"We continued to live in this house, and there were real reminders of Jim all around, of course. But, I had most of it cleared out. His brothers and friends helped me out, and I kept only a few of the really meaningful things.

"Unfortunately, some of those things were apparently more meaningful to Jim - even after he had passed on.

"One of them was a walking stick he had bought when we were on a trip to Norway. It was hand-carved, very intricate, and it meant a lot to him. Sometimes when we'd hike in the woods around here, he'd take it along.

"After he died, I asked my brother to mount it on a wall, over the doorway into the back porch.

"He did a good job. He assured me that even if there was an earthquake, it wouldn't fall down. It was kind of a joke between us. I told him to make sure it was securely mounted so it wouldn't drop down and clobber one of us.

"Well, this is one of the hardest things to believe that I'm going to tell you, but you have to believe me.

"It was the first anniversary of Jim's death. I tried not to let it bother me, and it really didn't. I was fully aware of the date for weeks, but the thought of it really only brought back good thoughts about our lives together. I was sad, of course, but I wasn't overwhelmed with grief any more.

"Not for any real reason, just because it was what I usually did, I went out onto the porch after dinner to catch the news on TV and relax.

"Everything was pretty quiet, and I heard that squeak. Now this time, I almost jumped out of my chair. It brought back that memory in a flash. I gritted my teeth and turned around.

"Just as I turned around, the walking stick dropped from the wall. Well, I freaked. I went back to the chair and kneeled backwards on it, cowering from whatever was going on.

"Then I felt that 'icy chill' people say accompanies the coming of a ghost. I really felt it. I never thought of this stuff before, never believed any of it really, but there I was, experiencing it. Sure enough, as I rolled my head around trying to figure things out, I saw a figure off to my right. And, damn-it was Jim. It was Jim in full form. He was a little faded, if you know what I mean, but it was absolutely Jim.

"Funny things, I recognized the face, but the body seemed washed out. I couldn't make out any kind of recognizable clothing or anything. It was very, very, strange.

"I froze. I was absolutely frozen. It wasn't fear, but confusion. In a second or so, I stayed riveted to what I was seeing. I didn't move, and he didn't move. Then, I watched as he moved his left arm higher. Very slowly, almost as if in pain, he moved it. His head didn't move at all. He stared somewhere to my left. Then, very slowly, he waved his left arm.