This story will make you smile. Actually, I've had a few ghost encounters, but this one is warm and fuzzy.
I used to live close to the Abbey of Gethsemanie in Kentucky. I worked at the Abby on and off, sewing or cleaning, like a lot of people in that area do, and my monk to report to was Br. Thomas. (Not Thomas Merton, Thomas.) He was a pretty family-oriented guy and helped my son and I out when he could with groceries or household items we couldn't get with food stamps. He cared. Well, he was old, and we were adopted family. He used to say he would always take care of us. He also said he loved his calling, and he never wanted to leave Gethsemanie.
Eventually, he died. A lot of people grieved, a lot of secular employees had similar stories about Br. Thomas. My son and I handled our grief by walking in the woods around the Abbey. This was in the winter, and it was icy and cold, and the woods are extensive, with deer trails, and few tracts.
We had walked a couple miles, and figured we should go back because we were getting cold. Of course we began to get very cold and my son complained about his hands and feet, so I stopped and told him we should bear hug and dance to warm up, and while we moved we bumped into what seemed like a solid, warm person, but was an empty warm space you could walk into. This was in the middle of the woods, with ice and snow all around. It was a three foot or so column of heat that felt like semi-solid, like water. My son said right away it was Br. Thomas, and anyway we were freezing! So we both huddled in there until we felt quite toasty and ready to walk the rest of the way back.
By the way, in cold weather, Thomas used to say we were wusses and do the bear hug thing while he asked us if we were O.K. Anyway... While we were walking back, if you sort of waved your hand around to the side, you could feel the same heat all the way to the road where our car was parked.
When we got in the car, he was gone. We were sure it was Br. Thomas taking care of his people like he said he would.
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