Home                                                                                                                                                                                                     Next Page "ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN,
for those of you who haven't been there yet,
just off to the left of the main entrance,
set back in the woods, is an old shack covered
in foliage, that houses the most interesting people I've ever encountered in my life.

ON THE PORCH, stands this incredible
woman; who calls herself MISS B.
Twice in my life, once as a teenager, once as a middle aged man, I have stood before
MISS B. looking up to her on the porch.
It wasn't until the second time I had been there that I realized I had been there once before many years ago....
First of all, I asked her if she was working
for GOD, the BOSS, the MAN,
you know, the CREATOR of it all.
She just nodded her head and said
"UH HUH"

I then asked her is she was the first person
everyone sees on the way to heaven, or where-ever it is that we are.
Once again she answered
"UH HUH"

I couldn't help but think that if one had lived
with love and kindness in their heart,
she would be a welcome site,

But if one lived the life of a racist or bigot, she'd scare the living hell out of you.


I asked her,
"Does God have a sense of humor?"
She said,
"God's funny, he's got a great sense of humor,
why do you think I hold the position I do?"
She then told me they had been waiting for me. I could see other people inside her little
house, so I asked if I would be spending time
with those people.
It was obvious that I was here for a reason, and I guessed that I was not just walking through the Big Pearlies to receive my
eternal reward for being such a great guy
while on earth.

I asked many questions while in that shack and although no one ever spoke a word, I got all my answers to everything I asked,
a thousand fold.

There was DIOMEDES, an old Cuban cigar maker sitting behind a wooden barrel of the richest blends of fine tobacco's, .....

I soon realized that it never ran out.

Diomedes, with a spital like French Rum and finger nails like scissors;
he would sit there day in and day out making his famous Havana Stogies.
While on Earth, he was never able to reap any financial rewards for his masterpieces.
As others grew rich from his talents, he managed to care for his large family and all others in need.


You see, this is what this man did...he was a pure and simple cigar maker, it was his birthright, and he always accepted that along with a strong faith. He knew he was doing what he was born to do.

On the other side of the room stood
JOE SIOUX.......
the smartest mortal man that ever walked the earth. A proud chief of 30,000.

He was always looked upon by the white man as some old
drunken Indian, even though he never took a drop.

Government pressure forced him to move his large tribe. He never fought in the true physical sense but was a teacher who taught his people more than just hunting and gathering. His teachings about farming and planting helped develop seedlings that fed a Nation. Even when forced to live off fields of pure alkali, he developed fertilizers that grew new and exotic plants and fruits.


Miss B. commented to me that he could grow
a harvest from bedrock.

Not bad from a man who some considered an old no count Indian drunk.

IN THE BACK, LYING ON THE FLOOR,
a homeless Artist.
My first reaction was "OH my God! , Miss B."
She said "that's right, the greatest artist of all
time, who day and night used his brushstroke to paint the skies.
Yet most were to busy to even look up and notice.
Look what we did to him.

THROUGH THE BACK DOOR,
I could see a small screening room,....
a Movie Theatre,


where they I realized they would be showing my movie,

The story of RICH, and his crazy life.


This could hurt, where do I hide?
On each side of the theatre, there were two
small doors, which I was allowed to peak through.....


One....The Gateway to Heaven,

where one could witness angels who could see GOD.
It was called
"The Belly Full"


The other door was almost
too horrible to describe.


I saw with my own eyes the Dark Angel flying over an amplitheatre of
molten grey steel with blood running down the aisles into a huge pit that resembles a
massive caldron.


I witnessed men in military uniforms, some with swastikas and medals,...along with men in fancy suits and vestments...all the time with the air filled with the stench of burning flesh.


It was horrendous..........
I could not bear to look, but for just the blink of an eye,
but its a scene I could never forget.....

I don't know how long I spent at
MISS B's...
I know I saw my life story as a movie where only I would judge myself...

But...the time spent in this room was one of brilliant truth and heart felt knowledge.
I don't know if I was there for a second or a thousand years, but outside I would again
be introduced to two more people...

WANUSA,
an Ethiopian distance runner
who was something of a courier. He always carried a small book of truths, and he was the only one I ever actually saw go through the big main gates of gold,

..bringing in
cigars that Diomedes had made that day.
I questioned who were the cigars for?...
and was told...
to their friends that never had a chance to smoke them while on earth...

As they say...
" that the last shall become first"

I then encountered
BIN,
a small Asian man,
who was a rice farmer and would be working the the fields out back. These fields were so complex and magnificent. His constant toiling in the fields preventing him from taking
time to talk, but you see his was content in being a rice farmer by his love for the fields.

Although MISS B.
would be the
only one who would speak to me,
I learned to
think as Joe,
touch and feel as Diomedes
and see as the homeless artist.
I developed the
speed of Wanasu
and the work ethic of Bin.

This is what happened to me at MISS B's.
while on the way to heaven....

While on her porch for the last time,
she told me the first time I can here,
I was a young soldier,
and it was not my fault I almost died.
She said I got hurt doing what I thought
was right and just....
However the second time I came,
it was my fault,
I was a dark and angry grown man,
who had forgotten
why I was born to this earth,
My role,
My birthright.......
I didn't value my life, so I thought I could just up and take it.

SUPPOSE, JUST SUPPOSE,
I WERE TO SEND YOU BACK ONE
LAST TIME?...
WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT?

I told her, "I'd tell a story."
She told me,

"Your voice is loud, say very little, to make the most sense,"

I told her, "I'd sing a song."
She said,

"You will always have a place to go and do your work and be busy."

I told her,

"I'd paint a picture, maybe of this place and describe what I have seen, and who I have met with a paintbrush."


"I knew an artist who told me ,

"Don't be afraid of the first line, it leads to freedom'., I would try the same thing he did."


MISS B said...
"Each day you'll get new information from a divine counselor, use it that day and store
it as more will come each day.."

"I told her, I'd do all the things I was afraid to do in the past, and that I'd do them right
this time."

She said ..

" Go now Richard and do all those things, walk your life as a prayer,
then come home and teach.
The people here are ready to go home and teach, and they need to be replaced,      

so remember your movie and your past as your greatest tool."


I gave Miss B a big hug and I knew she
loved me.

She Told me

"GO WITH YOUR BIG GOD ATTITUDE
AND SMILE AT THE WORLD
AND DO WHAT YOU DO.

WHAT YOU DO AND WHERE YOU GO IS THE GIFT THAT' YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN..

IT'S YOUR BIRTHRIGHT...
IT'S HOW YOU MAKE A
DIFFERENCE."

Before I woke back up on earth, I asked her one more thing.

If you had a Team, Could I be on it?

I think I got my answer....

The next time, your on your way to heaven, just before you go through the big pearlies,
take a glance just off to the left
and there you will see the most beautiful woman you ever laid your eyes on next
to your mom. Her name is Miss B and she might invite you up for a spell;
might even know your name.
You'll meet some great people,
who won't say much, but will learn you a bunch about life and good stuff.
If this should happen to you,
do me a favor,
thank them all for me,
tell them I love them,
and that I'm grateful for playing on their
TEAM!

From:
Tales of a Barnstormer,
the Pitcher and the Painter
Rich Hoppe, Ball Player

Original paintings by
Rich Hoppe





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