Time Tunnel - History Lessons
Chapter 1 - Stepping Back in Personal Time
By Toni Walker • tonispywriter@gmail.com
“Moon mission,” yell Stee’s girl’s from the Heavenly portal.
If I look up, off to the right, up in the sky, I see my Irish angel MarkATT whom you can see at anytime on UCMRight internet TV. Mark is watching over Stee’s adopted kids while also tending to the brood of his own.
Mark laughs at me. He is always smiling. Love to have friends that smile so much that you can tell their life is just filled with joy. He says, “Top of the mornin’ to you.”
“Hello to you too,” I smile back at him. The man is super busy keeping the content rolling on his UCMR channel. Our friend, Steve, lovingly called Stee the Helping Hand, is doing all his Christmas fulfillment along with all his other helper elves, many of whom are famous CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) stars just like he is.
“So, I hear you’re going on a moon mission,” he says.
“Yep. Going on a secret mission to uncover hidden truth. I am currently trying to find a time tunnel in the Sentinel. I was going to use the one on the roof but some dork ran away with it.”
“Dork? That his proper name or just a nickname?”
“He’s been gaslighting me for nine months, so I think it has been elevated to proper name status.” You can see that I am purposely not telling you who this person is for reasons that may come up in future episodes.
“So, what are your plans?” Mark asks. “You using your real name or an alias?”
I shrug. “I figure no one is going to believe I am ToeKnee McFee from the Land of Plenty. The thing hasn’t completely manifested yet. So, who would believe me? I am going with an Alias.”
“Back to Faith then?”
“Nope. Trying something new. Cassandra Kain. I had a past life as an oracle who no one believed her insights or prophecies. Thought it might fit.”
“And the last name Kain… that for your brother’s character?”
“Nope. Actually, I have been getting lots of controversial bible insights One is that Able was the bad son, the bully, sound it out… A - Bull. And Cain was the sweet one. You know, sugar cane is sweet. I am seeing the name Kain kind of like I do the name Arthurs. Arthurs are of high moral character, worthy to lead like King Arthur. Kains are where the line of goodness starts. Those who resonate with this line will be deemed Kains. Kind of a convoluted explanation but it works for me.”
“Sounds good. I gotta go. But before I leave, the girls are questioning where in history you are going,” Mark asked, shushing the girls so he could hear me.
“I’m thinking I have something to learn first so I may jump back to my own past first. Wish me luck. I really don’t know what I am doing here. God says go, so here I go. Off on a history hunt. Or maybe just off to see the wizard, not really sure.” I smile and wave.
“Safe travels, ToeKnee.”
The Looney Tunes screen closes on the portal and I am standing alone in the Sentinel wondering where to start looking for the time tunnel.
***
As I walk to halls of the Sentinel, I am reminded of the many things that had happened there in the past. I am one of those employees who left and then came back years later. My first stint was when I was a kid and fresh out of college in my twenties. I had gone to SIU-E then came back and worked for awhile here and at the Illinois Theatre. Later, I decided my career path and it took me to SIU-C a little south from here.
God is tapping me on the shoulder asking me to tell you about my recent heartache. Not sure why. I have two whole stories about it called Codename Pallas and AKA Deacon. So, basically, I fell for this guy. He wasn’t available and I wasn’t willing to compromise my morals. I just observed him from afar. With my insights and the pendulum board, I got to know a lot about his true character. The pendulum board tended to speak to his subconscious mind, so you can just imagine the type of stuff would get. Sometimes being a necromancer can give you brain freeze. I would take it all too personally and then cry my eyes out. I should have learned to just put that board away, but I am too curious by nature, I guess. I think I just did it to myself, really. I took the board at its word and it tried to crush my spirit.
Basically the guy wasn’t who I thought he was. I could only see his true potential and discounted the board stuff a day or so after it hurt my feelings. I know, glutton for punishment. You don’t need to ream me, I have screamed at myself over the last nine months. Currently, I am standing here wondering if there is really a guy out there for me. My insights tell me yes, wait on God to reveal it. I sigh. Again I wait.
As I look at the photos on the Newspaper’s walls, I am reminded of a time in my past when things didn’t seem so stressful or demanding. I see a picture of Harry. He was the photographer back then. Now people use their cell phones but he had all the cool photo gear any true picture taker would drool over. He looked more like a laid back surfer dude than a hometown Jimmy Olsen. The guy had that sun kissed hair that looked like he had come straight from the surf while humming his favorite Grateful Dead song to himself.
He had a co-hort, Wade Osborne, who came in a little befords the end of my first stint at the NewsPapery. He was quite a one-eighty from Harry. This guy was the negative image to Harry’s positive. Don’t misunderstand me. Harry was blond and Wade was dark haired. Wade looked like he had walked straight out of a 1940’s noir film including the fedora hat. I kid you not. The two of them were just fun to be around. It made my time back then pretty enjoyable.
As I slip into the server room, I notice a photo sticking out from underneath the cabinet with all the microfilm. I think our ace sports reporter Dean Rand is the only person who can actually run the microfilm machine. No lie. The guy has been here forever. A true lifer.
Surprisingly, the photo is of me, my brother-n-law G. Scott Webb, and a guy I can’t seem to recall standing between Wade and Harry. I am not sure how I’ve misplaced the name of this guy in my mind but he does remind me a bit of someone I’ve seen recently around town. He is definitely someone I can see myself getting to know.
Before I put the photo down, I’m suddenly literally energetically pulled into the picture and then my whole world goes black.
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