Angel on My Shoulder I have really had someone looking out for me over my lifetime. I was thinking about all the escapes from harm I have had. I know I probably forgot some of them, but I have had more than my share, there is no doubt about that. As a young child I was very sick, so much so, the school wanted to leave me back because of the number of absences, but with the help of my mother I got the work done at home and passed with high grades. As I grew, I got stronger. When I was a kid in Brooklyn I lived in a bad neighborhood. There was a gang there that thought it was great fun to beat up little kids, especially me. They were all far older than me and most were about 16 years old. I don’t think I have to tell you an 8-year-old boy didn’t stand a chance against them. One day they saw me from a distance and a bunch of them began to run after me. There was a store which had an overhanging window and there was a building blocking the view to it and they were getting closer. At their age they could run faster than me. When I got behind the building blocking the overhang, I rolled under it, and they ran right by me. That was a close call. There was a game we played in Brooklyn called stoop ball. We would bang a ball off the steps of a stoop and try and get it over the heads of the kids trying to catch the ball. We were playing this around 1950 or so when I got so excited I ran out into the street for the ball without looking. Since the neighborhood was very poor, those who had cars had very old ones. One car from the 1920s with wooden spoked wheels was driving down the road. When the driver saw me, he hit his brakes, but I think it is needless to say, those brakes were not very good. You could probably hear the screeching for miles, but somehow, he managed to stop right in front of me, and gave me a lecture I rightfully deserved. When I was about 11 years old, I decided it would be a great thing to be able to stand on the top of the monkey bars at the local playground. In those days there was no rubber mats under them to protect a kid when he or she fell, there was just cement. I managed to climb up and precariously stood on the very top and then it happened. Somehow, I had the weirdest accident. I fell head first through the center hole in the monkey bars and as I was falling, I put my arm in front of my head. When I hit the cement, miraculously, I didn’t even scrape my arm and I was fine. As I got older my good luck seemed to continue. I owned a Volkswagen but, which was a very tiny car. I was in the car waiting for a light to change which a very big and heavy car hit me. It seems the driver was daydreaming. This was in 1961 and he was driving one of those big cars at the time. He hit so hard his car was on top of my poor little car and I probably should have been severely hurt, but I just a sore back for a couple of months. I had been headed to take my police test, and missed it. One day I was driving on an expressway, and noticed a tractor trailer truck in the right lane. I was two lanes over. As I was looking at the cargo, which was mounted on the flat bed trailer I thought it looked very odd. The cargo consisted of three metal objects which looked like Igloos. Each one was tied down separately to the trailer. I wondered what they were. As we were driving along one of the chains holding a metal igloo much not have been secured properly because the truck which was slightly ahead of me by now, but in the first lane, had the igloo break loose and from some unknown reason instead of just dropping off it slid across all three lines and slid past the front of my car only inches away. I was friends with my son-in-law’s father and he owned a van. He needed to pick up some supplies from a store and I said I would go with him and keep him company. We had to go onto the parkway. The parkway had narrow lanes and just a foot high concrete apron separating the two east lanes going one way and the two west ones, going the other. There was one spot which had a sharp turn. As we drove a car coming the other was going too fast and hit the divider and became airborne. It actually flew over the top of our van and I remember seeing the underside as it passed over us and that wasn’t all. Somehow the driver fell out and hit the shoulder on my side. We stopped the car and tried to help him. He was in shock and we covered him and then help arrived. One day I was driving down a street where I used to live. It was wide and had cobble stones and old trolley car tracks. As I drove a motorcycle passed me and swerved to get in front of me. I hate when something like this happens. This was not good for the driver and his girlfriend, because the motorcycle tipped over and thank God the motorcycle slid one way and the driver and passenger the other allowing me to drive between both without hitting either the people or motorcycle. When I was in the U.S. Army, I eventually was promoted a couple of time and became the motor pool sergeant. There was no officer in charge at the time. I was stationed at a fort in New Jersey. The fort had several huge lookout towers which were near the motor pool. The were built atop huge pipes where were mounted in concrete blocks and the pipes were about 6 feet wide or more. I don’t remember for sure. The army decided they wanted to take them down and a navy captain, who was an explosive expert made the motor pool his headquarters for the operation. When the blast was about to happen, I told my men to get under the trucks and said to the captain he might want to also to protect himself from the blast. He said don’t tell me what to do and set off the blast. Unfortunately for him a big chunk of concrete flew off and hit him in the head killing him instantly. The final thing I want to tell you is more paranormal. I was driving on a highway when I got the undeniable urge to pull over to the side and I did. I sat there for a few minutes and the urge left. I started my car again and noticed there had been a big accident ahead of me and people were killed and I could have been one of them. This is why I feel God was watching over me.
|
