| Biographical Non-Fiction posted February 5, 2013 | Chapters: |
...37 38 -39- 
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A combination and a change of attitude
A chapter in the book Chasing the Elusive Dream
Safe Keeping
by BethShelby
Things happen from time to time which defy all rules of logic and leave you mystified and wondering if twilight zones may actually exist. One such incident I experienced involved a safe in the office of the printing company where I worked. Not only did the hint of the supernatural involving the safe cause me to question things I thought I understood, but the material locked in the safe led to an interesting encounter which impacted my life in a positive way.
Let me give you a little background. Doris, the company receptionist and office manager, had previously demonstrated her ability to sense things before they happened. She claimed to have walked and talked for years with her mother, who died when she was four. She always sensed when her sister or other family members were in pain or trouble. Although at first, I resisted becoming her friend, it didn't take me long to realize there was some kind of psychic bond existing between the two of us.
I'd barely started with the company when I had a vivid dream which involved seeing her in a meeting. The company owners were present and she and other company employees were distressed and crying. Since I was a new employee, I was unaware such a meeting had actually taken place the night in which I had the dream. When I related the dream to her the following day, she accused me of having prior knowledge of the meeting. Apparently, it had happened exactly as I saw it. The company was undergoing reorganization, and most of the employees would be losing their jobs. Her own future, as well as mine, was uncertain. Thankfully, both of us were among those chosen to stay.
Two men owned the company. Ralph was the serious intellectual type, who did most of the sales work. Billy, who provided the bulk of the cash, was addicted to gambling and usually kept a bottle of liquor at work to help him get through the day. Billy owned the safe in question, and he was the only person who had ever been able to open it.
A professor from a primarily black college in another county came to our printing company wanting a large book produced, which involved hundreds of photographs and artwork. Since I was the company artist, the job of doing the layout and artwork would fall to me. I had other jobs to be completed first, so Billy decided to store all of her photographs in the safe until I could clear time to work on her job.
None of us realized how deeply Billy was in trouble with gambling debts, One morning, we were all stunned to learn he had committed suicide. When our grief at having lost one of the owners of our company had lessened to the point of getting back to business, the question of how to open the safe was on everyone's mind. Ralph had the combination, but it didn't work for any of us. We spent hours and days trying to open it, but it stubbornly refused to open. The deadline of printing the book was running out, and it appeared the lock would have to be blown off.
"I had a dream about you last night," Doris informed me one morning. "I dreamed I'd gone to the break room to get coffee, and when I walked back through this door, you had opened the safe."
I shrugged and said, "You wish. That's not likely, as many times as I've tried the combination." Later when I saw her go for her morning coffee, I thought 'What the heck. Why not try it one more time.' To my complete amazement the safe opened smoothly just as Doris walked back through the door. I used the same combination, but this time something jelled.
Doris didn't seem surprised. After all, things like that happened for her all the time. For me, not so much. We didn't dare lock it again. It probably couldn't have been repeated.
Did it change my life? Indirectly, I'd say it did. Professor Michaels, the lady who had left the photographs, came back a few days later. Ralph gave me permission to devote full time to her project. This involved going to the hotel where she was staying, and working with her in her hotel room. Did I mention this was the Deep South in the early sixties? Did I mention that Professor Michaels was black at a time when only Caucasians were allowed in "white only" restaurants?
Miss Michaels had grown up in New York, where she was a member of an elite black family. Black was the more polite term people used to refer to her race at that time. Her bearing and confidence amazed me. I was surprised when she invited me to have lunch with her in one of Mississippi's nicer restaurants. I went along, proud to be considered her equal, but wondering if we would be escorted out. Whether it was due to her light skin tone, her confident attitude, or the fact she was accompanied by an obviously white lady, we were served and treated with the utmost respect.
She was pleased with my work and her praise managed to secure me a nice raise, but the bigger change was my attitude toward members of other races. Any inbred prejudice I might have had melted away when I got to be friends with a really classy lady.
Found It writing prompt entry
Things happen from time to time which defy all rules of logic and leave you mystified and wondering if twilight zones may actually exist. One such incident I experienced involved a safe in the office of the printing company where I worked. Not only did the hint of the supernatural involving the safe cause me to question things I thought I understood, but the material locked in the safe led to an interesting encounter which impacted my life in a positive way.
Let me give you a little background. Doris, the company receptionist and office manager, had previously demonstrated her ability to sense things before they happened. She claimed to have walked and talked for years with her mother, who died when she was four. She always sensed when her sister or other family members were in pain or trouble. Although at first, I resisted becoming her friend, it didn't take me long to realize there was some kind of psychic bond existing between the two of us.
I'd barely started with the company when I had a vivid dream which involved seeing her in a meeting. The company owners were present and she and other company employees were distressed and crying. Since I was a new employee, I was unaware such a meeting had actually taken place the night in which I had the dream. When I related the dream to her the following day, she accused me of having prior knowledge of the meeting. Apparently, it had happened exactly as I saw it. The company was undergoing reorganization, and most of the employees would be losing their jobs. Her own future, as well as mine, was uncertain. Thankfully, both of us were among those chosen to stay.
Two men owned the company. Ralph was the serious intellectual type, who did most of the sales work. Billy, who provided the bulk of the cash, was addicted to gambling and usually kept a bottle of liquor at work to help him get through the day. Billy owned the safe in question, and he was the only person who had ever been able to open it.
A professor from a primarily black college in another county came to our printing company wanting a large book produced, which involved hundreds of photographs and artwork. Since I was the company artist, the job of doing the layout and artwork would fall to me. I had other jobs to be completed first, so Billy decided to store all of her photographs in the safe until I could clear time to work on her job.
None of us realized how deeply Billy was in trouble with gambling debts, One morning, we were all stunned to learn he had committed suicide. When our grief at having lost one of the owners of our company had lessened to the point of getting back to business, the question of how to open the safe was on everyone's mind. Ralph had the combination, but it didn't work for any of us. We spent hours and days trying to open it, but it stubbornly refused to open. The deadline of printing the book was running out, and it appeared the lock would have to be blown off.
"I had a dream about you last night," Doris informed me one morning. "I dreamed I'd gone to the break room to get coffee, and when I walked back through this door, you had opened the safe."
I shrugged and said, "You wish. That's not likely, as many times as I've tried the combination." Later when I saw her go for her morning coffee, I thought 'What the heck. Why not try it one more time.' To my complete amazement the safe opened smoothly just as Doris walked back through the door. I used the same combination, but this time something jelled.
Doris didn't seem surprised. After all, things like that happened for her all the time. For me, not so much. We didn't dare lock it again. It probably couldn't have been repeated.
Did it change my life? Indirectly, I'd say it did. Professor Michaels, the lady who had left the photographs, came back a few days later. Ralph gave me permission to devote full time to her project. This involved going to the hotel where she was staying, and working with her in her hotel room. Did I mention this was the Deep South in the early sixties? Did I mention that Professor Michaels was black at a time when only Caucasians were allowed in "white only" restaurants?
Miss Michaels had grown up in New York, where she was a member of an elite black family. Black was the more polite term people used to refer to her race at that time. Her bearing and confidence amazed me. I was surprised when she invited me to have lunch with her in one of Mississippi's nicer restaurants. I went along, proud to be considered her equal, but wondering if we would be escorted out. Whether it was due to her light skin tone, her confident attitude, or the fact she was accompanied by an obviously white lady, we were served and treated with the utmost respect.
She was pleased with my work and her praise managed to secure me a nice raise, but the bigger change was my attitude toward members of other races. Any inbred prejudice I might have had melted away when I got to be friends with a really classy lady.
Let me give you a little background. Doris, the company receptionist and office manager, had previously demonstrated her ability to sense things before they happened. She claimed to have walked and talked for years with her mother, who died when she was four. She always sensed when her sister or other family members were in pain or trouble. Although at first, I resisted becoming her friend, it didn't take me long to realize there was some kind of psychic bond existing between the two of us.
I'd barely started with the company when I had a vivid dream which involved seeing her in a meeting. The company owners were present and she and other company employees were distressed and crying. Since I was a new employee, I was unaware such a meeting had actually taken place the night in which I had the dream. When I related the dream to her the following day, she accused me of having prior knowledge of the meeting. Apparently, it had happened exactly as I saw it. The company was undergoing reorganization, and most of the employees would be losing their jobs. Her own future, as well as mine, was uncertain. Thankfully, both of us were among those chosen to stay.
Two men owned the company. Ralph was the serious intellectual type, who did most of the sales work. Billy, who provided the bulk of the cash, was addicted to gambling and usually kept a bottle of liquor at work to help him get through the day. Billy owned the safe in question, and he was the only person who had ever been able to open it.
A professor from a primarily black college in another county came to our printing company wanting a large book produced, which involved hundreds of photographs and artwork. Since I was the company artist, the job of doing the layout and artwork would fall to me. I had other jobs to be completed first, so Billy decided to store all of her photographs in the safe until I could clear time to work on her job.
None of us realized how deeply Billy was in trouble with gambling debts, One morning, we were all stunned to learn he had committed suicide. When our grief at having lost one of the owners of our company had lessened to the point of getting back to business, the question of how to open the safe was on everyone's mind. Ralph had the combination, but it didn't work for any of us. We spent hours and days trying to open it, but it stubbornly refused to open. The deadline of printing the book was running out, and it appeared the lock would have to be blown off.
"I had a dream about you last night," Doris informed me one morning. "I dreamed I'd gone to the break room to get coffee, and when I walked back through this door, you had opened the safe."
I shrugged and said, "You wish. That's not likely, as many times as I've tried the combination." Later when I saw her go for her morning coffee, I thought 'What the heck. Why not try it one more time.' To my complete amazement the safe opened smoothly just as Doris walked back through the door. I used the same combination, but this time something jelled.
Doris didn't seem surprised. After all, things like that happened for her all the time. For me, not so much. We didn't dare lock it again. It probably couldn't have been repeated.
Did it change my life? Indirectly, I'd say it did. Professor Michaels, the lady who had left the photographs, came back a few days later. Ralph gave me permission to devote full time to her project. This involved going to the hotel where she was staying, and working with her in her hotel room. Did I mention this was the Deep South in the early sixties? Did I mention that Professor Michaels was black at a time when only Caucasians were allowed in "white only" restaurants?
Miss Michaels had grown up in New York, where she was a member of an elite black family. Black was the more polite term people used to refer to her race at that time. Her bearing and confidence amazed me. I was surprised when she invited me to have lunch with her in one of Mississippi's nicer restaurants. I went along, proud to be considered her equal, but wondering if we would be escorted out. Whether it was due to her light skin tone, her confident attitude, or the fact she was accompanied by an obviously white lady, we were served and treated with the utmost respect.
She was pleased with my work and her praise managed to secure me a nice raise, but the bigger change was my attitude toward members of other races. Any inbred prejudice I might have had melted away when I got to be friends with a really classy lady.
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Writing Prompt Write a story where your character found something that impacts his or her life. Maximum word count: 2,000 words. |
 Recognized |
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