered as all hell had broken out at the bowling alley. The moment the gun shots began people started clearing out.

Kenny ironically pulled the trigger and shot Sydney dead.

At that moment it was as though time had stood still. One event lead to another and Sydney’s bully strategy to obtain power and wealth backfired. Bob couldn’t believe that out of all his men, Kenny was the one to pull the trigger and kill a man in cold blood. 

While getting arrested by the police Kenny had one message for Bob and his crew.

“You make the rules now Bob, undue the damage that Sydney has caused, he woke up the sleeping giant, I took one for the team. Make sure Will gets back his cane. Don’t forget about me as I do my time in prison.”

The Bully Strategy.

The End.

Holy Peace

“Ramzi, you are the only native to survive the genocide order. The prime minister still lives, but you’re older now. Filled with life, if we can make a deal I can give it all back to your bloodline. Israel, Palestine, it can all be yours.”

“Before my father died, he told me to not make deals with the devil, my gift is in heaven,” Ramzi replied.

“I am the angel sent to bless you. To give you what belongs to you, your inheritance. You are a seed of Noah’s, I’ve been sent to settle the score. Out of your loins lies a new great nation. I’ve been sent to give you knowledge, and power beyond measure.”

“But I did not start this holy war, none of us did.” Ramzi said.

“That is why you must accept my offer. I will give you something greater. But, I can only do it through you. Do you not see the hunger? Your neighbor is starving you, they have broken the laws of Moses in an act of war.”

At that moment he got Ramzi’s attention.

“Justice.”

“Yes, I can give you justice that will provide generational wealth and security. Your people will never starve again.”

“Did God send you?” Ramzi asked.

The voice became quiet.

“Did God send you, is he watching all of us suffer and beg for mercy? Who sent you?” Ramzi said.

“Ramzi, who are you talking to?” his wife asked.

“I don’t know,” Ramzi replied.

“Mika’il, protect my husband please. He has a good heart. We do not want revenge, we just want peace and a good meal. We do not know what caused this evil war. Help us Mika’il please,” Ramzi’s wife Fatima said.

“He told me that they broke the law of Moses,” Ramzi said.

“Who?” His wife replied.

“I don’t know.”

“Was it Christ? Was it an angel? Was it a prophet of Islam?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s not done. Someone on the other side is looking for warriors and they want me. They’re not going to leave me alone.” Ramzi replied.

“What do you mean the other side?” 

“He said we were Noah’s seeds. Fatima pray for this madness to stop. Pray to God now.”

Fatima prayed until she fell to sleep.

The night grew quiet. While accepting a bag of food from the Christians he noticed that the war lasted into his thirties while glancing at a calendar.

“It’s been over twenty five years.”

“Yes, and that’s why you must take my offer we don’t have much time. Mika’il is waiting.”

“I need to know if God sent you.”

“Friend, I can only come from God. Now if you don’t want to avenge your people what do you want? If you don’t want power and infinite knowledge what do you want?”

Ramzi looked at his wife and kids sleeping.

“I heard you mention Noah. Who ever you are, if you are sent from God, tell him that my people and all of Noah’s offspring are tired of fighting. As Abraham’s offspring we will accept our loses and rest believing that our dead is with God. Tell God we have not lost our honor and if our neighbor has broken the laws of Moses then our Christian brothers have kept it. We’re all tired. This war has lasted forever. Please tell God all we want is to end it. Even if I were to avenge my people another army would rise to avenge me. Now go back to the hell where you came from Satan you’ve caused us enough pain.”

Mika’il heard Ramzi’s response and watched the devil jump into a nearby pig.

He then sounded the Trumpet as a new light began to shine on the Middle East. The Holy Land saw a door open up from heaven as Mika’il and God’s kingdom filled the earth. They turned their holy weapons into tools and bridges to unite heaven and earth. Because of Ramzi, war, starvation, and vengeance was no more.

The Beginning of something greater had no end and the dead from Noah’s bloodline all came alive and rebuilt eternal kingdoms uniting heaven and earth.

Ramzi’s mortal vision gave God hope in his most prized creation. His vision gave him faith in man. Standing with his family in the food line Ramzi noticed a ribbon in the sky with Mika’il and God’s army fulfilling God’s promise to man. In the darkness of space now stood one light. The air could be seen as angels of glory flapped their wings and the eternal fire that Lucifer was ready to raise drowned him in the pit of eternal darkness. Peace filled the new world;

 ♾️ Holy Peace.

The come to Jesus moment- the 8th Conspiracy

 Okay, so I was raised in a Christian family that probably never even read the entire Bible, but I think I get the point. Don’t make fun of people and be a good person. Learning these virtues I took the time to actually read the Bible and I learned something amazing. 

Dear Journal,

We live in 2025 and I’ve been tested a thousand times, everyone around me is either dying, on drugs, or breaking the law. I learn something new every time I read the Bible, but I’ve learned that none of us think the same. The academic community holds the knowledge, the poor hold the majority, and the rich hold the money, so I’m pretty certain that when we die we have to go back to the source because on a planet with over a billion lives it gets crazy. As a matter of fact it is crazy.

Dear Journal again,

There’s a war still going on in the holy land. Innocent people are being killed; innocent people who just want to live a normal life on earth. I’m sure we all were born for a reason, but so far nothing magical has happened but death, so I’m pretty certain that when we die we have to go back to the source.

“So where do we come from?” you asked as a child. Well, in the distance I see a man reading a physics book and a preacher giving a sermon. Two professions showing the way.

In deep thought I take a break and notice a homeless man following someone to their car begging them for cash. I over hear the man say, “Get a job!” and then slams the door in the homeless man’s face. Now I know for sure that the homeless guy lost everything because he was burned out. I used to go to school with him and personally I thought of him to be a good person who just maybe lost his way. So I figured I would go over to him and see what was on his mind when I couldn’t help but notice that he was sleeping on a Bible. Shortly after our conversation I became delusional. Everywhere I went I heard about Jesus and even if I knew about him I still didn’t know enough. As a child, I heard about Jesus and an adult everyone was still talking about Jesus and no matter what I said or how I felt it didn’t matter because Jesus was the answer. On every street corner there was a church with a huge cross on it and just about everybody was talking about Jesus. I saw people do crazy things over and over again and there they were begging Jesus to forgive them. I saw people getting tortured, persecuted, and even killed in the name of Jesus. This brand of thinking even made me believe that I was Jesus at one time then sadly a physician who had a masters degree in psychology gave me two pills. He said, “If you take this pill you will wake up, but once you take it, you can’t go back to the way things used to be, so I’m going to give you a choice. Do you want to take the pill?” Thinking about the actual woman who came up with the idea of the Matrix I found myself in the same situation. I had a choice so I took the pill. Once I took it, I woke up the next morning to a different world, but what I learned personally about myself was that the perception of hell while standing on top of a pyramid in a hot desert is different when you have a number of options to keep cool, but when you have no options, Jesus becomes the greatest story ever told. It’s a good story, a best seller. After taking the pill and reading the story over and over again, my mind became bigger, but the recipe for bread and water remained the same and for some reason everyone had heard about Jesus. There were so many different denominations for all different kinds of people. I’ll say it again, “for some reason everyone had heard of Jesus!”The savior who preached about the heavens and his Heavenly Father. The rock of Jerusalem born of a virgin mother. The sinless son of the living God who took the torment so that we all could make it to heaven. After walking a thousand miles and seeing the same situations over and over again while reading the same book even into my forties, I have to say that something did happen, something had to happen thousands of years ago for all of these people to be hoping for this same magical place that Jesus preached about and died for. They must have thought that he was crazy too, just like me, I guess, until the clock struck twelve and the doctor gave them the option also to choose their own path in life and to choose their own destiny. 

To end this piece, I saw a Christian man tell me his view of the world. I spoke with him over and over again and soon learned that it didn’t matter whether I were a brother in Christ or not, my view of the world didn’t matter even if I were right or wrong. So in the end I ran a thousand miles and became born again a thousand times in a lost world waiting for Jesus to come save us. On top of a pyramid in a hot desert I collapsed while holding a piece of King Tut’s nose in one hand and a Bible in the other dying thirsty only to find peace on the other side. It took death for me to finally receive the answer, I’d finally been born again.

The come to Jesus Moment- The 8th Conspiracy 

The Hanging CEO- the 8th Gift & Curse

The video shows an entrepreneur genius kid studying or running through the woods working himself to death. He or she is called weird, autistic, psychotic, schizophrenic, or demented. A physical human being pushing mortal men over the edge. A being from any ethnicity alone in a room masterminding a perception of his or her reality. Scarred from the labor, stressed that their masterpiece will never be discovered. Hated and loved all just for having a dream. If their empire falls, there is no safety net. There is nothing to hold on to. Their tax bracket, if they reach the highest level, is filled with lawyers, bankers, and people with power. Their contracts span across the globe and one false move could wipe out a billion people. A number of their shareholders don’t pray because a number of them live by the mighty dollar. They sit on the top floor hearing voices from the positive and negative forces every day. A simple day is filled with phone calls and a chessboard with them as the king or queen. Sadly, the room goes dark, the net worth ticks on the stock exchange. Reports cross the screen of a CEO found alone in his huge mansion room dangling from the ceiling. Searching for a feeling, he’d blessed so many lives, but sadly, they left him alone searching for his heart. Alone in the night hoping to hear the same voice that lead him into fame and fortune, the room is silent, and the negative force enters and convinces him of a way out. 

“This rope will be easy, wrap it around your neck and let go until the blood is drained from your brain, then snap, everything goes dark. It’s that easy,” the negative force explains. 

If you’re reading this piece and you’ve made it to this point, then let me explain its purpose. As a child my English teacher told me something about writing. I was told about the meaning of optimism. It’s a positive way of looking at the world. Optimism is priceless. It’s the power of the mind. You can perceive your environment anyway you please. You can see humor in your fabric of time or you can perceive everything around you as a curse. Pessimistically falling to sleep at the wheel in the midst of running away from troubles. I also used to love books that gave me a choice in the end so let’s go to the 8th page of this story which is the gift of choice. We can endure or take the easy way out. I say when you reach the climax in your life and you’re shaking from a body that’s beat down and broken, endure. The top is the peak of the mountain and to fall teaches you one lesson and that is your will to never give up. To die a thousand times only to look down and see that same child that you used to be trying to write a masterpiece to save the world. As the CEO dangled from the ceiling as the demented forces pulled him under, he’s saved by the only person who checked on him. A complete stranger who he forgot he gave a key. While feeling a table hit his feet, his head pops away from the noose. Ironically, he lays in the arms of a poor stranger who gave him the most amazing gift of all. She gave him friendship, she checked on him and took nothing in return. I’m an optimist, so thanks to my English teacher there’s hope. I chose a happy ending, I perceived life as a gift not a curse for once.

The Hanging CEO- the 8th Gift & Curse

Life & Death- The 8th Lesson

Everyday someone dies and someone enters the world.

This person’s life can amount to anything. 

He or she can be an actor, preacher, athlete, politician, scientist, doctor, oceanographer, soldier, police officer, judge and so many other professions. 

When a person is born there is so much potential. There are so many paths to choose. We can fail one day only to succeed the next.

We can hate one day only to love the next or vice versa.

We can forgive and even hold grudges.

In all, these are lessons that we learn in life.

Then there is death, when someone dies we learn to appreciate those who live. Death teaches us about a monster that we all must face. Some would ask why? Why would God or any creator invent death?

The answer is easy.

It’s the ultimate lesson.

It’s the ultimate teacher for us to appreciate the living and for us to appreciate life.

As we take our journey in life before death, everyday we all will face challenges.

Everyday our odds may not be greater than others.

Some of us will have to be brave and some of us will have to be heroes.

Some of us will be poor and some of us will be rich.

Some of us will be called to lead and some of us will be called to follow. 

Each day will be different and in the end someone will pickup where we left off.

The moment that our soul leaves our body and the people that we leave behind say goodbye, the story of who we were will echo throughout history.

The ultimate lesson that we must learn is that even dirt and dust have a purpose and as our soul fades from our body and enters another life have a sense of humor and imagine an old wise man sitting in a garden laughing at you.

He’ll probably say, “I fooled you, your spirit lives forever ♾️ welcome home.”

Life & Death, the 8th Lesson

The 8th Element

Jim and his family noticed their neighbors had not been moving. Quinn, who was always cutting grass was asleep on his lawnmower. Their kids, Craig and Steve were asleep on the basketball court. Jim soon noticed cars parked on the side of the road with every driver asleep. Pretty soon Jim and his family felt the sleeping bug. In a matter of minutes the entire world was asleep. In a state of unconsciousness, everyone found themselves at a higher frequency. They were all on the same level in flat space elevated in what appeared to be a dream world. No one could figure out what happened. They could do anything, they could fly, teleport, and even disappear. Whatever they imagined was possible in a matter of seconds. They didn’t have to do any work, they didn’t even have to talk. They could even float. The only thing they did not have were mirrors, no one knew how they looked, the space was all feeling. Earth seemed to be a distant memory overtaken by a mysterious 8th element leaving every living thing trapped in a dream where everyone existed at the same time on a level plane. The possibilities were endless.

The 8th Dynasty

It all led up to this moment.

The argument with my sister.

My mother moving down south and me being left alone.

My family all scattered.

It was as though my entire life was designed around this last choice so let me get to the climax.

I was messing around with a radio when I interrupted a signal in another language.

Confused, I turned on my translator app and discovered that the enemy was on their way.

Good thing I was prepared so I headed to my bunker.

It’s amazing what you take for granted once you have nothing left under ground but some can goods and a radio. You miss everything.

I thought about the past a lot, and once the booming all stopped it became quiet. 

I decided to stay put for three days just to make sure that the coast was clear.

Walking out of my bunker all I could see was soot and ash.

The entire world was now tinted black.

There was literally nothing left.

Death was everywhere and I was the only one who survived.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I then noticed a flashing light in the sky.

It looked like a spaceship.

The darn thing landed right in front of me.

Beings with elongated heads stepped out, they looked like Egyptian Pharaohs.

One took my hand.

At first touch, I could feel her thoughts.

They welcomed me into the spaceship and took me with them to the longest surviving structure on earth, the pyramids.

A brand new dynasty was born. 

They gave me a new genetic code to live forever with them in paradise.

And they did it all because they loved me.

I had good vibes.

The 8th Dynasty 

Christmas on the 8th Day of July

Dangling from a cross I looked straight into the Sun.

“Father, my passion to save them has turned me into a martyr of humiliation.”

I couldn’t help but notice some of my disciples in the crowd.

“Father, my passion to save them has turned me into a martyr of humiliation.”

Alone, in humility, I look into the sun;  already in pain, it burns my eyes. Through the blindness, I can see my mother Lisa crying and bruised from her own battles to raise me. 

She’s too weak to save me for she too must suffer for the burdens of all women.

Dangling next to prisoners and con artist I can hear an angel telling me that I do not deserve this death, but it is a burden that I must bear.

In the distance I see the politicians who ordered my death. They exchange votes and beat the war drums.

Beaten and abused, I see many of my ex female friends in the crowd.

What is gold? What is ambition? What does it mean to live and suffer with the same burden as Christ?

Looking into the crowd I scream, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

For them I must die and rise on the 8th day.

Laced in a purple gown, I take my last look into the sun as my soul rises into the light, I sit next to my father in the kingdom of heaven while the crows and blackbirds feast off of my lifeless flesh hanging from the cross on earth.

For the dead, Christ, and I, along with the children of God shall rise again.

Together, we defeated death and our gift was eternal life.

I could hear God my father say, “Happy Birthday Son, welcome home, it took over 2000 years to prepare this place for you and the rest of your innocent brothers and sisters.”

We kindly accept our gift.

Christmas on the 8th day of July.

Wings

I admit it, I was lost, done, and most of all on the edge.

Looking down, I did it, I jumped.

You probably thought I jumped to hurt myself, no, I jumped because I needed to test my limits.

While falling, I spread my arms out as far as I could.

It was a miracle, I began to fly.

Now looking up at unfathomable gains I couldn’t help but notice that I had wings.

The sky was now the limit and I flapped my wings further beyond space.

Wings

The Sovereign Black Birds

 In my down time I often sit back and watch the birds of the sky, but there is no bird more interesting than the black birds. They observe, they watch, they study and somehow this is how they survive. This makes them unique. I chose this topic because last Independence Day while everyone celebrated and lit off fireworks for some strange reason these birds all gathered together in a nearby tree and stood watch. I observed and recalled some old words of wisdom, “If you need a sign from a divine source that something is about to happen, take a moment and watch the animals.” Curiously, I couldn’t help but wonder who the cunning black birds answer or report to. I wanted to end this piece on a good note, but in reality this bird is not easily fooled by the scarecrow and after a massacre these cunning black birds eat the flesh of dead humans. My purpose for writing this piece is that we can learn a valuable lesson from this bird. The lesson that I personally learned a few months ago when one of these precious birds got hurt is that for some reason the bird came to me for help. One of these amazing birds stood in the back and waited for me for some odd reason. Out of all of God’s creation why did these unfortunate black birds trust me to bury their dead. In deep thought, I found a friend in the cunning black birds. Since then, I’ve become accustomed to their presence and every Independence Day we stand watch while dressed in all black. At night no one can see us, but we can see them through the thick smoke. In the midst of a long hard battle through life I turn to these birds for wisdom, they never change and they know who to trust. They’ve become accustomed to independence, they’re sovereign.

The Sovereign Black Birds.

To the Young Mind

Learn everyday.

It’s hard to listen at times, but try.

Read everything.

Grow and don’t be discouraged because even the old used to be young.

On your journey, comprehend that constructive criticism from the old crowd sometimes can be confusing. Soak it in, suck it up, a nobody is really everyone trying to find a way home and have a good day dreaming of being somebody.

Even the janitor hanging around at the gym knows something. 

One must be wise enough to know that even adults made the same mistakes.

Perseverance to a mentor is to see you molded into a responsible adult and is a seat that you will fill someday.

When you’re annoying, stay in character, you’re unique, be yourself, and sharpen up while training for your test.

Your vision of success can often distract you from the real work ahead, try, try, and spin with the world.

Remember, have fun while doing what you enjoy, make it look easy, sweat, and remember even Moses got angry, but still he had to lead.

A mistake is like a donut hole, it’s nature, and the person who invented it probably had other intentions so chances are—no one planned for you to be here so find your place in life and take nothing for granted.

To smile is much more sometimes than words, it can save lives and yours. It’s not a sin to have a sense of humor.

Lastly, when looking in the mirror, understand that your perception of the world is not the same as everyone else’s; therefore, find your lane because even if you lose, the world will go on with or without you, but your place in history is determined by how many seasons you last in the game of life.

To the young mind, I’m about to be 43, and I still don’t know enough. There’s a right way and a wrong way, it’s pretty enlightening once you figure out that you’re entire life you’ve been doing something the wrong way. Oh, and don’t forget that we’re all made in his image, find God on your journey, science is good but it’s never enough, the Bible is a good book no matter what religion you claim. It will help you find out who you are, who you must become, and will give you wisdom beyond belief, but first you must read it. If you approach it from an academic perspective, you should be able to apply it to the ministry of your profession.

To the young mind.

The Gods of Life

 Chris heard a voice.

“Hey, she’s pretty.”

John heard a voice.

“Put down the weapon, or Gina will be lonely.”

Donald heard a voice.

“Why drop the bomb on beautiful women.”

James heard a voice.

“Child support, ha, love is priceless.”

At midnight everyone joined hands and had sex until they passed out. They then populated the entire world with their offspring. War was defeated and life lasted through all eternity.

The STD had no power over the urge to populate and the sun kept shining and spreading knowledge to feed its children.

The Gods of Life

Summertime

Tired from watching the news all day, I decided to open the patio door. I’d stayed up all night worried about my family’s safety and mine, I could see the sun rising in the distance. It was like magic, the sky had been filled with so many beautiful colors. I ran through the rough sand to stand on a rock by the ocean, the breeze that I inhaled made me feel so alive. At this moment I let go of the world’s problems. I felt free, my worries of a fast pace life had been simplified for a brief moment. Captivated by the awesomeness of nature, I knew for sure now that summertime was not far away. After surviving the craziness of conflict and the madness of uncertainty I found certainty in the rising sun. For a brief moment I felt peace.

Summertime 

The Triumphant Father

The truth was clear, Brad was afraid of his real father and his mother knew it, but said nothing. As Brad grew older he would always tell his mother that his dad was possessed. She would laugh and say, “There’s a good man in there somewhere son.”

“Here comes the demon,” he would say as his biological father would drive through the neighborhood in his fancy car.

One Christmas night Brad could hear his Laboeboe toy talking to him, but he thought he was having a bad dream.

“Daddy loves you Brad.”

Brad looked across his bed not far from his dresser and soon realized that the toy was alive.

“Daddy loves you Brad, now come with me to the haunted store so we can visit him,” the toy said taking Brad’s hand while he was in a trance. 

As the toy took Brad’s hand they walked into the shadow of his bed into the haunted store.

In the haunted store Brad could see all of the women that his father had been with. Their bodies were hanging on the shelves wrapped in fancy doll boxes.

“I want to go back,” Brad said to the toy.

“No Brad, let’s have fun,” he replied.

Off in the corner of the store Brad could see his father’s car. In the other corner he saw his truck.

“This isn’t funny, I want to go back home!” Brad said.

“Daddy loves you, now let’s have some fun.”

The toy grabbed Brad’s hand to show him what his father did to his mother before he was born, having no where to run Brad began to scream.

“Why are you doing this to me? I want to go home,” Brad said.

“We need you, we need you to change the world Brad. When you grow up, don’t be like the demon dad,” the toy said as Brad woke up in a cold sweat.

“Mom!”

Sonya came bursting into his room.

“Is everything okay?”

“I think I had a bad dream,” Brad said noticing his Laboeboe toy staring at him from across the room.

His mother held him tightly as he began to shake.

“I know what dad did to you the night that I was born. He tried to beat me out of your stomach, didn’t he?” Brad said catching his mother’s full attention.

“Brad, you’re scaring me, now get some rest. I won’t let you talk about your father that way,” his mother said.

As his mother left the room the toy walked over to Brad’s bed and rubbed his head until he fell to sleep.

“Daddy loves you, always remember that Brad.”

The next morning Brad woke up in an orphanage and had no clue what happened before he fell to sleep.

Sitting in what appeared to be a waiting room he could hear adults outside of the room talking.

“Where’s my mom?” He asked as one of the adults entered the room.

“Brad, sweetheart, your mom and dad will always be with you in your dreams. Okay. When you grow up you’re going to make the world a better place.” The aid said as she walked Brad to his room.

This was how Brad’s life began. The moments that he shared with his real parents were brief. Every moment that he had alone he wondered how everyone vanished in the wee hours of the night.

“I named you after an orphan, now you be strong,” he could hear his mother’s voice echoing through his memories.

As Brad grew older he had to convince himself that he had a purpose. Never actually getting adopted, he found his world by playing with puppets. On his first date, his girlfriend whispered in his ear, “What do you want from me Bradley Benjamin?”

He looked her in the eyes and said, “I want to be a good father.”

Sadly, his relationship didn’t last so Brad took his goals somewhere else. It’s amazing how a man could fail over and over again and see everything stripped away from him before he actually achieved anything. Down and out, Bradly barely graduated college. He took his degree in childhood care and decided to pursue his dream as a father by opening up his own orphanage. 

“Brad, are you sure you want to do this?” His friend Ted asked him when he got approval from the state.

“Ted, all of my life I’ve seen darkness. I’ve hid in a room while evil people bring the good people of the world to their knees. I am the light now that will help them see. I am the father that will always be there.” Brad said to his friend.

Ted had no clue what force had jumped into his friend, but he knew for sure that Brad was determined.

After the first two years, Brad had just about every abandoned kid in his care. The man dealt with their mental disorders. He rocked them to sleep as they threw chairs at the wall before they went to bed. Through it all, Brad was there and kept taking in every abandoned kid that he could find. He’d made the front page of the local paper eight times in one year. To every kid that heard about him, he was their hero. Brad developed and saved an entire generation with no regrets. At age eighty-eight, he laid the last shingle on his building roof and read his last story to Greta and Coco, the last children he raised. At the end of Brad’s time on earth, sadly, he’d only heard stories of what happened to his biological family so he made his own triumphant story and as he passed on to his next life his kids read his message before he said goodbye. Girls, boys, men and women of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and colors.

“Greta, Coco, and to all of my kids, I had a million chances to turn away from you all and take the easy way out, but instead I decided to be a father and make the world a better place. I ask nothing of you all but to do the same. Be the light in a dark world.”

A new era had begun and a lasting story of a legacy was told over and over again to bring hope to a world that thought the good will of being a father was gone.

The Triumphant Father

The Beast

I want to be honest to you so here’s a poem.

I used to be a loving kind man.

I was fine until they held my entire family down at gun point and gave the majority of my family the drug option to heal their pain.

I’m one of the few that I know left so, “Yes,” I am a victim.

I used to be a good soldier until I saw the towers fall.

I was a loving man until every relationship I entered into turned into a mind fight, complete hell. I lived a peaceful church life then I was left for dead by the woman that I married. This Father’s Day I’ll be thinking about the son that wasn’t mine and the father who blamed my mother for everything.

I have to leave the past behind me.

I’ll be letting go of the people who would rather enjoy seeing me suffer.

The people who would pay to see me in a coffin as they split the copper pennies that I have left.

Looking in the mirror I still see a part of me that’s still in there somewhere.

No one wants to be around me anymore because I snap at liberals and I’m afraid to fail.

Walking a tight rope, I’ve turned into a beast.

Me and a group of homeless veterans have been spit on, abused, taken advantage of and left for dead in an abandoned building owned by foreigners who too have nothing left.

Washed up, old men wearing black clothes we wait patiently for our next gig because even if we complain, no one cares.

Preparing for my next brawl praying to the heavens to control my anger they feed me through a cage then they too run from what I’ve become.

The Beast

Archaeopteryx lithographica

Running in circles I noticed five birds in the tree. One was a cardinal , one was an eagle, one was a raven, one was an owl, and one was a sparrow. The cardinal I only say in the day, he would come out when I made deals with God fearing people. The eagle would hover over me in the sky, he would only come out when I made deals that were powerful and could get other people hurt. The raven only came out when I made clever deals by watching others around me. The owl I only saw at night when I had to figure out how to survive the wild ride. I came face to face with a bat who is a mammal he was there, but I could hardly see him, he would come out to warn me that most vultures come out at night so beware. Each bird taught me about temptation and why every religion seems to warn us about the same enemy. After falling from a tree, I realized that I had no wings to fly and my only answer was to watch the birds. I worked just as hard as the next man trying to learn how to fly when I came to the conclusion that I had to jump out of high places with so many types of wings. My adventure lead me down a road with few pennies left. While on the roof, I noticed a sparrow making a nest at my building, they sang to me every morning as I tried and tried. In the middle of this life long lesson, I realized that if I were to learn how to fly, I would have to share the skies with the birds. Making progress, a spy told me that I had competition, he told me that I could make a million bucks if I were to put humans in the sky. Realizing that angels in biblical stories have wings I found myself trapped between two worlds. If his eye really is on the sparrow, he has to be watching me too.  Standing on top of a mountain asked to make a deal with the world bank for the entire world I thought of a bible verse: For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what use is it to gain all the wealth and power of this world, with everything it could offer you, at the cost of your own life?

Feeling the pressure, I then jumped only to realize that no one was going to save me when I hit the ground I died on earth only to realize that I had wings in heaven. The entire time that I’d been on earth, I never knew where I was before I was born. I guess that explains why I was so enthusiastic about flying. I guess the God who invented the Archaeopteryx lithographica had other plans for the bird. I wonder what will happen if he changes his mind about humans. This I ponder while God sits in a room putting clay on feathers. On earth I was called a dumb bird loving freak for not taking the deal, but on the other side my soul floated into the heavens and I helped reshape a better world for the next human species in God’s plan.

The End.

The Consequences of Power

 “No deals can be made alone son,” Kevin said.

“What do you mean dad?” Dashawn replied.

“I have to get you to understand that someone will always want what you have, and you will have to decide if you want to make the deal or not, now go in the house with your mother. I can hear her calling you.”

Dashawn’s father’s words played over and over in his mind and the older he got the more he understood. 

“Today class, I want to talk about survival. Now understand one thing because in the next 20 years I don’t know which one of you all will be in a powerful position. Understand that in every decision that you make their will be consequences,” Professor Ann said to here class.

After hearing this, Deshawn kept hearing the words of his father play over and over again in his mind and he began to fold.

The more he studied, the more he learned, and the harder it became for him to speak his mind because all his friends did was party their life away.

He couldn’t escape them and where there is knowledge there is power.

“Dashawn, you need to hangout with us,” Pearl said, eager for him to reply.

“They’re going to attack us soon,” Dashawn replied.

“Who? Dashawn what are you talking about? I’m out of here. The more you read the crazier you get.” Pearl replied. 

Tired of being misunderstood and large minded, Dashawn took matters into his own hands. Knowing that he was being watched he took a lithium ion battery and placed it by the computer with his bitcoin savings on it. He then screwed the thin metal leg from his nightstand off and used it to expand his radio signal to tap into the radio communications near him. 

“His light is off. Maybe he’s asleep,” he heard.

“Bingo!”

He was on the right channel so he hooked his microphone up to his transmitter.

“They’re going to attack us tonight, they’re doing their planning offline. I know you’ve been watching me for a while, but I don’t think you’ve been hearing me.”

After making his statement everything went quiet.

“Hello, hello,” he said.

He then heard his doorknob move, it was Pearl.

“You know Deshawn, I’m worried about you,” Pearl said.

“Pearl, what do you want? Go find someone on your level. I’m a nerd and you’re a sex addict,” he said.

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Well, it’s the truth and the truth hurts now leave me alone. I’m in the middle of trying to save us all from the wrath of war,” Deshawn replied.

No one would have ever predicted what would take place next but for some odd reason the power went out.

“What do we do now, Einstein?” Pearl said.

“My dad used to say that no deals can be made alone and that someone will always want what I have. I think I get it now.”

DeShawn was at the top of his class, he was actually smarter than the President and even smarter than his top generals, but what was on his computer made him powerful. Deshawn had spied on every key government figure from the comfort of his dorm room and that made him a threat.

“Hey, don’t just leave me in the dark alone,” Pearl said, jogging to catch up with Deshawn holding the light from her cell phone.

“If you want to live stay away from me Pearl. Stay in your simple life. I’m toxic,” he explained.

Pearl didn’t understand.

“Why do you keep talking down to me?”

At that moment Deshawn heard his watch timer alarm go off. He could hear attack planes in the sky. 

“It’s too late, we have to get to my bunker, come on Pearl.”

The both of them ran for cover, the country was under attack.

In the distance things were getting out of hand, while he and Pearl rushed to take cover in his bunker they sat on the hard floor looking at each other with the lights of their cell phones soaking in the madness.

“Is this why you’ve been so distant?” She asked.

“They didn’t listen to me.” Deshawn replied.

“I know you think I’m dumb Deshawn, but we ordinary people can’t save the world. They didn’t listen because they’re blinded by their own power. We’re all just college kids here to play their game. You tried and now we all have to suffer the consequences,” Pearl said while observing the chaos erupting above her and her friend. 

“I have enough food down here to last us until things settle,” Deshawn said after making sure they were sealed in.

“How long have you been preparing for this?” Pearl asked.

“Well, first it started with a weird dream and then I intercepted a phone call between a foreign ally and an enemy nation. So to answer your question about three years. I used the money my dad left me to built this bunker secretly under this old forgotten dorm that we’ve been hanging out in.” He explained.

Even underground they could feel the earth trembling as they could hear the people screaming and running for cover above them.

They both became very close while waiting for the war to end. Sadly, when it did, nothing was left above the bunker. Climbing the iron ladder to get to the surface, Deshawn and Pearl could smell the funk of soot and nuclear waste.

“I guess your dad was right. We had something that they wanted. I guess it’s just you and me now,” Pearl said.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone survived this unless they’re underground,” Dashawn replied.

Walking through clouds of smoke, they could feel the toxic ground crumbling under their shoes.

“This is it Pearl, they died instantly and we die slowly by inhaling this mess. The consequences of power. Our thirst for weapons of war gave use the power to kill not only our enemy but ourselves. How could we be so smart yet be so dumb at the same time?”

“Remember what your dad said Deshawn, no deals are made alone. It’s just me and you now. Do you want me or do you want to eat off of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?”

Feeling the snake crawling in his pants, Deshawn now had the unexpected power to choose and Pearl gave him a choice. If Deshawn said no, then he had the power to see the world now as it was, toxic and a waste. If he said yes, then he would have the power to be just like his creator and repopulate the world with Pearl with the knowledge to undo what the people before him had done. In the distance he could hear echos of his mother calling him and his father’s voice fading away. Just like the leaders who dropped the bombs, he had the power to choose. Looking into Pearl’s eyes a small patch of grass began to grow as the sun peeked through the clouds. The ball was in Deshawn’s hands now.

The Consequences of Power.

Dear Journal, my views on War, God, & Nature

Today I got a few text messages, one asked me to attend a graduation and the other a wedding anniversary. In a complex conversation I heard a woman say, “Lean not on your own understanding,” while I calculated odds and probability. My conclusion lead me to realize that a full education takes time so I’ll write about being on level one first while eating bread and water. There’s still so much to learn I guess. I then turned on the radio and heard the news about a man who decided to kill due to the war taking place between Israel and Hamas. A few years ago I saw my own ethnicity take arms to protest in a movement that sparked Black Lives Matter and White Lives Matter statements to be made. I then witnessed riots at the White House. I hear the President of the United States of America act totally out of even military code of conduct, in the public sense, but many people seem to praise his policies. As a veteran I was told that the military is the White Man’s gang by someone in a seemingly casual conversation. I even witnessed religious leaders getting involved with politics. I’ve heard them preach against political leaders to the congregation while praising other political figures. I myself am not a perfect person, but I’ve heard my fair share of the “N” word over and over again used in so many different context by so many different kinds of people that I myself am confused. I’ve witnessed many ethnicities preach the hatred of other races, yet, seem to be comfortable marrying or engaging in relationships with the races that they seem to be angry with while also taking it amongst themselves to dictate the lives of others. I guess love truly is blind. Growing older, I admit that I now get up everyday telling myself in the mirror that God saved me from a gang riddled city. God led me through the war on terror that is still alive and well. God tells me not to judge others. War teaches me that someone decided to take matters into their own hands. War teaches me that someone is pissed off. War teaches me to hold tightly to peace. War teaches me to ask God for forgiveness and mercy if I caused it. Being a victim of war every day I’ve learned something about nature and about myself. I did read that in ancient Kemet where a part of Noah’s offspring is said to have migrated to and is supposed to be the place where Yeshua walked and learned in his younger life that if studied with an open mind we could probably learn something about ourselves. Abraham’s offspring was blessed because Abraham made the choice not to sacrifice his own child. In today’s world if we as human beings do not comprehend something then we have to learn and ask questions. There are standards and principles put in place to get us to understand something about ourselves. I’m 42 now about to be 43 and I don’t regret my decision to serve and defend the constitution of the USA, a document that once considered Africans a certain percentage human, a constitution that took a war to prove otherwise with maybe nature, God or aligned thinking deciding the winner. Now we live in a time where there is chaos, just like it has always been throughout humanity, but that’s not what I wrote this piece for. I wrote this piece because my family is scattered and reality teaches me that one day I will cross paths with them and they will have questions just like I did when I got to talk to a great aunt before she died. I’m divorced and will probably never marry again unless the hair on my chest near my heart grows gray and the wheat used to make oatmeal changes my perception about life. I have things that I would love to complain about, but I have to be honest, no one cares and nature has given me the peace that I always yearned for. I can still hear God’s voice. I still have a conscience and I still made mistakes in the past. I have people who love me, and I have people who probably hate me, but that’s life. Statistically, I was not supposed to make it past 40 and personally I’ve worked to the bone for the little that I do own and the rest I gave away as an investment into the future. I’m poor, but rich in God’s grace and my grandmother and grandfather’s offspring continue to spread. Many of them, I do not know so here’s where I come to my point. Innocent people are dying everyday, but just like in the olden days we humans have to learn that there’s something greater that balances things out. When we cheat, we often get cheated, when we kill, we often live in torment for the rest of our lives. When we wage war the children that survive never forget. When we show love, sadly, hate follows, but love endures. When we’re neutral, we supply positive and negative energy with neutral vibes. When we become mysterious, people will try to figure us out, but in the end we become wiser in a cycle of life that teaches us that War, Nature and God have one simple purpose. War teaches the person who experiences it to appreciate peace if he or she survives. Nature teaches us that once we learn how to plant a garden we can feed ourselves and our family. God teaches us that we’re all beautifully made for a purpose. To conclude, I pray that I’m able to live a long life. I’ve seen and heard a lot at my age. I didn’t get to make the wedding anniversary and I probably won’t make it to the graduation, but I’ll send out gifts if I can. If I were to be called to the afterlife tomorrow I would have one message for those still on this earth and that would be what I’ve had to tell myself everyday. “Suck it up and keep going, if I survive war, appreciate the balance of nature, and if I believe in God, eventually I’ll find a reason and a purpose. I think King Solomon said it best that in the end nothing matters. You’re angry one day, but tomorrow could turn into happiness, your envy at age 20 could lead you to regrets at age 40. You could remarry the woman who you hated in your 20s years later and you could end up having children by someone whom you enslaved. That’s life and it’s not fair, but filled with surprises and special guest. Moses probably mentioned God’s name a thousand times on he and the Hebrew people’s quest to the promised land, but his people still gave him hell. So to end; Copernicus, Moses, Dr. King, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Hitler, Stalin and a long list of others who started a chain of events that cost lives, revolutions, different ways of thinking and even stretched the imagination of ordinary people, all of whom, have left us all a trail of causes and effects, but in the end we all have the same fate, we must leave the world to face the maker. So to conclude, what’s the point, for the followers that we gain will only see hope for a moment, but a world of unsolved problems in The End.

Dear Journal, my views on War, God, & Nature