Life’s Encounters
by Frank Shortt
Sometimes life is like exploring a deep, dark cave without a light. Every corner
is latent with peril. Only God knows what lies around the bend. Caverns of the soul are
another matter. Psychologists have been driven mad trying to figure these out.
Some human beings take on the characteristics of snakes; long, slimy snakes.
Challenges of life are formed by encountering such people. No experience is ever wasted
as life’s road is travelled. Snakes are very cunning, deceitful, having one purpose in
mind; something to eat. He will lie quietly for hours in order to achieve his purpose.
Ever met a bear in the middle of the trail? He immediately owns the right-of-way!
One does not know whether to run away, stand firm, or die of fright! A bear is totally
unpredictable. He may simply wander off, become angry, or choose to just sit tight and
let you make the next move. These are the times when all is left up to Providence.
Sometimes we may encounter an eagle. An eagle can fly higher, see farther, and
even renew his youth at certain times. This majestic bird can overlook a lot of the antics
of lesser birds. He is not content to scratch in the chicken pen, eating grubs, leftover
grain, and table scraps. An eagle eats what he has killed himself.
A hawk, though being in the same specie as an eagle, would disintegrate if he
tried to follow the eagle to greater heights. He has stooped to eating road kill, not killing
his own food as does the eagle. Instead of soaring in the heavens, he is content to hop
along the ground like a crow. Are life’s encounters forcing us to become hawks?
All my encounters have taught me something. My first encounter with nicotine
taught me how potent this chemical is. Unfortunately, I was introduced to nicotine via a
pack of Old Golds that had been left on the shelf of an abandoned coal mine shanty.
These particular cigarettes had probably lain there for several years, gaining strength.
After smoking them I was as green as grass and vomiting the same, pure gall. Mom
called me ‘tobacco worm’ for a long time afterwards.
My encounter with the U.S. Air Force taught me many lessons. I was thrown in
with men of every ethnic group, religion, creed, and otherwise. Many of the ‘good’
lessons on how to get along with everybody, was taught to me by Sergeant Ezekiel Keys
of Orlando, Florida. He was my On-The-Job trainer at Mather AFB, California, as well
as being one of the greatest friends a person could have. We used to go to the NCO
lounge after work, sit on a stool drinking beer and harmonizing on the spirituals we had
learned as children at our places of worship. This seems a bit sacrilegious, but we were
both far away from home, lonely, and seeking companionship. Sgt. Keys was, in my
opinion, an eagle.
Another airman, that I hesitate to name, asked me one night if I would like to
accompany him to a bar on the outskirts of Sacramento. The name of the place was the
Old Log Cabin and turned out to be a gay bar. We were greeted by a larger man, dressed
like a woman, this was when I knew I did not belong. This airman’s intention was to
buddy-up to a relatively well-to-do gay man and take him out to the parking lot and roll
him for his money. Needless to say, I got away from this ‘snake-in-the grass as soon as I
could possibly do so. Remember that this was in the early 1960’s.
Fortunately, My Air Force years were mostly favorable. This is where I bought my
first automobile, married my wife of fifty-one years, and got my first taste of
independence (of a sort). My commanding officer urged me to re-enlist, at which time I
would be offered a staff sergeant rating as well as a large bonus. As the Vietnam War
was in full swing, with men returning talking about the snakes hanging onto their pants
legs as they waded through the swamps, I thought twice about the Commander’s offer.
Also, Sharon, my wife, was not too enthused about the idea of me going off to the jungle
never to be heard of again. We left the Air Force with little misgivings.
The greatest ‘bear in the trail’ was that, about seven years ago, I encountered a
major heart attack. I had begun to feel pains in my chest as I returned from my daily
walk to the shopping center near our home. There was a burning sensation that I had
never felt before. I stopped to talk to a neighbor, who by the way had recently had a
triple bypass, and as I talked to him, the symptoms stopped. As soon as I resumed my
walk, both symptoms began again. When I arrived home, I awakened my wife and
requested that she drive me to ‘emergency’ because I knew that I had the beginnings of a
heart attack.
She said, “Ah, it is probably just heartburn, you probably ate something at
McDonalds that did not agree with you!”
I replied, “I know my body and something different is happening to me that I
have never felt before!”
At my insistence, Sharon drove me to the emergency station at Kaiser Hospital in
south San Jose. As soon as we entered, she told the lady at the window that I was
experiencing major heart trauma. They put me in a small room on a cot, where several
medical attendants began putting all the heart instruments on me and watching my vital
signs. A young Vietnamese lady doctor was in attendance to assist me.
All of a sudden, I began to black out! Everything was total darkness. The next
thing I was aware of was a voice saying, “Frank, come back to us! Frank, come back to
us! My daughter, Lori, was standing by as the needle dropped to zero. Just as the needle
dropped, a cardiologist named Charlotte Vu, lately from China, happened by and shot
pure nitro glycerin into my major upper artery. Lori said that she acted as though I was
her own father the way she placed her body over me and cried, “Frank, come back to
us!” As soon as I was able, I had a large bouquet of roses delivered to her office at Kaiser.
Did I have an out-of-body experience? No! There was only total darkness. Why
did God bring me back? This is His business! Charlotte Vu is an eagle!
As you can see by these incidents, we can encounter deep caverns, long slimy
snakes, soaring eagles, and bears in the trail as we face life on earth. What we make of
our lives is largely up to a predestinated plan and our own conscious decisions about
what we encounter.
Encounters
I’ve explored caves.
Deep, dark caves.
Like dank hollows of my soul.
I’ve met snakes,
Long, slimy snakes!
Much like life’s challenges.
I’ve seen eagles,
High flying,
Soaring above grief and woe.
Encounters I’ve had,
Taught me.
I’m grateful for them all.
I’ve met bears,
Great, growling bears.
Like some’s attitude of life.
Now my course
Is up to me
Do I rise or plunge?
On Visiting Alaska