Pennies From Heaven

 When we were cleaning out my brother’s home in September of 2020, we found coins—mostly pennies but a few dimes, nickels, and quarters, too--EVERYWHERE. They were in drawers, on every flat surface, in containers, and under the sofa cushions. His nightstand was piled with them, and they overflowed on the floor. When his friend emptied the closet, he found some in rolls. I told him to take them to his bank and deposit them in his account.

We put the loose ones in a jar and brought them home. After they were all rolled, we had over $50 in change. The bank was delighted to have it.

I NEVER carry change. I pay for most things with credit cards, rarely with cash. If I occasionally get change from a purchase, I put it in a piggy bank I keep at home just to avoid carrying the heavy stuff around.

As we left Ron’s place on the last day, I turned to Larry. “I expect to find coins from time to time from my brother.”

I have.

A month or so later, I walked out to put some trash in the bin. I looked down and found a penny. Just then, two dragonflies flew by closer to me than I have ever seen them. I remembered the scene Larry had written in Dominic Drive describing chasing them as a boy. This was the book Ron started and we finished. I took this appearance of a coin on my driveway and the dragonflies to indicate Ron was happy with the book.

In July of 2021, we attended our first writing conference in several years. As we left the hotel, I looked down. There was a shiny quarter. During the conference, we had been talking about Dominic Drive. I presumed my brother was happy.

Another morning, I met a friend at the marina for our early morning walk. As I opened the car door, I spotted a quarter. We had made a large donation to City of Hope in Ron’s memory shortly before, and I presumed he was glad about it. (His doctor, who took great care of him, was affiliated with the hospital.)

Ever since Ron died, I have been in touch with his precious neighbor. She really cared for him and took him meals about once a week because she knew he wasn’t eating well.

Ron disliked small children, but he made an exception for her son, Chris. Ron thought of this boy as his buddy. They got together to talk about cars. He had mentioned this young man several times in conversation. In fact, he talked about him during our last phone call.

Ron had LOTS of “toys”—mostly RC cars, car models, etc. When we found those, I put them out on the porch and told Chris he could take whatever he wanted. He did.

Ron also loved the family dog. She would occasionally escape. They never had to wonder where she was. Ron never closed his sliding door. Several times while we were talking on the phone, he would interrupt. “Here’s my dog. I have to go.”

He loved the dog, and she loved him.

Just over a month after Ron died, the dog died as well. I felt sorry for the whole family, but especially for Chris. First, he’d lost his buddy and then his dog.

The story grew worse, however. In January of 2021, his father was killed in a drive-by shooting as he was leaving his aunt’s house. The killer has never been caught.

This was the same dear, sweet family man who had discovered Ron’s body the morning he died.

I checked in with his wife from time to time and made a couple of donations in Ron’s name to the Go Fund Me account, which was started for the family.

I heard from her in early December. She said the holidays would be rough. Larry and I decided that we would send them a nice check so the kids would have a little extra for Christmas.

The next day, as I got out of my car at the marina, there was a quarter next to the car on the ground. Yep. He was happy about our decision. I told her the story and said the gift was from Ron. (I inherited all his assets, so this was the truth.)

Last week when we were at Disneyland, we had a long wait for the monorail. While we waited, we talked to another man who, like us, had been to Disneyland in the early years and continued to go often. We told him about the description in the book of a family trip to Disneyland in 1964.

When we reached our car at the end of the day, right next to my door was a shiny penny from 2020 (the year he died). It definitely hadn’t been there when we left the car earlier in the day. Yep, he was happy we were talking about the book he had imagined.

I have been putting “Ron’s” coins in the cup holder in the car.

They make me smile whenever I see them. So far, I have found three quarters and two pennies. Each came at a significant time. Maybe they were just coincidence, but I like to think they are messages from my brother.

I have other friends who believe they receive indications that their loved ones are still around. One sees butterflies. Another spots purple flowers and cardinals. Still another told me about seeing two birds at her kitchen window each morning for months. She felt they were there to let her know that her son and husband were together.

Have you ever had signs from a loved one? What were they?