ANGELS, GEORGE BAILEY, AND THREE SPIRITS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Winter arrives in the Marshland -  A scenic view of the marshland along the Southwood Road shows first signs of the arrival of winter in the marshlands of Muskoka.   This scenic area is the home for families of beavers and muskrats that feed off the plentiful grasses and poplar trees and make their homes in the shorelines and deeper waters below the freezing depths of the ponds.  (Photo By Fred Schulz)

Enjoying the festive decorations of the Christmas Season

 

Yuletide Decorator -

 

Serena Anderson of Gravenhurst fills her home with Chrstimas spirit by decorating several rooms with beautiful dsipalys of villages, Nativitye scenes and a vareity of unique Christmas decorations. An important part of the Christmas Season is my annual visit to tour Serena Anderson’s home to view the beautiful Christmas displays, villages and decorations.   (Photo By Fred Schulz)

THE PLEASANT REALITIES OF HAVING BEEN TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL - YOU CAN'T HELP BUT SEE LIFE DIFFERENTLY

BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE - I'M NO ANGEL


     IN THE EARLY 1980'S I RAN A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD, IN THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE, ON SOME OF THE GHOSTS OF BRACEBRIDGE. BEFORE I RAN IT, I SPENT TWO WEEKS ON RESEARCH, AND PART OF THE EXERCISE, WAS TO ASK AS MANY PEOPLE AS I COULD, IF THEY BELIEVED IN GHOSTS. NOT ONE OUT OF TWENTY I ASKED, WOULD ADMIT TO HAVING SEEN ANYTHING RESEMBLING A GHOST....EVEN A SLIGHT DRIFT OF MIST IN THE AIR, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A SIGN FROM A DECEASED FAMILY MEMBER TOUCHING BASE.
     AFTER THE FEATURE RAN, AT LEAST A THIRD OF THOSE I HAD ASKED, RECANTED THEIR ANSWERS, BECAUSE, FOR THEM, THE FEAR OF BEING QUOTED IN MY ARTICLE WAS NO LONGER AN ISSUE. EACH OF THEM HAD VERY DIFFERENT STORIES ABOUT PARANORMAL EVENTS, BUT ALL OF THEM INVOLVED THE APPEARANCE OF FAMILY MEMBERS, SHORTLY AFTER THEIR RESPECTIVE DEATHS. MANY OF THESE ENCOUNTERS TOOK PLACE IN BEDROOMS, SUCH AS AWAKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, TO FIND ONE'S FATHER OR MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER OR GRANDFATHER, STANDING IN THE DOORWAY. MY MOTHER WHO WOULD NEVER ADMIT TO SEEING GHOSTS, TOLD ME SHORTLY BEFORE SHE DIED, THAT SHE HAD SEEN BOTH OF THEM, FATHER AND MOTHER IN HER ROOM,  BEFORE SHE EVEN KNEW THEY HAD EXPIRED. THE PHONE CALLS FROM FAMILY CAME IN THE MORNING, AND EARLY AFTERNOON. "THEY (HER PARENTS) CAME TO TELL ME THEY HAD PASSED ON," SHE SAID. "THEY HAD SUCH BEAUTIFUL SMILES. THAT'S WHAT I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER." THIS FROM A WOMAN WHO WOULD ARGUE WITH ME, UNTIL BLUE IN THE FACE, THAT GHOSTS WERE A MATTER OF GREAT FICTION. AS SOME IRONY, I REMEMBER WAKING UP AFTER A LATE MORNING NAP, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND I COULD HEAR MY SCOTTISH UNCLE JACK, AND CONSIDERING HE WAS DECEASED BY THIS POINT, THAT MADE IT SOMEWHAT REMARKABLE. I COULDN'T SEE HIM, BUT I COULD UNDERSTAND THE MESSAGE....."DON'T WORRY WEE LADDIE; AYE, MERLE'S NOT GOING TO SURVIVE HER ILLNESS." WELL SOMETHING LIKE THAT! MERLE HAD BEEN SICK FOR SOME TIME, BUT WAS ON THE VERGE OF A MAJOR STROKE, HEART ATTACK, ALL THE RESULT OF AN OBSTRUCTED BOWEL. IN LESS THAN A WEEK, IT ALL BEGAN TO HAPPEN IN THIS ORDER. MERLE SURVIVED, AND LIVED FOR SEVERAL MORE YEARS IN A NURSING HOME, AND WAS ABLE TO HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH MY FATHER UNTIL THE END. IT WAS ONLY AT THE VERY END, THAT SHE COULDN'T RECOGNIZE FAMILY MEMBERS ANY LONGER. ANYWAY, THAT DAY, I VALIDATED JACK, AND THANKED HIM FOR LETTING ME KNOW. I REMINDED HIM ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN WE'D HAD IN OUR DAY, SIPPING SCOTCH TOGETHER, TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS.....AND YES, HIS DAYS IN SCOTLAND, WHICH I LOVED TO HEAR ABOUT. IT WAS APPROPRIATE THAT JACK WAS THE MAN TO LET ME KNOW ABOUT MERLE. MY ONLY FAILING. I DIDN'T TELL ED ABOUT MY MESSAGE, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO WORRY MORE THAN HE ALREADY WAS. AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS ANYWAY.
     THERE HAVE BEEN MANY PEOPLE, I'VE TALKED TO SINCE, WHO ARE STEADFAST IN THE BELIEF THERE IS NO AFTER-LIFE, YET AFTER HOURS OF CONVERSATION, STRANGELY, THEY WILL ADMIT TO SOME MINOR OCCASION, EVEN AS CHILDREN, WHERE SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD....BUT THEY NEVER SPOKE OF IT. OTHERS WHO HAVE WATCHED SHOWS LIKE JOHN EDWARD'S FORMER, "CROSSING OVER," ARE MUCH MORE ENLIGHTENED, AND AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITIES, THAT THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED, CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE LIVING. THEY ARE PRETTY SURE THE OTHER SIDE IS OFFERING THEM SIGNS, BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS CLEAR WHAT THE MESSAGE IS.....OR WHO IS OFFERING IT! VALIDATION IS THE KEY. I JUST TALK TO MY OLD FRIENDS REGARDLESS IF THEY TALK BACK. I WANT TO KEEP THEM UP TO SPEED WITH WHAT'S GOING ON AMONGST US MORTAL-KIND.
     WE ARE MORE LIKELY, THESE DAYS,  TO BELIEVE IN THE EXISTENCE OF ALIEN LIFE FORMS, IN OTHER GALAXIES, THAN TO VALIDATE THE PARANORMAL AS A QUESTION OF SCIENCE. ONE DAY IT WILL BE THE SCIENTIST AND THE TECHNOLOGIST WORKING TOGETHER, WHO WILL MAKE THE SUPERNATURAL PHONE THAT CONNECTS ONE DIMENSION TO THE OTHER.


REALLY, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL AND HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN, ALL IN ONE


     IN SOME WAYS, HAVING HAD AN ALLEGED PERSONAL (DREAM-TIME) AUDIENCE WITH THE ANGEL-KIND, EXPLAINS TO A SMALL DEGREE, WHY I HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH A LIFETIME OF BEING EITHER MISUNDERSTOOD, OR CONSIDERED ECCENTRIC, TO THE SHARP, NO-GOING-BACK BRINK, OF BEING LABELLED THE WAYWARD PROPERTY OF "ANOTHER DIMENSION".
     WHEN YOU HAVE HAD THIS PINNACLE OF UNEARTHLY EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY AT A YOUNG AGE, IT BECOMES A DEEP AND PROFOUND PART OF YOUR SOUL. IT SHOULD BE EASIER TO LIVE WITH, THAN IF YOU HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE, AT SAY, MIDDLE AGE OR OLDER. MY INTERACTION IS FAR MORE PALATABLE, EVEN TO THOSE WHO DISBELIEVE IN SUCH MORTAL-IMMORTAL RELATIONSHIPS, BECAUSE IT HAPPENED AT AN INNOCENT AGE; AND I CERTAINLY DIDN'T BECOME A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN, OR TITHE MYSELF TO ANY CHURCH OR RELIGION, AS A DIRECT RESULT. I DID ATTEND CHURCH BRIEFLY, IN BURLINGTON, BUT I WAS CHASING A SKIRT AT THE TIME. I APOLOGISED TO GOD FOR THIS AT THE TIME. NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH BECOMING "BORN-AGAIN," OR JOINING A CONGREGATION, BUT JUST NOT FOR ME. THE ANGEL DIDN'T MAKE THIS A REQUIREMENT OF OUR ENDURING RELATIONSHIP. MAYBE IF I HAD EXPERIENCED MY GUARDIAN ANGEL LATER IN LIFE, LIKE GEORGE BAILEY DID, IN THE MOVIE, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE," PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TREATED ME AS EITHER A NUT-BALL, OR SOMEONE TO RUB AGAINST FOR GODLY GOOD FORTUNE.
    I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HARDER TO EXPLAIN, AND BY THE WAY, PART OF MY EXPERIENCE, DOES INVOLVE TO A MINOR DEGREE, SPREADING THE WORD. YET IT HAS, FOR ME, NEVER BEEN A CASE THAT I FELT COMPELLED TO ATTEND CHURCH OR PREACH ABOUT MY DREAMLAND MEETING. I'VE ONLY BEGUN WRITING ABOUT IT IN LATER YEARS. FOR MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN A DAUNTING TASK TO CONVINCE SUZANNE THAT I WAS BEING SINCERE ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD RECOLLECTION. IT'S THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF BEING A PRACTICAL JOKER AND STORY SPINNER, THAT SHE DOESN'T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS. IF I EVER CUT MY LEG OFF, IN A TREE FELLING MISHAP, I'D HAVE TO SHOW HER THE LEG UNDER MY ARM, AND ONE LESS BELOW THE WASTE, FOR HER TO BELIEVE MY UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES. IT'S NOT HER FAULT. I AM THE ARCHITECT OF MY OWN LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS. EVEN WHEN I DISCUSS THIS ANGEL MESSAGE, I'M NOT PIOUS OR STALWART IN ANY WAY. I JUST WANT HER TO KNOW, AS A CHRISTIAN-HEARTED SOUL HERSELF, THAT THERE'S MORE TO THIS AFTERLIFE THING THAN PUSHING UP THE DAISIES.
    I HAVE THIS PHILOSOPHY TODAY, THAT MAY SEEM IRRELEVANT, EVEN WHACKY AT FIRST, LACKING CREDIBILITY, WITHOUT THE SUPPORT BASE, OF REIMS UPON REIMS OF STATISTICAL / SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE. IT HAS TO DO WITH A PROGRESSIVE, SOCIETAL, MORTAL, DULLING (AND IGNORANCE) OF SENSORY PERCEPTION. I REMEMBER A SIDEBAR STORY, AFTER THE DEVESTATING TIDAL WAVE, THAT HIT INDONESIA QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO, FOLLOWING A MASSIVE UNDER WATER EARTHQUAKE, THAT REPORTED THE REGIONS WILDLIFE HAD BEGUN SEEKING HIGHER GROUND BEFORE THE WALL OF WATER BROKE OVER THE SHORELINE. NOT THE DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. THE SPECIES FLEEING TO HIGH GROUND INCLUDED SNAKES AND JUNGLE CREATURES, THAT TRUSTED THEIR NATURAL INSTINCTS, TO PROTECT THEM FROM CERTAIN DEMISE. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR OWN NATURAL INSTINCTS? WHAT HAS CHANGED IN OUR SENSORY PERCEPTION OVER THE CENTURIES? HAVE WE LOST TOUCH WITH THE NATURE THAT SURROUNDS US?
     I HAD THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF GROWING UP AT A TIME, THAT AFFORDED ME RARE OPPORTUNITIES TO SOCIALIZE WITH SOME OLDTIMERS, WHO WERE ALSO WEATHER WATCHERS. THEY WOULD POINT OUT, AS ALMOST HUMAN BAROMETERS, WHEN THE WEATHER WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE. IT WAS ALWAYS IN CASUAL CONVERSATION. IT WASN'T LIKE THEY WERE MAKING A CONCERTED EFFORT TO "EDUCATE THE CHILD". IT WAS THE SUBJECT OF CONVERSATIONS, AND I WAS OFTEN CLOSE BY, WHEN THE SIGNS WERE BEING DISCUSSED. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A KEEN WEATHER WATCHER, BUT NOT JUST BECAUSE OF SHARED WISDOM OF MY ELDERS. I WOULD SEE THESE NATURAL SIGNS MANIFESTING, AFTER HEARING ADVISORIES FROM THEIR (OLDTIMERS') LIPS, AND THEN WATCH IT MANIFEST AS PREDICTED. NOW THAT WAS NEAT STUFF. AND LIKE ALL PASSED DOWN TALES AND COUNTRY PHILOSOPHY, ARE SUPPOSED TO WIND-UP IN THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS, I TOOK OVER THEIR SEATS ON THE OLD PINE BENCHES OF TOWN, WHEN THEY HAD EXPIRED, PREDICTING MUCH THE SAME. SUZANNE, HAVING GROWN UP IN THE COUNTRY, AND HAVING BEEN PART OF A MARINE FAMILY, WORKING DAILY ON THE MUSKOKA LAKES, KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE WEATHER SIGNS. IN MANY CASES, THEIR LIVES DEPENDED ON BEING RIGHT ABOUT THESE THINGS, BEFORE EMBARKING ANYWHERE BY BOAT. WE STILL COMPARE OUR WEATHER PREDICTIONS, BASED ON VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE SIGNS, BEFORE MAJOR STORMS. SUZANNE IS BETTER AT PREDICTING THESE THAN I AM, WITH SUCH LINES AS "RED SKY IN THE MORNING, SAILOR TAKE WARNING."
     THINK BACK TO OUR AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE, AND HOW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT IT WAS, FOR FARMERS TO BE ABLE TO PREDICT LATE FROSTS, AND PERIODS OF DROUGHT; SHORT GROWING SEASONS, A WET SUMMER, OR LATE HARVEST. THE BENEFITS OF SOWING ON THE EVE OF A FULL SPRING MOON! IT DIDN'T MEAN THEY COULD AVOID ALL CALAMITIES, BUT THEY WERE CLOSER TO REALITY, IN THEIR PREDICTIONS, THAN WE MIGHT BELIEVE IN CASUAL RETROSPECT. IF WE HAVEN'T LIVED AS FARMERS OR MARINERS, TO NAME JUST TWO OF MANY PROFESSIONS, THAT DEPEND ON SOME LEVEL OF WEATHER PREDICTIONS, FOR PERSONAL WELL BEING, THEN IT'S SOMEWHAT TO BE EXPECTED, WE WON'T HAVE FINELY HONED OUR INHERENT SENSORY PERCEPTION, OF SUCH LOOMING WEATHER AND NATURAL EVENTS. AND THEN THERE ARE FOLKS WHO WHISPER TO DOGS AND HORSES, AND GET RESULTS. WE CAN EITHER REFUTE THE CLAIMS, OR CONSIDER THEM POSSIBLE UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES AND PARTICIPANTS. WE'RE OPEN TO POSSIBILITIES WHICH IS GOOD. BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD SO MANY TECHNOLGICAL IMPROVEMENTS, THRUST UPON OUR LIVES, MANY CHARACTERISTICS OF MORTALITY, LIKE INSTINCTIVE SENSORY PERCEPTION, HAVE BEEN DULLED BY UNDER-UTILIZATION. IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOSE SENSORY PERCEPTIONS SKILLS, IF THEY'RE LEFT UNUSED? I'M NOT QUALIFIED TO SUGGEST THIS IS THE REASON, WE HAVE BECOME SO DISTANT FROM THE SIGNS NATURE PRESENTS US.....WHICH IN SOME CASES, MAY LEAD TO OUR DEMISE DUE TO NATURAL DISASTER. IS IT THE CASE, THAT INSTINCTS SHOULD HAVE KICKED IN, DURING THIS SAME TIDAL WAVE, AND COMPELLED US TO SEEK HIGHER GROUND? MANY PEOPLE DID SURVIVE THE FLOODING, AND SHARED HIGH GROUND WITH THE CRITTERS. THIS IS FOR SCIENCE TO DETERMINE, NOT A COUNTRY PHILOSOPHER WITH THE PRIVILEGE OF A CYBERSPACE BLOG.
     SO WHEN I CHEERFULLY CONFESS THAT I HAVE HAD THE COMPANY OF AN ANGEL, THE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE IS NEGATIVE. EVEN THOSE WITH DEEP RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS, WILL DISCOUNT MY EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO THEM....AS REGULAR CHURCH GOERS, SO HOW CAN IT HAVE HAPPENED TO SOMEONE WHO ONLY YELLED OUT "CHRIST'S" NAME WITH CONVICTION, AFTER WHACKING HIS THUMB WITH A BALLPEEN HAMMER? WE'VE BEGUN DOUBTING THAT ANYTHING SO UTTERLY FANTASTIC, AS A VISIT FROM AN ANGEL, COULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE USE OF A COMPUTER TO DO SO. IF THERE WAS A PHONE APP. FOR GETTING IN TOUCH WITH AN ANGEL, OR THOSE WHO HAVE CROSSED OVER, GADS, WHAT NEW EXPECTATIONS WOULD BE BORN OUT OF EAGER, MODERN DAY ANTICIPATION.....FOR WHAT TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION CAN DO, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE WORK OF GOD. HONESTLY, IN OUR HIGH TECH WORLD TODAY, CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHERS ARE THOSE PROFOUND THINKERS, WHO ENDLESSLY SEEK GREATER TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS. NOT THE GREAT BARDS OF OUR LITEARY HERITAGE, WHO DAWDLED IN FLOWERED PASTURES, CAMPING AT THE BASE OF FROTHING CATARACTS, SEARCHING FOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE RELAVANCE OF THE UNIVERSE. THEY DON'T LOOK AND ACT LIKE THEY DID IN THE OLD DAYS, THAT'S FOR SURE. NOW THE TRUE GENIUS, IN REGARDS TO THE MEANING OF LIFE, IS THE INNOVATOR OF CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY, EXPANDING OUR UNIVERSE BY PERCEIVED LEAPS AND BOUNDS. IF AN APP CLAIMED THAT IT COULD CONNECT MERE MORTALS TO THE AFTERLIFE, AND THE HEAVENLY REWARD, TELL ME WITH A STRAIGHT FACE, THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE TEMPTED TO TRY IT ON A LARK, JUST IN CASE. YET IF I TOLD THEM I'D HAD A MEETING WITH AN ANGEL, THEY'D MOST LIKELY TURN AND WALK AWAY, HOPING I'D GET THE MESSAGE TO BUZZ OFF, AND NOT FOLLOW BEHIND.
     WHAT IT HAS MEANT TO ME OVER A HALF CENTURY, OF PLEASANT RECOLLECTION OF THIS SICK-BED DREAM, IS THAT I DON'T EVER DOUBT MY SENSES....WHEN THEY COMMAND OF ME, FULL ATTENTION TO A PREVAILING SITUATION. THIS DOESN'T MEAN I AM INCAPABLE OF MAKING A WRONG TURN AT A CROSSROADS. I HAVE MADE LOTS OF GOOF-UPS IN THIS REGARD. NONE THAT WOULD KILL ME. BUT MISTAKES NONE THE LESS. JUST BECAUSE I MET AN ANGEL, DOESN'T MEAN A PERFECT TRACK WAS LAID OUT FOR ME TO FOLLOW. I AM AS MORTAL AS YOU ARE, AND LIFE IS ONE INCREDIBLE SERIES OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES, THAT ALL OF US HAVE TO ENDURE; SURVIVE AND ACKNOWLEDGE FOR WHAT THEY REPRESENT. NO SHORTCUTS. MY MOTHER WAS THE FIRST TO WARN ME ABOUT THIS. "TEDDY, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN LIFE, SO STOP TRYING TO FIND THEM!"     THIS DOESN'T MEAN I GAMBLE OR SPEND MY AFTERNOONS BETTING ON THE PONIES. WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT I UNDERSTAND AS PARANORMAL QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES, AND YES, THE EXISTENCE OF "THE OTHER SIDE," FOR THOSE WHO HAVE "CROSSED OVER," I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTION. IF THESE ENTITIES OF A FORMER LIFE, CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE LIVING, THEN COUNT ME AMONG THOSE WILLING TO CONNECT. THIS HAS BEEN MY EXISTENCE FOR ALL THESE YEARS, AND I KNOW IT'S THE RESULT OF HAVING BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF THIS COMPELLING DREAM. IT WAS THE ORIGIN OF MY OWN FIRM BELIEF IN OPEN MINDEDNESS, AND ENLIGHTENMENT THE RESULT OF AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR PERPETUAL DISCOVERY. IT'S WHY I HAVE WRITTEN IN THE PAST, THAT "I HAVE NEVER MET A GHOST THAT SCARED ME." SURPRISED? A LITTLE? BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD HAVE FORCED ME TO RUN OFF, OR MOVE OUT OF MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE, AS A RESULT OF FEAR. AS FOR MY OTHER PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES, MANY HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED AND MADE PUBLIC, ON THIS BLOG SITE....SO YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK, INCLUDING STORIES PUBLISHED ON MY "MUSKOKA AND ALGONQUIN PARK GHOSTS" BLOG-SITE. AND BY THE WAY, THERE'S NOTHING SENSATIONAL ABOUT THESE CLAIMS, THAT WOULD EARN ME A NICKLE OF REVENUE. SO IT CAN'T BE SAID, I INVENTED THESE ENCOUNTERS FOR SHEER PROFIT. I'VE FACED FAR MORE RIDICULE THAN DOLLARS TUMBLING IN. AMONGST THOSE WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES, WELL, THAT'S BEEN WORTH ALL THE EXPOSURE. KINDRED SPIRITS ARE ALWAYS NICE TO FIND.
     MY DREAMLAND ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL (YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO YESTERDAY'S BLOG), I BELIEVE, WAS THE RESULT OF A HIGH FEVER, AND WHAT I UNDERSTOOD DURING THIS TIME, FROM OVERHEARING MY PARENTS AT MY SIDE, WAS A BREAKING POINT OF SORTS; THAT IF THE FEVER DIDN'T BREAK, I WAS GOING TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. THE DOCTORS TO THAT POINT, HAD CONSIDERED IT A STRANGE PARALLEL OF WHOOPING COUGH, BUT NOT THE ACTUAL TEXTBOOK AFFLICTON. EVERY TIME I COUGHED, WHICH LASTED MORE THAN A MINUTE, I'D BE SICK TO MY STOMACH. I SLEPT IN A CHAIR SO I WOULDN'T CHOKE. MY VISIT WITH THE ANGEL, ONE MIGHT PRESUME, ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGE OF THESE EARTHLY MEETINGS, WOULD BE TO LET ME KNOW I WAS EITHER GOING TO DIE, OR BE SPARED. SEEING AS, AT MY YOUNG AGE, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DEATH WAS ALL ABOUT, I'VE PONDERED FOR LONG AND LONG, WHAT THE DREAM ACTUALLY MEANT. WAS IT TO INFORM ME, IN A DREAM STATE, THAT I WAS TO BE HEAVENLY ENLIGHTENED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE? WAS I CHOSEN TO SPREAD THE GOOD WORD? I DIDN'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT ANGELS, TO THAT POINT, ACCEPT THAT WE HAD ONE THAT WAS A CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT. I CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW ENLIGHTENED I WAS THEN, AND NOW, BUT I CAN ONLY BELIEVE, THAT MY SENSORY PERCEPTION IS MY SAVING GRACE, AS IT HAS BEEN SINCE CHILDHOOD; AND IT'S ENABLED ME TO SURVIVE SOME HARROWING LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING CAR ACCIDENTS, AND TWO NEAR-DROWNING MISHAPS IN MY TEENAGE YEARS. MAYBE IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MY BRIEF MEETING WITH AN ANGEL. IN THIS CASE, I'M GOING WITH WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME IN THE PAST. I DON'T ACCEPT PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES AS NORMAL. I AM A TIRELESS INVESTIGATOR OF SUCH INCIDENTS, AND BEFORE I PUBLISH ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANGELS, GHOSTS ETC., I TRY AS HARD AS I CAN, TO DISPROVE THE ENCOUNTER. IT'S MY OWN DUE DILLIGENCE. MOST PEOPLE TODAY, DISCOUNT ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY, LIKE EBENEZER SCROOGE, WHEN HE DISMISSED THE GHOST OF HIS FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER, JACOB MARLEY, HE ASSUMED WAS PURELY THE RESULT OF A SUDDEN BOUT OF INDIGESTION. AS CHARLES DICKENS DEVELOPS HIS STORY, "A CHRISTMAS CAROL," SCROOGE DOES COME TO TRUST HIS SENSES, AND IS WHISKED AWAY PARANORMALLY, TO THE SPIRITED OCCASIONS OF "CHRISTMASES PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE." MARLEY, AT ONE POINT, EARLY IN HIS MEETING WITH SCROOGE, ASKS WHY HE DOUBTS HIS SENSES.....VIEWING A GHOST AS WHAT IT IS.....A GHOST? IF I COME UPON A WAYWARD SPIRIT, OR ANYTHING ELSE I DEEM, AT THAT MOMENT, TO BE OF PARANORMAL ENERGY, I STUDY IT INTENTLY. I DON'T CRY OUT IN FRIGHT. THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED FROM THESE ENCOUNTERS, AND I DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS KIND OF LIFE EXPERIENCE.....LIKE ICHABOD CRANE, FLEEING THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN AT SLEEPY HOLLOW. IF IT'S GOING TO HURT ME, THEN MY SENSES WILL URGE ME TO RUN LIKE THE WIND. IF NOT, I'M GOING TO STAND MY GROUND.
     JUST BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL (IN MY DREAMS), I CAN'T CURE WHAT AILS YOU. I CAN'T PASS ON MY SENSE OF GOODWILL AND GOOD FAITH, AS A RESULT OF SOMETHING THAT OCCURRED IN A DREAM. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO DESCRIBE ANYTHING MORE THAN THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DREAM, BECAUSE, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE WERE SENSATIONS THAT HAVE NO EARTHLY PARALLEL. IF ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU'VE HAD A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE, AND WALKED TOWARD THE BRIGHT LIGHT AHEAD, THEN YOU'LL UNDERSTAND MOST OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN. IF YOU'VE BEEN AT BEDSIDE, WHEN A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WAS PASSING, AND WATCHED AS THEY OPENED THEIR EYES, IN THOSE LAST FEW SECONDS OF LIFE, AND WONDERED TO YOURSELF, WHAT THEY MIGHT BE SEEING AMONGST THOSE HOSPITAL CEILING TILES, THERE IS ROOM TO PONDER, THAT'S FOR SURE. MY OWN FATHER, RAISED HIS ARMS AS IF TO EMBRACE WHATEVER HE WAS SEEING IN THAT HEAVENLY LIGHT. THE EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE CHANGED, AND IT WAS AS IF HE WAS AT PEACE WITH THE FUTURE AS HE SENSED IT, AT THAT MOMENT OF CROSSING OVER. I ASKED MY MOTHER, WHO HAD DIED A YEAR OR SO BEFORE HIM, TO COME AND GET ED, TO HELP HIM CROSS OVER. HE DIED PEACEFULLY WITH THE MUSIC OF MOZART PLAYING IN THE ROOM. AFTER SEEING THESE LAST MOMENTS, I DREW BACK ON MY ANGEL DREAM, AND FELT INSTANTLY COMFORTED. IT WAS ED I SAW FIRST, WHEN I OPENED MY EYES, WHEN I AWOKE AFTER THAT CHILDHOOD DREAM. I HAD NEVER TOLD EITHER OF MY PARENTS ABOUT THIS DREAMLAND MEETING. THEY WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE FEVER HAD AFFECTED MY MIND. SO I KEPT IT UNDER WRAPS FOR THE BALANCE OF THEIR LIVES. WHEN I SUDDENLY, AND FOR NO REASON, GET A FAMILY SECRET, REPLAYING IN MY MIND, I ALWAYS THANK MERLE AND ED FOR REMINDING ME; AND MANY TIMES, IT WILL HAVE A RELEVANCE IN FAMILY AFFAIRS, SOME TIME, WEEKS AND EVEN MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD. ARE THEY CONTENT ON THE OTHER SIDE? I'M CONFIDENT THEY ARE, AND THAT IS DIRECTLY HINGED TO A LONG AGO LIASON. THAT'S ALL I CARE TO QUESTION.
     THANKS SO  MUCH FOR VISITING THIS CHRISTMAS SERIES OF ARTICLES, ALL WRITTEN HERE IN OUR CHARMING LITTLE TOWN, TUCKED QUAINTLY INTO THE HINTERLAND OF ONTARIO. NO KIDDING, CHRISTMAS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR. LOTS OF KIND SPIRITS IN THIS WEE BURG.