Strange….but true!

     I’m the first to admit, I love a good ghost story or mystery.   As a young girl I was known to write a few ‘hard to believe’ stories myself when asked to write something for school.  However, the story I’m about to tell is true.

     Two years ago we lost my Dad to heart failure.   He’d had a heart attack earlier but we were Blessed to have had him for seventeen more months.  During those seventeen months, Keith & I purchased a cell phone on our plan so no matter where he was he would always be able to summons help.   And it just wasn’t any old cell phone either~~It had to be one just like his friend Bob’s.   He loved that cell phone and wouldn’t go anywhere without it.  And  use it he did!   Each month when the phone bill would arrive, we always joked how Daddy had used more minutes than Keith & I combined.    When he passed away, we gave the phone to Mom so she too would have help no matter where she was at.

      As I’ve told you before, I know nothing about cell phones. My knowledge is limited to turning one on & off and checking missed calls.   Sad I know but I really don’t want to know anymore than that~~I have better things to do with my life than to walk around with a cell phone to my ear.   That being said, after this week, I do wish I knew a little more about one.   And here is why……….

       Last Wednesday, Keith & I made our weekly tip to Iola for groceries.   As always when I leave home, I turn my cell phone on (After all, I do want my kids or family members to be able to reach me if there’s an emergency.) and when we came home I turned it off and set it in it’s usual place in one of my old cupboards.

       That evening I was out feeding the farm cats when Jeni came running out, cell phone in hand.  Her face was completely white and as she shoved the phone at me she said, “It sounds like Grandpa!”   Taking the phone from her I said, “Hello” and I swear, in a voice that sounded just like my Dad’s a man said, “Shelia?”   Now Shelia is my little sisters name and she’s the only one of us girls that my Dad ever called.   I was so shocked all I could say was, “Who?”.   Once again the man said, “Shelia?”.   I told him he must have the wrong number and he said, “Oh, sorry.” and hung up.

       Closing the phone I was so shaken I could hardly talk.   It didn’t help that Jeni kept saying, “Mom, that sounded just like Grandpa!”   Like I didn’t know it!   And I was thinking how I knew I turned that phone off when I got home so how did it get turned back on?

     At first I wasn’t going to tell anyone but Keith  what had happened.   Let’s face it, something like this might qualify me to be committed for life.   However, when my sister Sindy called yesterday I decided to tell her about my “Phone call from Daddy.”   I fully expected to hear laughter on the other end of the line and then for her tell me that now she knows I’m nuts.   Instead, there was complete silence.  Finally she asked what day of the week this happened and I told her Wednesday and asked why.    That’s when she told me her story.

      On Tuesday she was at work in her office.    Like me, she never has her cell phone on and suddenly it started ringing.  She said it scared her half to death and by the time she got to it, the caller had hung up.    When she checked missed calls it said, “Dad’s cell”.   (Even though Mom now has the phone, we both still have it listed as dad’s cell on our phones.)   Thinking Mom was trying to reach her she called her right back.   Imagine her surprise when Mom said she hadn’t used the cell phone all day!

       After several minutes of silence we both started laughing.    I told her couldn’t have been Dad , he didn’t get to take his cell phone with him.   Mom got it!

       I suppose this is one of those things we’ll never know the answer to.    I’d like to think Daddy was checking up on me, even if he did think he was calling Shelia.   After all, even in life Dad never could get our names straight!