That Sixth Sense

I'm sorry but I'm still neck deep in my genealogy project. I'm trying to organize what I'm learning and figuring out what to add to my photo-history album to share with all the relatives.

However, here's two things I thought I'd share just because it's so amazing to me.


I wanted to find a nice album to hold my 8.5" X 11" photo/history pages. (Blogger Steve, I'm afraid none of my relatives would be willing to dish out $200 for publishing so I'm trying to find the most economical way I can do this.) We finally found what I was looking for at Longs Drug Store down the street but they only had two of them and NO refills. I'd need 3 refills for each album because I'm up to 55 pages right now. I looked on the Internet and the shipping cost was staggering. I called countless other Longs Drug Stores on the island but nobody had them. We made a trip to Ala Moana to see if maybe they didn't know what I was talking about and actually had them. Nope! I was so frustrated I asked my daughter, Tiffany to get them for me in Chicago. I knew they had them.

Then tonight, Art and I went for a two mile walk (no, we're not afraid to drive our new Prius...sigh) down to our Longs to buy the two they had and have Tif buy the refills for me in Illinois. When we got to the store we found they had restocked! I was flabbergasted! A salesgirl came by and I told her how excited I was. She said, "Don't buy it now. It's going on sale on Sunday and I'll order more refills for you.

Wow!

Here's another story I learned.

My grandmother, my mother, three aunts and baby uncle were escaping north Korea for Japan. During that nine month journey my mother recounted getting used to death all around them. Their biggest terror was being captured and raped. One day, a Russian soldier on horseback saw her. She was about 16 at the time. When she saw him chasing after her she ran for the river. This was winter. She remembers seeing ice on the water. She looked behind and saw him gaining on her. The choice was the river or being captured. She chose the frozen river and managed to escape. To this day, she hates the cold.

Later, as they lay starving and tired beyond endurance, my grandmother felt all the energy she'd been trying to summon ebb away. She just didn't think she could go on. She realized finally that it was too much. She went to sleep thinking she would never wake again. That's when she saw a vision. She saw her hometown lighted with people going to a temple. They were praying. They were praying for her and her family, willing them to have courage to return to them. This was enough. It bolstered her determination to continue the journey.

When they got to Sendai, she told her parents about her dream and how it had kept her going. They were startled to hear her story and asked which day she'd had that dream. When she told them, they said with surprise that it was the very day that they had held a prayer service at the temple for her safe return.

My mother (that's a photo of her as a teenager, by the way) tells me her mother seemed to have a sixth sense and that one of my aunts as inherited it. Hmmmm...

So, Grandmother... thank you for your help from beyond with the photo albums. I'm working very hard to have your stories known to the family.

Ummm... and by the way, your grandson, Dennis has asked for some help also with that car accident your great grandson has gotten himself into...again.