PART ONE
“Adolf... Adolf? Oh, there you are, dear. Did you not hear me calling you?”
“Sorry, Mother. I was simply... ”
“Simply lost in your painting world again.”
“Yes, I suppose I was. I am sorry. Did you need me for something? Do you... ”
“No, dear. It is suppertime. Paula and I have been waiting for you. Did you not hear me call you to supper?”
“No. I am sorry. I will be right there.”
After his mother left the room, Adolf dipped the paintbrush onto the pallet one more time and then applied a few more strokes on the canvas. As he lifted the brush from the surface, he looked at the painting and frowned, and said, “Father was right.”
Slowly and thoughtlessly, he put the brush back on the canvas and began to smear the area where he was working. With a furrowed brow, he picked up a broader brush and furiously smeared more paint over the entire surface of the canvas.
The conversation at the supper table was about as sparse as the surface of their plates. Adolf knew it was useless to continue thinking he could pursue his love for painting. He knew his application to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna would never even make it to the dean’s desk for consideration.
He was also painfully aware that he was now old enough to be the man of the house, and that it was up to him to make sure his mother and younger sister had more on their plates than what they were currently pushing around with their forks.
Toward the end of the meal, Adolf looked across the table, and said, “If I am not accepted to the Academy again, I intend to look for work in the steel mills.”
“What about your painting?” asked Paula.
Adolf looked at her and smiled, and assured her not to worry, “It will always be a part of my life, little one. I do know that the life of an artist is always somewhat accompanied by a struggle to survive. We must force ourselves to keep at it, all the while longing to be discovered for our brilliance... ” Then he winked at her, and continued, “You do think that I am brilliant, do you not?”
“Of course you are, my child,” smiled his mother, tenderly, as Paula nodded in agreement.
“You are a very special young man, Adolf. The Lord will guide your steps. He carefully watches over His children. You will see,” assured his mother.
+ - + - + - +
“Adolf Hitler was a painter? An artist? What? That can’t be right!”
“That’s what it says.”
Daniel and Sarah were sitting next to each other on the sofa in the living room of Sarah’s apartment, so Daniel leaned over and looked at the textbook in Sarah’s lap.
“See? Right there,” pointed Sarah. “It says that when he was a young man he was interested in watercolor painting and even applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Twice.”
Daniel pushed back, and said, “That has got to be some bogus history book, Sarah. That can’t be right.”
“Why not?” countered Sarah.
“Why not? What do you mean why not?” said Daniel. “How could that possibly be true? He was a madman. He was a heinous mass murderer.” Daniel turned more sideways on the sofa to face Sarah, and continued, “I mean, art is creative... art is beautiful... art is human expression. It is our divine spark. It is how we are like God.”
Sarah nodded, and Daniel continued, “God made us creators, like Himself. That is one of the ways we are made in His image and likeness. No way! There is no way Adolf Hitler was an artist. He was a destroyer, not a creator. He was ugly, not beautiful. He was... ”
“Ok, Ok, I get it, alright already,” interrupted Sarah. “I’m as shocked by it as you are. But it says it right here. And, I don’t see why it couldn’t be true. We have no idea what his early life was really like. All we know about is his role in World War II. He may have been just another average little boy growing up in Germany and doing all of the same things that every other little German boy was doing. He had a family. He probably had dreams.”
“Well, if he did, they turned out to be everyone else’s nightmare,” said Daniel.
+ - + - + - +
Daniel had no idea why Y2K popped into his mind. He was sitting in one of his favorite places in the Capital Grounds eating his usual brown bag lunch. Usual, in that every day it was about the same thing -- a banana, a yogurt cup, a peanut butter and jam sandwich on wheat bread, and an apple, which he usually saved for later in the afternoon or to eat on the way home before dinner.
He finished up the sandwich and put the empty plastic baggie and the yogurt spoon back into the brown bag along with the uneaten apple, and wondered why in the world people were so freaked out about Y2K. Nothing devastating happened. The previous millennium had passed and a new millennium began. Computer systems didn’t seem to be adversely affected at all. Time marched on smoothly without even the slightest hint of a hiccup.
It could be Sarah, his girlfriend. She had one more history course to finish up before graduating from the University of Minnesota with her Master’s Degree in History. The course was 20th Century World History and Daniel was helping her to study for her final exam. That was probably what got him thinking about the infamous Y2K scare.
Through the process of helping Sarah study, Daniel developed the opinion that the last one hundred years of history definitely had a major impact on the world. He saw it as a unique period of exciting discovery and complex human affairs, which provided a fitting capstone on the previous millennium.
But, as Daniel sat and thought about it all, he concluded that there certainly was nothing all that new under the sun. Time merely marched on as it always had. He looked around at the city, St. Paul, and admired its blend of old and new -- the downtown Historic District mixed in with the modern high rise buildings.
‘It’s just people... ’ he thought. ‘It’s just people living their lives, creating new generations, putting together communities, and hopefully... just maybe... someday learning to get along with each other.’
Then Daniel’s thoughts went back to Sarah, as they frequently did. She was a great girl. Daniel loved her dearly, and she seemed to feel the same way about him. They were to be married soon and their two lives were primed and ready for the big commitment. Sarah would be graduating in the not too distant future and Daniel recently got his dream job at Likewise International.
Likewise was founded by a man named Patrick Johnson, who built his humanitarian organization around the simple principle of people helping people. His charisma and tenacious passion had galvanized a few other similar organizations together to form Likewise, which was now a worldwide enterprise.
Daniel was thankful and excited to get the job at the Likewise headquarters right in his hometown of St. Paul. It was a perfect fit for him because he always had a heart for the underprivileged. Even as a young boy, his parents were amazed at the things he wanted to be involved with in their community to help other people in need.
On that particular spring day, Daniel would have much rather stayed in the Capital Grounds for a little while longer. He often considered it a small crime in the cosmos when he was not able to invest more of himself into days like this one, which had so generously provided a gentle breeze of perfectly warm air and a beautiful green landscape of luscious spring growth. He was not all that eager to trade his favorite color of green for his grayish cubicle, demanding computer screen, and impolite telephone.
But on the other hand, he did appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the Likewise team. Unlike other humanitarian organizations that tell a good story, but don’t actually deliver the goods to those in need, Likewise truly and genuinely served people and did not merely pad its own bank accounts. Patrick Johnson did not tolerate even a hint of fraud to exist in his company. He worked diligently to maintain its reputation of being above reproach in the non-profit industry, and a shining example of genuine humanitarianism in the public eye.
Daniel was unwelcomely brought back to the moment at hand when the blaring siren from a passing emergency
vehicle snapped him back into the realization that time was once again terminating his lunch hour and announcing that his empty cubicle was calling.
As he left the Capital Grounds and headed down Cedar Street, his attention was grabbed by the sound of scoffing laughter across the street near Central Presbyterian Church. So, he stopped and looked over to see what was going on. A few teenage hooligans were harassing a poor bum who seemed to be merely looking for assistance from the church.
Daniel shouted as he checked the traffic and then dashed across the street, “Hey! Get the hell away from him! Get outta here... now!”
The hooligans scurried away as Daniel rushed into the parking lot. “Are you alright, buddy?” said Daniel as he walked up to the bum. “Here, let’s take a look at you.” Daniel knelt down and did a cursory examination of the bum’s general condition. Then he looked into his eyes, and said, “If it’s Ok with you, I know of a place nearby that can give you a hand. I’ll take you there, if you want me to.”
The bum was afraid and hesitant at first, but then sensed Daniel’s sincere kindness. He started to collect himself and then stood to his feet.
“They’ll have food for you there and some clothes, and maybe even a place for you to stay tonight, if there’s room,” said Daniel, comfortingly.
The Union Gospel Mission was about a block away, so Daniel walked the bum over, and in through the back entrance. Daniel was well known at the shelter. One of the workers saw them come in, and said, “Hey Daniel. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good, Sam. How about you?” greeted Daniel.
“Doing alright,” said Sam. “I see you have made another friend.” Sam walked up with a friendly welcoming grin, and said to the bum, “Hello, my friend. Welcome to the Union Gospel Mission. I think you will be happy that Daniel showed you the way here. It looks like you are a little down on your luck, so we may be able to help you get things sorted out again.” Sam put his arm around the bum and started to escort him down the hall, and said, “Come on down here. Maybe we can start by giving you a nice hot meal.”
“See you, Sam,” said Daniel.
The bum turned around and timidly offered his gratitude to Daniel, who returned it with a smile and then left the mission.
+ - + - + - +
Later that evening, Daniel was at Sarah’s apartment. He was dressed up nicely and leaning against her bedroom doorway. “It was no big deal, really,” he said as he walked into the bedroom and finished up the knot in his necktie. “Those punks were just messing with this poor guy, and I had to do something about it.”
“I know,” said Sarah, as she put the final touches on herself to go out for the evening. “It’s not that I think you should have ignored the situation. But, I worry about you, Daniel. You are way too nice to people. And someday, one of those guys is probably going to go crazy and attack you, or stab you, or something.”
Daniel laughed slightly, and said, “Well, it is good to know that I can always count on you to look out for me, right?”
Sarah smiled at him in the mirror as he walked up next to her to adjust his necktie.
“Well, are you ready for a grand night out... the time of your life?” said Daniel, sarcastically. Sarah looked over at him as he rolled his eyes, and continued, “I can’t believe I have to go to this thing tonight. Why do they make it mandatory? Don’t you think that is kind of weird?”
Sarah shrugged, and said, “I don’t know.”
“And it’s my birthday, for crying out loud,” complained Daniel. “Why do they have to have this stupid thing on my birthday. I just want to be with you. I just want to go out and do something nice with you.”
Sarah squinted her eyes at Daniel, and said, somewhat scoldingly, “We’ve already settled that, mister. Don’t you try to bring it back up now. Your night is tomorrow, so I don’t want to hear anymore whining about it... you got that?”
Daniel acknowledged the uselessness of his ploy, and continued, “Well, I guess they have this event every year at this time -- to have a state of the company address. And, welcoming new employees is part of it. I’ve met Mr. Johnson, of course. He’s a nice enough guy, but I wonder why he thinks it is so important to... I don’t know, maybe it’s some kind of corporate team building thing, or something like that. They were telling me he gives a motivational speech and rah rah and welcome to the team, or whatever.”
Sarah was not the least bit sympathetic to Daniel’s whining, and said, “Daniel, that job is perfect for you. You are so fortunate to have been hired on at Likewise. It is the perfect job for a Good Samaritan like you. You’re always doing that kind of thing anyway... and now, you even get paid for it.”
“I guess you’re right... as usual,” agreed Daniel. “Fine. I’ll stop complaining. Anyway, I heard the food is pretty decent, and I really do like Landmark Center. That place is so great.”
Daniel then moved behind Sarah and gave her a hug, and said, “And, I’ll be out with you, of course... so that alone will make it a grand and glorious night out.”
Sarah turned around and put her arms around Daniel’s neck. She gave him a quick kiss, and said, “It is going to be nice, but I am also a little hesitant about going because I really do need to study for my history exam. It’s coming up quickly and I want to nail it.”
As Sarah turned and sat down on the edge of her bed to put on her shoes, Daniel said, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep helping you with it. I like it. I’m really learning a lot about that stuff... and I don’t have to sit and suffer through those hours of lecture. It’s a good deal to me. And, I never knew much about all of those things that happened over the last hundred years. The 20th Century really was packed with a ton of major worldwide events.”
Sarah stood up and walked over to Daniel. She straightened his lapels slightly, and said, “I really do appreciate all of your help with my studies. I know I am going to do way way better on the exam because of it.”
Daniel enjoyed Sarah’s touch. He looked into her eyes, and said, warmly, “I do love you, Sarah. I think you are absolutely wonderful.”
“And I love you, too, my boy,” said Sarah. “But we’d better get our act together and get ourselves outta here, don’t you think?”
“After you, my dear,” said Daniel.
Just as Daniel and Sarah walked into the living room, Sarah’s roommate, Jessica, came in through the apartment door, and said, “Well, aren’t you two just the dapper couple. Where are you off to?”
“Remember... the Likewise dinner,” reminded Sarah. “...at Landmark.”
“Oooh, I want to go,” pleaded Jessica.
“You can take my place,” said Daniel.
Sarah gave Daniel a glare, and Jessica said to Daniel, “I was thinking more like you and me, big boy. How about it?” Then, looking over at Sarah, Jessica smiled coyly, and said, “Come on, Sarah. Let me show him what it’s like to go out with a real woman.”
“Yeah, right,” Sarah laughed.
“Ok, Ok, you two,” said Daniel. “Let’s get on with this, shall we?”
“I’ll consider that a raincheck, Danny boy,” smiled Jessica. “Besides, I actually have a date myself tonight, so I am doing just fine on this lovely Friday night.”
“Really?” asked Sarah. “With who?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” quipped Jessica.
“Really. Who?” asked Sarah.
“Seriously, girls, we gotta get going,” interrupted Daniel.
“I’ll tell you all about it tonight... or tomorrow... or whenever,” assured Jessica.
“Ok,” said Sarah, as she gave Jessica a hug. Then, as she and Daniel walked out the door, Sarah turned around, and added, “Every detail, right?”
“Yes, yes,” agreed Jessica. “Now get going, you two lovebirds.”
+ - + - + - +
The banquet at Landmark Center was fabulous -- a highlight of the year for many of the Likewise employees. It was not overly extravagant, but definitely high quality enough to let the employees kn
ow how much they were appreciated.
Daniel and Sarah sat at a table with a few of Daniel’s new co-workers.
“Wow, this is really nice,” said Sarah.
“Yeah, I had no idea it would be something like this,” agreed Daniel. “This is amazing. Wow, what a great meal.”
Daniel’s co-workers heartily agreed, as waiters came by the tables and kept the courses coming.
Toward the end of the meal, the people at Daniel’s table were finishing up the main course, but he had only taken a few bites. As he poked at his food, he looked over to the head table and noticed Patrick Johnson finishing up his dinner, and starting to look over his presentation notes.
Daniel was pushing his fork at the last part of his dinner when he got a pained look on his face and grabbed his stomach. After a few moments, he leaned over to Sarah, and whispered, “Man, my stomach is messed up.”
Sarah was concerned, as Daniel continued, “I’m going to take a quick trip to the restroom and then I think we may have to get out of here, Ok?”
Sarah nodded and Daniel excused himself from the table.
Daniel sat there doubled over on the toilet in the restroom trying to manage his intestinal discomfort as best as he could. He was perspiring and groaning as he loosened his necktie and tried to relieve himself of whatever was causing his stomach to churn and flip flop.
It took a while, but finally Daniel was able to pull himself together enough to splash some water on his face and then grab a few hand towels to dry off. As he walked back to the banquet hall, he reached into his right pants pocket and was surprised that his car keys were missing. Thankfully, he then reached into his left pants pocket and discovered them in there.
Sarah could clearly see that Daniel was not well, so she excused herself and stood up as he approached the table.
“I’m sorry, guys,” said Daniel, with a slightly pained look on his face. “Something’s not right in my stomach, so I think I’m going to have to sit this one out and go home before it gets worse.”
“Hey, no worries. Just go and take care of yourself... do you need a ride?” said one of his co-workers.
“No, thanks. I will be able to manage alright,” said Sarah. “Thank you, though. We’ll see you later. Good night.”
As Daniel and Sarah left the banquet hall, Patrick Johnson walked up to the lectern to begin his annual address to the employees of Likewise.
“This is such a bummer, Daniel,” said Sarah, sympathetically.
“Tell me about it,” agreed Daniel.
“Your friends were telling me how great the speech is every year,” continued Sarah. “I guess he has quite a story to tell.”
“Well, I guess it’ll have to wait until next year,” said Daniel, holding his stomach. “I gotta get outta here.”
+ - + - + - +
Back at Sarah’s apartment, Daniel took off his jacket, necktie and shoes. He flopped down on the sofa, and said, “I think I may have to chill out here for a couple of hours until my stomach stops churning, if that’s Ok with you.”
“Of course, please, lay down,” said Sarah. “I’ll go get you a glass of water. Do you need a TUMS?”
“No. Thanks. It’s not heartburn,” said Daniel, rubbing his stomach. “It’s just a bad pain right down here.”
Sarah returned from the kitchen with a glass of water, and said, “Well, I guess I get my wish after all. Now I can study for my history final a little more.”
Daniel had no problem working with Sarah and quizzing her on the information from her notes. It served to distract him from the annoying pains swirling around in his stomach.
After about an hour, Daniel sat forward and picked up his water glass from the coffee table, and said, “I’m going to get a refill.”
“I can get it,” offered Sarah. “You just sit right there.”
“No, I think maybe I need to get vertical for a moment,” said Daniel, as he stood up. He stretched his arms out, and continued, “Yeah, that’s better. Whew! I think the worst of it is over. I’ll be right back.”
In Linz, Austria, a young man is sitting at the bar inside a small neighborhood tavern drinking a beer. The year is 1907. It is the end of a typical workday and the room is full of local townsfolk chatting in German and laughing and eating.
As Daniel approached Sarah’s kitchen, he looked ahead of him through the doorway and was shocked to see that the entire interior of the kitchen had changed. It was no longer Sarah’s kitchen. “What the heck?” said Daniel, as he peered in and saw that the room on the other side of the doorway had transformed into what appeared to be a European tavern.
“What’s going on here?” he said, as he turned around and went back into the living room. “Hey, Sarah, look at this.” But as he headed back into the room and walked up to Sarah, something about her didn’t look right. It was almost as if a movie got rewound and she was repeating the actions she had done before, when he got up to go and refill his water glass.
The young man at the bar in Linz feels uneasy about how three ruffians at the other end of the bar are looking at him. So, he quickly finishes up his beer and leaves the pub. Once outside, the young man walks away down the sidewalk, but as he passes an alley between two of the shops, he hears one of the ruffians from down in the alley calling out a derogatory homosexual remark at him.
“Sarah... ” said Daniel again, but she didn’t acknowledge his voice or his presence. It was as if she was there, but he was not.
“Sarah? Hey... Sarah,” said Daniel. He walked up to her and reached over to touch her shoulder, but was shocked to discover that his hand passed right through her.
“What the... ” said Daniel, as he jumped backward. “What the heck is going on here... ”
Daniel suddenly started to feel his entire body tingling. He lifted up his hands and looked at them, and turned them over a few times. He crossed his arms and grabbed his chest. He felt like he was draining out of his own skin and then filling back up again.
He looked back over at Sarah and saw that she was still looping in a weird time warp.
Daniel looked around and realized that the entire apartment around him was gradually beginning to fade away. Everything in the room started to sound hollow and void. The only sounds he could hear were coming from the tavern on the other side of the kitchen door.
He felt faint as he staggered back over to the kitchen and peered in through the doorway again. It looked to him like a movie was playing on the other side of the door, but it was fully dimensional. He saw several groups of people situated in the tavern. They were talking and laughing, but he didn’t understand a word they were saying because they were all speaking German.
Daniel turned and looked back at Sarah. He was puzzled to see that she was doing exactly what she was doing before, when he had walked over to her earlier. She was still looping in another dimension of time and space -- a dimension where, apparently, he no longer existed.
The young man starts to run away, but is quickly herded deep into the alley by the other two ruffians. All three of them proceed to give the young man a severe beating. When they are satisfied with their work, they leave the poor young man lying in the alley.
An overwhelming rush of dizziness washed over Daniel. He blinked a few times and fought to maintain his bearings. Suddenly, all of the plots and scenes from the science fiction books and movies he had enjoyed since he was a teenager begin to spew out from his memory banks. ‘What is going on here? This can’t be real,’ he thought, desperately. ‘Have I jumped into some other dimension?’
Daniel closed his eyes firmly and took a deep breath. His mind began to settle down. He was thinking more clearly now, ‘Ok, this is all some weird illusion. Whatever was going on in my stomach just made its way on up to my head. This is not even happening.’
Before he opened his eyes, Daniel lifted up the glass in his hand and drank the last bit of water. Then he took another deep calming breath. Unfortunately, he could still hear the sounds of the tavern,
but he refused to let himself believe they were real.
He cautiously opened up his eyes. He looked around and saw that everything was still slowly blending into another dimension. It was real. It was actually happening. Daniel was truly experiencing some type of strange shift in time and space.
Daniel turned and took one more look back at Sarah.
He was not there. He finally realized he was not there with her anymore. He realized he could not go back to her. And as bizarre and fearful as it seemed, it became clear to Daniel that his only option for continued existence was on the other side of Sarah’s kitchen door, wherever that was. So, he took a deep breath, mustered up his courage and warily walked across the threshold into the tavern.