Today, my husband and I were driving to walk our dogs on some old train tracks. While in the car, on our way, I got a call from a family friend’s sister. The sister, who we will call “Bev” (for privacy) is helping me keep in touch with her elderly, and ill brother, who we will call “Jack” (for privacy) who is in Palliative care in the USA. We are located in Canada, and have been living in a house that he has never set foot in. (This is important…promise) Bev gave us a health update about our dear friend and said “He is almost completley deaf now, we use a white board. He often has questions.” Then, I heard his voice loud and clear ask about an old cousin who had been lost to our family for many years, as a result of homelessness and mental illness. I responded to his accurate question with “We have had no new news of him I am sorry to say.” Bev repeated my answer loudly so that Jack would hear her. He acknowledged it with a “Hmm”. Then he asked if my Stepmother had sold her house. I had no idea how he had that information, as she and I speak weekly and she has not spoken to him since Christmas (also with Bev’s translation support verbally over the phone). I responded that indeed she had and carried on. Jack asked another question about a family friend and I responded with positive news. Bev clearly spoke the answer loudly for him to hear. Then, he said, loud and clear: “What are those pictures in your living room? They are huge?!!” Bev paused, as did I, she responded “Sorry, what did you ask Jack?” He said it exactly the same, word for word “What are those pictures in your living room? They are huge?!!” I didn’t have any idea what he was asking and said “Sorry Bev, I don’t know what he means.” She responded “Neither do I”. We spoke for a few minutes longer, he wanted to know the plays of the upcoming season of one of his favourite theatres. I looked it up immediately and Bev and I gave him the answers he was looking for. We shared our love for one another and hung up.
I stood there, still and silent, I looked at my husband and said “Did you hear that?” as it had all been on speaker phone. My husband’s face was white, as if he had seen a ghost. “How does he know about the giant Olympics posters?”
We stood there, dumbfounded. This person, has been in care for over five years, they have never been to the house we live in now. They do not have access to the internet and only receive a few family members as visitors. There is no way he could know, that, this week, I had been trying to sell a collection of posters, from an Olympics from 1972 in Munich. Giant colourful posters, with incredible graphics, that are right now, spread all over my living room. We have hanging clips rigged for photos of the posters, and I have been measuring and managing these paper treasures all week to finally get them listed online.
My friend is closer to his mortal ending, than he has ever been. I don’t know how he knew what he did today. He just knew. He clearly asked about the posters, and was curious about them. I will send his sister an email tomorrow with photos of the posters and photos of them draped all over my living room, so she too, can see what he was asking about.
This is normal in our circles. I have a kid on the spectrum who I am connected to in my thoughts, my husband and I can speak to each other across distances and have for years. This was a wild moment today; with someone who I have never even discussed psychic abilities with, but, that didn’t matter…. Incredible, and clear as a bell, and one that I had to share in this community.