The Devil Among Us Final

End of March 2026

The chorus in this song below popped into my head the other night. Not all of it, just [Chorus 1], below in bold… The strange thing is, the name was missing. It seemed I needed to insert  a replacement name: Keri. Tell Keri….(5)

April 2026

Keri seems to have gone away for the most part. This is really starting to feel intrusive and this is bothering me. Nothing about this should feel intrusive.

I did some deep thinking - meditation, if you will with the question, “What is going on, this does not feel right.”

After only a few moments into deep relaxation, the answer to my question arrived. “This is not Keri”.

Whoa, let me think about this….

 This ‘Keri’ presence is something else. It has an unknown to me ulterior motive. “How obvious”, I thought, now everything makes sense. Something is impersonating Keri!  Time for “it” (6) to move on.

The fix for this is simple in these situations: Whatever “it” is, it must be refused, ignored, and sent away. All one has to do is say, “NO”, and mean it. “Just say No”, which I have now done. This will be my final answer for the present and the future, No. I refuse to interact with “it” any more. 

Whatever “it” is and whatever its objective or end point is, I can only guess at. However, I refuse to be part of it. So much so, I also asked that an Angel be sent to chase it away. There may be crying and gnashing of proverbial teeth on, “Its” part, but that is not my problem. I’m grateful I was made aware of the situation and have stopped it from continuing.

In a few days, it seems to have given up, and moved on. I must admit, it was a well thought, believable illusion. It was just too intense and intrusive to be unquestionably believable.

I retrospect, starting with the appearance in march of this year, I should not have been so accepting. I should have been as cynical as I usually am about these things. Cynicism saves time and frustration. If I would have asked some pointed questions a month ago, none of this would have occurred. 

Footnotes:

1. There are many ways we pass on when we leave our body behind.

Some people simply refuse to pass on, and they are what we think of as ghosts or poltergeists

The Rainbow Bridge is a real place, which is literally a Rainbow people walk up, and back down the far side. This is a one way trip. When people reach the bottom, they arrive at the Plain of Forgetfulness. Some join friends or family here for an extended stay in surroundings they are familiar with. Most people do do not stay here. 

A side note to the Rainbow Bridge, Death has a small cabin just on the other side of the crest. Death looks like an older country women in her fifties. She wears brown clothes, and glasses. It is thought, there are four or five beings like death, that actually exist, and are female. Of course anyone in this realm of life, will never be aware of their presence. 

Wandering around the Plain of Forgetfulness, is the River of Forgetfulness. When people drink from the river, and they drink and adequate amount, they forget their past life. Now they can walk back to the Rainbow Bridge, walk up and over, and they will be taken and reborn, to lead another life.

There is also the river, mostly called the River Styx, which is a very old name. This river also is out on a flat plain. People walk to into the river, crossing to the other side, where family is there to greet them. What happens after that was not explained to me.

For Christians, we have choices…

Go to the light. Go to the tunnel and enter it. Go to the Pearly gates and ask St. Peter if you can enter heaven. 

There are probably more ways to pass on and thru that I am not aware of….

2. Limbo has several names. It is a place a spirit goes alone to ponder their past life. People in Limbo are in self isolation. They stay here until they come to terms with their past life, and they leave, hopefully to one of the places above.

3. Some people have had hundreds of lives, and do not need help when they pass over. They know where they need to go, and what they need to do.

4. We all have our personal group on the other side. We have (usually) been together since we were first created. To my knowledge, the group size is four to six, but I have limited information on this.

5. 1960 death song. Ray Peterson - Tell Laura I Love Her (RCA 1960)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjQgkHzbTk&list=RDpTjQgkHzbTk&start_radio=1

Tell Laura I Love Her

[Verse 1]

Laura and Tommy were lovers

He wanted to give her everything

Flowers, presents

And most of all a wedding ring

[Verse 2]

He saw a sign for a stock car race

A thousand dollar prize it read

He couldn't get Laura on the phone

So to her mother Tommy said

[Chorus 1]

Tell Laura I love her

Tell Laura I need her

Tell Laura I may be late

I've something to do that cannot wait

[Verse 3]

He drove his car to the racing ground

He was the youngest driver there

The crowd roared as they started the race

Round the track they drove at a deadly pace

[Verse 4]

No-one knows what happened that day

Or how his car over-turned in flames

But as they pulled him from the twisted wreck

With his dying breath they heard him say

[Chorus 2]

Tell Laura I love her

Tell Laura I need her

Tell Laura not to cry

My love for her will never die

[Verse 5]

Now in the chapel where Laura prays

For her Tommy who passed away

It was just for Laura he lived and died

Alone in the chapel she can hear him cry

[Chorus 2]

Tell Laura I love her

Tell Laura I need her

Tell Laura not to cry

My love for her will never die

[Tag]

Tell Laura I love her

Tell Laura I love her…

6. As much as horror movies want us to believe, most entities such as this one are not some demon from hell running rampant, or some other type of monster. The movies and literature would like us to believe so, but it is not true. For example, knocking in the house could be cause by an entity who finds a specific location meets its needs, and it has no idea it is scaring the hell out of someone. Generally, when made aware of the fear they cause, they move on to another location.

Generally they are harmless if one can only say, No, and mean it. Some people believe there we are the third incarnation of life on earth, and the two previous races still exist, but without form or substance. Occasionally they want to be flesh and blood again, and this is one way they go about it. Just say, No, and mean it usually ends the relationship in short order.

The Devil Among us Part 2

 March 2023

A few months ago, I realized Keri was on my mind - a lot. Almost like a cloud of Keri vapor, surrounding me. No matter what I was doing, thoughts of Keri would seep into my mind. Why the sudden feeling she was around me?

It wasn’t any more of that, and I wrote it off to life reflection, that older people tend to do. We wonder about those things that could have been.

 March 13, 2023

One night in a dream, Keri was present and talking to me. Keri told me she had passed on. Keri said she had a good life and family, with two kids. Then came the bomb shell.

Keri told me she would be here when it was my time to pass. She said she was waiting, and would be there to meet me. Then the dream was over. I woke up, and eventually went back to sleep. When I woke, this dream was the only thing on my mind. Keri would be here to meet me when I passed.

My thoughts about this were - all over the place. Was I going to die soon and I did not know it? Why would I have a dream like this? It was not an empty dream, it was a real meet up. It was a coherent cohesive dream, not one of those nonsense dreams. It was real. There must more to it.

I searched the net and found Keri’s obituary in a local paper in the town she was born and died in. The obit was mostly flat and lifeless, as if someone went through the motions of writing it with minimum effort (or emotion) involved. But her age fit, as did her first name, and the number of her children. Given the circumstances, it had to be her obit.

A few days later, the feeling of Keri being around me was back. Because I am a horrible cynic about anything paranormal, I made a plan. I told the Keri (presence), if this was not a dream, or a delusion on my part, and she was who she said she was, and she would be there to meet me when I passed, I wanted some type of proof it was really her. I wanted an irrefutable sign that this was not my imagination.

A couple days went by, and there was no sign it was anything but a dream, or suppressed feelings on my part. I was starting to think it was all my imagination. Three days later, I was reading local news on my computer. There was a story about the town of Keri, in Keri County, NM. It seems a small brush fire was started right outside of town, about ten to fifteen acres were burned before it went out. The article did not mention how it started, or how it went out. There was no mention of anyone on scene putting out the fire. Nor was there a cause listed.

There I was sitting wondering if this was the proof I asked for, or some wild - million to one coincidence? What are the odds of my dreams, a Town and County named, Keri making the news for such a small event, and that I would be reading about it?

It was too many coincidences for me to believe it was anything but the proof I asked for. Rather original, but difficult to refute. There were no other fires of note that month, and it was early for the summer fire season.

Older people I have spoken with, say they have had dead loved ones hanging around them at night. Some dream their dead relatives are coming to get them, I did not feel this was some ominous warning, but it didn’t seem normal either. I have enough going on in my life, and did not need to create a ghost for company.

Perhaps it is what it is, and this women who I knew for such a short time for whatever reason wants me to know that when it is my time, I won't be alone. Keri will be there to meet me. I can take peace in that thought.

Or perhaps it is entirely a coincidence? In the moment, I am really undecided, and I am guessing I won't know, until I know. In the mean time I feel comforted by the thought. You will have to decide on the ending as I won't be able to relay the ending for you...

The Devil's Among Us Part 1

 This is part one of I believe what will be four parts....

This story that had its beginnings over fifty years ago. The ending is unknown. Where does real end and the other side start?

Fall/Winter 1970x - I was about 20 something years old and wild, living in the mountains in the western United States. My summertime life consisted of fishing and weekend parties, usually with over fifty hours of work per week thrown in to provide work/life balance. In winter my life was not much different, simply replace skiing with fishing. I usually had one day off a week - Sunday. I worked the afternoon shift and sometimes Sunday mornings when I was called in to fill in.

It was a warm, dark, after work, fall evening, and my friends and I decided to go to sit in a hot springs south of town, soak in the hot water and drink beer – mainly drink beer. Somewhere along the line, between getting off of work and the hot springs, a couple of young Women decided they wanted to join us. I did not know either of them, and I wasn’t the one who invited them.

Sitting in the In the hot springs, drinking my share of beer, one of the women took a liking to me, though I have no clue why. I was not looking for a girlfriend, and made no sign I was. She had different ideas about my situation.

Her name was Keri. Keri had recently moved to town. She was pretty, pleasant, easy going; a very likable (I thought) young woman. She also wasn’t shy….

I came to find out over the next weeks, Keri’s life was a lot quieter than mine. I was curious how she fell into our group that night, and why she picked me. I never learned the answer to either question. I also learned that late night partying was not her normal life style.

I found I really enjoyed Keri’s company. On the down side we hardly saw each other. There were our night and day lifestyle differences, though I thought we would be a really good fit, almost perfect – if I was looking for a serious relationship, instead of looking for parties, which I was not.

We got along wonderfully when we were together, which was unfortunately rare. Keri worked days, I worked afternoons. We had different days off. Keri, I thought wanted a more normal (sober boyfriend), sane life. Keri did not drink, which limited any additional extra time we may have had together partying. Keri was Mormon, I was an angry wild child in an adult body.

We saw each other on and off for about six months on those rare days we both had time off on the same day. Come spring, Keri decided it was time to go back home. All work, and no real fun was no life for her. And I was the (almost) never present boyfriend in her life. She missed her friends and her social life. We spent her last day in town together. It was one of the best days of my life, though I did not appreciate it how good it was in the moment. I now occasionally wish the day could have gone on for a week or more. If only we could step back the calendar and start over. But, it wasn't meant to be.

I thought of Keri now and then over the years. Wondering how she was doing, and how her life was going compared to what it would have been with me. I imagined her happily married with kids running around. I know she would be a good Friend, Wife, and Mother. She had that kind of personality. Whenever I thought of her, I wished her the best wherever she was, and whatever she was doing.

Just One More

 

Pic: Doss on top of the Maeda Escarpment, May 4, 1945

I have spent a portion of my adult life, volunteering and generally trying to improve the lives of those less fortunate than myself. Some of my time has been very rewarding, and a little of it a waste of my life.

I had a slight downside though. One June 29 202X, on a Thursday, I woke up feeling like someone pounded my hips and shoulders with a sledge hammer. The pain became so bad, I resorted to CBD Cream, which was a literal lifesaver. I never wish that much pain on anyone. It took almost five months before I felt relatively pain free. Turns out it was a reaction to a common medication.

During those days of pain, and today, as I reflect on my day and pray before sleep, I stole a a line from Desmond Doss: "Just one more." Desmond Doss was awarded the Medal Of Honor for Bravery. He did not carry a weapon, Desmond Doss was a medic in World War II. You can read about Desmond Doss here, or if you can find it, watch the movie, Hacksaw Ridge.

Not that I will ever be on the the same level as Desmond Doss, though many nights I go to sleep thinking there must be something good I can do for another person. I find many things are easy to do. Smile and say hello, Hold the door open for someone, pick up some trash on the ground and put it in a waste can, by toys from the second hand store and leave it on a kid's doorstep whose family's money has bigger priorities. 

I leave bags of food and such in front of the local church where people more needy than myself walk by. I put a not inside, urging them to spend a few minutes with a quiet mind and listen for the voice of God to speak to them. It takes some time to do this, because it takes time to learn how to quiet our mind. What you hear (for me at least) is the impression of a word or two, not a sentence. I hope they do better.

I hope all these little things add up, and I manage to make someone's day better. Telling a young Mom, she is Mother of the month because she takes time for her child no matter where she is at. Thank a Vet for his service, acknowledging the importance of his/her contribution.  The idea of making someones day a little better, because someone helped them, acknowledged them, or fed them for a few days may encourage them to pass it on, and think, "Just one more"...

Fit in 15 at 60+! - Short Overview

I rarely review books. I am writing about this book though. I have no relationship with the Author, and am receiving no compensation for this article. It is a valuable book if you are a Senior.

This book is a wise investment. On the surface, it is simplistic. The basis is the Author was over sixty and was having issues while trying to get in shape. Exercise was painful and was not producing results. How many people over 60 are not starting to have real issues with common tasks and simple exercise?

If you are over sixty, you and I both know exactly what the Author faced, and this is where his book shines! Are the books basic exercises simple? Yes they are. They start in a chair, it is difficult to get much simpler with exercise than sitting in a chair. 

I read complaints these exercises are too simplistic. I do them, and they are simple, yet effective. If you want to know how limber you are not, do some of the exercises. I found out I was not as limber as I thought I was. Now, I'm getting better and more limber. I now think, what else do I have to do, and what do I have to lose? Everything?

The fascinating thing about people over sixty is we are limber enough, most of the time to do those things we do every day. Completing new or rarely used movements more than a few times, and we know about it the next day, the day after, and the day after. I grew sick and tired of the muscle aches and the frustrations of exercising. There was pain and no gain.

This book is helping me to learn how to manage 'exercise' without waking up sore the next day, and bring satisfaction back to basic exercise. I hope the pep talks and the basic exercises in the book stick with me. They take little time and feel good, so I think they will. I am fairly limber, but if I do out of the usual type of yard work or my even preferred exercise routine, I wake up to spend a few days being very sore.

After modifying my exercise routine as Mr. Jenner suggests, most of my pain  and exercising frustration are now mostly in my past. I wake up knowing I used my muscles, but it is not painful as it used to be. I now look forward to exercising. I am happy to do the simple stretches as they help me feel even better.

The second fact I learned is what happens in our muscles when we get sore, and how to make it better. I scoffed at the suggestion that eating differently would make most of the pain of exercise go away. With nothing to lose I followed the authors suggestions. It is a miracle! I wonder how many years I thought I had Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS), only to realize some exercise pain is diet related.

After reading the book cover to cover, which is recommended before starting the exercises, I found these two insights about exercise and eating alone make the book worth it's asking price. I am sure Mr. Jenner, the author, experienced the exact same issues I have experienced. He dug around and researched until he found the answers. Exercise hurts more when you are over 60! But he found a fix!

His program is simple, it is intended for older adults, not twenty somethings. It is comprehensive. Give the simplest exercises a chance, what do you have to lose? I find the book is more than worth the asking price.

Surreal Choice, Real Life Decision

I was five years old, going down the stairs, then out the door to meet my friends when she appeared. If I had known the word, I would have called her an apparition or illusion. How can a very tall woman, stand in the door, above the door and in the wall, and make it look normal?

I immediately knew who she was, yet I did not know who she was. She was dressed in a brown pants suit with thin, vertical, darker brown stripes and a brown hat. She had brown hair and kind of a housewife appearance, though I knew she was not a housewife. She was not someone to trifle with, if for no other reason than her sudden appearance scaring the heck out of me. To this day I do not remember her eye color or if she wore nail polish or not. She did have a purse of brown leather and brown shoes.

Her voice was stern. "Well", she said, "are you going to do it or not?" As I did not have a thought in my head other than finding some friends outside to play with, it was not obvious to my child’s mind what her question meant. I did know by the tone of her voice, that this was a very serious question and my answer should be carefully thought over.

She repeated, "Are you going to do it?" It was the most awkward thing, trying to come up with an answer when there is only fog surrounding the question and a blank for an answer. I found myself thinking back to an earlier time, before I was here, before I was born.

I was an adult somewhere standing around with a few other people,  talking about what was next for all of us. I declared I was going to create a technology that would change the world in unimaginable ways. It would be the greatest gift for mankind ever known. Someone asked if I was sure. Of course I am sure. Now, I am here in this world, a child being asked if I am sure?

I was barely enough to know that two and two equals four, and here I was being asked a question I didn't really understand. It wasn't even a thought until this moment when she asked her question. Me standing on the third stair from the floor, my descent blocked by this woman who simply appeared and blocked the way.

I knew I had to give her an answer and what ever answer I gave her was binding. In this moment I had a choice. After my answer, there would no longer be a choice. It took no more than a few seconds, but took decision making to a level that was beyond abstract for a child's mind, to put it simply.

"No", I said, "I am not going to do it."

I arrived at this answer by thinking of everything I knew about modern technology and what we (mankind) has done with it. Everything firstly had been used for the destruction of other Humans in one way or another. I was not going to be part of a perpetual world killing machine.

She stared down at me, and asked if I was sure. "No, I am not going to do it." "Very well, your life plan is erased." In an instant she was gone.

More than six decades later, I can still visualize the scene. This giant Woman standing where it was impossible to stand. Blocking my exit and demanding an answer to a question that had no meaning until that moment, when a before being born memory came flooding in from a place I could not remember being at, talking about something I did not until that moment remember.

My decision on that spring morning changed my life in ways lives are rarely changed. My life path was erased. My only direction my life was the direction I applied it to each day. It was akin to a sail boat with no rudder. I listened to other kids tell me what they were going to be when they grew up. I felt as if I only had two vague choices for my life, do good or do something else.

Now I am still at peace with my decision. I could not have lived with the guilt and horror I may have brought to this world, and the people that would have died as a result of my trying to do improve the world.

Surreal as it seems, this was an event that fashioned my life in ways I never could have imagined. I have the freedom to follow whatever life direction, randomness and chance send my way. Mine has been a difficult, frustrating yet liberating life. Made possible, by an event that perhaps did not exist.

Late Morning Funeral

I attended the funeral of a forty-two year old man. I met him first when he was about ten, on a camping trip. I saw him a few times since then, mostly in random encounters. He died a senseless meaningless death. Someone took his life from him, though it is possible he encouraged his death via his life style.

The eulogy, if eulogy is the correct word, started with pictures of a happy-go-lucky kid. It ended with a series of posed pictures that would not be shared too far away from immediate family. It was mentioned he remained happy-go-lucky throughout his life.

With the funeral in progress I gazed at what represented him now. He was inside a small pearl white box with two rosaries draped over it. On top was a black baseball cap. I do not remember the patch on it, but knew from his last pictures it was his current favorite hat. In the first rows sat immediate family members who now have him in only in their hearts. Others sat behind, relatives, friends, friends of the family.

What a senseless death it was. Preceded by what to me was a mostly invisible adult life. There was not much said in the eulogy that seemed unexpected, nor mention of what type of person he was. There was a brief mention of his having children, but little about any family life. Listening to the words of the eulogy, he seemed to have lived in a semi-vacuum. It added to my sense of loss, this man gone in the middle of his life, with so little said at the end about what he had done with his life.

I had a brief few moments speaking with one of his siblings later in the day. I wanted to express my anger and frustration over his meaningless death. I said how badly I felt for his family, now left behind, his brothers and sisters. The Sibling's response was one of the most profound comments I have ever heard.

"He lived the life he wanted to live". I immediately understood the volumes of unsaid life details and feelings which were wrapped into those few words that were not included in the eulogy. It was not important that I knew little about his adult life. It did not matter there was nothing said of what he had done with his life up to that moment.

He lived his life as wanted to. His end was apparently no surprise, possibly not even to him. It seems the happy, fun loving ten year old boy, grew up, took what life offered, and went on from there. In eight little words, I understood it did not matter what I did not know more about his life. We were not there to listen to or pass judgement on how he lived his life. We attended his funeral to validate him, nothing more, nothing less.

Life is mostly about luck. You are lucky at the right moments or you are not. Maybe he was lucky to have lived so long? Maybe he made his own version of lemonade with the lemons life gave him. I will never know. I don't need to know. I do know, no matter what he did or what people who knew him, thought about him, "he lived the life he wanted to live". I find it difficult to say there is a better way to live.

What peace there is now, to know that no matter how much I wish someone would change this or that in their life to better suit how I think they should live their life, they are indeed living the live they wish to live. I will keep this thought with me for the rest of my days. The most profound and liberating comment on life, I have heard yet.

"He lived the life he wanted to live."