November 30, 2007
Uncle George's Last Visit
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Dean, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1986
I had a lot of trouble sleeping when I was younger and I would often end up
crawling in with my dad downstairs. He slept on a pullout in the basement,
and usually when I went down there with him I could sleep a lot easier. On
this particular night, I went down shortly after midnight, which was just
about normal. By midnight I would be convinced that I couldn't sleep on my
own, and my dad would be asleep, so I could get in without bothering him.
I got in the bed and for all I can remember, I fell asleep pretty quickly.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up and it was about 3:30 in the morning.
I rolled over to get comfortable, and found myself looking at the recliner
chair against the wall. It appeared to be rocking slightly, but I figured I
was probably imagining things, so I closed my eyes for a second to see if it
would stop.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw a man sitting in the chair. He was foggy,
I don't know how else to describe it. It's not like he was surrounded by
fog, it's like he was foggy. He also appeared to be dressed in an old
sailor's uniform, complete with the white hat and neckerchief.
I was obviously very scared, and I couldn't think of anything to do. I tried
shaking my dad awake, but I couldn't get him to stir. Finally I thought my
best option might be to turn on the light on the table beside me. I reached
up, switched on the light, and the figure was gone. Eventually I guess I
fell asleep again.
The next morning, I was eating breakfast when I heard my dad crying. He was
on the phone with his twin sister. I asked my mom what was wrong with him,
and she said that his oldest brother, my Uncle George, had died overnight. A
few days later, the newspaper ran the obituary. The picture accompanying the
write-up showed my uncle in his Navy uniform from the 1940s.
