My Great Grandma Tina

From: Nien-Chin Ackerman (tilde@mcs.com)
Story type: Ghost
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Source: Form Submission

This happened to my mother, Annette, 20 years ago when we were all living in Atlanta, Georgia.

Though Tina was my father's grandmother, both her and my mom had become great friends in the six years that they know each other. Tina thought of my mom as another daughter. So every year at Christmas, we would leave Atlanta and drive to New York City just to be with her and my grandmother, my father's mother Helen. I can still see the small round woman answering the door to greet us. She would first hug everyone and then we would move into the large living room to see what new art project this 90 year old woman was working on. It was always something new and different. One year, it would be abstract painting and the next clay sculpture. Every time mom would be right in the middle with Tina. Helen would spend the whole time taking me and my sister to all the New York attractions, buying us candy, and in general "spoiling" us kids. When Tina died, it was as if mom also lost a parent.

It was July 12, 1971 and Tina had just died and mom was really upset. Helen lived in Paris, France and would not make it to the U.S. in time to make all the needed arrangements. So that evening, dad flew to New York to take care of Tina's affairs and arrange the funeral for her. Within a week, dad was home and mom was to learn that Tina had left all her art to her. I remember the years mom would spend painting on the canvas with the thick oils that Tina had.

That next year, Helen flew into Atlanta for Christmas and spend time with the family. Helen was a reporter/photographer for a French news paper and she would often help French writers translate their books into English. Some of the subjects that Helen Translated included the paranormal, UFO's, and the afterlife. That when Helen first taught me about ghosts. She would read me book after book about specters, phantoms, and haunting. Every year, Helen would visit and bring me a new book that she translated.

Christmas of 1976 would be the last time I would see Helen again. While she was in Atlanta that year, she kept having stomach problems and my dad finally talked her into going to the doctor. She had advanced stomach cancer and there was nothing they could do for her but ease the pain until it was her time. It was the third week of her stay in the hospital and she had slipped into a coma. Mom was down in the basement doing the family's laundry and she heard someone call her name. At first, she didn't recognize the voice but when she turned around and saw Tina standing in front of her, she froze.

"Annette, I'm taking my daughter tonight," Tina said. Her smile was pleasant and calm as she turned and walk out of the laundry room. Mom started to run after her and found nothing. Tina had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Ten minutes later, the phone rang, it was my dad. As if trying to hold back a flood of emotion, dad told mom that Helen had just died. Mom didn't tell dad about Tina's appearance until after several days.

Later, when mom did talk to dad about it, she said she wasn't scared. She said that it was as if Tina didn't want anyone to worry about Helen. The experience seemed to permit a closer moment than a tragic one.

My mom has never told anyone but family about this. When I tell this story, people laugh and seem to think that my mom was having a hallucination. I know my mother and I can tell you that what happened is true. There are spirits watching us, they maybe a friend or a loved one but they are there.