Gramps Talks About Spirits

By Frank Tworek

The young lady had talked with her grandfather many times during her thirteen-year life, but now that she was becoming a woman, the depth of conversation went deeper than ever before. What began as an ordinary sunset walk around the lake evolved into an opportunity for the elderly teacher to share his beliefs about life, love, religion, the spirit world, and yes, death. One of the many challenges facing her as a young teenager was the constant desire to separate fact from fiction. By the time the walk ended under the light of the stars and the moon, the granddaughter had filled her mind with even more questions and ideas that would prompt deeper curiosity and decision-making throughout the future years of her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524696603

Frank Tworek

Frank Tworek, Ph.D., is a retired biology teacher in the Omaha Public Schools. He spent 43 years teaching--and learning from--countless adolescent students. His life and beliefs have been further shaped by his relationships with his wife, their three children and spouses, and seven grandkids. His leisure time activities include fishing, gardening and woodworking.

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© 2017 Frank Tworek. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/13/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9661-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9660-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909242

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 Ghosts

Chapter 2 Jesus

Chapter 3 Kate

Chapter 4 Giovanni

Chapter 5 Isabella

Chapter 6 The Farmer

Chapter 7 The Lawyer

Chapter 8 The Doctor

Chapter 9 The Sister

Chapter 10 The Infants

Chapter 11 The Woodworker

Chapter 12 The Haunting

Acknowledgements

About the Author

for Sophia

PROLOGUE

A few years ago a couple of my grandkids were busy drawing pictures when a disagreement broke out. No, that’s not real, declared one of the children, critiquing the other’s sketch of a Tyrannosaurus rex , which happened to be wearing tighty-whitey underwear and purple shoes, as it snacked on a slice of pizza while dancing under a disco ball. [Author’s note: Do not try to diagram the previous sentence.] The young artist calmly replied that, yes, the picture was indeed real. You can see it right here, can’t you?

We are all faced with the struggle to decide what is real and what is fake. What a complex struggle it turns out to be. In the scenario that I just described, the drawing on the paper really existed as a drawing, but the content of the sketch was entirely make-believe. It’s the same dilemma faced by a growing child as she or he must adapt to evolving stories of Santa Claus. The concept of Santa is certainly a real concept. Many people know all about that story. However, there are three different ways of knowing about Santa.

We know some things by faith—we were given information and we believe it with all our hearts, even if we cannot quite understand it. Our beliefs are strong. We make real decisions based on these beliefs, and we are usually able to shake off any discussion that threatens to change what we believe.

Other things we know by evidence—our senses are able to collect data and verify the truth of the story. This way of knowing is flexible and constantly changing direction as new evidence is discovered. Some people might say that this way of knowing leads to the ultimate truth, yet time and again, in courts of law and in scientific debates, agreement over evidence cannot be reached. Interpretation of the evidence is completed through the filter of one’s beliefs. Not to mention what happens when new evidence is presented.

And then there is a third way of knowing—we know about these things, yet all the while we recognize that we are dealing with fiction. Make-believe. Outright fantasy. These things do not belong on the witness stand in a murder trial, nor are they allowed in scientific journals.

So where do we stand with Santa Claus? Is he real? Yes. Is he fictional? Yes. Do gifts really arrive? Yes. If your father bought your mother an expensive necklace and put it under the tree, what would he do if a thief broke into the house on Christmas Eve and stole the necklace? Would he say a prayer that the necklace might be returned? Probably. Would he call the police and ask them to use evidence to solve the crime? Probably. Would he try to contact Santa (or Harry Potter) by email, or phone, or Facebook to help him get the necklace back? I don’t know.

The book you are about to read is fiction. The conversation described within these pages never happened. You will never be able to use this book as evidence in order to win an argument. You should never attempt to use this book as a reference when you write a school paper for history or science.

Rather, the make-believe conversation in this story is presented for your entertainment. And maybe it will stimulate your curiosity enough to lead you to do your own evidence-based study of actual events in history. Many great novels make references to factual places and dates and people involved in historical events. As a reader, it is on your shoulders to see how any story affects your beliefs, as well as how it relates to the evidence in history. Just remember: the conversation in this book never happened. It’s fiction.

CHAPTER 1

GHOSTS

I t was about one hour before sunset. The grandfather pulled his car into the parking lot next to one of his favorite lakes. While he grabbed a water bottle, his granddaughter jumped out from the passenger side of the vehicle.

C’mon, Gramps, let’s get moving before it gets dark out, teased the young teenage girl.

They had walked around this lake many times, sometimes for fishing, other times to walk the dog, and often just for exercise and conversation.

What’s the matter, the old man chided, are you afraid of the dark?

Yeah, right. She rolled her eyes.

They joined the trail at the edge of the parking lot, and proceeded to the right, following the concrete path through the trees and down toward the edge of the water. Suddenly a chill gave her goose bumps. What just happened? she timidly asked with a shiver.

You know, some people say that when a ghost crosses your path it pulls some energy out of you and you can feel its presence.

Really? Gramps, do you believe in ghosts?

That’s a loaded question, Sweetheart. You see, beliefs are crazy things to describe. Do you remember that banner that hangs on the wall in my office, the one that says ‘To believe in you is more than I need to make believing more than make believe’? Well, the act of believing anything is so very personal. And it’s all related to the different ways we know things.

What do you mean?

Okay, look at it this way. There are certain things that you believe with all your heart, even though you cannot prove them with physical evidence.

Such as?

Such as religion. You believe those things by Faith. Faith is extremely powerful. And extremely personal. And yet you cannot debate with a person of another faith and persuade that person to change their beliefs to be the same as yours.

Why not?

Because there is no evidence available that can be used to make that person change their mind. If there were such evidence, we would have only one religion, instead of the thousands and thousands of different religions that exist among people.

Then why doesn’t somebody just make a court case out of it and let the jury decide which religion is the best?

Gramps gave a deep sigh. People have tried that—it just didn’t work.

Why not?

Because Faith is actually a different way of knowing things than Evidence is. When they tried to use evidence to prove anything about a particular religion, everything got all messed up. I mean, in some cases, people were accused of having the wrong beliefs and after their trial, some were punished, even tortured, and some were even executed. But that didn’t solve a thing. If a person believes deeply in something, physical evidence has little weight in changing those beliefs, because Evidence involves a different way of knowing.

Hold on, Gramps, you’re trying to confuse me. That chill I felt so suddenly was so real that it made my hair stand up. So… do you, or do you not, believe in ghosts?

Okay, take a look at that spooky-looking tree right ahead of us. They stopped their walk and stood still, staring at a dead tree on the lake’s edge. The large size of the base of the tree suggested that this organism had once lived there at least a half century. Now it was bare—no leaves, no twigs, not even any bark. Only the trunk and major branches remained. Of the two main divisions, the branch rising on the right side had been broken off, probably in a storm, about fifteen feet above the ground, leaving a jagged stub. The rest of the tree on the left still reached 30-40 feet into the sky with its own five branches, each ending in a terminal point. Almost like a deer’s antler. The tree’s color was a streaky blend of grays and whites. It looked weary and sad. Skeletal remains.

So what does that tree have to do with ghosts?

Well, I suspect that if you walk this trail late at night during a full moon, as you get too close to this tree, his voice lowered as he stood closely behind her, the tree will bend over and GRAB YOU LIKE THIS! She screamed as he tickled her ribs from behind.

You scared me! You know that tree can’t do that!

But what about its ghost? he replied. You see, besides Faith and Evidence, there is a third way we know about things. We call it Fiction. Fantasy. Make-Believe. When something dies, it loses its spirit of life. Where does that spirit go? What does that spirit do? There have been plenty of cartoons and ghost-stories to entertain us, but even though we can describe the details of these fantasies, we know that we are simply enjoying the thrill in our imagination. On the other hand, knowing about ghosts through Faith is an entirely different way of thinking.

Stop right there, Gramps. It’s time for you to answer my question. Do…you…believe…in…ghosts? she asked with deliberate emphasis on each word.

Yes.

Now don’t try to confuse me with all this talk of different ways of knowing things. I already know that you don’t believe in cartoon characters coming to our house. And I know you laugh at most ghost stories. But what about your Faith? Do you believe in spirits?

Absolutely!

Both of them walked in silence for several minutes as the trail led them up to the surface of the dam. The walk along the top of the dam was the most level stretch on this entire trail. To the left one can see the water that is being held back by the dam, and to the right the hikers can see prairie grasses, trees farther away, the busy highway just beyond the trees, and farther in the distance the farmsteads and suburban subdivisions.

Suddenly a scream in the distance pierced their silence. It seemed to come from the trail down below the west end of the dam.

What was that? she inquired with a hushed voice.

I don’t know, he responded, "but it sounded like a woman who just got frightened by something. Now, I don’t think she saw a cougar or anything that we need to worry about. In fact, her scream did not sound like that of a person who feared for her life—it had the sound of a playful reaction that kids use when acting out a