Jerry and I were drafted on the same day. We shared basic training but ended in opposite campaigns. He sent the entire war in the South Pacific; I was wounded on my first day of battle in Europe. I shouted MEDIC! Fortunately they were near by, placed me in a stretcher that was tied to a Jeep, and said "This guy is done for!" Morphine dulled the pain and put me to sleep. I awoke while being placed on an operating table and said "Doctor, why me? There's a bullet in my stomach. Check my stomach and please give me water." He said "We saw it in the x-ray. Can I give you Whiskey instead?" "No. Just water." A damp piece of cotton was placed on my lips. I sucked it dry and all went black. Just before getting wounded, a Chaplain came to our group and gathered all the Catholics. He told us "Whatever sins you have committed are forgiven." This gave us free passage into heaven. Shortly after this, I came very close to death and was aware of it. The only thing I wanted was to die so that the pain would go away. There was no thought of heaven or hell. Later on I recalled that one of the soldiers said after the priest's absolution, "Even if we are free of sin, if death comes, the angels will pull us up to heaven but don't be surprised if a couple of devils don't try to pull us into hell." Many years later, at a social gathering, a guest spoke about the need to be a Christian and to read the Bible in order to earn everlasting life in the presence of Jesus. It was difficult to hold back that I neither believed in either heaven or hell and that if Jesus only welcomed his flock, there are millions upon millions around him in heaven and it would be a miracle to get near him. But suppose that there is heaven, would I go there since I give beauty to the world? Yes, I would go to heaven where an Angel would bring me my tiles, a second would hand me tools, another would mix buckets of glaze and still another would rush the tiles to hell where they would be fired. Bible readers would also go to heaven to read the Bible over again, and again, and again and again and again and again, and again and again and again and again, and again and again and again and again, and again and again and again ............................................................................and again.