Near Death

The man in the van had a near death experience last night. Maybe it was brought on by the hibiscus/cannabis tea that he drank...maybe not. But he is born again and he wants to share his experience with the world.

1. We all write our own stories. The Man in the Van was near death and he was freaking out...he was going to die...in a van...alone...broke...with Mexicans selling stolen bikes on the street...the smell of dry cleaning wafting through the holes in the side of the van wall. He looked around and took an inventory of his life. What did it all mean. What did the man in the van's life add up to? He realized that he had constructed his own coffin. The van was his coffin and he had decorated it like the vikings, with artifacts that would help him in the afterlife. A Guitar, records, some clothes, some sheet music. But the details are very telling. For instance, the 8 record jackets that the man in the van has screwed to the top of the van are just memorabilia in the day, but last night, in the dim light of the streetlamps shining through the curtains, and the car lights bouncing off the ceiling, and the police lights doing their thing...the record covers all joined to look like the hand of Jesus reaching down, offering his comfort. Was it a sign? Definitely. The Man in the Van needs to wake up, hold onto the hand of Jesus.

2. All signs are important. The Man in the van has been ignoring the signs around him. This will all be gone one day. The man in the van will turn to dust and so will his van. All the petty details of his life, the small debts and grievances he has, the people who owe him money, the indiscretions, the police run ins, the lies and the pain. What do these mean? What do they add up to. The Man in the Van fought through the night to stay alive. But the hand reached out to him.

3. We all know when we are going to die. We can ignore the signs but we know they are signs. We can deny the ultimate passage is waiting, the hand reaching down, the unavoidable end, but it's still there. These dozens of people who died in the train crash. The others who die in bombings. One day, that has to be you. You have to die with the rest of the meek. It may come as a surprise or as though you were meeting a doctor for a consultation. When the time comes it will be peaceful because you make amends with the world. The rough corners are no longer a problem. You take nothing and what you leave behind is free to be judged or forgotten.

The Man in the Van will make a video tribute to his van and describe the intimate details of his possessions. Perhaps it is not for him to decide what these artifacts mean. He can look at the parallel lines Blondie album cover and think it was chance that brought it to his van, but it was destiny. Do not judge the man in the van lest ye be judged.