The five people you meet in heaven

Today while still on the shuttle, on my way to the office, I finished reading Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

This little book put an interesting perspective on what we may expect in the afterlife.

The story was about a wounded war veteran named Eddie. An old man who has lived, in his mind, a life that is somewhat luckluster or uninspired. He is lonely and transformed himself into a bitter old man, consumed by the thought of not having to accomplished anything worthy in life. He spent most of his life maintaining the rides at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park, greasing tracks and tightening bolts and listening for strange sounds, "keeping them safe."

On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart.

He woke up in heaven and encountered five pivotal figures from his life who showed him the true meaning and value of his life. One by one, these mostly unexpected characters reminded him that all of us is somehow connected in many ways; that all our stories are somehow intertwined. With each person Eddie meets, a part of his life is revealed, even if he does not appreciate its significance at the time.

The last person he met was a young girl from the Philippines. The girl he tried to save from fires he caused when he burned the huts where he, along with his fellow soldiers, were imprisoned and tortured for months.

Through these five people Eddie understandood what the real meaning of his life was. And it's his turn now to enlighten the others.

-oOo-

Everything happens for a reason. Hmmm..... Wait, that may be debatable if you read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" where he explains the origin of antimatter.

But I do believe that every person you come in contact with throughout your life, has a purpose. And I've got a list of people whom I wanted to meet in the afterlife, whether it be heaven or something else. One of them is my father.

Hairline Fracture

Monday, 11:40 AM, Doctor Lago's office, at Kaiser Permanente in Milpitas, CA.

The X-ray result was negative, but I felt something tender on your ribs which I suspect a hairline fracture.

Those were doc's words. I should be happy for not having any broken bones. But darn, it's very painful especially when I sneeze. He adviced me not to play for at least a month.

That's what you get for playing physically unfit!

Well, honey, this may sound unfit for a catch-22 phrase, but yeah, I play to get fit.

My wife always seem to be hesitant on letting me play basketball because I don't look healthy enough to play with the kind of guys who play here.

But It's just one of my ways to unwind after a whole week of hard work. Besides getting fit and all....

A Bad Dream

It happened at 2:00 AM this morning. It was about my brother.

This was one of those weird dreams. In my dream I was asleep and was dreaming of something else. This sub-dream was about me and my brother going to a church on a hill. Although I have never seen that church before, it looked familiar but there was something different about it. It was very old and was surrounded by ruins like that of the chittorgarh or the arch of the septimius.

Then an old man came and put his hand around my brother's shoulder and walked with him -- away from me. From that moment, I kinda knew it was only a dream and for some reason I knew what it was all about. My brother knew what was happening too. He came to me and told me that he was sick; that whenever he coughs his head starts to feel pain and his face starts to feel cold -- like ice; that he will soon be leaving us; and that this old man will show him the way to the next life.

Then the sub-dream was over. I woke up and looked for my brother. He was supposed to be sleeping next to me but he was gone. Then I saw him rushing down a hallway towards the bathroom. He was dragging his right leg because he couldn't bend his right knee. I saw my mom, woke her up, and told her what was happening. She ran after my brother and I followed her. But she was slow. I was pushing her forward when I realized -- she wasn't my mother. This lady had a long blond hair.

My brother collapsed in the bathroom but I was able to catch him before he fell onto the bathtub. I carried him outside and asked for help. I was crying and screming but nobody could hear me. I found a white guy sitting outside, next to the door, but didn't do anything. No-one could hear me so I yelled out louder and tried to punch the wall to get more attention.

Then, someone came -- my wife. She heard me moan so she woke me up.

I thanked God when it was over and that it was only a dream..... But my heart was pounding hard and I couldn't breath for a while.