This is a fairly long story, so you will have to bear with me. I was living at Middleton Idaho at the time which is about 40 minutes from Boise. I decided that I wanted to get a new DVD player because the one that I had at the time was acting up. So I hopped in the car and drove to Sears in Boise. (I didn’t have any real money at the time, so I was going to use my Sears charge card) I went into Sears and they only had three different models of DVD player. None of them were what I was really looking for, but I picked out a Toshiba model that would allow you to have two DVDs in the drive and you could switch between them. (I was really looking for one that would let you have 5 DVDs in the carousel.) As I was heading to the car, with my new DVD player, I got this REALLY REALLY strong feeling that I should go visit Mom and Dad. I decided that I would rather drive home and play with my new toy. So I hopped into my car and started heading back to Middleton with this nagging feeling that I should go visit Mom and Dad.
The following Monday I was at work and got a call from my brother Tom that Dad had had a stroke and was in the hospital. I called my supervisor and let him know that I needed to leave. As I was headed out of work, I passed my supervisor who had this big (excuse the language) shit eating grin on his face, like my Dad having a stroke was the best news he had heard all week. What a gomer.
Venom by Godsmack
I had a feeling that I REALLY needed to visit while I was in town the Saturday before Dad had his stroke but ignored it and decided to head back to Middleton with the new DVD player I had just purchased.
Tom called me at work and told me that Dad had a stroke
Called my supervisor and told him that I needed to leave
Saw my supervisor on the way out of work and he had a smug smile on his face
Went down to St. Als and saw Dad. He was pretty incoherent, but he did wake up a little bit, seemed angry and was trying to get the oxygen monitor off of his finger
I was living at Middleton at the time. I decided that I wanted to get a new DVD player and drove into Boise to pick one up. I went into Sears and got the model I wanted. As I was leaving, I was prompted that I should go visit Mom and Dad. After a while I managed to talk myself out of visiting because I wanted to play with my new toy. I still had this nagging feeling but instead of going to visit Mom and Dad like I was told, I drove back home to play with the DVD player. The following Monday, Dad had a stroke and by Tuesday, February 22nd 2000 died. I never got to say goodbye.
Fast forward to January 2003. My friend John and his wife Darci finally got me to agree to go on a blind date with one of her friends. She was nice but we just didn’t hit it off, it was a very uncomfortable experience for me, I felt like the fifth wheel during the whole date. (It was a double date with John, Darci, Darci’s friend and I) After that experience I wasn’t very inclined to go on any more blind dates. John and Darci decided that it would be a good idea to try and set me up with her cousin. There was no way that I was going to go after the last date. I received a prompting that I should go, but I still wasn’t sure. If it wasn’t for the experience with Dad, I would have refused to go. I finally decided I had better listen to this prompting. I decided to go, more than a little reluctant, but I went. It turns out that the girl was very nice and she even liked Star Trek! Well, you have probably guessed that the girl’s name was Stacia. (or Monique, but that is another story) The rest is history, we were married 7 months later. I’m convinced that If it wouldn’t have been for the prompting that I received before Dad death, Stacia and I would never have meet.