One of the ways my Mother contacts me is through her Subaru. She wanted me to have her car, and that was one of the last things she said to me. Whether she knew she could haunt it at the time, I don't know, but at her memorial service, the horn began to honk when my brother Jim, mentioned my name in the eulogy. I recorded the service so I do have the evidence. If you'll listen closely to this little sound bite taken from the eulogy, you can hear it. But that isn't the only time the subarus' horn has gone off. She seems to pick times that would mean something to me. The first time after her memorial was when I and friend of mine, went hiking to her and her husband's (who passed away just a couple of months after my mother) favorite place in the mountains. As we began to walk up the trail, the horn began to honk. I told Deanna at the time, your husband must have told my Mom this was your favorite place too. The next time it went off was when I went to pick up a birthday card for my cousin Robert. He had lived with his mother too and she also had died. As I walked from the car to the store the horn began to honk. I went back and shut the suspect door that seems to cause the problem with a good slam, thinking that would take care of it. So I turned back to walk to the store and it goes off again. I was immediately struck with the feeling, that's my Aunt Bessie and my Mom talking to me letting me know their happy I'm getting my cousin a card. Then it was quiet for a long time until the beginning of this year. I still had to file the taxes for my mother's estate and was having her accountant take care of it for me. As I showed up for the last time to pick up the returns to be mailed from him, Mom's car horn went off. Again I had a feeling she was happy that I'd taken care of her final business. The next time the horn went off, I had sprained my shoulder to the point I was worried about it enough to think I'd torn my rotor cuff or something and went to see a doctor. As I parked and headed toward the office, it went off, and I thought, Mom still worries about me. Thanksgiving I drove to Durango to have dinner with my brother Jim. My brother Steve and his wife also drove from Fraser. I was thinking as I was driving there, this would be a good oppertunity for Mom to honk the horn, being Thanksgiving and all and the sons together meeting for the first time in Durango. Well it didn't happen during Thanksgiving, but While I and my two brothers gathered aroud the table to have breakfast next morning, the horn went off, Jim's wife, Karen came up and joined us shortly after. I asked her if Mom honking the horn of her car woke her up, but she said no. I think Mom waited for Karen to get up and join us before she honked the horn. Mom was very appreciative for all the help Karen provided in her finals days, Karen being a nurse and all was quite a help, I think too, the reason we didn't hear from her on Thanksgiving was because she was probably in Florida visiting with her brother and his family. so until next time Mom, I appreciate what you do and have done.
So I was driving to a Walgreens, in November. Walgreens had a sale on glucosamine/chondroitin and I was going to pick myself up some. I was thinking as I was driving there, that it was the first time I had driven Mom's car to this store since she had died. The last time I was running an errand for my mother to get some glucosamine/chondroitin for her. I was commenting about it out loud, as I was driving, figuring Mom's spirit could be around at any time. So I go into the store and buy the glucosamine/chondroitin and as I'm paying for it, I hear the horn of the Subaru go off.
March 7, 2005. The Subaru's been quiet for the last 4 months, I was going to a company I do work for, has the initials ESP. I've been there many times in Mom's car, but this was the first time I parked in the front, facing the building and its sign. I was going to run in and drop something off, stayed for about 15 minutes and as I and the antangonist descended the steps on my way out, the horn went off. The antangonist, says some expletive about the car honking out front, and I say it's mine, that's my Mom, she can make the horn of her car, go off. He's says your Mom's dead, and say no she's not, but that's kind of hard to explain or convince and I left. The next day, I've made an appointment to meet some friends that had attended our Church. They had sung in the choir and sang some hymns at Mom's memorial. I had giving them all, the cd I made of the memorial service. So we finish lunch, no more than 5 seconds we're out the front door, the Subaru's horn goes off, and I say there's Mom, Ruth says, that's right, I remember hearing it in the memorial. She then gives Mom a greetings too.
Its Friday and I'm driving to Target in Mom's car to pick up some oats and organges. I'm thinking about Mom and the last horn incidence, 4 months, then two days together, a first. Then as I pull into the parking space, and the car facing me on the other side goes, beep, beep, beep, and stops. It surprised me. I got out of the car, looked around if anyone was coming or going nearby, that could have activated it and their wasn't, so that car did just seem to do that all by itself. So that made me start thinking, my Mom really knows her horns, maybe I should call them trumpets.
Mom's cwn car horn has been quiet since last time, above. On, Saturday, June 18th, it broke the silence. I was going on my second week of being out of homebrews, and had gone to the liquor store to get some beer. As I was in the liquor store, trying to make a decision, the horn went off. I thought at the time, that's wierd, what's with a liquour store. So as I'm driving home, it dawns on me. June 13th, was my Mother and Father's wedding anniversary . My last bache of beer, I used a slow yeast, it had gone a month in the ferment. When it came time to bottle, it was the 13th of June, so I figured, I'll name this beer, "Mom and Dads, Wedding Anniversary beer". So, horn=thanks for remembering our wedding anniversary, son. I mentioned Mom's own car horn, but in the space since the last time, the cat exhibited some odd behavior. On Mother's day he slept in Mom's room for the first time. Kept it as his sleeping room for a week, then moved to the bedroom to the left, slept against the left wall, stayed there for a week, then moved to the third bedroom, to the left, slept against the left wall, slept there for a week, then went back to his normal behavior, sleeping in the hallway, in front of the stairs. Currently, he's back in my Mother's bedroom again. I think she's visiting. Now for another horn incidence, not my mother's car. Sue, a friend of my mother's, has a son named Steve, who's my oldest friend, I've known since childhood. At the beginning of June, Sue, her daughter Sheri and Steve, had come out to visit me and get some hop plants for Sheri to take up to Dillon, where she lives. The hops, which I grow for my beer, have a tendecy to grow a bit too vigorously where they shouldn't, and didn't mind digging up a few. We were in the backyard digging away, when a car horn goes off, I say, that sounds like the horn on my Mom's car. Sue tells me that it's her car, parked out front, so I proceed to tell her about Mom's ability to honk car horns. She said it's been going off lately. I'm sure Mom would have liked to say high to her old friend with most of her family present as they visited me.
October 11th - 05, the horn went off today, 3 times actually. I was visiting one of my routine stops at an atm. The horn has never gone off here before, even though I have been here uncountable times. Probably the least likely to disturb anyone but me of my three stops I'd planned for the day, because it would be just a quick in and out. I was walking to the building with the atm, about a 100 yard walk, I had just reached the door, when the horn went off. I walked back to the car, went through my routine, which I thought would normally take care of it, slamming all the car doors, make sure they were shut. I walked back toward the building. When I arrived at the spot where the horn went off, it went off again. I had this, oh no feeling, like what am I going to do now, I didn't fix it. So I walk back to the car, went through the proceedure again, and waited this time. A couple of seconds later, the horn goes off. I ah hah, so you know you got me. I slam the doors again, but leave the car with its alarm off, but it still appears to be locked, I think, I do proceed without further incedance. Prior to all this I had been thinking, I hadn't heard from the Subaru in a while. I was thinking maybe my folks where staying around Saturn or some other place, weren't visiting earth much. Then I got an e-mail from someone who scans web sites for broken links. Apparently, the link above in the text, to the sound file of the horn at my Mother's memorial, was a broken link, can't be found. I went up to the site to check it, was October the 8th, and sure enough, when I clicked on it, nothing. I checked on my website and found, the entire directory, "sound", where the file was, was gone. I don't know how it dissappeared, if someone hacked my site and deleted it, or the spirit of my Mom and Dad are getting some ability to manipulate the internet, the fact is, I corrected it that day, and three days later I hear the horn, a resurrection of sort. Now I'm thinking, my sound directory, my Mom had perfect pitch, if there's anything my Mom owned, I would say sound, she had the voice of an angel. So I guess she's getting more of a handle on the after life. It has been nearly three years since she left, a lot of threes, in this one.
Sunday, January 15th, 2006, I was singing the song by Dan Seals, "God must be a Cowboy", at Burns Church. I thought it was a good time to be singing it because the National Western Stockshow was in town this week. As I pulled into the Church's parking lot and got out of Mom's Subaru, the high school across from the Church, alarm system went off. When no one is around, I talk out loud to my mother when I think she might be there. So I said, gee Mom, did you set off the alarm at the high school, because this is a big event for me to be singing? (I don't do it very often). I went ahead and unloaded all the equipment I would be using in the performance, locked the Subaru, set the alarm, and as I walked up to the door of the Church, the Subaru's horn went off. So I thought I guess she really is here, wtih guest. My friend, Steve Allen, showed up later to accompany me with bass and vocals. When the service was over and he was helping me carry the equipment back to the car, I told him about what had happened earlier, with the high schools alarm going off, and the subaru's horn honking. I was telling him this with the subaru being unlocked and the hatchback open, and amazingly, the horn beeped once on its own, as I was telling him the story. When the horn honked, I told him I didn't think that was possible, with the doors open, it must be my Mom. This is the first time, in more than a couple of hundred visits to the church since my Mom's memorial, that the Subaru's horn has gone off. Maybe God is a Cowboy, or thinks like one anyway.
Saturday, April 8th, 2006 its nine o'clock in the morning and I've arrived at Burn's Church for a rehersal of the cantata the choir is singing the next day on Sunday. I'm in the choir room when I hear the tell, tell beeps of the Subaru, I go out and reset the doors and go back in. The choir has collected in the Sanctuary to practice, when Ellen comes in and ask If I own the Subaru that's out in the parking lot honking. I excuse my self, tell everyone my Mom and Dad must be in town with all the other spirits to hear the cantata. I figure they honked the horn on Saturday, because they didn't want to disturb the actual performance the next day. The Subaru was quiet in the parking lot Sunday, through the performance, which went over well.
Sunday, July 2nd, 2006. I was coming to church early by about 45 minutes because I thought I might have to run the sound for the church in the morning, but found out it wasn't neccessary. It also was the Sunday of a ice cream social for Habitat for Humanity after the service, and members were setting up tents on the lawn by the parking lot. I parked, said high to the folks putting up the tents, and ran into the building to see if I was needed. While inside, I heard the horn go off. I went back outside told the friends setting up the tents, the car honking belonged to me and it was just the spirit of my parents saying hi. I then joined them to help put up the tents.
Monday, September 26th, 2006. I've been working with the church to record the services, and burn them to a compact disk. I've been using a mp3 device that has in-line recording the last 3 weeks, trying to get away from the tape cassette the church currently uses. The tape is limited to 45 minutes a side, and because its tape, there's the wow and flutter inheret with that. I got a pretty good recording with the mp3 last Sunday of the entire service. I took the CD I made down to the church to drop it off, and as I went in, the horn went off. Because the cd's will be distributed to our church members that are home-bound and can't make it to the service, I figure the folks where happy I was doing this for the church.
Monday, October 23rd, I had errands to run, one of which was the Church where I was dropping of a CD of the prior Sunday's Service. I was also going to take some pictures of the door on the South side, which is scheduled to be remodeled. I was to do a design using several different doors that I would Photoshop into the pictures. I had taken the pictures, and had come to the front door. I was just reaching out to touch the door handle when the Subaru's horn went off. As I went on to my other stops, I tried to mimic the orientation I had parked the Subaru at the Church to see if the horn would go off on any of these other stops too, but it didn't. I've noticed the horn has now gone off, only at the Church the last few times. Jesus tells us we have an after life, and my folks still visit the church.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007. Today I went to a memorial service for Margie Watters, the mother of a good friend of mine, who died this last Friday. My friends, Steve Allen and Kirk Nicholls, joined me in playing Merle Travis's song, "I am a Pilgrim", for the Service. Rob attended my mother's service back in 2003. He said remember when the horn of your mother's car went off at the service? and I said oh yah. After the wervice for Rob's mother, he invited me along with his family, to a restaurant for lunch. Once everyone arrived, an extended family and friends of about 20 people, my mother's car, parked in the parking lot of the restaurant, horn went off.
Saturday, March 31st, 2007. This is my first heresay report. I went to the Church Saturday morning to take some pictures of the events that were happening at the Church that day. It was scheduled for the Methodist men, and others, to clean and pick-up the grounds around and inside the church. Also was the Church's annual clothing give away and Spring Festival for the neighborhood, taking part inside. After arriving, I went inside to get pictures of the clothing give away first, because I had been specifically asked to do so by a member of the committee. After that, I went outside to take pictures of the cleaning crews, when I was informed that my subaru had been merrily honking away in the parking lot. It apparently stopped on its own, when someone was about to do something about it. I know the folks are considerate of others.
Saturday, December 20th, 2008. It's been awhile and also a while putting this one down. I was at the Church on a Saturday morning for our Church Conference. We and the other congregations of Burns' where there to present goals and budgets for 2009, also attended by the Mehtodist District Superintendent, Youngsook Kang. As I walked into the church and began to set up the sound system for the event, the subaru's horn went. Our minister was by me when it went off and wondered who's car it was that was honking. I said, oh that's just my folks visiting, that's how they let me know they're here. I said this was probably a big event that they would be interested in, being past members of the church. I went outside and disabled the alarm and locked the doors manually so there would be no interruptions during the service.
Thursday, September 17th, 2009, late recording this one. Horn honked on Coordinating Council meeting night. Was already in the church when the trustees chair, Barbara and her husband Richard came in and asked whose car was honking in the parking lot. I gave them a disk of the memorial service of Parker Douglas the prior Sunday, a mutual friend who had passed away. Because I run the sound at the church, I record the memorials. I think Parker's spirit let my mom know to honk a thankyou horn for him to Barbara and Richard. The horn also honked the next day twice, once at the bank and in Harborfreight's parking lot, though I think that last one may have been from someone hitting my bumper when they parked in front of me. It was honking when I came out but stopped on its own and there was a car within an inch of the subaru that hadn't been there before.
Sundkay, April 11th, 2010. At Utah park, met to meet with our church walking group, "Kingdom Walkers." Honked as I was just a few steps from the car. Always thought Mom would be a frequent participant of this group if she were still in the flesh, as is, I often wondered if she might be with us. Easter was last week, but we didn't walk, also we took a different route than usual, little change there.
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 Subaru was in my driveway. I had loaded it up with my bike and some gift items I was bring up to Fraser to visit my brother's Steve and Jim. Jim had a class that he was attending in Breckenridge over the weekend and because he was close to Fraser, called me on Friday to meet at Steve's and ride our trikes on Monday. As I was getting ready to leave, I heard the subaru start honking.
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011. Don't drive the Subaru to church much anymore because I've been picking up an elderly man that has trouble getting out of low vehicles, so I've been picking him up in my truck. We had someone vandalize the church's sound system on a couple of Saturdays before, and was to meet a technition at the church to go over the system with him to discuss what was wrong. I had arrived early to meet him and was in the building when I heard some one ring the front door. By the time I got to the front door, I could see someone leaving and ran out to ask if he was the sound tech. As I was approaching him the subaru's horn went off.
Saturday, November 19, 2011 This is a bit of a weird one. It was the Charge Conference at the Church, we presented our budget to the District Superintendent, which would interest my parents especially this year because we've been operating in the red over the last year and borrowing from our edowment funds to make payroll. I drove the truck to church because I'd just got it back from getting a new clutch and wanted to see how it was working. When I got home, I saw one of my cats rolling in patch of sunlight coming through the window, so I said, "You have the right idea Archie, rolling in the light," and no sooner had I just said that, I heard the subaru's horn go off in the garage, and thought, that's weird, I didn't lock it. So I go out in the garage to find the subaru is indeed locked, so it managed to lock itself, which isn't intirely impossible because I carry the keys when i go to the church and the lock could have been set by the button depressing while in my pocket.
.Wednesday, October 9th, 2013, 10:00am. Exactly 2 weeks ago, same time, we had a memorial service for Shirley, one of the founding members of Burns Memorial. My parents missed being founding members by about year. Needless to say, my mom and Shirley were well aware of each other, also partaking in the United Methodist Women together. I was stopping off at the local KingSoopers on the way to my swim at Utah pool to pick up some flowers for a counter staff person I'd know for over a decade, who was on her last day on the job there. As I walked to the store entrance, the subaru began to honk. Looking at my watch and noticing it was 10:00am, Wednesday, and I had just emailed Shirley's daughter earlier, that I had finished a cd of the memorial service and needed to know how many copies she would like, it crossed my mind that Shirley and my mom had linked up and Shirley probably asked my mom to honk the subaru's horn for her to let all her loved ones know she successfully crossed to the other side.
Sunday, March 2nd, 2014 Don't know when it started, but it was after the Sunday Service by at least 15 minutes as I put the equipment away in the Sanctuary, then went down stairs to the Community Meal. After eating at our Community meal at the Church, "Which was the Chili Cook-off competition amongst congregation members, I could hear it as I approached the Sanctuary. I think this might be my friend Jim, long time member at the Church that passed away recently. I had given him rides to church before he entered assisted living. He had a stroke that had left him, according to doctors, unresponsive. I went to see him in the hospital a few days after he was removed from life support. I entered a low lit room and looked at him there and said, "Hi Jim, it's me, Mike, and he immediately gave a big grin and seemed to want to say something to me, but couldn't. So I talked to him for a while, and I also mentioned if he saw my Mom, ask her to let him honk her car's horn to let me know he was ok. I ran the sound for his memorial, and the horn didn't honk, but as I drove home, I looked up and realized the dome light of the car was on. Jim enjoyed our community meals and the Chili cook-off would have been of particular interest because he was a member of the Men's Club which put on the event. He'd have a reason to be there today for a honk and I don't think honking the horn at his own memorial would have been appropriate, when a dome light would be more meaningful for me in that case.