CHAPTER 9
Everyone will experience a mid-life crisis once, if they live to be sixty. Some people know how to handle it, and some people don’t. Those that know how to handle it, admit to themselves that they are getting older and there is a change occurring in their body. For women, they usually go to the doctor and he prescribes estrogen pills to replenish her hormones. For a man, there isn’t anything that can be prescribed. Most men know that, sooner or later, they will reach that period called “mid-life crisis.” Some men know what to expect and they are comfortable with that knowledge, while other men have no idea what to expect, and they are the ones that are unpredictable.
The men that are unpredictable may do or try anything that they think will keep their youth. Many times, that man will dye his hair the same color it was when he was young. He may even sell his four door sedan and buy a sports car so the younger women will notice him. Some men go to the extremes. They will divorce their wives, whom they married when they both were young, and then they will go out and get an apartment with a swimming pool. In the apartment complex, the young adults will have get-togethers and pool parties. He will use the same language of the younger generation and he will spend a lot of money to impress the young women. It may even be that he will ask one of the young women, less than half his age, to marry him. That is the way it was with Gene, although he did not go to the extreme and get a divorce, he just did everything else.
All parents laugh and joke about the time when the last of their kids leave the nest, but down deep, the parents are sad to see them go. Parents will say something like, “We are now free to do whatever we want” or they say “I can’t believe we are finally alone.” The day that Gene realized that his last child was going to be out on his own, was a startling realization.
Having the first child, and then another, and another, until you have five screaming and crying babies that fill the house with noise, is just the beginning. Then they pass from the baby stage and on through to all the other stages of growing up to adulthood, with different problems in each stage. The parents are constantly busy, taking them, going with them, correcting them, or advising them. Then, all of a sudden, there is nothing. This makes a person think of himself as growing old and of being alone. When a couple starts a family, without first getting to know each other well, there seems to be nothing to talk about when the children leave.
When Butch was in the twelfth grade, Gene started thinking about his age and he started thinking about how lonely it would be in the house. At night, he would make different excuses for working late, but it wasn’t that he was doing any kind of special work; it was something he was doing for himself. One of the divorced women in the office had always found Gene very attractive. She, in no short words, let Gene know what would happen if he ever stayed late at night and “worked” overtime.
Gene had already gone to the hair salon and had the gray taken out with a dye that was a lot darker brown than his hair when he was in high school. He also bought new clothes that were the craze for the younger generation.
Gene even told Roxann that it was time to buy a new car. He explained to her that, “The cars are so fast on the roads nowadays. I need something with a little pick up and go, just in case there is an emergency and I need to get somewhere fast.“ Roxann didn’t buy the story, but she did believe they needed a faster car. The car that Gene settled on was a hot, red, Ford Mustang. It could go from zero to sixty faster than you could say, “Ticky Ticky Tan Bow, No So Rambo, Harry Barry Goose Bumps, Tishma Tashma.”
Gene, also, was spending a lot of money trying to show off. He did become very popular with the younger crowd. However, Gene just really didn’t fit in, but if you wanted to play like you are young and you want to spend money, the younger crowd won’t stop you in the least. That’s the way it was with Gene and many of the very beautiful young women that he met. During the one year that Gene had an apartment, he would take as many of the young women as possible upstairs for a little fun or what he thought was fun.
Since Gene did not believe in God and that a person cannot commit sin, he had no problem having all kinds of affairs with all kinds of women. If Roxann would have found out, he would be dead in less than a minute. Roxann never did find out about the apartment or the girls that he had an affair with. However, God knew everything and, as you know, God was keeping a book on the sins of Gene.
Sometimes a person’s sin will affect his or her children. With Gene, it affected all of his children. When Gene Jr. graduated from high school, he found a job and started working hard for each dollar he made. On the week-ends, he would drink just like his father and grandfather and, before long, even though he did not admit it, he was an alcoholic. After dating one girl for a year, they were married. Their marriage did last, but there was so much turmoil, it affected their children, also.
Don, as I had said before, was in trouble all the time. After high school, he was arrested so many times the police knew him on a first name basis. And just like the other men in his family, he loved to drink. He drank so much most of the time, whenever he went somewhere, he would forget where he parked his car. He never once thought about the other people in cars when he was drunk. He wanted to get home as fast as possible. The police had warned him many times about drinking and driving, but nothing seemed to work. One night, on his way home, he hit a tree and was almost killed. That accident did stop him from driving while he was drinking, but it did not stop his drinking while at his home. It didn’t cause him to think about God or where he might spend eternity, if he had died.
Daphne and Regina became so pathetic that many of their friends and family members did not want to be anywhere around them. With the looks and build that Daphne had, she could have had any man for her husband. She wasn’t interested in just one man, however, but as many men as she could get. She decided the best career for her was one of the oldest careers in the world. That career was the business of a hooker. Why not get paid for the things that you love to do was her way of thinking.
Regina wanted to try what her boy friend called a joint. He said it would give her the biggest high she had ever had. He also told her that when she wanted more, he was the person to see. She tried the joint and found out it did get her high, but after two months, she wanted something a little harder. This one drug did not give her the high she desired. Regina went from one drug to another until she was totally hooked. Her friends saw the change. She also started stealing from them and her parents to keep her drug habit going. All of her friends and family members knew that when Regina came over to visit, you made sure that everything was under lock and key.
One day at work, Gene received a call from his mother. Gene knew that one day this call would come and he dreaded the message that his mother would give him. When Gene answered the phone, his mother attempted to be as calm as possible. She told him, “Darrell has had a heart attack and we are on the way to the hospital.”
At the hospital, Gene and the other family members were arriving to see just how serious the heart attack was. After what seemed to be hours, the doctor came out and gave the family the bad news.
The heart attack has damaged his heart beyond repair.
“Dr. Theopolis, how much time does he have?” asked Gene.
“He could go in one hour or he could hold on for two or three days. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that you need to have everything ready, because he has a very, very short time to live.”
“Would it be possible for us to get him into a private room so someone can be with him at all times.
“I thought that‘s what you might want, so I have already informed the head nurse to take him out of the ICU unit tomorrow morning and put him in a private room. Gene, could I talk with you and Thelma for just a minute?”
“Sure, I’ll go and get Mom. I’ll be right back.”
“Thelma, Gene, what I am going to say, I don’t know how else to say it, so
I’ll just put it in plain English. It is our practice at this hospital, that when there is a patient that will not recover from his or her accident or illness, we will attempt to bring them back three times. If we are not successful, then you will not have to make any decision. But on the other hand, if we are able to bring a patient back up three times, once they go “Code Blue” again, then there has to be a decision made. The decision that you will have to make is whether to bring him back a fourth time. On the fourth time, we attempt to bring a patient back for the first two minutes. If there is no response after two minutes, we pronounce the patient dead. But if the family wants us to continue to try to revive the patient, they must sign a paper informing us how long they would like us to continue. If the patient is not revived after the stated time, we then pronounce that person dead. You tell us what you would like for us to do.”
Thelma looked at Gene with tears coming down her face and said, “I think it is best if we go along with the standard hospital policy.” Gene agreed.
“I will have the papers here within ten minutes for both of you to sign.”
“With Dad being in the ICU, we know he can’t have very many visitors, but what about tomorrow, when he is in a private room?”
“Once he leaves the ICU unit and he is in a private room, he can have as many visitors as he wants. We know it is only a matter of time and most of his family members will want to say good-bye and, probably, so do his friends.”
Thelma told Gene she had to make one quick call and she would be right back. The telephone rang at Mike’s house. He answered and Thelma explained everything to Mike and asked if he would let his dad and mom know, also. Mike said he would tell them both and he also said he would be at the hospital first thing the next day.
The night was very long for both Gene and Thelma. Gene knew that his dad would cease to exist in a matter of days, or that is what he was hoping would happen. Looking at Darrell made Gene think about the things of Heaven and Hell. What if Mike was right and there was a Heaven and Hell. If he is right about that, then just maybe he is right about accepting Christ. The more he thought, the more he decided that it was just a time like this that all Christians think about. They are all afraid to die, but if they think that there is life after death, and they are going to Heaven, it is easier to die.
The next morning, Darrell was taken to his private room. When he finally woke up, he asked what had happened. Thelma and Gene told him he had suffered a heart attack.
“Well, give me either the good news or the bad news. Am I going to die or am I going to live? Thelma, look me in the eye.”
Thelma looked at Darrell and she started to say something when he said, “Thelma, I can read you like a newspaper. How much time do I have left?”
Thelma started to stammer and then Gene broke in.
“Dad, you could go in one hour or you could last a couple of days. The doctors just don’t know. They say your heart is beyond repair and it is just a matter of time before it will give out.”
“So, when my heart goes out, that is it. There is nothing they can do, right?”
“Yes, Dad, that‘s it. But, remember what you have taught me and the other kids. Once you die, you cease to exist.”
“I know what I have taught you and all of the other children. But I could be wrong. I have a funny feeling about things and there is a fear within me that I cannot understand. Last night, I woke up for a few minutes and I was sweating and there was something that seemed to be binding me. I can’t explain it. I just feel apprehension within me.”
“Dad, Mike came up first thing this morning to see how you were doing. Do you mind if he comes and sees how you are?”
“I don’t mind, but tell him not to be giving me any of that religious stuff that he believes in.”
Mike came in as soon as he was given the okay. “How do you feel Darrell?”
“Well, Mike, I feel as good as a person could feel that is about to die and cease to exist. Oh, but you believe I will go to either Heaven or Hell, right?”
“Mr. Pittman, I came down to see you, not to preach or tell you about Heaven or Hell. You have already made up your mind, so there is no reason for me to try and convince you about accepting. Is there anything I can do to help you now?”
“Thanks, Mike, but I think I will just lay here until I take my last breath. But there is one thing you can do for me, when I am gone.”
“I will do anything. All you have to do is ask.”
“I want you to preach my funeral. I know you won’t be telling people a bunch of lies like some preacher that doesn’t even know me. Will you do that Mike?”
“Sure, Mr. Pittman, I will do exactly what you asked.”
Now that Darrell was in his own private room, more of the relatives came to make their last visit as did some of his friends. Everyone knew that Darrell could go at any time and, if they wanted to see him one last time, they should come now.
Mike’s dad and mom stopped by to see how Darrell was doing. The first thing out of Darrell’s mouth when Bobby and Bonnie came into the room was that he was not going to accept. Bobby informed Darrell that they just wanted to visit and see how he was feeling.
“Well, for a man that is about to die, I could feel better. You know, Bobby, it is really funny when you think about it. We have all heard the saying, ‘He’s on his death bed.’ Here I am in the hospital and that saying is going to be very true within hours or days.”
“I know we’re all going to miss you.” Bobby was thinking more of missing him in Heaven. He and the entire family had been praying for years for all of the Pittman family, but it seemed as if their prayers were falling on deaf ears.
Darrell had lasted almost two days, which was longer than the doctors really thought that he would last. At three in the afternoon, he started to go down-hill very fast. The first thing that happened was that he had a mild heart attack. The second thing that happened was that he went into a coma that lasted for thirty minutes.
When he awoke from the coma, he said that he was in a place so terrible he was scared to death. He said he could hear people crying and moaning and begging to get out of that place. They were also begging for just a drop of water for their tongues, because they were so thirsty. After telling the story of his dream, he asked Thelma for a glass of ice cold water. After the glass of water, he begged for another glass of water.
Gene was going to ask if he felt alright or if there was any pain, but then Gene started thinking about the story that Mike had told him when they were little boys. He told Gene about the rich man and Lazarus and how after they both died, they went to Hades. In Hades, there were two compartments. One called Paradise and the other called Torment. In the compartment of Torment the rich man asked for just a drop of water because he was so thirsty. As Gene thought about that story, he decided that his dad had heard the story, also, and was just dreaming about the story.
Darrell finished off the second glass of water and stated that he was burning up. He said the fire or the heat started at his feet and was slowly moving up his body. He said the heat was almost to the top of his head. With one kick he kicked the cover and the sheet off of himself. After kicking the cover and the sheet off, he took off his night shirt. Thelma noticed that there were beads of sweat all over his chest. Then she noticed the sweat was starting to bead off his forehead, also.
“Oh, I am burning up! I need another glass of water! Get a wash rag and put cold water all over it and wipe my chest and my forehead! Hurry!”
Thelma started to cry and then she said, “Please, Darrell, accept Jesus as your savior before it is too late.”
“What did you say, woman?”
“Darrell, the heat that you are feeling is the heat from Hell, just before a person goes to that awful place.”
“Thelma, you must be crazy, you know there is nothing after death. I am hot because of my two heart attacks! My blood is not circu
lating correctly. That is all it is!”
“Please, Darrell, please. If the blood isn’t circulating, you would be cold! What do you have to lose, if you accept Jesus? But, you have everything to gain including eternal life, if the Bible is right and...”
Darrell interrupted her, “I don’t want to hear anymore! If you keep talking like a religious fanatic, I don’t want you around me. That is final.”
“Mom, let’s go and get some more cold water for dad. We’ll be right back, Dad.” They left the room. Gene then said, “Mom, I think that dad will be gone within the next few hours, so why don’t we make his last hours bearable. Let’s don’t say anything else about accepting, or Heaven, or eternal life. Let him pass on in peace.”
“Gene, there is something I want to tell you. I accepted Christ in the pew one night, when I wanted to go forward. My dad, who was a deacon, said that everyone thought that I was saved and, if I went forward, I would embarrass him and mom. I have not said anything to you or the other children because your father did not want you or the other kids influenced by religion. When you and your brothers and sisters were little, I would read the Bible to you and I would sing songs to all of you, also. I knew that when you got a little older, you would decide for yourselves if you wanted to become Christians. I tried not to influence you one way or the other, but I can see now that I was wrong, totally wrong. My husband and all of my children are lost and are going to go to Hell and I said nothing! I cannot believe I have been so stupid!” She then began to cry.
“Mom, promise me you will not say another word.”
“No, I can’t promise you that. I am going to Heaven and all of my family is going to Hell, because I said nothing. Gene, my heart is breaking for you and your brothers and sisters and now, I am witnessing the man that I have loved, dying and suffering because I kept quiet. I must try to convince your father that there is a God.”
“Mom, please promise me you won’t say anything else.”
“I can’t promise that because I am going to say one more thing to him. If he rejects, he rejects because of his hard heart, but if he accepts, he will have eternal life.”
“Is that water cold?” Darrell asked, as they came into the room.
“Yes, it is very cold and we filled it full of ice cubes,” Gene said.
As Thelma walked over to Darrell, he followed each step she took with his eyes. She reached down and put his hand in hers and said, “I will say this one last time. If you want the heat to go away, you must accept. But if you refuse, the heat will get hotter and hotter until it is unbearable. You will start to scream and you will beg for help, but the only person that can help is Jesus Christ. Darrell, accept and you will be in Heaven in a very short time.”
“I am not going to accept and that is final! You spell the word F- I- N- A- L, final! All I want to do now is just rest. I’ll be with my buddies in hell, if there is such a place,” he growled. Everyone in the room and outside the door could hear him yelling.
Family members were sitting on the couch and in all the chairs as night came. Darrell was feeling more uncomfortable as each hour passed.
At seven in the morning, he began to scream at the top of his lungs. “The heat, the heat, its unquenchable! I am so hot! Someone, please help me!” He continued to scream and holler for the next two hours. His screams could be heard in every room on the floor and his crying and complaining about the heat continued.
At twelve minutes after nine, his eyes opened wide and a different kind of fear appeared on his face. The nurses had already put him in restraints, so he would not hurt himself or anyone else. The fear on his face was the fear that a man has when he knows his time is over and he is about to depart this world.
Gene asked if he wanted anything and, once again, Darrell asked for a glass of ice cold water. While he was drinking the water, he looked straight up and said, “It is the angel of death coming to get me. It is so hot, I have to escape.”
Thelma shouted out again, “Accept, accept before it is too late!”
But it was too late for Darrell. With his last breath he said, “I am in terrible pain, please someone help me. Oh, this place called HELL is terrible.”
His heart then stopped beating. He was pronounced dead. Gene looked at his mother and she didn’t have to say a word. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
At the funeral, Thelma told Mike that she would be at church the following Sunday and she was not going to miss another Sunday until she died. The funeral went exactly as Gene and Thelma had planned. Mike spoke about Darrell and the things that he liked and how he had provided for his family. He didn’t say anything about Heaven or Hell, because Thelma had requested him not to. She said that when she died, Mike could give the whole plan of salvation. She also said that she wanted Mike to give an invitation at her funeral, just in case someone wanted to accept at that very moment.
The following Sunday, Thelma kept her word and went to church. From that day until she passed away, she never missed a Sunday morning service or a Sunday night service. She also helped out with VBS and was a substitute Sunday School teacher. Having Darrell out of the house, Thelma opened her house to any missionary who needed a place to stay, who came to the church to preach. Thelma went from a silent Christian to one that was faithful and true to the Word of God.
Three years after Darrell passed away, Thelma went into the hospital with a fever. The cold which brought on the fever turned into pneumonia. Mike was at the hospital before anyone else arrived. She reminded him that she wanted the Gospel presented so no one could say they had never heard the message of salvation.
The death of Thelma was totally different than that of Darrell. During the two days that Thelma was battling for her life, she also was witnessing for Christ. Those last two minutes of her life, she told Gene and all of her other relatives that they had to accept or they would pay with their souls for refusing the free gift of life. With her last breath, she looked up and instead of seeing the death angel like Darrell had seen, she saw the angels that come to take those who have accepted Christ to Heaven. She said, “There are so many angels coming and going with saved people; it is almost unbelievable!”
When a person dies, they will see one of two kinds of angels. If they are lost and on their way to the compartment of Torment, all they will see is death angels coming after their victims. On the other hand, if the person is saved, the only angels they will see are the angels that are coming after the saved to take them home.
“GENE, I GAVE YOU TWO MORE CHANCES TO ACCEPT AND YOU REJECTED BOTH. I MADE SURE THAT YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHERE YOUR DAD WAS GOING, WHEN HE SAID THAT HE WAS GOING TO HELL. I ALSO MADE SURE THAT YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHERE YOUR MOTHER WAS GOING WHEN SHE SAID THAT THE ANGELS WERE COMING TO TAKE HER TO HEAVEN. THE THOUGHT THAT YOU HAD ABOUT YOUR FATHER SAYING HE WAS GOING TO HELL WAS PUT THERE BY ME. YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT HE SAID FOR A LONG TIME, BUT THEN YOU DECIDED THAT YOUR DAD WAS JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE OF THE HEAT OF HIS ILLNESS. GENE, HELL IS SO VERY TERRIBLE, I DO NOT LIKE TO SEE ANYONE GO THERE. I CANNOT FORCE YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO ACCEPT AND YOU HAVE HAD SO MANY CHANCES. NOW, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHY I AM LONG SUFFERING.”
“Yes, Lord I know that You are long suffering and that You hate to see anyone go to Hell. When my dad died, I saw that picture of Hell through my dad. I wanted to believe, but I could not MAKE myself to do it.”
“I KNOW, GENE, YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE THAT WILL NOT BELIEVE UNTIL THEY SEE IT OR EXPERIENCE IT FOR THEMSELVES. YOU HAVE NO FAITH. YOU WERE STUBBORN AND WOULD NOT SHOW ANYONE YOU WERE CHANGING YOUR MIND. AT THAT TIME, IT IS TOTALLY TOO LATE. I KNEW THAT YOU WOULD MAKE EVERY EXCUSE IN THE WORLD FOR NOT ACCEPTING, BUT MAKING EXCUSES DOES NOT KEEP YOU FROM GOING TO HELL. YOU WILL GO THERE BECAUSE YOU HATE WHAT I REPRESENT, THAT BEING HOLINESS. YOU WERE TOO PROUD TO THINK YOU COULD BE WRONG.”