The Legendary Gabriel

Amorella here. This is an early autumn photograph of a quite serene Gabriel in a quite serene and dignified place, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati. The raising of the trumpet, and ancient symbol of the call Homeward.

What this photo reminds orndorff of is a 1960 episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone titled, “A Passage for Trumpet” starring Jack Klugman and John Anderson. Richard remembers the episode but not the details which have been quickly provided by Google.

A quick history here. Orndorff wanted to take a class from Serling when he was teaching at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, but he never had the chance. One of his teacher’s at Otterbein suggested he spend a summer at the Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury College in Vermont but he didn’t have the economic opportunity, so later, he made me up instead. And, I made up ‘the other side’.

I thought since he liked the humor of turning a person inside out by showing the unconscious mind first I would continue it through the process of showing up in a two-dimensional sort of place dead. Length and width with no depth. A stretched heartansoulanmind – this is funny. Alone and laid out flat to dry, so to speak. It sound cruel, but then so does the birth process. Besides, after an individual gets to understand herorhimself better sheorhe is more comfortable with old friends and family who are there to Meet and Greet.

Now, in my story, individuals can stay in their comfort zone as long as they wish, but most want to move on. Moving on means more Meets and Greets. The whole species is there so what else is there to do? Besides, being human is, in part, being social, at least with a few others. People can’t define themselves alone. They have to have comparisons and contrasts. Attractions of personality still attract and people are interesting and there is plenty of time, as it were, to listen to each other’s stories about how life was and why, at least from their own standpoints. The individual human spirit still grows. Self-learning still takes place. Compassion, sympathy and consideration are what a human being is and the three aspects are what sheorhe continues to be. Simply put, that’s it.

You didn’t mention “HeavenOrHellBothOrNeither” which is in the books.

That’s a subset of being laid out to dry. Honestly working out one’s life can be the variety of HeavenOrHellBothOrNeither. Individuals still have their Free Will to do what they want relative to the existential conditions they find themselves in. What else would one realistically expect?

This post death concept doesn’t come out in the books. I don’t know whether I like this idea, Amorella.

That’s tough, orndorff. I thought you would find some humor in it.

Some of the concept is flat out funny, but it doesn’t seem fair to leave it all up to the individual.

That’s what friends and sometimes family are for. Although this is not mentioned as such in the books, it does fit in the criteria of the three volumes.

I really wasn’t expecting this.

Famous post death last words, so to speak. Fortunately in my sense of the books your humor goes with you. Humor and friends help, just as they help the living. In here people are built to adapt for a reason.

Enough on this topic. Very unexpected, Amorella. This is somewhat embarrassing.

Embarrassment is not the topic for tomorrow. Let’s go with ‘humor’ as the topic.

It is not funny to discuss humor.

Cheer up, orndorff. This is not a college class. It costs nothing. You are too set in your ways, too stogy. I think you are just upset because I didn’t write what you thought I was going to write. Too bad. Live with it, kid. – Amorella.