Now that I believe in reincarnation, I’m worried about my future. Must be boring for God to watch humans bumble along like a mega-cast reality show. Reincarnation’s probably His sanity. John D. Rockefeller becomes an Indian Untouchable. Osama bin Laden born into an Israeli family. Adolf Hitler birthed as a New Zealand aborigine. I’m wondering what’s next for my chunky self? Speed-eater or anorexic? I’m slow and klutzy. Please, God, I don’t want to come back as a giant sloth.

Since I’m not sure if God’s open to suggestions, I’m praying to Saint Rita that I’ll come back as a major leaguer. If that’s too large a stretch, how about triple-A ball?

Despite the population’s growth, odds are that I’m a recycled rather than a mint-issue soul. No matter. Had God’s spirit-making advanced, Mother Theresa clones would be popping up everywhere. God’s soul machine got stuck on “capable of murder.” I’ve checked the obituaries from before I was born. A serial flasher had my brown eyes. I obsessively check that my fly’s closed.

Particularly worrisome is my “previous-life scar,” a crease across the nape of my neck like I’d been hung on a gallows. Given that, maybe my plump, clumsy self really was progress toward ultimate enlightenment.

 

Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. He and his wife, Jane, now live in Texas. Joe’s stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Shenandoah. His novels, Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story, (2015), and Appointment with ISIL, an Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. His third novel, Drone Strike, will be published by Rogue Phoenix Press in 2019. Joe was among one hundred Italian-American authors honored by Barnes & Noble Chairman Len Riggio to march in the 2017 Manhattan Columbus Day Parade. Read the first chapter of Joe’s novels and sign up for his blog at http://joe-giordano.com/