MAKICHUK: Life as an alien reptile in 2025
The fear of being different and the ancestral influences that shape who we are
No one I think is in my tree
I mean, it must be high or low
That is, you can't, you know, tune in, but it's alright
That is, I think it's not too bad
— John Lennon, Strawberry Fields Forever
Surely, some of you must feel like I do.
How in God’s name, did we end up on this dusty planet.
And why are we, some of us, I mean, different from the rest.
Beatles’ great John Lennon, alluded to it, in the song, Strawberry Fields Forever.
How he felt different from everyone else — something he knew from an early age.
One of the most prolific singers and songwriters of our time, was struggling to come to terms with himself in his music.
Something many songwriters do, of course. Every new romantic break-up is a new song for today’s pop singer fraternity.
To this day, I still hate going to functions — big functions.
Especially those, where I don’t know anyone.
I’m forced to put on my game face, but inside, I truly feel like a reptile.
Different and unworthy.
Outwardly polite. Inwardly, a reptilian outsider: “Dear God, please help me …”
By the way, according to Top Secret COSMIC clearance NATO documents, at least five different alien races have visited the earth, and, as many as 12.
For sure, we do know that two races of Greys have messed with us — one of them, not so nice. Likened to Nazis, in fact.
And then, two types of Nordics. Like Viking characters from Norman times. One with white skin, the other with blue.
And then, the reptilians.
Yes, reptilians.
Exactly how these third encounters went, I have no idea. I have never met one.
Something tells me, that it was less than pleasing, however.
An advanced race of Reptilians might see things different, than we humans do.
But getting back to fierce alienation some of us feel.
Remember when … you did something wrong at school. Something that was perceived bad, by your teacher, otherwise known as the Lord High Executioner.
An overwhelming force, never questioned — not even by your parents. Who just assumed, you deserved it.
You were centred out from the rest, scolded, humiliated, treated like shit. And you had no recourse. You just had to sit there, and take it.
Save it in your memory back, so that years later, decades later, it would come back to haunt you in different ways.
Because you never really got over it, did you.
Just another weight in the sand, you were dragging behind you.
To this day, I still cannot comprehend some of the evil cruelty, of my grade school teachers in the Catholic system.
To call them a bunch of bastards, would be too nice.
But can we really blame them, for our utter alienation, our sense of non-belonging?
Perhaps it goes deeper than that. Cultural traits, practices and ancestral influences that shaped who we are today.
How else can we explain the tendencies we feel now. Such as our bond with nature, music, and a deeper way of seeing the world.
Much of what we are drawn to — rituals, sounds, landscapes, emotional patterns — may not be random.
Knowledge, instincts and sensitivities are likely passed down through the generations.
Making what we are, and who we are.
I can never forget the excitement of taking out my first library book — A Night To Remember, by Walter Lord. About the sinking of the Titanic.
I loved the smell and the feel of that book. And the drama and mystery it represented. I honestly wish we had never found the wreck.
My friend Randy, would take out Winnie the Pooh. For years, my Dad would laugh at that and shake his head, about how different we were.
I would become obsessed with NASA and space travel. Turning big boxes into rocket ships with tape, and pretending I was on missions, with a flashlight and my cat Smokey Yunick.
Cellophane for windows, in the darkened basement.
As I grew older, I became fascinated by the Napoleonic era, and I would replicate famous battles with — get this — air caps, my Dad brought home from the garage.
Instead of soldiers, which we could not afford, I would paint the air caps. Hundreds of them. Blue for the French, Red for the British, Green for the Prussians.
I must have re-created the Battle of Waterloo, a dozen or more times. Exactly as the historic maps indicated.
All the while, under the watchful eye of my faithful dog Snoopy, who wanted to knock the “soldiers” about.
I also became a huge fan of spy shows and movies — James Bond and the Man From Uncle crew. The BBC Series The Prisoner, was also fascinating.
My best Christmas ever, was when I received the toy attache case from From Russia With Love. There was no happier kid on Wyandotte St. than me, let me tell you.
It was a lot of fun for only $10.
In those days you could actually have cool toys like that. Not like today, where they would call out the SWAT team.
Later in life, I would read every Ian Fleming Bond novel, at least twice. And I currently own a complete set of Cape first editions.
Aviation loomed large for me in my tweens, to the point where: I wrote away to Boeing for the plans to the 727 cockpit panels.
To my shock, they would send me the plans! I still have them, today.
I would spend an entire summer, building a 727 simulator (see photo).
It was probably one of the most fun things I’ve ever done, and my friends Tony and John would often come over, just to “fly” the simulator!
One day, my Mom told me that Windsor firefighters came to our house, to inspect it for fire safety.
She said they gasped, when they went into the basement.
They immediately sat down in the 727 simulator, and started playing in it!
Never seen anything like it, they said.
She said they were down there, for at least half an hour, marvelling at how I had built it.
I would go on to get my private pilot’s licence at the Windsor Flying Club, but I never did make it to the next level.
And while other kids were watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, I was listening to my brother’s LP records.
The MC5, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Steppenwolf, Bob Dylan, Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, etc.
Come to think of it, I think I clearly had two personalities.
One that helped me survive the horrors of school, and one at home, where I could relax and be myself.
My most memorable book, as I recall, was Caesar’s Gallic Campaigns.
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul.
And this book brought it all to life. The battles, everything. My imagination just exploded, as I read those pages.
For Halloween, I was almost always a Trojan soldier or Roman soldier. Complete with aluminum foil helmet and armor!
Suffice to say, I was different.
But I was also lucky, I had great parents. I never had to worry about where my next meal came from, or my school clothes, or a roof over my head.
Dad would even drive me and my friend John to Detroit Metro Airport, so we could wander around and just look at all the cool aircraft.
Talk about being in a candy store!
Different, yes. But never despairing. Never, ever despairing.
Be yourself folks, be yourself. And it’s OK to feel different.
Like Frank Sinatra said: "The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything."
Amen to that.