Pilgrim Art by Tom Stalmach
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 My Guardian Angel by Tom Stalmach

I went to church today, and it was the Feast Day dedicated to our Guardian Angels.  I thought it a good time to share about the Day when I met mine.
      I suspect that any child that was raised in a home where they were taught about God, like I was, was told that they had their very own Guardian Angel; a Special Angel that was assigned to them at Birth to be their very own protector, and direct connection to God in Heaven; and would be with them for their whole life here on Earth.  I’d say that most of us would agree that it’s a good idea, but how many of us really get to know our Guardian Angel while here on Earth?
     Well I know one that definitely did, my Good Friend Kathy Crampton.  Whenever I was going through a hard time she’d ask me if I had asked my Guardian Angel for help.
     “I know my Guardian Angel,” she’d say.  “His name is  Euclid (Not sure about the spelling, but you just don’t make up a name like that) and I ask him for help all the time.”
      “OK” I said, “how do I do this?”
      “First you need to ask them what their name is.  They’ll tell you; and if you want to take it a step further, you can ask them if you’ve ever met them in this Life.
       So one day I was relaxing on the couch in my living room.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was feeling in a bit of a playful mood when I said, “OK  Guardian Angel, so if you’ve been with me through my whole life so far, and through all my many highs and lows; it’s about time we get to know each other; what’s your name?”  Immediately I heard,“Thaddeus.”
       “You mean I have a Guardian Angel named Ted or Thad, and one that’s named after the Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases? Well I guess that sort of fits”
       

       “OK Thaddeus, have I ever met you in this life?” and I was immediately reminded of a Hitchhiker I picked up, on my way back down to Carbondale, IL; where I worked for the Jackson County Ambulance Service.
            My normal route from the Chicago area was:  South on US294, a short ride on US80 to US57; then 300 miles due South on US57.  It was where US294 meets with US80 that I picked up the hitchhiker.
      He was a young man who appeared to be in his early 20s, and was on crutches.  I felt that he would probably appreciate a nice long ride down US57; but as it turned out he wasn’t traveling South; he was going West across on US80, and headed toward San Francisco.  I told him that I had hitchhiked out West a few times myself, and when hitching a distance as far as San Francisco it would help if he had a sign; otherwise he would be getting a lot of shorter rides, and it would take him a lot longer.  
        At that time I was driving a small Datsun pickup with a cap on the back, loaded with enough camping gear to sustain life in any weather.  I opened the cap and cut a flap off of a cardboard box.  I made him a sign showing his destination…San Francisco.  Then I cut a piece of rope which I attached to the sign, so he didn’t have to hold it. I also gave him a few of my favorite apricot oatmeal muffins that my Mom made, and we said our ‘Good-Byes.’  
        As I was getting into the cab of my truck, I remembered a rattle that I had heard in the back, probably one of my pots or pans, that I wanted to correct before I continued the long haul down US57; so I got back out right away. I wasn’t in my truck more than 5 or 10 seconds, but the hitchhiker was gone.  On crutches he would have been only a few feet from the back of my vehicle, but I could see 50 to 100yds in any direction; and he was nowhere in sight.  He disappeared.…there’s really no other explanation.  So on that day, I believe I met my Guardian Angel; and if we ever cross paths again I want to ask him…..
         “What does an Angel do with Apricot-Oatmeal muffins?”     
                        Pilgrim Art    Original Art by Tom Stalmach