Incidents

INTRODUCTION

Most people can remember what they did today and yesterday. Two days ago starts to be fuzzy. Yes, if you do the same things on certain days, you could remember that much of the day. Beyond that only important things can be remembered or those that have special meaning. Those are usually remembered as isolated incidents. Occasionally some incidents are connected, even when separated by time.

This book is composed of incidents in various peoples' lives. It is a complete work of fiction and any similarity to real people or events is accidental. However, in many cases the incidents could have happened and, in fact, may have happened in real life.

In some of the stories I found more information beyond the initial incident. In some, like The Report and in the Poor old Man, there were too many possibilities to determine what the result of the incident could be. Feel free to imagine what you think would have happened.

I want to thank C.F. Eckhardt for his kind permission to include his article about the Lady in Blue with the Mission Church story.

The story The Box is built around an inside joke about a navigator.

There may be some who will recognize the story Escape as a factual depiction of an event that took place many years ago.

The Prophet

When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, thou shalt surely die: if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked man from his way: that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand. But if thou tell the wicked man, that he may be converted from his ways, and he be not converted from his way: he shall die in his iniquity: but thou has delivered thy soul. (Ezekial 33:8-9)

Zeke Thomas was a friendly man, but somehow, he didn't have any real, true friends. He was alone much of the time, but was seldom lonely. He was almost never bored, even if occasionally he couldn't decide what he wanted to do. He had a good life. He lived in a nice house across the street from his church. He had an adequate income that more than met his needs. All the goods he needed could be bought within a three block radius. He could devote his time to his hobbies and to his reading. Even the climate suited him. There was enough change through the seasons usually without any severe weather.

All that changed one night as he was going to sleep. He became aware of a bright light in his room. A beautiful voice told him to get up. He slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful man lighting up the room. As he covered his eyes from the brilliant light he asked: How did you get in here?

I just arrive, Ezekial. You can open your eyes. I am sorry I blinded you. Forgive me.

When Zeke opened his eyes the man was still visible, but the light was more normal to his eyes. How do you know my name.

I was told everything I needed to know about you.

Who are you? What do you want?

I am Uriel, I am an angel of God

What do want with me?

God wants you to be his prophet. You are to call the people to repent.

Why didn't my guardian angel tell me?

Guardian angels are just that. They protect you from harm and from evil when God wants. They are not messengers.

Do I have a choice?

Of course. God asks, He doesn't force.

Where do I have to go?

Nowhere, right here in your own town.

Here?

Yes, here, around the square.

"Are you kidding?… I'm sorry, forgive me. Here, but we have hardly any crime.

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We have to take a little time to explain Zeke's attitude.

Zeke grew up in this town. The town square was designed and built in the late eighteen hundreds. The park had a gazebo in the center where they still had band-concerts in the summer. At the northwest corner was a children's playground. The northeast corner had a war memorial. The southwest corner had public restrooms that where actually clean. There was an old oak that some said predated the buildings. The streets around the square were wide enough for angled parking.

Across from the park on the west side was the city offices building with the police station, the court house and the county offices with the sheriffs office. The east side had the bank and the city church. These building were all stone.

On the north side was the Mason House on the west end. It was a hotel at one time with a good restaurant on the west side and the lobby and a bar on the east side. When they started to build motels on the highway, it was changed to apartments. There were various stores on the east side. The hotel and 5 & !0 were 3 stories, the rest were two. Above the stores were living quarters for the owners, but some were converted to other uses.

On the south side the east end was dominated by the theatre. It still had its stage and balcony. Next to it was an ice cream parlor and candy store. Now they served hot dogs and sandwiches for lunch. There was a small restaurant that served a good lunch and a plain dinner until 8 pm and a book store. At the west end was a doctor's clinic and pharmacy.

These building were only two stories high, but were brick like the ones on the north side. Halfway down each block was a 6 foot space between the buildings. Behind them was an alley. The area was used in a number of movies and the money was put into a trust fund that was used to clean them and keep them repaired. In, fact in recent years, the area became a tourist attraction that brought in needed capitol. During the annual celebration of the founding, the theater showed the movies, which actually were quite good in their own right.

Zeke's one outing outside of Church was the movie. When the mall theaters took the business away, the owner changed the fare. He made it a classic theater and featured the best movies made prior to 1970. On Mondays he showed mysteries, Tuesday were adventures, Wednesdays was comedy night, and Thursday were westerns. There was a short and a cartoon and occasionally an old news short. On Fridays and Saturdays he showed musicals and romances. Saturday afternoon had the cartoons, serials and old westerns that he remembered. Many adults returned to the days of yesteryear and went too. During the season, the local theater group staged plays on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

This Victorian picture was Zeke's hometown. Crime, let alone, sin was not part of it. Oh, he knew everyone wasn't a saint, but he couldn't accept HIS town as a Sodom.

+ + + + +

Everyone is not a criminal or in a state of constant mortal sin.

Remember, some sins are not crimes. When a sin is illegal the law may not be enforced strictly. Nevertheless there is enough sin in your town to warrant action.

Like Sodom and Gomorrha?

That is not your concern. Remember Ninevah wasn't destroyed.

Why me? I'm a nobody.

You are a Christian, you were baptized to be a priest, prophet, and king. You were confirmed to be a soldier of God. Now He is asking that you accept the role as prophet. Remember, a prophet was one who reminds the people of their responsibilities to God.

Yes, but…

Do not be afraid. Your guardian angel will protect you and I will tell you what to say and do. I have an electronic loud speaker that will make your message heard.

Why don't you just do it?

You know God doesn't work that way.

I'm not sure about this. I have to ask my spiritual advisor. What will I have to say? When do I have to do it.?

You will say: 'Repent, the day of the Lord is here.' You will say this three times on each corner of the square for three days. Then you will add one of the commandments for the next ten days with specific sins associated with that commandment. Then you will repeat just the repent for three more days. You should start tomorrow after the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 o'clock.

I will talk to my spiritual advisor after morning Mass.

At this the angel was gone.

Zeke had trouble getting to sleep. He was plagued with weird dreams. He didn't remember any details after he awoke.. He awoke still tired, but made Mass as usual. He prayed about his vision and asked God to help his spiritual advisor determine what he should do. Father Callahan saw that he was troubled and invited him to breakfast so that they could talk. Father made his own breakfast so they were alone. Zeke gave him a detailed report of his vision. In all his years as a priest and his many years of being a spiritual advisor he had never encountered anyone who had what appeared to be a real visit from an angel. It was beyond his expertise. He could not tell if it was from God or not, but saw many practical reasons for not doing it. In this day and age, he would become a media joke and would have to face much scorn. In the end, he told Zeke to make a holy hour and pray more about it, but he would not tell him not to do it. He told Zeke that if he decided to do it to come to supper and tell him what happened.

Zeke made the holy hour and the divine mercy chaplet. As he was leaving the church he saw the angel waiting for him with a loud hailer. He didn't see his guardian angel but was assured he was there too. The loud hailer was real enough. Zeke made the sign of the cross and prayed the Saint Michael prayer. The angel was still there. He took the loud hailer and they started out for the square. He had doubts and questions, but didn't say anything. When they arrived at the southwest corner he turned to the southwest and put the loud hailer to his mouth. His mouth was so dry, he didn't think he could say anything. The angel Uriel told him to begin. He nodded and started. The words came easily and resounded throughout the town. Although some people looked at him, no one seemed to pay attention to him. Apparently, those near him couldn't hear him and those that could, couldn't see him. He gained confidence as they proceeded around the square, proclaiming his message at each corner. Then Uriel took the loud hailer and left. Zeke didn't know how he felt. He went home and napped until it was time to go to the rectory for supper.

Father Callahan met him and after one look gave him a strong drink. They went into the kitchen where Father served dinner. After dinner Father took Zeke into the den and turned on the local TV news station.

His proclamations were the lead story. They were heard throughout the town, but not beyond the city limits. They were voice over on all the TV and radio programs. No one knew how or where they originated. The media was inundated with irate calls about interference. Some even called the FCC. The FCC had no idea and thought it was some pirate station with very high power. The clergy that were interviewed had comments varying from the advent of Armageddon to another crank doomsday scare. Father Callahan being aware of what may happen had made himself unavailable.

Zeke told Father about it and how he felt. From the news reports it was obviously not a fake. Loud hailers aren't that powerful and exact. There was supernatural forces involved. Because of the nature of the message, Father was inclined to believe that they came from God, but there was still doubt. The devil even appeared as Christ to deceive souls. He wanted to call the bishop, but wasn't sure if he should. Father and Zeke agreed to keep praying and to see what effect the proclamation would have.

The first results were apparent the following morning. Mass was packed and many people prevailed on Father to hear their confessions. He spent most of the day in the confessional, stopping only for lunch and the divine mercy chaplet. He finally stopped at supper time and told the rest to comeback tomorrow.

Zeke arrived and said everything was the same. Father told about his day and they went to see the news. The only thing new was that the FCC would send an investigative team to determine the source of the illegal interference. Many ecclesial communities were having prayer meetings and revivals. The ACLU was claiming it was against the First Amendment and they would go to court to have it stopped. Atheists were generally making jokes.

In various offices and rooms around the square and other places in town quiet meetings were being held to discuss the situation. The participants were worried about how their various businesses would be affected and whether the police agencies would decide to investigate them. Other people were equally concerned. All decided to keep a very low profile and not to deal only with anyone absolutely known to them.

After Charley Mason closed the restaurant and the bar in the Mason House Lance and Erica Strong made him a proposition he couldn't refuse. They offered to lease the ground floor for private clubs. Since they were siblings, they would call them Brother's and Sister's. It sounded like a good business deal. When their parties drove out the tenants on the second floor, they added the second floor to the lease. It was a very lucrative arrangement. It bothered his conscience that they catered only to homosexuals, especially when they rented the second floor apartments, but the monthly checks eased it considerably. He was out of town when the first prophecy was proclaimed. He heard the second and it started to bother him. On the fourth day when the First Commandment was proclaimed he realized that his false god was money, and money from condemned activities. He promptly told the Strongs that he was canceling the lease and they had 10 ten days to vacate the premises. They argued, but he was adamant and wouldn't change his mind. He left for the court house to get a writ to evict them if necessary.

Lance rushed out the back door and got his Hummer. As he passed the cross street a cop was just leaving and saw him speed by. He hit his lights and siren and started in pursuit. Lance hit old Charley right in front of the court house. He saw Charley flying through the air, but didn't stop. Lance was still accelerating but swerved into a light pole when he looked back at the police car. It was an old fashioned one of cast iron on a concrete base. The Hummer was a far cry from the original HMV and Lance died almost as soon as Charley did.

Zeke heard the siren as he went from the northwest corner to the northeast corner. He heard the crash, too, but thought it was some simple fender-bender. When he watched the news with Father Callahan it dawned on him that he may have been responsible. Father eased his mind by explaining that it was the wages of sin. They prayed for the souls of Charley and Lance and that others would learn and repent.

Two other people started to have guilty consciences, but didn't associate their sins with idolatry so they continued in their enterprises. Fortune tellers, Wicca adherents, witches, so-called spiritualists, new age teachers of various practices and others who led people away from the True God were found the next day dead. Autopsies showed no reason for their death.

A prominent county commissioner and the assistant mayor met as usual at three for their usual smoke. They met at the broken lamppost. As they were talking Zeke proclaimed the 2nd Commandment, he mentioned perjury and breaking oaths among the normal blasphemies. They heard it and each pretended he didn't . They talked about leaving for the Caribbean. They wondered how long before someone found out about their protecting certain enterprises from the law. As they talked a big black cloud gathered overhead. Without warning a deluge from the cloud drenched the talkers. It was quickly followed by a horrendous clap of thunder that was produced by a lightning strike to the lamppost. The men were incinerated before they knew what happened.

After Zeke spoke he was half way toward the second corner when things happened very quickly. He turned toward the flash, but didn't see what had happened. He continued on his way.

As Father Callahan and Zeke found out after dinner, there were people who witnessed the whole event. Some got sick. All would have nightmares for a long time.The witnesses were able to identify which body was which because they saw them before it happened. The news also said that the FCC still couldn't identify the source of the proclamations, but would leave monitoring stations in the vicinity.

Many ecclesiastical groups started to have daily prayer and scripture meeting for those in need. Generally they were full. The daily Mass was also full and Father Callahan still spent many hours hearing confessions. He refused to speak to the news reporters. The bishop tried to calm everyone's fears by saying it was not an Armageddon or the end of the world. When pressed he did state that in Old Testament times God did use physical means to chastise the Israelites. He added the story of Jonah and Ninevah to show that prophecies were not absolute. The Vatican refused comment. Areas where Christians were persecuted had seen a decrease. Many Muslims took it as a sign that they were justified in their attacks on the West.

When Zeke proclaimed the 5th Commandment he was told to state it as murder and not as kill. It seemed to pass without any violence. That evening while everyone was watching their favorite news program for more deaths, events were culminating.

The druggist was in his basement working on making a good product. He forgot that his supplier was due at that time. He checked everything and it was working well so he left it to open the back door for his supplier. While they were counting out the money, next door the doctor had put her patient on a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide while she and her staff got their stories straight. In the bookstore the owner was sorting his old 8-mm and 16-mm films to put on DVD's. Meanwhile the druggist's brew was sending fumes into the doctor's surgery. When the doctor lit a cigarette it ignited the fumes from next door which quickly spread due to the oxygen and back burned into the druggist basement where the accumulation exploded. The bookstore owner felt the explosion and decide that he would turn off his sprinkler system until and when it was needed. He didn't know what happened next door, but he called the fire department and went outside to see if he could help. The doctors office and the pharmacy were engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived before he had a chance to do anything and they proceeded to fight the fire on his side to prevent it from spreading to his part of the building.

They managed to contain it and prevent any damage to his store. The police found the truck in back of the druggist to be filled with heroin, marihuana and an assortment of the latest designer drugs. It took the coroner time to identify the bodies.

While this was happening, another explosion and fire destroyed the abortion clinic north of town killing all the workers. No patients were involved in this fire.

The late news carried the gruesome details. Someone finally got around to finding a list of the Ten Commandments. The next day was Don't commit adultery. They did not know what could happen since they believed that sex was normal.

Zeke and Uriel made the rounds and iterated all the sins engendered by this commandment. Many people were worried, but most didn't bother. The coroner had released Lance's body and Erica had planned a big wake in the club. It would be a big party since she didn't know what the new owners would do.

The book store was closed, ostensibly because of the fire next door. Actually, all the pornography film people were there to help copy the existing films to DVD's. It was boring work for the most part, and eventually someone got careless and ignited some film. It didn't take long for the rest to ignite. The owner remembered that he had shut of the sprinkler system and tried to get to it. The panic of the crew blocked him and all were killed by the fumes. The store and all its pornographic material was consumed before the fire department could control the blaze.

The Brother's and Sister's was packed. There was much use of the second floor rooms and lots of alcohol. People were complaining about the heat and the AC was reset at 50. Conditions only got worse. Finally most left. Erica decided to find a partner and stay upstairs. The temperature continued to rise. Finally they called 911. It took the paramedics some time to find them since they couldn't say which room they were in. At the hospital they were treated for heat exhaustion. Nothing the staff did would bring their temperatures down.

Calls were coming in from all over the city. Finally the caller were told to take cold baths with ice water and wait. The CDC was called and sent teams to help. The fever never broke for many. Every prostitute, every active homosexual and every child molester was dead by morning. Many judges, sitting and retired, from the Supreme Court down to the lowest local court faced a similar fate. They were the only group that was singled out that did not live in town.

Additionally anyone who had committed any other sex sins had the same symptoms, but never reached the critical stage although it took days for the fever to abate. It returned every evening high enough to make the person uncomfortable.

Actually, nothing that the doctors did made any difference. The CDC people could find no cure. They could find no source. They took samples from the dead and from the living and from those not affected. There was absolutely no difference in any of them to determine why the variance in results.

The fever affected not only the residents, but those from the FCC, CDC, and the many reporters that came to report on the situation. The media was frantic in its indictment of the government agencies involved. The effect in the rest of the country was increasing fear. Other countries started to worry. Those with high standards of morality saw only opportunity to expand if the situation became widespread.

Things were getting serious. Zeke was ready to quit. The next Commandment was against stealing. He was just a messenger. The sinners had free will and could repent.

It actually passed almost quietly. The only incident of note was that a vice president of the bank skidded off the road in his car. It rolled down an embankment and trapped him inside while the gas leaked onto the hot engine. He was burned alive. Most of the clothes were burned. When the coroner checked he found a little black book in the rear pants pocket than was protected by his body. it had a list of numbers and letters. When he showed it to the police, one of them recognized them as bank account numbers. They passed it on to the FBI. The Bureau checked the accounts in the offshore banks and had all the monies transferred to a federal bank until such time as it could be identified. They and the bank officials were checking his computer at home and work and found evidence that he was laundering money from various sources and that in the previous week he had embezzled 10 million dollars from the bank.

The eighth commandment was not to bear false witness. The effect was very mild considering what had all ready happened. Those that committed these sins were struck dumb for various lengths of time. They found that attempts to communicate by writing, signs and other methods only increased confusion among those trying to understand. This was especially difficult for many members of the media who had for many years lied and misrepresented everything that they were against and everything they, in their all mighty elitism, deemed good. Newsprint was garbled. Radio and television reporters were muted. The effect was only in town. A newspaper taken out of town was comprehensible.

However, by this time, the town was quarantined. Only food was allowed to be delivered. No one was allowed to leave. Normally there would have holes that allowed some to escape, but anyone who tried seemed to get lost and wound up at home.

The last two Commandments were not to covet your neighbors wife and not to covet your neighbors goods. This resulted in blindness for the those who commit these sins.

The next three days were just a reminder to Repent, the day of the Lord is here.

After the last proclamation Zeke asked Uriel what was going to happen next. He didn't know. He knew that Jesus cured the sick when He forgave their sins. When the dumb and the blind and the fevered are sorry and ask forgiveness they will be cured too.

What do I do now?

Go back to your normal life.

Just like that?

Yes. No one knows what you did except Father Callahan and he can't tell.

Zeke had dinner with Father and told him about his last conversation with Uriel. Father said that it is true. He can't tell. The bishop asked if he knew anything about it.

He started to say something, but the only thing he could say was I can't tell you anything about it. That was God's way of keeping the information secret and not having Father lie. They watched the news as usual. There was a wrap-up with totals of people affected in each way. Anyone knowing how secular the society had become was not surprised by the numbers. The president of the USCCB issued a statement calling for changes in the laws. Many of the other ecumenical communities echoed his statement. Special interest groups like Planned Parenthood, the pharmaceutical companies, the ACLU, liberal politicians who feasted on donations from these groups abetted by their elite comrades in the media were quick to condemn the clerics for interfering in government affairs.

The next elections showed how the majority felt. Newspapers, radio and television reporters who supported the culture of death found few wanted their products. Sin didn't stop. It took time, but the laws that made sin legal were changed.

The Reluctant Gunfighter

Smoky, Chuck and Jim were casually riding the range when they saw the smoke of a small fire. Nobody should be out here except them. The three cowboys slowly rode toward the smoke. As they neared a ravine they saw two men changing the brand of a cow with twisted wire. The men spread out and approached unnoticed until they were within spitting distance. When the two rustlers realized that they had company they slowly stood. They looked from the cowboys to their horses and knew they would never be able to get that far.

Smoky told Chuck to go and get the horses. As he rode away, the older rustler asked what the cowboys what they were going to do to them. Rustling was still a hanging offense. One of the cowboys laughed and said that they would turn them over to the sheriff. It wasn't the 19th century anymore.

As if on cue both rustlers grabbed for their guns. The older man was shot before he had his half way out of the holster. The younger man managed to clear leather before he died. Smoky had barely reached for his gun. He looked in amazement at Jim who was already reloading his gun. He had only heard of shooting like that from the tales about the early gunfighters.

Chuck turned and hurried to help. He looked from the dead men to Smoky and Jim. Smoky said get their horses.

After chuck left, Jim asked Smoky not to brag about the shooting. In fact, not to say anything about him doing all the shooting.

They released the calf and took the bodies back to the ranch to be buried. The boss would want to know what happened.

Two weeks later, Jim went into town with Chuck to get supplies. Naturally they stopped in the saloon, just to see what was happening. As they were enjoying their beer one of the hangers-on approached and asked Jim if he was the great gunfighter. Jim denied it, but the man persisted. He was obviously looking for a fight. Jim kept the beer in his right hand and unbuckled his gunbelt with the left and put it on the bar. He turned and asked if the man wanted a beating he would meet him outside after he finished his beer. This didn't please the man who thought he was the best gunman around. He called Jim a coward. But Jim didn't react. He just picked up his gun-belt with his left hand and left with Chuck. The man stood looking after him and called him a back-shooting coward. Jim and Chuck quickly got the supplies and headed back to the ranch before something else happened.

At the ranch, Jim walked up to Smoky and slammed a fist into his face laying him out. Looking up from the dirt he asked what that was