Year after year, doomsday hasn't hit the world yet

It’s a new year and, in general terms, we’re still here.

Every now and then people get preoccupied with Doomsday, the end of the world.

It didn’t happen in 2000 with Y2K, it didn’t happen in 2011 when some church dude said it would and it didn’t happen in 2012 with the end of the Mayan Calendar.

I don’t know why folks seem to be preoccupied with the end of the world.

I remember another time when some people thought the world as we know it would come to an end. It was 1997 when some “New Age” folks predicted our world would change from one made of matter to one made of anti-matter.

There would be three days of darkness. All machinery would stop working, except for water systems. I thought it was interesting there’d still be tap water. We would emerge on the other side of the darkness converted to anti-matter. Well, everyone except those who had too many alpha particles attached to them.

Alpha particles were described as negative-angry thoughts and if you had too many the three days of darkness would be illuminated by folks burning up like Fourth of July sparklers. Everyone was told to boost their good, positive thoughts, make things right with those you’re angry with, forgive … to eliminate alpha particles.

At the time I was living in Bisbee, Ariz. Weekly seminars on this stuff were conducted. I had nothing else to do on Tuesday nights so I went.

Changing into anti-matter would’ve been interesting because anti-matter didn’t deteriorate like matter does, according to the seminar teachers. So one could live forever, walk through walls and stuff like that. You would no longer just smell a rose bush, for instance, you could walk into the rose bush and become one with the rose bush.

It would mean, um, romancin’, um, “huggin’, kissin’, and squeezin’ would be a whole different ball game.

The expected date came and went. One by one folks stopped coming on Tuesday nights.

I have to say, I did take away something that was said during a session.

For some reason a speaker was talking about changes and life cycles and stuff.

“The ancient Egyptians believed if you’re at your lowest point, if a catastrophe has befallen you, rejoice, celebrate, have a party. Because things will only get better. This is where the saying, ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’ comes from,” the fellow said.

I don’t know if what he said was true but I liked the idea.

I packed it in when one of the attendees said the change was still coming because her vacuum cleaner and toaster were developing intelligence and rebelling against her.

“My vacuum cleaner was in the living room this morning,” the woman said, speaking in a hushed tone, eyeing every one of us around the room.

“I didn’t put it there. It moved there on its own,” she said.

There were nods of agreement and some “oohs” and “aahs.”

Yep, time to leave that group behind.

I remember kicking back with some friends and telling them about the stuff discussed in the meetings.

“What do you think the end of the world would really be like?” I asked my pals.

There was this long silence. You could’ve heard a pin drop. Sideways glances were exchanged.

Finally, one of my friends spoke up.

“I think everyone would be really, really thirsty.”

Grant McGee writes for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him:

[email protected]