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The Second Coming
The Second Coming
The Second Coming
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The Second Coming

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This novel begs to ask: what if an ordinary man was destined to be the Savior of the world, the arguable Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Our hero, named Petch Foster, has one purpose: to contribute in some way to mankind. The main character has a visitation from God in a dream and realizes his mission.
Because of our main characters genetic makeup, our hero faces significant personal issues like discrimination. My book looks at major societal issues like fatherly abandonment and drug and alcohol abuse.
The story takes place in New York City. Our character started out as a Catholic priest. Because of the limiting nature of his priestly duties, he only administers to one parish; our character realizes that he wants to “serve” a larger population. During his training for becoming a priest, our character becomes involved in working at a major New York City hospital. He decides to enroll in medical school and eventually becomes a doctor.
As a doctor, our main character decides to leave the priesthood. Suddenly, significant personal events occur in his life. Unimpeded by personal obstacles, our hero makes a significant medical breakthrough and his work becomes heralded and acclaimed by many.
However, this man has so much more to contribute. Prompted and encouraged by dreams from the Creator, with whom he has a conversation, our main character embarks on another goal. Effectively using the media, our character launches a huge campaign to make the world aware of a significant and important cause. He sets up an organization that leads to massive social reform.
Along with changing the public’s awareness, our main character has to start dealing with the trappings of fame and the detractors in the world. World fame, wealth and media exposure affect not only the main character of the novel but his family as well.
Our hero has a son, Jeb Foster, who realizes he cannot fill the shoes of his famous father. Eventually, he begins to come to the realization that he can never achieve what his father has accomplished. Through self-introspection, he realizes that even though his father was as Christ-like as any man could be, there was a way to be a strong spiritual being without the accolades.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherJames Salerno
Release dateJan 11, 2012
ISBN9781465826121
The Second Coming
Author

James Salerno

James Salerno was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has three great children. He attended Muhlenberg College and Nova Southeastern University, where he earned an MBA. He has a published book called Tomorrow Never Comes. He will write until the day he dies, which hopefully isn't soon. His goal is to one day see someone reading one of his books.

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    The Second Coming - James Salerno

    The Second Coming

    The Second Coming

    By James Salerno

    Copyright James Salerno 2012

    Published At Smashwords

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This ebook may not be resold or given to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    DEDICATION

    This book is dedicated to Connie Kevlock, Jimmy, Casey and Emma Salerno, John Salerno, Jeff Salerno, Gerald Salerno and my mother, Loraine Salerno. They are my inspiration and bring me much joy. I want to communicate my fond memories of my deceased father, Dr. Silvio Salerno.

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    I would like to acknowledge Connie for her objective and fair criticism and her endurance in her dedication to editing this text.

    PROLOGUE

    Why does one man kill another man? He asked filled with rage. Have we learned anything from history? The twentieth century alone has been a bloodbath filled with wars, terrorism, genocide and atrocities that typically show that man will never change. Since the beginning of time, we have killed one another, violated another man’s rights, stolen from another and violated the basic fundamental laws of society and religion. Do we not see or are we blind? Are we so self absorbed that we fail to see where we have gone wrong? Does any religion teach use to kill, injure or violate other men? He looked directly into the camera and the viewers could feel his passion.

    I am here with the man who desires simply to be called Petch. He has won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his contributions in the cure and eventual elimination of cancer. Is he a great prophet or a con man? I recently interviewed him and these are excerpts for that interview. Either way, it is fascinating viewing. The interviewer paused, astonished by his simple observations. Is there hope for mankind or will we doomed to failure?

    There will always be hope. His firm answer was said unwaveringly and convincingly. I cannot tell you how I know this but I do. This may seem hard to believe but the Almighty, as He prefers to be called, has sent me as a spokesman. The world has to change before it is too late. Men and women must look at themselves in a new light and work at improvement in their thinking and actions.

    Everywhere we look, in the media, electronic devices, print, discussion and thought, we are faced with violence, cruelty and injustice. We see and experience hurt, murder, deception and greed. Are these values that man cherishes? It has always been turned around. Can’t we see some goodness and kindness? Of course, we are trained to ignore such acts of goodness because they are not sensational. But aren’t they truly sensational in that fact alone that they are pure and good?

    You say you are a spokesman but haven’t we heard that before from others? The interviewers question held a bitter tone. How do we know that you are not just another phony? She was a famous editorial journalist and the program was being broadcast on national television, and subsequently being taped.

    Have I asked you for anything except the examination of yourselves? Is the truth not really what you wanted to hear? I do not talk in riddles but in truth! He said slamming his fist on the table for emphasis. Does mankind possess the ability to destroy itself? I know it does but it is not too late.

    Okay, let’s say you are guided by the Almighty. What religion are you? She asked without being prompted by the director of the television show.

    Ah, hah, the trap of identifying my religion. Differences in religious belief have been the source of war for centuries. I was a Catholic priest but the Almighty refused to be identified with a particular religion. I think He was more concerned with man’s behavior than pigeon-holing Himself to any religious affiliation. He was speaking as the Creator of Man, not as any of the names we have given this deity. Man’s proclivity towards fighting and warfare has to be replaced by a desire for peace. This was His most important issue.

    Laughing, he said, Do you honestly believe that in a Universe filled with more galaxies than there are grains of sand, that there are not other living beings. Unfortunately, this message has to be sent elsewhere. Mankind alone is not guilty. Creatures of every form have failed like man. This message has been conveyed elsewhere I assure you. Can you see that my message is not just Earthbound but universal?

    You have been to other galaxies? Places where no man has ever gone? Are we supposed to believe this?

    Yes, I have. I have seen violence and warfare elsewhere in the Universe. I know it sounds preposterous and that I have offended some people by making seemingly preposterous claims but that is irrelevant. I can assure all of you that I was sent here to convey the truth and only the truth. I am only flesh and bones like you but I am privy to knowledge that is far beyond your comprehension. You can choose to understand what I have to say or you can be in denial. If I can change the thinking of one person, then I have achieved much. If I can change the thinking of most, then I have achieved my goal. I know I can never change everyone.

    Can you perform miracles?

    If I perform a miracle to make you believe me would it not be cast in doubt and skepticism? What is the point? Does my message have to be threatening or proved? he asked gently. It seems like everyone is missing the point, the killing of another man is against the laws of the Almighty. War, genocide, and cruelty are wrong, peace is the only solution. There can be no other way!

    He had finally arrived where he knew he should be: in front of a huge audience. All of his skeptics and doubters could not reasonably argue with him now. His message was so simple that it was unarguable. Man accepted his own failings and did little to correct them. To make matters even worse, modern man glorified killing and violence in movies, print and television. Why couldn’t the common man see how perverted his thinking had become?

    This interview was seen across the globe many different languages. The world had taken notice of this man who advocated peace. After all wasn’t that really what his simple message was attempting to establish; man would have to cease in his violent ways. Man, the human race, had to learn to tolerate other men. It was really that simple. But man could never seem to be able throughout history to get it right.

    Man had to learn to coexist with his fellow man. It was time that the human race examined itself in a new light. Violence and intolerance had to be stopped. Couldn’t there be peace instead of upheaval and conflict? Weren’t we all on this planet to coexist as fellow human beings and not look for selfish gain? The efforts put into war and genocide could easily be replaced by efforts in helping other human beings.

    Since the beginning of time, jealousies or power, racial or religious differences, and greed in regards to money or property have been and always will be the root of ALL evil. Because of these inherently human qualities, men will kill or injure another human being. Petch maintained in his teachings. Granted, there will be non- preventable occurrences, diseases, acts of nature and forces beyond our understanding in man’s demise, but we cannot control these forces. They are beyond our understanding. What an existence it would be if we could eliminate or even drastically reduce those negative qualities that we CAN change.

    The internet and the social networks had enabled him to reach many inexpensively and effectively. It had become a fantastic forum for change because it had allowed access to almost every human person alive, in any language. Modern computer technology had enabled the public to have a forum with interaction and thought provoking commentary. The World Wide Web had allowed for discussion of alternatives by the world’s leaders to resorting to war as a means of addressing injustice. Man’s inability to think before he acted has been instrumental in causing many of society’s ills and problems, Petch maintained. War has to be avoided at all costs, before it is too late. It was a simple and undisputed truth.

    CHAPTEr 1

    Some things cannot be quantified, especially when they concern the limits of a man’s greatness. Is it critical to enumerate an individual’s contributions if a positive impact on humanity, however seemingly trivial, becomes the result? Altruism was our hero’s most endearing attribute. Collective humanity, as individuals, should strive for such unselfishness regardless of the extent that it is acclaimed, documented or recognized. The measure of any man is not in how he is perceived but in how he gives.

    Petch Foster was born in a New York City hospital, the unique offspring of Kate and Samuel Foster. His birth was indeed unremarkable except for one unusual occurrence that until now, in retrospect, had no major significance. The night he was born there was a celestial occurrence which very few knew about. At the Hubbell Telescope, an unrecorded star had appeared in the heavens and, for some unknown reason, had disappeared shortly afterwards. This was not unprecedented but it was far from common and it was noted by several scientists. Few others learned of the occurrence because it would never be classified as having any importance or connected to any events yet known on Earth.

    Was this celestial event related to Petch Foster, the central character of this story? It could be argued, if one was so inclined to investigate the events that occurred in the past to find future meaning, that this man was The Second Coming of Christ as prophesized in the Bible. Or was such a celestial aberration simply a coincidence?

    So also Christ died once as an offering for sins of many people; and He will come again, but not to deal again with our sins. This time he will come bringing salvation to all those who are eagerly and patiently waiting for Him.’ Hebrew 9:28

    Although Petch would make some enormous contributions to mankind, was it possible that he was the one the world had anticipated? Or was he simply a man with a grand vision? There had been, throughout history, men who had made claims about being the new redeemer but Petch would neither claim to be the new Messiah nor deny it. His claim was simply that he was an advocate for peace. He also would claim to have a channel to the Almighty or whatever other nomenclature you call God, Allah, Jehovah or other Entity; the Creator of Man. Even though he was trained in Catholicism, he no longer made religious claims. His quest was only peace.

    At this point in the story, it would behoove us to look at the past of this man named Petch Foster. How had this man developed and what were his parents and grandparents like? Was he a sociable human being or an outcast?

    Samuel Steven Foster, Petch’s father, was born a mixture of both black and Oriental races. Often he would hear, because it was said within earshot, That black man has Chinese eyes, or some other combination of stereotypical insults aimed at his unique features: even though they were often incorrect in their assumptions. Samuel was part Korean and part black. The racial prejudice and the malicious mocking would eat at the marrow of his soul. He hated his ancestry and the problems it created for him. Life was hard enough without having to experience being an outsider simply because he was born a combination of two distinct races. Samuel had learned quickly that, sometimes, the world was a cruel place.

    Consequently, relatively early in his life, Samuel realized that participation in sports diminished the stereotypes. His athletic prowess on the field transcended his racial heritage. Samuel also found that the athletic field was the perfect place to vent his continual frustration. In the gym, playground or field, he was rapacious and talented. He excelled at track, basketball and football. His grace, speed and desire made him the consummate athlete.

    His athletic contributions were applauded by his coaches and became a means to possibly get a college scholarship. To Samuel, it appeared to be the perfect escape from Queens, NY. He figured he could go to college and maybe also have a professional career in sports.

    During his junior year of high school, his football team won the intercity championship because of his running and receiving skills on the football field. Standing in front of his peers holding the intercity championship trophy had been one of the significant highlights of his life. Those in the crowd didn’t see Samuel as half black and half Korean, they saw him as a star athlete. Magically, he was not a half breed but an object of affection and respect.

    The championship game, which would determine which school became the intercity high school champions, was truly a standout game for Samuel Foster. On top of running the ball as a promising tailback, he had caught the game winning touchdown in the final 30 seconds of regulation time in the game. When he had caught that final pass, his fellow teammates carried him on their shoulders. He became the MVP of his high school football team.

    In track and field, Samuel had run the 440 and excelled at the hurdles. Once again, he had stood out and had made others notice. During the basketball season, he had led his team to the finals but they lost on a shot in the last ten seconds of the game.

    There were high hopes for Samuel as he entered his senior year of high school. He had another season to prove himself on the football field. There was basketball and track after football was over. His football team had already had a successful year and a good record. They had already made the intercity playoffs.

    This year his football team would repeat as champions! However, fate would have a say in Samuel’s future. One play would forever alter his fate.

    Samuel arrived in the huddle and was to be given the ball where he would run through a hole created on the right side of the line. It was a standard, routine football play. The quarterback made a successful handoff. Samuel was off and running, seeing daylight; there was nothing that was going to stop him. As Samuel dashed to the hole in the line he was supposed to run through, a player from the other team saw his opportunity to cut down his opponent. Instead of tackling him at the waist, he flew directly at his legs sideways from the left. Samuel could hear a pop in his leg and a shooting pain in his knee area.

    In an insignificant football game, which was to be the last football game he would ever participate in, this hit on his left knee made him incapable of ever being a star in sports again. His knee had been seriously damaged by the hit.

    Within a period of two weeks, the college offers ceased. Just like that, his value at any college athletic program went from high to nil. His grades in school were not what made him desired by colleges, but his athletic prowess was supposed to be his ticket out of Queens. Instead of the calls from colleges all over the country who wanted him as an athlete, the phone simply stopped ringing. The letters that crammed his mailbox stopped coming.

    Samuel had hoped that his exploits on the playing field would facilitate a better life for his mother and him. He had been a natural athlete; it all came so easy to him. He loved the sweat and the grittiness of competition and it all came to a screeching halt! In that final football game of his young career, as he was being carried out on a stretcher, he knew instinctively that his athletic dreams had become a thing of the past. He also knew that there wouldn’t be a college out there who would want him now. The leg that had been a vital part of his success, and necessary for any future success, was no longer useful. It was irreversibly damaged.

    The rehab on his knee took months and he had to hobble around on crutches. His injury had been so severe that the doctor had expressed concerns that he might have a limp for the rest of his life. What would a black and Asian American with limited physical capabilities do for the rest of his life? The hope for a better life for him and his mother had now come to an end.

    Eventually, Samuel’s knee started to show signs of improvement but those had been dark days in his life. He couldn’t help but feel that he had been cheated by destiny. No one would ever know how good he could have been. In the process of rehabbing his knee, there were many times when he felt like giving up. The adulation has stopped. Instead of enjoying his final year of high school, he dreaded it. Here was a man so full of promise who now was practically a cripple.

    When high school had ended, Samuel had come to the foregone conclusion that his dreams of ever leaving Queens, New York had been forever dashed by one silly play in a meaningless football game. That summer as some of his peers and closest friends prepared to go off to college while others joined the workforce in other states or cities, he would be stuck in Queens.

    Occasionally, someone would casually remind him of his exploits on the track, basketball court or on the football field simply because his exploits had become part of his legend. What they failed to realize was how painful those memories had become for Samuel.

    I remember when we beat that Staten Island football team to become intercity champions. That catch you made in the final seconds was unbelievable.

    Wow, I was at that basketball game where you scored 40 points. There was no stopping you that day!

    Samuel didn’t need to be reminded of what he had done. He had lived it! The feeling of those glory days could never be duplicated. All the pats on the back and newspaper articles meant nothing now. When he had injured his leg, the Daily Examiner had one sentence about it! When they won the intercity championship in his junior year, they had interviewed him and asked about where he was going to commit to for college. The paper ran a full article about his exploits and what possible college he was going to! His career in sports was over and so were the opportunities and adulation that came along with it.

    It was no wonder that when he graduated from high school that he started to hang around with the wrong crowd. Those people who hung out in the bars and on the streets didn’t care about his high school exploits. Gradually, he became a fixture in the local bar and often drank himself to oblivion. The alcohol masked his pain temporarily which allowed him to forget the cruel hand providence had given him.

    Those years out of high school were a blurred memory and his worried mother saw him come home barely able to make it up the steps of their apartment because he was so intoxicated. She knew his psyche had been badly damaged and she was frustrated she was unable to help him with his problems.

    As much as the drinking was quick at taking away some of his anxiety, Samuel discovered that it paled in comparison to heroin. That simple push of the needle into his arm made his whole body fill with a warm, fuzzy feeling and the rest of the world didn’t even exist. His first time experimenting with illicit drugs was one that he would never forget. He had been in the bar for several hours hanging out with one of his friends. As much as he didn’t want to, it was time to go home.

    Where the hell are you going? Samuel asked with a slur from drinking shots and beer all night. He saw several guys getting ready to leave as well. He asked no one in particular.

    Ha, ha… You want to see heaven, man? You ready to go to a special place reserved for kings and the privileged few? We got just what you need, one of them replied.

    What are you talking about? I am feeling pretty good right now, what more do I need? Samuel asked curiously.

    Come out to the alley and we’ll show you something you’ll never forget.

    All right buddy, let’s go. You got my curiosity, Samuel said.

    In the alley outside the bar, he watched a guy whose name he didn’t even know cook up heroin in a spoon and pull the drug into the syringe in the liquid state. Here we go, man. This time it’s on me, next time you buy some, all right.

    Without responding, Samuel offered up his arm. His new-found friend found the vein in his arm easily and put the syringe needle into his arm. A small amount of blood entered the vial and he pushed the plunger down slowly.

    Immediately Samuel felt the warmth of the drug coursing through his veins. The pain and torment that had been so prevalent in his life ceased at that moment. Nothing could harm him now! His unrealized dreams faded away and for a fleeting moment he had just caught that pass that won the intercity championship but this time it was only in his mind. His teammates were lifting him on their shoulders and the fans in the stadium were rambunctious and loud. In the next moment, he was smiling from ear to ear as he received the MVP trophy. His was a shooting star in a mystical universe.

    He saw the finish line in the 440 meter race far away. There were no other runners near him because he was so far ahead. That finish line held a tape strapped across it and every sinew in his body was straining like a horse, a stallion, as he pushed himself harder and harder. That was how he saw himself, under the influence of drugs, like a stallion. He had changed from a human being to a stallion sweating and straining every muscle. The veins in his body, searching for oxygen, were pulsating with warm blood and were prominent on his beautiful body surrounded by magnificent muscle.

    Immediately, his thoughts transformed to a noisy basketball court. His shot was one smooth beautiful motion, like he was moving in slow motion but everyone else was moving in real time. His legs jumped high off the floor, his gaze at the basket unfaltering, because he knew that ball would find its target. With a smooth, fluent motion his wrist and hand would release the basketball. He could see the ball start to spin and rise slowly in a beautiful arch that had the same arch as a rainbow: magnificent and so full of promise. As the ball began its descent to earth, it fell into the basket not touching anything but the net. His legs returned to the ground and there wasn’t one person in the entire gymnasium who wasn’t watching his triumph.

    Heaven, pure heaven! A man, among men, whose actions prompted dramatic appreciation from the crowd. As the goal line stood ahead of him, the others were far behind chasing a ghost, a god, a mythical creature who could not be corralled. Bodies flying all around him, in battle, and he was Achilles, who no one could touch. He had been dipped in the River! An opponent would charge at him but with a simple cut, the man who stood between him and the goal line, had become ineffectual, and he would miss his target. Another touchdown!

    As he walked the streets of Queens, in his hallucinations, he was larger than life. His racial features and color were no longer there! He was a giant human being in a world that seemed filled with midgets. Everyone relished seeing him and patted him on the back. There was no fear of condescension because he was a pure breed and he knew no one would speak about his racial mixture behind his back. He was truly a free man.

    His legs felt weak and he sat in the alley against the wall. The drug had helped him shut out the world and its misery. He sat in that alley for what seemed like a long time, in a state between unconscious and conscious. When the drug started to wear off, he realized he was now alone. Those whom he had been with in the alley were gone.

    True reality was painful but heroin was now his escape from the reality of Queens, unrealized dreams and a grim future. That feeling he had experienced that first time he had used drugs would be what he would search for forever. There was no denying that he had become someone different. He just had to have more; he knew he would always have to have more.

    As much as his life had been intolerable before that fateful day, it had now become even more intolerable without smack. It was like on a rainy day when the sunshine finally peeked through the clouds and the small world of his existence was bathed in sunshine. But he knew without heroin that the world would forever be cloudy and gloomy. It seemed like the only time the sun shined in his life was when he was high.

    When he came to the realization that he would always need more, he found companionship with fellow junkies. It was amazing how easily friends could be found and how easy drugs were to acquire. The only drawback was that it required a consistent cash flow. As time wore on he found himself needing to fix. It was a constant obsession. There wasn’t a morning now where he didn’t think about drugs as soon as he woke.

    His mother, No Yung Nan, started to notice the hours that Samuel was keeping. There were days when he wouldn’t wake up until noon. At night, he was simply gone, vanished, going to places she would never know and hanging out with people she was certain were no good for him. But her

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