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There are many interesting stories here and I am sure there will be more to come,
but I will put these in the timeline of which they occurred.
Shawn is my nephew, my sister Janice's son, and Mom's only grandson. On more than
one occasion, Mom said that she wanted to live long enough to see Shawn graduate from Texas A & M. She got her wish on
August 11, 2001, which also happened to be my 47th birthday. Not only did he graduate, he graduated near the top of his class
with honors. Mom was so proud and it shows in one of my favorite photos. What a great birthday!
| Shawn graduating from Texas A&M |
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| Mom gets her wish and the pride shows |
Ted's Call
When we moved from Shreveport to Bryan, Mom let me take drum lessons. My teacher
was named Ted. A few years later I played drums for Ted and his wife Nell in their country band.
I had lost track of Ted and then I found out that he was a
preacher in Shreveport at the church that Mrs. Carpenter attended. (Mrs. Carpenter is my second mom, was our neighbor in Shreveport,
and is our lifelong friend) She was keeping Ted informed of Mom's condition and I was sending daily emails.
Before Mom passed away at 11:15 am, we called Shawn and
told him to get to the hospital ASAP. Molly, being a nurse, has witnessed many times of people hanging on until all loved
ones are present. While we were waiting for Shawn, I get a call at the hospital.
It was Ted. I had not talked to him in probably 20 years. He
asked me if we could pray together and then asked me what I would like to pray for. I told him I would like to pray for what
is right. He said the most beautiful prayer I think I have ever heard. This was about 11:00 am.
A few minutes after we hung up, Shawn arrives. We go to see
Mom. Shawn hugs her and Molly is watching the monitor and notices an increase in activity and then slowly fade away. Molly
was right. Mom was waiting for Shawn, and Ted and I are now linked for life.
Thank you Ted. Thank you Mom. Thank you Lord.
One Flower
When we arrived back in Bryan after Mom passed, we walked into the back yard of
Mom's house to find a beautiful yellow flower blooming in the middle of winter when everything else was brown. I am not sure
the meaning of it but it has to be a good sign.
| One Flower |
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| This was the only thing alive in the back yard |
Visiting Ruth Neal
Ruth Neal (Molly's mom) had a kidney transplant in 1986. The drugs she had to
take made her diabetic. She had lost most of her eyesight and now it was affecting her memory. Most of the time she was not
with us.
After Mom passed, Molly and I went to Lampasas to get
some clothes. I wanted to go visit her because now she was the only Ruth we had. I knelt down in front of her and held her
hand and had one of the best conversations with her for about 15 minutes!
It was wonderful. It was like visiting with Ruth Neal of old
and I came away with a feeling that she was getting better. Molly and her dad were truly amazed at the response I was getting
from her.
I truly feel there was some Divine intervention involved
here. It was such a good feeling for such a good visit. Thank you Lord for that 15 minutes. Two days after we buried Mom,
Ruth Neal went into the hospital for the last time. She passed a month later.
Molly Finding Photo
After Mom's funeral and discovering the fantastic photo I had taken at the funeral,
Molly was walking through Mom's den and noticed a photo on the wall that reminded her of the image of the lady in the photo
I had taken.
She did not know who it was, but she had a strong sense
that it was the same person. That person turned out to be my grandmother(Mom's mom) when she was 14. This is the photo below.
Could it be that the lady in my photo was my grandmother
coming to get her baby and the light figure is Jesus supplying the portal? We think that is a good possibility. A few months
later, we ran across my grandmother's obituary. Mom and my grandmother (we called her Mamaw) were both buried on March 4.
13 years apart.
| This photo was taken in 1909 |
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| Mamaw(14) on left, Aunt Pat(16) on right |
Mom's Dog Sam
This is another amazing story. It proves to me that pets have that extra sense.
Mom's dog Sam was a small black lapdog. Always by her side and in her chair. He was fiesty and would bark at anything, a great
watchdog.
When Mom went into the hospital in late January, Sam
would just mope around and whine all the time, and Sam was not a whiner. When Mom was in the rehab hospital in Bryan to build
her strength, Janice(my sister) would take Sam to visit Mom a few times. He would always perk up at the visits and go back
to whining at home.
When we got back from Houston when Mom passed, we noticed
Sam had stopped whining. In fact, he would not bark, he would not play with anyone, he did not want to eat or drink, nothing,
not a sound. It was as if he knew Mom was not coming home.
Shawn, Patrick(friend of mine from Shreveport),
and I took Sam to the cemetery. He walked onto Mom's grave and started sunning himself, as if he was in Mom's lap. This is
the photo below.
The next morning, Patrick found Sam behind Mom's chair
bleeding from the mouth. Janice and Molly took Sam to the vet. Kidney failure. He went to be in Mom's lap that day, about
a week after Mom left us.
To share a moment, I would always get tickled when Mom
would let Sam out to go to the bathroom. I can hear her now "C'mone Sam, go tinkle" Oh, how I miss that.
| Mom's Dog Sam |
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| Sunning himself on Mom's grave |
Charlotte Wake Up Call
In October of 02, I was driving to Charlotte, N.C. to work a gift show. I had
got off to a late start and was driving late. It was about 2 am and I finally made it, but I was really tired and sleepy.
I guess I relaxed and started to doze off while on the freeway.
The next thing I knew, my right hand slapped the passenger seat.
It was as if someone had grabbed it. I woke up big time at that point scared to death and had a strong sensation of Ruth Neal.
I told Molly about it the next day and she said "She
is still looking out for you." I believe it. Ruth Neal loved to travel and was always keeping tabs on where I was. I was really
tired that night. Thank you Ruth Neal.
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