22

Battle Scars

I had already noticed his face and arms were scarred but I never imagined his entire body had received this much damage. I turn looking the other direction, hoping he didn’t see me observing his battle wounds.

“Chado, it’s okay bud. You forget I can hear what you’re thinking.”

“Man, you got me. I’m so sorry Uriel. I couldn’t help but notice your wounds and wonder how you got cut up like that. Do you mind telling me?”

“Sure I can tell you. We have a few more miles to go before our first stop. Chado, I’m going to remind you of an event that happened in your past life and then I want you to tell me the story about what happened. Is that okay?”

“I guess so, but what’s that got to do with your scars?”

“Everything, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Do you remember when your dog Buck got shot while you were on a project over in the state of Mississippi?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, tell me from the beginning exactly what happened.”

“It’s been a long time ago, but I’ll try.”

* * *

“When I got the job as night watchman for the pipeline company, it didn’t take me long to figure out that I needed a companion. The long twelve hour nights babysitting heavy equipment that was used to install steel pipelines cross country made me realize I needed a dog. So in my search for the perfect canine, I happened to stop at a general store for my nightly snacks and there was an ole female Catahoula Cur standing in front of the store. I petted her as I came in and also as I left. She hung around the storefront for several days, and each time I started to leave, she would try to let me know she wanted to go with me by raring up with her front feet on the tailgate of my truck. I had to ask the store manager who she belonged to. The manager claimed that she didn’t belong to anyone and insisted that I take her. So I dropped the tailgate and without any persuasion she jumped right in.

After several nights of having her around, I knew I had definitely made the right choice. Sometime later, I bred her with my brother’s Bull Mastiff and she had a litter of puppies. Before she gave birth to our new family of pups, I built a cypress dog house for the back of my truck. It was a thing of beauty, the craftsmanship of the aerodynamic roof would have made any dog owner sin with envy.

The proud mom gave birth to seven beautiful pups that were born on the pipeline in the back of my truck.

After they were around eight to ten weeks old, the guys on the pipeline would get a kick out of watching me arrive and dropping the tailgate, seeing pup after pup stick their heads out.

As time passed, I gave away all but one, and kept my favorite. He was the pick of the litter; Buck.

I guess if you compared him to Moushie and Rex, Buck would have to be one of my top three dogs ever .

In that season of my life, I managed to get married in between projects, and it seemed like every time I came home my wife would announce, ‘I’m pregnant’. Wow, back to back, two girls and a boy.

Trying to send my wife through nursing school and facing a whole other type of expense with three babies, I had to figure out how to cut costs. So I started eating a lot more beanie weenies and sardines. Still struggling, I decided no more motel expense for me. I got permission from the owner of the company to camp along the pipeline. So Buck and I slept during the day anywhere there was a source of fresh water near the pipeline right-of-way. I truly believe the old man that owned the company liked my being out there.

On the larger jobs where we were spread too thin, they would hire another watchman. This is where I met Marvin; he was a preacher that really loved the Lord. He worked with us on several projects and became a dear friend.

I was finally able to afford a six hundred dollar camper. It looked like something from a comedy show, but it did keep the rain out. We had no running water or electricity, but it was definitely a step up from tents or sleeping in the back of my truck curled up with my furry friend. I remember using a twenty gallon water cooler in the winter time to bathe out of. This was only after the water in the creeks would get so cold it would hurt my scalp when I would try to wash my hair, and at that point I would start using the igloo cooler.

No, I couldn’t crawl in a twenty gallon cooler. I would take the lid off each day and let the sun warm it up as much as possible. I would then take a big towel stick it down in the water, take a deep breath then squeeze it out over my head, soap up, shampoo up and then rinse right off. For a quick shave, I would twist the mirror around and before I knew it, I was as clean as could be.

As the days passed, Marvin and I would read and study the Bible. Uriel, as I think back, I truly believe being around ole Marvin really impacted my whole life.

Well anyway, one day after we awoke and were getting ready to head to our designated locations on the line, I told Marvin that I had an awful nightmare about Buck. I dreamed that he had come running up to me and his face was covered with bright red blood. We didn’t think much of it at the time, but that was about to change.

My crew had shut down for the day on the side of a hill overlooking a land owner’s home and property. As I was sitting in my truck before dark reading the scripture, I looked around for Buck and I saw he had made friends with the land owner’s German Shepherd and they were both playing about half way between his house and my equipment. I remember smiling as I watched them harmlessly chase each other and I had the thought, the shepherd must be a female and Buck has a new girlfriend.

Suddenly the owner came out of his house and with a very hard tone started hollering at his dog to come home. I immediately got out of the truck and called Buck back up the hill. The land owner went back in his house like everything was okay.

After Buck came up to me I petted him for a few seconds, ‘Buck, don’t go back down there, you hang around here.’ I stepped back in my truck, grabbed my Bible and continued to read, when suddenly I hear gun fire. POW, POW, POW, I look up to see where it’s coming from and it’s the landowner shooting a rifle, and he’s pointing in our direction. I look back over and see Buck standing beside a Cat side boom that’s parked in front of my truck. The shots continue: POW, POW, and I hear the bullet hit Buck with a thump.

Buck doesn’t go down; he runs around and leaps up in the back of my truck. I quickly threw my Bible on the seat then grabbed my Colt 45 pistol. I jumped out of my truck and ran to my wounded dog. I could see the entry and exit hole from this maniac’s bullet. It looked like a perfect heart shot, the entry wound was right behind the front shoulder. Suddenly Buck starts spitting up blood and with tears swelling and my heart pounding, I was getting ready for Buck to take his last breath.

With sudden overwhelming anger, I turn and start running down the hill with my pistol cursing and shouting, ‘I am going to kill you, you sorry no good SOB!’ Suddenly from out of nowhere something stopped me. I turned and walked past the open door of my truck, tossed my weapon on the seat, and slowly made my way to the back of the truck, dreading that I might find my best friend lying dead.

To my surprise he was still breathing. I could hear a gurgling sound coming from his chest. The look in Buck’s face was something I had never seen before. I placed my arms around him and lightly hugged him as I whispered, ‘Hang in there buddy, I’ll get you some help.’

I slammed the tailgate and we tore out of there, heading for the nearest town. I called the other watchmen on the CB radio informing him of what just took place. Only by divine appointment we found a vet that was still at his office. I explained Buck had been shot and needed emergency care. The kind veterinarian brought him straight in and told me they would do everything they could to save him.

By this time the other watchman, Mr. Marvin, had already contacted the police. On my arrival back at the crime scene, the cops were on site talking with the shooter.

I parked my truck right behind the equipment and through the night air, I could hear them having conversation with the land owner. I actually heard them all laughing and joking like close friends.

It wasn’t long until the two officers drove up to my location on the hill. They get out of their squad car with a cocky look, ‘Sir after questioning the land owner, he claims your dog was attacking his cows and there is nothing we can do about him defending his livestock.’

I instantly start defending my dog, ‘That’s a big fat lie! Buck was standing in front of that Cat side boom right there. Besides that, Buck was raised around livestock and has never ever chased or harmed any cows. That guy is lying through his teeth!’

‘Well sir, there is nothing you can do.’ Both cops get back in their squad car and drive off.

As I sit in the dark thinking about what had just happened. The horrible scene plays over and over in my mind like a broken record. I can still hear their laughter, then echoes from the gunfire; finally seeing the face of my dog as he coughed up blood. Speaking of blood, mine now boils with anger.

There has to be something I can do; this is so wrong!

It finally broke daylight and when the first pipeline operator arrived, I took off in search of the local courthouse, not realizing it wouldn’t be open that early in the morning. After that I drove back to the animal clinic and found that Buck was stable. The kind doctor told me it was a slim chance that he might pull through. Upon receiving this grave report, I headed back over to the courthouse and patiently waited until it was open. After a multitude of people went through the doors, I felt confident that at least one had to be a judge.

Since I had never set foot in a courthouse, I was lost as a goose. A lady at one of the many counters asked me what I was looking for. ‘Ma’am, I would like to see a judge.’ She grinned real big and said, ‘Let me see young man, you stand right there and I’ll check.’ She was gone for a couple minutes and on her return, ‘If you would, please follow me.’

To my surprise, she walked up to the chamber door of a lady judge, lightly knocked and I hear, ‘Come on in’. Upon my entry I was greeted by a beautiful black lady with a warm smile. ‘Come on in young man, and tell me what’s troubling you to the point of wanting to see a judge in person. This has to be something special.’

I told her about everything that had occurred, even about the cops laughing with the land owner and how it gave me the impression they were all cousins or somehow related.

After explaining my story, she turns around and pulls a big thick law book off the wall. She plops it down on her desk with the sound of a deep thud. ‘Come around here where you can see and help me find the laws that have been broken.’ I walk around to her side of the desk as she drags her finger back and forth across the print. ‘Okay, it says right here, cruelty to a dumb brute; it carries a fine from 60 dollars up to 10,000 dollars and or time in jail. Well young man, what would you like to do?’

‘I’m not sure, I mean I don’t really know how all this works, what would be your advice?’

‘I can’t give you advice on what you should do, but I can give you options on what we can do inside the guidelines of this law book and the final ruling would be done in a court room. Saying that, if you want to press charges we will have him arrested or you can drop it and move on.’

‘I would like to press charges and have him arrested.’

‘Okay, I’ll get it all started, and it was a pleasure meeting you sir.’

I gave her my humble thanks as I left her chambers. Walking back across the parking lot I was thinking, Man how lucky was that, walking straight in and seeing a judge .

On my drive back to check on Buck I prayed, ‘Lord please let my buddy make it, he’s such a good dog.’

As I walked in the vet’s office, surprisingly the kind doctor almost met me at the door and was eager to give me an update. I could tell he had a true heart for animals and took a special interest in this case. This man had stayed with Buck all night watching over his patient.

The vet explained to me that only time will tell if Buck makes it. The bullet went completely through his body, barely missing his heart and struck a part of his lung and he had quite a bit of internal bleeding. He informed me that they would monitor him closely and there is no sense in me having to sit and wait.

I praised the kind doctor and thanked him with great compassion as I left. I went back to our campsite and sought council from Marvin. I knew he had to have wisdom from the spiritual side of life, due to his many years of studying the Bible and being a preacher.

I gave him an update on Buck’s condition and then told him about getting to see the lady judge and how I pressed charges on the land owner. She told me they were going to have him arrested.

The old preacher leaned back in his chair grinning from ear to ear, ‘Well Chado, sounds like you just kicked a hornets’ nest wide open.’ His smile turned into a pretty good laugh. ‘You just had an official judge write out an arrest warrant for a land owner that owns the property our pipeline is crossing.’

‘Yes sir, I guess I did. What do you think is going to happen?’

‘Well, I would imagine Mr. Fred, the owner of the company is going to fly hot, and then the gas company we’re laying the line for will get involved also. It’s going to turn into a mess. Chado, I wonder if the cops have picked him up yet.’

‘I don’t know, but I hope it’s the same cops that were laughing at me and my dog, and they are the very ones that have to arrest that nut job.’

Marvin looks over at me with an odd expression, ‘Chado, you know that weird dream you had about seeing Buck’s face covered with blood? Don’t you think that’s a bit strange, the very same day you have the dream he gets shot? You said Buck was spitting up blood; right?’

‘Yes, bright red blood, just like my dream.’

‘Well, it might be more going on with this whole scene than we can understand.’

‘What do you mean Marvin?’

‘Who knows, God might be up to something in your life or maybe He’s trying to get that land owner’s attention. I know this, in the Bible it says,

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.’

‘Well I thought what I had was a dream and I’m a young man.’

‘Chado, how do you know the difference if you were dreaming or was simply having a vision in a sleep state?’

‘Maybe so, I just hope Buck makes it through this and I don’t lose my job. We are barely above the water level financially.’

As evening fell, I arrived at my designated location on the line and I was met by a foreman telling me that I needed to head over to our field office. On my drive to the office, I was preparing myself to face the facts of being fired from my much needed job.

When I drove in the parking lot, I noticed several vehicles that were unfamiliar. They really stood out because normally everyone had gone home by this time of evening.

As I walked through the door, I was faced with several people from the gas company, the owners of the construction company and three land agents. They all stared at me without saying anything with a look of anger in their eyes.

I slowly make my way to an empty seat at the end of a long shiny table that had blueprints and note pads scattered in front of the men .

As soon as my butt touched the chair, old man Fred, my boss and owner of our company, lit in on me like a mad bulldog. His face got so red I could see the blood vessels swell across his forehead.

‘You can’t have a land owner arrested; do you realize what you’ve done? When you leave here you go drop the charges. I mean now!’ He pulls out his wallet. ‘How much is that dammed dog worth?’ He grabs several hundred dollar bills out of his wallet and started shaking the money at me. ‘Here take it; I’ll pay your vet bill and whatever it costs to drop the charges. Here, I said take it!’

The whole group of men started mumbling among themselves as Fred continued to shake his money at me and rave about what I did could shut the whole pipeline down.

At first, I felt like I didn’t have a friend in the world. Not knowing what to say or do, I felt my face and scalp start to tingle as a fire started in my heart. Anger rose up through my whole body as I thought of my best friend Buck lying in the animal hospital struggling for his life. I quickly stood up and the room went silent. I slowly looked into each one of the men’s faces, as their curiosity of what my reply would be kept them silent.

‘Let me tell you this, it’s pretty simple. That crazy land owner shot my dog out of pure hatred and I could care less if this pipeline ever gets laid. Buck was born on the pipeline and he has helped me watch over your equipment and helped protect your pipe from vandals and thieves. So, you can fire me or whatever seems fitting in your hearts, but I’m not dropping any charges. Mr. Fred, you can stick that money back in your wallet where it belongs, because there is no price you can put on my dog!’

The room exploded with everyone talking over each other trying to figure out what they should do.

I spoke back up and informed them that I would be in the parking lot waiting on their decision about my termination. I walked out to my truck, dropped the tailgate then hopped up. As I was sitting on my tailgate slowly swinging my feet back and forth I noticed my hands were shaking. I need to calm down, I’ll get another job somewhere; this has to be the right decision.

The door to the office flies open with the owner’s son, Mr. Jerry heading straight for me. I noticed he was smiling. ‘Hey Chado, this is quite the situation we’re in, wouldn’t you say?’

‘Yes sir, I believe it is.’

‘Look, everything is going to be okay. Truth be known, the land owner can’t kick us off his property. The land agents have already paid him for access. So with that being said, the pipeline will not be affected at all. We will lay right through and he can’t do anything.’

‘Mr. Jerry, will I lose my job over all this?’

He chuckles, ‘No you’re not losing your job. Chado, we all love Buck and when I heard what happened I knew he was lying about Buck attacking his cows. I’ve seen the way Buck acts around livestock many times in the past. Know this, I am behind you 100 percent on whatever direction you want to take this. I tell you what I would like to do, is to help you with the vet bill. I also would hope you might consider dropping the charges on this guy. I believe this would help keep the peace with the other land owners in our path. You’ve already stung him pretty good with his arrest. I heard from a pretty good source down at the police station that the ole fart’s wife is out of town for the weekend. It looks like he doesn’t have anyone to bail him out, so that means he has to sit in jail till Monday.’

‘Mr. Jerry, I think that will serve him right. He wasn’t only shooting at Buck; he was pointing his rifle right at the equipment.’

‘I didn’t know that Chado. If that’s the case, he could have shot you or damaged the equipment. My goodness!’

During our conversation I felt a peace, now that I knew Mr. Jerry had my back and I wasn’t going to lose my job .

‘Mr. Jerry, I guess I’ll go and see if I can get those charges dropped.’

‘Ok Chado, I’ll let daddy Fred know and inform that room full of company men. You get back out to the equipment and first thing Monday morning run over to the courthouse and take care of that. Oh yeah, keep up with the cost of the vet bill and whatever the court cost might be for dropping charges, and I’ll refund you every dime; and Chado, I’ll be praying that Buck pulls through.’

Monday came and went and our prayers were being answered. I was able to pick Buck up from the hospital and within days he was as right as rain.

My crews and equipment had moved farther up the pipeline away from the location where Buck was shot and everything seemed to be back to normal. I was back to reading God’s Word daily and I felt led to scripture about forgiveness, because I hadn’t forgiven this cruel man that shot my dog. I felt that God led me straight to: II Corinthians 2:9-11,

‘For to this end I also wrote that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.

Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.’

As I pondered over this scripture, it was easy to realize that I was falling into one of Satan’s devices and my only escape would be to go and see this hateful man face to face.

After much prayer I felt that I was ready to look him in the eyes and tell him that I forgive him.

The following evening before my shift started, I drove to the crime scene. I boldly walked up to his door, lightly knocked several times and suddenly the door swung open, ‘What do you want? ’

‘Sir, I have come here to tell you that I forgive you for shooting my dog and hold no animosity toward you.’

‘I shot your dog because he was attacking my cows!’

‘No sir. You can tell everyone else that lie but you are forgetting one thing.’

‘And what could that be?’

‘I was there and I watched as you shot your rifle multiple times and finally hit my dog that was standing only a few feet in front of my truck and the equipment.’

He immediately slammed the door in my face. So I headed back down his driveway, thanking God that he didn’t shoot me. Suddenly I had a sense of peace that I had done the will of God and it was now completely over. I had truly forgiven the man from the bottom of my heart.

That very night a violent storm came through the area and I sat in the truck all night with my trusted friend Buck resting his head in my lap. We both dozed off as the driving rain pounded the metal roof of the pickup.

I woke up to the sound of my CB radio, it was Marvin. ‘Breaker breaker, come in Chado Cole, you got a copy?’

‘10-4 Marvin I read you, what’s up on your end, did you make it through the storm okay?’

‘Yeah, 10-4, that’s what I need to tell you about.’

‘Roger that. Did our camper make it through all the wind?’

‘10-4 camper is fine, but you need to drive by the guy’s house that shot your dog.’

‘What’s going on? What happened?’

‘A tornado came through there and wiped his barns completely out. His home was spared, but the barns are totally disintegrated.’

‘Wow, I was just there before dark yesterday.’

‘You went over there? You crazy rascal, you’re braver than I am. Why were you there?’

‘I didn’t tell you, but I felt led to go and tell him to his face that I forgave him for shooting Buck.’

‘How did he act when you told him?’

‘He slammed the door in my face.’

Marvin keyed the mike and I could hear him laughing, ‘Man that’s powerful. He didn’t realize that he slammed the door in the face of one of God’s children that had just humbled himself before God with a forgiving heart. Chado Cole, I truly believe that storm was sent for a special purpose.’

‘Roger that Marvin, roger that.’ “

* * *

“Well Uriel, what do you think? Was I pretty accurate on the details?”

“Yes, you have an excellent memory, good job Chado.”

“Okay Uriel, with you being my Guardian Angel, would you mind telling me how your scars play in to all this?”

“Chado, you know each night when you sat in your truck on his property and you were reading the Word of God?”

“Yeah, I sure do.”

“Well this guy and his land were under a generational curse and had two fallen angels and several demons that were assigned to him and his family. When you rolled up every evening and opened your Bible, Lucifer was immediately informed of your presence. The fallen angels and those demons wanted you gone. Chado you have to remember Lucifer has always known that God was going to use you somehow later in life. So he saw an opportunity and tried to push you to a point of falling in one of his traps. In other words he wanted you dead, and he almost prevailed. The trick he used that night to bring you to the point of being out of control was that he knew how much you loved Buck and he also knew that was your weak spot. You know when you threw your Bible on the seat of your truck, grabbed the pistol and took off running down the hill?”

“Yes, I was so upset and out of control.”

“That’s right Chado; you were cursing and had killing that man in your heart. At that very moment you had two demons with their claws on your back pushing you toward your death.”

“What do you mean toward my death?”

“That land owner was standing in the shadows of his home behind a patch of dead flowers with you in the scope of his rifle. He had just clicked off the safety and was squeezing the trigger when I attacked and killed the two demons that were pushing you. I then stood in front of you with my hands raised to Heaven asking God to stop you from going any further. While my hands were lifted toward Heaven one of the fallen angels struck me several times in the back, and at the same time another demon from out of the darkness reached up with his nasty claws and scarred the left side of my face. At the point when you turned around heading back for your truck, I lowered my hands of praise and defended myself against the dark forces. In only a matter of a few seconds, they fled back into the shadows.”

“My goodness Uriel, I am so sorry I was out of control.”

“That’s okay Chado, I survived and here we are standing in Heaven. Hey, you want to hear something else about the ordeal?”

“Sure Uriel, I would love to.”

“You know that lady judge you went to?”

“Yes, she was so nice to me, not to mention how pretty she was.”

“Well Chado, what do you think the odds were of you walking off the street and getting to see a judge?”

“I guess pretty slim.”

“That’s right. God gave her a vision about the same time He gave you your vision of Buck’s face covered in blood. The vision she received was of you coming to her for help. So when the receptionist came and told her there is a young man at my desk asking to see a judge, she knew that her vision was from God, and your arrival was divine appointment.”

“I never imagined God was so involved. I knew the dream was a bit odd and after talking with Marvin, I felt it was something strange happening. Not to mention the storm that hit the guy’s place. Uriel, can you tell me the reason all this happened? What was God up to?”

“Chado, over the years God has given this man many opportunities to humble himself and submit his life to Christ. But this was his last warning, God used you and Buck in his life, and when you humbled yourself and told him that you had forgiven him for such a hateful act, he slammed the door in your face.

At that very second God turned him over to a reprobate mind, being filled with all unrighteousness, immorality, wickedness deserving of death and Hell.

He blasphemed the Holy Spirit several times in the past and Chado, he walks the Earth condemned and will never see the inside of Heaven.”

“My goodness, that’s pretty scary Uriel, so a person can reject God to the point of Him turning away and allowing them to live the rest of their lives lost and apart from God?”

“That’s right, and you witnessed the man’s last chance. He will live the rest of his life on Earth with the company of demons and eventually face the judgment of God.

One other thing Chado, everything that happened those few days had a positive effect on everyone involved. The lady judge, Marvin, Mr. Fred, several of the guys working on the line and you’ll love this, Mr. Jerry, the owner’s son; well he still uses that story as he teaches Bible school. Even to this day he sometimes brings it up and teaches about seeing the power of God used through a dog named Buck.”

I burst out laughing, “That is so cool; Mr. Jerry teaching Sunday school, who would have thought back in those days. You know, I always liked Jerry. You could just tell he had a good heart.”

* * *

I pat the side of my leg and Moushie comes running up to me, barely brushing my fingertips as he catches back up with Rex, who’s leading the way down the cobblestone path.

As I glanced over at Uriel, I noticed the deep scar on the left side of his face looked like it had faded and wasn’t as visible as before. It must be the shadows of the tall red oak trees we were walking under that masked his injuries.

I see both dogs ears perk up as if they seem to be hearing something coming from up ahead. They both suddenly take off in a fast run.

“Uriel, what do you think, did they hear something in the distance?”

Uriel stops and holds his hand up. “Listen Chado, can you hear that?”

I turn my ear in the direction up ahead. I hear a breeze blowing through the giant Sequoia trees and I look up to admire their beauty. “Yes that’s nice, what a sound.”

“No, I’m not talking about the wind, just listen.”

I turn my head again and in between the gentle gusts of wind, I suddenly hear the sounds of a cello accompanied by a mandolin and guitars.

“Uriel, what the heck? That sounds like a piece of home!”

“Yes, we are almost to our first location. ”

I start walking a bit faster, “Hey bud, you haven’t told me who we were visiting first. Who is it Uriel?”

“Slow down Chado, that’s a surprise. I can tell you this much, it’s not the Valley of the Children where your daughter lives.”

As we continue up the trail, my mind is racing. Who all plays instruments in my family? Heck, there were several on my mom’s side of the family. Well I did have a lot of friends that played also. Shoot it could be anyone!

“Chado, give it a rest, we’ll be there shortly and you’ll find out.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll chill out.”

We start up a gradual incline through the mighty redwoods, and the sounds of gospel bluegrass echoing through the timber were becoming clearer.

I suddenly see Rex and Moushie dart over the top of the hill and the looks on their faces was telling me to hurry up. They both wheel around and vanish back over the hill.

I look over at Uriel and we both start grinning, the overwhelming joy was filling my heart to the point of bursting as we made it to the top of the crest.