communication studies

Dylan Schear in the Aug. 28 Tahoe Daily Tribune:
" Now mind you, I am not one to inhabit the grave. But, as of late it has been more frequent. When I sit by the headstones of the departed and ask a very specific questions of them, I get answers to my questions. I start by treading lightly and asking for a sign that they know I have visited them. As time passes, my questioning will get more intense.

"On this particular day I was off to my mother-in-law's grave with a few stops along the way, one of which was to get gas at Costco. After gassing my car, I noticed a woman who drove by. I peered into the car and I swear she looked like my mother-in-law. I even wondered if it could have been her sister. However, the lady who was driving was very old and I wondered if I imagined the whole thing.

"Off I went until I reached the mortuary and found where she was buried. With flowers in hand, I sat down beside her and told her that I had come to visit. I felt she was talking to me and wanted to hear my husband, Blythe's, voice. So, I did exactly what she wanted. I pulled out my cell phone and called him.

“'Hey, Blythe,” I said. “I'm sitting by your mother at the grave. I'm going to put you on speaker so you can talk to her.'

“'Hello, Mom,” he said. 'Mom, if you know that we are here please give us a sign. Please let us see two green Volkswagen Bugs.'

"Driving home I made a wrong turn at a Honda dealership. There sat the first green Volkswagen. A rarity. On the freeway I saw the other. I believe in signs and Tomokio unmistakably acknowledged me from the other side. Blessings."