I believe in Guardian Angels, not necessarily the 'Angels from Above' stereotype in movies or books, but the very notion that there is such a thing. I've read stories about people's guardian angels...for example, a motorist who suddenly felt the urge to change lanes, just as a truck lost his tractor load right in front of where he would have been..."It must have been my guardian angel" he said....
And I think it might be true...and I think these angels might be all around us,all the time. Sometimes I think they just manisfest themselves in our lives...all the time, but sometimes we just don't notice.
Back in 1988, I went with my friend Mary to a 'psychic faire' in which you explore booths that offer past-life readings, 'auras' read, and all that kinda thing...I've always been open minded about metaphysical things, but was skeptical at the time, I had never been to one of these 'faires' and suspected alot of these folks were just charlatans... until I actually spoke to some... "you had a terrible injury recently, haven't you?" well, yes, I had...I had broken my leg and then some, but how would she know that?
It wasn't from the limp, I didn't have one by then... "You have Women around you... your ancestors... I see them waving... they want to help you, and they do"... hmmmm, yes well...okay.
But Then! I realized, in the very crucial moments of my life, it was true...it has always been Women...they have always saved my life....Why? I don't know, do I deserve this? right now I'm not so sure...
When I was a tiny little kid, I remember a day when a ton of little toy cars were promised to me by my mom, that her customer had given her....but she had forgotten to bring them home that day, and I cried like a spoiled child.... so she drove all the way back to work and got them for me. That's just a simple example of how loving and kind she has always been, countless times even to this day, as she has helped me out during my recent struggles.
In 1983 I was fresh out of school and applied to an ad in the San Jose Mercury newspaper about an illustrator job.... I got an interview and went in, Adria interviewed me.... she said later that she was impressed that I wore a suit, but mostly that my artwork was good, and that she 'liked me'...that, to me was the most important thing, that she liked me, I was sooo happy! Her hiring me was like a foot in the door to my career as an artist. After I was laid off, she continued to hire me on a freelance basis and I kept going.
In the 80's I would always feel lonliness, I was on my own and I missed my friends from college. I didn't really know anyone in the East Bay where I lived...oh, I suppose I could have joined a 'volunteer group' or whatever, but it wasn't me, I've always had a shyness that is sometimes a hinderance even now, but especially back then... I got a contracting job at an engineering firm in 1986 and there was a great group of people there! They had a sense of humor and banter that I soaked up like a sponge. One girl, Mimi, had a fun circle of friends and she was nice enough to invite me to her Halloween party...from then on, I became one of her circle, to this day...
On August 25, 1988 I had a bad accident... I fell off the fire escape of the apartment I was living at the time in Oakland. I fell 30 feet to concrete steps and basically broke the left side of my body...and you could have set your watch to it.. a minute later a woman came by and I asked "can you call 911 for me?"
She was awesome. She rushed back to her mom's and they called 911, then they both came back and stayed with me until the ambulance arrived...they were guardian angels, right there... at the right time. Fast Forward a year or so... I got a job at a great place with a ton of great people...I had the difficult task of interviewing new artists..... it was a time when 'let's get any warm body in here' was the norm... I interviewed a charming woman from South Africa, Vicky, whose work was sufficient enough that I hired her... 4 months later she quit, having found a better paying job in Marin. About a year later I got laid off again, so I networked and made some calls... I called Vicky and I'll never forget the conversation, it was so simple, "Hi Vicky I was just calling to let you know I'm no longer working at Spectrum Holobyte." "Oh! great! when can you come in??"
So that was it... two days later I came in and was hired. Mike, the manager said 'Vicky kept singing your praises and your stuff looks good'...so once again.... saved by a woman... Well those were good years, and during that time, I was working on a football game. I was the only artist on the project, while other projects had 3 to 4 artists...I was under some stress with the workload, and finally Dave said, 'can you find another artist to help you?'...and sure enough...you could have set you watch to it... 10 minutes later a girl named Shawn came by and said, "do you need help in Football?" I literally raised my eyes and said 'thank you!'.... Shawn was a Guardian Angel then, and especially now... she has become my close friend, has welcomed me into her wonderful family, and has been my buddy, and has saved me in so many ways,through good times and bad... she is a ray of sunlight and color in an otherwise gray world these days, and I love her for that...
These are my guardian angels... I think my female ancestors are still waving.
