July 6, 2007
Dad Got Home Safe
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Kathi Michalek, South 60th Court, Cicero, Illinois, June 1994
My in-laws lived above us in and apartment in Cicero. My father-in-law, Ben,
had buried his wife about a year earlier. They had both enjoyed going to
bingo on Saturday nights and Ben continued after she had gone.
Ben drove himself to bingo on Saturday nights and my husband always made
sure the yard light was on for his dad when he came home around 9:30 PM.
When my father-in-law died in June of 1994, we buried him that week. The
following Saturday, no one was inside the house, the front door was locked,
and the windows were not open. We had the inside back door open. The outside
back door had an automatic closer and was closed but not locked since we
could see the door while sitting in the yard.
We were at a picnic table just laughing and talking along with our kids and a
few friends. The yard was big and we lived next to a park so they had lots
of room to run. We had a cooler with cold drinks so no one had reason to be
in and out of the house.
There was a light switch behind the inside door and we had a key holder
above it here we hung our keys.
We had been in the yard at least an hour and a half and it was getting dark
but no one even thought of turning on the yard light since it was a nice
night and we were absorbed in talk.
Then the yard light went on for a second and then went off. The kids were
all in sight and no one was in the house. We all looked at each other
realizing no one was in the house to turn the switch. We walked along both
sides of the house to make sure no one had gotten in and the door was still
locked. After checking the outside and making sure the kids were accounted
for and all the adults too, we went inside and checked from the inside. The
front door was still locked -- no windows were open. So we decided to check
the switch to see if maybe something caught it. Well in order to turn it on
you have to flip it up, so it didn't slip down to turn on. The odd thing is
Ben's car keys were next to the switch and this happened at about 930 PM on
the Saturday after his death. My husband said it was his dad letting him
know he was home safe.
