Johnnie Got His Soul

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 30 Johnnie Got His Soul (based on a true Navy Seal story)

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe.,'s Jr., Ambidextrous Brain + Spiritual Mind.

Johnnie got his wish; after 31 years of physical and mental preparation, Johnnie thought that he needed something new, to break the boredom of his everyday activities of the past 31 years. He wanted a new challenge, a tough challenge. Johnnie like challenges. It all started when he was only ten years old, when he was asked by a friend to go a martial artist studio for self-defense classes. Johnnie’s first his first self-defense class was an eye opener. The normal students wore a black uniform with a red and yellow dragon on the back of their jackets. Everyone took off their shoes or sneakers before they entered the studio, but the soles of their feet had been calloused by the hard wood floor. With each new disabling and killing bodily movement, Johnnie’s body and mind were being programmed to move in many of the classical arts of self-defense. He took the two hour classes three times a week for many, many years.

As Johnnie grew older, he decided to join the United States Navy to explore and discover the world. He knew that he would ride on the big aircraft carriers, where he would ride on the open seas of the earth. He knew that he would visit countries free of charge, paid for by the United States Government and the tax payers of America. As he traveled the open seas, he knew he was protected by America’s best aircraft the world had even seen since the start of mankind’s urge to kill, but more importantly, to defend itself from other killers. He also knew that he was in constant danger of having to go to war, although he hoped he would never have to see and experience battle of any kind. Yet, he knew he was being paid to help to defend America’s freedom from foreign threats.

On his assigned aircraft carrier, Johnnie had plenty of off time to rest, that is to workout or even read. One of Johnnie’s friends handled Johnnie a book entitled, ‘Johnny Got His Gun.’ * Johnnie had thought that was sort of funny, a book with his name on it; maybe it was a message of sorts. When Johnnie laid down on his bunk bed during a rest period, he started ‘Johnny Got His Gun.’ He wondered what kind of mind would and could write such a book; but also wondered how the book had influenced the millions of readers, especially soldiers who read it. After he started to read the book, he immediately became claustrophobic, as anyone who has read the book would understand. Laying in your bunk bed on an aircraft meant that there was another bunk bed only feet above you. A sense of enclosure began to surround Johnnie’s mind.

So Johnnie walked up to the aircraft’s deck, where he found a place to be alone, as he read the book. The aircraft carrier sailed through the ocean’s white waves like a steel knife that would cut through the white icing of a cake. As he continued to read ‘Johnny Got His Gun.’ he would often look up to the light blue sky and he wondered what would happen if he was in the position as poor Johnny in the book. Most soldiers did not end up like the Johnny in the book; but nevertheless, a few did. But even those who did not end up like the Johnny in the book, some still felt as if they would forever live in the memory of war and of the dreary dreamworld of killing and death.

Within a few days, Johnnie had finished the book, with a new sense of war, and it effects on its wounded soldiers. A few day after he had completed the book, he was accepted into the Navy Seals boot camp program, at the old military age of 31 years. He was the oldest of the group, but was the toughest and the best in physical and mental shape. He knew that he could complete the Navy Seals boot camp program because he had trained his mind and body to be toughest that he could be, but he wanted to be tougher; both mentally and physically. Plus, he wanted and needed some new adventure. Now, he was going to get some Navy Seals boot camp adventure.

As soon as they stepped off the bus, the Navy Seals drill instructors introduced themselves by yelling, and they never stopped yelling. Every time the drill instructors opened their mouths, they were yelling at every recruit as if the recruits were morons. After weeks of being yelled at while doing thousands of pushups and sit-ups, and running for miles and swimming for hours in both the pools and ocean, and of lifting logs above their heads with or without the help of the teams six or eight other tough guys, and of shooting off thousands of rounds (bullets) from all kinds of guns, and of treading water in the cold wavy ocean for hours at a time, and of learning about bombs and explosives and grenades and missiles and torpedoes, and of learning about radio communication skills, and of learning about surviving torture from the enemy, and of learning even more physical self-defense techniques than they had already learned in their previous lifetimes, the Navy Seal drill instructors had more surprises for those very tough guys who had not already quit the Navy Seals boot camp.

There were so many other neat tricks to figure out which of the Navy Seal recruits were tough enough both mentally and physically, but one really cruel trick was coming their way soon. ‘HEY RECRUITS. TODAY WE ARE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING NEW. GET YOUR ASSES INTO THAT COLD WATER AND USE THESE REEDS TO BREATH THROUGH UNTIL WE TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE FINISHED WITH TODAY’S SPECIAL NAVY SEAL WATER EXERCISE.’ The recruits all jumped into the clear cold lake water, and then they rinsed off the glass of their water masks. They put their water face masks on so they could see through the clear water. The only other items they had on them was a pair of swimming trunks and their waterproof watches, and the cold water surrounding their skin.

After Johnnie jumped into the water and fitted the face mask around his face, he put the long reed into his mouth and stuck it up through the water, into the air. He looked at his watch’s glowing white numbers that were the only human element in the water with Johnnie, except the other members of his boot camp team. Johnnie looked at his watch and he made a mental note of the mark of nine o’clock as he started to breath through the reed. Johnnie and his boot camp team members had long ago became accustomed to the strange water games of their drill instructors, but it seemed that time was not a factor in their water games. After all, the word Navy Seals implies the men were training to be human seals; human seals for the United State Navy. So being in the water humans was a goal to all the Navy Seals recruits, so being in the water would become second nature to the Navy Seal recruits, if that was indeed possible.

When Johnny realized that he was going to be in the cold water for a long time, while breathing through a reed, he mentally started to prepare his mind for the long haul into the mental realms of doubt and darkness, as well as of certainty and light. While Johnnie controlled his body in the cool water, to keep himself still in the water, to keep the reed above water, Johnnie breathed into the reed while he looked at the other team members. Johnny knew that it was another test of physical and mental endurance for the recruits, just in case he had to hide from the enemy for hours at a time, or just in case he had to hide from the enemy before he destroyed that assigned enemy.

After a few minutes, Johnnie quickly made himself at home under the water, like before, when he was forced to become a human water buoy above the water. His body started to cool down soon thereafter, but he was still not cold. His skin feeling the cold entering through every pore. After the first half hour, Johnnie realized that his body would remain still in the water, whether it was freezing or not, but it did not matter if his body was freezing, he knew that he would have to tough it out; unless of course he died from the cold. A human fish with hands and legs.

As his body began to shiver, Johnnie began to freeze his mind into a state of ice-cold toughness, the kind of toughness needed to survive in the cold water or to kill another human being. Without a tough mental state to survive, Johnnie learned that his body would not survive the cold water. Moreover, he began to wonder about his life above the water’s surface. He started to wonder about the message of the book, ‘Johnny Got His Gun.’ Which led to his wondering about his desire to become an official Navy Seal, especially at the end of his boot camp program. Did he really want to be labeled a Navy Seal for the rest of his life or did he just want to prove to himself that he could finish the Navy Seal boot camp? He proved that he could finish the Navy Seal boot camp, but did he want to be a Navy Seal? And he started to wonder about his life’s real purpose, or more importantly, his current goal of becoming a United States Navy Seal?

In a flash, a group of blue fishes swam up to the recruits. Hell, look at those fish. They are meant to be in this freezing water, but we humans are not fish. They must be wondering what we humans are doing under water. Maybe they are laughing at us, if they can laugh. Johnnie looked as this skin and he realized it was blueish, in the clear blue water, under the clear blue sky. Johnnie’s mind began to see the blue deep in his dreamy mind, Johnnie saw the vision of a blue coffin, only he was alive, like the Johnny, in Johnny Got His Gun. The only difference was Johnnie could escape his death trap if he wanted to surface to the water’s surface. After the blues of the sky, water, fish, and of his mind, Johnnie closed his eyes to close his brain to the color blue. So now he was in the blackness of his blindness, "he had screamed without voice until his throat hurt he fell back into the womb back into the loneliness and the blackness and the terrible silence." pg.93.

Slowly at first, but then quickly, Johnnie had felt as if he had become the Johnny in ‘Johnny God His Gun.’ He pretended to experience the book’s message. He could not see anything, nor could he hear anything. He felt as if he his body was a frozen piece of skin and bones and blood, not being able to move. Johnnie freezing body enable his mind to often escape from the cold, into different states of mind, when he was not conscious of his freezing skin and bones and blood. John saw the moment of no return; that is when he realized that he was temporally the Johnny in ‘Johnny God His Gun.’ ‘How would I live if I become Johnny in the water instead of on a hospital bed. What if I was trapped in this water until my last breath. Would I indeed die in the darkness of my mind, in the blue water? And when I am allowed to surface from this watery death, will I get shot in an international political war with no real purpose? Would I get blown up like Johnny? A global world with no end of global wars; maybe until the end of humankind, until the end of the human race. How screwed up would that be for the supposedly intelligent human race. Would I have to hurt a person who might also become a Johnny, in ‘Johnny Got His Gun?’ How would I feel then? Would I go to a mental hell for eternity or what is the story with life after death? I am to young to find out about life after death. I want to live life, but not like Johnny!

I could just open my mouth right now and swallow this water and die. Now that would be funny to those drill instructors. They would have lost one of their own because they pushed to hard. But then again they have to push hard, to make us tough for war. War is tough, being a soldier is tougher. When are those drill instructors going to let us out of this freezing water? When are those politicians going to stop sending us to war? Do I want to die as a Navy Seal or is there a better way to die?’ There has to be a better way to die; like being a teacher of religion or something.’

Five hours later, a few drill instructors jumped into the water and they gave the recruits their thumps up sign of approval for their recruits to ascend to the surface of the water. Johnnie and his water buddies slowly ascended to the surface of the water, where they grasped for air and oxygen, like normal human beings. Yet, they crawled out of the water like the first fish that crawled out of the water millions of millions of years ago. As they hobbled out of the water, Johnnie had decided that he was going to surprise his drill instructors with his own surprise. But he was utterly exhausted to even try to utter a single word, not to mention making complete statements to his very tough drill instructors; statements that would make his drill instructors even anger and madder than they already were in those twenty four hours of each day.

A week later, Johnny walked into the bathroom and he looked into the mirror. He asked himself, ‘Am I really going to do it?’ I only have two weeks to go before I will be a true blue Navy Seal, but I do not want to die a Navy Seal. Johnnie began to walk out of the bathroom when he heard the words, ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING RECRUIT?’ Johnnie yelled back, ‘I AM PREPARING MYSELF FOR A STATEMENT TO YOU, DRILL INSTRUCTOR, SIR.’ The drill instructor yelled back, ‘AND WHAT MAY THAT STATEMENT BE, RECRUIT?’ Johnnie replied, ‘I QUIT!’ The drill instructor responded with, ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU QUIT?’

Johnnie said, ‘SIR, I QUIT TRYING TO BE A KILLING SEAL.’ The drill instructor yelled back, ‘YOU ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS TO GO BEFORE YOU ARE A NAVY SEAL. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, RECRUIT?’ Johnnie walked away from the Navy Seal drill instructor and he walked straight into the command office and he said, ‘I quit.’ (It was not that easy for Johnny in real life) And then he walked off to his barracks, packed up his personal belongings, and he walked off the base. Of course, he was still in the Navy, so he had to report back to the normal United States Navy. Although he knew he was free of being an official Navy Seal, the commanders knew he was still prepared for the job of a Navy Seal. He soon learned that he was only partly freed from the title of Navy Seal.

Within a month of returning to the regular navy, to his regular navy job of working on the big aircraft carrier, the United States went to war with Iraq. Johnnie was assigned to the Special Forces Covert Operation that entered Iraq before the formal invasion began. Johnnie was called into action because he was an unofficial Navy Seal, and the United States military knew it. Behind enemy lines, Johnnie and his team members walked very sneakingly and ran and hid behind rocks and houses and buildings until they very sneakingly slid into the building where their contact was supposed to meet them. Instead, Johnnie was met with a gun rising up to his head from the side of a hidden door. Without thinking, Johnnie automatically swung his gun in one hand around to deflect his opponent’s gun up against the wall; while his other hand had already thrusted his long, sharp knife into his opponent’s skin, far into his lung. With a pull and a twist of the knife, the Iraqi was hurt.

Johnnie looked into the Iraqi’s eyes as he saw death engulf his soul. Johnnie knew that the Iraqi quickly realize that he was about to leave his world for another world, but that was not Johnnie’s concern. Nevertheless, Johnnie could not escape hearing the Iraqi’s lungs last gulp of air as his opponent started to drop to the floor like a rubber dummy. But before he hit the floor, Johnnie’s knife craved the side of the neck of the already dying opponent. As Johnnie looked into his eyes, he felt the Iraqi’s soul start moving away from the skin and bone body. In one moment of absolute clarity, Johnnie felt a part of his soul change too; although he did not understand it, nor could he explain it, but he knew that he saw death in the Iraqi’s eyes. The Iraqi was indeed dead.

As Johnnie’s team member’s were taking out the rest of the Iraq military force, Johnnie said out loud to the dead guy, ‘It is better than being Johnny Got His Gun.’ But he was not sure if he meant it.

A few years later, after Johnnie had been honorably discharged from the Navy, Johnnie started to have a few recalling dreams about his first kill in the Iraq war. He did not feel guilty about the kill, but he wished that the recalling dreams would stop. Johnnie knew that maybe killing another human being was not all that fun and glamorous, but what was done was done. Johnnie needed to become adjusted to civilian life again, meaning that he needed to get a new job in a new occupation for a new life. Sometimes he felt as if he needed a new soul too, but how could that happen?

Johnnie started thinking about his pre-Navy Seals martial art training and he thought all of those breathing exercises that accompanied the zen saying on the dojo’s walls. CONTROL YOUR BREATHING. BREATHING IS ALL IMPORTANT. Johnnie became to think that maybe he could reclaim his sleep by healing people’ breathing problems. Johnnie took a long walk one day on the beach, and he remember the day he had visited a military buddy in the military hospital. His friend had a punctured lung, but the hospital staff took care of the punctured lung and his friend. Instead of being a paid killer for the military, why not be working for in the health care field, where he could save people. That would be good new beginning, away from the military life. Instead of taking the breath out of people, why not help them get their breath back.

Immediately, Johnnie researched the college courses in the health care field. He applied for his first college courses for learning about the human respiratory system and hospital care. Johnnie learned about the order of the respiratory system; Air moves through the body in the following order: Nostrils or mouth, nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, thoracic, bronchi, alveoli. Johnnie learned about the bronchi, the lungs, the diaphragm, respiratory muscles, ventilation, inhalation, exhalation, circulation, gas exchange, and conditions of the respiratory systems; and a whole lot more, including hospital procedures, especially in the emergency rooms.

Johnnie worked hard and he earned his two year degree in Respiratory Science. Soon thereafter, Johnnie was hired by a hospital and he became an official hospital employee. His first night as a hospital emergency room respiratory technician was a busy one. When the first ambulance drove up to the emergency room entrance, the first patient was wheeled into the emergency room. Johnnie looked at the bloody knife wound, and he knew what to do, even as his mind recalled sticking in the knife into that Iraqi, but not for long. He was busy taking care of the business of the moment; no time for bad memories.

Johnnie looked into the patient’s eyes as he saw the real hope of life engulfing his soul. Johnnie saw how the patient quickly realize that he did not want to leave his world for another world, and that was now Johnnie’s concern. Nevertheless, Johnnie could not escape hearing the patient’s lungs gulping for air as he slid his strong hands around the patient’s neck to position it into the proper position. As Johnnie looked into his eyes, he felt the patient’s soul begging for life. In one moment of absolute clarity, Johnnie felt a part of his soul was healing too; that he too, wanted to live; although he did not understand it, nor could he explain it. But he knew that he saw life in the patient’s eyes, and more importantly, he saw a life for himself. More than ever!

He helped the emergency room technicians strip off the blood soaked shirt and they quickly realized that the patient had a punctured lung. After performing the needed tests, they realized that the knife had just nicked the lung, causing it to collapse like a punctured balloon. Johnnie and the others fixed the poor guy’s lung in no time at all and he was breathing again like a normal human being. That was first of many such punctured lung healings and many other respiratory problems that Johnnie would help people overcome, every day as a hospital emergency room respiratory technician.

For the first time in a long time, Johnnie felt like a real human being again; he had regained the human spirit to persevere life instead of taking life. He was free from the politicians who sent young men to war for whatever reason; to get blown up by the bombs or shot by bullets by other soliders of other politicians. When Johnnie had finished his first week of work, he slept like he had not slept for a long time; but not like the Johnny in ‘Johnny Got His Gun!’

* Johnny Got His Gun: By Dalton Trumbo (ISBN 0-553-27432-5)

Hanley's Visit To The House Of Angels (part 2)

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 29 Hanley’s Visit To The House Of Angels

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe., Jr.,'s Ambidextrous Brain + Spiritual Mind

Hanley and his family walked up to the house of angels just as they had so many times before. But it had been a few years since Hanley and his family had visited Alex, so when they walked up to the house’s front door, they noticed the angel statues on the front porch. They slightly hesitated to go further, even to knock on the door of the house of angels. Hanley began to wonder what was the meaning of the angel statues, but was he in for a big surprise.

As the Hanley family began to sit down on the custom made white leather sofas, they all looked around the television - living room, they looked around the room’s new decorations. Could speechless describe their expressions? They were waiting for the next surprise from Alex, as if the possibility that Alex had been transformed into a Holy Roller. But Alex had simply and politely asked them if they wanted something to drink. ‘Would you like some tea, or soda, or fruit juice?’

Alex walked into the kitchen on purpose, with the intent on letting Hanley and his family eyes roam the room’s angel statues and posters and prints, and signs, and the other new posters and prints on the walls. When Alex bought in the tea for Hanley and his wife, and fruit juice for their kids, he noticed that they were calmer, but still nervous. Alex pretended as if the walls and the room had not changed at all. Of course, he had grown accustomed to the new decorations, but he was beginning to feel Hanley and his family’s silent message of slight disapproval.

But Alex knew why they would feel strange in such a room or a house. Hanley and his wife were born and raised in a country that did not believe in any god, nor did they ever worship any kind of god. They were born and raised in a godless society because government and culture did not allow any kind of supernatural worship because their government wanted to control the minds, bodies, and lives of the billions of people who lived in their home country. There were no churches or Bibles or sects of supernatural ideas. Yet, there was enough rice for everyone to eat.

Some people might argue that by not believing in any kind of god is a good thing because if nobody knows what god is, then they would be believing in something that might not be real, only a figment of the human mind’s imagination. They would be risking in believing in a false god, like the people of hundreds, thousands, and millions of years ago. Some people might argue that was a good thing because if people believed in the wrong concept of God, their human decisions would be based on a wrong premise. Like when the Maya and the Aztecs sacrificed animals and even people (84,000 people in 4 days ) for their religious ceremonies and rituals, based on the false belief that they were making their non-existent sky gods happy. On the other hand, in the modern age of information, when people have the opportunity to think about God, to study about God, read about God, they should use that freedom to search for the spiritual Truth, instead of just lazily believing whatever religious people tell them to believe. Humans should not be religious robots.

Hanley’s five year old son walked over to an angel statue and he touched it. He giggled as he moved his finger from the head down to its nose. Hanley’s older daughter Alisa asked Alex, ‘Why did you buy all of those different angel statues?’ Alex smiled at Alisa as he responded, ‘There are so many reasons for the angel statues. But these angel statues represent other realms and creatures that we can not see with our human brain, but which we can see with our mental eyes.’

Alisa asked Alex, ‘What do you mean by that?’

Alex said, ‘Well, many people would laugh at the angel statues, as if angel creatures do not exist, but it is a very simple fact that the human brain can not see everything that exists. If it could, then we would not need microscopes and telescopes to enhance and enlarge the very small and the very large far away places of the universe. As a matter of fact, the physical scientists know that we can only see a very small part of the whole universe, of what exists. But you might learn more about that in your science class. But just ask your dad.’

Hanley had a Ph.D. in astrophysics. He had a great deal of knowledge of the seen and unseen universe before the human brain’s eyes, but Alex knew that Hanley did not believe in angels or other creatures that we can not see with our brain. Or maybe he did? As Hanley and his wife started to talk to other people in the house, his kids walked out to the backyard to feed the fish in Alex’s pond.

Alex handed some fish food to the children. They laughed as they tossed the fish food into the pond. Alex said Alisa, ‘What do you think the fish see when they see you toss fish food into the pond?’ Alisa looked down to the fish and she looked up at Alex, ‘They see our skin.’ Alex said, ‘Stated simple enough. But do you think they know anything about our minds or lives or even the universe of stars and galaxies?’ Alisa looked up towards and sky and she responded with, ‘I guess not.’ Alex said, ‘I guess not too, but they know that "the creatures" outside the water gave them food. And they know that we are creatures above the water. Now what would happen if a creature above our sense of matter, space, and time gave us a gift, when we could only see part of the gift or the hand that have us the gift?’

Alisa giggled and then laughed.

A seagull landed in Alex’s backyard, but there were other seagulls flying overhead. Alex sat down in a chair and he pointed up towards the circling seagulls. He asked Alisa, ‘What do you see when you see a seagull flying in the sky?’ Alisa responded, ‘I see winds and feathers.’ Alex replied to Alisa, ‘What do you imagine they are seeing when they are flying high above us and the ground?’ Alisa said, ‘They see everything! Like the houses and cars and trees and people’s backyards.’

Alex stated, ‘That is a good beginning. But what do you think they experience; compared to us on the ground?’ Alisa stood silent as she wondered about the question. ‘Well, they are flying and we are not.’ Alex replied, ‘Ok. So they experience flight and speed and time and space different than us. Isn’t that correct?’ Alisa said, ‘Sure.’ Alex looked up towards the sky and he said to Alisa, ‘Would you like to play a mind game.’ Alisa said, ‘Ok.’ Alex sat on the ground next to Alisa and he said, ‘Let us look up towards those flying seagulls and pretend that we are flying on their backs. In other words, they are like flying horses with wings, and we are riding on their backs; we get to experience flight and speed and space and maybe even time just as they do; in a way that is.’

Alisa looked up towards the sky, so did Alex. Alex had played this game before. He had imagined what it would be like to ride on the wings of seagulls as they rose higher and higher in the sky, leaving earth behind as it become smaller and smaller and smaller, until it disappeared for good. Alex had thought was it was like for the seagulls mind to fly so high that all they could see was clouds. What were they thinking and wondering then, as they flew away from earth to heavenly realms of flight?

Alex knew that Alisa had probably never been in an airplane, so her growing mind was painting a picture with total imagination. Alex had not only flown in a plane, he was once a student pilot, so he had felt the joy of turning an airplane to the right and to the left, and up and down. Alex looked at Alisa as he said, ‘Now, wonder what it would be like to fly on the wings of angels, higher and higher into new realms that we know nothing about.’ Alisa did not say a word as Alex said, ‘Angels that can disappear and reappear with or without wings.’

Hanley walked into the backyard as he asked, ‘What are you guys doing?’ Alisa said, ‘We are imagining what it would be like to ride on the backs of seagulls and angels.’ ‘Really?’ responded Hanley. ‘Why would you want to do to that?’ Alex looked at Hanley and he responded with, ‘Why, I am surprised that you would ask that question, Hanley. Don’t you have PhD in astrophysics?’ ‘You know I do.’ stated Hanley.

‘Do you recall Albert Einstein’s thought experiment of riding on the back of a light wave?’ Hanley answered with, ‘Sure I do.’ Alisa asked, ‘What is a light wave dad?’ Hanley proudly answered, ‘If you look at a light wave as a particle, then it would travel through the universe at the speed of 186,282.397 miles per seconds, or about one foot per nanosecond in a total vacuum. Albert Einstein wondered what it be like if he rode on the back of a light wave.’

Alex kick in, ‘We are wondering what it would be like to rode on the back of a seagull and of angels, if they had wings because we can use our God given gift of wondering.’ Alisa kick in with, ‘How do you know there are angels?’ Alisa’s dad smiled at Alex, as if that was a trick question he would have asked if he had the guts to do it.

Alex returned Hanley’s proud grin with a smile as he responded with, ‘There are many ways to know if something exists or not? Right Hanley?’ Hanley’s proud smile disappeared quickly, as he replied with a soft yes. Alex said, ‘We can use logic or intuition and we can use experimentation to learn what we do not know. We can even learn from others; from other people with great minds and we can also learn from the angels if we have open minds too. We can even intelligently pray and wonder about questions we do not know.’

Alisa yelled out, ‘Are they here now?’

Alex said they are all around me, even if they are not here in this world; they are in their worlds where they can look down on us like we look down on the fishes. Or they can be here, there, everywhere. The angels live in another dimension or universe, right next door to us.’ Alex started to laugh out loud because he made a little joke, but it was not really a joke. He had not expressed that it way before now.

Alisa said, ‘Can you show us?’

Alex said, ‘Well, let see if we can try a trick or two for you.’

Alex folded his hand together into the praying position and he closed his eyes. Everyone became silent. Alex’s mind consciously transformed into a direct line of communication with the his next door neighbors called angels, (or advance creatures ). Alex knelt down on one knee and he put both hands high into the air, with one finger extended out, like a stick. With his eyes still closed, a hummingbird appeared and flew onto one finger, while a very large yellow butterfly appeared and landed on the other finger. Alex’s body began to glow with invisible bright light.

He looked up towards the sky and he said, ‘Thanks.’

The hummingbird and butterfly disappeared and Alisa yelled out, ‘Wow dad, did you see that?’ Alex rose up from his one knee kneeling position and he said, ‘Wow, that was fun. I just love it when that happens, don’t you?’ Hanley said, ‘It looks like you have a PhD in angels.’ Alex simply replied, ‘I do not know if I have earned a PhD in angels, but maybe one day.’

In a simple heartbeat, the clouds formed in the sky, and they began to shape into a large head with the smooth curve of wings. The three of them stood still as the cloud’s head developed eyes and a mouth and then it flapped its wings. It opened its mouth and it blew down towards the earth. In one magical moment, the wind blew onto the earth. The head smiled and an eye winked; then in one big poof, it disappeared.

Alex wrapped his hand around Alisa’s head and he said, ‘We hope you liked the show.’

As they walked into the house of angels, Hanley’s wife asked them, ‘What have you been doing in the backyard?’ Alisa answered, ‘Alex has been teaching us about angels.’ Alisa’s mom said, ‘Really now. What did he do?’ Alisa responded, ‘Well, there was a hummingbird and a butterfly and even a cloud.’ Alisa’s mom laughed, but she stopped laughing when Hanley nonchalantly said, ‘It was quite a show.’ ‘Oh.’ was all Hanley’s wife could exclaim.

Alex stated, ‘I will return in a moment.’ Alex entered his special room to find a special gift for Alisa. He opened a cabinet to find a silver necklace with a Raphael wondering cherub face on a silver pendent. ‘This should help Alisa remember her first day of angelic experiences, and maybe later on for her angelic memories. Alex walked back to the living room and he told Alisa that he had a surprise for her. He told Alisa to turn around and close her eyes. He slipped the necklace around her neck and he clipped the necklace closed. ‘You can open your eyes now.’

Alisa opened her eyes and she ran to the bathroom to look into the mirror. She ran back to the living room, with a very wide smile on her face. She walked up to her father and mother and held the necklace away from her neck, so her parents would see it. Alisa’s parents smiled as they said thanks to Alex for his kindness. Alisa’s bother looked onto the party with a bit of sadness. Alex quickly noticed Alisa’s bother’s sadness, so he stood up and he found a simple story book for him. Alex showed the book to Hanley and his wife before he handed the book to Alisa’s little brother. Hanley’s wife stated, ‘Angels Among Us. A collection of inspiring true angels stories. (ISBN 0-8163-1792-5)

Hanley stood up as the said, ‘Well it is time for us to go. Thanks for everything. Hanley and his wife and Alisa and her bother said good-bye to everyone before they walked into their car and they drove away. Later that night, Hanley and his wife and Alisa and her bother went to sleep. They were tired from the visit at, so they had all went to sleep early. As they closed their eyes, to rest from their bodies and from their earthly lives, they began to enter into their sub-conscious minds, to travel into another world away from the limitations of the human mind’s concept of space and time.

Sleepy and then dreamy, off into their dream worlds, but tonight it was different. They were in Alex’s backyard, sitting on the chairs at the table, having tea and fruit juice. Alex had become a very old man, with a long white beard, and gold rim glasses. He slowly walked with a brown wooden cane. He sat down on a chair as he had millions of time before. He was at home.

But Alisa wished for another trick. Hanley heard her wish in the dream state, so he stood up and he lifted his cane over his head, as if to form a cross or a T. He closed his eyes and he held onto the cane. A moment arrived when the clouds became dark and then the sky. Old Alex looked up towards the darken sky and he said out loud, ‘Dear Almighty One, maker of heaven and earth. You have given me a good life, full of adventures beyond all human expectations. This moment has arrived for Hanley and his wife and Alisa and her brother to witness, as a testimony that the house of angels was more than a house full of angel statues and angel pictures of one sort or another. It was more than a house of signs of life and love; that it was more than a house of wishful thinking and hopeful dreams. This moment is a moment for them to remember that one house on the earth could be filled with God’s angels, instead of the humanistic animal desires that fill the billions of other houses on planet earth.

Old Alex opened his eyes wide and he looked down to the table as he stated, ‘Remember me and this moment, to overcome all of your doubts and fears of death and of angels. He winked at Alisa. But then he closed his eyes in complete silence. With the cane still lift high above his head, he lifted up his other hand and said, ‘It is time.’ He put his free hand on the cane. The sky became darker and darker until it became the blackest of black. A yellow hole opened up in the black sky’s cover. The yellow light flowed down to Old Alex’s backyard, straight down to Old Alex. Alex was lit up by the huge flashlight from above the black sky. Within the darken air around the Old Alex, two winged creatures appeared above Alex. Their bodies were glowing bright shades of bright blue and green and red, while their feathers were brighter whites and yellows. Their wings were long and wide, but they were not flapping. The air had become still and silent, as if death had filled the air and the land, by making all creatures dead with fear.

Instead, the winged creature’s claws hooked onto Old Alex’s cane, and they lifted Alex from the ground. The two winged creatures twirled Alex in a circle a few times before they lifted him higher and higher into the dark sky. The two winged creatures lifted Old Alex through the flow of light, into the sky’s hole of yellow light. The sky returned to its normal daytime light blue with its white clouds, while Hanley and his wife and Alisa and her brother all said out loud, ‘WOW!’

They all woke up from the dream simultaneously, with a new sense of angels and of life and even of Alex. But more importantly, they awoke with a new sense of their own infinite possibilities of eternal life in God’s multi-dimensional universe.

Alex's House Of Angels (part 1)

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 28 Alex’s House Of Angels

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe., Jr.'s Ambidextrous Brain + Spiritual Mind.

The house laid empty. Only brand new paint laid on the walls and ceiling, along with a brand new white carpet which was laid on the wood floor. The house was empted of everything except a hope for a new owner. Like many houses all over the world, but especially in America, where house owners are free to decorate their houses in anyway they wanted, the house waited for a special owner who would decorate it with a sense of life, like no other house in the world. There are many home decorating magazines that would have painted Alex’s house with the brightest colors and the best furniture that only the rich could afford for their empty houses. Can a million dollar house have any sense of personally just because it is worth a million dollars, or can expensive furniture bring a sense of real life to a house? Alex had lived in many houses over the years and now he wanted a new home.

In Alex’s pre-house of angels, Alex needed a print to fill in the space between the Last Supper painting and a picture of the planet earth which was taken in outer space. So just for the fun of it, Alex looked up at the empty space in his apartment and he thought to himself, ‘What would happen if a poster or print supernaturally popped into my life, instead of me personally searching for it?’ So he waited and as sure as the sun rises over the earth, an angel print appeared for Alex to hang on his apartment wall. Alex was guided to Raphael’s Sistine’s Madonna’s two wondering cherubs.

Once the two wondering cherubs were hung on the wall, between the Last Supper painting and the earth’s floating sphere; it seemed as if a special bond had been created by the realms of angels between heaven and earth. Alex began to wonder about the connection between the realms of the angels and that of mere mortal mankind, on planet earth. You know the ones, the questioning humanoids who were always looking up towards the sky, looking for answers from God and from the angels, because somehow they knew that there is more to life than what is before their eyes. But the same mere mortal mankind that would die of a heart attack if a realm of angels suddenly appeared before their eyes. What would they do?

Once Raphael’s angel print was hung on the wall, to look at him in his eyes, he felt something strange was happening to him; as if a connection had been made between him and another realm. Although he could not explain what was transpiring in his life, a new life awaited Alex; a life away from spiritual and metaphysical books; a life of the spirit. Alex was forced into a house, mainly because he had to many intellectual hobbies, reading, writing, drawing, violin, chess, and of course, the supernatural. Once a person enters the supernatural realm, a person needs more privacy for internal and external discovery. Moreover, Alex wanted to settle down because his mind was moving faster than his body. Alex had learned that moving the body around like a wild animal in the jungle or a flying insect in the air is not what advanced humans were meant to do or even to live for. A still body allowed the mind to stay still enough to travel beyond the mind, even as the body slowly walks on earth. Mentally and spiritually advance humans were meant to develop their minds to the highest of heights of understanding and of consciousness.

On the other hand, Alex had seen so many people settled down in their houses, only to move their minds and bodies into human trouble, as if they had not learned how to become thinking humans and divine like creatures, instead of wandering animals, like the wild animals that are waiting to hunt for their next meal and to have sex and then to die. Alex felt that humans were supposed to overcome their animal instincts for true spiritual development. Of course, the human animal mind would disagree with that statement, but no human animal-ness had ever helped humans develop into a more stable civilianization. Human animal-ness only created more wars instead of heavenly peace on earth.

As he walked into the empty house on Saturday night at 5pm, he laughed at the concept of buying the house. But after he thought about the house’s layout and other aspects of the house, he laughed no more. Less than twenty four hours later, he owned the house, after he won the bid from eleven other bidders. It was like winning the lotto, only with a mission. A month later, Alex had moved into the house. Alex looked at the newly painted white and cream walls, plain as they were to any eye. Alex wondered what he was going to put on the walls. Moreover, Alex remembered how he received the Raphael angel print, so he waited for a grand idea for the house’s walls and its new attitude.

In an unrelated and an unexpected adventure, Alex needed to go to Las Vegas. As he walked around the Las Vegas casinos, he saw all of the different themes of the casinos. Each casino had its own fantasy-land theme. Alex began to wonder about what kind of theme he would want in his casino; if he indeed did own a casino. Then, Alex realized that he would never own a casino, but he wondered if a house could have a theme. Sure it could! As he answered his own question. He had recalled other houses with themes because their owners had very specific hobbies; and those hobbies would created an atmosphere or an aura inside the house. Like if a guy loved a specific football or baseball team, he might have that team’s players pictures hanging on the wall, and he might own the team coats and coffee mugs and maybe even a team rug and team lamp or two, along with a rug with the team’s insignia on it. He might even have the team’s insignia on his car’s windows.

Alex began to wonder, ‘What would happen if I created an angel theme for the house?’ A house with a heavenly angel theme instead of some earthly theme. Alex had never read about a house with an official angel theme, so he decided to be the first person to create a House of Angels. He did not know where to begin, so he felt that he would first plan by not planning at all. He would let the whole decorating adventure unfold by him shopping around for a certain class of angelic merchandise in the stores. After all, if he was watched over by and guided by angels from other dimensions, he reasoned that he would be guided to purchase all of the angel items for his angel theme house. But there were so many rooms to fill, so it seemed natural to start with the main living room or the television room.

Since the television was located up against a wall, but in the middle of the wall, there was plenty of room on both sides of the television to put angel prints or posters or pictures on the walls, along with other items either on the floor or the wall. Alex took great care to listen when he entered a store to browse for items for his house of angels. In his early search, Alex had found a medium size close up of Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam’s hand of "God" touching the hand of ‘Man.’ It was cheap too. Alex bought the Creation of Adam to hang up on the left side of the wall of the television set. But Alex knew how the old human concept of God of a god up there in the stars somewhere had changed to a multi-dimensional concept of a God that could be anywhere and everywhere simultaneously. But Alex knew that mere humans did not want to understand a God who is perfect but who also destroys imperfect concepts of God. God reveals God, to all minds who are open to a multi-dimensional understanding of God. Believing that Jesus is God is foolish. "God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love.' *

Every framed print or poster or painting that had to be hung up on the wall in the proper manner. First, Alex would have to find the stud finder so he could find the wood stud to put the nail through the hook and then into the wall’s stud. Alex wanted to absolutely know that once the prints and other angelic items were hung on the wall, that they would not be knocked off the wall by winds or an earthquake or by someone bumping into them. So Alex had made a trip to a hardware store to find all of the different wall hooks for prints and posters and paintings and other wall hangings. There were hooks for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 50 pound framed pictures of one sort or another. Alex always used a stronger hook for each job because if he was caught in an earthquake with winds that knocked him into the framed pictures, it would be better to have the stronger hooks to protect the wall hangings from falling to the floor.

The next time Alex went window shopping for angel stuff, he noticed shelves of angel statues, but there were so many different forms and designs of angel statues to choose from. There were small ones and medium ones and even large ones. There were light and heavy ones. There were angel statues for the house and for the garden. There were angle statues made from plastic and ones made from steel. There were white and black and different shades of gray angel statues.

There were even gold angel statues. Some angel statues were playing music instruments; like flutes and violins and horns and the harp. Other angel statues were either kneeling or standing with their hands in the prayer position, while other angels were holding babies or birds or other creatures of planet earth. And then there were those standing angel statutes were holding candles stands for the very wide candles. There were also the cute versus the very serious angel statues to choose from. Alex had guessed that the cute angel statues were for babies and little children who were still innocent of the hard and sometimes dangerous ways of the world. Maybe the more serious angel statues were for the people who had either lost their innocence or had grown into the more serious nature of true manhood and true human-hood.

Alex’s first angel statues were medium size kneeling praying statues. One was a male and the other a female. He put them on a dark wooden table under The Creation of Adam print. He then put a red light in the middle of them, so they would be lit up at night, all night long. After shopping for years, Alex had collect all of the above mentioned angel statues, for one room or another, along with many kind of angel prints and posters and paintings too. Along with many signs too.

Alex had reasoned that if the angel statues could speak, they would talk to humans with messages of Infinite Possibilities; infinite possibilities to humans, from God and the angels. Alex felt that the humans who walked into his house might need such simple messages of hope and of life. Alex also felt that when people exited the angel house, with the angelic messages, that maybe they would not forget the messages or the possibilities of angels helping them with their lives.

Some of the messages that hung on the house of angel’s walls were: Never, Never, Never Give Up! Tomorrow’s another day. Count Your Blessings. Life’s a Journey - Enjoy It! Love is Life’s Greatest Joy. It’s a Wonderful Life. Give Thanks. Life is Good.

Alex had his favorite angle symbol. It is taken from Raphael’s Sistine’s Madonna and child, with the two wondering cherubs. They are normally shown alone, but they are part of larger oil painting with Jesus being held by his mother and along with two people on the side of them. The wondering cherubs are underneath the four individuals who are obviously guided by the divine intelligent plan. What are those two wondering cherubs wondering about? Are they wondering about the future life of Jesus or of life in general. Alex like them for two reasons, the first being that humans were meant to be wonderers about God and angels, and other dimensions, and even human life. Alex thought that maybe they were not wondering at all. Maybe they were just listening and watching the scene of a mother holding her baby, the baby who would change the course of human history until the end of time.

So the two cherubs were all over the angel house. They were on: pillows, and bedspreads, and even the table cloth runner and cover. The were on lamps and candle holders. At least one of them, usually larger one, was in a clock in each room. There were even window shades for the car, so wherever Alex traveled, Alex would not forget what the real story of life is. There was at least one picture of the wondering cherubs in each room, along with other angelic reminders that every room was a welcome place for angels, but they were reminders for Alex to never forget about the spiritual universe all around him. Of course, Alex knew that most humans saw the universe as a solid mass of ‘stuff’, but that was only because they perceived the universe with their limited minds. If they had perceived the universe with the Mind of God, they would see a completely different universe.

Alex also started to decorate his backyard with angel statues too. Around his pond, there are plants and bushes and birdbaths, but now there are tall and short angel statues too. Against the red fence, the white tall statues stood tall, while the shorter angel statues stood tall in front of the tall statues. All around the fence, angel statues of one form or another stood, seemingly to guard the yard from invaders, but also give a special presence to the yard. Alex knew that in the very hot desert summer sun, animals from all directions visited his pond to take a slip of water. Unlike the other yards whose owners cared little for earth sometimes helpless creatures, Alex care for the creatures who needed water to survive in the summertime. Birds, cats, racoons, possums, and other creatures visited the pond for water and the occasional leftover food stuffs that Alex would leave out for the cats and possums. He would also leave out bread and rice and sometimes fruit like apples for the birds. To all of these earthly creatures, they knew it was an angelic backyard, statues or not.

After all the backyard was finished, Alex decided to make a somewhat giant step forward in his angel theme house and yard. Alex had lived in the neighborhood for a few years now, and he never put an angel statue in the front yard because it just never occurred to him to do it. He was just to busy decorating the house’s interior and the backyard. But the moment arrived when he saw a brownish angel statue in a store and he knew exactly where it would be placed. He had never seen any thing like it, so knew that it would fit perfect in a corner of his front yard porch. It was a decisive moment of no return. Alex knew that once he put even one angel statue on his front porch, everything might change with his neighbors, but that was not important to him.

After Alex had put the brownish praying statue on his front porch, he put a few smaller one there too. Soon, word had spread around the street, as words always spread around street, that Alex had put angel statues on his front porch. Alex could hear their whispers, along with the changes in people’s behavior and demeanor as they either drove up or walked up his house. Some people now avoided him, while other people stopped to look at the angel statues. He could only guess their questioning minds. ‘Did he become religious?’ ‘What is his problem?’ ‘Is he going to start preaching to us?’ ‘When did all that happen?’ ‘Is he a nut job?’ ‘Maybe he knows something we do not know.’ ‘Who does he think he is? Does he think he is better than us?’ ‘Is he smarter than us?’ ‘What church does he belong to?’ ‘Maybe we should ask him what he knows.’

But Alex knew one for sure. Which each every new angel statue or print that he bought and put in his house or yard, he experienced a deeper and deeper connection between the filled up space between heaven and earth. Alex understood that real angels do not have featherly wings and he realized that the symbols of angel statues and angelic prints only inform the other creatures of other realms that a human named Alex was ready to connect to those realms between the heavens and earth. Alex had so many stories to tell that he started writing a few of them down for people to read. Even with all of the modern day technologies available to connect people to each other people, Alex felt that every single person should learn more about their connections to God and the angels.

* Question. - "What is God?'
Answer. - " God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." pg. 465 from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. By Mary Baker Eddy.

Saving Sara's Soul

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 27 Saving Sara’s Soul

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe., Jr.'s Ambidextrous Brain + Mind.

Sara was born into the world like many female babies, crying and screaming with her first breath of air. As her lungs filled up with oxygen, her mind filled with a cloudy doubt that the world would be fun, even though her parents were so happy that she was a healthy baby. As most babies whose eyes widen wider as she grew into a bigger human being, Sara mind grew wider too. She sensed the world in different ways, as she felt the hands of people touch her face’s skin. Her skin would feel their skin, just as her mind could sense their minds. Sara tried to see beyond the walls of her house, as the sounds from the outside world entered into her ears, but she did not see the outside world through her eyes. She was a prisoner of the moment.

But as that moment changed by the forces of life on her little growing body, her mind changed too. She began to see more clearly as she grew older and she began to hear more clearly too. The sounds from the outside world still entered her ears, and she would wonder about the sounds outside the window. When the moment had arrived for Sara to visit the outside world, her mom took her for a walk around the block. She heard more than she could see, as her mom covered her baby body in a warm blanket. Sara felt safe, but she also sensed that the world beyond her mother’s arms was a strange world, maybe a little dangerous for an unprotected creature on planet earth.

But soon enough, Sara began to feel at ease and comfortable with the surrounding world of her local neighborhood. But Sara did not feel at ease with herself. She realized soon enough that she would not be physically harmed by the surrounding world, but she also realized that a slight sense of danger always seemed to lurking out there, in the surrounding world, just as a tiger who is always hiding in the surrounding forest. She sensed the hiding tiger, but she did not know what it looked like. She could not even guess what kind of hidden tigers were lurking in the surrounding world.

Soon enough, she took her first walk to the yellow school bus. Now, she was surrounded by another kind of world, a world of other pint sized children; and even though she again felt safe from physical harm, she did a nagging sense of the lurking tiger that seemed to be hiding out there in the world. She could not even begin to describe the danger, but Sara just knew that the surrounding world could not be just a peaceful place to live in; as if the world was not a perfectly grand musical composition without a single note of discord.

Sara grew up to be a pretty lady with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin too. Sara was a perfect student. As a matter of fact, she studied hard from her first step unto the yellow school bus to the time she received her Masters degree in Mathematics. To Sara, the world of mathematics seemed a perfect world, as long as the numbers were all in their proper places. But when Sara walked out of her last and final class, Sara began looking for her proper place in the surrounding world. The surrounding world seemed so big and grand. Sara had never even looked at a world map or a geography book; so after she took her last step off the college campus, Sara entered a book store and she bought a world geography book.

As she opened its pages, Sara noticed the shapes of the continents, and she imagined the peoples in the surrounding world, the world away from her home town. So without much thought, so she packed a bag: a single traveling bag with a pair of dress shoes and a pair of pants and a dress and a coat and a hat and gloves and packed her personal items like soap, toothpaste, and shampoo, etc. And she boarded a airplane for America. Her mathematical mind began to search for her true home in the world, along with her true selfhood, whatever that was.

As Sara stepped off the airplane in America, she was unexpectedly introduced to a man soon after the moment she observed the thousands of people from around the surrounding world who were all looking for a new home in America. Sara had never driven a car in her life, so when she became carsick in Saul’s car, he wondered what was wrong with her. He had never seen a person become carsick before in his life. He looked in his car’s rear mirror and he told himself that he had an unrequested chauffeur’s job. It seemed to be some kind of destiny, a guy who could drive anywhere in the world, who was going to drive a person who could not even ride in a car, let along drive a car.

But he never asked Sara if she needed a ride whenever she needed to go somewhere far away. She had simply phone up Saul and ask him for a ride to Louisiana. And off they went, driving the two thousand miles to Louisiana. But before the pair drove into Louisiana, they decided to visit New Orleans, where they ate alligator at an alligator bar. A long, fat alligator hung from the ceiling. The people in the bar were all locals, so Sara and Saul felt like the strangers they were. The local people wondered about Saul and Sara, just as Saul and Sara wondered about the local people. The local people seemed happy in their hometown. They had a home. Sara was still looking for a home. Saul had already found his home.

They drove into Baton Rouge, where they stopped at a gas station. As Saul pumped gas, he notice a damaged car. Saul asked the driver what happened to the car, as he looked at the softball curvy dents all over the car. The driver replied, ‘I was driving in Florida when a hail storm bombed my car with softball size ice balls.’ Saul made a mental not to drive through Florida. The air in Baton Rouge was so thick with moisture that Saul realized that Baton Rouge was never going to be home to him or Sara. So Saul drove off to Louisiana’s Lafayette’s state university. Saul saw a pond on the grounds of the university, but he was really surprised when baby alligators were looking up at him. Sara watched as Saul stuck his finger in the pond to tease the baby alligators, but when those sleeping eyes changed to hungry baby’s eyes, Saul pulled his hand out of the water. Saul later learned that the university kept the baby alligators until they were to big for the pond. The college would then pay professional alligator handlers to remove the alligators from the university’s pond.

A year later, Sara phoned Saul and asked if he would like to drive her to Boston to visit a friend. Saul said yes, and off did they go. Boston, an easy city to drive into, but very hard to leave, even with two maps in his hands. After much confusion, Saul looked up towards the sun and he said, ‘Lets go the direction of the sun.’ and sure enough, one highway led to another highway, and they were free of the arctic cold seaside Boston. Later, Saul had learned that even big rig truck drivers paid the local taxi drivers money to guide them out of the crazy streets of Boston.

Soon thereafter, Sara needed to travel to Toronto, Canada. Saul was not surprised when he had received the request from Sara. That was an easy drive for Saul because he was quite familiar with New York and Toronto, Canada. So the pair again drove on America’s highways, with Sara silently looking out the car’s windows at America’s landscape, while Saul listen to the voices of the angels. Saul became more and more aware that he was not just driving a lady around America’s countryside. Oh no dear readers. Saul became aware that he was on a mission to save Sara’s soul from the unspoken pains that she kept hidden inside her mind.

To get to Toronto, Canada, Saul had to drive over the bridges from Niagara Falls. Before that drive over the bridge, Saul parked the car. He walked with Sara, as they walked up to black thick steel bars that fenced the crowds of people who might otherwise fall over into the Niagara Fall’s waters. Of course, during winter time, the ice water itself would scare even the biggest nut jobs from jumping into the Niagara Falls ice water. But during the summertime, a few nut jobs have jumped over the Niagara Falls in many delusional protective devices, like rubber or plastic barrels. As Saul looked up into the misty air, he wondered what was hurting Sara’s soul. He thought to himself that he needed some help from a few of his angel friends.

Saul was beginning to realize that such a silent soul was hiding something, probably some painful memories, but one way or another, Saul was going to wait until Sara spoke the words that would allow Saul to dive in with words of life, truth, and love.

After Sara had visited her friends in Toronto, they headed back home. In no time all Sara had asked Saul to drive her to New York City. Again, it was no problem for Saul. Saul had driven in New York City before, so he knew its streets and roads. During their visit to New York City’s Chinatown, the traffic was crazy and the parking seemed impossible. As Saul circle the block to find a parking lot, he said softly, ‘I could sure use some help from a parking angel.’ Sara looked over to Saul as she said, ‘What do you mean?’ As Saul drove the car through New York’s China town’s thick traffic, he simple responded, ‘Yea, you know angels.’ Saul had then guessed that Sara had no human conception of angels or of the other realms beyond planet earth.

‘There it is.’ Saul reported to Sara as a parking spot appeared in front of a store that Sara wanted to visit. ‘Great! Just what we were looking for.’ They hopped out of the car to walk around New York’s Chinatown. Before they walked into the huge store, they ate at a Chinese restaurant. Saul had learned one thing about Chinese restaurants; they are not exactly the same, except the Americanized Chinese buffet restaurants. The noodles were a weird color, but not weird enough to not eat. Of course, Saul always wondered how they cooked their food, back in the hidden kitchens. They then walked into the store and bought a few items. They had enough time to take care of the real business in New York.

A few years later, Sara mentioned that she needed a ride to California. Saul wondered if she was going to ask the magic question and she did with, ‘I get motion sickness very easily; meaning that I do not like airplanes. Would you drive me to California.’ If Saul did not know Sara as well as he knew her, he would have believed that she was conning him. But he did know Sara, and he would get to know Sara better than Sara knew Sara. In one moment of unspoken utter clarity, Saul realized that he might be Sara’s earthly guide for heavenly freedom, even on earth.

Saul had gained his own sense of heavenly freedom from earthly concerns. After one near death experience after other near death experiences, Saul long ago began to wonder more and more about the mental and spiritual realms of existence, while he mentally left the main money god of the world behind more and more than ever. Saul always wondered why he had survived the transition called death so many times, with seemingly no effort at all. Understand this dear readers; Saul had survived the moment of death so many times that he began to feel as if he was an immortal being; a gifted creature who was supposed to help at least one poor soul, one poor individual who needed to be saved from her mortal selfhood. One of the differences between a mortal creature and an immortal creature is that the mortal creature believes it is a limited creature who is living in space and time; whereas an immortal creature realizes that the real universe is a timeless and space-less idea of the infinite Mind. A mortal creature calculates with their life with their limited perceptions of the human mind; whereas an immortal creature calculates their life with a multi-dimensional Mind or Intelligence called God.

When Saul started to drive Sara from the east coast to the west coast of the United States of America, he realized that Sara did not talk to much, so he started to question Sara about her human life. He found out that she had only studied the universe of numbers during her whole life. She had soon informed Saul that she believed that all she needed to know in order to survive in the world was universe of numbers. Saul quickly realized that Sara had not developed the other aspects of her mind that she needed to survive humanly because she had falsely believed that she only needed to understand numbers for her earthly survival; because in her home country, children were labeled early as either future intellectuals or physical workers. Sara decided that she had to study the wondrous universe of numbers instead working asphysical laborer, with the skin and bones universe. In one sense, Sara had already transcended the need to depend on her skin and bones for her life, for her human survival, because she depended only on her mathematical mind.

As Saul drove Sara across New York, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, (and on through Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, to California,) he felt that Sara was not really connected to anything except her universe of numbers. Could it be that a person is so only wrapped up in their personal little mental universe that they would miss the bigger picture called life? Or in Sara’s case, the mental universe of numbers, that they miss out on the rest of the universes around them? Saul would look over to Sara and wonder what she was hiding from the surrounding world, from the one person who had driven her around America’s land of freedom. Saul did not think Sara was really free as she traveled all around the land of the free. Did she have a personal demon or demons that were set apart from the universe of numbers? Saul would soon learn about one of her personal demons.

As soon as they reached the mountain range of the Grand Canyon, Saul and Sara walked up to the edge of the Grand Canyon. Seemingly alone on the visitors platform, they began to look out into the vast space between the sides of the Grand Canyon. Saul had visited the Grand Canyon long ago, but he still loved looking at its three dimensional space between the two sides of the Grand Canyon. He thought it was a natural picture of the space of millions of millions of years of earthly development, along with human development. He looked out to the invisible space that was hidden within the mountain’s walls, and he saw another realm, a realm beyond space and time. He perceived the spacelessness and timelessness of the Life called God, along with space and time life of planet earth.

As they stood there, by the edge of abyss, Sara softly stated, ‘Why don’t we just drive off the edge and die together.’ Saul looked over to Sara as he responded, ‘Wouldn’t it be better if we lived together first?’ There was no answer from Sara. But the words only confirmed what Saul had only guessed about Sara; that she was not happy living life, no matter what the surrounding world was for her. Saul looked out towards the Grand Canyon as he stated to Sara, ‘It has taken 20 million years for the Grand Canyon to become what it is today, so you and all mankind can see its special message. The earth is about 5 billion years old, and here we are standing on earth’s Grand Canyon. Instead of enjoying the moment, you are contemplating death, even my death. But God and the angels have brought me back to life over and over again, to live life to the fullest, so I must live life. Plus, I do not believe in death, nor do I give so-called death any power. Sara replied, ‘You do not believe you are going to die?’ Saul simply responded, ‘If the universe is a multi-dimensional universe, and since I am at one with the multi-dimensional universe, then logic would dictate that I too, am a multi-dimensional creature. If that is true, then my true spiritual selfhood will never die because it is truly immortal. We are creatures that can know the past, the present, and the future. Now, don’t you understand the magic message of the Grand Canyon?’

Sara replied, ‘What are you talking about, God and the angels?’ Saul said, ‘You have studied the universe of numbers all of your life, but I have thought about the universe of God and the angels ever since I was a boy. You must understand Sara, numbers are used by us so we can understand the physical laws of the universe and other earthly and human topics, but we must also understand the metaphysical laws of the universe; that is, the spiritual nature of the universe. We can measure the age of the earth and the Grand Canyon, and we can measure all of its details, but there is one thing the human mind can not measure, and that is the spiritual atmosphere that is located above the abyss of the water on the bottom of the Grand Canyon. With spiritual eyes, you can perceive realms which your brain could never see.’

As they drove away from the Grand Canyon, Saul then knew he had to teach Sara how to live life, and to love living life, even if it was not the life of numbers. ‘After all Sara, the butterflies and hummingbirds know nothing about the multiplication table, nor did the dinosaurs know nothing about calculus, nor do our pet cats and dogs and birds know a thing about statistics, but all living creatures on earth know something about living their life. Now you have to learn to live your life, the life that is free from numbers, away from your mathematical mind.

Many years later, as Saul drove Sara and two of her friends on a highway of America, they were talking about all kind of things, when Sara stated that she wanted to find a true home. Saul turned to Sara as he replied, ‘First you have to find a home within your soul, before you can find a home in a house.’ One of her friends responded with, ‘What do you mean?’

Saul smiled as he said, ‘If you find a home within your soul, you will have a home wherever you go. But if you find a home only in a house, you probably still be looking for a home. There is a big difference between a home outside your body, and for your body; compared to your true spiritual selfhood which is a spaceless and timeless and deathless home. Your real selfhood is free of skin and bones and blood. Your real selfhood is at one with the Infinite God called Life.’ Silence filled the car.

As Saul drove them back to his house, they could not help but see the angel statues on the front porch, and the angels statues and pictures in the house, and the angel statues in the backyard. Sara no longer thought about death, that unseen enemy that she sensed was out there in the surrounding world. Now she only thinks about life, even the deathless life of Jesus the Christ and the Life called God. She had seen Saul angels do some really amazing things, even if she did not understand it all, just yet. But Saul knew one thing and one thing for sure. After 5 billions years of planet earth’s development, and after millions of years of human development, one more person understood something about the true nature of her real selfhood, not to mention the Life of the universe.

The biggest lesson Saul would teach Sara would be the moment when he would stop breathing his last human breath, if indeed he stop breathing before her last breath. But in any case, Sara would then learn more about eternal life, but she would also learn a true lesson about love.

Jake The Jogger

52 Stories in 52 Weeks: ## 26 Jake The Jogger

By: Mr. George D. Patnoe., Jr.,' Ambidextrous Brain + Mind

Jake the jogger started his jog almost every time in the same way. About a half a hour before most jogs, Jake usually drank a small cup of sweeten Irish cream coffee, along with two aspirin. The coffee for a picker upper and the aspirin to thin the blood a little, and to stop the knees from swelling. Also were included were a few warm up stretchers, to stretch the legs and back muscles. Jake always wore official running sneakers. Buying sneakers was always tricky because there are always so many kinds of running sneakers to choose from when a person is shopping for running sneakers. Jogging sneakers are priced anywhere from $20 to $150, or more. Jake usually bought the middle of the road sneakers. (no pun intended) And then there was the proper music. Jake had found the perfect music for jogging.

Jake had discovered and then he learned about the four different basic brain waves that cause the brain to operate on either one or a combination of the four basic brain waves. The basic brain waves are: beta, alpha, theta, delta. When Jake prepared for his jog, he only wanted to listen to the beta/alpha music. Of course, he did not want to use the delta or sleep music. And maybe using the theta music for creativity and emotional development would be fun as a brain experiment, but it would not be really a practical job/brain experiment; unless of course, if a person really hated jogging. Then the emotional music might help the person love jogging. Who knows? So Jake did proceeded with common sense, using only high energy alpha music for an energetic jog.

As Jake started out with his jog, he always looked up towards the sky to turn his attention away from an enclosed house office to the open sky. A natural way to release the mind from being enclosed in a room. It felt like a mental release just to leave the house, from the brain work that Jake did everyday of the week. Jake was always busy doing brainwork because Jake felt that the brain was the most important part of the body. There were so many things to do with the brain: Read or write or listen to music or even write music or draw faces or other stuff or even working in the garden. Even the garden took brain work: planning the garden, experimenting with new plants, learning about chemicals, etc. Of course, the telescope in the backyard was fun to look through at nighttime, but then the brain needed to know what it was looking at, so astronomy books were needed to find out what was where, way high, up there in the heavenly sky. But jogging also took some brain work too, but the brain actually benefitted from jogging as the oxygen supply was increased throughout the whole body, including the brain. Jake always felt good after jogging.

But during the summertime daytime, there was also the blue sky entering the eyes and brain of Jake, until he looked down towards the street level. One day, Jake saw a few kids hanging out on the street corner and he did not think much of it; until he saw the same kids hanging out on the same street corner the next day. Spontaneously, as Jake jogged up to the kids, Jake pointed his pointing finger at the kids, a second before he said, ‘Do not forget to read.’ The kids stopped talking and starred at Jake as if Jake was crazy, but that was ok with Jake. During the following second and third jog, Jake again pointed his finger as he stated, ‘Do not forget to read.’ Jake then saw a face which reminded him of a grade school classmate who he used to fight with just for the fun of it. Jake always wondered happened to that fellow grade school kid. A teacher once refereed a fights between the child Jake and the other child. And that was the end of fighting for fun. How dumb was that very short experience. Jake had always wished that his parents taught him to communicate instead of teaching him to throw a punch.

One night, a thought hit him, ‘What if I could help that kid who I fought with before I died? Just to make amends for a wrong experience long ago. To use wordy communication instead of fists communication for a real purpose.’ Of course, Jake knew that it was not the exact kid, but the kid did look exactly like Jake’s childhood fighting friend; that indeed seemed strange. Jake always wondered what happened to the boy and Jake also thought the boy might have wondered what had happened to Jake.

After two weeks of pointing and stating, ‘Do not forget to read.’ The boy stepped onto the sidewalk and he says, ‘I did not forget to read.’ Jake shockingly stopped in his jogging tracks and he replied, ‘What did you read?’ The boy answered, ‘See Spot Run.’ Jake looked at the boy and he said, ‘That is very good, but one day you will read grownup subjects.’ The boy smiled as he looked up at Jake, ‘What are grownup subjects?’ Jake looked down at the boy and he replied, ‘When you get older, you will read books on history, economics, psychology and philosophy, and math and even politics. There are so many more subjects to read about, but your parents could help you by taking you to the library down the street.’ Jake began to feel a bit odd, so he waved good-bye as he pointed to the boy and he smilingly said, ‘Do not forget to read.’ Jake told himself that maybe it he should stop pointing and uttering the statement, ‘Do not forget to read.’ Jake finished his jog, just as he had with every jog.

Jake was feeling good about himself because he felt as if he had influenced one person to become a reader during his summer vacation. That was all well and good. Jake did not think twice about the boy because he doubted that he would see him again. So Jake waited for a few days before he jogged again, just because he was busy with other activities. Without thinking about the boy or even about making a magical statement such as, ‘Do not forget to read.’ to impress on the minds of kids, Jake prepared to jog again. After all, Jake had felt like a running commercial for reading for kids who were standing on street corners, who were bored with their wasted summertime. Jake thought that their parents should make them read, just for the fun of it; even during their summer vacation from school. Because Jake knew something special.

Jake knew that reading outside of school was more important than reading for taking a test in school. The mind had to be kept active. Jake had seen many college graduates who stopped reading after they had received their college degrees, as if they had gone to college just so they would be forced to read. Jake also knew that most people in America did not really know how lucky they were to live in a country that allows freedom of speech, freedom to write, and freedom to read. Jake, who lives in the democratic and capitalistic America, had visited communist China, of all places. He had traveled from Hong Kong to the Great Wall, by a train ride of almost 33 hours, and then back again, all the while stopping in the middle of China to visit smaller towns and cities. The still communist country did not have the books that America’s bookstores and libraries provided to all Americans and non-Americans alike.

Before Jake’s next jog, he promised himself that he would not be a running commercial for reading; though he thought that would be a very good commercial for real television. Imagine if you will, the president of the United States of America jogging in a television commercial for reading. He is wearing an American flag sweat suit, leaving the White House. He smiles as he points to the cameras as he points his finger to the viewer and he states, ‘Do not forget to read.’ And then a few words stream across the screen, ‘This announcement was paid for by your taxes.’

Jake started out on his jog, looking up at the palm trees and light blue sky with the flying seagulls, and the yellow hot sun that sent to earth its heat and light. Jake started sweating as he listened to the music, but he also had a water bottle with ice water in it. Jake subscribed to Runner’s World and it had a lot of neat joggers equipment; like a runners belt that could hold different liquid containers for the different kinds of liquids a runner would need, like water and Gatorade. Jake also used two hand squeezes, so the pumping blood would travel through his violin arms and fingers.

As Jake jogged down the street, he was caught off guard when he heard the words, ‘Hey, I did some more reading.’ Jake slowed down as he looked to his left and he noticed the boy. Jake said, ‘What is your name? The boy looked up towards the sky and replied. ‘My name is Pierce.’ Jake noticed that Piere was holding a basketball. ‘Hey Pierce, can I hold the basketball?’ Pierce handed over the basketball to Jake. Jake said, ‘Would you like to learn something about science, namely astronomy.’ Pierce answered, ‘Sure.’

Jake held the basketball while Pierce and a few other kids listened to him ask, ‘When you look at the sun, how big does it look like? But do not look directly at the sun because it could hurt your eyes.’ Pierce quickly glared at the sun and he answered the question by making a small circle with his finger and thump. Jake asked Pierce, ‘Now how big do you think the sun really is?’ Pierce replied, ‘I do not know.’ Jake looked at the basketball and he said, ‘Lets pretend that the basketball is the sun. OK!’ Jake then bent down to pick up a small pebble. ‘Now, lets pretend that this pebble is planet earth. OK! Planet earth is moving around the huge sun like this.’ Jake move the earth pebble around the basketball sun. He said, ‘And the earth pebble is rotating around in a circle as it moves around the huge sun and the moon is rotating around the earth. So the earth and the moon are rotating around the sun as a unit. A total of nine planets rotate around the sun. All the while, you are standing on this earth pebble and even though you are physically smaller than the sun or the earth, you can think about the sun, the earth, and the universe, and that makes you a very big person. Isn’t that really cool?’

You can know and understand the universe and it does not matter if you are white or black, rich or poor, young or old. There are nine other planets rotating round the sun and the astrophysicists know all kinds of stuff about the sun, earth, and the planets. And all you have to do is to read a book to learn what they know. Isn’t it cool?’ Pierce’s eyes looked up towards the sun and Jake could tell that he had caught Pierce’s attention. ‘And guess what Pierce? Even though you seem smaller than the universe, living on the pebble earth, but you can think about anything you want to. Not only that, you can understand the whole universe and all you have to do is look at pictures in books and read astronomy books; books you can borrow from the library for free. All you need to do is ask your parents to bring you to the library.’ Jake returned the basketball to Pierce.

‘Well Pierce, I am late for an appointment, so I have to go; but I hope you learned something about the universe and science.’ Pierce was silent as a lamb, as he began his new life as a universal wonderer. So were the other kids. Jake felt even better than when he had been a jogging commercial for reading. Jake realized that he had just taught a min-science course on a street corner. He wondered about how he might be influencing the boy for the rest of his life. Of course, in all probably, he would not be able to monitor Pierce’s educational development during his lifetime, but maybe; just maybe Pierce would become a scientific thinker as he grew older. One small impact on a child’s life could mean the difference between jail or college. Jake knew that he should be ready to talk again, with simple facts about the sun and earth and science.

A week later, Jake was running and Pierce was on the sidewalk in front of another house. Jake noticed that Pierce was always at a different house every time they meet. ‘Hey Pierce, where do you live anyway?’ Pierce pointed to a house. ‘I live there.’ Jake wrote down the house’s number so he could meet Pierce’s parents, if that was possible. Jake felt as if he was now on a humanly angelic mission to help with Pierce’s mental development. Jake wanted to talk to Pierces’s parents. Jake slowly but surely felt that he was an angle guided mini-mission to change the life and the future of one child, one boy; a boy whose parents were obviously to busy to take the time to nurture their child’s intellectual development.

Jake realized that his time was short with the boy, but he also realize that the butterfly effect would take hold of the boy after Jake had planted the seed of science and understanding into the boy’s wandering mind. The butterfly effect is part of Chaos Theory. It states that one butterfly’s flying wings can start a hurricane on the other side of the world. Jake was hoping that his words would have a butterfly effect on Pierce’s future. But even so, every time Jake saw Pierce, he was in front of a different house, playing with different children. Jake knew something was wrong with the picture of a boy who wandered from house to house, from one group of children to another group of children. Jake knew that Pierce had no parental guidance, just as the millions of children whose parents were to busy, to lazy, to dumb, to uncaring, to show their children how to use their minds.

A few days later, Jake started his jog without a thought about Pierce. But by the time Jake had reached Pierce’s street, he remembered his unspoken mission. Jake had guessed that Pierce might be waiting for him; and sure enough, there was Pierce standing on the sidewalk. Pierce yelled out, ‘Hi.’ Jake stopped as usual, ‘Hey Pierce. How are you doing today.’ Pierce smiled as he replied, ‘Great.’ as if he was waiting for another mini-lesson of science.

Jake bent down low, to look Pierce into his eyes. ‘Hey Pierce. Do you know what a light wave is? Pierce looked Jake, ‘No. What is a light wave?’ Jake answered, ‘The scientist can see light waves as either a wave or a particles.’ Jake drew a wave and some particles on the earth’s dirt, just to compare the two viewpoints of light-waves. Jake looked up at Pierce and he said, ‘Do you know how long it takes the sun’s light waves to reach planet earth?’ Pierce looked up at the sun and said, ‘I do not know.’ Jake replied, ‘It takes eight minutes for the sun’s light to reach planet earth, and that light is traveling at 187,000 miles per second." Pierce voice a big long, ‘Wow.’ as he looked up to the sun again. ‘And guess what? There are unseen, very tiny particles from the sun that are traveling right through our bodies and the earth right now.’ Pierce looked at his body. ‘Wow, science is cool.’

Jake stood up and smile, ‘That is correct Pierce. Science is cool. And never forget it. Maybe you will grow up to be a scientist, if you want to be a thinking scientist. Do not let anyone stop you from becoming a scientist, if that is your dream. I have to go now. See you later.’ Although Jake knew that he might see Pierce only a few more times, just so he could meet Pierce’s parents, Jake knew that his min-mission was accomplished Jake made a mental note to meet Pierce’s parents if he ever saw them outside their house. ‘Hey Pierce, how would you like an astronomy book.’ Pierce yelled out, ‘Sure.’ as Jake jogged off into the distance.

Jake jogged off to go home. As he entered his garage, he looked at all of his astronomy books. He knew that an astronomy book would help his goal of helping Pierce to never forget the summer’s mini-lecture’s of science. He looked over small astronomy books as well as big astronomy books. There were so many astronomy books to choose from, but he saw a medium size astronomy book titled: The Universe And Beyond, by Terence Dickinson. Jake inscribed the front blank page with; ‘To Pierce, Never let anyone or anything from stopping you from becoming a great big.’

Jake was so excited that Pierce would be able to see more of the universe from the book’s grand pictures, that he hopped into his car and he drove over to Pierce’s house and he knocked on Pierce’s door, but no one was home. So Jake put the book between the inside door and the outside door. Pierce realized that when they opened the front door, the book would fall into their sight. Almost like a gift from the universe to a few people who might not ever buy a book on the universe. Jake hopped into his car and he drove off home; happy that he might change the lives of many people in Pierce family.

Jake knew that his gift of the universe might be rejected by Pierce’s parents, but he also knew that they probably would let Pierce keep the book, which meant that Pierce’s brothers and sisters would look at the pictures of the universe too. Jake could only hope that his gift would be taken as a precious gift, more precious than gold. Because, all of the gold in the world would not enable people to understand the universe or the laws of the universe. Being able to understand the universe and the laws of the universe was a grand gift from the Grand Creator of both the universe and of true thinkers on planet earth.

Jake next jog only consisted of one goal. He could already feel Pierce’s parents anticipation as he jogged on the sidewalk towards Pierce’s house. Jake saw the big guy in Pierce’s home driveway. For some reason, a big electrical white truck was parked in the driveway. Jake waved to the big guy before he reached the driveway. The big guy waved back. Jake stopped jogging as he started to walk up to the big guy and he said, ‘Hi, I am Jake and I am the one who left the astronomy book in your doorway. The big guy reached out his hand to shake Jake’s hand. Jake felt good.

‘Pierce is quite an intelligent boy.’ said Jake. Pierce’s dad said thanks with a look that expressed an amazement that someone saw a sign of intelligence in his boy. Almost a doubtful look by Pierce’s dad. In an instant during that doubtful glare, Pierce’s mom walked through the front door. Pierce’s dad looked on Jake as Jake said, ‘Hi, I am Jake and I am the guy who gave Pierce the astronomy book.’ Pierce’s mom looked doubtful on Jake as she stated, ‘Oh, thanks.’ Jake’s voice slightly soared when he stated, ‘Pierce is quite an intelligent boy.’ Pierce’s mom looked even more doubtful than Pierce’s dad as she replied, ‘Sure, sure.’ She shut the door and walked inside their house.

Jake knew that his mission was over as he reached out his hand to Pierce’s dad. ‘Nice to meet you.’ And Jake was off, jogging again. Jake knew of the law of ‘Leave Well Enough Alone.’ Jake left the past in the past as he jogged into the future. He started to jog at a different time, usually late at night. But one evening, Jake was sitting in a chair on his front pouch when he saw Pierce walking by. ‘Pierce, what are you doing way over here?’ Pierce walked up to Jake. Jake said, ‘Did you enjoy the pictures in the astronomy book. Pierce held his breath for a second before his said, ‘Sure did. Thanks for the book.’

Jake just happened to be reading a chess book. He looked at Pierce, ‘Have you ever heard of chess. Pierce replied, ‘Sometimes I watched chess tv, but I have never played it.’ Jake responded, 'Maybe I can help you out with that, but I think you should stay closer to your home. The world can be a dangerous place Pierce. Be careful!’ Jake waved good-bye to Pierce for one last time.

Before Jake started off on his next jog, he grabbed a $6.00 chess set, just for kids. He signed the box with, ‘Dear Pierce, Merry Christmas in July. Jake.’ As Jake jogged down the street, as he jogged up to Pierce’s house, he heard the kids playing in the house as he hung the bag on the door knob. He knocked on the door, then he jogged away, forever not knowing, if a few science and astronomy lessons and a chess set would change the future life of a lonely and unguided boy.