The "Calls From The Past" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Land-line phone is ringing.  The screen display says Moravian Manor.  I freeze for a second before I answer.  It's been almost two years since I saw that display pop up on the phone in my house.  Mom and dad were residents at Moravian Manor which is located in Lititz, PA.  In the late 2000s dad became ill and after a stay in a nursing facility, he returned home with my mom as his caregiver.  She ended up with a hernia from trying to lift him and 

ended up in the hospital for a lengthy stay.  Then, after being told she needed to go to a nursing facility herself to help in her recup- eration, she found her way to Moravian Manor.  Shortly, after dad found she was in Moravian Manor, he was placed in a room across from mom in the nursing wing.  For a few months I made frequent visits to see both of them.  Days I didn't visit, the phone would usually ring and Moravian Manor would would be displayed on the screen.  Dad died and mom became a permanent resident.  From that point until she died almost two years ago, she would make daily evening calls to say Hello, causing our phone's display to show Moravian Manor.  So, you can imagine my reaction when I saw Moravian Manor appear once again.  Brought back memories as well as freaking me out.  This time the call was to check to see if I was still going to their open house the following day.  Moravian Manor is in the beginning stages of a 72 acre expansion and Carol and I would like to see what their plans might be in the near future.  We both enjoyed and appreciated the quality care my parents received during their stay and that is the reason for our interest.  But the story doesn't end here.  It was after my dad died that we experienced a totally different screen display that freaked both of us out one evening.  My dad's name was Paul and one night shortly after dad died, the phone rang and the display showed Paul Woods.  I quickly showed it to Carol and as our eyes met you could feel the ........ well, it was pretty spooky.  I answered not knowing what to expect.  On the other end was our son Tad.  My voice must have shown a bit of relief since he asked what was the matter.  After I finished telling him about the screen display I quickly realized that Paul Woods was his name also.  He carried my dad's name since birth, but to prevent family confusion, we used a version of his middle name Thadeus and called him Tad.  Carol and I are now anxiously waiting on our next call from the past.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.