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Angel Threads
Inspirational Stories of How Angels Weave the Tapestries of our Lives

Foreword

Her hand reached past me as she placed her items next to mine at the checkout counter. But her being premature in placing down all her goods was not what made me turn around. It was the pin she was wearing. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the gold guardian angel snuggled on her white sweater just above her heart. And again, I was amazed—amazed at the overwhelming presence of angels in society. It made me wonder where I had been living that I had failed to notice the popularity of angels and how I had missed out—until now—on something so wonderful.

It was in the sixth class of a series of classes I was taking to learn more about the Jewish faith when I first began to understand the impact of angels on society. Having been placed in foster care at the age of two, the home I was put in, and the four following it, recognized the interpreted religion of my mother. Therefore, I was raised Catholic with no linkage or even basic understanding of my Jewish birth father’s heritage, traditions, or faith. So, when the Jewish Community Center near my home offered a course on Jewish life rhythms, it seemed to me a uniquely rich opportunity to develop an appreciation of that half of my heritage. And, in the sixth class, when the energetic, young, woman rabbi instructing had my class focus on the presence of angels in the Jewish faith, I began to feel myself focusing in on a generations-old influence I had never previously considered.

On the Saturday morning following that class, Sherry Weintraub, wife of my good friend, Steve Weintraub, joined our morning walk/bagels group for the first time ever. During our chat she asked about the subjects being discussed in my Jewish life rhythms class, and I filled her in on the most recent focus on angels. As Sherry listened with truly rapt attention, tears slowly began to flow down her cheeks. She dabbed with a tissue and then told us she was moved because the issue of angels is so central to her life. Sherry told us attending a party some years back when the hostess had engaged a fortuneteller as the entertainment. Because she had to leave the party early to attend another function, Sherry was urged by the hostess to be the first one to visit the fortuneteller. Resisting, she explained to us, because she always felt such metaphysical ideas were “bunk,” she only agreed to sit to satisfy the hostess.

Looking into her eyes, the fortuneteller said that Sherry had an angel protecting and guiding her. She responded with a disparaging laugh. When the fortuneteller said the angel is male, Sherry laughed again at such nonsense. And, when the fortuneteller said it was a boy named Irving, Sherry withdrew from the specific suggestion, declaring that she had no boy named Irving in her life—ever. She was urged, she said, to close her eyes and reflect before she rejected. She did so and suddenly the clear picture of her departed father, whom she loved dearly, appeared in her mind. And, she could hear his voice reminding her of the fact that he had a nine-year-old brother who had died at that very young age. His name, the image of her dad said to her, was Irving. When Sherry left the party, she walked away knowing much more than she had arrived with; she left with the presence of Irving. Her tears over coffee were simply an acknowledgement of the special blessing her angel presence had in her life. “Irving is,” she said to me, “a thread of life in my personal tapestry.”

Around the same time Sherry shared her story with me, I was retiring as the senior corporate executive of the Hearst Newspaper Group and as vice president of the Hearst Corporation, and was starting my second career as a public speaker. Having been the product of the kindness that various key individuals bestowed on me over the years, I spent the time in most of my speaking engagements talking about the tapestry of life—developed thread by the various experiences and individuals we meet. The thrust of my talks was not to show how I found success in my family and business life, but to show how great is the ability we have to influence each other. In many ways, Sherry’s wonderful acknowledgement reaffirmed my belief that by sharing my reflections on the blessings in the tapestry of my life—a tapestry brought to life by all the vibrant and beautiful threads given to me by all individuals I’ve met and the experiences each has opened for me—I could open others to their unique ability to effect happiness in themselves and, more importantly, in others. In doing this, I began to reflect more and more on the specific qualities of the individuals who had strengthened my tapestry, and in so doing, discovered the defining term encompassing these qualities to be angel.

Through Angel Threads, my purpose is to help you see the special qualities—qualities so often attributed to
angels—in the threads that have shaped your tapestry, and to encourage you to be open to these threads, permitting them to weave their beauty into your every day.