Bats Up

 Life is unpredictable, it's just about as interesting as it can get. Your imagination can really take you a long way, but there are certain things that happen in life that your mind cannot think of happening until the moment comes.

     


 I had to be about 12 years old when my life would change...forever,

     

*after watching The Lion King.*

  "Oh man!! Mom, are there really coyotes out there"- I ask,

 Mom: "coyotes? dont be silly, there out in the dessert, far away"

Being a little skeptical "Are you sure?? I'm looking that up."
                      *stubbornly runs down to the basement to find out the truth"
   


  Basement, 8:39 P.m    
      Where the story truly begins
It was a dark, still night.

  "Richie, do you mind if I use the computer?" I ask my older brother,

 "Yea, why the heck are you asking me?" Sarcastically remarking while playing the Ps2.

 I'm looking up stuff about coyotes.
*Reading about coyotes*

"Coyotes dig holes to sleep in and to protect their newborn pups" I read aloud.

"I Dont Care" States my brother, Richie


"Random coyote attacks man and -------
     *Suddenly*

*crrrrreeeeeeek*
Door, next to computer leading into next room, opens suddenly

At the time I believed in Ghost,.. *Heart starts pounding*

     I looked down of what could of possibly could of opened door. I looked down...

*At the blink of an eye*



*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*" screaming at the top of my lungs*


*Runs upstairs passing mother & little sister*

"WHATS WRONG?!?!?" - My mom, Frantically yelling,

I couldn't stop screaming, even stop to speak.
Suddenly, My mom and Little sister are right on my trail screaming too, having no idea what is going on

*Runs upstairs into my parents room, furthest room away from the basement*

I left Richie, at this point I knew he was a goner,

*Trying to catch my breath*
 "What is wrong?!?!? Why are you screaming at the top of your lungs?!?!?!" As My mom is shaking me.

I had an anxiety attack.

"The....Theres.... There's a."
"There's a what?!?!?!, I'M CALLING THE POLICE"
"THERE'S A BAT"

".....A bat? are you kidding me?" * My mom says as she lets out a little sigh of relief

 "Mathew, dont you ever yell like that, I thought there was a robber who broke in"

That's when the realization of having to catch the bat set in.

"What do we do now" says Bethany, My little sister.

     *Mom grabs phone dials Husband"

"Rich, I know you're working, but there's an emergency can you get off early"

   Meanwhile my dad, listening is having the worst possibly thoughts go through his head

"...What's wrong?" Replied

 "There's a bat in the house and we dont know how to catch it"

You just have to wait til get home, lock the doors.
 
   Luck was on our-side, the bat actually broke it's wings.

*2 hours later*

-dad walks in with 2 tennis rackets in his hand-

None of us questioned where he got the tennis rackets, at this point it has now become a mission.

We struggle to catch the bat, it is hopping around hopelessly trying to get away, My dad catches it.

Finally!!!!! we all shouted and cheered
"It cant fly...What should we do with him, we cant just throw it in our backward, it will be stuck there.

  .........

So we all made a decision, we go in the backyard and throw the bat over the fence, guarded by 4x4s into the neighbors backyard, who will soon to have a certain surprise when they go outside.

 Ever since, we continued with our lives. Things weren't the same for a little bit,and that's the beauty of life, things shouldn't always be predictable and like clockwork. Don't expect things to always have the same output, Life is a game of poker, and each day we're dealt a different hand. You decide whether to fold or not.

The Story of John Brown.

 The Story of the man John Brown is truly a legendary one. My sister had to conduct a social experiment, either to inform people who are not socially aware of people who are homeless, or to interview a homeless man and find out his story.

   Now, We could "Inform people about homelessness" but honestly, Is there really anybody misinformed about homelessness? What's there to inform people about?  Also, how could I ever turn down an opportunity to interview a man about the story of his life? 

   

    It was such a nice day, and we were looking for a man who was homeless to interview. Now for me and my little sister, This just was not one of the easiest of approaches. You cannot just walk up to a man and start asking questions of how he became homeless, when they aren't. That awkwardness was one that we were trying to avoid.

It was one of the nicest days and we were walking in the inner harbor, near the World Trade Center of Baltimore. Not one homeless man was in sight, This was very unusual.It was 65-70 degrees outside and we have been walking for at least 20-30 mins with no sight of one homeless person of any sort. So, jokingly I yelled out. "Not one homeless person?!? What is this?" Sure, that wasn't the most professional ways of finding one, but I needed some answers. Right after I yelled that, A man to the right of us approached us, in an unsettling way, he asked "excuse me, are you two looking for a homeless man' "Across the street, sitting on that ledge- there's a man in an army coat, he's there almost everyday I am walking in this area." "Thank You" we replied.

We start to walk towards the man, We scope him out like the Terminator did to Sarah Connor, Each step we took was uneasy to my stomach- I felt butterflies in my stomach. Something could go terribly wrong..I thought in the back of my mind. Before we cross the street, I look at my sister, She hesitates to do it. We didn't know what to ask. The depth of the situation started to lie on us the closer we got. So the road right before we approach this man, I look at my sister and say "Well to get to the top of the staircase we have to step up." There was a quote by my favorite Journalist, Hunter S. Thompson that tends to creep up on me in scenarios like this. "Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing."

Finally, it took us about 20 mins to cross two streets to approach this man because of the fear and anticipation of what to say. At this point, anything is possible- We have no idea of the capabilities of this man, but for a Social Experiment at The Community College Of Baltimore County of Essex We were willing to find out.
"do you guys have any change" we stand there. Frozen at Sight. about two seconds later I reply: "Hello sir, we are conducting a social experiment about, Similar to the People of New York, to find out about Homelessness and your story."
  "Oh, Boy do I have a story for you"
 "we'll we would like to conduct an interview with you"
      "well, what do I get out of this"
"We will treat you to lunch where you please"
 "ok ,deal"
 We take this man to eat at 5 guys burgers and fries and we eat, then, we go right outside to begin this interview.

     John Brown is the mans name. Now this man's story is impeccable. He was wearing an army coat.

 "So, you have an Army coat on, where you in the army?"
 "Oh, this? This coat is my fathers..He was killed"

      "What happened to your father? How was he killed?" 

  Now this may of seemed like a dumb question at the time, we thought he was killed while he was in the army overseas somewhere. Surprisingly, and Tragically he was not. Being Murdered is already a heinous act, but the story behind of what really happened is worse than being murdered by a stranger.

"Well, I was 9 years old, and I was sitting on my couch. Watching television, As usual, but something seemed odd about that night- Something seemed to stick out, The mood was different. My parents were violently arguing, A few minutes later they stopped. My mother walks up to me. She told me to stay seated.
    She goes into her room
  I was very suspicious of what she said to me, but I was only 9 years old at the time, so I didnt think anything of it.
      Then she walks back into the kitchen
      " 

*SHOT* *SHOT*

   {Gunfire shot in the back}

Tears start falling down on his face as he continues to tell this story. It was uneasy to speak after hearing such a tragic story, of a Fallen Soldier, A Father, Husband killed, Shot in the back by somebody he thought he could trust..

  "What happened to your mother"
  She is now in jail for life.

My Greedy Aunt adopted me right after everything.
 I helped her business which took care of elephants for the circus

 Incredible, I thought
  Elephants?!? that's amazing
 "Yeah we trained Elephants from Kairo, Egypt- They're the less aggressive elephants,:

He later continued to tell stories how they would go to elephants and paint their tusk to prevent Poaching, Where Elephants are killed just so theyre tusk are sold at a high price.

 John Brown would help prevent that, just by defecting the price by painting the tusk a dull pink.

We went from place to place, Rich houses all over the world, We even met Ralph Lauren.

Astounding, I was truly touched.

  "What have you ever dreamed about doing, what have you always wanted to be"

"A Mortician, but my Aunt always controlled me, and told me how to think, she only used me to better herself"  my aunt got very sick and passed away; she gave her will away, and I had nothing else after that"

"After that I've been traveling and surviving taking it day by day, All I need is my phone and My knife"

  He continued to explain how bad it really is out here:
  "You two should stay safe, It's getting really bad out here. There are these kids going around and just lighting people on fire, because they believe people should be condemned"
  "Is there anything you would like to tell the world, John Brown?"

"Only a Fool, approaches tomorrow with the thought of yesterday."
 
  "Thank you for your time" We said our goodbye's and that was the last we saw of John Brown. When I woke up that day, the last thing on my mind is that I would be spiritually touched by hearing a story of a Homeless man, Who in many ways is a hero who deserves to have his story be heard. Ever since that day I think of John Brown, and keep pushing forward for his courage of not giving up and seeing where life takes him. God Bless.