Emails from beyond

As I was signing in to check my email the other day, a story caught my eye. The headline read, “Emails from dead man’s account helping family and friends find closure.”

That headline drew me in. I have always wondered about the afterlife. Is there an afterlife? Is there such a thing as ghosts and spirits? Can we see or hear them? Can they communicate with us?

From time to time, I will watch a special on TV, read a story or have a conversation with someone about this topic and my mind starts to wander. I don’t have an answer as to whether I think it is all real, our imagination or what, but my feeling is, why not?

The story tells about a man, Jack Froese, who died from a heart arrhythmia at the age of 32 last June. This past November, his best friend, Tim Hart, was checking his email on his phone when a new one popped up from his recently- deceased friend Jack.

According to Hart, the message was short and to the point, something that he says would be typical of Froese. The email referenced a conversation the two friends were having shortly before his death while the two were alone in Hart’s attic.

The subject line of the message was “I’m watching” and the email said “Did you hear me? I am in your house. Clean your attic.” Creepy, right?

Was it a hacker? Is someone playing a joke on the family and friends who have received messages from Froese?

Hart says they have thought about that but in the end, they are taking it for what it is worth, a message from beyond.

The only way I can relate to that story is that I did receive an email from someone after he passed away. My friend James sent an email to my work address late one Friday afternoon, but I was already gone for the weekend. Sadly, James passed away in a car accident the next day and I read his email on Monday. That was eerie.

After hearing Hart’s story, I thought of several things that happened recently to me, which made me wonder if it was my dad trying to send me a message.

Dad was a big stickler on making sure that you had your oil changed in your car every 3,000 miles and not a mile more. Earlier this year while talking to my step-mom, I mentioned that I better get the oil changed in dad’s truck because it was a little past due. The next day I was heading to the store and the oil light came on.

Sure, probably just a coincidence, but still freaked me out a little, to be honest.

And this past weekend I was the unlucky victim of a hit and run accident on my way home from the K-Wings game. I was at a stoplight waiting to turn left when a truck slammed into the back of me. By the time I put the truck in park and turned my four-ways on, the truck was speeding away.

After taking care of the police report, I headed home. As I was driving down my street I saw a bunch of lights flashing behind me. No, it was not the police again, but rather a toy that my girls left in the back seat. Mind you, this is one of those toys that you have to hit or throw on the ground to make it light up and it was going off with no assistance. Again I thought, this is dad telling me he saw what happened to his truck.

Yes, I know I am probably a little crazy for thinking that, but again I say, why not? Besides, I know I would never get an email from my dad. He could never figure out how to set the time on the VCR, nor had an email account, so I know that will never happen. Or could it?