So this guy who has been totally despondent about how his life has turned out decides to jump to his death from a small city’s tallest building. He’d led a pretty dull life and wanted to do something dramatic to end it, make a big show of his suicide. An overdose in his bedroom all alone and being discovered a few days later his decaying body stinking up the joint was not what he wanted. Probably this guy didn’t consider the fact that by jumping — this was in the middle of the day — downtown he might land on someone and kill them. Hell, maybe he did consider and thought, what the fuck, so I take another person out. He’s also thinking maybe someone will have the presence of mind to take a photo of him while he’s falling. Ya know so his picture will make the papers and sort of make up for his years of anonymity. Anyway the day comes and he’s clearly not going to lose his nerve. He’s been a failure at everything he’s tried and his love life has mostly been for shit. He wants it all over with. Well, he gets to the top floor where he knows there’s an empty office ‘cause he’s scouted the place. He opens this large window and decides, what the fuck I’m gonna take a running jump and leap out of the window, that’ll really make for a show. First time he slips on a piece of paper that’s on the floor. He thinks, well that’s typical of my life, I even screw up trying to off myself. But undaunted he goes again. This time making sure there’s no paper on the floor. He gets a good head of steam and leaps out the window. He clears the window by several feet so that when he lands it’ll maybe be in the street or at least the curb. But here’s the thing, he’s midair about to start his descent, so to speak, when it occurs to him he must look like an idiot hanging for a millisecond in mid air about to fall to his death. Maybe, I didn’t think this through, he thinks. But of course it’s too late for him to, let’s say, change course. So he spends his last seconds as a sentient being feeling embarrassed — which kind of sums up the poor sap’s life.
Hold on, Bob, how can you possibly know all this? You’re trying to tell me what this guy was thinking in his last seconds of life. Was any of this true?
It’s all true. Every word of it.
You would have had to have been there in the room he jumped from to know that he slipped before making it out the window. Not to mention the fact that you claim to know his thoughts just before dying.
I’m sure of them.
How?
It was me.
Bob, evidently you’re not aware of this but you happen to be very much alive.
This is my story from a past life. I jumped to my death on October 22, 1936.
You seriously expect me to accept that you believe in reincarnation and that you remember events from a past life?
Yup.
How do you come by this….knowledge, of a past life? I’ve known you for what, fifteen, sixteen years and you’ve never mentioned anything of this sort before.
Good question. I was looking through old newspapers on line to see if I could find information on my parents who grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio when I happened upon this front page story of someone jumping to his death from a downtown building. There was a photo of him in mid fall taken from not too far away. I was curious so I read the story and it all came back to me like it happened yesterday. I knew for certain I was that guy. I’d never for a second believed or even much thought about reincarnation until that moment. Then I read everything I could find about this guy’s life, which wasn’t much because he was a nobody. It was all familiar. I found a copy of his high school year book in the library. I knew his nickname and interests before even looking. I could tell you details about some of his classmates including which one were his friends. I was this guy. I know it with every fiber of my being. I know his life from a to zed.
Unbelievable. And you say you have no doubts about this.
None. I’m certain. Look, I don’t blame you for being skeptical. I wouldn’t have believed it myself before I saw this guy’s story but —-
What was his — or should I say, your —name?
Henry Kermit. He was born on the second day of the 20th century, January 2, 1900. Worked a variety of his jobs but mostly, up until his death, as a data entry clerk for the biggest company in town.
Sounds boring.
It was. Remember I was this guy. I was Henry Kermit. A real loser. I got no breaks in life. Pretty ordinary looking fellow who had no luck with women.
It must be depressing as hell to remember his, or your, past life.
Yeah, it kind of is. You know me, I’m a pretty confident guy. Don’t let things get me down. I’ve always done really well with the ladies and of course I’m engaged now. In many ways I’m the opposite of this former self. But interestingly we both played high school baseball and both are Civil War buffs. I’m thinking maybe in another life old Henry and I were Civil War vets or maybe we died in the war. Who knows?
This is an amazing story, Bob. You gonna try to find out other past lives you mighta had?
I would but I’ve no idea where to look. Maybe I’ll look into it. I just picked up a book on reincarnation, maybe that’ll give me a clue where to start.
This Henry Kermit, did he have any sort of success in life? Any happiness?
Like I said he played high school baseball and one game he hit a two-run homer in the last inning with two outs to win his high school a game against their rivals, Taft High. He was hero for the day. May 4, 1917. That was the only other time I could find his picture in the paper. He had this incredibly broad grin on his face. He was quoted in the paper and everything. It might have been the highlight of his life.
You told anyone else this?
Nope. Not even Marcy. I thought I’d run it all by you first before I spring it on anyone else. I’m sure most people will think I’m nuts.
Maybe not that you’re nuts but people are going to have their doubts.
Do you? Do you have doubts?
I need to think about it. Suffice to say that I’m both intrigued and skeptical.
I understand.
You feel bad for this guy? Or should I say you feel bad for your former self?
Terrible. That’s the one bad thing about this, I mean thinking I went through all this — despair enough to off myself.
That sucks.
I suppose I’ll get over it. There was an initial shock. Eventually it’ll be part of my life.
Thanks for sharing this with me.
Thank you for listening and not immediately dismissing it. I feel better for having shared it with someone.
It’s a helluva story, I’ll grant you that.
Too bad I wasn’t more interesting in that life but then I’m enjoying this one so there’s that.
You got plenty of blessings to count my friend.
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