Back to WOW Archives

Date: March 15, 2009

My dear friend Sebastian Foti died Dec. 16, 2008.

We worked together, but we were also best friends. Sebastian always used a personal greeting with me whenever he'd come by my desk. He would smile and say "Are ya happy?"

The day I found out Sebastian had passed I was in shock. I left work. I prayed for a sign from God, that somehow some essence of Sebastian still survives in spirit, somewhere and that he could let me know he heard my grief. I had a Christmas package that had to get mailed, though I didn't feel up to being with people. I decided to go to the post office anyway. I was standing in line when a big man (about the size of Sebastian; like a massive football player) turns to me in line and asks "Are ya happy?"

I nearly fainted. I thought I didn't hear him right. I fumbled for my words and finally spilled out: "I'm overwhelmed!" He smiled gently and turned back to his wife and they moved forward in line.

I've never heard that phrase used often, except with my dear Sebastian. It's not a typical greeting. I want to believe it was somehow Sebastian & God "reaching out" to me from beyond. I left the post office feeling surreal, still unconvinced, still holding onto my pain and grief, still thinking it was just a coincidence.

Two days before Christmas my son & I were at McDonald's. An older woman chatted us up, and suddenly paused. She looked at me, and said "There's a book I sense you need". She wrote the title and author's name on an envelope. I kept until I got home. I was going to throw it away. I just didn't feel like any 'pep' talks. But I kept it. On Christmas morning, I opened a gift from my sister, Dorothy. It was the book!! The title: When God Winks at You: How God Speaks Directly to You Through the Power of Coincidence, by SQuire Rushnell. I showed my sister and my new friend the book and the envelope. It is another comfort to me, as Sebastian's phrase is now to me -- A GOD WINK !!!

Janet M. Withers