There are two of us
Lear-Jet pilots for our company. We had a
trip leaving Thursday for Lebanon, Missouri,
where the boss bought some property. We were
coming back Sunday at 6 pm.
Now...Lebanon is a
friendly little town, but not very much to
do. So....being the one who gets the hotel
rooms...... I booked the Sheraton in
Springfield, one hour away. There’s a lot
more to do there.
Our plan was to land
in Lebanon Thursday evening and drive to
Springfield, then drive back Sunday
afternoon at 3 pm to eat and check out the
town and hotels at that time, to see if
there was more to Lebanon than appeared.
Thursday night, 6 pm
Checking the weather
in Dallas, it said Lebanon had clear skies
and would remain clear all night. No
problem. HOWEVER...... when we were 15
minutes from our Lebanon landing (8:15 pm),
the Air Traffic Controller told us that
Lebanon had “suddenly” been covered by
clouds and the visibility was deteriorating
rapidly.
We tried an approach,
which SHOULD have been a piece of cake, but
the visibility was so low that we could
not get in …and we tried twice...... and
then we diverted to Springfield .......a few
minutes away by air, and where the weather
was fine. (The plot thickens.)
We told the boss
(Daniel) and his wife (Dana) that we would
get them a room at our hotel and fly them to
Lebanon in the morning. Then we pilots would
drive back to Springfield.
Meanwhile, after
landing in Springfield, Daniel invites us
for dinner at Applebee’s, across from the
Sheraton. Here he talks us into canceling
the Springfield hotel and staying in Lebanon
Friday and Saturday so he can show us his
property.
(Well..... sometimes
it is wise to say yes, even when you don’t
want to.)
So... next day we flew
to Lebanon and got rooms at the Hampton Inn.
( What this is doing
is setting up some circumstances that would
substantially affect the purpose of this
story.)
So, for the next two
days, we take in Daniel’s new property and
tour little ole Lebanon. On Sunday, the
Hampton hotel was filling up for that day,
so we were forced to check out at 1 pm.
Well....we already toured the city, so that
means we go eat and spend 3 hours at the FBO
(terminal for corporate pilots) reading,
watching TV, or doing crossword puzzles.
Sitting around at the
FBO:
After reading a couple magazines, I decided
to go out to my luggage in the jet and get
my book Hello From Heaven, which is
almost finished now. As I was coming back
into the FBO, the gal who runs it on Sundays
(Kathy) looked at me and said “Excuse
me....what is that book about?”
I said “Well....
ahem....uh.....ah.... it’s about near death
experiences and after-life communications.”
(I was a little hesitant, because most
people think this stuff is a little hokey.)
She said “That’s what
I thought. We have a pilot here in Lebanon,
based at this FBO, named Larry Hastings who
died for 20 minutes....and he shocked the
entire hospital by getting up and walking
off. He told me about the experiences he had
while he was supposed to be dead. Is that
what you are reading about ?”
Well...I just about
fell over. “Yes......can you call him for
me?”
And she did...and
Larry was home, and we talked for over an
hour. Absolutely fascinating ..... my first
real contact with someone who had an NDE.
He related the whole
story....floating around above his body and
watching them try to revive him…...the
tunnel…… the light…… meeting his spirit
guide... everything exactly as it is
explained in the books.
We made plans to meet
again next week, as we were scheduled for
another Lebanon trip from Friday noon till
Sunday afternoon.
Journal Discussion:
Now....this whole story came about by a
series of very unusual circumstances
.....starting with a mysterious “sudden”
cloud over Lebanon and ending with a lady
who was curious about my book.
Had we stayed in
Springfield, I would not have been reading
that book at the FBO. And this was the FIRST
time since working for the company that we
ever had to divert to another airport.
