The Paranormal: To Believe or Not

Who knows what our Heavenly Father will allow us to experience?  Each experience is unique, not the cookie cutter images that these ghost busters take of things floating through the night.  Honestly, I get scared just thinking of them.  But really, it doesn’t have to be a cookie cutter image or incident to be a real event.  I have had some which I don’t have the time or patience to explain, but I have a  unique story a neighbor told me a couple of months ago.

This man has never married but he has fathered some children.  No, it’s not optimal but from what he says, he has a good relationship with his children and his siblings as well.  He and his siblings are products of a woman from Jamaica or some such Island and a father from Mexico.  He seems like a solid person and his father is about 96 or 98 years old and still drives a bag black Mini Van from a Northern Suburb to the south Lakefront where we reside.

For a while, this gentleman looked sad but I didn’t ask him what the problem was.  I know as  some people age, some days are a little different.  When my son entered into the Military he would ask me how he was and I’d give him an update.  Then he would say something like: “Well, I am sure you are happy he’s there, rather than out here”.  Well, I must concur.  There are problems on Chicago’s streets and to talk about that just may make me sick so I will continue to drive the point. 

I guess, he held the knowledge long enough because he blurted out on day: You know my son (whom I will call fictionally Adrian) and I said “Yes, you showed me his pictures.  How’s the young man?” and he says “He’s gone on.  He’s dead” and I am speechless.  This young man is 24 years old and it creeps me.  He lives in New Orleans and I have seen videos of him, my neighbor (his father) and the child Adrian has fathered.  I don’t talk about it much, I just say that I am so sorry and I move on.

One day he stops me and tells me that it was just so terrible the way he found this out about his son.  And I say “Mr. Neighbor how did you find out?” finally.  He goes and brings back a cell phone that is dead.  You know how we upgrade and end up with the phone now disconnected and dead because we only have one active phone.  He says “This phone has been off for two years because this is the upgrade” he said showing me his inactive with his newer phone.  “Look at the name and number from which it was called.”  I looked and it had the name of his son and the phone number and the date which was about April 10th of this year or something.  I look at him in astonishment and he says “I haven’t talked to my son in a couple of years.  Have tried to find him.  I knew he was off into a Gang of some kind sometimes and I warned him and tried to tell him, but I never expected this”.  I am still confused “Well, Mr. Neighbor, maybe by some fluke your phone accidentally came on or something” I said, trying to excuse it away and he said “My phone is dead, and has been and this number, this number from my son is from a disconnected number too.”  he says “It’s been dead but I called it that morning to make sure, and again this morning.”   And by now I am sitting on his couch and watching him as he plays the video again.  I don’t know what to say and then I ask “But how did you ultimately find out about his death?” and he says “There’s a girl that I didn’t want to call….I believe she was his ex girl, so I didn’t want to bother her but I had to….” he said “And she told me that he had been killed by gun fire two years.”  He looked as if he would cry as he said the girl recounted “And his  Grand Mother didn’t want him to deal with you since she said you never wanted him or did much for him……  I wanted to tell you but she begged me not to sir, I am sorry”  the young woman intimated.