Is Jimmy Stewart Alive -- I Don't Think So, But, If Not, Who Was the Man I Saw
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
by Alfred Spengly
http://www.alfredspengly.com
Remember the Little Rascals? The cute chubby cheeks of Spanky, the serenade of bubbles with which Alfalfa innocently attempted to sweep Delilah off her feet, and the comical boxing contraption built onto their go-cart? Well, when you think of the gangs in the inner city of Chicago, it's just not the same picture.
Granted, living on the north side was, for the most part, a safe and enjoyable life. But then, in-between all the pleasant life experiences a person can have in Chicago, there still exists the possibility of those potentially life-altering encounters. That one moment when you cross paths with someone you just wouldn't have chosen to meet on your own.
One night, while I was walking on the street near my home, at around 9:00 o'clock in the evening, I met two young men. It was dark, but the streetlights were on. In fact, the lights dispelled the shadows pretty well. (Let's just say it was not like that Humphrey Bogart scene where the streetlight illuminated only a circle of the ground below it.)
I was having a pleasant walk, subsequently eating a rice cake with some almond butter-just not satisfied until I finished that health-conscious source of fuel off with a mouth watering piece of cheesecake, which was available at a restaurant a couple train stops from my home. And quite often, one could see other people on the street at this time, and so it was not a shock to see these two young people ahead of me.
However, when we got close enough to each other to talk, the bigger one casually stuck a gun to my throat and said, "Come on. We are going to kill you." After which they then proceeded to escort me away from the sidewalk on the open street to the small walkway that squeezed in-between two apartment buildings that towered over our path. They were leading me into the shadow of the two buildings.
Aside from not knowing how to respond to this new experience, the eyes of my heart looked up to my heavenly Father and asked, "Am I coming home?" Still somewhat stunned, I asked my abductors if they minded if I could finished the rice cake I had been eating. Irritated at the question, they answered, "yes" in a "whatever" tone of voice. Then as we began to enter the part of the sidewalk where it met the shadow of the buildings, I suddenly noticed that the younger one was scared-and I wasn't. The Spirit of God had given me peace in this life-threatening circumstance.
Now I had heard before that one of the initiation rites to becoming a full-fledged gang member was that the one desiring to join was required to kill a person. That person appeared to be me.
The idea that it was a gang-related rite seemed to be confirmed by the fact that these two young men were not even over eighteen. In fact, one looked to be the approximate age of twelve to fifteen, and the younger one, nine to ten-the older one having a more serious tone and the younger one displaying a hesitant anxiety, as if he were being pulled along by an unwanted rope.
Anyway, just as we were getting close to the back of the buildings, a man appeared, coming from the alley behind the apartments. He was walking right towards us.
There was something very odd about this man, however. Remember, this is around 9:00 PM, and here is not only a man coming from the alley, but he was also dressed like Jimmy Stewart. That would not have been that unusual if it were the 1950s, but just before the dawn of the 21st century-this was odd. Nobody in Chicago, that I had ever seen, had ever worn a three-piece suite, much less a gray business hat. And this man was not only dressed this way, but it was also at an unusual time of the day to be dressed up at all.
That is when it really got weird for me. I began to feel like I was in a movie. Upon seeing this man, the older boy cussed and quickly pushed me to face the wall to my left. Just then, the man from the alley, as he identified what was transpiring, promptly began to stagger as if he were drunk. I looked to the rice cake in my hand, wondering what to do with it while my hands were on the wall, as the younger boy submissively search me for some loot. I turned my head to see the man in the suit, but he was nowhere in site. The older boy continued by asking me if I had any car-keys or money.
While the younger one was searching me, I also noticed that he was shaking. And as he stepped back, after completing what he was commanded to do, it seemed that, as he backed up, he was looking at me in astonishment. He had searched me with his shaky hands and found nothing, except for the fact that I was not shaking.
Defeated, the boys disappeared into the night, and so did the Jimmy Stewart look-a-like.
Was he an angel? I don't know. What I do know is: No, I did not go to my heavenly home that night, and, yes, God does have somebody out there that probably provided for me an extension to my life.
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