By William R. Jones
Recently, I heard someone say, “It was the best day of my life.” I wondered, what was the worst day of that person's life? Then, I thought, what really was my best and worst day?
Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” I suppose that it could be both at the same time for someone somewhere.
It reminds me of one of the “laws of physics”: two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. That is a half-truth, over-simplified explanation. Identical bosons, a fifth state of matter can flow or pass through each other. Some will say bosons are not objects; it is about interpretation.
Long ago, Isaac Asimov, proposed that one solid object could pass through another solid object without damaging either. Something about the bonds of matter breaking temporarily and then coming back together again. That is hard to imagine as possible.
Nevertheless, I have seen twice what you call a “ghost” pass through a solid wall. Whether the “human forms” were solid or not, I don't know. I think that they are made up of a combination of elements or substances that we are not yet familiar with. I'm one of the 32 percent (Gallop Poll) of Americans that say they have seen or been in the presence of a ghost.
Thus, I count as one of the worst days of my life was when I saw the first ghost. It was overwhelming and persuasive, equal to any strong and serious religious belief. I was a happy seven-year-old child in our three-room apartment. One evening, Grandmother and I provided our bed to a guest, and we slept on a floor mat. I was awakened and instantly aware of a ghostly figure leaning over father who was fast asleep across the room. With my first eked-out whimper, the thing turned and walked to the foot of our mat. It was standing inches above the floor. I then burst into crying as I pinched Grandmother awake. The ghost ran through the doorway of the kitchenette, and a pan clanged to the floor. Father was up in no time.
"What is it, William?" Grandmother asked. "What's wrong?" Father asked. "A man, a man!" was all they could get out of me as I pointed to the kitchenette. Father immediately checked the empty kitchenette and the apartment door locks. All was secured. They simply thought that I experienced a frightening dream. The episode haunted me for days. The experience eventually faded; however, it was brought alive again and confirmed on another fateful day.
One of the best days of my life was my learning that there was, indeed, a God of the universe. I won't go into the full story of it now. However, I will say that it was very enlightening and all doubt was removed that my life was worth keeping.
In conclusion, each of us has good days and bad days. When we look at the present state of things in the world, we fear that the worst is yet to come. At the same time we are confident that the best is yet to come.
The author (wrjones@vsu.edu) published the novella “Beyond Harvard” and presently teaches English as a second language.