Twist Of Fate: Non-Fiction Based On a True Story!

By Steven Mathena

Cheated death 9 times and still standing! Why am I still alive? At age 64 I look back and smile.
An adventure I could never do again. The Tar Paper Shack from what I was told was burned to the ground. On four hundred acres of hunting ground. A Cigarette saved my life and a life jacket would not have. Hitch Hiked across the USA for several years. Lost 50lbs. and my teeth fell out one by one. A man burned the Holy Bible and he paid the price slowly! His misery was beyond words expressed in detail the unfolding of Ralph D. Brown. All of the windows were smashed out of the shack. Chased him through the woods until the rifle was empty. Ran over by my own boat three times. My hunting buddy shot his finger off and ? What is that falling through the ceiling cracks? Life is full of twists and pot holes and all we can do is try and avoid them, one step at a time...

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543928846

Book preview

afternoon!

Lost At Redington Pass

Had now been in Arizona for some time now. A lot has happened in a short time. My dog Chump dug up my aunts beloved dog Trudy. I could not believe my eyes when I saw him carrying that caucus in the front yard. My aunt was pissed at me and my dog for some time. I’ve always wanted to go hiking up in the mountains and Redington Pass is on my map. I eventually talked my girlfriend and a friend of mine into going for a hiking trip. Had me a big ball of string to tie off on the way up the mountain that will be our guide to getting back down. We had finally arrived and there were signs everywhere, hike at your own risk. Now I understand why theses signs are everywhere. No guard rails to keep you from falling over the side of the cliff. Seems like everything that I’ve learned has been  always the hard way! That way you never forget. Like grabbing a hot handle on a pot, you don’t forget that burning sensation. We had just arrived and down this small rocky trail you could look over the edge and about

eight hundred feet down you could see these small waterfalls and pure white sand. Like a magazine cover shot. We just had to get down there and check it out. Have some supplies, but I’m sure you can never have enough. Got my trusty EverReady Flashlight with new batteries in it. Little water and some snacks, but nothing to call food! Besides we only need enough supplies for the day. I noticed from the bottom up you can see a trail like to go up. So I pulled out my ball of nylon string and tied it off at the bottom of the mountain so we could find our way back to where we had started from. We did have a can of tuna fish but no can opener. What was I thinking, just a day on the mountain top.

Away we went and it must have taken four hours to get around that mountain and that was the end of my cord. At age seventeen it really didn’t seem to matter at the time. We would eventually find our way back one would think. Just because they averaged six deaths a month didn’t seem to matter much. Our goal was to reach that spot where those waterfalls and white sand were waiting for us to arrive. About an hour later we reached our destination. You could see these caves in behind the waterfalls and the sand was so pure. You could look straight up and see where we were standing. Next thing you know here comes a Bud Light as it exploded  when it  hit the sand. We  pulled out a blanket

and stretched it out and her comes one and lands right in the blanket. It was ice cold. We would twist the blanket back and forth and here come another one. I think we collected four beers in all. You could hear them clapping off in the distance. We had calculated five hours to get here and about five hours to get back before it gets dark. We never did check the weather forecast before we left.

Been about three hours now and nightfall is settling in and a cool mist of rain in the air. Never did find that white cord that was our safety cord home. So we just walked and walked in the dark not knowing that was the perfect weather for rattlesnakes and scorpions to be on the hunt. That is all we need right now. No matter where you looked all you could see is drop offs at the edge of that mountain. Thousands of feet straight down to rock. How far do you go before you get to far away from civilization. You’ll never find your way back. We have got to stop, because we are totally lost at this point.

Let’s put it in park. We found this rock to sit on and my friend who was seventeen was crying under that blanket saying were going to die. That misty rain didn’t help matters a bit. It would get chili at night, but the daytime way to hot. Someone will find us soon as I reached for my flashlight. Every now and then you could see a car off in the distance  through the fog. Reached in my back

pack and pulled out my trusty flashlight and started blinking it off and on several times. Wait a while and you could see other cars way off and I would blink at them. Been two hours now and I don’t think they can spot this light at this distance. No luck that night, we’ll just have to try again tomorrow night. My girlfriend was shivering all over. But I was determined we would get found alive. We were not going to be another casualty. The sun was beginning to rise and that heat was coming back again. Had no clue as to what direction to go. The Boy Scouts never did teach us about mountain