LINDA'S GIFT ... PORTLAND

On one of my last days in the NW this Fall, I went to Vancouver, WA, to meet with my friend Linda.

April, 2011  -- Our first re-visting time since high school.  A treat!

To start with, I met her for lunch on November 1st.  We were waiting for Elizabeth, my new "facial" blog friend.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her.  

After that, we headed for Linda's home.  I was staying there for the night.  My next plan was to leave her place about 8 or so on the 2nd.  She wanted to have breakfast with me, and I thought that would be a great way to begin the trip. Then I'd be heading for Tacoma to see my missionary friends visiting from Uganda, and then, after lunch with DeVores, I'd be hitting I-90 ASAP.

Had a great time with Linda at her place.  We yammered and laughed and shared and munched and crunched lots of good stuff.  And then bedtime hit about 11:00.

At 3 AM, I woke up.  I had been upset during a phone call that evening and it hit my heart, again.  I couldn't get back to sleep.  I tried to not make too much noise in the living room; her bedroom wasn't too far away and her door was open.  Well, Linda woke up at 5, which she had scheduled. I definitely AIN'T an early waker-upper unless there's an issue of some sort.

SO, because I was awake for so long, I told her I would leave earlier than I'd planned.  I'd hit the road about 7, and, even with rush-hour traffic, I could make it north and then visit Ron and Shirley near Tacoma for a brunch instead of lunch, and head east.  Would miss having breakfast with Linda, but reality was important to me, too, and it just seemed practical to head out earlier.

Well, Linda said that I shouldn't leave early, that we were going to breakfast in Portland and she had a gift for me.  Also, that we couldn't be there before 8:15 and I could leave about 9:00, which was the original plan.

I decided I'd do what she wanted.  Had no idea what her gift was, and didn't want to hurt her feelings.

We started the drive, me staying on her tail, and, although this next bit has nothing to do with the reality breakfast, the scenery almost made me drive off the highway, even while crossing the bridge from Vancouver to Portland.  WHY?  

 My photo of Mount Hood in'08

Mount Hood was very clearly seen that morning ... no fog or rain or clouds, which was not normal at that stretch of time during the Fall ... AND the golden sunrise view profiled the whole mountain.  I could only see it in my rear-view mirror, and could hardly stay in my lane.  Linda told me later that when she saw the mountain she knew Joanne 'd be trying to figure out how to stop and take a picture.  I sure wanted to.  I loved it so much... and would've if I could've ... but didn't want to cause a crash and die in it or end up in jail for breaking the traffic law.  Oh, well.  

I followed her to a Sheri's Restaurant not far from the bridge.  When we went in, she requested a 4-person table.  I thought, "Hmm. Now what?"

A few minutes later 2 ladies came in and I immediately recognized them... in spite of the fact that I hadn't seen them personally for 49-1/2 years.  We were in high school in Klickitat and graduated in '63. 

What a treat!  We shared, we talked about serious situations and funny ones.  We showed caring.  We left after sharing, hugging, encouraging.  I would love to see Petra and Johanna again.  Oh, and Linda, too, of course!

It was fun to send the photos to Susie. There were only 11 graduates in our class... small school, doncha think?... and with the four of us and Susie, now "seeing" each other, that covered a good percentage of the class, obviously.

It was a treat to be so beautifully treated.

Thank you, Linda.

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[Maybe 2 more NW stories in the next few days and I'll be done -- finally.  It was a wonderful, joyful, blessed 3-weeks travel-time.

 Can't ignore the people and the places and things.]     

  

MURDER AT THE MALL...DECEMBER 5, '07

 
This is LONG, but breaking it into two or three posts to keep the working down didn't seem to fit, considering the circumstances. Hope you can endure it; it will be worth it. Also, even though I've rewritten portions today, I did post this 2 years ago, but wanted to share it again.  AND a very important change has occurred has been placed at the end of the post.  Thanks much.
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I often tell people that, as followers of the Lord, we need to trust Him that we will be in the right place at the right time.

On December 5, 2007, early afternoon, I was heading to Westroads Mall here in Omaha to take some time to relax and snack and wander and enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations. I'd had a busy morning with my young grandson and was now free. My evening was going to be very busy, because it was time for the rehearsal for our Christmas play at church. I had four whole hours of freedom. I was so looking forward to that time, that quiet and blessed time.

About an hour after arriving at the mall, I suddenly decided to go to the opposite end from my usual "wandering" location. I went to J C Penney's to see if I could find a sweater. Something significantly on sale... truly, TRULY on sale.

Found what was perfect for me, and, after the purchase, I was preparing to walk out into the corridor, but heard a man hollering loudly, it echoing down the hall, and I hesitated; I didn't want to risk walking into a fight of some kind. A few seconds later, a group came running through. All ages, all sizes, men and women. My first thought while watching them rush through was "what bus are they going to miss?" The last person, a well-dressed and high-heeled lady, glanced at me and said, "There's shooters here."

I looked at the lady who was standing next to me, an elderly, small, sophisticated, white-haired, beautifully dressed woman. [I was dressed about as casually as possible and could still show up in public!] I said, "I'll take care of you." She looked me up and down and said, "OK." -- She has always told people that I said to her "I'm your guardian angel." That wouldn't be anywhere near the truth; ain't my style.

I called Dave quickly. He was at work at Offutt AFB, a few miles south of town. My phone signal wasn't very good, so when he answered all I said was, "Someone said there's shooters here at the mall. Don't know if it's a rumor. Pray."

In the next few minutes the stress piled. Penney's basement had a special delivery area, and the police invaded a good portion of the mall through that entrance. While I stood near the corridor, able to see a good distance down the hallway, the police rushed in. The store's corridor glass door closed, two of the officers faced the interior of the store, stone-faced, clutching rifles across their chests, looking at those of us who were there. A couple other officers ran up the escalator, guns in hand.

Partly because of my upbringing, I'm not one that runs to hide in a closet. I always look for exits or prepare for a crisis, not backing down. So, in this situation, I moved a few feet and stood among the clothes racks so I could hit the floor if necessary. I wasn't afraid... I just knew I needed to concentrate on what was happening.

A few minutes later... don't know how long it was -- stressful, adrenal-style times overwhelm the normal time frame -- the store manager came through and said we needed to evacuate the store and head out the back entrance, then go across the parking lot and over to a strip mall with businesses and small shops ... the equivalent of a couple-blocks walk. When I reached the outside, I saw "my" lady again, and joined her and there was another lady holding her arm and supporting her. The other lady was an employee of Penney's and, as we were helping Alyce across the lot and across the street, Julia [I knew that by reading her name tag] suddenly said, "We haven't prayed!" So, as we walked through the snow and ice and helped Alyce, we prayed that the Lord would protect and help and bring all of this to the right light.

Amazing to watch: it was COLD out, temp in the teens, and some people had no jackets or long sleeved shirts, because they'd dropped them or left them behind when they had to run, and some had small children, even in strollers, were not wearing enough warm clothing. I tossed my bag to a couple young gals and said to just wear the shirt and sweater and they could keep them, but if they wanted to give them back I'd be in the office building a block away. [A few minutes later they found me and returned them. I was just happy that they'd been able to stay warm for a while before they'd worked out their problems.] Julia and Alyce had kept walking ahead while I stopped to talk to the young ladies. When I had rushed away from them after giving them my clothes, trying to catch up with Alyce and Julia, and was walking across the strip mall, headed for the office building, a police car suddenly cut between me and the stores, and a policeman jumped out of the car, and pointed his gun over the top and hollered to a guy who was walking on the sidewalk, "Stop!... Hit the ground!" The man, who had walked out of Penney's with the rest of us, did. [I found out later that it was because he was wearing a camo jacket and a ball cap, the only description of the shooter(s) the police had at that time.] At that moment, I called Dave again, and this time I burst into tears. Just overwhelmed. Within a couple minutes, another officer showed up, and the man was freed.

I went to the office building and helped Julia and Alyce. The only funny part ... some of the ladies who had been forced out of the mall were in a hair salon, and, with the salon-style capes, their hair in various kinds of care, including perms and color-adjustments of one type or another, were sitting in the lobby of this office building. All I could think of was what a mess this could end up being for them.

A while later, the Penney's employees were called back to the building, so Julia left Alyce and me. A while later... [this is a constant phrase from that day... so little accurate time was known], I was able to contact Alyce's retirement center and let them know that she was OK and that I would bring her home. I had to walk a long way around the mall to find my car, but I made it in a few minutes, and passed through the police checkpoint, picked up Alyce and took her to her place. The office members ran out for her and just blessed my socks off.-- A few days later gave me a gift card with which I purchased a stone-style vase. [BTW, the reason she couldn't get home without help was because the center's van had dropped her off, but the police wouldn't let anyone enter the mall parking lots, so she would have been stuck there for hours. I just happened to be her protector, keeper, provider.]


Up to that point, there were only rumors regarding the shootings, the number of deaths, the number of shooters. It hit the news nationally, almost immediately. I was headed for my car when I decided to call my Mom in Tacoma, Washington, and warn her that if she heard about the mall, that she could know I would be OK. She said she was watching it on TV right then.
 
After dropping Alyce off, I headed home. When nearly there I realized I hadn't called my friend, Marge, to let her know I was OK. That morning I had told her I was going to be at the mall. When I called her, she became ecstatic... when this event had hit the news she had called others around town and her family members in other states asking them to pray for my protection.
 
When I got home, I was a bit in shock. Even though I remember the tiny details of my time at the mall and the drive home, I hardly remember what I did later, or how I felt. I, of course, turned on the TV and was buried in that news for hours... the rehearsal for that night was canceled, of course.

The final result: 8 murdered in one store, Von Maur, by a 19-year old "man", who took his own life at the end. Several others were wounded physically; many in the store and nearby locations suffered emotionally for quite some time, including the police who were faced with horrific bloodshed. The officers also struggled after facing terrified people, hiding in closets and fitting rooms, sometimes not realizing that, as a policeman opened a door, they were safe, not a target.
 
Ten days later, I went to the mall again. I needed to. Von Maur was still closed, being refurbished and remodeled. I simply wanted to walk through and feel and see what I needed to ... I didn't need much healing ... just a nugget or two. I also went to Penney's to find Julia. When I finally saw her at a customer service location, and I moved through the line and reached her, she dropped what she was doing and ran around the counter and threw her arms around me and sobbed.
 
A few days later, the day before Von Maur was reopening, the memorial bits and pieces were going to be removed and put in storage. I went there to take photos and walk through the whole phase of healing, one more time.





Julia and I went to Alyce's center for lunch in early January. She, and a number of others, blessed and thanked us so much for what we had done.I still have the sweater and I wear it every December 5th, and will until it's one ragged piece of junk. I've lost track of Julia. Alyce moved to Branson, MO, to be with family. [OH, and her family members, who at first said to her, when she told them about the woman who had said she was her guardian angel, "You believed her!!? You really believed she'd take you home!?" now have some respect for me.]

But the point is... what I began this post with... I know that I was in the exact place the Lord wanted me to be at exactly the right time to help exactly the right person. I wasn't there to keep someone from being killed, or help the wounded. I was only there to take one elderly lady to a safe location and then to take her home.

It was worth it!
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This is what I recently received:

Want to inform you, in case you did not know, Alyce died in her sleep with me sitting with her on the night of October 1st.  Her heart just gave out.

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I had received letters and cards from her over these years, besides the times I visited her at the retirement center here.  If I'm ever able to go Branson, I'll definitely try to meet her daughter.  Again... THAT would be worth it!  

MY FATHER -- HIS FIRST HEAVEN DAY 29 YEARS AGO

This morning, Dad's first-day in Heaven made me smile.  May 22, 1984.  I expect that he truly smiled, felt comfortable, and rejoiced.  Can hardly wait to see him there, since our life together was highly less than wonderful.
 

My dad was in and out of my life from my birth until about the age of 4.  I'd been surprisingly born through him and my mom in 1945.  They had been involved between Tacoma and Portland since 1943-ish, but no intention of a baby or a marriage.  They did marry when I was about 16 months old, but mostly to get people off their back.  Then they officially lived together.

Because of the extreme alcoholism that had kicked into mom and dad by the time I was 5, my relationship with my parents changed significantly.  [I've written many stories about it.]  It didn't take very long before I was watching dad carefully and ready to fight him to protect mom, myself, or my tiny sisters, eventually a total of 5.

Sometimes I really cared for my dad... but most of the time I was heartbroken when he, trying to stay sober would "fall off the wagon", or when he was endangering himself and many of us while he was drunk.

Fifty years ago next week was my high school graduation day.  It was in Klickitat, Washington, a small town, a small class.  I was one of the speakers.  I don't remember too much.  One funny thing is that I was slipping my high-heeled shoes off behind the podium; I was afraid I'd be stumbling, tripping, while sharing my speech.

My dad had lost his job in February.  He had worked in the town's lumber company, but, when drunk, skipping work, again, a new boss fired him.  Well, with my graduation coming up so soon, we couldn't leave the area.  Couldn't STAY in town, because almost all the houses were owned by the company and we could no longer rent one or live in one.  Dad found a farm house a couple miles outside of town and that's where we were staying until I finished school.  That's a WHOLE story of its own.

Anyhow, shortly before my graduation, Dad found a job in a small town called Maupin, Oregon, about 100 miles south of Klickitat.  He showed up for my graduation just on time.

And he was drunk.

When I was speaking, looking at the hundred-or-so folks in the gym, dad was in the front row, on the outer edge, the right side of my sight ... and falling off the chair, kept falling asleep.

That's what I remember most of my graduation.  Know better things happened overnight with friends, including Susan and Linda, my dearest ones, but this jumped into my brain, big time.
    

I left home the next day. I rarely saw my dad ever again for more than just a short stretch of time.  He DID come to the Lord when I was about 33, and sent me these words in a letter that I received on March 17, 1979, and it states in part:

"I finally gave up my solo fight against alcohol and went to church ... I came away with an awful load off my back; I hadn't realized how heavy it was.  My problems are still here, but the Lord is sharing my burden.  I am really surprised at the feeling.

"Things are looking up for me now, but it wouldn't hurt for you to say a small prayer for me, I need all the help I can get."
 
He died of lung and brain cancer just that next 5 years later.
Also the Lord laid a poem on me the day Niki called in September, 1983, to tell me he was expected to die very soon.  She told me to write a poem and send it to him.  I was in Tacoma in Thanksgiving, '83, with the whole family to see Dad for the last time.  He had a short testimony at his church on Thanksgiving evening.  It was a blessing to be there with him.

 
I still have the poem in my office, since it was returned to me at his funeral.  You'll sure understand the final photo and its words.

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                                                      TO DAD

We’re so much alike – you and I –

We think and we feel much the same.
When we love, it’s a deep, soul-filling love,
When we hurt, it’s with soul-rending pain.

We’re like mirrors – mirror images.

Two needn’t be close –
If you’re counting the miles –
To Share this world’s Days and its Night.
There are soul-mates
Who travel life’s path side by side
Though mountains and plains bar their sight.
 
And we’re mirrors – you and I – mirror images.

Without Jesus to keep us, we’d Die – you and I
Eternally lost from our Lord.
Our hurts closed our hearts
to the goodness of God,
And we turned our backs to His Word...
We’re SO alike – like mirrors – mirror images
 
But He reached us – He found us
And He healed our hearts –
The greatest of healings provided.
We opened our hearts to receive  that great love,
And now He walks closely beside us.

We walk hand-in-hand,
But with Jesus between –
As He looks in our hearts, we can say
It’s not just the one,
or the Two,
But the THREE of us,
Who will love through Eternity’s Day.

Shining like mirrors – mirror images.

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So, I have two fathers. 

 One is IN heaven;

 One IS heaven.

I'm so looking forward to seeing them together.