Me
Long, long ago, sometime I’m guessing in the late 1800s, I was a bank robber. ?I was a tall strong man. ?I stepped out of a Luthern Church, walked down some steps and nearby was a man seated on a bench, when I got passed him he shot me in the back three times and I died.
I’m guessing maybe I repented, because I found myself in a very wonderful place we might call heaven. ?Why was it so wonderful, I can’t say, it just was. ?Like when you feel comfortable in the arms of someone you love, this is how it felt.
But obviously I couldn’t stay there, karma would not have it, even though I had repented, things had to be worked out. ?So I’m looking down, seeing all kinds of terrible things, killing and stuff, I can’t recall all the details, but the last thing I saw was a mushroom cloud bellowing up, I recall it so clearly. ?Then this old man with white hair and a white beard comes to me and simply said, “it’s time to go.” ?Here is a place where you have no shell, being safe from all harm, one is not needed. ?So I was soft, so imagine how much it hurt, one that I had to go, but two, I was going down there. ?Tears began to flow down my face and the old man put his hand on my shoulder and said, “you’ll be ok.”
Well, I was born in America, missed the draft in Vietnam and now I am too old for Vietnam 2. ?I spent 14 years in the Navy and never even fired a gun. ?Carried one a time or two on watch, but never had to fire it, not even in training. ?Fourteen years in the military and I never became gun qualified.
Served 2 years aboard the USS Charles F Adams DDG-2 where I became the Master Helmsman in the North Atlantic Seas. She was the first to have four boilers and an aluminum superstructure which cracked in the North Atlantic, to only be held together by expansion plates. Been on two Mediterranean cruises and spent six austral summers at Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica. I met my first wife while working at a military entrance processing station for the New Haven Recruiting Command in Derby, Connecticut. During Desert Storm I served with the Mobile Utility Support Command, providing mobile electric generators. Thankfully we weren’t needed, but I do have a cool pair of glasses that fit inside a gas mask just encase we had to deploy.
I drove a truck for 4 years, and though I was in my late 30s early 40s, because I looked like a kid, I was treated like a kid.? One waitress got after me for wearing my Navy jacket, seeing the First Class Crow and having an understanding of the military, she knew it couldn’t have been mine and she thought that was disrespectful, I assured her that my father gave me the jacket and said it was ok for me to wear it.? So that’s why my call sign was the Okcitykid.? Currently I work as a computer operator.
Unlike my previous life, I am not a strong man, physically or emotionally. ?It’s easy to hurt my feelings, I worry so much about what others think about me that I drive myself crazy sometimes. ?My memory of before I was born I kept to myself most of my life, afraid of what others would think. ?I feel things. ?I don’t always know why I feel the things I do, but I guess and am usually close.
The memory of my previous life as a bank robber came from a dream I had.
Zoya Pierson :
Date: May 15, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
Dear Sir:
An important and well-received documentary called Virtual JFK will be showing at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art May 21 through 24 ONLY. We believe this film may be of great interest to you.
Combining rare footage from numerous Kennedy press conferences, in-depth interviews and a close reading of the documentary record, the film argues that critical decisions about the use of restraint and coercive diplomacy often require greater acts of courage than the use of force. Produced by fellows of the Watson Institute for International Studies, the film applies what Harvard historian Niall Ferguson calls “virtual history” to consider what President John F. Kennedy might have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963 and was instead re-elected in 1964. More information about the film appears below and at www.virtualjfk.com.
We would most appreciate it if you would help us spread the word, either by forwarding the e-mail flyer below to OKC friends and readers or posting a notice on your Web site. Please let me know if you need any additional information or have any questions.
Sincerely,
Zoya Pierson
Sven Kahn Films, Inc.
c/o Koji Masutani
The Watson Institute for International Studies
Brown University
Box 1970
111 Thayer Street
Providence, RI 02912-1970
907-942-5101
zoya@virtualjfk.com
“An extended glimpse into a bygone era of statesmanship. In Masutani’s selection of clips, watching Kennedy field astute questions and scathing critiques with thoughtfulness and wit proves extremely illuminating; his weighing of complex factors in an international situation and consciousness of how much rides on his decisions strikes a now unfamiliar note.” – Ronnie Scheib, Variety
“A critical handbook for current and aspiring world leaders.” – Sergei Khrushchev, Son of Former Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev
“Fascinating.” – Sara Cardace, New York Magazine
“Captivating. Meticulous and wholly engrossing.” – Ted Fry, The Seattle Times
“Compelling. Insightful. Highly convincing.” – Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Produced by fellows of the Watson Institute for International Studies and combining rare footage from numerous Kennedy press conferences, in-depth interviews and a close reading of the documentary record, the film applies what Harvard historian Niall Ferguson calls “virtual history” to consider what President John F. Kennedy might have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963 and was instead re-elected in 1964. It is a provocative investigation of one of the most debated “what if” scenarios and takes its inspiration from Kennedy’s famous statement that “we must never negotiate out of fear, but we must never fear to negotiate.” It resonates powerfully with audiences who are invited to draw their own conclusions from the historical record.
Director Koji Masutani is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University and trained previously with cinematographer Christopher Doyle in Hong Kong. Producer and narrator James Blight is a Professor of International Studies at the Watson Institute for International Studies and served as principal substantive advisor to Errol Morris during the production of The Fog of War, winner of the 2004 Academy Award® for Best Documentary. A book of the same title, written by the film’s producers James Blight, Janet Lang and David Welch was published by Rowman & Littlefield on January 28, 2009.
Additional information, including a trailer, are available at http://www.virtualjfk.com.
Peter Wolfe :
Date: February 15, 2010 @ 5:45 am
Peace,
Cool impressive blog you got here that I agree with on most topics. (Some people) can agree to disagree without throwing a temper tantrum just because (they) lost the argument! The television and freedom of speech like the patriotic act, which was patronizing to my freedoms is somehting I agree witth you on.
okcitykid :
Date: February 15, 2010 @ 6:28 am
Thanks for the comment, I’m glad that someone agrees with me on something.
I need to update this, a lot has happened since I’ve posted it. Learning a lot of new things.
Cathy :
Date: March 5, 2010 @ 3:57 pm
We thought this might of interest to your blog:
50 young people have camped outside Senator Coburn’s office for 7 days, bearing the extreme cold, and will not leave until he removes a hold on a bill that would help stop a rebel group abducting children and terrorizing people in Africa. The organizers have a website with details and live video at coburnsayyes.com.