by Jose Sanchez
Fifty Years in Heaven
By Jose Sanchez
Copyright © 2014 Jose Sanchez
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
Fifty Years in Heaven
This year, the rains have been stronger than usual. It has rained every afternoon for about two weeks now. Driving in the rain is not my favorite thing in the world. I open a bottle of cold Starbuck's vanilla coffee and chug it quickly down my throat to stay awake. The Cuban food I ate for lunch at Versailles on Eight Street is making me wish I could take a nap. I had the pork with white rice, black beans and plantains. It's four in the afternoon and I'm driving home from Miami to Naples; it normally takes me one and a half hours.
My visibility is about 80 percent and I should slow down, but since everybody travels 70 mph and even faster, I do the same and only slow down a little on the few curves. As the rain comes down stronger, visibility is reduced to 50 percent. Some drivers turn on their hazard lights and slow down to about 40 mph. This upsets me because hazard lights should only be used when your car is not moving. I attempt to pass a line of about four cars with their idiot hazards on, but before I make it, the third car, an old Cadillac with a bunch of cane poles hanging out of the window, changes lanes into my own. We collide and my Korean sedan goes sideways and hydroplanes on the wet grass and into the oncoming lanes. I hit the brakes and feel the vibrations of the ABS system under my right foot, but the wet grass and the mud don't forgive us.
I see a black eighteen-wheeler trying to brake and his cargo jackknifes towards me. My whole world spins and I feel goose bumps rise on my arms. Now I feel a pain in my eyes and I see shades of red. The coffee comes out of my nose and the truck's rear end rolls over me. I can taste blood mixed with the black beans. My neck snaps and my whole body is in intense pain. My ears ring and I start to feel very sleepy and peaceful. I think I am dreaming or maybe dead. Thank God I remembered to pay my life insurance. It should be called death insurance, because even when I was alive, the premiums almost killed me.
My name is Thomas, Tommy for short. I live in South West Florida but I was born and raised in Miami. I moved to Naples when my kids became teenagers because my wife Monica and I wanted better schools and safer streets for the family. But work, friends and family always kept me visiting Miami, at least once a month. I met my wife Monica at a soccer game in college. I was the goal keeper and even though we lost the game, she walked into the field and told me, "Your saves where incredible." I was so happy that I forgot about the big loss. Meeting her changed my life completely. We fell in love that day and have been together for 22 years.
I find myself floating over the accident. I can see the state troopers arriving at the scene and people running. I bet the troopers will blame this one on me; "Stupid bastard fell sleep." One of them is trying to get me out. He is tugging on my arm and I barely feel it. But a few seconds later, I'm no longer there. I am floating and flying over the Florida Everglades. The sun is visible at this altitude and I can control the direction that I travel with my mind. I forget about the accident below me and a feeling of freedom overcomes me.
I start soaring like a jet though the clouds. I'd always dreamt that I could fly and I'm loving it. I cannot see my body but I can see better than ever. I can feel heat and cold but I can tolerate the extreme cold up here without any pain. The smell of fresh air awakens me and gives me incredible energy so I decide to fly around the world just as if I was spinning the globe on Google Earth with my mouse. I see beautiful mountains covered with snow as I'm traveling at sound or light speed. I think I headed south because I see Antarctica. The view is magnificent from up here.
It's cold and quiet as I fly even higher and I'm pretty sure I can now see outer space. After spinning around the Earth a couple of times, I see a ray of golden light coming from outer space and I hear a deep masculine voice with authority that says to me, "Thomas, it's time to meet me, come to me, follow the ray of light." I know the voice comes from God and I do as He says. The ray takes me into outer space and I see the planets in our solar system. I travel to the end of our solar system, past the last planet which I think is planet x, and then the ray takes me through a golden cross about the size of a small airplane. The cross is made of a brighter and hotter light that shocks me and then I have a body again because I see my arms, hands and legs. I'm floating inside the ray of light and enter into a new galaxy with hundreds of small planets around a massive sun. The temperature has become extremely cold but it is warm inside the ray so I stay with the ray of light and it becomes wide and I arrive on a beautiful and peaceful white planet.
I see white doves flying in flocks to my left and right in a blue, pink and orange sky, and I find myself in my body, stumbling through a light fog until I fall down on my knees on soft sand. I notice to my left is a fence made of bamboo. The temperature is about 72 degrees and I feel a soft wind on my face and notice the fog has cleared. The sun on this planet is a lot larger than on Earth and I don't dare look up. A familiar smell comes to my senses. It's some kind of flower, perhaps a gardenia plant.
I look at the fence again. It's about 12 feet high and tied with vines. The craftsmanship is superb. There are many people standing by an entrance dressed in simple, plain clothing. At that point I look down and see my feet and I realize that I am dressed in tan trousers and a white shirt, made of cotton, but it feels like silk. I have no shoes on and the ground is dry and a bit dusty, but warm. I see men, women and children of all nationalities, and now I remember my own wife and children. I have a beautiful wife, a son and a daughter. I give thanks to God that they are young adults now and I was able to enjoy them so much. At least they are in college and on their way to becoming adults. I become sad thinking about them and how sad my wife must be feeling.
Fortunately I had life insurance to pay off all our debts but I realize now the best thing I did was to introduce my children to Jesus Christ. I helped my wife and my kids to become firm believers in God and His son Jesus, and after seeing the golden cross on the way here I feel an incredible relief.
Strange earthly thoughts cross my mind like, who is going to walk the dogs, change the oil on the cars every 7000 miles and clean the A.C. filter. For a minute I hope the paramedics are doing something to bring me back. I stand to the side waiting because I know that once I cross the fence there is no going back. My eyes are watery and tears drop on top of my feet. A very young girl about five years of age takes my hand and pulls me to the line of people by the gate. I cannot resist as she is braver than me. The people are making a line to go through the entrance. I pick up the little girl and hold her in my arms, and somehow her presence helps me to build some courage. There is a man and a woman opening and closing a wooden door. People may enter but only one at a time. The couple at the door are both wearing white robes and a wooden cross hangs from their necks. People try to ask them questions but they don't answer. They use hand signals to let you go through. I lead the girl to the door and the lady dressed in white picks her up as soon as she leaves my arms. I know she will be safe. My turn comes and the door closes behind me.
I am in a dark room with four very old engraved doors. Each door is engraved with a symbol and a dim red light shines though each of the symbols. I see a cross, a Buddha, Star of David and a Koran. For me the choice comes natural and I have seen three other crosses since I came here to assure me of my decision. I enter the door with the cross and I hear classical music and the most beautiful voices singing. I see my brother who died of cancer when he was 14; he looks about 30 now and is strong and healthy with a full head of hair. On Earth the radiation had made his hair fall off. He is the first one to greet me with a hug. I start crying and as my eyes clear, I see that my other relatives that have
passed away are there. My friends and even a dog that I loved is there to greet me.
This meeting hall is made of gray stone while the floor and the walls are made of marble. It has no roof but green vines have made a natural canopy that protects us from the sun. The door I entered by is no longer there and I got the impression the meeting hall rotates like a disk. There must be hundreds of meeting halls like this one in order to receive so many people.
I spend about two hours hugging and talking to everybody and they all give me their addresses so we can meet again later. When I see my brother again he says to me, "We have eternity to spend together, but now you must meet God and hear what He has to say to you." He points at a stone path and I follow it. I find myself walking on sand, like a desert, and in the far distance I see many people being baptized by a shallow stream. I walk until I reach an oasis. In the oasis there's a waterfall and all kinds of exotic birds flying around. I see a building with green gardens and hundreds of flowers around it. The building is made of adobe and painted white. I enter inside. It is very well lit. The furniture is made of very fine dark wood and white cushions and I am invited with hand signals to sit in the living room next to two men and a lady.
One of the men says to me, "Welcome Thomas." I bow.
"Please have a seat," the other man says.
I notice that they all seem to be in their thirties. They wear simple clothing made of cotton, light beige pants and white shirts. There's also a beautiful lady present dressed in a long, light blue gown. She wears no makeup, perfume or jewelry and this makes her beauty stand out even more. I sit down in the closest chair and the lady sits next to me. She holds her hand out and I gently shake it. She has a very soft grip and skin softer than a baby. I make sure I don't squeeze it too hard.
"My name is Mary and I want you to know that your loved ones on earth are doing well."
"I am very pleased to hear this, thank you," I say.
"Your son and your daughter came home from college and are staying with your wife, they miss you but you did a very good job teaching them about God and they are taking it well. Your parents will be here in about four months."
One of the two men sits down next to me and says, "I am Jesus, your brother, welcome home." He points with both arms to the other man and says, "This is God, our Father, our creator. "
I bow my head.
This man speaks to me now. "Thomas, I am very pleased that your soul has come to us. I have great plans and projects that will last for eternity. I need all the help that I can get, may I count on you? Or do you wish to sleep and rest forever?"
"You may count on me sir," I answer.
God is a black handsome man. I feel ashamed because during my life on Earth I had been scared of black men and racist. I feel my face turn red and hot because He knows this. He comes to me and we hug. He places his hands on my shoulders and I feel the power of a million suns.
He looks at me straight into my eyes and says, "You're a good man Thomas, work hard and enjoy heaven."
Now God is a white, blonde Nordic man with blue eyes and that's when I realize that God's image is composed of all the races. I see his image change about every minute from Asian to Indian, Spanish, White, Black, and more, like a chameleon. Then I hear Jesus speak.
"We have assigned an old friend of yours to guide you, his name on earth was Jesus David, but here we call him David because I am the only one with the name Jesus in heaven."
I turn my head and David levitates into the room through a sky light. He is very tall about 6"6' and I recognize his smile. Three years back, a good friend of mine lost his son to cancer and this man now in front of me was that boy.
"Tommy it's me, Fanny and Antonio's son," David says.
I am so happy to see him healthy and strong. We hug and he takes me by the hand.
Jesus waves goodbye and says, "Pray to me, Jesus, and I will come to you if you need me, even if you just want to chat."
I give him a thumbs up and a smile. God and Mary smile and wave goodbye and David and I walk out of the oasis and cross some sand dunes. Then he takes my hand and we fly to the top of a mountain in a rainforest.
"This is a cloud forest. Remember when you took me fishing in your boat, and you told me how much you liked Monteverde in Costa Rica? Well this is why I chose this place," David says.
We land on the deck of a wooden house built on branches, high above the trees. The clouds come right through one of the windows and out the other side of the house. The beauty of this place is astonishing and I feel an incredible happiness and peace inside of me. We sit on wooden rocking chairs and enjoy the view for about 15 minutes.
Then he says, "Would you like to rest or take a nap or should I start explaining things to you?"
"Please begin" I say.
"Planet Earth, where we met, is a place where souls are born like baby plants in a nursery. Through life, souls become intelligent, learn skills, trades, learn how to love, learn about patience, generosity, honesty, mercy, forgiveness, happiness and sadness.
Souls play music, sing, play sports, raise children, cook, fish, read, travel, make friends, help each other…you get the idea right? Souls have the freedom to develop their personalities and this makes them unique and special. However some souls are good and some are bad. God only allows good souls to the gates of heaven. From that point each soul chooses his destiny.
"Remember the four doors? Most good souls after seeing the three crosses on their way there enter the door with the cross. Even if they are not Christians, at that point they accept Jesus as their savior. Other souls are stubborn and choose the other doors. If they select the other doors, they appear in front of God with Jesus by his side. They are judged according to their actions on Earth. God will then say, "I am God and this is my son Jesus. I sent Him to Earth and He was crucified and died so that your sins might be forgiven. Do you accept Him as your savior? A yes answer means heaven but any other answer is not heaven. Believe it or not some souls answer no. Those souls that don't enter heaven vanish and some, depending on their judgment, end up in hell. I don't know any details about hell. Bad souls don't come here because nobody wants to spend eternity dealing with souls like Adolph Hitler, Herod or Rasputin. Bad souls would not like heaven anyways. They are mean, greedy, selfish, envious, stuck up, lazy and never happy. Heaven is God's masterpiece, however life here is simple and primitive in a way. We must all work and be productive in some way. The rewards we receive are incredible, starting of course with eternal life.
"What do you mean by primitive?" I ask.
"I will give you an idea of what your first fifty years will be like. Would you like that?"
"Yes please."
"Your brother Charlie is an angel. He has been here 30 years already. He works as a guide like me, explaining things to new souls. We can be angels only because we suffered so much on Earth that we have the strength to resist temptation. We have access to all the planets, including Earth, and all the galaxies. We love our work and I will tell you more about us later. Charlie has built a house for your parents and he is going to help you build yours. You will stay in your parent's house meanwhile. He has chosen a planet where some of your relatives and many friends have their homes; mostly this planet has souls that lived on Earth from 1900 to 2012. Your planet loves jazz and rock and roll, and is big on playing sports. The village he chose is next to the sea and surrounded with lush green mountains. Your physical body will remain 33 years old for eternity. You will be strong and healthy and you will rarely need a doctor. This does not mean that you will not take care of yourself. On the contrary, you must eat healthy and exercise, after all eternity is a long time. In Heaven you can change your appearance if you wish to or remain the same."
"I wish to be 1 foot taller and 40 pounds lighter," I say.
"Tonight, ask God before you fall sleep," David says. "In this life, your body will not suffer like on Earth. You will barely feel the cold, heat, hunger, thirst, pain, or exhaustion. But you must fe
ed your body to stay healthy. You will eat according to your teeth: 10 percent meat, 50 percent grains and 40 percent fruits and vegetables. You will drink 90 percent water and 10 percent juices, beer and wine.
"Everything in your village is made from wood and glass. However the glass here is stronger than steel and the wood is better than redwood, oak or pine. All the pipes in your log home are made from glass. Your silverware will be glassware. Your stove is made of glass and you can only use fire in special fire pits with grills at a safe distance from the forest. Your water comes from a nearby cold spring and inside your oven there is a chunk of a sun or star about the size of a shoe box. This will provide you with heat to cook, and will warm your water and your house. There are no appliances. A block of ice, from an eternal glacier is placed in the center of your ice box. It will last 5,000 years before melting and your star block will last about 1000 years. The lights in your home are crystals that you leave out in the sunlight, and charge up like solar panels.
"There are no television, radios or computers on this planet. However, every night different bands play live music and people sing and dance. On work days everybody goes home at midnight and weekends at three in the morning. Washing is done by hand usually on the weekend and drying is done by leaving your garments on top of your stove or by the heat of the sun outside.
Carpentry and building is the number one job among the men. Other men take care of farm animals to collect wool, milk and eggs. The farm animals are not killed. Many people in the village go fishing for meat. Only fish and creatures that live in the water can be caught and killed. They are caught with fishing rods and traps. They die as soon as they come out of the water. The nice thing about the fish here is that they barely have bones and the different species don't all taste like fish. You can eat a fish that tastes and feels like beef, chicken, turkey or pork. The fishermen also catch lobster, shrimp, crabs and, squid with traps.
"Most women like to take care of the agricultural projects but most of the fruits grow wild. Some women like to make clothing and some cook lunch for the construction workers. They bring their pots to the worksites and everybody eats together. Always we thank God before we eat. Food is always plentiful. Do you start to get the idea when I say that life is simple and primitive? It is getting late now so I will continue lecturing you tomorrow."
The sun has gone down and the temperature has dropped about 10 degrees F. I can hear noises now from frogs and night birds. David leads me to a room and closes the shutters.
"Sweet dreams my friend," he says.
I walk around and find a bed. It has a thick wool blanket and a thin pillow, the way I like them. My mind is thinking at 100 mph. I ask God to make me taller and thinner. In my dreams I hear my wife and my children's prayers that night. My eyes feel watery, but I am excited because one day soon they will join me in this incredible place. I have taught them how to become good people and I have faith that they will remain good.
I wake up to the smell of coffee. David has baked some flatbread on the glass oven and it smells delicious. I smear honey on my bread and drink my coffee black. It's the best coffee I have ever tasted. David looks at me to see my reaction.
"How do you like my coffee?" he asks. "Best coffee in the galaxy," I answer.
"Actually this coffee beans come from your village. A lady from Colombia that grew up in a coffee plantation works the side of the mountain where your brother Charlie lives. I went to visit him last week when I heard you were coming and she gave me these coffee beans. So get used to it my friend. By the way Thomas, you seem taller, slimmer, and younger today."
"Praise the Lord," I say. I run back to the bedroom where I have a mirror and I can not believe my eyes. I am 33 again and tall and slim. I place my hands on my belly and it is flat with defined abs. But the best part is that all my pains are gone. My feet and my right knee always hurt in the mornings, also my back and my neck hurt from my days playing soccer. Now my vision is like a hawk and I can breathe through both of my nostrils. My teeth are white like snow, and my skin like porcelain. My hair has grown about four inches and my bald spots are covered.
"Hallelujah!!" I yell and go back to my breakfast.
"Time," says David, "yes time is very important in heaven."
He hands me a small wooden box. Inside there is a light blue cloth bag. I open it and inside is a watch. It is made from very fine wood and glass. It tells the time on the front and on the back there is a cross engraved with my name Thomas. The craftsmanship is superb. It also has a wrist band made from shark skin.
David hands it to me and I tie it to my wrist.
"It's automatic and good for eternity but the band will need a change sometime."
We sit outside on the deck after breakfast and we see a flock of red, yellow and blue macaws fly by us calling loudly. When they have gone David starts speaking again.
"Once you have settled down in your new home you need to keep busy. We all work in heaven. Whatever work you choose, start at eight in the morning. Take a lunch break from 12 P.M. to 1 P.M. and work until 5 P.M. Most people play sports until 8 P.M, have dinner and then relax by taking walks, singing, dancing, playing music, playing board games, cards or dominoes. Others read, bake bread, do their laundry or simply sit on their porches and talk.
Lights out is at 12 midnight on week days. Learn to manage your time. Saturday and Sunday are for laundry, resting, exploring and having fun. Lights out is at 3 A.M. only on Friday and Saturday. We have no churches or temples, simply give thanks to God and Jesus every time you eat and at night thank them for granting us heaven."
"David, can you explain to me how people travel?"
He smiles and says, "Since there are no gas burning engines you can forget about cars, trains, and planes. Pollution is not permitted here in heaven; Earth is the example of what can happen. Each town in your planet has one hover wagon for every 20 people.
Your town has close to 1000 people. Most people walk or ride a bike in town. The wagons are solar powered and float four feet in the air. They seat 10 and you can carry cargo in the bed in the back. They can hover over water and roads are not needed but exist. They are used mostly for work to bring in produce, grain and wood. If you want to travel to another city in your planet, hover buses come in to town on the weekends and travel at the speed of light. They leave at 8 A.M. and return at 8 P.M. Traveling to planets that you have access to is allowed after four months of work. You get two months vacation, work four months and then get two months vacation again. Anywhere you go on vacation the town has a lodge for visitors to stay in, free, and food is provided by the local community. Many people from the town also choose to work at the lodge full time. To get to other planets an angel takes you in a special transport spaceship and it takes seconds, they visit all the towns every day and meet travelers at the town square."
"This is all amazing, I can't wait to see my town. But I have one last question."
"Go ahead," says David.
"Please explain to me about the planets I am allowed to visit." "Good question. Angels like me have access to all the planets. During life on Earth, we suffered very much. Children that died horrible deaths from cancer, AIDS, polio, diabetes, murder, burning, drowning and children with down syndrome and autism. We can choose to be angels and God's helpers. Because we are stronger than normal we can visit Earth on a mission and not fall into evil. Only one angel has ever gone to Earth and not come back. God does not destroy this evil angel because His job is separating the bad souls from the good.
"As for Christian people like you, this is how it works. Planets are identified by a letter and a number. You will be starting on planet F-506. Your level is F and 506 is your planet and town. What got you there was your faith in Jesus. You always believed in Him.
You never hurt anybody, were always generous and you worked hard for your family. You showed God that your soul is good. You have access to planets A to F and G you can only visit on your vacation. Every fifty years you get access to
a new planet. You can move or remain on that planet, it's up to you but most people stay close to their families and never move. However, if you want to live in the countryside with your pets that you loved, then level G is good for you. In level G, homes are about fifty acres from each other and the country living in the woods is formidable. In any of these planets you don't have to worry about flies, mosquitoes, spiders, snakes or ants. They only exist on Earth. There are no animals to harm us. The higher the planet level, the more advanced they will be. You will find planets that have animals and pets, some are dedicated to sports, art, music, technology, medicine.
You can choose to live on these planets if you wish and become caretakers, guides or teachers and this could be your fulltime job. I can only tell you so much now, but when you go to your home, there will be angels like your own brother Charlie who can answer your questions."
I nod and he reaches out and takes my hand.
"Now I am going to take you personally to planet F-506."
I feel a cold rush of air against my face. I see outer space for three seconds and we are there on planet F-506. We are standing in the town square and as soon as I look around I see my brother Charlie. Angels communicate mentally with each other so he knew I was coming. My brother Charlie passed away when I was 18 and he was 15. His suffering and death brought me a lot closer to God.
The lapid at the cemetery where we buried him read, "You guided us to God." Now he is 33 and stronger and taller than me. He has my Dad's long torso and arms. He always had long black eye lashes and a split chin. I had wished to see him for so long. We hug and we both shed some tears.
David says, "Sorry to interrupt you guys ,but I have a date in paradise."
I find out later that angels have the right to fall in love with other angels. I turn to him and give him a farewell hug.
"I will visit you soon my friend."
"Thank you David for being my friend always and showing me around."
"It was a pleasure." He shakes Charlie's hand and takes off. "Come on, let me show you around," says Charlie leading me out of the town square.
The town square is planted with grass and about the size of half a football field The grass is very short, like a golf putting green. It is surrounded by a low wood fence about two feet high and it has four fountains, one in each corner. There are benches and shady trees all around by the wood fence. The square is surrounded by log cottages except on one side where I can see the gentle green blue waters of a gentle bay. There are boats on the sand and some people are getting ready to go fishing. The boats have small sails and the fishermen raise them and head off.
Behind the rows of houses, I see green mountains with clouds covering the peaks and huge birds gliding in the air currents. We walk for about ten minutes on smooth stone streets and come to a magnificent house with rocking chairs on the front porch.
"I built this house for our parents but I also have my room here," says Charlie.
"This is great work Charlie, I love the design."
The log cabins all have different designs and personal touches. Each home is built in about half an acre and this cabin is about fifteen hundred square feet. I go inside and look around.
I remembered David telling me about the piece of sun in the oven and the iceberg in the ice box so I head straight to the kitchen. I open the glass oven and feel the magnificent heat. I leave the door open and the whole house warms up. The faucet in the sink is made of clear glass. I taste the water and it is cold and delicious, the best spring water I ever tasted. In the middle of the kitchen is a round glass island. In the center there is a block of blue ice and all around the ice sliding compartments contain milk, cheese, vegetables and fruits. Close to the ice are fish filets and in reusable bottles, some wine and beer.
Charlie comes into the kitchen and asks, "How do you like it?" "I have no words to describe what I see, and what I feel." Charlie smiles. "Come and see the rest," he says.
I follow him to the bedrooms. There are king sized beds in wood frames, wood floors, and ten by ten walk in closets. I walk inside the closet and notice it is empty.
"Later we'll go to a seamstress/tailor and you can pick out some clothing and shoes."
"But I have no money."
"You don't need any, everybody works for each other. They all know that you are good, that you will contribute in some way or another, and so everybody gets what they need. Greed does not exist here. God made us all equal and without money and without greed things work out just fine."
Each room has a bathroom, sink and shower. I see no waste can or toilet paper.
"How does the toilet work?" I ask.
"After you are done with number two, you simply flush and a stream of water will wipe you, like a vide, get it?"
"The soap is made from bee wax; everything used here is natural. The waste goes back into the soil where it becomes fertilizer. We flush only water and waste and this way there is no contamination."
We sit on the porch and drank a beer with some flatbread, butter and honey.
"Please tell me more how things work" I say.
"I took five days off to be here and answer all your questions so go ahead and shoot," says Charlie.
"I'm not too clear about good souls that are here in heaven that where not Christians on Earth."
"God loves all good souls. If you were born into another religion or no religion He can still see deep in your heart that you are good, and so He gives you a fair opportunity to enter heaven."
"How?"
"By accepting his son Jesus, as your savior. He is the key to open the gate. Those souls go to level planets A to E. There they build their homes just like us. They have to live in that level for fifty years before they can move or travel to higher levels. In those fifty years they must attend mass on Sundays and learn about Jesus Christ and become Christians. They are allowed to visit other planets when they are invited to do some special work, like construction or agriculture. They enjoy helping because they get to meet other cultures and they see the benefits they will receive after fifty years. On the planets Christians arrive, like this one, you can build larger homes, eat a larger variety of foods and find some technology, like the hover wagons, to get around. Do you remember on Earth all the nice things you did for others? Well this is your reward. People that forgave others were forgiven of their own sins, people that where not greedy, hateful, envious, evil and unfair to others, they are all here. Those people that lived thinking they were better than others, that were filthy rich and never helped the needy, that went to mass on Sundays and acted like demons as soon as they left the building, you will not find them here. People like that don't have good souls. They had fun on Earth and they adored money and material things. Those souls would be miserable in eternal heaven anyways. They don't like to work, cook, clean, serve others, and get bored easily. They don't like people that don't have their same skin color or cultural background. On top of everything they are stubborn, selfish and arrogant. God is a fair judge and He knows which souls to allow and which ones to simply vanish into air."
We walk across the street and he points at a work site.
"This will be your home, and we need to hurry because Mom and Dad will be here soon. Let's go to the plaza and ask for help on the bulletin board. I will also send an invitation through the angels to other planets asking for help."
"How do you do that?"
"We have the best and fastest mail carriers you will ever see, they are all angels and your letters are delivered overnight anywhere in the universe."
We take the hover wagon and Charlie teaches me how to drive it. It has no bumps, no noise and no pollution.
"These wagons are made on planet level K; there is high technology on that level of planet," says Charlie.
We park by the plaza and write on a paper bulletin that we need help ASAP. Then we drive to a lumber yard outside town and load wooden logs, pick up tools made of red glass and screws and bolts made of black glass. At sunset, around
six o'clock, we walk to a very well kept field. It is set up for soccer, football, softball and track. Behind the field I can see tennis and basketball courts.
Behind those courts I can see a golf course wrapping around a nearby mountain. We are dressed in shorts and carry some cleats in a bag. We also bring red t-shirts but wear white ones. There are many men sitting in the grass putting their shoes on. We choose red and white teams.
"We hear you are a goalkeeper," says a strong, cinnamon skinned man with long sideburns. He hands me a pair of leather gloves and I gladly accept them. "My name is also Thomas; I'm your father's father."
I give him a hug and feel incredible happiness. I run to the goal and warm up with some shots that they take at me. I feel strong and light and that night I play like a professional. My team loses but it doesn't matter for tomorrow I will play harder and better. "Not bad for your first game," says my grandfather.
Charlie agrees.
After the game we go home and shower. We place some trout Charlie caught in a nearby stream, and sweet potatoes, in the oven while we clean up. Dinner is excellent. We drink some delicious white wine and I ask Charlie to take me fishing on the weekend and he agrees.
"Charlie, are we allowed to have intercourse?"
"Oh, oh, I knew this was coming up," he says. "Well this is a topic that is hard to understand, especially when you are new here. On Earth, sexual organs give people pleasure for one main reason: to create new life. Attached to that life there is a soul. Earth is like a greenhouse where souls are created. If the pleasure of sex was not as powerful many people would have never been born. Very few couples on Earth would sit down and say, 'Hey, let's make a baby.' In heaven your organs do not bring you pleasure. They are used to relieve your bladder. Your wife is your best friend in heaven however she does not belong to you. Your kids do not belong to you. Everybody here is totally free and everybody loves each other. Some people choose to live with their earthly partner sometimes, but after they experience heaven they understand the true meaning of love and freedom and they go off sometimes on their own and later come back. I'll give you an example.
"Our grandparents arrived here the same year and they moved in together because they chose to. After raising 12 children on Earth and cooking for her husband for 65 years our grandmother realized she did not want to do that for eternity. Our grandfather loves exploring and he takes off to different planets every weekend and in his two month vacation he joins a traveling soccer team. Our grandmother does not like to explore, she likes the arts and so she goes to dance classes on the weekends and on her two month vacation, she joins a dance team that puts on a show. They realized that even though they love each other they don't have to live together all of the time. But they live together Monday to Friday on work days and they are best friends. Our grandfather knows that she is one hundred per cent safe and living her dreams and he is living his dreams and that is what heaven is about. People are not jealous, there is no reason to be.
"Thomas, when your wife gets here she will be happy to see you and you can bring her to live with you. You can explain things and show her around. When she starts working, traveling and doing the things she loves and she understands the true meaning of love and how wonderful God created heaven for all of us, you will let her go and she will let you go anywhere. But you will have a home that you will share and where both of your families can visit you. You will love each other for eternity as free souls because the only one that owns us is our creator, God."
When we finish talking it is about ten o'clock. We put on a couple of light sweaters because the temperature has dropped to sixty from about seventy at the warmest time of the day. We walk a couple of blocks and start to hear music and laughter. We head towards the bay and find an open building sitting next to the water with plenty of ambience. There is a band playing soft music and I recognize the voice right away; John Lennon. I was fourteen years old when he was killed and I feel goose bumps on my arms.
Everybody else is calm and enjoying the evening. John Lennon sees me walk in with an angel and figures out I am new in heaven. When the song is over he motions to the band to play without him and he comes over to greet me. He has long hair but does not wear eye glasses. He has darker skin than on earth and the body of an athlete.
"Welcome my brother," he says with a British accent and gives me a hug. "So how do you like things so far?"
"It's fabulous."
"When I was on Earth, I tried to spread the message of love and freedom through my songs, but when you become famous you are never free. Here in heaven, many people know my name and my songs but they only praise God. They respect my privacy and my freedom."
"Well I enjoyed your songs on Earth for many years and tonight I am officially no longer your fan, I am your brother. Do you play soccer?" I ask.
"Don't forget I'm from Liverpool and with these legs, I will answer your question tomorrow at sunset," he replies picking up his knees.
We hug again and he turns as he heads back to the band. "You didn't tell me your name," he shouts.
"Thomas," I yell.
The next song he dedicates to me. It's "Imagine".
Charlie and I have a couple of excellent beers—the taste reminds me of a Moosehead Canadian beer—and we also meet some very nice folks. One was a pilot during World War II; even though his bombs killed innocent people, God had forgiven him. It is incredible to know everybody in this place is good. Nobody spoke badly about anybody. Nobody gave me dirty looks. Everybody enjoyed the night without fights, foul language, smoking or getting drunk.
Fifteen minutes before midnight, everybody leaves. We make it home in ten minutes and by twelve we are in bed. The next morning I wake up around seven o'clock and hit the shower. The water is warm and I remember the glass pipe that runs underneath the stove. The water does not smell like bleach or iron, in fact it is so clear and pure that I swallow a gulp and realize it tastes delicious. I find some shampoo made from honey and a bar of soap made from olive oil. The towels are pure Terry Cotton and have dried in the sunshine and the wind. They smell like heaven. I put on the same trousers as the day before because I know I am going to sweat; they do not smell like heaven. I find some clean white t-shirts and underwear in the closet.
When I get to the kitchen I find my brother baking bread and brewing coffee. He has also squeezed some oranges for juice. "Good morning Charlie," I say. "Do we have eggs in heaven?" "Not chicken eggs, but we do eat fish eggs. We don't kill birds, cows, pigs, lamb or any other creature except for fish. Those animals suffered very much on Earth and we don't want billions of animals being killed every day. This is why fish die so quickly, they don't suffer. They roam the oceans and streams free until you catch them and then they die in five seconds. You can find fish with all the meat flavors from Earth and some fish have eggs that taste and look just like chicken eggs. We try not to eat too much meat any ways as we only have four fangs in our mouths. However we have milk, cheese, butter, preserve fruit jams and the best coffee and oranges in the universe, so dig in."
We thank God for breakfast and I must confess that it all tastes heavenly. I wash the plates in the kitchen sink and set them to dry on a glass shelf. Meanwhile Charlie takes some fish with pork flavor out of the freezer to thaw. At nine o'clock we are ready to start building my home, so we step out to the front porch. Across the street on the empty lot, we see about ten people standing around my new home site. There are people from many cultures. Charlie waves at them and says in a loud voice: "Good morning, we welcome all of you to our corner of heaven. My name is Charlie, I am an angel, and this is my brother Tommy, the person who will be living in this house. We have a building plan and we will nail it to this front porch. We will provide you with water and coffee in this house and we will ask some friends to bring lunch.
We have two beds available in our house and the rest of you can stay in the lodge cabins by the town square."
Charlie spoke in English and they all understood and we could unders
tand them even though they did not speak English.
We get to work and by one o'clock we have all the structures and the frames up. The nails and bolts are all made out of glass. I can not believe how strong they are and not one of them has bent or broken. All the plumbing and sewerage pipes were glass too and it was all connected.
We stop to eat lunch brought in by some ladies who are all young and beautiful like fashion models. I guess they all changed what they did not like about their bodies and faces on Earth and chose to be beautiful for eternity. The best part is that all these ladies are nice and down to Earth with no competition between them. None are stuck up, gossip, lazy or flirt. They take care of us by providing and sharing with us a delicious meal and they become our friends. After lunch I am able to chat with the volunteer workers. It is very interesting to meet them because all of them come from other planets and other cultures. On Earth they were Jews, Muslims, Buddhist, and atheist. They were all good people during their lives on Earth and accepted Jesus as their savior at the gates of heaven.
We quickly become friends and they tell me a bit about their delightful adventures in heaven so far.
A man named John, originally from Thailand, asks me if he can stay in my home. It turns out that John was a Sushi chef at a restaurant in Miami that I knew. The other man that asks to stay with us, named Jabib, was from Libya and he owned and operated a small restaurant in Benghazi. The rest of the afternoon I work and think about dinner with John and Jabib as my guests and all the wonderful recipes they know.
We stop working at five o'clock and by then we were able to finish most of the roof. We thank everybody for their efforts and go into the house to shower. The four of us meet in the kitchen and make a dinner plan while drinking a beer. John wants to make us some sushi rolls, so I walk with him to the fishing docks to ask for fresh fish and some dried sea weed. Jabib stays home with Charlie making a salad and dessert. Dinner consists of avocado and tuna rolls, tabouleh salad and for dessert peaches baked with brown sugar. John has brought wasabi, soy sauce and sesame seeds from his planet. Jabib has bulgur and mint leaves. We drink white wine and some tea with dessert. We decide not to go out that night as we all feel tired and are enjoying listening to our new friends' stories. John is the most eager to tell us about his home. He has been there about four months and this is the first time he has ventured off his planet. He can not believe that things get even better after fifty years in heaven.
"I was curious to see a planet with a higher level," he says. He tells us it is a very similar planet except we have the hover wagon and more variety of fish, and they have to go to mass on Sunday.
Everything else is pretty similar. He tells us a story about a man who loved to hunt and so he visited a primitive planet where dinosaurs roam. A few hunters lived on this planet, but gunpowder is banned by God in all heaven so they hunt with spears, bows and arrows and knives. His friend came back missing a hand because it was bit off while killing a giant lizard. Now he has to wait until he enters a level where he can get a prosthetic hand. He says that he will never hunt again. He wishes he could fish, but with only one hand all he can do is steer the boat.
John tells us, "In the planet where I live I feel like I am in Thailand. The architecture, the food, the music and my friends and family are mostly Thai. We feel blessed that we made it to heaven and we have accepted to be Christians and understand the power of love. You do not know it but I am speaking to you in Thai. You understand me because in heaven no matter what language you speak we have the gift to understand each other. I love to travel and see other cultures. I have a map of the planets that I can visit.
From here I will visit Jabib's planet and spend about two weeks there. He has offered to show me around."
"I think that you will stay two months, once you see my planet," says Jabib. "The natural beauty is indescribable and then you have the food, the fruits, the fun and festivities all in the most pleasant climate. Our wines and beers are exquisite."
They both boast about their homes and conclude that fifty years is nothing next to eternity. They are both looking forward to moving in fifty years to a planet similar to mine but with all their families and friends of course.
We finish my house on a Friday afternoon. I thank everybody that helped us and pretty soon they all leave making plans for the weekend. It all happened in perfect timing because, I want to do some fishing and explore the countryside. Charlie has a couple of fly rods and reels and Saturday morning we head towards the mountains. We load the hover wagon with some supplies and leave. I remembered on Earth how complicated traveling was. You had to lock the doors and windows, set the burglar alarm, leave a light on, ask the neighbors to keep an eye open. Here we left and did not even lock the front door. Not having to worry is one of the best feelings ever. This planet has no earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning or forest fires.
We get out of town fairly quickly and take a winding cobble stone road up the mountain. This place reminds me of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, but the mountains next to the sea are even better. I can see about a dozen people on top of surf boards paddling on a green turquoise ocean, and one person is riding the most perfect curl that I've ever seen.
"We have to do some of that," I say to Charlie.
"How about tomorrow morning? The boards are made from a very light wood, similar to balsa. We can pick some up at the town warehouse tonight."
As we climb the mountain in the hover, the temperature drops gradually. The town was about seventy degrees and now we are at about sixty degrees. We go across a few streams and see a small waterfall and then the road leads across two mountains and once we come to the other side we start heading down and see a fantastic valley.
It is sunny with a few clouds and there are planted fields as far as our eyes can see. We drive for about ten minutes and then hover over a field planted with strawberries until we come to a place where the river is wide. We park by the shore and Charlie walks to the field and picks us some strawberries while I prepare the rods.
He comes back with his cap full and they prove to be the sweetest and juiciest strawberries I ever tasted. We put on waders made from shark skin. The water is freezing cold. We step into the river with our fly rods and use flies that simulate small fish. On my third cast I hook a very large trout. After a five minute battle and several jumps, the fish gives up and Charlie lands it. It is a brown trout about the size of my arm and must weigh about ten pounds. The fish dies in less than ten seconds and we tie him on a stringer and place him in the cold water on the side of the river. The water is crystal clear and we drink from it without any risk of getting sick. Charlie catches a rainbow trout larger than mine and we celebrate and thank God for creating and allowing us to live eternity in paradise.
While fishing, I see a great diversity of beautiful birds fly over us. We are not bitten by mosquitoes, horse flies or ants. Those bugs didn't exist here and there are no plagues. By eleven o'clock we have caught eight magnificent trout and head back home. We stop at a place on the road surrounded by fruit trees and pick mangoes, cherries, lemons and papayas. The fruit trees in heaven grow in all the climates. When we get back into town we clean the fish by the side of the ocean. Some fishermen come and ask us for a couple of trout and in return they give us fresh lobsters and clams. They also take our fish scraps which they use for bait in their lobster traps.
We get home around midday and shower. We prepare the fresh trout with some olive oil and ginger and place it in a deep glass dish in the oven. I make a clam and lobster sauce to top it off and we cook some brown rice. We cut the fruits and mix them with condensed milk for dessert. Food never tasted so good on Earth. God created this wonderful food for us to enjoy as a reward for believing and having faith in him.
We take a nap and around four o'clock we head to the soccer field and play until six o'clock. John Lennon is on my team and this time my team wins. After the game, we are invited to eat dinner at a coo
kout by the beach organized by some ladies. A large group of us meet at eight o'clock on the beach. Everyone brings food and drinks. We bring a fruit salad and white wine. Some have their ukuleles and drums and I feel like we are in Hawaii. We eat the most amazing dishes—our fruit salad is a hit—and we sing and dance around the camp fire until 1:30 A.M. and go to sleep at 2 A.M.
On Sunday morning we get up at 11 A.M. and after breakfast we pick up a couple of wooden surfboards and head towards the beach with the perfect break. The waves are about seven feet and curling from left to right. I had quit surfing on Earth after I saw a shark attack a surfer close to me. He lost his calf and it took ninety stitches to close him up. Here, I was assured that sharks where harmless to people. We jump in the warm water and paddle out.
The water is emerald green in the shallows and turns dark blue in the deep. We are the only ones out surfing. The ocean is like glass and it is easy to paddle out. I turn the board towards the shore and the blue water rises like a huge sand dune. The back of the board rises and the front moves forward. I paddle to stay with the motion of the wave, and stand up goofy, my left foot in the rear. It feels great to be young and strong again. I never imagined I would do this again and I laugh out loud and yell a long howl when I am inside the curl. It is a record ride for me, about half a minute long. I hear Charlie howling too. We regroup and ride about ten waves each.
The view from the water to the land is spectacular. It is a black beach with coconut trees and the green mountain behind it. I've seen places like this on the travel channel on Earth but now I can enjoy it forever. At around two o'clock we are hungry and decide to call it a day. Some people are cooking on the beach and we get invited to join them. We drink fish soup made with coconut milk and they also give us coconut rice with raisins and fried green plantains. The tostones are perfect, the rice sensational and the soup exquisite. We thank our new friends and head back into town. We place the surfboards where we found them and go home. We are very tired so we go to bed early around 8 P.M. after eating a light snack.
On Monday morning Charlie goes to do some angel work and I decide to go out with the fishermen. I meet with them on the beach and I am assigned to a fishing boat named "Surprise." I find the name amusing, because of the movie "Master and Commander." The crew consists of eight men and two ladies. The boat is tied to a long pier with all the other fishing boats. I count a total of six boats going out. They are built from wood, about twelve feet wide and about thirty five in length. They have a type of sail rig that I have never seen before. The sail is raised with just one rope, and it is attached to a telescopic mast to the roof of the front cabin. The cabin is just shelter from the sun, and it has coolers and a small restroom. The person steering the boat is in a high platform in the front of the boat. Our only power is a sail and we move at about fifteen miles per hour. Two trolling rods are placed in the back and we troll feathers as we head out. To my surprise a couple of people play their violin and cello. We travel about thirty minutes to reach the reef and as soon as I see the emerald water, both rods go off.
Since it is my first time, I am given the smoking rod. The sail comes down and we tie up to a buoy made of cork. Anchors are not used because they will destroy the reef. An old leather fighting belt is tied to my waist. I give it my all and after ten minutes, I see dark blue silver close to the boat. The fish looks like a seven foot Wahoo. Nick, a new friend, helps me bring it in pulling it from the tail. One of the ladies opens a door in the rear of the boat and we slide the fish in. It dies after only five seconds out of the water. We toss him in a cooler and I am told this fish tastes like turkey. I estimate it is about sixty pounds.
After this, we all fish the bottom of the ocean for about four hours. We catch about twenty different varieties of fish. We take a lunch break for an hour and eat some fresh caught fish that we cook in a small oven. Everybody also has brought leftovers from home and share. We pull out the anchor and travel to a very shallow grassy area where we catch lobster with bully nets. At another place we pull up traps that hold crabs of different species. At about four o'clock we head home. It was hard work, but we all enjoyed it. The beauty of the ocean was breathtaking. I did not see any pollution at all. Not one plastic bag or bottle and not one piece of Styrofoam.
A school of dolphins joins our course for about ten minutes. They have nothing to fear on this planet and so they show their happiness by putting on an acrobatic show next to us. I remembered how upset my family on Earth would get when we heard news about dolphins being killed for profit and greed.
When we arrive, many people are waiting to help us clean the fish. We store some undesired fish parts to use them on the crab traps as bait. We toss the rest into the ocean and tarpon and sharks came to feed on it. They tell me sharks here only have teeth and molars, no fangs, and they don't grow over three feet so they don't hurt people. They are mainly scavengers and keep the oceans clean. I like my new job very much and so I fish with the crew of "The Surprise" for a period of four months.
Heaven is not a place for lazy people. Everybody works hard and take their jobs seriously, however if you love to be alive and respect God rules it is truly paradise. Upon completing four months, I decide to take my two month vacation and do some traveling and exploring. I receive a message that my father is to arrive in three days and I want to be at the gates to meet him. In those two days I decide to visit John, the Thai man that helped us with our home.
I arrive at his planet on a Saturday morning. The town he lives in has similarities with mine. It is next to the ocean with a small harbor but the terrain is flatter, with soft rolling hills surrounding it. Many fresh water canals cross the town and tall arched bridges have been built to connect the streets. I start walking and notice there are very few hover crafts in town. They are used only for work and to carry heavy loads. Most people get around on wooden bicycles; they make the tires from rubber trees. I remember John wished he had a hover wagon, and he knew that he would get to use them after fifty years when he moved on to the next planet.
I ask around for John and people direct me to his home. The homes here are built closer to each other than in my town. I am lucky because it is Saturday morning and John is having breakfast when I knock on his door. He comes out to the porch in some funny looking pajamas.
"Thomas my friend!" he greets me. "Come in, please and join me for some breakfast."
I accept and he pours me a cup of tea. He is eating bread, butter, cheese and jelly. As I help myself, I look around. His home is very similar to mine. I ask him if I can spend a couple of days with him and he smiles and raises both arms in triumph and says," It will be an honor." With that welcome, I feel right at home.
"Did you have any plans for today?" I ask.
"A group of friends invited me to a cookout, so I was going to do some laundry now in the morning and meet them for lunch, around one o'clock."
"Let me help you with your laundry and you can show me your town," I offer.
He accepts and we are down to business. He washes and I rinse and hang his garments to dry in his yard. We finish at about eleven o'clock and we head out. The town has about eighty per cent Thai descendants.
We walk to the main town square. There is a group of people playing music under a shelter and this gives the square a nice ambiance. All this change of culture confirms to me that God likes diversity and creativity. The temperature is about ten degrees cooler than my town and most people wear long sleeved clothes.
The sky is cloudy today but John assures me it will not rain. After introducing me to everybody in our path, we sit by a canal and drink some plum wine we are offered. The canals are alive with fish, but mainly fresh water eels that were caught with casting nets. Eel was the town's favorite staple and they cooked it many different ways.
We grab a couple of bicycles and ride out of town until we reach a heavy shaded area by the side of a wide river. Here we meet more of his friends and some family. I meet his parents, two sisters and a brother. The
y are all very cheerful and ask me many questions about my planet. They seem very excited to visit me some time.
John is in charge of the cooking and I decide to help him. The fire is already going and we roast different flavored fish, eel, prawns and octopus. We also roast corn and vegetables like zucchini and squash. The feast turns out to be a great success and we cool off in the river after lunch. After the swim, we ride our bikes back to his home and nap. At about six o'clock we shower and head to the town square to listen to music and drink beer. The band invites me to sing some Elvis songs along with them and we have a blast until two o'clock. The whole town goes to sleep and Sunday morning at 11 am we all attend mass.
Everyone speeks in Thai but I can understand and they understand me. The mass lasts two hours and I enjoy taking communion and wine. The pastor teaches about Jesus' life on Earth, explains the parables and goes over the ten commandments. He also explains how every fifty years we can move to more advanced planets with higher technology, but warns us not to let science replace God. I meet the pastor after the ceremony and ask him how he ended up there.
"I fell in love with a prostitute, and jealousy drove me to kill myself," he answers. "I don't mind doing this, fifty years is a grain of sand next to eternity" he adds and gives me a warm smile.
We shake hands and say goodbye.
The rest of the Sunday we spend inside John's house. He makes bread, finishes his laundry, prepares food for the coming week and organizes his cooler. At about eight o'clock we kicked a soccer ball in a nearby field and by ten we are sleeping.
I have a big day ahead of me, because my dad is arriving so I leave at seven o'clock. John is already awake making tea and after I take some I give him a warm farewell. I go to the square where a transport will take me to the gates of heaven.
I arrive by eight o'clock and many people are gathered there; his parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters and brothers. He had a brother named James, who was not there. James died after being shot by a mobster. I remember he always tried to harm and steal from my dad, even though my father raised him and paid for his law school. I guess his soul was not heaven material. Many of Dad's friends are there too and for about two hours we have a socializing party. When my dad walks though that door, I see him blush and he cries for about five minutes. Charlie and I are the first ones to hug him, then his parents and grandparents and then the rest of his family and friends. The tears turn into laughter and our dad is glowing with happiness. He looks very old and wrinkled to me as I have not seen anyone old for a while. After another couple of hours of celebration and invitations my dad is lead by an angel named Benny to meet God.
Benny died of leukemia when he was sixteen and he was very good friends with my brother Charlie—they both had cancer. On Earth Benny had a bone marrow transplant donated to him by his older brother. The operation was experimental and Benny died about eight months afterwards. Benny was a great soccer player on Earth and so I ask him to visit me and he agrees.
The next time I see my dad is back in my town. He arrives with Benny and Charlie and I take over. He is looking very sharp at age thirty-three and he feels more like a brother now, so we start calling him Joe instead of Joseph or Dad. I spend two weeks with my dad, showing him the ropes. I am on vacation so it works out pretty good. Joe is fascinated with his new body and the thought of being young for eternity. He was eighty-eight when he died and he was in pretty bad shape his last days.
"It sure paid off to believe in Jesus," he would say, every time he saw something new he liked. He catches on very quick and so I decide to travel again before my mom shows up. I had a feeling she was not going to last too long on Earth in the condition that Joe described her. I also wanted to visit a higher level planet so I could plan out what to do after fifty years. I had been communicating with my grandfather on my mom's side; his name is Robert. He had invited me to his home and had mentioned how he lived in a small farm and his pets came around to visit him. So I went off to visit Robert.
I arrive at a meeting square on a Tuesday in a small industrial area. I can tell nobody lives here. There are no homes surrounding the square only supply warehouses, a large gymnasium where people gathered on weekends and a few fields for sports. It's nine o'clock and there are few folks in the small town. Robert is waiting for me, sitting on his hover wagon full of supplies with three large dogs sitting at his side. I walk towards him and he gets off the wagon and gives me a hug. The dogs are a Labrador, a husky, and a poodle. They come to me wagging their tails and licking my hands. We climb aboard and head towards his home for about fifteen minutes along red dirt country roads. His house is built under the shade of some very tall trees and he has a barn to one side. I can hear the sound of running water and I know a stream is nearby.
We enter the wooden cabin and Robert shows me the guest room. Outside the cabin looked rustic but inside I find a great deal of technology that is not available in my town. The thing that catches my eye right away is a computer. It is sitting on a wooden desk in the corner of the living room. The screen is 36 by 24 inches and the casing is all made of tinted blue glass. I look at Robert and he gives me a nod of approval. I sit down and the screen lights up. "Place your hands in the gloves," Robert says to me.
There is a pair of leather gloves in front of the computer and I put them on.
"Welcome Thomas," the computer says to me. "How can I assist you?"
"Go head and ask with your mind," Robert says to me. "I am going to get lunch ready."
"Okay," I answer. "What happens to people that do not make it to the gates of heaven?"
"While people are on Earth, they accumulate fuel to make the trip to the gates of heaven; the fuel comes from love. If you do not accumutate enough love your soul does not make it to the gates.
The more material things you own the heavier you become. People that have too much money and not enough love do not make it to the gates of heaven. Only God knows where those souls end up." "Can you show me the planet where people hunt dinosaurs?"
The screen comes on and I see a very beautiful but savage planet with men hunting with spears and arrows and living inside forts to stay alive. Most of the men were ancient cave people and indigenous tribesmen. It was definitely a place I did not want to visit.
"When will the end of the Earth take place?"
"As long as the Earth produces more good souls than bad ones, God will allow it to remain. God can make all the pollution on Earth disappear with the raising of one eyebrow. Souls responsible for pollution are not welcome in heaven. There are still many uninhabited planets that are waiting for souls. Once Earth produces more bad souls than good ones then the end of the Earth will be near."
"Can you show me a planet where I could live after one hundred years in heaven?"
The screen lights up again and I see the most magnificent places with incredible technology, things that eclipsed the highest intelligence that I ever imagined with new foods, sports, games and different styles of constructions. It is too much for my mind to absorb.
The screen turns off and the computer says, "This is all I can show you."
"Well thank you very much for answering my questions computer."
"You may call me Gig, and you are welcome."
Robert had prepared a stupendous lunch with a species of salmon that tasted like lamb that he seasoned with salt and rosemary. He told me he caught it in a nearby river.
"You can catch 15 pound trout in the stream behind the house," he adds. "Brown, rainbow, brook and four times per year, the salmon come through here. There is also freshwater shrimp and crawfish in the stream. The ocean is about fifteen miles away and sometimes I fish the beaches."
"I am looking forward to doing some fishing with you," I answer. The meal is delicious. The lamb is accompanied with sweet potatoes and Robert has made enough food to feed his dogs; he gives them our leftovers mixed with some steamed rice. We lie outside in the shade on a couple of hammocks and fall asleep for about thirty minutes.
The sound of the water is relaxing and we feel renewed when we wake up. The dogs have also napped down under our hammocks. I am curious to know how the dogs got there so I ask Robert. He says the dogs showed up a couple of days after he moved to that planet.
"Sometimes they disappear for months and later come back. These were my dogs during my lifetime on Earth."
Gig, the computer, explains to me that animals that grow to love their masters have enough love fuel to reach them in heaven. They come and go as they please, but they can only visit their masters on this level planet where they don't bother anybody else.
"Don't be surprised if you receive some visitors soon," Robert says with a smirk on his face.
I laugh and think about my old dogs.
We get up and head towards his vegetable gardens. He has built long boxes about four feet tall and filled them with soil so the vegetables grow at a comfortable height to tend. We clean out the dead leaves, pick the ripe and ready ones and water them with a hand pump connected to a drip pipe made of glass and full of little holes. We fish the stream at sunset and catch some beautiful trout and collect crawfish from his traps. That evening, we receive a message on his computer that we will have a visitor tomorrow— Robert's adoptive mother that had raised him. Robert's parents died when he was young and he had been adopted by a couple that could not have babies.
Robert is very excited with the news and so am I. We are so tired and sleep like babies. We are up by 7 A.M. and get ready and hop on the hover wagon with the dogs. By 9 A.M. we are at the meeting place when the transport arrives.
The first thing we see is a German shepherd dash out and run straight at us. He comes right up to me and I recognize him at once. His name is Walter. He was my favorite dog on Earth. My dad gave him to me on my thirteenth birthday. My dad bought him from some folks that sold him when he was five months old. He looked big but he was a clumsy puppy and he had eaten one ladies' shoe too many. We bought him some hides and walked him an hour every day and he never ate our shoes. Walter slept next to my bed and in cold nights in my bed. He was clever and very protective of the whole family. Walter died when I was twenty-four and now here he is licking my face. The other dogs come to greet him and they all take off chasing each other.
"That's a great dog you have there," says a female voice. "Hello, I am Dora."
Standing next to Robert is a beautiful brunette lady with light brown eyes. She shakes my hand and then gives me a hug. "Did you ever dream your great grandmother would look like this?" She spins like a top in a bright orange sun dress.
"You look sensational," I say and she laughs in a way that reminds me of my wife Monica. "The dog's name is Walter," I say and she laughs again.
"Well, Walter and I became friends in the transport, he kissed my ankles and when I reached down to pet him he sniffed my hair. He must like my shampoo."
"He's always liked girl perfume and shampoo; that's funny he still does that," I answer.
Robert is waving at us to climb aboard so we do. We pick up some supplies from a large barn and head back home. The dogs are in the running mode and run behind the wagon. When we arrive at Robert's home they jump into the creek and cool off. We all laugh and celebrate our good fortunes. We help Dora put her two bags inside and are surprised they have more food in them than clothing. Dora had arrived in heaven more than 100 years ago and had access to some incredible planets and foods. She had picked up a few luxury items to share with us. In her bag are wine, cheeses, marmalades, honey, fish, ham, sun dried fish eggs, and some foods we do not recognize. I am amazed the most by spices I have never tasted before. It is like tasting salt, cinnamon or ginger for the first time.
She also has some diving masks with snorkels and fins which bring old memories and a smile to my face.
We sit outside, under the shade by the hammocks and Dora tells us about the planets she has recently visited. She has spent time with a few of her favorite writers and met with people that were part of Earth's history: Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and many others like Jack Cousteau—this explained the snorkeling items.
The dogs come out of the water and lie down beside us. Walter rubs his wet nose on my legs and lies down by my feet to take a nap. Robert and I listen to Dora's stories until we are hungry for lunch. Robert goes inside to cook some trout and Dora and I go to the garden to pick some sweet potatoes and veggies. Her beauty and simplicity remind me of my wife. I enjoy listening to her, talking to her, and just simply looking at her. Without sexual attraction in heaven, I started discovering new ways to admire a beautiful and intelligent lady. When our hands touch picking vegetables I feel electricity. She asks me to put my basket down and she pulls me towards her. We hold hands, close our eyes and I feel a very unique energy. I feel extremely happy and satisfied and she smiles.
"That energy you feel is love and love binds all things that exist in the universe. I simply thought about all the people I love and how much I love God, and you felt it," she said.
"That was incredible," I answer.
We pick up our baskets and go inside to help with lunch. Robert has placed some freshly caught trout in the oven and we put the potatoes in the oven with it. He has water boiling on top and we place the veggies on a bamboo steamer. Dora opens a bottle of white wine and pulls out some crackers with dried fish eggs. We eat them while lunch cooks and I ask Robert what I need to do when the time comes, because I wanted to move to this kind of planet after 50 years.
"The first thing you need to do is wait 45 years. At this time you can pick a planet because the angels know which will have a vacancy. You can ask for this specific planet if you like, it would please me very much to be your neighbor. Then you select the land you are going to live on and start building your house and your vegetable garden. Plant fruit trees and get to know the countryside. It is important that you choose a place with a stream or a river; remember, you have to be self sufficient. Sometimes you get lucky and find a place from somebody moving away, but usually a family member moves in."
We eat lunch and after we help Robert with many chores. Heaven is not a place for lazy people. At night we make a fire and sit around it and play with the dogs. It gets cold but we stay up late telling each other stories and playing trivia games. We go to sleep and Walter sleeps by my bed, curled up like a donut. The days go by quickly as we have fun and enjoy each others' company. A cat named Whiskers joins us after a week, he had belonged to Dora.
The dogs chased him for the first day but become friends after a while.
On a few afternoons Dora and I travel the countryside looking for available land. I want to get an idea of what is available here. I really love this planet and what it has to offer. One morning we ride to a beach and try out her snorkeling gear. The sea life on this coast is remarkable and I mark out an empty parcel of land by the shore.
My two month vacation comes to an end, but before I head back home I have one more question for Gig, the computer. I sit down and type my question. It was about God.
"Why doesn't God create us all good and send us all to heaven?" "This is a question that many have asked," answered Gig. "I will give you an answer and I hope it makes sense to you, otherwise you will have to ask God Himself. God created us in His essence. He has intelligence, freewill and love. If He had created people to be like robots, following His every wish and command, people would not have personalities. He has created a very large family of wonderful loving friends to share and enjoy His universe and to keep Him company for eternity. Earth is a place where souls learn how to develop a personality and emotions like love, fear and respect. They become unique and this experience on Earth enables them to enjoy and appreciate heaven. Anyone you come across in heaven may be God in disguise. He enjoys visiting without us knowing. Are you satisfied with this answer or should I schedule an appointment with The Creator?"
"I am very satisfied with your response," I answer.
Early the next morning, Dora and Robert take me to the transpor
t. Walter rides next to me and licks my hand. He knows I am leaving, but I promise him I will come back. Dora and Robert promise to visit me too.
The angels are waiting for me and give me a ride back to town. I go back to fishing the ocean when I get back. I am happy to find my father has chosen the same occupation. We enjoy each other's company very much. On Earth we were best friends and here we are more like brothers. We also play on the same soccer team after work.