Redemption

By Larry Thompson

This book is fictional comedy about two angels that receive a message from God, telling them that they have to return to Earth. The older angel is wiser and more experienced and is sent to help his partner with supervision and companionship through their ordeal.

In their journey to Earth they travel to different cities in search of the younger angels people contacts that he has to get reacquainted with. One problem is how to recognize these same people after years past. If he finds his contacts he has to decide how to go about mending past circumstances and occurrences for the mischievous activities he played on people when he was alive and on Earth. In their travels to Earth the younger angel recalls people, and situations and he has to make amends in order to become a full-fledged angel. He has a series of flashbacks, and recollections and he tries to overcome his past, and make it good in the present time, after he arrives back on Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456761790

Book preview

Contents

Preface

CHAPTER ONE

San Joaquin Valley

CHAPTER TWO

Two-Story House

CHAPTER THREE

Drive-In Theater

CHAPTER FOUR

Pig Farm

CHAPTER FIVE

Camping Trip

CHAPTER SIX

Football Game

CHAPTER SEVEN

Birthday Party

CHAPTER EIGHT

Boys’ Camp

CHAPTER NINE

Car Race

CHAPTER TEN

Halloween

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Wedding

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ski Resort

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Christmas

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Play

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Easter

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Crop Farm

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Book

Preface

At a certain time that is selected in heaven, two angels are sent to return back to Earth. Myron, the oldest angel, is held in a higher stature, and he helps his partner Danny, the youngest angel, to overcome his past. Danny has to make amends for the mischievous activities he played on people when he was on Earth. Together, the two angels travel to different places in search for the people whom Danny pranked. Because the people Myron and Danny have to find have aged since the last time they were on Earth, they have a dilemma.

The story begins on a beautiful, sunny day with crystal blue skies and a few cumulous clouds scattered about.

I wrote this book because I wanted to write a comedy that would be enjoyable for people to read. Some ideas that have been used in this book have been taken from my past experiences.

CHAPTER ONE

San Joaquin Valley

In the beginning, a man walks out of his single-story house in the morning and decides to walk to his mailbox, which is at the curb. But before returning to his house, he gazes up in the sky to check out the weather for the day. He gets a picturesque view of the crystal blue skies.

Danny, how are you today? Myron says.

I’m fine thank you, Danny replies.

Well—I’m sorry, but I’ve just received this message, and it’s telling me that we’re going to have to return to Earth right away!

What for? Danny asks.

Well, I’ll tell you later, Myron answers.

Myron, the oldest angel, is in his forties, and he has all white hair on his head. He has been sent to help the younger angel overcome his past and to achieve his all-white, colored look, which is the color of snow and means purity. The younger angel is in his thirties, and he has partially white hair too. He is all white too, except for the top side of his wings and the very tips of his wings, which are aquamarine blue. The younger angel’s name is Danny. It is fairly early in the morning on this nice, crisp spring day, and the temperature starts to rise pretty rapidly, because it is that time of the year. There is no breeze blowing, the sky is blue, and it just seems like it is going to be a nice day. This is Southern California in the 1970s.

Myron and I now return to Earth as angles.

Myron mentions to me that whenever someone talks, we’re always there to see, hear, and observe.

Great, I say as I listen to Myron.

We travel through the country as if we were flying in a small aircraft, and as we gaze around, we observe the scenery and landscape. Here we can see all kinds of crop fields as far as the eye can see, scattered all the way up to the mountain range, which is one hundred twenty miles away. There are all kinds of crops, such as beans, lettuce, mint, corn, wheat, and barley—all displaying different shades of green and yellow in the valley. As we are still traveling through the countryside, we notice different country houses and farms.

Some houses are large and have hundreds of acres of land, while other houses are small and have tiny parcels of land. We notice one particular farming area surrounded by all kinds of crops, and a beautiful house catches our eye.

We land there, and we observe and listen. We see a nice country home with barns and two silos. They’re all set on a large farm. The house, farm, and silos look like they have been newly painted—either this is a new farm, or it has been very well taken care of. The house, barn, and silos are all red with white borders around the windows and doors. There is one large barn and three smaller barns. The largest building is a hay and storage barn, and it has what looks like a small barn on top of the roof. This is where the weather vane is located, too, and it is black and in the shape of a rooster. A smaller barn has a hayloft. About fifty yards away, there are two more barns that are sitting fairly close together. The barns sit close to the house, and the silos are within close proximity to the largest hay and storage barn. In the field, there is a large John Deer tractor, and the cab is enclosed in a green-tinted glass compartment. There is also some other farm equipment outside: a large twenty-bladed plow and a large harrow.

The house and farm are all enclosed in a white wooden fence that’s about five feet high. The house has a large lawn, and the back yard is almost as large as the front yard. The lawns are dark green in color and are cut short. On the right side of the front lawn is a walnut tree that is all full and round in shape. Almond, eucalyptus, oak, and sycamore trees also fill the yard, and closer to the right side of the house are some larger trees. Just inside the white fence stands a three-foot hedge. At one point, the hedge makes an arch that is nine feet high and two feet wide. There are three hedge arch entrances to the house. There are large fields surrounding the house and barn areas, also.

The house has a front porch with a couple of chairs on one end and a love seat at the other end right next to the front door. As we look at the front of the house, we notice that the front door is just now being opened, and a man in his thirties wearing a blue shirt, blue pants, and blue suspenders is just starting to walk outside. He is carrying a cup of coffee in his hand. He cannot close his door with one hand, so he puts his coffee cup down on the arm of the white love seat. While the door is open, we can see the entryway to the house. It is kind of dark, because there are no lights on, but we can make out that they have a semi-dark hardwood floor.

The farmer, Brian, opens the front door and says, Honey, are you coming out right now?

Yes, I am coming out right now, and I’m bringing my coffee cup with me, the wife says.

Okay, the farmer replies.

The sweet smell of the apple trees and blossoms and the other smells of blooming crops nearby tinge the air.

I’ll hold your coffee cup while you close the door, the man says.

Thank you, Sally answers.

Then they both sit down on the love seat and start to drink their coffee, and they take a few sips.

"It looks like it’s going to be a nice day, Brian says.

Yes, it sure does, she says. After a few seconds she says, Well—I need to water these hanging plants today.

Yeah, okay, he replies.

They gaze around for a few minutes as they sit on the porch, and then she asks him, Well, what are you going to do today?

Oh, I don’t know yet, he says.

Okay, she answers.

By now, they each have drunk about one-half a cup of coffee. Now they think that they hear an airplane flying, and they both look up to see where it is coming from. After a minute or so, they both see a single-engine Piper airplane flying at an angle over their apple orchard. They can’t make out what color the plane is, because it is shaded by the sun and flying at an angle. It is flying really low and traveling very slowly. This morning it is really nice out, and the temperature is forty-five degrees. There is no wind blowing.

Well, it looks like it would be a good day for flying, the man says.

Yes, it does seem like it would be a nice day for flying, she replies.

Now, at this time us angels decide to rise slowly, as if we get back in our aircraft and fly up to the sky again.

A short distance from here there is a small country airport. While we’re flying through the countryside, we see a clearing in the middle of the crop fields in the far distance. As we approach, we notice that there is a runway, and the closer we get we can see a small country airport. When we arrive, we circle around the airport one time to check it out. However, we decide to land here right now, and we see that the airport looks barren, because there are only small sage bushes in the field and near the edge of the runway. The airport is sitting on a medium-sized acreage.

At this airport there are three main buildings. The center building, which is the largest building, has the control tower. The tower glass looks tinted and blue in color. The other two buildings are on each side of the tower building, and they are a little smaller in length and width. They are all light gray in color, and they sit near the runway. There are four hanger buildings for housing the aircraft, each facing the mountain range. Each building has an airplane inside. On the airport grounds is an area that is set aside for storing airplanes that sit outside. The airplanes are anchored down so they won’t blow away if it gets windy.

On the outside of the airport’s fenced area to the west are some scattered trees that are not very tall. In between the trees are some small green shrubs. Further away from these trees are apple, orange, peach, and walnut orchards. The entrance of the airport has an eight-foot locking metal gate, and the surrounding perimeter of the airport is a five-foot wire fence.

On this day, some pilots are giving people scenic tours. There are four different colored signs made of wood placed at the entrance and inside the airport. They each say Scenic Tours Today!

There are several different types of airplanes here that are used for the tours. One kind is a small plane with wings on the bottom of the fuselage. It is a Piper Cherokee. Another airplane has the wings on the top of the airplane, and another type has the wings at the middle of the plane. The two smaller planes have only one engine and a propeller. The larger plane has two engines and two propellers. The airplanes in use today are white, red, yellow, and green. There are three airplanes lined up at the end of the runway, and now one of the small yellow airplanes with the wings on the bottom of the plane taxies up to the end of the runway before taking off slowly and climbing into the air.

A gust of wind blows, and the people standing outside can smell the orchards even better. At the airport, there is a small crowd standing in a roped-off area. In this area are ten stands that sell food and drink. The stands are white with canvas tops to provide shade. People are buying hot dogs, hamburgers, and soft drinks.

There is a pilot standing next to his plane. He is flying a single-engine, four-seater, red-and-white-striped Piper airplane. He is heavyset and in his thirties. He wears a short sleeve red shirt, black pants, and sunglasses. He sees two people who look like they want to take a flight walking over to him. He smiles and motions with his hand for them to come over. Within a minute or so, the two people meet their pilot. He introduces himself and tells them that his name is Gary. A man and a woman come to meet him, and they want to take the scenic flight. The passengers look like they are in their thirties too. The man is wearing a blue short sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and a blue baseball hat. The woman is wearing a yellow dress and a yellow polka dot bandanna.

Well, are you ready for the tour? the pilot asks.

Yes, we’re ready, the man answers.

Have you ever flown before?

Yes, but only once, the woman replies.

I have flown, oh, maybe a few times, the man says.

Well—it should be a great day for flying. It is really pretty today, the pilot remarks.

Shall we get in? the pilot asks.

Yes, the passengers reply.

The pilot holds the back door open, and the woman boards first. She sits on the right side of the plane next to the window. She has a good view of the orchards and the mountain range on her side. Her friend sits next to her. It’s time to buckle your seat belts, and then when we get airborne, I need for you not to move and only lean in the direction of the turn, because it would throw this little plane off balance. Okay? the pilot says.

All right the passengers agree.

The pilot slowly taxies down the runway for a few minutes or so and waits until he gets clearance from the control tower to go. When he gets the go-ahead, he takes off until he is airborne. He climbs into the air and travels at a cruising speed. The flight reveals a view of the landscape and the sky. On the ground they see the different shades of green and some yellow roll by, because of the different types of crops. At this elevation, they notice the square blocks of land and some farmhouses in the distance. There are mostly dark and light green fields. In the far distance, the Sierra mountain range silhouettes against the sky.

After a few minutes, the woman looks out her window, and says, Wow, this is a nice view of the country.

A little later the man looks over to her side of the airplane and says, Yes, that sure is pretty country!

They see the fields and the country in the distance. The plane slowly descends and travels at a slower speed, and now they notice orange groves. After that, the plane flies in the direction of the rows of trees for a while, and then it turns at an opposite direction and travels above the groves. They notice the ground in between the rows of trees and roads zipping by.

There sure are a lot of orange trees, the man says.

Yes, there sure are, the woman replies.

There are many orange groves and many dirt roads. Then the plane slowly rises again, and they have a view of the sky and landscape. Shortly after this, the airplane banks to the right side and shows one particular dirt road in the distance.

They notice an old country road while they are looking down upon