Issues Under Fire: The Grim Reaper

Issues Under Fire: The Grim Reaper

I swear to God, the following is no lie. I battled with the Grim Reaper and it ended in a tie. A formidable opponent, knowing the details of my life, he came prepared with words sharper than the sharpest knife. Why me I asked, but he gave no answer. Just a blank stare, as scary as cancer. And I was scared.

The Reaper did everything to convince me to come with him voluntarily. The world in which I reside is a living hell he said. This is no place for you, he claimed. You're living in a land of hate and hopelessness. He told me love had died many millenniums ago. Only selfishness survives here. So, only the selfish thrive here. You're living in a world where the greedy bleeds the needy, where the strong hunt the weak, where women and children have no value. You live in a world where humanity has gone extinct. Your fellow man is evil, he said. And worst of all, my fellow man doesn't know it, he said. 

I didn't want to hear any more. I couldn't stand the truth. But I was so weak, tired and fragile from fighting a losing battle with the flu, I could hardly lift my head off the pillow, let alone make a case for the human race. I was forced to hear more, and he held nothing back. The Reaper said the leader of the most dangerous nation in the world is stark raving mad and nearly everyone knows it. Think about it, he said. We've got time. So I did, although I couldn't stop wondering how much time I had. Then, the vision began.

He took me to Syria, where I saw an old blind man crawling in the dirt toward the sound of a crying child. His hands were bloodied and muddied but he would not be deterred. The child was in distress and he had to do something. Helpless, defenseless and in pain, the baby's cries began to weaken. Softening to a whimper, the baby could hardly be heard over the bomb blast, the never-ending burst of bullets and the sound of breaking glass. The old blind man was forced to slow his progress. He needed the cries of the child to guide him. The child gave the old blind man something to live for despite the pain in his chest and the shortness of his breath. 

But the baby was as exhausted as the old blind man was determined. It seemed as though the closer the old blind man got to the baby, the fainter the child's cries became. It was then I watched the Reaper whispering to the old blind man. I could see the old blind man listening but I couldn't tell if he was listening to the Reaper or listening for the child's cries. I tried to scream out to the old blind man. I wanted to tell him he was almost there. I wanted to tell him to keep crawling because he was the child's last hope. I wanted to let him know he was too close to stop now. But the Reaper had a different message and he could be heard, but I could not. 

I heard the Reaper say, "Old blind man, your heart is weak and your future is bleak. And although you've fought, it's been all for naught. Death is near, but there's no need to fear. I've come to show you the way. Come with me and all your suffering and sorrows will fade into the darkness of the past. Take my word when I say, no one will care. So give me your hand and tell this hell goodbye. Just give me your hand he said. I watched to see what the old blind man would do. He was motionless for the longest time. It seemed an eternity. Could he not hear the child's cries anymore, I wondered? Did the old blind man give up and give in? Did the Grim Reaper win? I suppose I'll never know because before I knew what was happening, the next vision began.

I was in the Oval Office of the White House. Heavily armed secret service agents were surrounding the President to protect him and the first family as they hurriedly left the building headed to Air Force One. No one could see or hear me. I was invisible. They walked past me, around me and even through me. I was the proverbial fly on the wall. Frantic and panicked aides were downloading and encrypting data while destroying any sensitive documents and top classified materials that couldn't be carried. Wherever everyone was going, it was clear there was no plan to return. It wasn't long before I realized what all this meant. The world's worst fear was a reality.

It was terrifying to know global annihilation could be triggered with a Tweet. Yes, a simple misunderstanding had released hell on earth. No warning, no time to prepare or even pray. No time to say goodbye to your friends and family. Just a flash of bright blinding light and it's all over. No April showers to bring May flowers this year. Oh, it'll rain again, but it'll be acidic. It'll burn. I didn't need the visuals of flesh falling off human bones as innocents writhed in agony, but the Reaper seared those images into my psyche to make his point. 

The sun was no more as thick black clouds of radioactive ash and dust blanketed the planet. There was nothing left standing. No planes in the sky, trains on railroad tracks or cars on the roads. There were no sounds of birds in the trees because there were no trees. The oceans were hot. The winds were hotter. And the earth beneath my feet was even hotter still. There were no people talking or even a dog barking. Just a dead silence. A silence that engulfed me. A silence that smothered and consumed me. The only thing worse than the silence was the loneliness. I was alone is this apocalyptic horror. But was I? 

Do you really want to live this way I heard the Grim Reaper whisper? Please, I begged, no more. I get it. I get it, I said again and again. Like the old blind man, the Reaper told me, my heart was weak and my future was bleak. And although I'd fought a good fight, I'd be dead before night. All I had to do was just take his hand. Again he said, this life is a living hell. He offered me a way out. If I'd leave without a struggle, the night sweats, the nightmares, and the nightly visions would stop. The pain, the anguish, and despair would disappear immediately. No more concerns about things beyond my control.

From the shadows in the corner of my bedroom, he spoke in emotionless whispers. If I just accept his dark embrace all my troubles would cease to exist. He promised the quiet comfort of his presence would fill the void of what I called my life. A life I should be willing to give up freely. I was convinced. Perhaps it was my time. But as I reached for the Reaper's eager hand to escort me to his promised land, I heard the faint cry of my neighbor's newborn next door. The baby was calling for attention, comfort, and love. The baby saved this old man's life.

Bottom line: I know no one lives forever and I'll meet the Grim Reaper again but this was not my time and this is not my end. If there's a lesson to be learned, that lesson is this, never give up and never give in. Issues Under Fire returns tomorrow. And it'll be good to be back. Lee the New Guy.