"Gift of a Second Chance"

The sounds that bellow from out of the house are all too familiar to neighbors that have lived close to the Lanes. Some have been there long enough to see the Lane children grow up and move on with their own lives. Still the sounds of complete horror on this day keep the surrounding neighbors thinking, “What is it this time? I wonder what Joe is into now?”

Still Linda cries, “You don’t have to do this! You need to relax and stop scaring me!”

Joe has been known to have a very nasty temper, unstable to violent; to say the least.

“Sit down, I want you to read this!” Joe persists - as he hands a crumpled piece of paper to Linda.

The sounds of screaming from the house reverberate down the way and rebound off the cul-de-sac at the end of the street as Joe paces back and forth on the kitchen floor. Wielding a gun in his hand, he swears he will use it this time.

“I don’t want to read it! I don’t want to see your will, please!” Linda cried more angrily this time.Becoming more insistent, Joe needs Linda to confirm his decision at this time; for in his mind he only had a few more things to accomplish before “checking out.”

Joe has spent the last few weeks preparing for his departure from this world by giving his personal belongings away to friends. That itself raised a scarlet flag to close family members, but remember, most would not question the acts of Joe Lane, for if you knew him, you wouldn’t have to be reminded of your business and your place. If Joe was giving his things away, then let it be.

Linda had strange feelings earlier that week when they attended a friends’ wedding. Joe has worn this particular ring for many years. It looked like an eye. The groom was a close friend to the Lane’s son, Michael Lee and when they were younger Joe teased him by telling him that the eye was real. This alone is very strange; to know the future, Joe would soon be known as “one eyed Joe,” for reasons soon to be revealed. Joe wore this ring all the time but gave it to the groom at the reception in remembrance of himself.

Other things that took place in those few weeks prior to this day made Linda’s eyebrow arc. Like Joe cleaning and handling his guns and other weapons consistently and often looking as though he was at one with them. He had also written a will which he had done before. Linda has seen it all with her husband.

Now medically speaking, Joe has been diagnosed with a few disorders in his life, but the one thing that was totally out of control today was his head. A manic depressant he is; and over the edge he was.

The yelling could be heard from the house, but it was something that most neighbors have learned to ignore. Hard to imagine, but Joe’s neighbors adore him and the Lane family. Joe can become very excited at times but just like that he would give anything to even a stranger if they needed it. He has been known to house and feed the hungry and homeless at times, a very complex person indeed. The folks that lived around them had grown accustomed to their ways of settling family feuds.

Today Joe was at end and Linda could not for the life of her get him to talk about what was triggering this episode. In the past, she has been able to calm him down and get him to relax, but not this time. Something was very wrong.

“F*** this, I don’t want you to help me! I want you to read this!” Joe shouted at Linda. She took the hand written will and sat down at the table and began to read through the tears in her eyes his last testament. It was hard to read because it looked as though it was written in a hurried manner; kind of like he was running out of time. It was instructions to her on what to give and to whom. Some items were going to friends that he has known for only months and some for decades. It didn’t make a lot of since. It was only scarring her more.

The level of rage was starting to increase as Joe became more and more angry.

“What is this all about?” Linda pleaded. He just told her that he needed to get some things finished in his life.

“I need to take care of some business, and in case things don’t go right, I want to be covered!” Joe snarled.

He became more enraged as the long minutes ticked away at his short day. Linda’s mind was running amuck with thoughts of her kids and how she was going to be able to calm him down this time, by herself. She concluded that this time she wouldn’t be able to accomplish the task at hand and she desperately needed someone on her side and soon. There was something that was making him crazy. Like a demon or a bad concoction of drugs and booze. Whatever it was this time, it was different. She has seen many years of wild drunkenness and belligerent shenanigans in her time with Joe, although in hindsight some were in away funny and entertaining; just as long as no one ended up buried.

Joe continued to be captivated by the escalation of his blood pressure. He was now waving his .380 punk-buster in the air and fired off a few rounds to boot. Now to most, this kind of behavior would send all involved running into the streets. Not Linda, she has witnessed this many times before and has some wounded household items to prove it. Joe got wasted one night on booze and shot seven or eight rounds through the walls and then proceeded to afflict a final assault on her iron. There have been many of lampshades and various wall fixtures that never had a chance in the past. Rainy days that trickled its way through the roof and then the ceiling would remind them of even more days of time gone by that got out of control at the hand of Joe and his guns.

Alcohol has had its way with many people and continues to cloud judgments and keep one captive with its liquid luster; Joe is no exception. He has been drinking since he was just a kid. Today was just another intoxicating day in the life of the Lanes. But still Linda couldn’t help to think something was different...