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Show RTVER my expanded state of mind I was convinced that whatever course I chose was the right one, as inevitable and unavoidable as the bows of Olinda Chotin, because, after all, character is fate. I had learned a lot on my oddball odyssey. It is better to be warm and dry than cold and wet; humans carry their troubles with them; folks who have to worry about work and family and money have troubles that keep their minds from inventing other discomforts; and people are basically good. Those who have had near-death experiences often say, "It changed my life forever." Looking back from the perspective of many years, I'd have to say my encounter with eternity changed my life for a while. But it did teach one profound lesson: that it is much better to be alive than dead. My experience had filled me with a simple joy at being alive, and even after the passage of many years, I maintain an abiding appreciation of the wonder and worth of life. So this is the end of the predictable fable of the fool in the boat. As the jet lifted off the runway, bound west, I looked down at the Mississippi, a silver thread stretching to the blue horizon. I said my thanks to the river for sparing my life. The river would be there for more time than I could comprehend and I told myself that someday I'd be back: but now it was California. Ah, why did I go to California? I should have known better: I'd been there before. THE END -221- |