Oscar the cat

A car hit my cat Oscar three years ago on November 28, 1995. He used to hop out of the open screen window by the foot of my bed and onto the pavement. He would disappear for hours. He was hit at 6:35 a.m. The next day at exactly 6:35 a.m. A very bright flash of light at my window awakened me. The "pouncing" onto the foot of the bed then followed where Oscar would jump when he would come to my room. Oscar always bounded onto my bed in one leap before he dashed off to look for food in the kitchen.

My wife

I have been a member of a twelve-step program for 13 years that requires we make amends to those we have harmed. My first wife and I were divorced in 1955. We dated several times after that but could not seem to put it back together. Eventually she remarried and soon after that so did I. She passed away more than 19 years ago, long before I entered the 12 step program. I was able to make amend to all of those I could except her. It bothered me so much as I really did hurt her.

After a year of agonizing over this I had the following to happen one night. I had gone to bed and was almost asleep when a very bright light appeared at the foot of my bed. The light was a bright white but did not hurt my eyes. Out of the light appeared a hazy white form that turned out to be the exact image of my wife. She was clothed in white. She had a bright smile and her hair was as dark as I remembered her. After a very short time she said, "Tom, I forgive you for all of your problems. Some of them were mine. I love you very much and we will be together again someday. Take care of yourself and remember I love you." She slowly faded away.

A Very Special Phone Call

My son, Karl and his friend Tom (pilot) went down in Tom's plane
on Dec. 19, 1990. I returned to our Minnesota home from teaching in Texas on Dec. 22. Nobody knew where the men were. Through very confusing circumstances, I took up the search, with very little help from authorities. Perhaps, because of the holidays, people didn't want to become involved. After hours of calling frantically, I was able to trace their behavior...Tom hadn't filed a flight plan.I learned from the Princeton, MN FAA that there might be something associated with a Bosco or a Rosco, Wisconsin.

I called an area code through AT&T (numerous calls through them were disconnected and I'd have to recall or try something else. It seemed like someone was putting the finger to the disconnect. Anyway, on this final directory assistance call, a beautiful voice, not at all like the nasal Midwestern voices I'd been hearing, came on the line. She said, "This isn't my area, but I want you to call these numbers. Boscobell airport and this sheriff's "department." She gave me two numbers. I dialed the airport. The man who answered was rude and crude and hung up on me. I dialed the law enforcement number. The dispatch officer told me that a plane had just been found. I spoke with the sheriff and identified the plane by its number. I told him that I knew there were no survivors. He said, "There were no survivors."

This is only the first chapter of a story that has unfolded in unusual and often eerie ways since that fateful time. I checked the AT&T manifest repeatedly. There was no record of that area assistance call. I believe that I had outside assistance in helping with the recovery of my son's and his pal's bodies.

God's Angels

God's angels have worked overtime to keep me alive. I've had three near death experiences. Once at age 8 I spent the night with my best friend since kindergarten. We had so much fun. I wanted to go back the next night. Just before getting in their car to return home with them, I heard my Grandmother (who was at home two blocks away) call me. She said. "Come home, I need you." I told them to bring my clothes and toothbrush to school Monday that my Grandmother needed me and I had to go home. That night both my friend and her little sister died when their house burned down.

The second time I was swimming alone, got caught on some underwater crossbars on a dock; was about to pass out, saw a bright light and heard the words, "Get out the same way you got in." My bathing suit had gotten caught and I couldn't go forward. I backed out and don't even remember getting on top the dock.

The third time was in the middle of the night in a hospital - I heard, "Call for help." I woke up and pushed the nurses button only to find out I had been hemorrhaging. I had NO blood pressure! I would have been gone very shortly. They called in a surgeon to stop the bleeding. My own mother didn't recognize me when she came in to see me that day.

I am always 'talking' with God and his angels to find out why I was saved and what my mission in life is. Sometimes I feel I'm just not doing enough, but hopefully I'm not through yet and can still a witness -- there is a God and he cares about each of us.