Love and Miracles

Today's story is brought to you by love and miracles, and it comes from beyond the grave. 

I know you may think what I'm saying sounds like a fairy tale. But it's true. 

Beginning at the beginning:

My husband got a package this week, a late Christmas present from his old friends Tom and Cathy. He opened it and then read the letter inside. The letter made him tear up (or try not to, as men will). "You have to see this," he said, and I hurried over to see what was affecting him so much. When I read the letter, I was affected too.

About ten years ago, one of my husband's best friends died suddenly and died young. Diabetes may have been a factor, but whatever the reason, it hit all his friends hard. 

"Grog," as he was known, was warm, bright, funny, and big-hearted. He loved his friends and he loved rock and roll. So it was no surprise that he had a custom bass (created for him by Wishbass).

When Grog died, his mother disposed of  his house, car and belongings quickly, so his friends never had a chance to choose or keep any mementos that would have been precious to them. A few weeks ago, one of Grog's friends (also a bass player, named Brett) started looking through Facebook Marketplace, to see if there were any Wish bass guitars on the market. And in a perfect "seek and ye shall find" moment, he found a Wish bass for sale. 

AND. It looked 

Just. Like. Grog's. Bass.

Because, of course, it was.

Brett called the owner and asked about the bass. As it happened, the owner had been tasked with clearing out Grog's home and was told to keep some of Grog's belongings if something appealed to him. Brett talked with the owner a few more times, and found out he had kept a number of things.

Brett told his friends Tom and Cathy about the situation, and they shared the news with their adult son Owen and daughter Ava. All had known Grog most of their lives. As the holidays approached, Owen drove to the Wish bass owner's house and bought the instrument. The seller gave him a number of other items for free, after learning about what happened.

Cathy and Tom woke up Christmas morning to see the bass under the tree, as well as Grog's precious walking stick, and other items. "Needless to say, a few tears of joy were shed, for sure," Tom wrote to my husband. Tom will fully restore the bass and the walking stick is now on display in Tom and Cathy's home. 

My husband received a picture of Jerry Garcia and a book about the history of the Grateful Dead--also part of Grog's belongings.

"Merry Christmas from Grog!" Tom wrote, making me tear up not only when I read it, but as I'm writing it now. 

The whole story reminded me of another friend who told us he had pawned his guitar due to money issues, and then found it again after a series of events that brought his guitar back to him. I am happy to say he still has the instrument and things are going much better.

So for all you cynics and doubters (and hey, I'm one of them), I can only say sometimes, like Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes...You get what you need."

Love and miracles, even ten years later.

They're out there.

Photo by Rahul Viswanath on Unsplash