By Michael Avery
My mom was off on medical leave from the supermarket where she worked as a checker. I didn’t know that she had a double mastectomy scheduled, or the incredible challenge she was facing with breast cancer.
Several transistor radios lined a shelf before me in Montgomery Wards. A couple of my friends had been given radios recently, and I asked for one, too. As I recall, the radios ranged in price from five to fifteen dollars. There was a huge difference in quality between them as well as their price. One was amazing. I was attracted to it immediately, but kept testing the less expensive ones because I knew that fifteen dollars was well beyond my mom’s budget.
It was apparent which radio I wanted. I could see the concern on my mom’s face. I thought is was due to the price of the best radio they carried, but I later learned that she was days away from her operation.
I remember her asking me three different times if that was the radio I really wanted. If she purchased it, that would have to be my birthday present, too. Finally, she said, “If I would die tomorrow, I would go to my grave feeling thankful that I had gone the extra mile for you.” It was the first time I had ever heard that phrase.
When I met my grade school friends the following Saturday, they all looked at my GE transistor radio with envy. A spectacular sound came from the tiny box. The dials turned effortlessly, and the display was absolutely stunning. I carried it with me everywhere.
My mom enjoyed seeing me so happy as I proudly carried around my new radio. Although the pain must have been intense after her surgery, she returned to work soon thereafter, grateful to be alive. Today, having gone the extra mile for people on several occasions, I understand how she must have felt giving me the gift.
Year after year, the radio continued to brighten my life. Even though the radio spent most of its time in my dresser drawer, occasionally, I would hold it appreciatively in my hands and check to see if it still worked. It always did, and I often wondered at what point it would finally die.
One day, when I was thirty-five, I stumbled across the old radio while looking for a document. When I checked it, there was no response. I replaced the batteries as I had done so often, expecting it to burst forth again in song. But my cherished radio had finally crossed over into radio heaven.
My old radio was telling me through this prophetic waking dream that my mom’s time on earth was about to expire. Less than a week later, my mom translated from this life from a different form of cancer.
In addition to being a prophetic waking dream, that day so long ago in the department store with my mom is one of my favorite and most cherished memories. It comes back to me sometimes when I’m faced with a difficult situation or when I am called upon to make a sacrifice of my time or energy. It is the answer to my unspoken question: “Am I willing to go the extra mile for love?”
From Seven Signs from the Universe, pp. 159-171
by Michael and Pichaya Avery