I DON’T WANT TO GO by Ron Weinkauf

Go where? . . . you may wonder, after seeing the title of this book. Wow, there are so many choices. No, this doesn't Ron is talking about the likes of having no wish whatsoever to go inside a dark, unexplored cave, etc. No, no, no.

The author is a man who, somehow against statistical odds, finds that he has managed to make it to the age of 91. Both good news and bad news for him. You see, in this book he reflects not only on his long life and life itself, but also his greatest supreme dread . . . that of being dead. Yes indeed, it is such a monstrously mysterious and dreaded destination, that he is concerned about entering into that scenario . . . leaving his long-accustomed way of existence.

So what is the importance and value of being a nonagenarian when writing a book on such a momentous matter? Well, each day as we go through life, with our amazing five senses, we see, hear, smell, taste and touch something new. Thus we are learning and reflecting every day. Those experiences add up. The more the merrier. So to speak.

Just like you, I expect, at quite a young age the author was astonished to learn that he is living on a gazillion-years-old big revolving and rotating ball called planet Earth, which is at the same time floating through an airless, seemingly endless, mysterious black space containing a gazillion more suns. Whaaat? But then he learned that while the Earth will keep on doing its thing for gazillions more years someday he must die just like everyone else in real life just like the bad guys he watched in the movies on Saturday afternoons. Whaaat, again? Since then he has settled down, somewhat anyway, from these traumatic revelations, and it has all become 91 wondrous (for the most part) voyages around a far-away brilliant, yellowish, gigantic nuclear-powered sphere (which still seems fantastic). And he does not want the voyages to end. But he knows that sadly he is programmed, as is everyone, so that they will . . . no matter what. And that will be that. Forever.

Or is that really truly the case?

The author carefully checked into the subject of beliefs regarding a hereafter, largely by way of "entering" through many kinds of doors, ranging from the one on which Martin Luther posted his 90 theses in 1517 outside the Catholic (all Christian churches were Catholic then) All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany . . . to the door entering the American Atheists center in Cranford, New Jersey. Hmm. In addition to those doors, he has also "entered' through the doors of 17 different Protestant churches . . . and then not only looked at Christianity but all of the other major religions of this big world . . . and beyond that checked into diverse ways of more directly exploring by way of the use of psychic mediums and physical devices to make contact with the "others side" . . . as well as studying many reported near-death experiences . . . and more studies yet.

And so, did the author, in his anxious pursuit of tangible truth, find what he feels is an irrefutable answer to what life is all about and what happens to his and your soul . . . and/or body after the last breath? Hmm. Well, this is entirely a book telling of numerous investigations, all arranged in an orderly, organized manner. The inquiries are quite condensed in order to cover a good many varying fields of interest without being overwhelming in any one spot. This literary journey is intended for one's comparison of various avenues. There are no recommendations or conclusions. Alas. This is all perhaps a bit made up for by little stories and wry humor added to the busy book. Hooray.