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The Lady in White...
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The 2 photographs on this page are of me exactly one year before I was a passenger in an automoblile accident caused by a drunk driver in April of 1989. The driver of a van cut us off, and we hit him head on, into the side of his van. He was in too much of a hurry to cross the highway to wait his turn. I beleive he was following his friend, because the car just before the van, also cut out in front of us and made a left hand turn next to a gas station. For a split second, I thought we would hit that first car. I realized our driver was thinking the same thing, because he barely had time to yell "hold on! We're going to hit this one!"
My best friend since 7th grade was sitting in the center of the front seat of the pick up, between the driver, a friend of her family and myself. In the seconds before impact, I barely had time to think of my small children, and how desperately I wanted to see them grow up! I quickly reached out for the dashboard with my left hand. Instantly I felt pain in my wrist as it was bent backward and my left forearm was shoved into the glovebox... leaving a large dent in it to prove it. I remember being flung forward, hitting Susan's head as hers hit the rear view mirror and breaking it off. My head continued to hit the roof of the truck and the window and dashboard. I was unnaware that my knees were injured until someone opened the door and asked if I was alright and could I walk? I looked over at Susan and knew that I had to get out of the way, so I told him I was fine. I got out and nearly fell to the ground. Susan was unconscious.
We were taken by ambulance to the nearest Hospital for X-rays and tests. They put me in a sling and we were not released for many hours. While at the hospital, we spoke to the Police, who told us that they had been following the drunk driver and saw the whole thing. I asked him if he was the policeman who had opened my door and asked if I was alright. He wasn't. He had also wittnessed the accident because he was at the gas station. At least we had a good witness, but it's too bad they didn't pull him over before he cut us off... We learned that the driver of the van seemed uninjured.
We all needed lawyers and Susan had knee surgery. She and I worked as cashiers in the same store. Susan wasn't able to return in 8 weeks and lost her job. I returned before my wrist and shoulder were healed so I wouldn't loose my job. It actually took about 5 years before the pain went away.
In November of 1989, my lawyer asked me to come in to discuss closing my claim. Since Susan had had knee surgery,
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and I didn't drive, I asked another friend for a ride to my lawyers office. It was at lease a 45 minute ride, and I still felt nervous on trips out of town. Almost paranoid in fact! Don't get me wrong... she's a safe driver, but she had no idea that her driving made me so nervous. For years, I'd noticed that she looked at you when she talked to you. I found myself watching the road for her!
A few minutes before my friend was expected, I was standing in my kitchen, looking out of the window. She was rarely early, perhaps more often late and I was a bit worried about being late for my appointment also. I didn't want to have to rush to be on time if we were late. I silently said a prayer for safety. Nothing special. I never felt I knew how to pray the right way...
I live on a corner lot, and my kitchen is in the center of the front of the house. I remember seeing her white car turn the corner very very slowly... I knew something was wrong. She always drove super slow when she was upset. I got very worried about riding with her. More so than before! Something else was near her car, also white, but almost transparent! I ran into the front room for a better look from the large windows. Nothing was there. Just her car, still moving slowly! I guess I thought I was so upset that I was seeing things, so I returned to the kitchen window to see if she had parked the car yet, but she hadn't. You can't imagine all the thoughts going through my mind... as I realized what I had seen, was actually still there! I didn't move or look away this time! I watched and observed everything as if it was in slow motion. Finding the right words to describe what I saw is difficult, but I will try. Some call what I saw a vision or an apparition of a female form, dressed in white. I observed her as she walked toward my friends car near the side of the road, but not dirrectly on the grass. It was as if she wasn't actually touching the ground, and her feet could not be seen under the long white robe, yet I could see the movement of her legs as she walked. Her arms swung slowly and gracefully just as we would when we walk. Her sleeves were long and wide. Her hands did not show, nor the profile of her face, for she wore some sort of veil that fell past her shoulders. There were folds in the material as she walked, which reminded me of sheer curtains. She was nearing the side of the car and now I found myself watching my friend. She was looking down toward her lap. I wanted her to look up, but she never did. I guess I thought she was reading her mail as she waited for me to go to her car. I just stood there to see what happened next. The lady in white was near the passenger door by now, walking side by side with the car which was now parked. She bent down slightly as she continued to walk by. She seemed to be looking at her as she passed by the car and just faded away...
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Continued...
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...I don't remember walking to the front room, or hearing my friend walk in. All I remember is her asking what was wrong! She said I looked like I'd seen a ghost! But I wasn't afraid anymore! I was however, trying to make sence of what I had just wittnessed! All I knew was I doubted she would ever beleive me if I told her what I'd just seen, so I told her I was fine. In fact, I continued to tell her nothing was wrong "nearly" all the way to my appointment... My mistake was that I was getting tired of her asking me what was wrong, and so I said "never mind! You wouldn't beleive me anyway!" What I really meant was, I don't want to tell you while you're driving, or you won't watch the road...
She looked right at me and told me that today, she would beleive anything! I had no idea what she meant by that or why. All I knew was I thought she would laugh at me, and she swore she wouldn't. I didn't tell her the part about the prayer I said for safety or my being nervous about her driving. I had a hard time watching the road while telling her what happened. I was afraid if I didn't look at her while I told her, she would think I was lying for sure! It seemed like her eyes never left mine once! Perhaps I left out many details to tell her as fast as I could. I was relieved to hear her say she beleived me, and I asked her why she beleived me. She mentioned something about getting the chills as I told her what I saw. I wanted to know what that had to do with it. She said she was raised Catholic and was taught that was the Holy Spirit.
On the way home after my appointment, we discussed what was bothering her while she was sitting in her car. Her ex-husband was trying to get custody of one of her daughters in court the next day. I was to be a witness, and she asked me NOT to mention what I'd seen to anyone. I understood why after she told me that her ex-husband belonged to a church that she didn't approve of and that he and her daughters were claiming that they saw demons! I later learned that many of his friends from his church even testified to this, and is on record. By the way, she had no problem winning permanent custody!
Occationally, someone would notice the angel pins I wore and they would tell me they beleived in angels too. I would often ask them why they beleived in angels. Some would openly tell me their story, most would be in tears and tell me that they had never told anyone before, and didn't know why they had told me! Sometimes they would only tell me about their experience after I told them mine. I was usually asked why I thought this happened to me. I began to think she was the answer to my prayer and was sent as a messenger to tell me that everything would be alright and we would be safe. I was told that angels are sent in many forms, not to make you afraid, but in a form that you will except.
We didn't talk much of this to each other during that first year, but I over heard her telling my story to someone she knew. As I listened, I became aware of what she was actually doing in her car that day that I thought she was reading her mail! She had been at someone's house just before coming to mine. They had said a prayer before she left concerning the custody case. She was crying and praying all the way to my house and after she parked in front of my house! She and I had been praying at the same exact time! This explained why she was driving so slowly and why she didn't look up in her car. Maybe I'll never know why I was only able to see the Lady in white from my kitchen window, but because I saw her both times from the same window, I felt I was meant to see what I'd seen! I was her messenger!
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