CHAPTER 30: “GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD”
By admin On March 3rd, 2021.
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It’s time to get to the final act of this story. Now it is the moment of truth, as far as this e-book is concerned.
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And so now it’s time to wrap this story together.
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So let’s get to it and complete this story and tie up the remaining loose ends, bringing this story full circle …
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The Scream – Wikipedia – public domain – by edvard munch – c.1893
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CHAPTER 30:
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“GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD!”…
(Title of the 1979 Pink Floyd song)
Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license
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July 1980
(almost 9 months after my troubles began)
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MY TERROR ENDS…
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Well, after the Devil ceased his condemnation that I was Adolph Hitler in my former life, things 
began to go well for me.
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As a matter of fact, I was feeling so good, I became a general nuisance around the hospital ward.
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For one thing, I started a ‘petition-signing’ amongst the patients when the hospital started serving us these pathetic tofu squares at breakfast, instead of the scrambled eggs they previously served!
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And then also, I began giving my own counselling sessions to one or two patients. The staff told me nicely to “cease and desist”.
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Hey, you’d-a thought they’d like the extra help!
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At no charge!
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Go figure!
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“I COME TO THE GARDEN”
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Becky came to visit, and we decided to go sight-seeing in Portland.
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We found a large shrine called Mother Mary’s Grotto.
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It was a big garden that you could walk through with different shrines dedicated to various aspects of the Gospel.
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It was a really beautiful shrine, with lots of really nice statues.
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And since I didn’t actually kill the Virgin Mary (as the Devil mercilessly accused me. See “Fantasy Island” for explanation),
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I could now visit this shrine without any dread.
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We then went to a large chapel where people were entering.
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And so, I asked Becky to go with me.
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I was really excited to hear a Bible sermon!
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After all, through my ordeal, all I ever heard in English was the Devil’s sermons, so to speak! So, a real biblical sermon was “just what the Doctor ordered!”
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But as we took our place in this church, the minister, or priest, or whatever, began speaking in some foreign language! Latin, or Greek or something!
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And then, we all got up in line to go by the priest, who handed us each a wafer and a tiny cup of grape-juice!
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And then, to my disappointment, the service ended and everyone began leaving. I really wanted to hear a sermon…in English! Oh well. I guess I would just have to wait!
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Photo of similar Mary shrine courtesy Wikipedia share-alike license. Click here for link.
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HOLY SHMOKES!
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After this, we went into a gift shop where I bought 3 or 4 Bibles and maybe a dozen large crucifixes on necklace chains.
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As I was coming out of the gift shop I saw a priest. I asked him if he would bless these Bibles and necklaces. He made some gestures with his hands and said some things.
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I thanked him. But as I walked away, I noticed this priest was lighting up a cigarette.
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Well, I didn’t know hardly anything about Christianity, but I guess I always viewed smoking as a sin.
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And for such a holy-man, a Christlike individual, to be smoking really disappointed me, causing me to think his blessing on my Bibles and crucifixes was not so much of a blessing.
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And so, here was my first Christian-encounter with hypocrisy (not his, but my own hypocrisy, since I myself was still currently smoking!)
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Marlboro – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
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“CRUCIFIXES FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE!!…
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NAW…DON’T WORRY!…I’M BUYING!!”… 
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When I got back to the hospital ward, I waited until the patients and staff were all together in the living area.
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I then gave a crucifix necklace to each patient and each staff-member. I suppose I should have bought smaller crucifixes. These over-sized crucifixes were about 2 or 3 inches tall.
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But hey, it’s the thought that counts. Everyone was obviously so overwhelmed with gratitude, that they were speechless! LOL!
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TIME TO GO…
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After thirty days, the hospital staff told me I was well enough to leave.
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I told them that I was still hearing that voice. But they still insisted that I was well enough to leave.
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And it was a lucky thing I left when I did!
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Because when checking out at the front desk, the receptionist informed me that my 30-day-insurance-coverage ran out that very same day!
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A FEW THOUGHTS…
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I was more than a little disappointed that virtually nobody in the hospital staff believed I was being tormented by a devil.
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It was assumed that my problem was a mental condition.
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There were instances, however, in which I received good spiritual advice.
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On the other hand, I was treated very nicely by everyone. By far this was the most polite staff I’ve ever encountered!
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July/August 1980
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“YOU TALK TOO MUCH…YOU WORRY ME TO DEATH!”
(First line from the 1960 song by Joe Jones, “You Talk Too Much”)
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And so I returned to Klamath Falls.
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But the voice didn’t go away. He just kept talking and talking.
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After some weeks, I became overwhelmed with the fear that I was like a man with a very
contagious, killer-disease: namely…I HAD THE DEVIL IN ME!!!
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I had the “disease of Satan”, which seemed to indwell me to some degree. Well, he had to indwell within me, didn’t he?
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After all, he could talk to me (in my mind).
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And he could somehow put thoughts into my mind. And somehow, he seemed to know many things I was thinking.
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As the days went by, the voice didn’t go away.
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I decided that I needed to do something to rid myself of this satanic voice.
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I decided to go back up to Portland to the Multnomah Falls.
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It was where that Indian jumped off to save the rest of the tribe from some disease.
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Even though that legend was a little suspect, nevertheless, this still seemed like a fitting place to end my life.
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And I too would be engaging in a “noble act” by eliminating this satanic voice that was speaking through me, and to me.
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I suppose, in the back of my mind, I was doing what I’d seen in that movie, The Exorcist, when Father Karras was filled with the Devil and jumped to his death, onto the streets far below.
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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license
Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS ARE WRITTEN ON THE SUBWAY OLD BARN WALLS…(and horse’s stalls)!”
(Word-play on lyrics from the 1964 Simon & Garfunkel mega-hit, “The Sounds of Silence”)
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As I was driving up to Portland on Interstate 5 (still very intent on doing myself in), something caught my attention.
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An old barn…sitting off to the west of the Interstate 5 freeway…in a field…just south of Salem…a barn…standing there as a monument to days-gone-by.
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And as I drove by, I was surprised to see a Bible concept inscribed on its old weathered wooden walls.
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Someone had painted the following sentence on the side of that old relic…
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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license
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“SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS…ARMOR UP…THE TIME IS AT HAND”
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These words made a strong impact on me, at that moment. “Profound statement!”, I thought to myself…
…“Whoever painted those words must also be aware that Judgment Day is at hand.”
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But now, I had a little hope. “That inscription on that old barn just might be the answer to my problems.”
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I might have thought…”put on the armor of God. Very interesting concept. Hm-mm.”
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ONE MORE TRAIL TO CLIMB
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Upon arrival at the falls, I looked up and saw that the trail to the top was going to be a good climb.
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But hey, I climbed for eight hours up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon (see Chapter 1)!
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And this climb would only take an hour or so.
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Probably the voice was talking to me all the way along the trail upward.
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The climb was steep but very scenic with lots of beautiful trees, shrubs and ferns, etc.
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But the sun was going down, and I knew I had better “high-tail” it up this hill before it got too dark!
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(Multnomah Falls photo: Kelvin Kaye). Photo on right by www.oregon.com.
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BACK TO WHERE THIS STORY BEGAN…
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Well that’s my story! Now you know the basics of what I’ve gone through for over a year.
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So can you really blame me for wanting to take a plunge to my death?
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How would you have handled this, if you were in my shoes?
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When I think back on it all, it seems like a dream…a really bad dream!
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But I found out, that the truth is stranger than fiction!
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And now this will hopefully be over for good!
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And hopefully I will die a death that will separate me for all eternity from this voice! From this spirit! And from this Devil!
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It’s now time for me to take this leap of faith. “Lord, forgive me and receive me into your eternal kingdom….”
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My body plunges down into the water…
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…In a moment my head bobs out of the water. Hands begin to clap upon the announcement…
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“Welcome Chuck! Welcome into the family of God!”
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I carefully inspect my baptismal robe to see if every inch has water on it. I don’t want even one inch of my body to be unbaptised.
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NEW LIFE IN JESUS AHEAD
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What happened to jumping off the falls, you ask?
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Oh that! Yeah! You’re asking if I jumped off the falls.
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Well, no, I didn’t.
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What happened is this: I got to about half way up the trail, and it was getting dark.
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And frankly, I lost heart, and decided not to jump. So, I climbed back down and drove back home to Klamath Falls.
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And then back in Klamath, I decided to start going to church in a little Baptist congregation.
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And after a short time, I decided the best way to rid myself of this spirit that’s been plaguing me for over a year was to die; that is, I would “die in Jesus”.
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I would go to that watery grave of Baptism. And so here I am! At a Baptist church! Getting baptized! That would be my final plunge!
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What better way to get rid of Satan than to take a plunge to almost certain death…a death that leads to life… a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ!
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But after the baptism, I’m noticing a dry spot on my baptismal robe. I ask the Pastor later if that mattered. He says “No”.
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Still it bothered me.
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LITTLE FLY FREED BY BIG GOD…
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So I guess you could say that God plucked me out of Satan’s spider-web.
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Oh the mercy of God to a very miserable wretch like me, who wasn’t even looking for God!
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Could I have stood up to Satan on my own?
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The “Mental Ward Games” only proved that I was no match for Satan.
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I miserably lost the contest! But who wouldn’t have lost the contest with the Devil?
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He’s way out of my league…and yours too!
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There’s only One who could defeat Satan.
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And to my great joy, that One defeated him on that hill called “Calvary”.
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And that One defeated the Devil, on your behalf, and on my behalf.
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And though I was cast into “Tophet” (see Jeremiah 7:32), and tormented by fire and brimstone, I nevertheless came out of it unharmed. And the smoke of my torment will rise up forever and ever, no doubt. This awful lesson-book of sin will never be forgotten!
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And I learned a lesson that I’m sure I won’t forget through the days of eternity.
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And I’m telling you this story because you should be aware of just who is this “Wicked One” who has seemingly all but erased himself out of existence…
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…because even though he’s covered his tracks pretty well, he’s still out there working his deceptive and destructive satanic arts upon this unsuspecting world.
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But I’m also telling this story so that maybe, just maybe some person, living in unbelief and atheism like I was, might turn from their sin, becoming a Follower of Jesus.
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But don’t wait till Judgment Day!
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And truth-be-told, ya never know when your Judgment Day begins!
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“What? Did you (the readers) say something? I thought I just heard
a voice. Everyone be quiet for a moment.”
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“Are you still here Satan? Is that you, Satan?”
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(Silence for a moment.)
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“I’m still he-e-e-r-re !!”
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THE END…
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Dear Reader: A question still lingers. And that question is this…
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“Who will be next to take a ride in an “RX-7” (an “Our Ex-Heaven”)?”
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Well if you do, just make sure NOT to be like me.
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Yeah, don’t you get caught on that day without having on your “Armor of God”!
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