Grandfather Remembrances

(Submitted by Rose Thornton)

One year, my brother gave me a collection of stories our Grandfather hadwritten in 1965. I never knew my grandparents very well, so these stories areespecially precious.

My Grandfather's mother passed on in 1897 and my grandfather's twin sisterdied a few years later, when she was still a teen.

The following is one of his own stories, in his own words:

"Mother died in 1894 at the age of 29 from typhoid fever. Our house wasa two story one and the front door opened into a large entrance hall, from whicha stairway mounted to the second floor where the bedrooms were located. To theleft of the hall was the parlor, called the living room today and often referredto as the 'front room'.

"It was a Sunday and my mother was lying ill in bed in an upstairsbedroom with a nurse sitting beside the bed. My twin sister and I were playingsomewhere around the house or yard. About noon, my mother had a sinking spelland the nurse asked my older sister Edith to run to the doctor's home nearby andrequest him to hurry to our house.

"Grandma Adams was sitting in a chair near the parlor entrance waitingfor the doctor to arrive. She could see both the stairway and the front yardfrom where she sat, so as to watch for the doctor's coming. As Grandma satthere, she saw my mother walking down the stairs. Grandma jumped up andexclaimed, 'Maggie, what are you doing out of bed. You'll be cold! You mustgo back to bed immediately!'"

"Mother continued to descend the stairs slowly. When she reached thebottom, she smiled sweetly, waved her hand in a fond farewell and graduallydissolved into nothing. A white vapor seemed to float away in a misty cloudlasting only a few seconds.

"Just then, the nurse appeared at the top of the stairs and called toGrandma Adams, sorrowfully and gently, 'Mrs. Adams, your daughter justdied.'"

I too was fortunate enough to receive a final visit from a loved one. I awokeone night with the knowledge that someone was in my house (I was single andlived alone at the time), but I was not afraid. I looked over to the wall besidemy bed to look at the alarm monitor and remember thinking that it was curiousthat someone was in the house but that the monitor did not indicate it.

I still felt no fear. I did not attempt to get up from bed and as I laythere, I felt a pressure on my face and upper body - again feeling no fearwhatsoever. I had glanced at the clock when I looked at the alarm monitor - itwas around 2 AM. I don't recall doing so, but I drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, I received a call from a friend gently telling me that mydear David (friend, sweetheart, everything!) had died the night before sometimearound 2 AM. Along with the pain of loss, there was that wonderful knowledgethat he came to me that night to say goodbye and give me one last kiss.

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