I wanted you I craved you sleep escaped me you consumed me you were all I cared about little else mattered as long as I had you
you made me mad you made me crazy you made my heart race then you started to affect my health
I drive by your house my car wants to pull in I manage to keep moving the associations are killing me I did so many things with you I couldn’t make the break
Now I have beat you I no longer need you too much has happened we’re broken up for good
you were like the love of a crazy woman a topic I know all too well but you come from a bottle
Welcome to part 2 of The dark secret. You can catch part 1 here.
“Anna, I want you to kill me.” He paused to let his words sink in.
Anna got out of her chair and walked towards the front door. “Please,wait!” he called to her. “This is fucking crazy.” she yelled as she put on her shoes. “I’m not a killer and I can’t believe you just asked me that!” “Anna, please.” he implored. “Allow me to show you just one thing before you go. Please?” “Make it quick.” she barked. He gestured to the hallway to the back of the house. He began his slow walk and Anna reluctantly followed. They came to a closed door and Klaus stood before it, his body twisted towards her with his hand on the knob. “This will make it clearer for you. Please come in.” He opened the door and she slowly walked past him into the room.
She gasped and fell back. Bracing herself with one arm, she surveyed the giant Swastika flag pinned to the wall before her. Her heart pounding, her legs nearly giving out from under her, she surveyed the rest of the room in horror. Symbols of the Third Reich were everywhere. Felt pads with medals fastened littered the tables and benches. Books with German writing on the binders loaded the bookshelves. Flags and banners crowded the walls. She turned, outraged, to Klaus, who stood there with a stone face, his chin on his chest. “You are the first person I have ever shown this to” he said. “A tremendous, awful burden has been lifted.” “Well Fuck you very much for that. I hope you feel better! I sure as hell don’t.” She headed out the door. “Anna!” he called after her. “Please let me explain further.” She spun and glared at him. “What!” she yelled. “What is there to further explain? You’re a goddamn Nazi!” “Please come back into the kitchen and allow me to shed further light.” He stood motionlessly in the doorway to the kitchen. “You have 5 minutes and then I’m walking. Most likely to the Police Station.” “Fine” he replied.
They sat down in front of their cold
cups of tea.
“Anna.” He slowly began. “I am not proud of my past.” “Then why the shrine of atrocities in your fucking bedroom? Ikea closed?” “Ikea?” “Never mind, Not important. Continue.” “I have that room as a reminder. Not to celebrate my past, but to punish my present. As a reminder of my horrible misdeeds.” He paused and rubbed his eyes. “But it’s simply not enough punishment anymore.” “So you want me to kill you. Because I’m Jewish? Some kind of poetic justice or some shit?” “Because I can’t die on my own. And because you’re Jewish it would strengthen my penance.” Puzzled, Anna took a moment to let that statement sink in. “Klaus, if you don’t mind me saying so. You’re quite old, certainly mother nature will do the job for you eventually. Even soon?” “Anna, just how old do you think I am?” “If I had to guess I would say 90.” “Table that thought for a moment.” He stared intently at her. “May I further unburden myself of my horrible, evil past?” “If you must.”
He began to tell her of the
distinguished military service of SS Grupen fuhrer Klaus
Messerschmidt, Group leader and Field General in command of Auschwitz
Concentration Camp. A bright military mind whose loyalty was
unquestioned by his comrades, he was the youngest Field General in
the Eastern Command. He was also the most sadistic.
For 15 minutes Klaus emotionally listed
atrocity after atrocity. The slaughter of those who stood before him
and the shooting of any that fled. The digging of mass graves by
emaciated men only to have them shot in the back by gleeful soldiers
who kicked their corpses in. The separation of babies from their
mothers and the one soldier who stuck a bayonet, at his command,
through an infant and laughed as the hysterical mother fell to the
ground in grief. She was then shot. The gruesome medical experiments
on the living. The smell of the smoke billowing from the chambers
that all went in but none returned. The screams and pleas for mercy.
Of he and his staff cowardly fleeing when the camp was liberated.
When he was done, he stared intently
through red eyes at Anna. She was stunned. They sat in silence until
she spoke.
“Feel better?” she asked. “Because I sure don’t. Thank you confirming everything my grandparents told me about you fuckers.”“I feel a small weight has been lifted from my shoulders. But no, I do not feel better. I am cursed by these memories whether I share them with the world or only one person. Cursed for eternity.” “Eternity? How so?” “Anna, you said earlier that you guessed my age to be about 90.” “Yes.” “I’m actually 109 years old.” He watched her intently as he said it. “Come again?” “When I fled Germany, when the Americans rolled in to liberate Auschwitz, I was a senior officer of 38 years old.” “Klaus, if this is correct, you are one of the oldest men alive. Does the Senior Center know this?” “No, no. In addition to a false name, I provided a false birth certificate. I don’t want to draw attention to myself.” “Why not?” “Because then they will track me until I am 110, 115, even 120.” “Bullshit, Klaus. You’ll never make those ages.” “I will if you don’t use this.” He pushed the Luger across the table. “You see, I can’t die of natural causes.” “How do you know?” “Because at 109 I have never even been sick with a cold. Not since the war. I believe that I am cursed to walk this earth forever bearing the sins of my past.” Anna sat back in her chair. “You’ve had this gun all along. Why not use it?” “Because I’m a coward. I can’t pull that, or any trigger ever again.” “Yeah, you’re not so tough without the evil midget with half a moustache pulling your puppet strings.” “That’s a fair assessment. But off topic. Will you kill me or not?” he said flatly. “Can I think about it? This has been quite an experience and it’s a lot to process. It’s not as if you’re asking me to do your shopping.” “Of course.” he said. “Tomorrow, then?” “I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Don’t call me.”
He nodded in silent agreement.
Anna excused herself and left.
That evening, Klaus woke to a commotion in his backyard. He looked out his window and saw someone working to a portable spotlight. He put on his robe and slippers, went down the hall, out the front door and made his way around the back of the house. There he found Anna, leaning on a shovel.“What is this, Anna?” he looked at her quizzically. With a blank face she looked at him through the erratic beam of the work light. “Here, put this on.” She handed him a bandana. “Pardon?” “Cover your eyes.” “I will not.” “Then I will hit you upside the head with this shovel and then put it on for you.”
He did as instructed.
She led him by the hand to where she was working. Klaus raised his hand to his face, lifted his bandana slightly and saw before him a shallow pit. She pushed the bandana down again.“Again. What is this?” he asked. “Klaus Messerschmidt, you speak of your actions but you show only a small trace of remorse. You mostly speak of what it has done to you but hardly acknowledge the pain you have caused others. You then ask me to shoot you in order to ease your pain. But I have decided I don’t want to do that.” “Well then, what do you plan on doing?” he inquired of the dark night.
Silence.
She kicked him from behind into the
ditch. He fell awkwardly, landing face down. She began to shovel dirt
onto him.
“Please, Please,” he pleaded. “Not like this!” |“Yes, exactly like this. You don’t get the luxury of being shot in the head as your helpless victims did. You’re going to feel this.” “Please no, this is not what I meant.” “Klaus, do you know what I do for work?” “No, I don’t.” “I’m a Scientist. I test theories for a living.” “What possible theory could you possibly be testing?” he cried out. “Yours.” She savored the moment. “You claim you cannot die of natural causes. I want to test that theory. Suffocation is a natural cause. I’m going to bury you alive.” “Please, I beg you. Just shoot me.” “Again, it’s all about you and your pain, Klaus. I have my own and I now am obligated to carry that of your victims.”
Klaus was crying into the dirt. She
listened for a few moments.
“If you can indeed die of natural causes, then this will kill you and your justice will be served.” She began shoveling more dirt on him. “If you can’t then you will lie awake in this shallow grave for eternity, and then justice for your victims will also be served.” She shoveled more dirt on him. The cries for mercy became softer and more muffled with each spade of earth.
When she was done she collected her tools and her light. She took a few steps on the earthen grave of Klaus Messerschmidt, War Criminal, AKA Klaus Schmidt to pat it down. “Has the screaming stopped, Klaus?”
No answer.
She gathered her tools and walked out
of the back yard and down the walkway.
Looking back, she decided, as she
loaded her trunk, that she would check on him tomorrow.
As she got into the driver’s seat of
her car she decided that she also may not check on him at all.
The old man sat across from the plump, middle aged woman at a table in the corner. The shop was bustling. The 6 tables were occupied with chatty locals and the line for coffee and the locally famous baked goods was out the door, the steady announcement of visitors via the bell over the door rose above the din.
The old man was staring at his coffee, intently stirring it as the woman enjoyed her coffee roll. She looked up, noticed his distracted behavior.“What’s the matter, Klaus?” she asked. “You’re here but you’re not.”“Anna” he sighed. “I have a heavy heart today. Ah, that’s not entirely true. I have a heavy heart every day but I’m afraid it’s come to a head.” Anna pushed for clarification. “Care to share?” “Anna, we’re friends aren’t we?” “I suppose so. We meet here for coffee once a week. Now that I think about it I don’t really know that much about you. You’re from Germany. You’re a widower. You’ve been in town for a long time. You owned a clock repair shop.” “You know enough about me then.” Klaus told her. “Most of that I got from the Senior Center that reached out to me to be your coffee buddy. When we talk here we mostly make small talk.” “Anna”, he reached across the table and grasped her hand. “Would you come to my house tomorrow afternoon? I know it’s an extra day, not on the schedule but I want to ask something of you and I don’t want to do it here.” Anna pulled out her smartphone, pulled up her calendar and studied it for a moment. “I think I can do that. How’s 2 sound?” “That sounds wonderful” he said. “I will take my leave now and I look forward to seeing you then.” He took his faded leather wallet out of his breast pocket, dropped a few bills on the table and slowly stood up. She watched him intently as he made his way out of the door, parting the crowd like the Red Sea and onto the sidewalk. She turned her attention to the remainder of her coffee roll and thought about what the old man who she volunteered with could possibly have to ask of her.
The next day, Anna Feinberg stepped
onto the walkway of the quaint Emerald Lane residence of Klaus
Schmidt. Neat flower beds flanked the walkway. The freshly painted
porch was adorned with hanging plants in full bloom. She marveled at
how a man of Klaus’s age could maintain his house so meticulously.
She rang the bell. Shortly, Klaus appeared at the door. She noticed he was without his walker. “Ahh, Anna. Thank you for keeping your word. Please, come in.” He gestured her inside. The interior of the home was as meticulous as the exterior. There was no clutter, paintings adorned the walls, the wood floors gleamed as if recently treated. She followed him into the kitchen. A pot of tea, a bowl of sugar and a small carafe of milk and 2 cups awaited them at the table. Klaus invited her to sit down. She patiently waited for him to ease himself into his chair, she then sat. “Anna” He slowly began. “There is so much you, anyone for that matter, don’t know about me and as a friend I feel that I should unburden myself.” “Klaus”, she interrupted,”with all due respect, we’re not that close. Surely you have someone closer you want to share this with?” “Anna, I’m afraid that close or not, you are all that I have. Now if I may continue?” She nodded in agreement. “Anna, I’ve done some terrible things. Things that I am so very ashamed of. I have haunting memories that I just can’t escape them.” “Klaus”, Anna interjected. “We all have done things that we are ashamed of.” “My dear, I’m afraid my deeds fall under a whole new category other than ‘things that we are ashamed of.” “I’ m listening.” “Anna”, he paused. He took his glasses off and put them on the table in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and looked down into his lap for a moment. “What if I told you I don’t want to live any longer?” “I don’t have an answer for that. Again, I’m not sure I’m the right person for this conversation.” “You’re the perfect person. The only person. Your name is Feinberg, yes?” Puzzled, Anna replied “Yes.” “You are Jewish, am I correct?” he queried. “I’m not sure where we’re going with this but I’m getting a bit uncomfortable here.” “Alas, I’m going to make it a bit more so.” He reached into the pocket of his robe and placed a WW2 era Luger pistol on the table in front of him. “Anna, I want you to kill me.” He paused to let his words sink in.
He took a deep drag, slowly exhaled and asked me, “How’s the cigar?” I sat back in my chair, smiled contentedly at my youngest boy and replied, “Perfect.” “You could have had any cigar, Dad. Why did you pick the cheapie?” “Because it’s good enough.” “I love that about you, Dad. You’re so easily satisfied.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Wherever you are, that’s the place to be. Whatever you’re drinking is good enough. Whatever you are eating is good enough. It’s awesome and I try to do it.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. We
puffed on our cigars, watched the smoke wisp into the late afternoon
sky and savored the moment.
Finally, I broke the silence. “I haven’t always been like this. It’s the result of a lot of hard lessons that I, fortunately, learned from. From trying to be something I’m not, from ignoring my better judgment, from trying too hard. I found myself after taking the most indirect, rocky, hilly and winding road you could ever imagine.” “So what, or who are you now?” “I’m simple. I’m grateful. I’m not greedy and I’m not always looking for something better.”
He studied his cigar for a while as he
absorbed my words. I studied him. 6 foot tall, broad shoulders, a
kind bearded face, sitting in his chair supremely confident and
present in the moment. I was beaming with pride.
Once, he was my most difficult child.
We just didn’t click. He was surly, argued with me about everything,
we had nothing in common. I went to bed so many nights feeling a
failure as his father. I dedicated myself to fixing it, finding
common ground. It seemed like it was overnight, of course it wasn’t,
that we suddenly clicked. We listened to the same music, binged the
same shows and movies on Netflix, we started to have the most amazing
conversations. Like this one.
“Dad, how old do you have to be before you have wisdom?” “It depends on how much you’ve lived your life, I guess.” I paused to hit off the cigar. “Live hard, make mistakes, crash and burn a few times, take a few risks and you will learn enough to earn wisdom. If you don’t live your life, you won’t . But, if you’re open to it, you can benefit from the wisdom of others.” “So wisdom is earned. I’m only 19 but I feel that I have wisdom.” “You know life lessons by watching me fuck up a million times. It’s a cautionary tale, not wisdom.” “ I think I have it. But ok.” “Kid, it’s not an insult and I’m not disagreeing with you. There’s a saying,’youth is wasted on the young.’” “What does that mean?” “It means that when you are young, you don’t know how great it is to be at that stage of your life. Free, unencumbered with good health and opportunities ahead of you. It is only when you are older when you appreciate those things. Some of those mistakes you made when young taught you how to be a good adult”. “Examples?”
I explained to him that I learned to take whatever beer someone offers you after I insulted my father’s friend by complaining about the beer he gave me. My father was so pissed I never did it again. I learned to not look over the fence for greener grass after I walked on my neighbor’s ultra-green patch of grass only to sink ankle-deep into a leaking septic system.I learned fidelity after trying to date two girls at one time. I lost a girl that may have been the one. I learned that a 20 dollar cigar tasted no better to me than a 2 dollar cigar. I don’t have a refined pallet and I shouldn’t pretend to. I learned to value friendship when I became sick and most of my friends stopped calling me. I made new friends that were always there for me. They made me a better friend also. I learned generosity and charity by hitting rock bottom, losing everything. I began to see everyone on the same level. I learned gratitude when someone saved my life by donating an organ. I learned to be a better father by crying myself to sleep in fear of my someday adult kids hating me. I learned to be a better husband when I realized my wife no longer loved me.I learned not to kick the can down the road when I realized that I tried to save my marriage too late. I learned that it is more important to seek respect than admiration. I learned that telling the truth is always better after being caught in a lie. I learned to appreciate each sunset after almost dying. By the time I was done talking our cigars had burned down to a nub. He had sat and listened silently the whole time. His only response was, “Wow.” “Kid, I could go on forever but I won’t. You get the idea.” “Not really, there was a lot of ideas there.” “The idea is, you will learn some things by heeding the advice of one who knows. And you will learn other things by charging forward and living your life. Either way, you will learn how to be and how not to be. It’s a blueprint, not a prediction.” “It’s complicated I guess” he said. “Not really,” I said. “One day it will all become clear.” “If you say so.” “There’s one more thing I forgot to mention.” “What’s that?” “Make the most of each moment because you might not get another.” I stubbed my finished cigar in the ashtray. “I want to make the most of this one so get us another cigar. And grab a couple of beers while you’re in there.” He smiled and pulled his lanky frame out of the low chair. “I’m 19, are you sure.” “Carpe fuckin’ Diem, kid. I’m sure.”
I love this kid. He gets it. Isn’t that
what we all want to say about our kids?
I woke up this morning to see in my notifications that Lisa of All About Life fame has nominated me for the 3,2,1 Challenge. She knows me, I love a good quote and I especially enjoy elaborating on why it means something to me.
I find it odd, perhaps a sign that this challenge comes on a day that I woke up in the mood to binge-watch movies of a man whose loss I feel deeply. The brilliant and manic comedian that brought tears of joy and abdominal pain from laughing. The soulful and charismatic actor who created and portrayed characters that walk alongside me in real life. The “sad clown” that laughed on the outside and cried on the inside but chose to make others laugh because he knew pain. The man who left us way too early because his pain was just too much to bear.
I have been called a “Sad clown” before. I have been accused of making jokes to minimize pain. Of deflecting praise because I didn’t feel worthy of it. They weren’t wrong, I was deeply unhappy for a long time. But I did get pleasure out of making others happy. That’s what Robin did, so today I will provide 2 great quotes from Robin Williams.
Bad days are lessons. You can learn from them or dwell on them, it is your choice. I have had more than my share of bad days in my life but I always chose to smile through them when I was able, or smile after when it was over. Collectively, my bad days have taught me to appreciate everything, most especially the little things in life. The warmth of the sun, the smile and laugh of a child, the gait of a beautiful woman, the affection of a pet, the sunrise of a brand new day. We only have so many sunrises left and I try to enjoy them all. I don’t know how many days I have left, none of us do, but I refuse to die with regrets and unexpressed feelings.
What a wonderful take on wisdom. Wisdom is fleeting for some, nonexistent in others and always appreciated too late in the dispenser and wasted on the young. Too often we dismiss the advice of others because we feel that we know enough already or that the giver is not qualified. Wisdom comes from good judgment. Good judgment comes from making mistakes. Mistakes, better known as learning experiences make and shape who we are. How we handle them speaks volumes. At the very least, our mistakes teach us how to handle future incidents. At the most, they allow us to help others clear their hurdles. Unfortunately, wisdom is acquired too late. The sands of time eventually fill the bottom of the hourglass and it dies with you. You can only hope that someone besides yourself learns from your slips and falls, the hills and vales and the walls that you hit so that they might not struggle. But if they do, they will have acquired their own wisdom. Just another cog in the circle of life.
I nominate: My bud Biff @ Biff, Sock, Pow. His blog is brilliant and funny and I would love to see what he comes up with. I would also be pleased if you would check him out. You will not regret it. Sparky Jen. She’s positive, very wise and a true pleasure to read. Trust me. Tom @ Tom Marches on. He’s been in a slump lately maybe this will get him writing again. Plus I would like to see what he comes up with.
I first met you in the courtyard of our Apartment complex.
You were walking your Boxer. Your buzzcut, upright posture and tattoos immediately revealed that you were military. I welcomed you to the complex and happily found out that you lived above me. I told you we should hang out.
I learned your story. You were active
duty Army, 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an MP. You were
stateside and reassigned as a Recruiter. Your wife and 2 beautiful
daughters were so happy to have you home. I immediately respected
you.
You were half my age. You sought my
friendship and advice over frequent drinks. As we became close you
alternated between treating me as a friend and a father figure. I was
happy to be both.
We worked out together. You hated the
fact that I was twice your age but could outrun you. Eventually you
asked me to help you get in better shape to pass your PT test. I
threw pebbles at your balcony window to wake you at 6 am to go for a
run. Most times you didn’t feel up to it. You were hung over.
You desired fitness, but you were a
slave to Alcohol. You didn’t deny it. You couldn’t just have a drink,
you could only get hammered. Jack Daniels was your best friend and
your wife was getting jealous of your relationship.
I tried to get you to slow it down. I
warned you of the damage you were doing to your family. I treaded
lightly because I knew you had seen some shit overseas and needed
your coping mechanisms. But I saw the writing on the wall.
Eventually, your wife, tired of you passing out on the sofa and your belligerent behavior when drinking grew tired of your antics and sought solace in the arms of another. A mutual friend had betrayed you, broke a cardinal law and coveted your wife. When you found out, you went on a binge.
I got your call at 11 PM on a Sunday
night. You were very drunk and driving around. Your life, your
marriage and your military service were on the line. I pleaded for
you to park your car and let me come get you. You succumbed. I drove
an hour to pick you up. I offered to take you home but you didn’t
want to go. I took you to my home. We talked into the early hours of
the morning. You were heartbroken. Angry. You wanted to lash out. The
one person you refused to blame was your own self. I listened to you,
talked when appropriate and tried to set you on the right course. You
passed out on my bed. I slept on the floor that night. You were worth
it, we were friends after all.
The next morning, while I was at work
you called me and thanked me for my friendship. You promised that you
were going to make it right with your wife.
You went home to find your bags packed. It was over. You moved back into your mother’s house the next day.
We promised to stay in touch. Due to the distance we were reduced to the phone and Facebook. I monitored your progress through Facebook until the day I noticed that I wasn’t seeing your feeds. You had “unfriended” me.
I called you and asked you why. Was it
a mistake? It had to be, after all, we were such good friends weren’t
we?
You told me that because I was FB friends with the guy that banged your wife you couldn’t be friends with me. I was flabbergasted. Could you really be that childish? As it turned out, you could indeed.
I pride myself in doing for the sake of doing, not for recognition but I lowered myself to asking you if my friendship and the associated deeds mattered to you. You said they did but you couldn’t be friends with me in real life if I was FB friends with the other guy.
I asked you if you had fully thought
this through. You told me to “unfriend” him and it will all go
away. I refused. While I wasn’t thrilled with what he did, it wasn’t
my place to judge him and there was a principle involved. I told you
so. You stood firm.
I made it easy for you and I told you
that we were no longer friends.
I hope you do well in life, my friend.
I regret the manner in which I lost touch with you. I enjoyed your
friendship and I also valued it. More than the “Friends” list on
a stupid Social Media outlet. But that’s the difference between you
and I. That, and accountability. And honesty. And the appreciation of
true friendship.
I hope you do well in your journeys.
Should you ever grow up, you know where to find me.
I have been challenged by the very talented Haunted Wordsmith to again take part in the Tell the Story Challenge. It’s quite simple, I was given an image and tasked with telling a story. I initially was going to decline but the picture was so challenging I forced myself to rise to the challenge. Before you read, check out the Wordsmith’s blog. You won’t be disappointed.
The Captain stood at the bow and stared at the gray horizon. In all directions, as far his eyes could strain it was storm clouds and turbulent seas. He steadied himself against the battering waves, the salt spray burned his tired eyes.
Captain Hillenbrand was alone on the
deck. His weary crew was bedded down for the night. What was left of
his crew, that is. Rocked by a mysterious disease, his men were
dropping fast and those that remained were cowering in their quarters
for fear of contracting it. It’s better, he thought, that they not
see the worried, furrowed brow that had replaced his legendary,
confident stare. They need to see a leader, not just another scared
and vulnerable man.
A practical man, raised at sea by a legendary seaman of Her Majesties Royal Navy, he led with a superb blend of instinct and reliance upon the proven tools of the sailor. He always knew what to do.
Until now.
He was surrounded by the unknown. A week before, all of the ship’s navigational tools inexplicably stopped working. The dial of the compass spun like a child’s toy. The barometer failed to budge in any way. He strained for an explanation, but there wasn’t one. Stranger than the failure of the instruments was the lack of daylight. It had been dark for 7 days.
It had all occurred at the same time.
Right after…he tried to chase it out of his mind. The recollection
surged through him and he resigned himself to allow for the
possibility that his deeds had finally come to haunt him. Right after
they came upon the stranded ship flying the African flag, drifting
helplessly.
The Exodus was a merchant vessel. Captain Nathan Hillenbrand had lost his commission after his father had retired in disgrace. The Royal Navy felt that the name Hillenbrand would carry a negative connotation and politely and expediently forced him out of the Navy. Unable to find other work, Nathan Hillenbrand had been forced to Captain the Exodus. It was fairly easy work, being free of the regimen of military service he was able to lead his crew as he saw fit. The challenge,of course, was that his crew was also not under the regimen of military service and he was tasked with leading a crew of characters, some unsavory, and that was a daily challenge.
The Exodus, weighed down with a cargo of dry goods was headed towards the Philippines on a routine trade mission. Six days into their journey they found that their food and water supply was contaminated. Rats had not been detected during loading and had sufficiently bitten into and defecated onto enough of their food supply to render it inedible. Rum was the only consumable product on the ship. Captain Hillenbrand had done his best to maintain order, he assured his crew that with smooth seas they would make their destination before starvation set in.
It was soon after that they encountered the stranded ship. Floating, it’s main mast broken, likely due to a storm, the craft was truly helpless. As the Exodus came into sight, the weary sailors waved frantically to them to assist. Captain Hillenbrand ordered a team to drop a rowboat and board the ship. He gave them specific instructions to assess how many were aboard. If it was a manageable amount, they were to signal him to send more boats to rescue them. It was also instructed of them to “appropriate” some supplies to get them through their current situation.
The crew boarded the ship and signaled, by way of hand signals that there were 35 men aboard. Too many to allow on the already overloaded Exodus. He signaled across the waves to them by drawing his hand under his throat and simulated slicing his own throat. This was the universal signal to abort.
What happened next would haunt the most
hardened of sailors and men.
The crew leader, either misinterpreting, or more sinister, perverted the signal and began to attack the crew of the stricken craft. The others followed. The Captain stood helplessly as the men hacked the crew to death. Horrified, he watched the brutal display unfold before him. Blood mixed with the salt spray, bodies fell to the deck, those who were lucky lived long enough to bleat like sheep to the slaughter.
The screams, my god the screams.
When the crew completed their unsanctioned massacre, they grabbed a meager supply of food and loaded the dingy and paddled back to the Exodus. Hillenbrand, dazed and outraged, met the returning men with a team of sailors armed with bayonets. Unable to find any other suitable option, he had them summarily executed, their treasonous corpses tossed overboard.
After, he ordered his remaining crew to
make do with the tragically obtained supplies and went to his cabin.
It wasn’t long after that it became dark. The sea kicked up. The clouds rolled in. The Exodus began its now endless spell of being tossed around by the angry waves. Then the instruments stopped working. The next morning, when he surveyed what should have been a horizon with at least a glimpse of sun…he saw nothing but darkness. It wasn’t just strange, it was foreboding.
More sinister than the darkness was the
floating specter that appeared before him. Dancing on the waves, not
possibly human and of this world, the skeletal face stared at him,
through him and into his very soul. It haunted him. He ordered his
crew to change direction at full sail. Still, there was the specter
dancing in the waves, taunting him. In another change of direction,
he saw it again. No matter what he tried, there it was.
Any experienced sailor will tell you, the sea is a mysterious mistress and can play games with the weary mind. Hillenbrand was beyond weary, but he knew what he saw before him. All of his rational instincts raging through him, he knew that he was dealing with something beyond the realm of the rational. It was Karma, it was payback for what he had allowed on his watch. It was his reckoning. It was the call of retribution. It was Death.
Clearly, there was no escaping it.
He heard a commotion below deck. He need not look, another, or a few more men had died. The remaining men were scared. They wanted answers. He had none, a mutiny was certainly imminent. They would come for him. If it came to that, he would let them. The next man who assumed the helm would not escape the same fate. They would all die in darkness.
As he stared into the endless, bland
night he heard the screams of the helpless, slaughtered victims. The
ones who had died under his watch. They danced around in his head,
demanded to be heard. He couldn’t fight it, the cacophony overpowered
him.
He raised his pistol to his temple, took a deep breath and one last look at his own personal hell and pulled the trigger.
As his body slumped to the deck of the cursed ship, he faintly heard the sinister, menacing laugh of the specter in the crashing waves before him.
This may be a bit late to the party but I want to share my Valentine’s Day experience with you.
It was a busy evening at my favorite
watering hole. Perhaps because it was Valentine’s Day, maybe because
the skiing has been good with all of the recent snow. I couldn’t help
but notice that I was one of the only ones rolling solo that evening.
That may have bothered me at one time but I’ve gotten quite used to
my own company. Nursing a drink and uninspiredly munching french
fries isn’t so bad once you’re used to it.
I scanned the room, the people watcher
in me cannot be denied. I do have to admit that seeing all of the
happy couples canoodling as they celebrated a Hallmark Holiday got to
me a bit. I never understood the need to go to extravagant lengths to
show your love for someone, isn’t love something you should express
every day? Why do you need dinner reservations, overpriced flowers
and credit card debt to prove it. I then reminded myself that every
guy in this room who adhered to this forced ritual is going to get
laid tonight. I won’t have that luxury despite how much alcohol I
pour on my hand to get my date drunk.
Still, I passively observed the ritual
as it played out before me, fondly remembering the days when I was
still in the game. Then I saw her. She was alone at her table,
listlessly staring at the table and stirring a drink. I could tell,
despite the fact that she was seated that she was tall. A heavy
sweater couldn’t disguise an athletic build. Most men would be afraid
of that but I’m not one of them. Fit is sexy.
Occasionally, she would glance around
the room. I was careful to avert my eyes. Was she waiting for
someone? Enough time passed that a date in the Men’s room seemed
unfeasible. How is this lovely specimen alone? She turned and met my
gaze.
Unable to turn away without looking as
if I was busted, I managed a weak smile and turned to study the ice
cubes in my glass. Despite my interest in her I wasn’t prepared to
meet anyone tonight. After many years of a loveless marriage
distinctly lacking contact other than self-imposed my confidence
level was non-existent.
“Mind if I sit down?” Surprised,
I turned and there she was. “By all means” I managed to reply.
“You were staring at me.”
“Guilty as charged.” I said.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It happens when you’re
alone in a place like this.” “About that.” I asked. “Why
are you alone on this hallowed Hallmark Holiday?”
She smiled mischievously. “I could
ask you the same.”
I went for it. The humorous route. “I’m
divorced, broke and living with my mother. Still want to sit here?”
She told me I was cute.
Small talk turned into conversation.
She was indeed an ex-athlete. She had just gotten out of a long
relationship but didn’t provide many details. I didn’t pry. I was
just glad to have company. Several drinks were consumed and I began
to relax a bit. She warmed up also and soon was stroking my wrist
with her strong hands. Clearly, she was in the mood for some fun. I
started to tense up, trying to remember the last time I had been with
a woman and having a true crisis of confidence.
“Let’s get out of here. I live around
the corner. The drinks are cheaper and we can just hang out.”
“Listen.” I said. “There’s no
easy way to say this so I’ll just blurt it out.”
She patiently stared at me, waiting for
me to get it out. “I haven’t been with someone in almost 10
years. Sex for me is like a dog chasing a car. If I caught it I
wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
She laughed. “Sweetie, you’ve already
caught the car. No worries, I’ll be gentle.”
I paid the tab and we put on our coats
and left. We got to the parking lot, she pointed out her car and told
me to follow her.
She was right, she did live close. We
went inside her neat apartment. She poured two scotches neat, turned
and walked towards me as I was mentally choosing what seat to choose.
Sofa for action, or single seat for plotting my next move. My palms
were sweating. I didn’t need to decide, she decided for as she led me
to the sofa. She gently pushed me into my seat and stood over me. She
took off her sweater and revealed a sheer sleeveless top. Her
shoulders were strong like I imagined. Things were getting hot.
“Scared?” She asked me.
“No.” I replied. “But I think my
cock is scared stiff!”
She laughed haughtily. Then she
proceeded to toss me around like a doll for what had to be an hour.
She gladly called the shots and I gratefully let her. Fortunately I
was able to think about baseball enough to make the encounter last.
After, we lay on the rug in front of
the sofa. Our clothes were strewn about. I was panting, sweaty and
satisfied beyond the measures attainable by modern technology. We
didn’t speak. Conversation could have added nothing to the moment. We
laid there for quite a while, her lying on her side with her head
nestled under the crux of my arm. The only movement was her
persistent caressing of my balls. It didn’t bother me, but it was
unsettling how she was fixated.
Eventually I asked her why she was so
intent on fondling my testes.
I received a text from my youngest daughter late last night. We text almost every day and I always light up when I see that it’s her.
She told me that she has an English assignment to write a 20 sentence essay about a powerful moment in her life, and would I mind if she wrote about my last hospitalization. I joked with her, which one? It was a caustic joke, making reference to the many crises I’ve been through in the last couple of years. It wasn’t funny of course, my battles have had a real impact on my kids, one that I wish they never had to deal with. The last one, I’ve heard, was particularly bad. I have to rely on what I’ve heard because I was unconscious for 2 days.
I told her I was fine with it and asked her to email it to me. Here is what I opened.
As I pulled up to the hospital, I did not know what to expect when I walked into his room. My mom and I made it into the hospital, to the elevator, and into the ICU. The nurse led us into the room and my heart dropped to my stomach as I saw my dad. I have never seen someone look so helpless, while he laid there with a tube down his throat and a machine breathing for him. The nurse was talking, but I couldn’t listen. All I could hear was my heart pounding, the machines beeping, and the sound of oxygen being shot into his lungs. The first time I saw his chest rise then fall, tears came to my eyes, but they did not stop. Tears kept pooling in my eyes and falling down my face. I could not breathe. I felt like I needed to have oxygen sent to my lungs, too, because I couldn’t seem to breathe on my own. They told me to talk to him, but what do I say? Would he be able to hear me? All I could do was hold his hand and hope he could hold mine back, but he didn’t. Even if he wanted to, he had gloves on preventing him from ripping the tubes from his mouth, which he had tried to do during the many attempts to wake him up. So I did the best I could and I held his hand and spoke soothing words to him. I told him I loved him. I told him he couldn’t leave me, and he didn’t. He stayed strong for me, for my family, and for himself, like the fighter I know and love. “He’ll be okay,” they told me. He’ll be okay.
She will be reading that in front of her class.
I was floored. I cried. I was so sad for her that she had to go through that, so proud of her ability to express herself so boldly and honestly, and so taken back by her account. Above all, I was blown away by the love this child has for me.
I told her how proud I was, how well-written it was and that I was moved by her words. “Well, it’s all true”, she matter of factly replied.
I continue to struggle with that episode of my life. I’ve had a couple of medical close calls in my life and I sincerely remember traveling towards a tunnel of some sort before being revived. I know what I experienced and no skeptic will ever talk me out of it. But the last one was the worst. I was inches from the dirt farm, to the point where the Doctors were discussing my DNR.
Through Doctor and family accounts, I’ve been given details of the ordeal. The 2 ambulance rides, the first to a hospital that was ill-equipped to treat me. The 104.9 fever. The medically induced coma. The breathing tube and the bedside dialysis. I don’t remember any of it of course, and there lies the frustration.
The one thing I have never wrapped my head around is what my family went through during that time. The guy who always tried to act strong, through a carefully orchestrated design of denial and lying about my health was, in my daughter’s words, helpless. Helpless is not a word often associated with me.
My mother, my ex-wife (who was amazingly supportive and present throughout the ordeal), and my older children were all deeply concerned. But my youngest, she was beyond herself. We have a special bond.
As all of these thoughts ran through my sleepless mind last night, I texted her: “That was a scary time.”
“I was more scared that I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye.”
Is there anything that would make a guy want to keep plugging on stronger than that? God, I love that kid.
Jeff is the rare “3 AM friend”, if I called him at 3 AM he would be there for me (he has). When he called me last week and invited me to play Poker I jumped at the chance. The prospect of playing cards with him was worth the 2-hour drive.
I met up with him at noon on Sunday and we headed out to get snacks and drinks for the game. We arrived at our friend Justen’s place on time. Jeff and Justen were the only ones I knew, but as a believer in “a stranger is a friend I haven’t yet met” I immediately became friendly with 3 of the 4 new guys. The fourth set off my “Spidey-Sense”, I didn’t like him at first impression.
My
senses were accurate, not long into the tournament I concluded that
he acted and played like a Dick. But I put up with it.
As the
game wore on, players began to drop off. Our Texas Hold’em tournament
was 1st
and 2nd
winners only, once you were out you were out. It had come down to me
and the Dick. After a showdown in which I bet and he made a huge
raise, I was forced to fold. As I threw down my cards he laughed and
talked some trash. I ignored him.
In Poker, if your opponent folds you are not required to show your cards. It is an unspoken rule. When he threw his cards in, I scooped them up in preparation to shuffle and deal the next hand. In the process I accidentally flipped his cards up. He immediately reacted, accusing me of looking at his cards. I assured him that it was an accident.
It
escalated. I stood up and told him that if he didn’t stop we were
going to take it outside and handle it a different way.
That
is when Jeff stepped in.
“Dude”,
he said to the Dick. “Bill wouldn’t do that. If he says it was an
accident it was, he is one of the finest people I know. Sit down
before he kicks your ass.”
The Dick sat down. He and I finished the game. He won, I took second place, doubling my buy in. He took his money and left.
Soon
after, Jeff and I left also.
“Thanks for getting my back, brother” I said to him. “No worries, bud. I meant what I said.” “Finest people I know?”I joked. “Bill, you are an amazing human being. One in a million, maybe a billion.”
I was
floored. I was unable to offer a response other than to thank him.
Soon,
I was on my way back home with 2 hours of quality “me time” ahead
of me. I love to drive, I do my best thinking behind the wheel. I
can’t count how many blog posts came to me while driving.
This ride, I was thinking about what Jeff had said. What about me made him say that? I’m a pretty laid back guy, I try to be honest and kind-hearted, I’m not judgmental and try to be nice… But I’m nothing special. Then a word popped into my head. Basic. Basic is a urban slang word, like fleek, lit, woke, bae,. Etc. Words my kids use that drive me crazy. Basic is a derogatory word denoting one’s lack of spark, of being of no particular interest. Not a nice thing to be called. But it’s a great thing to be and people seem to admire it.
In the
last two years I have embarked on a spiritual journey to find myself.
By applying the harsh spotlight of self-evaluation, unwavering
criticism and acceptance of unwanted but necessary truths I emerged
as a person who, for the first time, could look into a mirror and
like what he saw. I had stripped myself of pretense, hubris, ego,
pride and the conventional measures of success. Isn’t all of that a
fancy way of saying that I got down to the basics?
I’ve
never been happier.
I am
basic. Like a child. Remember when we were children?
We loved everyone because we did not know hate.We were friendly to all because we had not learned prejudice and bigotry. We were honest because we had no reason to lie. We were happy because we had not been taught cynicism. We said the “darndest things” because we were too young to be censored. We asked questions to learn, not to make judgments.
Then
the world changed us.
Fortunately, I have restored myself back to “Factory Settings”. Not amazing, not particularly noteworthy. Pretty basic overall. Some people seem to like that so I think I will run with it.
The Tao of Bill 