As you may have read last week in a couple of the recaps of The Gathering, on Sunday, four of us went on a very, shall I say, "impromptu" Dawson's Gift Book Tour. Everyone seemed to really enjoy seeing some of the places that they had read about in the book.

While driving through the streets of San Francisco, I mentioned that I was reminded of a book tour that I had heard about quite a while back - something to do with "good and evil." I got to thinking about that and looked it up and there it was. And, yes, they do (just like we did) take visitors around to see the real places mentioned in that book! Just like we had done for DG!

It was kind of funny how they mentioned "oooooooh visiting the cemetery." Yes, we did that, too. But ours was a really pretty, peacful place. I don't have a picture of that up yet, but I did post a couple of the church, etc. Not much, but if you want to see them click on "View My Images" on this page.

1. - 4. St. Dominic's, the beautiful church near the hospital
5. Where I entered on that first day
6. Stood in awe
7. And was welcomed home
8. - 9. St. Jude Shrine where we lit candles for Dawson
10. St. Jude prayer card that had such an impact
11. The pond
12. Dawson's Rock (and Harley and me)
13. Pyramid by day
14. From where we saw the first view of Dawson's Light
15. Dawson's Resting Place

When I spoke at my father's funeral ...

I began by telling everyone gathered in the church how dear my father was to me and the many wonderful things about him…and I said that I realized that these were things that everyone already knew. I said, "But what you may not know is how my mother has taken such wonderful care of my father these last few months. She is a very strong lady and I am very proud of her." I went on to tell how on the day my father died, together, my mother and I had made all the arrangements for his services and how, after we were done, she assured me that she would be okay and that I could leave her and that I should go and take care of things at home. So as I left their house and I went to my car … I was trying to find comfort in the fact that she had told me she was going to be "okay." Yet I was hoping and wanting to know…"Is Daddy okay?" It was then as I was about to pull out into the street that I looked in my rear view mirror. It was absolutely aglow! The whole mirror--golden and bright! I went down the street, turned the corner and was then facing the source of that glow. Before my eyes, was the largest expanse of a sunset I had ever seen. Beautiful colors from one end of the sky to the other. I went on to describe that magnificent sight that was for me an amazing sign. How the colors were not only just the usual golds and oranges with some shades of blue…they were unmistakably peach and turquoise!

I then told how when I arrived home, I immediately went to my copy of Dawson's Gift and found the page where I had written years earlier this passage and I said to all those gathered, "I hope this will explain the significance of what I had seen."

I read from DG, "As I watched Dawson gazing wistfully out at the magnificent sunset, I could see that he was, indeed, very far away. Was he somewhere in the what-could-have-been future, or perhaps, in the what-should-have been past? I did not know. I did not ask him. I did not need to. I knew he was where he was seeing the true beauty of life and I could see he had found comfort in that iridescent peach and turquoise sky ."

I then went on to say, "I had received my answer--Was Daddy okay? He was! And he inasmuch had told me…he had found comfort...he was with Dawson…and it was a very, very beautiful place!"

I said that I wondered how I could have been given such a beautiful blessing and I thought it was because "I believe." And I prayed that all those there would always "believe."

Now I am aware that it was not only a blessing, a gift for me for the moment…it was the gift that I was meant to share with all those who loved my father and who mourned him and had come to pay their respects.

But what seemed truly astonishing to me was that after telling this story, Father Michael came and stood by me and told us all this. He said, "I saw that sunset! I saw it through the window and ran outside. I thought the trees were aflame it was so bright! I had no idea it was your dad's!"

Then after the funeral mass, we had a beautiful reception at the Elks club. One young man who loved and respected my father as he had been his mentor stood up, and trying to hold back tears, also spoke of the amazing sunset he had seen that evening. He told how he, too, had seen this brightness shining in his window. He said he and his wife were just moving in to their new home and at the top of their inside stairway there was a large window. They had talked of one day putting in a stained glass window there. (Which he then decided they will NOT do.) He said it was through that window that he saw the vibrant light and quickly went outside to see it. He then was so in awe of it he ran inside and grabbed his camera and took a picture of (what he had just learned was his beloved friend's,) my dad's sunset. That picture is the one I have posted here.

And there were others, too, who remarked that they had been struck by the sight of that sunset.

In the week that followed I told the story of the special meaning to that evening's sunset and one friend who lives 75 miles away just gasped when I told her. She said, "I saw it!!" She had been in the gas station getting gas when everywhere she looked and everyone she saw standing there was bathed in gold. She said she stood on the bumper of her car to see the sunset that was giving off such a beautiful glow.

Another friend told me she had been driving home from work that day and had decided to take the coast road. She said when she saw this amazing sunset, she pulled over and stopped the car and was filled with such peace.

The picture doesn't do it justice, and may not have been taken at the moment it was its brightest, but what is so meaningful is how everyone seemed so drawn to this particular sight and the sense of wonder and peace it brought.

And how incredibly fortunate I feel that someone actually was able to give me a special picture of God's sky that meant so much to me on that sorrowful evening.

I grew up in the 1950s in San Francisco. There were few, if any, two-car families. Mommy didn't drive, so one car was fine for us. If we wanted to go anywhere we walked, took a bus or Daddy drove us. They were simple times. And long before children were carrying cell phones.

One day, Daddy gave me a dime. He said, "Put this in your wallet - in a place all by itself. Always keep it there just in case you ever need to call me. I want you to always have that dime. And if you spend it let me know and I'll replace it."

As I got older, there were times that I'd be leaving the house and Daddy would still ask, "Do you have your dime?" "Yes, yes," I'd say, sometimes rather impatiently. He'd insist on checking and there were times when it wasn't there, perhaps it had fallen out. He'd replace it reminding me how I should never be without that dime! At times, I thought it was silly, but I never doubted his love for me. I grew up with the comfort of knowing that he would always be there for me whenever I needed him.

My dear father lived to be 88 years old. At his funeral reception, my mother's sister, said to me, "For so many years … sixty-seven years … whenever anything happened to your mother or me and we didn't know what to do … the answer was always, 'Call Frank.' What will we do now? "

A week later, my mother was telling me how sad it was and how hard it was to accept that my father was no longer with us. "If only I could just know that he's okay," she said. I assured her he was. She said, sadly, "I hope so."

I found myself thinking about what a loving father and husband he had been. I began to see a beautiful connection between him making sure I had that dime to call him if I needed him and how my mother's answer as to what to do if something happened had always been to call him, too.

I told her this and said, almost lightheartedly, "Well, if Daddy wants to give us a 'sign' all he has to do is send us a dime!" I added, "We'll know that it means that he is still with us, and that whenever we need him, we can still call on him."

I am not in the habit of praying for signs. I can't explain it really, but there is just something about it that I am not comfortable with. But this was different. This was not for myself that I was asking. It was for my mother. And I wanted it for her with all my heart.

So on my way to mass that day, I stopped by the memorial park to visit with the guys--Dawson and Daddy. I said to Daddy, "Mommy needs to know you are okay. She needs to know you can feel her love. She needs to know you are still with her and love her, too." Then I said, "A dime will tell her all that."

Then I said to Dawson, "You've had some experience with this 'sign' stuff. You're good at it. Help Papa get a sign to Grandma. She's got to find a dime somehow."

I said a rosary and prayed for the sign that would bring my mother some comfort. And though in the past, I had not felt comfortable asking for such a thing … here I was not only asking God for one, but I was telling Him what the sign should be!

That afternoon, my mother had an appointment. And as she went to get into her car … there lying on the driver's seat … a dime!

How much is a dime worth today?


More than the sum of all the money in the world!

On the day my mother found that first, special dime - I wrote the story, "How Much is a Dime Worth Today?" and shared it on the CMOMC board.

Later that same day, I told my husband that I had to go to the feed store before they closed to get dog food, and he offered to go.

When he got home, he said, "I guess you should have gone," and he held up a dime! "I found it right there on the floor in the store," he said, "it must have been there for you."

"No, I said, "I think it's yours. Daddy wanted to tell you he's still here for you, too."

We both were rather amazed and a bit awed that a dime would just happen to present itself on that very day.

****

The next day, I emailed my friend the "How Much is a Dime Worth" story and that night she showed it to her husband.

Her husband, Tim, is my husband's cousin. She and I had really gotten to know each other and become best friends after she had read, Dawson's Gift.

She worked in an oncologist's office and she had been extremely helpful and supportive to my mother and father throughout my dad's illness. One day, not too very long before my dad passed away, we had all gone out to lunch and back to their house for a visit. It had been a very enjoyable day for my dad and he was so pleased to see that one of his old machines - a large drill press that he had given Tim years earlier - was being put to good use and was so well-maintained in Tim's spotless workshop.

It was obvious the great joy it brought my dad to try his hand at working at his old machine that day and he seemed so glad to know that he still remembered how to operate it. Tim was a bit in awe of this 88 year old man who he had always admired and had great respect for, and he was impressed by the knowledge he could share from his long years of working as a tool and die maker.

After my father died, Tim had regrets that he had not stood up and spoken at my father's funeral reception, for he wished he had told the story of the smile he had seen on my father's face and the twinkle in his eyes as he had worked on his old machine. The dime story touched Tim's heart as he remembered the man who had impressed him so and he was aware how he still wished he had shared the story of that day.

The next morning, Tim called his wife from work. He said to her, "When I got here this morning ... there was dime on my keyboard!"

It was as if my father had told him to let go of the regrets. He understood. He knew. And that was all that really mattered.

****

My husband and I each have a desk. They are front to front. I call them the "dueling desks." Silly. Under them we have a shared waste basket and a paper-recycling box.

That same evening, my husband got up from his desk, went and got a flashlight and came over to me at my desk and handed me the light. "What? I asked. "Look," he said as he pointed. I shined the light under the desks and there shining back up at me ... yep, a dime! Truly stunned, I picked it up ... paying no attention to whose desk it was actually under ... his or mine. But I figured he's the one who spotted it, so it must be his. But he believed it was mine.

But either way it's okay - perfect even - because Daddy gave me this blessing of a special story - a story of enduring love that can be held in a tiny dime! And of course, God knew I would share my wonder of it all with everyone I know.

****

When I told my same friend, Tim's wife, about our newfound dimes ... well, she admitted that she was now wanting a dime from Daddy ... "really bad!"

A few days later ... the phone rang ... it was my friend and she sounded like she was ready to cry! "What's the matter?" I asked. In almost a whisper, as if she couldn't believe the words she was saying, she said, "I found a dime."

She went on to tell me how she and her husband had gone to church and then to dinner. They were leaving the restaurant ... walking toward the door ... Tim went one way around a table and she went around the other way. She said, "And there it was! Just laying there! I couldn't believe it!"

She said she practically screamed when she saw it and called her husband over. And they just stood there, staring at each other and down at the dime before she picked it up. She said people would have thought they were crazy if they knew they were acting this way just because they found a dime!

****

For us, the finding of a dime continues to be quite special. And we've found many - 56 to be exact. No, no, don't worry - I won't recount every finding. But I will tell you there were many at the most significant times ...

... like the Mother's Day that Bill and I were at the market after mass, and as we were unloading our groceries at the checkstand, he looked down, then looked at me and motioned to me. There was a dime laying on the floor between us. He said, "Your Mother's Day Dime." As he picked it up and handed it to me, my first thought was, "Oh, I can't wait to tell my mother!" But then I said, "Oh, no, Mommy might feel bad if I got a dime and she might not have found one."

The checker loaded our cart with the bagged groceries and as Bill wheeled the cart toward the door, he suddenly stopped. I looked at him questioningly. He said, "There. Your mother's dime." Sure enough, there it was! And now I surely couldn't wait to call my mother and tell her Daddy had wished us both a Happy Mother's Day.

Yes, Bill does have a knack for spotting the dimes. He found one on our property that totally amazed him. He couldn't believe how he had spotted it. It looked as if it had been buried on our property for about fifty years! It wasn't even silver. It was dark and dirty, blending in with the earth and rocks around it, but it surfaced on one special day ... just for Bill to find. We realize that Daddy has decided to put Bill, with his eagle-eye, in charge of dime duty.

Proof of his eagle-eye! Bill and I were in the drive-thru line at a fast food restaurant. One car was ahead of us getting their order. Bill said, "Look over there."
"Where?"
"Right next to the car in front of us ... on the ground ... on the passenger side ... something shiny."
"I can't see it. Do you think it's a dime?"
"Might be."
Sure enough, it was. And of course I had to get out of the car after we had driven up to the window ... to pick up my dime.


****

But interestingly enough - it was Bill's birthday one year and we were again leaving the market. I silently said, "Daddy, where's Bill's birthday dime?" I immediately looked to my right and there standing on its end in a crack in the cement ... yes! Honestly!

And then there was the day I drove my mother to see her ailing sister in the hospital. Her sister wasn't doing well and my mother was very nervous and concerned. The hospital parking lot was very full and it appeared I was going to have to park at the far end of the lot. I told my mother that I could leave her off at the door and then go park, but just then I noticed there was one available parking space very near the entrance. I parked and as my mom got out of the car, there laying at her feet on the pavement ... she couldn't believe it ... one calming and comforting dime.

****

I promised you I wouldn't tell all fifty+ dime stories, but I will tell you just one more.

My mom drove a little red sportscar and my dad drove a white van. It had been nearly two years after my dad had died that my mother decided to buy a new car. She turned in her car, but could not bring herself to also turn in my dad's van, although she knew it made sense to do so, for she really didn't need it. Bill suggested we buy it from her. He said, "For sentimental reasons and, too, it would be good to have."

But as we were about to take it and drive it away, I could see my mother was feeling a bit sad to see it go. And I assured her that Daddy was happy that we had it and that, after all, it would not be sitting somewhere on a car lot. But I must admit that I was feeling rather sad myself when I saw it the next morning parked outside my house ... as I remembered fondly ... the special dad I loved and missed so much.

Bill went outside and began to wash the van and vacuum the inside. I was on the phone to my mom when he came in and said, "I guess your dad is happy that we have the van." I looked up at him. "Did you ... ?" I started to ask. He nodded yes as he handed me a dime. He said that he had opened the little storage drawer under the passenger's seat and the dime dropped out and landed on the carpet right in front of him. I told my mom and she said, "I guess he does understand. I guess he knows it was best for me to let it go ... and especially to let it go to you."

I knew this was true. So, just how much are these reassuring, comforting little dimes worth? A lot!

****

So many who have heard these stories become aware of the dimes they begin to find - and they do find dimes! What does it all mean? Who can say. All I know is that these stories are true and I know for certain that when someone who knows these stories - then finds a dime, they think of my dad and they send up a little prayer for him. So that in itself is something blessed. Just like when someone sees a dragonfly and says a prayer for Dawson. And I've even been told of two incidences where dragonflies and dimes have come together!

Double prayers and double blessings and THANKS BE TO GOD.
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