Today's MOZEN. Heaven Vs Hell: Part 1, Heaven.

Words and photo by F LoBuono

In my version of Heaven, I am dressed in simple white cotton - pants, shirt, comfortable shoes. I'm led by intuition to a door that appears seamlessly within a white wall. As I approach, the door mysteriously opens. I enter. Again, the room is pure white, almost glowing, and also seamless in its appearance. I cannot see any edges. The only thing that breaks up the formless nature of the place is a a small student's desk in the "center" and a large screen, flat panel TV on the "wall" in front of it.

I sit in the desk and instinctively look up the television. A video begins. Immediately, I notice that the video is of a set of keys that I lost on an appointment in the City many years ago. I remember losing and then frantically searching to find them. Not only did the ring contain my car keys (how was I to get to Nyack, return, AND retrieve the car?), it also had other important ones, as well. They fell off a hook on my belt while I was walking from the car to my appointment. I knew that I had lost them after walking just a few blocks - I could no longer hear them jingling. So, I immediately retraced my steps. Despite my best efforts, I never did find those keys!

Well, now, on the screen, the entire incident was being recreated as if I were in a reality show. In the video, I leave my car and start walking east, up 39th St. When I reached 8th Avenue, following the pattern of the traffic lights, I made a left to head north. About half-way up 8th, the video showed me break into a jog to keep pace with the lights. When I did so, the keys flew off my belt and fell on the sidewalk while I continued, not having noticed. The video then skipped ahead and revealed a man finding the keys, checking them out and walking into the bodega located next to where he had found them. Since he came out almost immediately, it is reasonable to assume that he brought them in the store to leave them just in case their owner returned.

It drove me crazy for years (still does, as I have still not found them!). I searched so hard to find them. It just didn't make any sense. Where could they have possibly gone? Anyway, the video continued with one incident after the other - all involving lost items that should not have BEEN lost.

There was that grey suit vest that I liked to wear from time to time. The suit that it came from was long gone but I hung on to the vest to compliment my shirt and jeans. Well, one day, after I returned from work, I was undressing to get ready for bed. I removed the vest, my shirt, jeans, etc. and folded them over a chair. I would put everything away first thing in the morning, after a good nights sleep. In the morning, when I began to do just that, I found everything BUT the vest. I looked EVERYWHERE. And, I mean everywhere - under and behind the chair, in every closet, on every clothes hook. To this day, I have no idea where that vest is. Stella's theory is that one of my friends mistook for one of their own and left with it - or, someone came in the middle of the night and stole it! Whatever happened will be known  . ALL questions will be answered. All mysteries will be revealed - in Heaven.

In Heaven, all those little (and big) things that drove you crazy because you just had no idea what the heck happened to them will be revealed. And, you will have achieved peace.

Later: Part II. HELL.