Pop’s Fortune Cookie on our Day of Remembrance

On August 16th we remembered both my sister Julia Ann Thompson’s and my mother’s Ruth Evelyn Johnston Thompson’s passing (hard to tease out one from the other sometimes). After we viewed mother’s newly placed grave marker at the cemetery, we retired to Jerseyville’s only Chinese restaurant to partake of its buffet.

In general my father doesn’t like restaurants, but he likes this one. He can eat right away. And, it’s a good value. My brother treated us to the mid-day meal.

There was a painting draped in white right where we sat…of Chinese boats sailing up the river, towards the sunlight, towards heaven perhaps…and waterfalls tumbling down the mountainside.

After the meal when we opened our fortune cookies, my fortune read “Listen these next few days to your friends to get answers you seek.” And Pop’s fortune read: “Someone is watching you from afar.”

When I told this to Linda Della Donna, she said, “Tell Pop, there is no such thing as a coincidence. A soul is always looking for a way to contact the living. Keep an open mind, always.”

(Linda writes a blog called “Griefcase” dedicated to helping those who have experienced or are experiencing the loss of a loved one. Here’s what Linda says about her site: “Visitors can share their grief with others, benefit from the experiences of others, and find peace, comfort and a way forward as they rebuild their lives. Griefcase is for and about its visitors, who share a common purpose in resolving their grief in helping others through their experiences. You are invited to visit and participate in our mission of helping them in their time of greatest need.”)