Ch. 21: “Vacation From Hell (or rather, ‘In Hell’) ”

By admin On December 8th, 2012

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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, tags, etc.. Most images cropped/reduced in size

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The_Scream Wikipedia public domain by edvard munch c.1893

Ever had a “Vacation From Hell”?

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Well…I think this one might just out-do yours!

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Because…well…just read the next few chapters, and decide for yourself…

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The Scream of Nature – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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ESCAPING THE IRON CITADEL OF ATHEISM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Descent_of_the_Modernists,_E._J._Pace,_Christian_Cartoons,_1922.jpg

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So now it was February, as I recall. And it was about 120 or so days after being “tossed out on my ear” from that sad and hopeless, “Iron-Citadel”, commonly referred to as “Atheism”.

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Such a dreadfully depressing ideology! And it eventually drowns its captives in hopeless despair, “who, through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:15

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WeirdTalesv36n1pg036_The_Man_Who_Lived.pngOh yes, the proponents and hucksters of atheism promise freedom for all who join their ideology. But truth-be-told, if you happen to be a thoughtful and sensitive individual, you eventually realize that atheism only gets more distressing, increasingly hopeless, and really depressing, the older you become!

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And those who live under atheism’s cruel tyranny, like I did, often resort to drinking ourselves into a temporary state of blurry-eyed blissfulness (or perhaps drugging themselves, which was not my chosen means of escape), all in attempt to forget about that eventual, “date-with-fate” and our inescapable, “appointment with The Grim Reaper”! (My means of escape was mostly with a little bourbon/cigarettes/television. And also, of course, managing an all-you-can-eat buffet often allows incredible middle-of-the-night “refrigerator raids”!)

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Atheism – Descent of the Modernists, E J Pace, Christian Cartoons, 1922 – Wikipedia –

Weird Tales – Grim Reaper – The Man Who Lived – Wikimedia – Public Domain (2)

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo

“THE BIGGEST FOOL TO NEVER HIT THE BIG-TIMES!”

(Word-play on lyrics from the 1963 Buck Owens song “Act Naturally”, changing “ever” to “never”)

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But now I was being given, not only songs from the spirit, but also being told a very glorious narrative on just how greatly God was going to bless me in the music world, which industry, by the way, was largely controlled by God Himself! WOW!!!

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Oh, to think that a short time ago I was being mercilessly tormented in a mental ward by demons, swan-diving onto a hard floor, falling onto sharp objects, and going in and out of hellish illusions and devilish delusions!

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And now…BUT NOW…instead, I was being told just the opposite! I was informed that I was soon to find fame and fortune in the L.A. music scene!

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And if that’s not enough, I was JESUS…in a former life!

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This might possibly make that classic, “rags-to-riches” story about the “Count of Monte Cristo”, look like a mere, “50-cent-burger-joint-pay-raise”!

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Ah yes, this was the turn-about of all turn-abouts! This was the lottery ticket of all lottery tickets! 

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This was…uh…it was….sufficed to say, “My prospects for the future were looking much better, thank-you.”

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

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THE BIG TUMBLE!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_the_Great_Jaguar.jpg.

But little did I know, nor suspect, that I was once again to be the “butt-end of a cruel joke” by the spirits.

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Little did I realize or was aware, that I was unwittingly being set up like a “bowling pin” by “Team-Lucifer”, only to knock me down flat, for a strike at the “Unlucky-Lanes Bowling Alley”! 

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And these super-intelligentsia (who, by the way, were extremely cunning beings), were gonna take me up to the very top of the tallest temple in Belize…That infamous Jaguar Temple, only to kick me down, down, down… about a couple hundred very steep steps…down onto my head!

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And then thrust me back down into the open-arms of Hell’s awaiting flaming-furnace-inferno, once again!

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Temple of the Great Jaguar Temple – by Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada – for wikimedia – share-alike license

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But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

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Let’s leave TIKAL for now, and back up a month or two; back to that day in February, 1980, in Klamath Falls, when a very special person walked into my life…

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CHAPTER 21:

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“VACATION FROM (or rather, ‘IN’) HELL”

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT AND I AIN’T GOT NOBODY! (except for the spirits, that is!)”

(First line from the 1964 Sam Cooke hit song, “Another Saturday Night” with parenthetical comment by this website)

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Well, there I was! In a nice little home, all tucked away in a beautiful little woodsy neighborhood in the hills around Klamath Falls.

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No longer was I being terrified with the prospects of being cut up into little pieces! No more was I scorched with the eternal sentence of being, “tormented with fire and brimstone”, for all time and eternity by an angry God!

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And so, it’s not hard to imagine that I was beginning to get lonely, especially after getting dumped by my ex-girlfriend, just prior to when “all Hell broke loose” on my life (actually, I believe she was providentially taken away, to spare her from having to deal with what I was soon to be suffering back in that Unit 3600).

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Oh yes, I had the spirit. And he (or they), was constantly communicating with me!

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Nevertheless, I felt I needed companionship…human companionship! Female companionship!

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And so, I began to pray that God might bring someone into my life. “Oh God, please bring me someone!”

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

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ENTER THE LOVE INTEREST…

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Well, one day, not too long after I began praying about this, the phone rang…

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“Hello?”  

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There was a female voice on the other end of the phone line. But because of her heavy accent (and her obvious shyness and nervousness), I had trouble understanding what she was saying. Something about singing for someone’s wedding. Finally, after asking her to repeat herself a number of times, I figured out that she wanted to hire me to sing at a family member’s wedding.

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Of course, I said, “Okay”.

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PROBLEMS SOLVED

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I’m not quite sure what happened, but before I knew it, this very pretty lady was bringing pots and pans over to my house, and cooking absolutely great Spanish-style food.

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And so ended my loneliness issues.

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One less thing!

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And now I also had someone to sing my songs to. And she was convinced I was going places with my music! And so ended my lack of an appreciative audience.

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Two less things!

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THE LAND OF ETERNAL SPRING?

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And before I knew it, we were planning a trip to her beautiful little country of Guatemala, which borders southern Mexico and Belize. The trip was to last 30 days. This was in February. And the trip was planned for…I can’t really recall…I’m gonna say…in May. Yeah, I think we left in May till June, 30 days. So now I could take a well-deserved “R & R” away from the horrible, horrible, torment I went through up there in Unit 3600!

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Three less things?!

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“IT AIN’T HEAVY…IT’S MY PENNANCE!”…

(Word-play on the 1969 Holies hit-song, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother“)

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When the big day came for us to leave, Becky had managed to fill a large old Army-issue duffel bag with used clothes to take to the people in her father’s church in Guatemala. Her father was a pastor of a Church of God, a somewhat Pentecostal church in Guatemala City. I didn’t know that this heavy bag would have to be dragged for miles…by me!

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The old Army-green bag seemed 4 or 5 feet tall, and as much as maybe 30 inches wide. Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Anyway, it was extremely heavy and just as awkward! I couldn’t believe how many clothes she got into that bag! We couldn’t even cinch up the top of the bag for all the tightly packed clothes.

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But bringing clothes to people in need was a good deed! Right? Right! And considering all the condemnation I had gone through for the last 7 months, I figured any check-marks in my plus-column couldn’t do me no harm! So I cheerfully pulled this bag along. Not a problem! “No…thanks, but I can do it myself!”

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And anyway, it beats playing organ in Hell! Correct? (see Chapter 15, almost the bottom of that page for explanation)

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

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“THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT !”

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During this time of getting to know Becky, the spirit was still communing with me. And so, at various times my head would nod “yes” or “no”, or rolling my eyes, or even rolling my whole head (Well, I guess that I’ve already mentioned this phenomenon in one of the previous chapters.) But anyway, I tried as hard as I could to suppress this phenomenon. But I couldn’t stop it! I’m not sure whether Becky noticed it or not, but she made no comment about it (But even though it was probably not even a tiny bit noticeable to others, I could really feel him make my head nod, making me apprehensive when in their company.)

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And to add to this really annoying phenomenon, the spirit would sometimes use my head to make his own commentary on what Becky was saying. So he would involuntarily roll my head in a circular motion (ever-so-slightly, remember), as if to say he was challenging the veracity of what she was saying. You know, kind-of like when rolling one’s eyes in doubt, at something someone is saying. Only he was doing it… not me! And sometimes I could just barely keep from laughing, because the spirit would make me laugh with his incredible sense of humor!

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“THANK YOU…THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!”

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The spirit gave me a song one day when Becky was visiting me. The song came all of a sudden. Just spontaneously. Oh yes, it was a simple song. I suppose it’s not too much to expect that a musician could easily do this. But anyway, here it is…

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When I look into your eyes, I find myself in love—-

And when I look into your eyes, I find myself in love—

Hold me close…hold me tight…always stay with me.

Hold me close…hold me tight…say you’ll stay by me.

When I… etc, etc…

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It was a nice little song, but bothered me because it vaguely reminded me of that old Presley song, “Love Me Tender”, (same tempo, but somewhat different chords and melody).

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THE VACATION FROM HELL

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(or should I rather say, “in Hell”?)…

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DOUBLE PENNANCE POINTS…

800px-United_b777-200_n772ua_arp wikipedia public domain

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And soon came the day to depart for Guatemala. From Reno Nevada to Miami Florida. Then from Miami Florida to Guatemala City, Guatemala. And oh yes, me dragging that large, clumsy, and very heavy duffel bag through the concourse of both airports. But my “heavenly brownie points” were adding up fast (or so I surmised), with every huff and every puff I made.  There went me… facing backwards…pulling this Army-issue monstrosity through the airports, and Becky leading the way!

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Photo: jetliner – Wikipedia – public domain.

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NEW REVELATION…

Adolph Hitler - Wikimedia - Public Domain

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The spirit soon began something very new with me. This fresh new insinuation began like this… “Oh Chuckie-Me-Schmucky, have you ever considered that maybe…just maybe you weren’t Jesus Christ in a former life?”

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The spirit now had my full and undivided attention at this point… “I thought that might get your attention, Me-Chucko.”

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I was now getting really afraid. The needle on my terror-meter was now hitting a solid 10 out of 10! The spirit was being very threatening with these kinds of taunts… “Did you ever consider that you might not be Jesus after all? Did you ever consider that you might have been somebody else in a former life? Somebody such as…say…like…uh…Adolph…uh… Hitler?”

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Okay, I was now in full-throttled fear at this new allegation via my spirit “friend”.

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Anyway, this suggestive torment (or maybe I should say, ‘torment-via-accusations’) lasted through most of the plane trip with me sinking lower and lower into my seat (or I might better say, “sinking into my hot-seat“).

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Adolph Hitler – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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PREPARE FOR ROUGH LANDING…

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But finally, many of the passengers no doubt looked intensely out their window to get their first glimpse of Guatemala. And we buckled our seat belts to get ready for landing (And I buckled my “mental seat belt”, to get ready for what I feared to be, the ultimate “Vacation From Hell”: or better said, my, “Vacation IN Hell”, in spite of the fact that we were going to such a beautiful little tropical country.)

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Photo of Hitler courtesy Wikipedia. Public domain.

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“ ONE PERSON’S PARADISE IS ANOTHER PERSON’S PURGATORY”
800px-Guatemala Birds Eye View wikipedia public domain

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We arrived in Guatemala City in the afternoon. We somehow found a municipal bus to take to her parent’s house.

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I don’t know how I got the duffel bag on this crowded bus. But I must have… somehow.

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And in a few moments, we were rolling through the crowded streets of that great place…Guatemala City!

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Guatemala the land of Eternal Spring!

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But for me, it would be the land of ETERNAL TORMENT!

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Photo: Guatemala birds eye view – Wikipedia – public domain.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“A MOTHER & CHILD REUNION”

(Title of the 2009 song by Paul Simon)

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I remember that we were standing up on the packed bus. I don’t know. Maybe we were sitting down. No, standing as I recall, holding on tight to the vertical hand-rails, as the bus kept stopping to let passengers on and off.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transmetro002.JPG.

While at one stop, as new passengers got on, all of a sudden, Becky cries out, “Mamasita! Mamasita!” I was startled. I looked to see who this person was.  It was a somewhat middle-aged lady. The woman began politely (but excitedly) hurrying her way through the crowded bus to get to Becky. Obviously it was Becky’s Mother. The lady began crying and hugging Becky. (Wow! I’m a little teary-eyed right now, just recalling that joyful reunion!)

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Transmetro Guatemalan bus – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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TRIPLE OR EVEN QUADRUPLE HEAVENLY PENANCE POINTS !!!!…

http://cvander.com/

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We got off the bus. I managed to get the duffel bag off the bus, still hoping for some more heavenly penance points for my efforts. Still being taunted by the spirit as to just, “Who I was in a former life”.

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After getting off, we began walking through this older neighborhood toward Becky’s parent’s home. I can’t remember how I managed to get that duffel bag down the rough sidewalks. I don’t know. Maybe someone helped me (at least the airports had smooth floors! And actually, I probably used a cart through those places, now that I think of it). But at this point, the duffel bag was “light duty”, compared to the heavy burden this spirit was now laying on my shoulders, about me “maybe” being Hitler in a former life.

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Photo of Guatemala City – courtesy wikipedia – share alike license. Click here for link.

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“DORCAS NO HABLARA CON EL GRINGO’”…

In the Foyer

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We soon arrived at the home. It was an older town house in a humble, but fairly nice Guatemalan neighborhood in which each house was about 25 or 30 feet wide, and somewhat long, eventually leading out to small backyards. And each house adjoined one-other. Kind of “shotgun style” floor plans, if you’re familiar with those types. Long and narrow houses with a hallway down the middle. But this townhouse had an open-air foyer inside the front door (of course, the temperature never much fluctuated here, so an open air foyer works in Guatemala. They sure wouldn’t work back in K. Falls!). This foyer had plants (photo on left). And there was a big parrot named “Dorcas” in the foyer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Papagaio_(F%C3%AAmea)_REFON_010907.jpg

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And this large flower-laden foyer with a big parrot perched in the middle, made for a dramatic entry. They first introduced me to Dorcas, and tried to get him to talk. But Dorcas was being shy. No talking from Dorcas! This shy parrot was not in a cage. He was just sitting on a perch in the garden-like foyer. Pretty cool! 

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But Dorcas was determined to give me no greeting, try as we did to encourage him to do just that (however, little did I know that this now speechless parrot would give me a very loud, vocal farewell on the day of my departure!)

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(Parrot photo courtesy Brian Snelson for Wikipedia. For Brian’s link, just click here.)

Photo on left of foyer. Photo is greatly damaged.

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PAPA FELIX

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Now as far as being shy and not talking, Becky’s father was a different story. I met Becky’s family, and Becky had to translate for me and for them. Her brothers spoke fluent English, however. Her Papafamily was very gracious. Her father (“Papa”) however, was a Pentecostal pastor, and very serious-looking. Not that he was ill-tempered. But he was much too stern-looking for me. He made me somewhat really uncomfortable. Kind-of like, say, for example, my old high school vice-principal, an ex-marine with a crew-cut…Mr. Edigar (who btw, one day, picked me up by my shirt and held me up against my locker, and asked me, “Don’t you think your hair is getting a little too long?”, to which I no doubt answered, “Uh, yeah, I guess so”).

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There are just some people who make ya wanna do a wide swath in order to avoid them. 

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Oh it’s not that Papa was impolite. But what did I expect? After all, I was a perspective son-in-law, who, by the way, was going on a vacation with his daughter! Totally unbiblical! But I was oblivious to all these things. “ethically challenged”, someone might euphemistically put it. Perhaps “morally clueless” might be an even more accurate assessment. Actually, “A full-blown idiot” probably hits the proverbial “nail on the head”!

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“AIN’T GOT NO CIGARETTES!”…

(Lyric from the 1965 Roger Miller song “King of the Road”)

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Now I was a heavy smoker, and I apologized for my habit. I told them I would like to quit. I told them that I was hoping the Lord would help me quit.

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Becky’s dad instantly latched on to that comment! He told me that the Lord could help me RIGHT NOW! “Uh…uh…Yeah…uh..I guess so”, I said.

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https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_(cigarette)“Drats!” I knew I had been caught in my words! And before I could get another word out, he began to pray for me right then and there (not more than few minutes into our arrival!). I couldn’t understand what he was saying in his prayer for my smoking. But even though he spoke in Spanish, I nevertheless could tell he was a professional pray-er”!

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And so, after the short prayer, I was asked to forfeit my cigarettes. I suppose I reluctantly forfeited my pack of Marlboros (I had extra packs in my suitcase).

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Marlboro – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME”…

(1926 song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin)

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But soon I wanted a cigarette. So I went into my newly-assigned bedroom and smoked (Remember this was back in 1980. Attitudes have changed since then about smoking indoors).

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https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_(cigarette)

Now, this bedroom only had one window. And this window was close to the ceiling. Outside the window was a stairway which led to the roof (which roof also served as a patio). And before long, Becky’s Dad climbed the stairway and peeked through the window to see if I was smoking. So I just held my cigarette by my side whenever he peeked in at me. This went on each time I smoked a cigarette. And he would peek at me three or four times each cigarette. I got used to it. It was actually kind-of funny and cute. I would see this head slowly rise up and look at me. I would simply hold my cigarette down until his head disappeared. Then about 30 seconds later his head would slowly re-emerge in the window. This went on for, oh, I don’t know how long. But Papa was no fool! He knew!

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Marlboro – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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“OKAY…WARM COLA I CAN DEAL WITH…BUT THIS!!!…”

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coca_Cola_ad_ca._1943_IMG_3744.JPGAs with many smokers, I liked to drink cola when I smoked. So after a few days, upon running out of American smokes, I found a little neighborhood quick-mart. Actually it was just a little wooden shed that faced the sidewalk. It was like a https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_(cigarette)hot-dog stand you might see at a carnival, only more primitive. Anyway, they sold my brand of cigarettes and Coca Cola in small bottles. The cola was warm, however, and I, being a spoiled Americano, had to suffer this inconvenience.

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But the cigarettes? No! They were NOT tolerable!

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Even though they had my brand, they were specially made differently for Guatemalans. They were like puffing on a pencil! “NO TASTE!”

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Coca Cola ad – ca. 1943 – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Photos of Marlboro logo and Coke glass – Wikipedia – public domain.

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“TEN DOLLARS FOR A CARTON OF CIGARETTES!?! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!?!”…

Photo of Guatemala City post office courtesy wikipedia public domain.

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So it wasn’t too long till I asked Becky if there might be somewhere we could get American cigarettes. So we took buses into the city. And this trip for cigarettes turned into a great sight-seeing tour through Guatemala City.

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We came to the city center, and found an import-shop in the nicer section of the metro area. They had my brand! “Far out!” So I went to pay for a carton. But I couldn’t believe what they wanted for a carton of Marlboro’s. “Ten dollars?!” I said. “What a rip-off!”  This was about two or three times what I paid for a carton of Marlboro’s back in the U.S. (remember, this was 1980). But I knew I was stuck.

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So I reluctantly paid the ten dollars for each carton. (I won’t let this little story end without telling you about my bout with Emphysema. Emphysema is appropriately nick-named the “Living Hell”. This was how God finally cured me of smoking.)

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Photo of Guatemala City post office – courtesy wikipedia – public domain.

Street fair wikipedia & Elvind share-alike license.

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“TO BE OR NOT TO BE (ADOLPH)?”

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“THAT IS THE QUESTION!”

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We managed to rent or borrow a little car, a little old “Hillman” station-wagon (a station-wagon was the old-school forerunner of the SUV). And so began a tour through Guatemala City. We went to a giant street-market. We went to restaurants. We bought tostadas from street-vendors. This all would’ve been great, except for the spirit’s insinuations regarding my “past life” as Adolph. Or not Adolph. The spirit would constantly taunt me. Sometimes he would present me with evidence that would lead to the conclusion that I was Jesus in a former life.

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I remember going to a restaurant one evening (while under a heavy barrage of devilish taunts, assaults and condemnations), where a marimba ensemble was playing in this rather overdone, flower-laden but dark establishment. The whole scenario began to take on a really devilish aura to it! And the very adept marimba player began sounding really evil, playing satanic music like something skeletons might like to dance to! You know, kind-of like the theme music-intro to Alfred Hitchcock’s old TV show, if you’re old enough to remember that.

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As I recall, that entire dinner experience seemed as if I was in the pit of Hell!

800px-Hitler-car wikipedia public domain

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At other times he would present evidence that suggested that I was indeed Adolph. “Yes Adol…I’m mean, Chuck, you were born in 1950, Just a few years after Adolph died. Did you ever think that maybe God is bringing you back to pay for the 3 million Jews that you killed. If you were Adolph Hitler. But I’m not saying you were. I’m just supposin’.” So you can just imagine how these kinds of ominous and foreboding taunts made miserable, what should have been a wonderful vacation! This kept up pretty much day and night! Life was Hell on Earth! Literally! It was like finding out that you had a terminal illness, and only had a few weeks to live!

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“…and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelation 14:11

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As this above verse reveals, “no rest, day nor night” was the fate which I was now suffering!

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Sometimes however, the spirit would show his sense of humor. Really funny stuff! But these were greatly outnumbered by the constant barrage of attacks he was making concerning my being Adolph Hitler in my last life. “Now suppose, just suppose what kind of  punishment which you, or should I rather say, Adolph would deserve, for those 3 million Jews you/he killed. I suppose, Chuck, that God would have to bring you back three million times only to suffer three million horrible deaths. Just like Adolph made three million Jews to suffer.” With every new charge the spirit made, I sank lower and deeper into despair.

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Hitler-car – wikipedia – public domain

Adolph Hitler – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE SIGHT-SEEING TOUR OF ANTIGUA…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Antigua_guatemala_2009.JPG

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Becky had an itinerary worked out for me to see her country.

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We drove to a town called Antigua one day. It was an old town, the original capital of Guatemala.

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Antiqua!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antigua,_Guatemala.jpg

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A town rich with history!

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A city of quaint beauty!

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A place of historic intrigue!

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A town that might sprain the trigger-happy finger of any photo-snapping tourista!

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And we were gonna see it close up!

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But little did I know that the only thing that was gonna get “sprained” on this little excursion was MY POOR LITTLE BRAIN!

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Antigua guatemala_- 2009 – by chensiyuan for wikipedia – share-alike license. Click here for link.

Antigua, Guatemala – by Pedro Szekely from USA for Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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C.I.A. SERENADE FOR MANUEL…

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OR…

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“HEY, WHY DON’T YA PLAY, ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG?”

(line from the 1975 B.J. Thomas song of the same name)

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Manuel_Noriega_mugshot_cropped.jpg

Do you remember that famous South American drug-lord…Manuel Noriega? Remember how, like the CIA had him trapped in some strong-hold? And in order to get him to surrender, they began playing loud and blaring non-stop heavy-metal, or perhaps some other kind of music as well? And eventually he did surrender.

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He probably couldn’t take hearing any more of that Heavy-Metal “music”!

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Photo of Manuel Noreiga – Wikipedia – Public domain.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME…ONLY THE ECHOES OF MY MIND”…

(line from the 1968, Nillson song, “Everybody’s Talkin'”)

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Well, I soon found out that the spirit had a similar little serenade planned for me! This was truly an unforgettable day! The entire day, the spirit (or spirits?) were making all sorts of noises in my head. It sounded like bombs exploding, screams, sirens, bells, whistles, chipmunks singing in 3-part harmony, etc…! You name it! I heard it!

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This went on for the entire tour through Antigua. All the while, Becky led me to various sightseeing destinations there in Antigua.  We went to an ancient church that was some sort of museum. It maybe even had a dead person, a cardinal or someone like a cardinal. He was enclosed in glass. Embalmed I think! Why, I know not?

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Anyway, it was impossible for me to enjoy this tour. My head had become a veritable “torture chamber”! The spirit(s) could quickly drive any person to suicide with these torturous plague of noises, especially if the person didn’t know the source of such noises!

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But I knew.

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And yet, when we returned home that evening, the sounds went away. And I’ve never had that phenomenon occur since, to this day. Thank God!

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Other phenomena? Oh yeah! Just not that particular one!

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

The Scream – by E. Munch – Wikipedia – public domain – by edvard munch – c.1893

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YOU CAN KEEP THE CHANGE…

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Puertas,_Flores_Guatemala.jpg

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As a matter of fact, there were constant torments and spirit-induced phenomena which I went through during this month-long “vacation”. I’m just relating the more memorable and dramatic ones.

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Anyway, one such phenomenon occurred in the form of the spirit having me perform deeds of “faith”. For example, at a very crowded neighborhood restaurant/bar (somewhat similar to this photo), when I paid for something that cost a few dollars, I gave a cashier a $20.00 bill and the $18.00 or so as a tip. Believe me, the Devil made me do it! (maybe $60.00-$80.00 in today’s money, and probably $200.00 in Guatemalan value back then!). Of course, the cashier remained completely straight-faced, as if she didn’t know how much I was giving her!

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Las Puertas, Flores Guatemala – Wikimedia – Creative Commons license

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MORE TORMENT…

379px-Hitler_1928 public domain wikipedia

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The spirit presented me with more logic that I was Hitler (in my last life). For instance, one of his big arguments in favor of the “Hitler theory” was that I was being brought to the last place that Hitler lived before he died: Guatemala (I know the prevailing rumor was that he actually hid out in Argentina). But who was I to argue? This was a spirit talking to me, maybe God himself! Regardless, the intelligence of this spirit-being far surpassed that of any human. “Oh Chuck, doesn’t it make sense that Hitler escaped here after the war. And doesn’t it make sense to bring you back to this place, in order to pick up where you left off?”

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All his arguments seemed flawless. He not only talked to me, but also put thoughts into my mind. So he seemed to have control of both the front and rear doors of my mind (as they say in the computer world). How could I resist the logic and power of this vastly superior being!

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Adolph Hitler – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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”OUR EX-SEVEN”…

800px-Mazda-rx7-1st-generation similar wikipedia GNU free user license

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The spirit was constantly taunting me about my sports car. “Ya know ‘Chuckie-me-#%$&’y!, your RX-7 could mean that you’ve just plain run outa luck!  The number “seven”  being the symbol of luck. Maybe that’s just your ex-number. Maybe your new number is “two”. You know, like…snake-eyes.”

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2d6_1_1.svgI never really played the game, “craps”. But I knew that snake-eyes (two) meant, “you lose!” So I got his point really well about my Rx-7. But what about the “LTD” at the end of my license plate? “Yes, yes, Chuckie-ex-lucky, that’s right. It says “LTD”. And that means ”limited”. Maybe that’s because this Judgment Day is just “limited” to you. Think about it. You, Adolph Hitler (maybe). You being the worst human to ever live. You killed three million Jews!  Think about it! Three million Jews! But maybe you’re not Adolph. I’m just sayin’.” It’s really hard to describe the horror that the spirit was putting me through. If you, the reader, have ever experienced a time of complete hopelessness and death, then maybe you can kind-of understand.

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Photo of RX7 courtesy Click here for link.

Snake eyes wiki…pub. dom.

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LAKE ATITLAN…

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volcanoes_at_Lake_Atitlan_2.jpg

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Not every day was filled with torment. There were some days, which I call my “Jesus Days”. This was when the spirit was telling me that, “No I was not Adolph Hitler in a former life. But I was Jesus in a former life.”

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Sounds crazy? Yes indeedy! But this was not at all the torment of my own making. NO, NO!! I was merely enduring the torment which was being dished out to me… by these unseen spirits!

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But as I said, there were some days which were tolerable. There was one day in particular, which was one of my best days there in Guatemala. 

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With rented car we drove over really bumpy, sometimes dirt roads to Lake Atitlan. Hemingway, (somebody told me), once called this lake, “perhaps the most beautiful lake in the world”. I think the key word here is, “perhaps”. And maybe it was the most beautiful lake back in his day. But I would like to have invited Hemingway to some Oregon’s mountain lakes.

Guatemalan style weaving and tapestry Wikipedia public domain.

Anyway, we drove into a Mayan Indian village (similar to this photo). The town was very primitive, with little home-made brick huts. There were a few conventional buildings, such as a tavern and store.

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Becky and I found a lady making tapestry in front of her little hut. Becky worked out a deal with her on a number of tapestries to give to friends and relatives. The Guatemalan Indians have their own special pattern. It’s easy to spot a Guatemalan tapestry as this photo shows.

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Volcanoes at Lake Atitlan – wikimedia – share-alike license

guatemalan weaving – wikimedia commons

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MESSIAH MOMENT…

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This happened to be one of the days in which the spirit was presenting “Jesus” logic to me. “Oh Chuck, why would I give you all those nice songs if you were Hitler?”

Becky at Lake Atitlan with tierra

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Since this was a good day I decided to get my guitar out and sing some of those nice songs which he gave me, to the locals. Becky, at the same time had bought a beautiful hand-made tier. And as soon as I started singing and playing, a large crowd of people collected. I’m not sure if it was more for Becky that they collected, or for me. And with her vivacious personality, they probably were more attracted to her (as this old photo shows).

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Becky had purchased a “tier”, and the large crowd was intent on watching the lady help Becky put it on. It kinda felt like we were famous, the way they crowded around us. I sure wish I could’ve stuffed this really great and appreciative audience with me in that Army duffel-bag, to every gig I performed at, back here in the States.

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“I KNOW YA ARE, BUT WHAT AM I!?!”…

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Just one more little incident of interest.

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You see, while playing before this happy crowd, I happened to notice a young American lady maybe in khaki shirt and shorts and braided hair, and possibly a red bandanna, walking by about 30 yards away. As she passed by she gave me a big scowl, as if to say “You ugly American”. It kinda took the edge off the moment for me. But I just kept playing and singing. And hey!… I’ve dealt with crowds of hecklers at gigs back home! I just kept right on singin’!

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As we drove our little rented 1960′s “Hillman” away from this quaint village, we waived goodbye to our “fans”, and in a moment, this experience became just a little vibrating blur in our rear-view mirror.

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And oh yes, I might add that the spirit was very well-behaved on this great day as well!

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Makes ya wonder, “What’s he got cookin?”.

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“Chuck Roast”, no doubt! “Yeah, and burnt to a crisp!”

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atitlan_Lake.jpg .

 

 

  

Photo of lake Atitlan courtesy wikipedia & Emilio Piovasan. To link, click here.

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.Judgment Day license plate www.devouringfire.com

To go to the next chapter just click here:

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Ch. 22 “Fantasy Island”…  

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Fantasy Island always made people better by the end of the show. This Fantasy Island was no exception!

 

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