My grandmother raised me after my
mother died when I was nine years old. She had been diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s a few years ago, and I had to put her in
a nursing home about a year ago. Her condition had worsened almost
weekly over the past year. She couldn’t even get a full
sentence out to me the last time that I saw her alive.
Although I have always been quite open to the metaphysical realm
and the various methods of accessing the powers of the universe,
I am now absolutely convinced that there are powers (and a God)
out there that are far from our comprehension here on the physical
plane called “earth.”
In February of 2005, I had the pleasure of attending the World
Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, which is one of the premier events
for magicians (I am a very amateur magician, and the art fascinates
me). I attended the seminar with my wife, Julie. We were in the
Venetian Hotel and Casino, watching a magician perform a card
trick at Houdini’s Magic Shop, when she received a call
from my grandmother’s nursing home. The look on her face
as she handed me the phone told it all. The nurse informed me
that my grandmother was in the worst of conditions and that she
couldn’t breath without oxygen. Did I want her to pass on
or go to the emergency room. My instructions were to get her to
the hospital – to try and save her. The nurse thanked me
and told me that she would stay in touch. What happened over the
next 24 hours defies logic.
I was sad and in shock all at the same time, but, after caring
for a sick elder for almost five years, I was somewhat used to
panicked calls. This call was different – I knew this for
some reason. I sensed it.
My wife and I decided to get some lunch and keep our phones turned
up in case there was more news. We walked around the Venetian,
saw a human statue performing and watched the gondolas go down
the waterway. The human statue was eerie as she stared straight
at us. I snapped a quick picture. The gondolas drifted as though
they were gliding down an aqua blue carpet. As I looked down the
waterway, I watched a gondola drift under a small bridge. It glided
out of sight as the Italian looking man paddled it slowly on.
At that moment, I had chills all over my body. My grandmother
was dying. The gondola was the boat of death, the water was the
power of God and the universe, and the bridge was the gateway.
I looked at my wife and asked for two coins. As she went through
her purse, I took a picture of the boat drifting away. Without
one word or question, she knowingly went through her purse and
fetched two pennies. She knew exactly what was going through my
mind. We have a habit of being able to read each other’s
minds --- that’s what soul mates do. “If ever there
was a time to ask for what I want from God, this is the time,”
I thought. Right this minute. My first wish (and prayer) was that
my grandmother go straight to heaven. My second wish (and prayer)
was for the continued health and happiness of my wife and family.
My wife then made a wish as well. The pennies drifted downward
through the aqua blue water until they rested at the bottom looking
back up at us, as though they were saying “your wish is
our command.”
It’s not everyday that you can enjoy an Italian lunch with
your beautiful wife while attending the World Magic Seminar. I
ate the food while holding back tears as best as I could. I thought
about what my grandmother was going through. I sensed that she
was in and out. Part alive and part dead. She was trying to leave
her body, but something was holding her in that form - something
was left for her to do or say while she hung on. It felt surreal.
I felt like I was in a trance.
Back at the hotel, I went ahead and attended a special lecture
by Jeff McBride, who is a world-renowned magician and a metaphysician
as well. Jeff’s effects all have somewhat of a supernatural
flare. I felt guilty. “Should I stay by the phone,”
I asked myself. No. My grandmother would have told me to “go
have fun.” So that’s what I did. I went ahead and
attended the lecture. “It’s only downstairs, honey,”
Julie said. “Go ahead and go and I’ll stay by the
phone.”
Most good magicians, Jeff McBride certainly included, have an
aura about them that exudes some sort of inexplicable power. They
have some sort of magical sphere surrounding them. Jeff took the
stage and began his lecture to us all. Some of us were experienced
magicians. Some of us were amateur magicians. Some of us weren’t
magicians at all.
|
But one of us was a lawyer from Georgia
trying to figure out how to amaze complete strangers on the street
to promote his image and law practice. That one was me. While Jeff
spoke, I felt a chill in the air. I knew. I knew what this chill
was. Then I felt warm again. It was happening.
Jeff McBride’s wife, Abigail, took the stage and performed
a wonderful magic effect with bubbles being blown into the air.
The spectator was asked to “grab her wish.” As she did,
the bubble turned into a pure ball of crystal. This happened out
of thin air. What a wonderful effect. Jeff began speaking again
for a few minutes. He then came into the audience area and walked
right in front of me. As he passed by, a single bubble dislodged
from his shoulder. It had survived for more than just a few minutes.
It floated down in front of me. She was gone. She was saying goodbye.
She was on her way to heaven. The bubble was her spirit form. I
knew this. I almost began to cry, but I held back the tears yet
again.
Julie. my wife, met me at the hotel room door. She is the sort of
person who lights up the entire room when she enters it. as the
door to the room opened and she, with her usual smile, asked how
the McBride lecture was. I told her what a fantastic experience
it was and how much I learned. “The nursing home called while
you were gone,” she conceded. Her eyes couldn’t hide
it. My grandmother had indeed passed away while I was in the lecture.
I just crumpled into a chair and tears finally came forth. I didn’t
cry very long or very hard. I was happy for her. I knew she was
going to be better off.
Like most of our elderly in this country, my grandmother’s
money had run out quite some time before she died. How was I going
to bury her? “It’ll just have to come out of savings,”
I thought. That evening, mainly out of the need for distraction,
and after making all of the necessary calls to all concerned, Julie
and I ended up at the Paris Casino. I felt so strange. Why was this
particular slot machine pulling me toward it? I put two one-dollar
coins in. One double bar. Two double bars. Then a “double
diamond.” It took a second or two for it to register. Julie
was looking around for a slot machine to play while she stood next
to me. For a few seconds, I made real sure that what I saw was real.
“I’ve had no alcohol,” I assured myself. My eyes
blinked again. Yes. A jackpot. I couldn’t retire on it, but
it would sure help with my grandmother’s funeral expenses.
I felt her presence close by as Julie ran to the bar to get a celebration
drink for us. We gave a toast to my grandmother, who we both knew
was looking down, probably laughing at the casino manager while
he paid us. The casinos don’t write you checks when you win
(but they do issue you a W-2G). They pay in cash, hoping that you’ll
lose it all before you leave town. We rushed back to our hotel,
secured the cash, and went to sleep exhausted.
Lance Burton’s magic show at the Monte Carlo books up fast,
so we got tickets early. It was our last day on the trip, and we
knew that we had to make the necessary arrangements to bury my grandmother
as soon as we got off of the plane.
The Monte Carlo was nice and it has Blackstone’s Steakhouse,
a really unique restaurant with a magic flare. We made reservations
for dinner, to be seated just after the show.
Burton’s show was fantastic to say the least and we enjoyed
a nice dinner afterwards. Julie and I decided to play slots for
a few minutes before heading back to our hotel. As we walked out
of the restaurant, another slot machine began to speak to me. In
a daze, I began to put the dollar coins in. Twenty dollars went
fast. Another twenty-dollar bill flowed out of my pocket. “This
one’s a loser,” I warned myself. But there was something
about this machine. I couldn’t get up off of the stool. I
put more one dollar coins in. “Always bet the max,”
I began to strategize. One bar. Two bars. A “triple diamond.”
At this point I went numb. Julie was somewhere else playing another
machine. I just sat there in shock. “Congratulations, sir,”
the waitress said with a huge smile on her face as she handed me
the beer that I had asked for earlier. I dropped ten one dollar
coins onto her tray, my eyes just glazed over. “I’ll
get the attendant for you,” she assured me, pretending to
earn her ten bucks. I tried to call Julie on my cell phone. No service.
She seemed to just walk up out of the blue, her beautiful form appearing
from a row of machines. She looked at the machine and then at me.
A smile came over her face as she looked up and thanked my grandmother,
yet again.
The next morning came early for us. We were ready to get home. The
last event of the World Magic Seminar was the autograph session.
The celebrity magicians were nice enough to sit at a long table
to sign autographs and meet you face to face. You could just feel
the power in that room. Max Maven (famous mentalist), Jeff McBride
(famous magician and metaphysician), Eugene Burger (the bearded
wizard who now teaches magic), were there, just to name a few. The
room was full of wonderment. “I heard Siegfried and Roy are
here,” I overheard some young magician say. “Do you
see Lance Burton anywhere?” another queried. “We got
to meet Teller the other day,” I offered. “He even talks,”
I added. Julie took out our digital camera to get a good shot. Aiming
it down the long table from the very end of it, I heard the familiar
click and beep of the lens capturing the moment. “That’s
a good shot,” I assured her. The signing went greatand we
shook hands with many great magicians.
When you have to endure a long flight home, you get bored quickly.
It’s a great time to look through those digital photos that
are packed in your camera after a nice getaway. Julie handed the
camera to me, as she said, “look at this.” It was the
picture of the long table with the magicians all seated side by
side. Above the table just about where Jeff, Abigail, and Eugene
sat, hovered a bubble (some call it an orb). We zoomed in as far
as the camera would let us. There she was. What looked like my grandmother’s
smiling face in the bubble. “Goodbye,” I said silently
to her. “I’ll always love you.” We later went
through the other pictures and noticed orbs next to the human statue
and in the picture of the gondola drifting away. In that picture,
we see a strange man dressed in black sitting on the bench next
to where we stood. Julie I and both agree that this man was not
there when we took that picture. This was more than magic.
|
