Granny and the Glimpse

For the Marco Beach Boys and Girls, the legacies of those who came before us always offer inspiration, and on very special occasions, a glimpse into the biggest mystery of all.

Mary Agnes was born in Bulgaria in the early part of the previous century. She boarded a ship with her mother when she was eight years old. Her father had already made the passage to America and had sent money home for the long journey ahead.

Unfortunately, Mary Agnes was almost on her own on that long and stormy voyage across the Atlantic Ocean because her mother was incredibly seasick and stayed in her cabin for the entire crossing. Mary Agnes, however, was a wonderful and energetic child and was unaffected by the tumultuous seas and the seasickness of the other passengers around her.

Mary Agnes sang and danced her way into the hearts of the other weatherworn passengers and brought a ray of sunshine onto that overcrowded ship that was a continuous bedlam of clanking machinery, coal smoke and steam.

The little girl from Bulgaria tasted her very first orange on the stormy seas, given to her from an Italian woman who befriended her during the voyage. Once the Statue of Liberty appeared, and the stormy crossing was over, the health officials at Ellis Island shaved the heads of almost all the immigrants. The lice on the ship was widespread, but Mary Agnes took baldness in stride, because she knew she would soon be with her beloved father again and that made everything worthwhile.

After her parents were divorced, Mary Agnes decided she had to make her own way. Early one morning when she was only fifteen, instead of going to school, she dressed in her mother’s clothes and got a job at a factory in Detroit. Work was her escape and her way out. She worked hard in the factory, saved her money, and eventually ran away.

On the road, she met her husband, also from Bulgaria, and it was not until their 50th wedding anniversary that he realized he married a 15-year-old runaway. They had a long and happy life together and raised four wonderful children.

Life was good but unfortunately, not for long. Mary Agnes lost her last-born son to MS, but not before she cared for him for many years. She made his disease her own and nurtured him dearly until his death. The loss of a child was devastating, but Mary Agnes was not crippled. She continued to be a strong woman, taking care of her husband, her other children, and all their families.

For Mary Agnes, family was everything. Shortly after the death of her son, her husband passed away. She then moved to Marco Island and started the second half of her life. It was on Marco she met Jim Gillies, the second love of her life. Jim was the son of friends and the romance was quick but long lasting. Jim was twenty-five years younger than Mary Agnes and he quickly embraced the other Dearborn and Detroit transplants from the big Bulgarian family that now number over 35 on Marco Island.

As Mary Agnes continued her island life and her voyage through her eighties and nineties, she never lost her youthful exuberance. Deep down inside she was a young girl, just as when she was on a ship full of immigrants bound for the Promised Land.

Despite her internal and seemingly perpetual youth, Mary Agnes fell prey to the inevitability of aging. She suffered from aches and pains and finally a herniated disc in her lower back that required surgery. After the operation, she was convalescing in hospital and given several different medications for pain.

When a favorite granddaughter came to visit, she found Mary Agnes unresponsive and apparently not breathing. The granddaughter cried out to the nurse’s station, and very soon, a team of doctors and nurses were leaning over the stricken patient and performing CPR. After a few moments the doctors applied a jolt of electricity from a defibrillator; Mary Agnes gasped, resumed breathing and her heart returned to a steadfast rhythm.

When the crisis was over, and Mary Agnes was resting, the favorite granddaughter returned to her granny’s bedside. Mary Agnes did not look happy. She was very upset.

“Why did they bring me back?” Mary Agnes angrily demanded. “I was so happy. I was a young girl again. I could see everything. I was out of my old body and looking down on the hospital bed. I was young again and wearing a beautiful white dress. My hair was perfect, my skin was smooth, and I felt others around me who were also watching. I could see all the doctors and nurses working on the old woman in the bed, and then they zapped me with that electrical contraption and I was suddenly somehow back into this old woman’s body. Why would they do that?  I was so very happy to be away.”

After a few more days in hospital, Mary Agnes came home but she had more of a sparkle in her eyes than ever before. She told the story of her out-of-body experience to everyone in the family and to everyone she met. Her message was to have no fear of what she called, “The next big adventure.” She also related she felt safe and warm and that there was much more waiting for her if only she had more time.

Mary Agnes passed on to that next adventure two years later, but during those two years the young girl in her was stronger than ever, despite the aches and pains of a ninety-eight-year-old immigrant from Bulgaria who became a granny who saw a glimpse of the biggest mystery ever.