A MEDICAL DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCE

Was it a dream? A BANG, a crash, where am I now? Four days later doctors were standing over him. In the morgue he was being prepared for cremation when unmistakable signs of life appeared. He had been on his way to the airport but the secret police zeroed in. Here is an account of one of the events that he saw during those four days. He felt he was at a borderland observing another plane. More details can be found in his book "My Life After Dying" by Dr. George Ritchie, Jr., Hampton Roads Publishing Co., Virginia Beach, Va. 1991. Perhaps a poem will condense in a few words one of the events he viewed.

I watch a man approach the gate/ The Pearly Gates ahead? "That long dark tunnel frightened me/ When the nurse announced, 'He's dead.'/ Saint Peter said, "The choice is yours, Check each window here/ As on Earth, decisions count/ You've only shifted gears./ Look through each window, find your one/ Select your comfort zone/ The sum of what you've built on Earth/ Is where you'll feel at home."
I see my Grandma through this one/ A saintly lovely soul/ She seems to be a volunteer/ Helps others choose a goal./ She waves a welcome, "You're so young/ Come in, we'll work together/ So many need a helping hand/ Here we have great weather."/ 'Thanks Grandma, I'll still look around/ There's Grandpa waving too/ Bye now, other windows wait, I wanna see what's new.'
Gramps and Grandma, health restored/ Seem so happy now/ While helping others find their way/ Encouraging, showing how/ But I still want to get revenge/ Some others come to view/ That guy who killed me with that blow/ I'll show what I can do./ Through that window counting chips/ That cheat, I'll get him yet, Lucky that I found him soon/ I'll make him feel regrets./
He sees me now -- With deadly blows/ We battle through the night/ His form is there, but flesh is gone/ Our empty shadows fight/ I hear his swearing in my ear/ Yet my flesh ears are gone/ Buried with the rest of me/ The truth begins to dawn./ Those whispering words again I hear/ And sounds like angel wings/ Seems to offer choice to change/ And Grandma's voice still rings./ And so through time and endless years,/ If blame and hate remain/ For only he, within his soul/ Can make the choice to change.
Addendum: Dr. Richie did go to America and changed to became a minister.