Finding the Unpredictable Good

By Mara Pennell, Alex Gambeau, Pam Rodolph and Sara Walker

"Finding the Unpredictable Good" is a collection of short stories and essays by four authors sharing their real-life experiences. The challenges they've faced reflect their pursuit of the unpredictable good each of us discovers as we move through life. The realization of this good shows up in the most amazing moments, in the most unpredictable ways. Life always provides a gift.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667860251

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Copyright © 2022 Alex Gambeau, Mara Pennell, Pam Rodolph, and Sara Walker.

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-66786-024-4 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-66786-025-1 (eBook)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic

or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the authors,

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and

certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons,

living or dead, or events, is purely coincidental.

Preface

Our marvelous story began nearly two years ago with a Hell, yes!–the required response to gain entrance into what has been a remarkable journey. None of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves into. Each of us is becoming a professional Mentor/Minister in The Prosperos School of Ontology. Ontology is the study of Being-ness. The Prosperos is a school, not a church, but spiritual. We study consciousness.

Our extraordinary journey began in a course called Advanced Mentors Workshop. The lessons covered everything from issues we deal with in ourselves and our clients to the students with whom we came in contact. Each class in the program had a theme from which the Words in this book come.

Some of us had never written anything but a grocery list. My writing was primarily technical, writing curriculum. Each week we wrote about a word associated with the curriculum for the class. But not long, our writing began to challenge us in a good way. We started understanding what was needed to make a good story. Our imaginations went into overdrive. What we have written is fictional but built from real-life experiences.

We hope our stories provide you with new insights into many of life’s situations, perhaps allowing you to consider things in a new and different way. Sometimes others’ narratives can reframe and reformulate our viewpoint in life, that is, seeing things with fresh eyes.

It is our sincere wish that you enjoy these carefully selected stories.

•••

We would like to thank our master teachers: Calvin Harris H.W.M., Senior Mentor and Life Coach; and Dr. Sue Beck H.W.M., Life Coach and Associate Facilitator. Their faith in us and their ability to teach writing carried us through. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Alex Gambeau

Mara Pennell

Pam Rodolph

Sara Walker

For more information about The Prosperos School of Ontology, please see www.theprosperos.org

Contents

Accountability

Dazed And Confused by ALEX GAMBEAU

You Can Count on It by MARA PENNELL

Accountability by PAM RODOLPH

Stepping Up by SARA WALKER

Agreement

Agreement by MARA PENNELL

Making Agreements by PAM RODOLPH

The Turning Point by SARA WALKER

Alignment

Get Off My Lawn by ALEX GAMBEAU

The Secret to Pie Crust by MARA PENNELL

Sam What Am or Sam What Ain’t Or

What Do You Align Yourself With? by PAM RODOLPH

Truth of Color by SARA WALKER

Animal

The Fly by ALEX GAMBEAU

Gone To the Dog by MARA PENNELL

Hi, My Name’s Spot by PAM RODOLPH

Are You Being Trained? by SARA WALKER

Attitude

I’ve Got ‘Tude, Dude by ALEX GAMBEAU

The Boy by MARA PENNELL

Oh, God! by PAM RODOLPH

I Am a Writer by SARA WALKER

Connection

Quite A Pair by ALEX LAMBEAU

Connections and Disconnections by MARA PENNELL

Please, Oh Lord, Disconnect Me by PAM RODOLPH

When the Mind Is Willing, but

the Body Isn’t by SARA WALKER

Critical Thinking

Just the Facts, Ma’am by MARA PENNELL

The Thing About Thinking by PAM RODOLPH

Going Beyond Ego by SARA WALKER

Direction

The Unpredictable Good at Work by ALEX GAMBEAU

Choose Again by MARA PENNELL

No Wrong Direction by PAM RODOLPH

Breaking up with Overwhelmed by SARA WALKER

Enough

Being Enough by MARA PENNELL

Responsibility by PAM RODOLF

Excuse

My God by MARA PENNELL

Excuses Or Sorry I’m Late, my Grandmother Died

(For the Tenth Time) by PAM RODOLPH

No Blame, No Shame by SARA WALKER

Inhibition

An Intriguing Offer by MARA PENNELL

Seeking Higher Ground by SARA WALKER

Leadership

Take Me to Your Leader by ALEX GAMBEAU

Pro-What? by PAM RODOLPH

For a Good Night’s Sleep Call Alex By ALEX GAMBEAU

The Choice by MARA PENNELL

Love Is All There Is by SARA WALKER

Morality

Through the Eyes of a Child by ALEX GAMBEAU

There Is No Free Lunch

Or The High Price of an Education. by MARA PENNELL

Rising Out of the Ashes by SARA WALKER

Silence

I Love a Good Story by ALEX GAMBEAU

The Cougar Consciousness by MARA PENNELL

Memory by PAM RODOLPH

Entering the Still Space Within by SARA WALKER

Vulnerability

The Lady at the Health Food Store by ALEX GAMBEAU

About Mrs. Silverton by MARA PENNELL

Secret Chasers Or

Secrets of a Secret Realm by PAM RODOLPH

Worthy

My Vocation Is Not Woodworking by PAM RODOLPH

Sure Enough by SARA WALKER

Accountability

Dazed And Confused

by ALEX GAMBEAU

For me, fear is the feeling of anxiety I get going into an unknown situation. I often react to the unknown with great anxiety. I work for the Vancouver Housing Authority in Washington State. It is a fascinating job, and I run into all types of people. As a House Rep, I am responsible for handling any emergency that rears its ugly head.

Recently, while the main office was closed for the weekend, it was close to the end of my shift when I got a call from an upstairs neighbor. She asked me to meet with her and another tenant on the floor above. They wanted to meet in her apartment before explaining the problem, making me feel a bit anxious. I thought, Oh no, what is this about?

It had been a good Saturday. I was not overwhelmed with calls. I met the ladies in the apartment and asked what the problem was. The woman said the main office had told her that if she had a complaint, she should contact the House Rep before calling 911. I said yes, of course, then asked her what was wrong. She asked me to meet in her apartment because she was concerned about alerting the neighbor she was making her complaint about.

The women had experienced loud cursing and screaming directed at them from the man who had just moved in next door. He had shouted that he hated women and how he planned to hurt them. The argument had started the night before and continued through the morning. It was about three in the afternoon when I received the complaint. His behavior was still going on at three-twenty that afternoon.

I am not a novice when handling tenants and people with mental illness. I have had many experiences, and we have a protocol to follow in these situations. This man was new. He had just moved into the building, and I had not come across him yet. I didn’t even know his name. The main office had not informed me about any issues with him, so I was uncertain about what was happening.

No one knew his name. The two women stated how frightened they were of him. Much of his yelling made no sense to them; it did not seem coherent. This disturbance had been going on for two days at this point. They both suggested I should not go alone when I confronted the man. I agreed. Since the situation was filled with unknowns, I got another House Rep to come with me for backup. He lived on the same floor as the women and the screaming man. I instructed the backup to go to his apartment and call 911 if we ran into trouble.

I knocked on the yelling man’s door; the minute he opened the door, he was all over me, screaming in my face that he would beat me up and cursing at me. I didn’t even have a moment to identify myself. The man was wearing nothing but his undershorts. His eyes looked empty, as if no one were home. He stood in the hallway with his untamed hair and flowing beard. He looked every bit like a wild man. The only thing I could see was anger and hate. I instructed my backup to call 911. Then I turned away from the madman and began to walk away. That is how we train to handle these situations. The point is to avoid physical contact or assault. If he had hit me, he would have been evicted. Boy, was I glad he didn’t hit me. He was a much bigger guy than I; he stood over six feet. My backup did not follow my direction to call the police; I had to.

The police showed up about ninety minutes later–a male and female officer. They wanted to know the man’s name, and of course, I didn’t know and could not contact the office to get it on the weekend. The police gave a lot of information to one of the reporting ladies but never explained anything to me. I was clueless about any problems this man might have. The woman had spoken to the building office before the weekend. They had advised her to contact the house rep on duty. That would be me. It would have been nice if someone had informed me there was a problem, but no one told me about the disturbed man we had in the building.

I showed the police where the man lived. They suggested I stay back and let them handle it. The agitated person was already angry with me, so it was best I stayed out of sight. I wholeheartedly agreed. When they knocked on his door, the man swung open the door again and started ranting at the officers. Then he slammed the door in their faces.

I was sitting on a bench near the elevator, watching the exchange. I sat next to one of the women who had made the complaint; I tried to comfort her. The police returned to my bench and told me that was all they could do. According to the officers, He lives there, and he has the right to slam the door in our face.

I was not pleased with how the events were folding. I submitted a report to the main office on Monday, but I could not speak to anyone at the main office until Wednesday of the following week because the office did not reopen until then. The management retrieved the event’s tape from the hallway camera. Their review showed what I had described precisely. They told me they saw that the man attacked me before I could identify myself as the House Rep. However, management was unaware of the man’s mental health issues. He appeared to be lucid and calm when he signed the rental documents. They had had no idea of his condition.

The belligerent tenant accosted the building manager the following week and threatened to F him up. The story is still ongoing. I am waiting to see what the outcome is. In the meantime, I keep track of what is going on and file my reports. My main concern is tenant safety. The man is ill, and I have great empathy for that. But above all, I have to keep in mind the safety of the other tenants. It requires a balancing act.

I have learned over the years a great many things about dealing with people suffering from mental illness. The first one is to stay calm. Don’t escalate the situation, and don’t be reactive. If I get off-center, I cannot think clearly, and clear thinking is vital. Stand your ground, but don’t engage. I mean that you do not want to show any fear. Move slowly and