Be careful what you wish for!

September 14, 2020

The annual reunion was over. It had been 50 years and still old high school friends came to hang out and enjoy reminiscing or just catching up. Over the years the crowd got smaller and some would joke that one day one person was going to show up with a pack of hot dogs and forget why they were even there.

The “crew” as they called themselves, Carl, Bob, Tommy, Bill, and Pat sat at a picnic table, the sun setting at their backs. It had been a prefect September day but the chill of fall nights was upon them as they complained about their aches and pains, and their lousy lot in life. They’d all lost their wives in the last few years and were bitter about life alone.

The conversation always got around to wishing they could do it all over again, be 18 again with all the knowledge of their 70 years. How God had screwed them over. Others had health, wealth, and intact families. What did they have? Dead wives and declining health! Tommy poured another shot of Jack and said, “You know what, I think? I think God just plays with us and gets great joy from all the suffering he lays on us, that’s what I think and I’d tell him so if he were here! I’m not afraid of him!”

At that moment around the corner of the pavilion, a man appeared. “Here comes the guy from the town to check the pavilion and take the trash.”, Carl said, “Maybe he’ll take the key and save me a trip tomorrow.” The man walked up to the table and said, “You guys sound like you don’t like livin too much.” The man was tall, older, and looked a bit frail. “You should be thankful you’re alive!”, the man said. Carl looked irritated, still trying to figure out how the old man heard them, and responded, “You know what, get to checking out the building and mind your business or I’ll get ahold of your boss tomorrow!” “My boss?”, the man said with a chuckle. “What’s so funny !?”, Carl snapped back. Calmly the man said, “My boss doesn’t answer to you.” “What’s his name!” Carl shouted as he rose up from the bench. The man looked intensely at Carl, as if he was looking right into his soul. Again, calmly, the man said, “My boss has many names, none of which you are familiar with. He is the Alpha and Omega. You gentlemen should be careful what you wish for" His gaze shifted slowly and locked onto Tommy with the same soul-penetrating intensity, and with a firmer, almost threatening tone he said, "And who you intend to spar with Tommy!".

Carl, now really irritated stood up and said loudly, “What kind of name is Alpha and Omega? Get the hell out of here!” Bill, now actually scared asked Carl to calm down. Bill’s grandfather was a minister and he knew who the Alpha and Omega was. This guy was claiming his boss was God. Bill knew in his heart that the man was likely an angel and that their constant complaining and cursing of God had been called out. The man said as he walked away, “So you want to be 18 again do you? Be careful what you wish for. You should be thankful for what you have.”

The crew left shortly after the man left. “He never checked the building.”, Pat said, and with that they said their goodbyes and headed home.

Carl was the first to wake up the next day, the sun shining through is closed eyes. He opened one eye and saw a window, one that looked familiar. “I’m dreaming”, he said to himself and pulled the covers over his head. An instant later he sprang up. He was looking at the window in the bedroom of the house he grew up in! He was in his bedroom in Amherst, NY! This could still be a dream! It has to be! Carl turned his head slowly to the left. His desk, his ham radio set, all there. The calendar over his desk was from September 1972 and the dates were crossed out up to the 13th. He suddenly realized this wasn’t a dream and it was September 14, 1972, and he was back, he was 18 again.

The voice of his mother and grandmother talking down in the kitchen startled him. He had not heard them for 35 years or more. He started to cry and he cried for what seemed to be an hour. How would he come face to face with them and stay calm. He wanted to run down there and hug them and tell them what was happening but they’d think he was crazy. He got up from his bed and walked to the bathroom at the end of the hall. His sister was coming out of the bathroom, she was 12 then. She snarled at him. He’d forgotten they didn’t get along then. He just laughed. If she only knew! He looked in the mirror, “YES, I’m back!!!” He rushed back to his room, got dressed, grabbed the keys to his Camaro and ran out of the house saying a quick goodbye to his mom and grandma. The goodbye was followed by tears but he was in the car and backing out of the driveway before his mother came to the door looking puzzled. He could hardly see to drive down the road.

Carl pulled into Pat’s driveway. Pat was sitting on the fender of his GTO, the big block Chevy engine dangling from the engine hoist. He remembered that engine swap and then he realized that he in fact remembered everything. Pat looked up, his eyes were red. “Been crying?”, Carl said. “Yep, you too I see”, Pat answered back. Pat was close to his dad and he died when Pat was in his twenties. He heard him talking to his mom on the way out the door for work. He couldn’t face him. Carl confirmed the same. “Do you think the others are back? Do you remember Bob or Bill’s phone numbers? How about Tommy’s phone number?”, Carl said. “Nope”, Pat replied. Eddie said he was going to call Pete and Pat replied that he’s been dead for years. “Not here! I’m going to call him.”, Carl said. Carl remembered his phone number, Pete was his best friend from childhood. He reached for his cell on his hip. Both laughed. “The phone is hanging on the garage wall ”, Pat said., “remember?”

The first call left Carl choked up, he couldn’t talk. Pete answered with several hellos but Carl couldn’t speak and hung up the phone. He calmed himself and called back. The call went well. It was Saturday night and as was usual it was party time! Pat and Carl worked on getting the engine into the GTO. Both were master mechanics in the future and to both this was childs play. The first time around it took days. This time it took a few hours! They’d drive the GTO with a 396 Chevy engine that night!

Bob and Bill showed up at Pat’s about an hour after Carl arrived. They pretty much had the same experience. They had to get out of their houses and find a way to calm themselves enough to face their parents and family members. Bill’s sister had died in a car accident in late 1972. They were fraternal twins and it was hard on Bill, it was even harder for him to know his sister would be dead in only a couple months. He wondered if he could save her. Tommy showed up last, about an hour after Bob and Bill. Bob had called him and told him to meet at Pat’s. Tommy’s right eye was swollen, it was going to be a black eye for sure. “Dad again?”, Bob said. “Yep”, Tommy replied. “We should kill that son of a bitch.”,Pat said, with a tone so serious the others were speechless.

Then, the moment of truth arrived. Pat turned the key on the GTO and the 396 roared to life. Of course it did. Master mechanics with over 100 years of combined experience with 18 year old hands had done the job.

The night went as expected. They went to the local stock car races to watch Bob race his first street stock car and then went out drinking. Pete hated the races so he hardly ever came. He ended up at the bar though and it went surprisingly well. The girls showed up and Bob hugged Karen for what seemed an hour. She had no idea what was going on. Bob had broken up with her over something stupid, pride didn’t allow him to apologize and reconcile. She was the love of his life. He loved his late wife Pat but he never loved anyone like he loved Karen. Tommy and Gwen had been next-door neighbors. She’d been his girl forever. They got married right out of high school and had 6 kids before they were 30. When Tommy saw Gwen he ran to the bathroom. When he came out he seemed composed and he hugged he so tight she squeaked. In his world, Gwen had been gone for 10 years. Bill and Pat were spared all of this. Bill was between girl friends and Pat’s girl friend Joanne was away at school, she’d graduated the year before. The night turned out like any other Saturday night, races, drinking at Longs, but making out in the car was no longer in the cards. Our wallets were full. Friday was pay day, this was Saturday and we had enough to spring for motel rooms. The girls were about to encounter many years of experience in 18 year old bodies, and not in the back seat of a car. Suffice it to say, it went extremely well for both parties.

Sunday was confront the parents day. Surprisingly it went well for all except Tommy. His father was an abusive drunk and his mom, although a sweet woman was beaten down by his dad. He didn’t say much about his encounter. Things seem to be getting normal when a panicked Bill called Carl. “Hey, school tomorrow!! I don’t remember my schedule. What are we going to do? I looked for it but can’t find it. I would know it by now anyway.” Carl replied, “Calm down, we’ll have to get copies I guess. Go to Guidance. Mrs. Matthews was cool. I’ll bet she won’t ask to many questions. Tell her it’s a for a scarp book of your senior year. We’ll just miss homeroom, that’s all. She knows we’re tight so the same excuse for all of us will work. ” One thing they all remembered though is where they worked. That at least was not an issue to deal with.

The days rolled into weeks and school, work, and play were going well. Nobody suspected anything. They were settling in for their coveted second time around. But Bill was always uneasy and one day he seemed scared. He said he had a dream, a dream that they should be at the pavilion in the park on next Saturday by 7 PM. He said they could go back to where they belonged and he was going to do it. This wasn’t right and he didn’t want to relive the sorrow of his sister dying and losing his parents plus all the other problems in life growing up. He really didn’t want to do it all again. It will all be pretty much the same. He brought up the fact that Carl had refused to fix their friend John’s motorcycle on the day he would die. Nothing changed. John died anyway, on a borrowed bike in the same place, that same night. None of the others seemed too keen on leaving but as the week went on all but Tommy started leaning towards going home.

Saturday came. It was 6 PM and they all lived a 30 minute or so walk from the park. No cars Bill’s dream said. Carl told his mother to make sure she went to the doctor for her checkup before April, way before! She looked at him puzzled. He said with tears welling up, “Mom! Promise me!!” Bill implored his sister not to go out with her boyfriend the next Saturday. He said he had a bad feeling, that’s all. “Please Chrissy!!! Promise me!!” She said OK. Bill and Carl left hoping they’d changed something. It was a cold November night, and they all arrived before 7, but Tommy drove. He wasn’t going back! If it were true, that they were going back, he came to say goodbye. At 7 the same old man showed up. “The park closes at dusk this time of year!”, he said with a chuckle. "So you are having second thoughts? Had some fun but now what, you realize once is enough? Carl, you tried to save your mom and Bill your sister.” “Will it work”, Carl asked. The man just looked and said, “When you wake tomorrow all will be as it was.”, and he walked away. “He knew our names!” Carl said “Yes”, Bill said, “because his boss knew us before we were born! Don’t you get it yet?!” Tommy said his goodbyes and drove away.

Carl woke up and looked at his phone on the nightstand. It said 7:23 AM, September 15th, 2020. He was back!! He called the others. They too were back, except Tommy, there was no answer from Tommy so he left a voicemail. By 9 AM they were sitting in their favorite diner. Breakfast was fairly silent with the occasional, “Can you believe that shit?”, and then the story.

Bob’s phone rang just about the time they were ready to leave. “This is Tommy”, Bob said, “Hey Tommy breakfast is over! Where are you?” Five seconds later Bob’s face went blank and he muttered, “Jackie, I’m so sorry if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” With that he looked up and told the others, “Tommy is dead. That was his daughter Jackie, she found him. He died in his sleep."

The Letter from Tommy

Hi guys,

If you’re reading this I likely died on September 15th, 2020, 14 days ago. You should be following along while my lawyer, Jerry Dennis, as he reads this aloud.

I should have returned with you guys. We should have been grateful for what we had. For staying I have been punished as you will be too I’m afraid to say.

Right after you guys decided to stay at the park I went home. The old man was drunk as usual and started in on me. Mom intervened and he hit her. But this time I didn’t cower away. I beat the crap out of him and broke his jaw in the process. I moved out the next day and went to stay with Bill and his parents. I saved up and Gwen and I got an apartment. Mom left Dad and she moved in with her best friend and filed for divorce. Dad was shot dead in a bar fight at the Castle Inn in 75. Neither Mom nor I went to the funeral. The divorce was not finalized so mom moved right back into the old house and we took great pleasure in selling anything of his with any value and getting a dumpster to throw out anything that reminded us of him.

So for the first 2 years or so, things in general were quite different than you guys will remember after I beat the crap out of dear old dad. But Gwen and I were the same pretty much. I married Gwen on June 15th, 1976. You guys were all in the wedding just like the first time.

So, remember when we tried to change the circumstances of John’s death and Carl didn’t work on his bike so it wouldn’t run? From that we figured we couldn’t change anything, remember? Well, it turns out some things can be changed and I did! I had a plan!

Gwen had a near-fatal accident in 1977 and she was unable to have children because of her injuries. Mom died of cancer in 83, but she died happy since dad was long gone. Shortly after that, we moved to Seattle and I paid a boat load of money to have my identity changed along with Gwen. It was all part of my plan. It was easy, both our parents were only children and we were only children. No living relatives, so no family to miss us or question where we were. We never returned to the Buffalo area. I never saw or talked to you guys again after the move. I went to work for Microsoft as a janitor. I needed to get in because Microsoft gave stock bonuses at year-end to all its employees. I remembered that some employees sold their shares internally as quickly as they got them. My plan was to offer to buy their shares for cash at a discount of course. It worked and I bought all I could afford every year. I applied for a sales job. They humored me until I showed them I was a wiz at MS-DOS and all their software. How couldn’t I be? I mastered it before it was invented! I became their New York Sales Director and we moved to New York City. They went public in 1986 and my stock options were huge. I held on to the shares. I left just after Windows 3 came out and was one of the “Microsoft millionaires”. I sold off a bunch and bought into Xerox and Paychex. The plan was working. Then came the dot com boom. I made over $600,000,000 dollars between 1995 and 1999. We were rich!

My life had turned into one of luxury. We had 5 homes here, one in Europe, and a big working ranch in Montana. But I was tortured all those days by my lack of a family, the one thing I could never have here. It was worse knowing my kids were there in 2020, and I could never return. I lost my chance in 1972. That was my punishment, the price I paid for staying and doing it all again. The only thing I ever really wanted in life was a family and kids. I had it and still, I was ungrateful.

So how is it that you’re reading this? Well, I placed an ad in several papers asking the simple question, “Did you get to be 18 again, for real?” For 3 years I checked the PO box weekly. Always the normal junk mail and a few crackpots. Then a handwritten letter came from a guy named Richard outlining his and our experiences exactly! We met and he told me he had left in 1968 with 3 friends and went back to 1916. He stayed for 3 months and then pretty much felt he was wrong and prayed to return. He described the same circumstances, the old man we encountered, all of it. He also did well when he was there, but he robbed banks!! He stole over half a million and never hurt a soul, turned it to gold, and buried it and the gun he used next to a huge tree on a lot he bought in 1945 to build his house. So when he got back to 1968 he immediately went out to that tree in the backyard and dug a hole. There was the gold, and the gun! He sold the gold a little at a time. He told me his friend who did not return died in his sleep the day he and the others returned, which was the day after they awoke to find themselves 18 again. The time that had actually passed was only several hours. I met him in 2016. He was 128 years old. All of the people he knew were gone. No old friends, no family. He had good health and “longing for death” as he put it. He managed his money well and wanted for nothing but he was pretty much alone. He never aged so he moved around every few years, never being able to settle and make lasting friendships. I’m afraid to say that is likely your punishment as well.

I figured from talking to Richard that time converges, that two of me could not survive it becoming 2020 here and it being 2020 there. What happens here I don’t know, maybe it all ends with 2020 for me. From what Richard said about his friend dying in his sleep and the fact that his gold was there in 1968 I got a hold of Jerry and set things up for the reading of this letter and my Will. I set everything up before my possible death date so that you guys will be all set for the years you have ahead of you. We can leave things apparently, so I did. If I had it to do again I’d not wish to do it again.

Gwen died in 2018 here, cancer took her. I had her 15 years longer here than there and I’m grateful for that. I told her how I did it all, and she actually believed me, “One hundred percent”, she said, “I often wondered how you had such foresight.” I have anxiously waited for September 15th., 2020 since the day she died.

So what happened with you guys here, in this time? Carl, you became a chef instead of a mechanic. Your dad was proud as could be and you became a great chef. You have 5 restaurants and do quite well. You are semi-retired. Bob, you got a full sponsor for your dream stock car, it was a company owned by my corporation, you never knew it was me. You went on to NASCAR and a Winston Cup championship in 1999. You own a successful race team now. Bill, you started a construction company. The first big building you built was for Landon Securities in Buffalo. Your bid was of course accepted. Your company is now one of the biggest in the country and you are comfortably retired. Pat, you built your dream and then another and another and you ended up owning the biggest car care company in the country with a reputation for good work at a fair price. You are retired now. I got to watch you guys get married and have kids before I moved west and became Tommy Landon. But I kept track of you guys and helped where I could.

I’m not sure what happens to Tommy Landon but I think it’s possible I end on September 14th, 2020 as well. There can be only one 2020 and the real Tommy dies in 2020. I think it all just converges. You guys belong where you are, the past dies with me but some things remain, the things Tommy Landon did remain – I think.

Jerry looked puzzled and said, “What the hell is going on here” The four remained silent, but Carl having read ahead already just said, ”Keep reading Jerry, we’ll explain.” Jerry continued. Mark looked up from his phone as if he had seen a ghost. He said, “WAIT!! LA Times obit! HOLY SHIT! Tommy Landon, a hedge fund manager, philanthropist, and well know classic car collector died suddenly on September 15. He was predeceased by his wife Gwen in 2018. ” “NO SHIT!”, Jerry said, “I’m reading his Will!” Jerry continued.

In Clintville, Mississippi there’s a warehouse. It’s manned 24/7 and it’s filled with antique cars. There’s a 70 Z-28, red with black stripes, Carl, you own it. Bob, a purple AAR Cuda is there too, it’s yours. Each of you can take 3 more. There are 4 account numbers in an envelope I gave Jerry. Each has a balance of $50,000,000.00. Know one thing, this money is important to you. You will all live long lives and you will need this money. Don’t invest it, it’s not necessary, there’s enough for the next 100 years.

Jerry is the Executor of my estate. I gave Jerry my ranch in Montana. You guys should go there for the summer next year. Walt, Jerry knows who that is, can fly you guys out.

Enjoy my old friends! I got to enjoy being young with you guys twice if only for a few years the second time, they were the best years though. Think about it….just 2 weeks ago we were 18….

Love you guys,

Tommy

Jerry dropped the papers on the desk and said, “My brain is exhausted! It makes no sense!” Carl got up from the chair, stretched, let out a sigh and said”, You like steak Jerry?”, to which Jerry nodded in the affirmative. “Well”, Carl said, as he put his arm around the exhausted Jerry, “let’s all be off to the Angus Corral and grab one of those 75 dollar steaks and we’ll tell you a story, I’m buying.”

Epilog

Bill died in 2091 at 141 years old. He was the first to pass and the most adamant about returning to the correct time. Bill got stabbed in a street robbery.

Bob passed in 2095 at 146 years old on a racetrack in California behind the wheel of a vintage race car. His alias was Rob Limler. It was a mixture of the letters of his real name, Robert ("Bob") Miller, the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion.

Pat met his end in a terrible plane crash in 2097. The supersonic Airbus 2100 he was on crashed into the French coast an hour after takeoff from NY Metro. Mark was 148 when he died.

As for Tommy, it could be said that Tommy paid the highest price back in 1972 when he decided to stay. Certainly, he had an easy life, a life full of luxury, able to have anything he wanted but not the thing he wanted most, a family, which remained forever out of reach.

And Carl? I'm still alive and well. I'm 174 years old and anxiously awaiting the accident that finally ends his life!. Like the others, everyone I knew and cared about is dead. I “disappeared”on a hunting trip in Alaska in 2025, a bear might have gotten me the papers said. I travel a lot now, never settling in one place very long.

I moved back to Amherst for a while. There's nobody there who would recognize me anymore. I tracked down my great-great-grandson. The other day I saw him walking with my great-great-great-grandson. I said hello as they passed. They acknowledged. I asked if they were from the area. We struck up a conversation. We got around to talk of family and the boy said his great-great-great-grandfather lived here back 70 years ago and got eaten by a bear in Alaska. He even knew where the old house was. So the story got passed down for generations. It warmed my heart.

I shook hands with both of them and expressed that I was pleased beyond their imagination to have met and talked to them. I slipped off my fathers college ring which I had worn for 130 years. I gave to the man and said, "Here, this belongs in your family. His name and the year he graduated is inscribed on the inside. He was the first person in the family to go to college and was very proud of this ring. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Carl Sutter." The boy looked puzzled, "That's my fathers name.", he said. His father laughed but the smile quickly left his face left his face. Something told him he was looking into the past. His memory of old family photos, some over 100 years old came freshly to the front of his memory. His great-great-grandfather?!! I turned to leave he said loudly, "WAIT! I'm Carl, after my great-great-grandfather! This is not possible!! As I paused my leave I said, "Be thankful for what you have. Family is all you really have, friends, except for a very few, come and go. But family, that's forever. Family you can depend on. Never be ungrateful for your life regardless of what life throws at you. Cherish the moments and remember, don't try to relive them. And never, ever wish to do it all again. You might just get your wish and the price is too high, it's not worth it." I left Amherst shortly after that encounter. To this day I wonder how they explained their encounter with me.

So reader, heed this advice and warning – be careful what you wish for and be thankful for what you have. Don’t curse God or the “universe” for the life you’ve been given or you just may get your wish - and your punishment!

Life is a gift, and the one you have should be cherished, and made the best life possible.

Enjoy!

Carl