COMPASSION

Chapter 37

Fate and Destiny

Joe has disappeared from the water. A small power boat pulls over to where Joe sank below the surface of the Lake. Two  Massive and Muscular Black Monks with Black Robes from The Order of Saint Benedict stop their boat and look down into the Lake.
 
The one Monk tells the other monk, “I see him he is down there you better go get him!”
 
The second Monk replies, “Why should I go get him!”
 
The first Monk replies, “Because I got the last guy.”
 
The second Monk stands up in the boat and dives into the Lake and heads for Joe at the bottom. He finally reaches him and brings him to the surface.
 
The Monk yells for help to get Joe on the boat and they finally get their catch into the boat and head back to the Monastery.
 
The monks dock their boat and carry Joe on a stretcher and carry him to the base of the mountain. The Monastery sits a top a  Mountain surrounded by steep rock cliffs on all four sides. The two black Monks start to climb the mountain with Joe on the stretcher.
 
After an hour of intense climbing, it starts to rain and lightning and thunder strike the top of the mountain and Monastery. The Monks make it to the top of the mountain and load Joe still on the stretcher on to a horse drawn cart. They drive to the Monastery and carry Joe inside.
 
The Monks knock on the Grand Entrance doors and enter the Monastery and carry him into the Great room and lay him on the floor. The two Monks take their seat at the Great Table and pour themselves a cup of wine and wait for Joe to come to the table and join them.
 
Joe is still on the stretcher not moving and the Monks are getting impatient. One Monk throws a grape at Joe and hits him in the face. Joe rises up and looks around and does not know where he is. He sees his clothes are wet and he turns and sees the two Monks at the table. They are looking back at Joe and are silent.
 
Joe asks the Monks, “Is this a dream?”
 
The Monks both reply “NO.”
 
“Am I hallucinating again?”
 
The Monks both reply “No.”
 
Joe looks around and asks, “Am I really in a Castle?”
 
The one Monk replies, “Let me introduce myself. I am Brother Fate and to my left is Brother Destiny. You are not in a castle you are in a Monastery.”
 
Joe asks, “What am I doing here?”
 
Brother Fate replies, “You are having a Mid-Life Crisis. Your Favorite Dentist died in December. Your Mother, who you worshipped and was your only reason for Living died in February. Your oldest Brother Tommy has turned your life into a living hell and appears to be driving you insane. Not to mention he was trying to break your neck and kill you to put you out of your misery. Kind of a Mercy Killing on his part. You then fell into a serious depression and now the chemicals in your brain dopamine and serotonin are seriously out of balance and you have caught the Bipolar Flu. The icing on the cake is you were trying to find a partner slash girlfriend to try and escape your Brother’s Mania and the grief you can’t deal with over the loss of your Mother has led you to this romantic attempt by approaching a Power Blond which now has resulted in infatuation and now an obsession.”
 
Brother Destiny interrupts, “Thank you Brother Fate for explaining to Joe how he got here. Now I will explain what he is doing here. May I call you Joe?”
 
Joe replies, “Can I get off this stretcher and sit with you at the table?”
 
The Brothers motion to Joe to take a seat at the table. Joe gets off the stretcher and walks toward the table and pulls a chair out. He looks at both Brothers and observes their robes.
 
Joe asks, “Can I ask a question?”
 
“Yes,”
 
“Are you guys black?”
 
The Brothers reply, “Yes…Is that a problem for you?”
 
Joe replies, “I just don’t know many black people. Tommy my Brother has two black friends Mitchell and Phoenix. Mitchell could have played in the NBA he was fast and never missed a shot.”
 
Brother Fate asks Joe, “What happened to Mitchell? Why didn’t he play in the NBA?”
 
Well, he had a scholarship but he got tied up with a girl and then they had a baby. That is the problem with the Girls. They stole all our best guys. They broke up the Park Boys. There were almost one hundred guys in the park boys. We played football in the fall and winter. Basketball in the spring and summer. Baseball at night in the Summer. But then one by one the Girls kept coming by and took our best guys. They took T Ball, Rabbit, Funt, Big Harold one by one until there was nobody left. We couldn’t even get six guys for a game of basketball.”
 
Brother Fate asks Joe, “Could you go over to the window and look down to the lake shore at the bottom of this mountain?”
 
Joe gets up from his chair and walks over to the window and see the steep rocks leading down to the shore.
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “Brother Destiny and I had to carry you on a stretcher up those steep rocks. It was an exhausting climb and frankly, I don’t know of any white monks that can make that climb especially with you on the stretcher.”
 
Joe replies, “Now I understand why you Brothers are Black. You two guys sorry I mean Monks look like you lift weights. Did you play in the NFL? You both are bigger than Schwarzenegger.”
 
Brother Destiny replies, “Carrying men and women up to this mountain since time began does have an effect on your body. Come back to the table and we will tell you why you are here.”
 
Brother Destiny tells Joe, “You have a lot of stress in your life. When your Mother was alive you didn’t even know what stress was. You had no stress. You were in Heaven. Mom cooked for you, cleaned the house, gave you and your Brothers projects to keep you busy, she made all your decisions. In your case Joe your Mom was God. Tommy your older Brother also worshipped your Mother. Remember you went to see Father Burns at St. Johns. Your Mom wanted you to sign Her you and Tommy up as members of St. Johns. Father Burns asked you what you liked to do when you were not working. You told him how you like to drive your Mom around. He then told you that you were hanging on to your Mother and that she was going to die and your family was going to go to Hell! He has seen this over and over again so many times. Joe, you are all alone. Everybody is gone or dead. Your two brothers can’t help you or protect you anymore because they are dealing with crippling depression. The reason you are here today is Fate and Destiny has stepped in at the bottom of your mental illness. Your life and future will be determined by what you do now today and in the coming weeks months and years.”
 
Joe is short of breath and grabs his chest. He is terrified of the Monks and wants his Mother. The Monks words are not helping and the Monks see Joe is having a Panic Attack. They realize they have to calm Joe down or they will lose him for good. Brother Fate passes Joe a plate of his favorite candy bars. Snickers, O’Henry, Mars, Hershey. He even has old time Butternut and Hollywood candy bars. Brother then picks up a six pack of Ice Cold Pepsi Cola in the 16-ounce size in the glass bottles.
 
Joe sees his favorite treats as a child and the fear leaves his face and is replaced by joy and happiness. The more Joe devours the candy and soda the calmer he gets and the pain in his chest stops.
 
Brother now passes Joe his favorite snack Chocolate and Butterscotch Tastykakes from Philadelphia. Joe is stunned to see them and thank's the Brothers.
 
Joe asks Brother Fate, “Can you play some music?”
 
Brother Fate asks Joe, “Who is your favorite artist?”  
 
Joe replies, “Basia, London, Warsaw, New York is her album do you have her tape?”
 
Brother inserts his Basia CD and it plays Cruising For A Bruising.
 
Joe hears Basia voice and starts crying. The more he cries he feels a weight lift off his chest. This girls voice can patch a hole in any man’s soul. She is an Angel.
 
Brother Fate scolds Brother Destiny for being too hard on Joe. Fate tells Destiny to pass Joe the Mrs. Smith Chocolate Cream Pie with the whipped cream and coconut topping. Destiny apologizes to Fate and passes Joe his favorite pie. Joe with tears in his eyes grabs the pie and asks Brother Destiny for a glass of Milk. Brother passes the cold glass of Milk to Joe and Joe sits back in his chair and takes several deep breaths.
 
“Thank you, Brothers, I feel better now. Basia always calms me down.”
 
Brother Destiny asks Joe if he can continue. Joe nods in agreement.
 
Brother tells Joe, “You have three choices with your life. It is totally up to you what option you choose. Remember God gave man Free Will. You can do whatever you want with your life. But there are three roads out of your Depression. ”
 
Joe asks, “What are my choices?”
 
Brother Destiny asks Brother Fate to give Joe his options and Fate agrees.
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “You are suffering from depression and obsession that is why you are here with us. You are mentally ill. Your brain and mind are sick. All the people that are alive today that live on this planet are mentally ill. We don’t live in a perfect world so being a little mentally ill is normal. You are a lot more mentally ill and this is not normal. If you don’t take steps to get out of this condition you will be mentally ill until the day you die. If you choose this option you have to pick a discipline to follow. It is like picking a major to study in College.”
 
Brother Destiny hands Joe a Menu to read.
 
Joe asks, “What Is This?”
 
Brother destiny tells him, “It is an Insanity Menu! In the Menu, it lists all the mental disorders and illnesses you can choose to get.”
 
Joe asks, “You mean I can pick my own mental illness?”
 
The Brothers nod yes.
 
Joe opens the Menu and starts to read, “A to Z Joe stops at Psychosis. An abnormal condition that involves a loss of contact with reality. People experiencing psychosis may exhibit personality changes and thought disorder depending on its severity. This may be accompanied by unusual bizarre behavior as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out daily life activities.
 
Joe comments, “I have two of the four already. I have hallucinated and I have heard people saying I am delusional.”
 
Brother Destiny tells Joe, “Remember you have to choose. You are either Bi Polar with uncontrolled ups and downs or you are Schizophrenic. You can’t be both.”
 
Joe takes a bite of his TastyKake and a swig of Pepsi. “Let me do some more checking on this list. Joe gets to the T’s. “Trichotillomania what is this? Joe turns the page and sees people pulling out their hair. Joe remarks, “That one looks like it hurts. There has to be an easy one.”
 
Joe goes back up the menu. “Transient Global Amnesia or TGA. That sounds easy. It says Neurological Disorder temporary but almost total disruption of short term memory with a range of problems accessing older memories recalling only the last few moments of consciousness. I like this one and it doesn’t sound like it hurts.”
 
Brother Fate asks Joe, “Are you ready for your second option?”
 
Joe replies, “Let me do some more reading. “Schizophrenia mental illness disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and a failure to understand what is real. That one seems very popular. Let’s go to the next one. Narcissistic Personality Disorder or NPD. Excessive need for admiration and a lack of understanding of others feelings. This is what the girl Sandy at the Dental Office has. I don’t want her illness. Bipolar Disorder previously known as manic depression is a mental disorder that causes periods of elevated moods followed by depressed feelings.
 
Joe asks, “What is my second option?”
 
Brother Destiny tells him, “Suicide!”
 
Joe replies, “I did try that with the bottle of pills but I only swallowed a few. You said I have three choices. What is the last one?”
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “The goal here is to get you out of a depressed state. As long as you stay depressed you run the risk of falling into the first two options. You need to talk to somebody to help you out of the Depression you are in.”
 
Joe replies, “I have talked to God and he is not listening to me. I begged him on my knees and he won’t help me. Nobody cares if I live or Die!”
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “We care Joe that is why we are here. We don’t want to see you or anyone become mentally ill or hurt themselves. Joe, you are at halftime in your life. That is why they call it a Mid-Life Crisis. Remember what the Nun told your class, “Life is not like a Bowl of Cherries. Joe, you have to see a Psychologist,  Social Worker or a Psychiatrist to see what treatment is needed to get you out of this depression.”
 
Joe replies, “I don’t like any of these choices. There has to be something else. Give me one more choice one more road I can take.”
 
The Brothers excuse themselves from the table and walk over to the window. They have a heated argument and start yelling at each other. Finally, they take out a Gold Coin and flip it in the air. The Brothers look at the coin on the Floor and a huge smile appears on Brothers Fates Face. He has won the coin toss. They return to the table and ask Joe to pass back the soda and some of the candy bars. Both Brothers are upset and need to calm down. They ask Joe if it is OK if they put on some music.
 
Joe replies, “Yes whatever you like.”
 
Brother Destiny puts in has Favorite Rap Song, “Rake It Up by Yo Gotti.”
 
Joe feels the beat and stands up. “Jesus Christ, who is this artist?”
The Monastery changes into a Detroit Night Club and the Dance Floor is flooded with people as the music comes on. Historic Figures appear on the dance floor in the Monastery. Adolph Hilter dressed in street clothes appears with the victims of the Hollacost. Cleopatra and Julius Cesar appear along with Marie Antionette. The Brothers are both dancing along with Joe Havard. Everyone Loves the song and dance but now it is time for the music to stop and Joe learns of his last option. The Brothers and Joe return to the table.
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “There is one final option to get you out of your depression.”
 
Joe asks, “What is it?”
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “You can become a Hollywood Screenwriter.”
 
Joe looks disappointed and sits back in his chair and asks the Brothers, “Can we go over the first two options again?”
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “Look we know you won’t go see a Doctor. You tried suicide but that is not you. The problem with mental illness is it will block you from finding your One True Love.”
 
Joe replies, “I will never find another Girl like Sandy. She was perfect. She was cruel and evil but she was beautiful.”
 
Brother Fate tells Joe, “Who said your True Love was a girl? Joe, a person’s True Love can be anything but by no means does it have to be a person. Your True Love can be a girl, boy, your job, car, painting, writing, observing nature. That is true many people who come to this world never connect with anyone but don’t tell those people that their life is any less because they have not found another person. We suggested the Hollywood Screenwriter route because you have started writing down your thoughts on paper. Maybe your True Love is writing?”
 
 
Brother Destiny asks to talk to Joe, “Let me explain it this way. When we say Hollywood Screenwriter we are not saying you are going to write a great idea for a Hollywood Movie. Your writing can be total gibberish. In fact, 99% of all the Hollywood Scripts written is total gibberish. The point here is you need to get the thoughts out of your head. You don’t have anybody to talk to. If I can be crude here. Depression confuses a person. Your thoughts are blocking your mind just like a blocked digestive system. When your tummy gets blocked Mom gave you a laxative and you went to the bathroom. Depression blocks your mind and brain.

Your mind and brain need to take a shit. The best way to help your mind take a shit is to write your thoughts down on paper. Writing is like a stool softener for the brain. That is why it doesn’t matter what you write on paper because the more you write the more shit you get out of your mind and eventually you start thinking clearly again.

Joe what we are telling you is you are FUCKED UP NOW. IT IS YOUR JOB TO GET UNFUCKED. Writing will help you do it. Joe our time is done here. Think about what we have said. Start pretending you have written the greatest screenplay of all time. Tell yourself you will turn this into a Book someday. Your success as a writer will be measured by not how many people read your screenplay or your book. Your success will be measured by your peace of mind you achieve when you finally leave your depression behind you.

Joe remember one thing maybe no one will ever read a word of what you wrote. No one will ever consider what you wrote could be made into a movie. Your book titled Compassion will be another one on the millions and millions of unread literary works. It doesn't mean your writing is worthless. The goal here is not to be the next hot Hollywood writer the goal here is Peace of Mind. Ask the people in Hollywood how much would they pay for Peace of Mind.  Joe, we talked to all of them. They all told us they would trade all their fame and fortune for Peace Of Mind. Joe walks over to the Brothers and hugs them both.

 Brother Fate hands Joe a gift his Basia CD. Joe smiles and thanks the Brothers and returns to his bedroom.