© Edited – 4/05/17 – 4:50 pm to 4:55 pm, 4/06/17 - 1:44 pm - 1:46 pm
The Stranger that saved my life
In the summer of 1980, about 7 months after Jim Waller (my stepfather) was murdered, I travelled with Dale (Bill Sampson's widow) to her home town in Delaware. At one point I was on the beach. I was in the water feeling angry, upset and other feelings. I was pounding the waves as they came at me with a feeling that I wanted to be with Jim Waller. While I don’t think there was a conscious committed suicidal action, I got caught up in the waves. There was a period of nothingness. I just didn't feel anything. Then, at some point, I popped up out of the water and I saw the Sandy Beach very far away. I think that I yelled help, but all I could do is try to stay above the water. I wasn't filled with much or any thoughts. At one point, a stranger, man, pulled out of the water and brought me to the beach. I don't remember much of anything else about that experience. If my memory is accurate, there was a woman with him. And I think I heard someone, maybe my mother mention that Dale was glad that I was ok and felt bad for what happened.