Lucky To Be Alive

Lucky To Be Alive

By Paul McCann

Lying on the corner was a dirty unshavewn man with a bottle of Vodka in his hand . As people stepped over him he hurled abuse at them .

He seemed a little upset . He seemed a bit psychotic.
He seemed manic . He got to his feet and looked at me .
I turned away and looked into the shop window and pretended not to see him .

London night-lights sparkled in the shop windows reflection and I wished I was anywhere instead of in a doorway with the noise of the traffic thundering through my ears . I had been walking around the city most of the day and now as the streets were not as busy it was time to settle down in a Regent Street doorway .

As I rolled myself into a ball I heard the sound of his feet shuffling across towards me . It made me feel very uneasy .

I felt his breath on my neck and found it very hard not to push him away .
As I turned around he said ,
“Have you heard of heaven Guv ?”

Then he poured some vodka down his throat and offered me a drink .
I resisted at first until he convinced me to have a drink .

I took a drink from the bottle and said ,
“ Yes I know of heaven . It’s a long way from here though .”

The vodka felt made me feel safe and warm. I felt a little relieved.

“ Follow me .“
He said as he crossed the road and led me to a tv rental place .
In the shop window were some TV sets that had been left switched on .
He sat down and invited me to join him .

He handed me another drink from his bottle .

I smiled and said ,“ Are you going to heaven ?”

He smiled and walked over to a back alley .
In a few moments he returned with a few blankets and said ,

“Here take these .“

All of a sudden his appearance changed . His face seemed kind .
There was something warm and friendly about him and I said ,
“ You know when I first saw you I though you were a little dangerous looking .
Please forgive me for reading you wrong .”

“ Peace “
He said .

“Suddenly I felt very tired and I lay down in the doorway with the blanket around me . It was like I had died and gone to heaven. I slept soundly almost in a state of unconsciousness .
When I awoke in the morning the TV sets were still on and the stranger handed me a cup of warm tea. I sat up and drank it down as he spoke.

“ First thing is we’ll have to get you some decent clothes. There is a place I know who can help. They are a rich community who have a Church near the Elephant and Castle. So we’ll head off there today..”

“Thanks .“ I said .

“No problem . Hey we‘re going to heaven . Aren’t we ?

“Yes my friend . We will be playing with the stars one day . Right ?”

He laughed and his voice changed .
I couldn’t understand what he was saying . His language was strange but his
voice made me feel safe and happy .

I felt a pair of hands lift me up from the ground .
Two men placed me inside the back of their ambulance .

One of them said , “He’s got a pulse .“

The other said . “I thought he was dead .“

“Some people are just lucky I guess .”
Came the reply .

Just before the doors of the ambulance were closed I caught the sight of a man at the door . He reached out his hand and waved goodbye . The he took out a comb and ran it through his beard and disappeared before my eyes .

One of the medics sat beside me in the back all the way to the hospital .
Before we arrived he handed me a card with a prayer on it and said ,

“Say this every day and you will be ok ” .
I took the prayer card and put it in my pocket . I then asked him what had happened .

“We found you lying on the ground near the front door a church with
no pulse and your lips turned blue . We did all we could and almost had given up when suddenly you came too .“

I nodded and he continued ,

“It was very cold tonight . Looked as if you had suffered hypothermia .
We got a call from some one who had found you and the rest is on the way .”

From inside the ambulance I watched red telephones boxes pass by and
Thought if only I could call that person who made that call for me .
I saw street signs with the words Borough of London and wondered if heavne had streets with signs . I looked at the world for a moment through a different perspective . They were rubbish bins and seats and bridges and buildings and everything was making a lot of sense .
I realised that my life was given back to me .

The next thing I remember was being taken from the ambulance into the hospital . In the hospital I was taken to a lift and in the lift was another trolley bed with a man who had his head covered .
One of doctors there in the lift said ,

“ This one was killed in a car accident tonight . I know the place were the car crashed . I drive that way every night .“

As the lift door opened up I saw that man again .
He stood there combing his beard and placed his hand on the dead mans shoulders .

My trolley was wheeled into a ward and the other trolley went towards another part of the hospital .
I was given a set of pyjamas and placed in a bed . I asked for the prayer card and before I went to sleep I said that prayer . To my surprise the face of the man on the prayer card was exactly the same as the man I had seen combing his beard .

That night I became a Christian .
Some people who know me now say I had come back .
Maybe there was something here for me still to do .
I thank God every day for my life and I know in my heart that someday I will be going to heaven .

Now I work with a group of people who provide free cups of soup for the homeless around London . I could never had imagined there were so many people out there on park benches and in doorways until the day I started to help out feed and care for them .
Suddenly I discovered heaven is also in the here and now .
It doesn’t take too long and then we will be there forever .

The End

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