Who's That Guy With The Beard? (Part One)

When my grandson was 2-years-old, he told me many times that before he was born he was an angel in heaven, and he used to see my mother there all the time. When I asked him how he knew she was my mother, he answered that she told him that I was her son. To this day he talks about the times he met and spoke with her.

     When he was 3-years-old, we were on a hiking trip.
     "Lito," he asked me, calling me by a shortened version of the Spanish word for grandfather, "why do Angels have wings?"

     Just recently, on our last trip, while we were climbing a particularly tough mountain, he asked me, "Lito, do souls feel pain?"
     He must have been hurting from the climb, but he didn't complain.
     The kid's tough.
     Like me.

     That night, sleeping under the stars, he asked, "Do Angles sleep?"

     You know, that kid sure does ask a lot of questions. I answered as best and as honestly as I could. I'm not a holy roller by any means, but I do acknowledge a power in the universe greater than us.
     And I don't mean Donald Trump.
     When I emailed my brother (who, oddly enough, supports Ted Cruz, but promised his youngest daughter he would vote for Donald Trump) about my grandson's profound questions, as usual, he was no help. This is what he wrote me:

     "So when your grandson tells you that he met Mom in Heaven, do you tell him, 'It's all in your head, kid. There is no such thing as Heaven. It's all made up. In fact, there's no God, either. And you can forget about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.'

     "'But I did meet with Grandma in Heaven. She was talking to a man with a beard, but she told him to go multiply some fishes or something. She said she wanted to spend time with me before it was time for me to be born.'

     "'It's all in your head, kid. Grandma wasn't even into guys with beards.'

     "'I only knew it was Grandma because she told me she was your mother and you were her son.'

     "'Get it straight, kid. Was she my mother or was I her son? It's one or the other. You're making no sense.'

     "'I sure do miss talking with Grandma up in Heaven. It sure beats talking to you right now. By the way, why do angels have wings?'

     "'There are no such things as angels, guardian angels in particular. When you're scared late at night, remember, there's nothing and no one there to protect you. You're just a fluke of the universe.'

     "'Well, do souls feel pain?'

     "'Since there is no God and no Heaven and no angels, then you can bet your sweet bippy that there are no souls either. And, if there are no souls, then how can they feel pain? They can't. That's the point. No, kid, you're just an empty vessel hurtling through an uncaring cosmos without purpose or direction.'

     "'Do Angels sleep?'

     "'What?'

     "'Do angels sleep?'

     "'If a tree falls in the woods, and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?'

     "'Lito, what the heck are you talking about?'

     "'I'm talking about life, kid. I'm talking about what's real. I'm talking about a world where Donald Trump could be our next president.'

     "'If Donald Trump is our next president, Lito, then there is no God.'"

 

 

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