CHAPTER SIX

I've delayed long enough to write the next chapter of this Blog. Recent news has made it a bit easier. As Pastor of the Woodville Baptist Church I was a member of a committee looking for a replacement of our organ. One of the members was the mother of a young man who had had a clinical death during surgery. As a Psychologist I counseled the lad in cooperation with his family doctor. When we came back from one of our visits to evaluate a used pipe organ at another Church I took the lady home and I truly don’t remember how or why it happened, but I kissed her “goodnight”. The next visit when I left her at the door she commented, “You kissed me the last time.” That began a strange relationship which led to a lot of “smooching”, etc. The etc. was largely her driving to Newton and taking me to a baseball game at Fenway Park, or to a movie. On the way home we would stop and “neck” a while. There was no indication that our behavior would go beyond that level. Actually I kept telling myself that this behavior made me love Betty even at a deeper level. The last time we were together was when Betty was visiting her Mother after the twins had died. That would be in June 1957. They were fraternal male and female. They survived less than a day being about 3 month premature. When Betty went into labor the aforementioned lady drove us to the nearest hospital at Marlboro, MA. I preached the next day and found out after the service that the twins had not survived. Neither of us ever really saw them since they were in intensive care from the moment of birth. The Funeral Director in Hopkinton provided a casket for the two of them and a friend who pastored the Congregational Church agreed to conduct the funeral. A member of my Church let them to be buried on a corner of his family plot in Woodville. I’ll never forget this beautiful gesture of A.E. Stone. A friend from Seminary was Pastor in Marlboro and was able of visit Betty.

After she came home from the hospital Betty was able to go visit her family in West Virginia. Just before she returned I had one last “date’ with the other woman. This one led a bit further than ever anticipated, but not to bed. The Fall Semester was under way. I was taking a full schedule at Andover Newton and a class at Harvard with a noted Biblical Scholar, Paul Tillich. In November 1957, just after I had turned 33 years of age, I had a massive heart attack. I was at a Deacon’s meeting at the woman’s house when the traditional pains in my chest an left arm began. Some of the people there thought it was Hong Kong Flu, but knowing my family history I insisted they call a doctor. The diagnosis was heart. Since one of the Deacons ran the ambulance service I was taken to Framingham Memorial Hospital and received first class care at this leading cardiac care hospital. I continue to believe that God interceded in my life at that point although the other lady was the one who most often drove Betty to visit. She later visited us in Montana some years after her husband had died and she had a job which brought her west. We had a good visit. She was killed in an automobile wreck shortly after that visit.

My basic prayer in the hospital was for forgiveness, and that I might live to see my children grow up. God is good. I saw them all through high school and college. AND there were three more. They have grown up as well, are though college. five of the seven are married and have families. And at 85 I have 2 great granddaughters. My deepest sorrow is that Betty is not here to share this joy with me. And I am fortunate that Pete, unmarried, has moved in with me and takes care of the "heavy" stuff.