Do you believe?????

Do you believe in ghosts? I'm not sure if I really believe. I can't say that I don't believe. I think I'm leaning more toward thinking that there is really something to it - but what it is I just don't know.

My feelings are based mostly on the following personal experience. In the 80's I was living in Durham, NC directly across the street from my Grandmother. She was a very independent woman and had lost most everything in the 'great depression' - managed to work herself back into a pretty comfortable position. She owned her own engraving company and was well off when she died.

She had set up her will and estate quite well - leaving me as her executor. But she had also warned me to be very careful with everything around the house since she had a habit of hiding things in unlikely places. And these items consisted of anything from cash to teapots!

My mother, son and I very systematically went through the entire house. Yep, we found lots of stuff. Much more than we ever expected.

When we decided we were finished (after about 2 weeks), my mom and I started getting all of the items ready for each of the people who had inherited them. We began to hear footsteps up on the second floor. Very distinctly you could hear them going from the top of the stairs to one particular window in the library. After listening to this maybe 8 times, the two of us went upstairs to the window. There was a large secretary beside the window that we had checked twice. This time, we found cash and jewelry clearly laying in one of the drawers! There is just no way that we could have both miss it before.

A few days later we started hearing noises in the farthest north edge of the attic. This is an area where there is no flooring, just insulation - and I had to lay down and scoot up under the eaves to get to a medium sized old cardboard box. When I managed to pull it out - I was amazed to find a sterling silver water pitcher wrapped in old rags!

We set a mouse trap in the broom closet because we kept hearing little scratching noises coming from there. No sooner would we set the trap - than it would snap shut, no mouse, bait in tact. Over and over . . . finally we pulled everything out of the closet. Yep, in a paper bag full of rags was over $2,000 in cash!

There were a few more times that Grandma made her presence known. She led me to look under a large bow front chest (actually under the carpet that was under the chest) to find a diamond broach - - - - A rip in the backing of a framed painting bugged me for days before I finally got a little mirror and looked in the rip, yes, more cash!

No, I can't say that was her 'ghost'. I don't know what it was. But I do know that something made us check all those specific things for a third or fourth time.

I also know that I have felt that my mom, my dad and a dear, dear friend have all made me feel that they were near me in some way - just when I needed them. Were they really there - or was I just using my imagination to help myself get through a rough spot?