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Did Someone Call A Limo?
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As the spirits of both Light and
dark ebbed off into the late night, Michael retired for bed. Again, his
mind pondered the rather strange feelings he was left to sort out. Was
all this real? Was all this imagination? How could he possibly imagine
all this? Then there was the issue of all the strange coincidences. How
is it that thins were fitting so well together? But alas. Daily life
called and Michael had to put aside his feelings as if they were
fantasy
and move on with his "real life." Another night down in Michael's
basement found him doing what he did so often, listen to music he liked
while reading his Bible. But then again, there were those other ones
who
thought Michael needed a little more tending to.
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As Michael settled in for another night, he was listening to an old
album that he took from his collection. It was one he did no play very
often but one that seemed appropriate for this night. The song list ran
as follows: The Golden Road (To
Unlimited Devotion), Beat It On Down The Line, Good Morning, Little
School Girl, Cold Rain And Snow, Sittin' On Top Of The World, Cream
Puff
War, Morning Dew, New, New Minglewood Blues, Viola Lee Blues. By
the middle of the album, in the Cold Rain and Snow, it was apparent
that
the spirit he had come to know as his visitor in the night had
returned.
The air in the room again changed, the room became full of darkness.
There was a different sense for Michael. The atmosphere seemed somewhat
threatening. Michael was about to find out just ho threatening.
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As Morning Dew arrived, it was
clear that the air was changing. It was becoming thinner and Michael
was
having a difficult time breathing. By the time New New Minglewood Blues
began, Michael found himself gasping for breath as if someone had their
hands around his windpipe and tried to choke him to death. Michael was
a
healthy young man who rode his bicycle 50 miles per week. Even so, he
had never experienced such a shortage of breath. It was obvious that
the
spirit in the room was the cause. Between gasps for breath, from his
knees, Michael blurted out "I LOVE YOU!" to the spirit within the room.
At that very moment, his breath was restored. As the album came to an
end, Michael reached for the next selection.
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What could be more appropriate
than The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get? Old songs take on new
meaning and certainly a new feel for Michael. "Spent the last year - Rocky Mountain way
- Couldn't get much higher - Out to pasture - Think it's safe to say -
Time to open fire" and "Well
he's tellin' us this - And he's tellin' us that - Changes it ev'ry day
-
Says it doesn't matter - Bases are loaded - And Casey's at bat -
Playin'
it play by play - Time to change the batter" and "I've got a driver, you've got a car -
Maybe we could go out for a ride - Pass by the schoolyard, take a look
around - Stop and get uptight - If you're going to cry - I can remember
all the good times - Put 'em in a book of memories - Hoping that our
book will never ruin - Hoping that our book will never end" and "It's raining in the meadow - Shepherd's gone to town - Wolf has finished breakfast - No-one else around, no-one else around"
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The songs speak of freedom,
hope, a change in the players, and being alone and safety. "Looking at the good things - All around
me - Smiling at the people - That won't believe - My happy ways may
raise a question - There is no answer, except in my dreams - There is
no
way to capture the sunshine - But it is foolish to fill from the night
-
Perfection, they say, will not last forever - But I can't help feeling
someday it might." Yes, Michael, someday it might. Meadows, the
next song speaks of "Some things are
left unspoken - Some things are handme down - The circle stands
unbroken
- Sendin' it back around." Michael was receiving instruction
through film in a way and level of intensity he had never imagined. The
song had become his teacher. "Well
if you can - Try to teach them things - That they don't know, Yeah -
Give 'em a helpin' hand - Make them see the things there that don't
show - Give 'em a helpin' hand - 'Cause we're wastin' time - And no
matter what they say now - Well we don't have very long - Just a dream
away - You can come along"
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It's all about eternity. "In the end we'll see - How much of the
party we've missed already - Please tell me - In the end we'll see -
Hoping for another chance to hold onto - Forever." It's about
the
redemption in Christ Jesus that will restore us to our place with the
Father. Our place in Forever. The album end with a prayer. "Where, where are we going? - Where, where
are we now? - When will it be over? - And will we, will we make it
somehow? - Oooooh..."
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The next selection would be a
seldomly played record by Joe Walsh called Barnstorm. Michael's inner
spirit told him that this would be the path to take, the correct
response to the angel that was choking the very life out of him. The
songlist was "Here We Go, Midnight
Visitor, One and One, Giant Bohemoth, Mother Says, Birdcall Morning,
Home, I'll Tell the World, Turn to Stone, Comin' Down."
Like the Grateful Dead lyrics, these would prove to have some
prophetical quality to them as the first song begins with "I see the sun rise - Here comes the day - Where sunrise comes from - I am not knowing - I see with stained eyes - Help find my way - It all surrounds me - It is all snowing, flowing - Here we go - I hear a calling - Each one by name - And so many don't hear - They think it's the same old thing - I feel us falling - Back where we came - It all astounds me - Is it a sad thing, bad thing? - I don't know - Oh no."
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The next song goes on to say "We were visited last evening - By a
servant of the day - He had travelled miles on horseback - To scout his
master's way." Then comes the advice from Mother Says. The song
goes "Mother says, "Be careful" - And don't stay out too long - Don't do things you shouldn't - Miss me when I'm gone - Daddy says, "Not now son" - Well just do the best you can - And you'll make out somehow son - Be just like I am, just like I am - You won't need a reason - She don't let you choose - And so, to make the game easy - Mother makes the rules - We all know how the rules are - Changin' from day to day - That's the breaks, and I'm sorry - Some of us must be going - Some of us have to stay - Some of us may be showing - Some just fade away - It's sad to say it's the ending - All the feelin's gone - If you don't mind pretending - You can come along - And mother says she's ready - And if you have the time - She'll help us all to get steady - Make us all feel better, make us all
feel fine - Make us all feel
better, make us all feel fine."
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A strangely prophetic song as
Michael felt the hand of the Father on him saying "be just like I am,
just like I am." It was another powerful moment for Michael. He broke
out in tears of joy. Birdcall and Home remind Michael that the morning
isn't far off and his longing to be home with his Brother Jesus Christ
and his Father, the Lord God. Like the song, Michael was longing to "pass the test."
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Then the next song plays out as
if to tell the spirit in the room "Time
won't bring back, all the time, going back - So just for the moment -
Let your heart, let it fly away - And I'll tell the world about you -
In
all of my dreams." Then the song that marks time, Turn to Stone.
It speaks of "Pages of your book on
fire - Read the writing - On the wall" and "Well there's a change in the wind - You
know the signs don't lie - Such a strange feelin' - And I don't know
why
it's takin' - Such a long time."
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The album ends with Coming Down.
A song that Michael envisions the Christ himself speaking to the spirit
in the room as it goes on to say "Comin'
down, comin' round, to see you - To see if maybe you know who I am -
Comin' down, comin' round, to see you - Me again - I'm comin' down,
comin' round, to see you - To see if maybe you know who I am - Comin'
down, comin' round, to see you - Me again." Tears ran down
Michael's face as he reached for the next record to play.
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But Seriously Folks, "It's all about the same thing -
Underneath the disguise - Just like they say - If you're looking for
answers - Open your eyes - And sooner or later - It's easy to see -
Just
a matter of time till it shows - Like keeping a secret - Ev'ryone knows
- Over and Over" Michael, again, wept as he had a vision of
Christ
hanging on the cross. Just like they say, if you are looking for
answers, open your eyes. It was all Michael could see. The next song
speaks again to that angel that seems to be drawn to Michael. It says "And so you keep on following directions
until - Pretty soon you're passed it - Guess you shoulda known better,
and still - It was fun while it lasted - You end up sittin' in a second
hand store - On display in a window - Wind up sittin' in the bottom of
a
drawer" The song seemed to point out how the spirit cannot find
true love or happiness.
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Indian Summer gives way to At
The Station "I was standin' at the
station - Out at the end of the line - Feelin' mad, just a bit
impatient
- And I wish that you would make up my mind - Yes I was out there on
the
platform - Pay phone keeps eatin' my dimes - And I still don't have an
answer - And the train's leavin' right on time - I'm fallin' down - I'm
fallin' down - Standin' at the station - Won the battle - Here I am,
standin' at the station - Like a gen'ral just relieved of command - I'm
fallin' down - I'm fallin' down" It was exactly how Michael felt
at that moment. Like he had been through a great war and was finally
relieved of the responsiblity. Yet, Michael felt a strong love for this
Angel who had shown such a keen interest in him. The next few songs
give way to the tremendous finale.
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I
have a mansion forget the price - Ain't never been there they tell me
it's nice - I live in hotels tear out the walls - I have accountants
pay
for it all - They say I'm crazy but I have a good time - I'm just
looking for clues at the scene of the crime - Life's been good to me so
far - My Maserati does 185 - I lost my license now I don't drive - I
have a limo ride in the back - I lock the doors in case I'm attacked -
I'm making records my fans they can't wait - They write me letters tell
me I'm great - So I got me an office gold records on the wall - Just
leave a message maybe I'll call - Lucky I'm sane after all I've been
through - Everybody says I'm cool (He's cool) - I can't complain but
sometimes I still do - Life's been good to me so far - I go to parties
sometimes until four - It's hard to leave when you can't find the door
-
It's tough to handle this fortune and fame - Everybody's so different I
haven't changed - They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time -
Everybody
says Oh yeah (Oh yeah) - I keep on going guess I'll never know why -
Life's been good to me so far" Michael laughs uncontrollably at
all the ironies of the song. Where to go from here. Surely there was
more to experience this night.
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