Today’s guest blogger is writer and actress Robin Hill-Page Glanden. I’ve been working with Robin on an upcoming story for Mysterious Ways magazine. We got to talking on the phone the other day and she told me a story I just had to share. One involving a beloved Felix the Cat clock and a timely miracle.
Here’s Robin’s story…
When I was a little girl growing up in Delaware, one of my favorite things was a plug-in clock that hung on my bedroom wall. It was a black-and-white Felix the Cat clock that looked just like my real-life tuxedo kitty. The eyes on the clock moved left and right, so did the tail.
Many years later, I moved to California to pursue my acting career. I was browsing an antiques shop when I stumbled on an updated version of the Felix the Cat clock. One that operated on batteries. I took it home and hung it on my kitchen wall. Right away, the eyes and tail swayed back and forth. After two weeks, they stopped. I changed the batteries, did everything I could to get them to move. No luck. The clock still kept perfect time, though, so it remained on my wall.
A few months later, my parents paid me a visit. I proudly showed off my clock to them. Mom was instantly charmed by it…and baffled. She tried everything she could to get the eyes and tail to move. She fussed over that clock her entire visit, tapping the tail every time she passed by the kitchen. Nothing worked.
Eventually, I moved back to Delaware, bringing my trusty clock with me. Once again, I hung it on my kitchen wall. Every time Mom would visit my apartment, she’d fiddle with the clock. Even after Dad passed away, and Mom and I moved in together. She’d take the clock off the wall, take the batteries out, put them back in and tap the tail over and over. But it refused to work.
Seven years after Dad died, Mom passed away suddenly. I was heartbroken. The day after her funeral, I just stood in the kitchen and watched the clock, even though I had to get going to work. A strange thought came to me out of nowhere: “Mom can make the Felix clock work now.”
The eyes and tail were still as usual. But I had to try. I gently tapped the clock’s tail, like Mom had done so many times before. It moved a little, then stopped. I tried again. The eyes and tail moved…and kept moving! I held my breath and watched in wonder. It was moving on its own steam!
When I returned home that night at 10 p.m., the clock was still working.
“Thank you, Mom,” I whispered. “I love you.”
The next morning, the eyes and tail had stopped. I tapped the tail several times again. Nothing.
Two months later, on my 50th birthday, I went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. The same strange thought came to me: “Mom can make the Felix clock work for my birthday.”
I tapped the tail. The eyes and tail started working again! When I went to bed, a little before midnight, the clock was still going. Sometime during the night, the eyes and tail stopped and were motionless by the time I came downstairs the next morning.
But Mom had granted my birthday wish.
