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An unbelievable thing happened to me in the Boian Cemetery of Estill County, Kentucky, that has left its impact upon me for life. Many will scoff at such an account, but their skepticism simply doesn't matter to me. What does matter is that it is the truth and the experience is a spiritual revelation and homecoming that I will take with me at the end of my natural life, to a meeting with my lord, surrounded in love by my ancestors, including the woman I now have a special bond with—Mariah Park (1810-1888). Mariah is the daughter of my 4th Great Aunt, Rhoda Dillingham and Solomon Park, the son of my 5th Great Grandfather, Ebenezer Park, Sr's (1747-1839), oldest brother, John Park III (1735-1816) and Susanna Elrod of Hampshire Co., VA, WV. While Solomon passed and is buried between Romney and Capon Bridge, West Virginia, home of my Revolutionary Park Ancestors—Rhoda Dillingham returned to Estill County, where she later re-married Ebenezer Wilson (1793-1876). I call Rhoda Dillingham-Park the Grand Matriarch of the Park and Cobb Families of Kentucky as I am related to her through no less than 13 marriages, beginning with her and later her children and grandchildren. On our Inaugural Expedition to Kentucky, I had a chance to visit the graves of Mariah Park (1810-1888) and her husband, William Boian, Sr. (1805-1893) located in the pasture on the scenic Boian Farm behind Mariah's homestead, which still stands today off of Wisemantown-Dug Hill Rd. close to Irvine, KY. Ironically, Mariah Park is also the 3rd Great Grandmother of Technical Sergeant, Marc Gumm, who was assigned with me at Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, NC in the 3rd Aerial Port Squadron during the period 1997-2001, while I was still on active duty with the United States Air Force. So, as I stood next to Mariah's grave on what had been a rather warm and humid day of 8 June 1999, I glanced westward in the hazy sky, at the sun, which was now beginning to descend. What would happen just seconds later would transcend any normal human experience…but then, there is much that has been quite unnatural since I embarked on the enriched journey that is my family's history.

I glanced down at Mariah's small, white tombstone, weathered with some black blemishes, and I whispered the following: “Marc (Gumm), your 3rd Great Grandson, says hello and sends his love”. I then reached out and placed my hand softly on the top right corner of her marker. At the instant I touched Mariah's tombstone, I received something between a shock, vibration, and the sensation of a very real human touch, only unexplainably, I felt the delicate fingers “underneath” my skin, rather than on my skin. Surprised, I pulled my hand quickly away and when I looked at my arm in disbelief, I noticed my Casio digital watch had stopped dead with all numerals, including seconds frozen in place. As I exclaimed that my watch had stopped, I also noticed the numbers begin to fade away until the watch face was completely blank. The watch battery was only a few short weeks old, but it could not withstand the feeling that I now refer to as “Mariah's Touch”.

In the Summer of 2001, I reluctantly revealed this occurrence to Ermon Edward, the husband of the late Eva Dean Boian, direct descendant of Mariah Park, who still lives in the Boian Homestead. My main purpose was to eliminate the possibility of the existence of any nearby electrical source that could produce a current that would shock my watch into submission. In a matter of fact manner, Ermon stated that there was no such source anywhere near the cemetery, which sat remotely in the pasture by itself, including electric fences (there are no cattle or electric fences on the Boian Farm). My mother asked me how I interpreted the occurrence and I told her that the feeling that I had from Mariah was that “Time is of absolutely no importance in the next life”. I later told her that it was also a reminder that “While the body dies, the spirit (Mariah's) lives forever”.



Ironically, while on our 2001 Kentucky Expedition, my family tried unsuccessfully to reach me on my world-wide pager, despite several attempts. When I spoke with my mother later that day by phone from Irvine's Oak Tree Hotel, she asked me if I received the page. Looking down at the pager on my belt, I realized that my pager was not on and when I depressed the power button, I was surprised when it failed to respond.

Now, I had cold chills….I knew that I had put a fresh battery in it just prior to departing my home in North Carolina days earlier. I also knew that they typically lasted 6 months or more. I was silent; my mother asked if I was still there. My mind continued to reel from a new shock. The realization of where I had just come from--the Boian Farm. And I had touched Mariah's stone and once again, she made me realize how the importance of our natural life pales in comparison to the divine place where she most certainly resides.

But that's not all--incredibly, more than 7 months later on the morning of 22 January 2000, as the watch sat upon my desk, it started again--the numerals reappearing from nowhere—a reincarnation of sorts! Even the time was correct, right down to the “world-clock second”. But the fact that surprised me most of all—it was Mariah's 190th Birthday! And as I write this in November of 2003, the 2-year battery has now exceeded its life expectancy by over 3 years.

So, I have a new, unmistakable feeling now…this watch is never going to stop. I'm sure of it. It will never need another battery. Because the touch that was Mariah, like her spirit, will last forever.

Amen.

Doug Park

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