UNIVERSE

(written by Fred Ehrhart in 1992)

for

Ginger Ehrhart – A Birthmother


This past Wednesday I changed the nature of the universe. I did it
by phone, right here from our home in Palmyra. It only took about five
minutes. I dialed ten numbers that put me in touch with an office in New
York City, only 200 miles away by land but light years away by heart. In
less than two minutes I was in touch with an unsuspecting 23-year-old young
lady, who would forever be different from that time on. After a brief
introduction and a minimal amount of small talk, I proceeded to change the
balance of nature. After I asked her to not think this a crank call, I
quickly got to the point of my call. With my heart in my throat, I told her
my wife was her birth mother. With no hesitation she quickly asked about a
suspicious survey she had received about a month ago. When I admitted that
my wife and I had been the source of the fictitious work, there was a moment
of silence followed by an emotional whisper stating "I knew it was her."
This revelation led to a flood of emotion from within. I told her how her
mother had looked for her for the longest time, how she was always in her
heart and often in her thoughts. I then asked if she wanted to talk to her
mother. A very frightened voice quickly said No!, followed by sobs as she
said, "I can't, not now,". Her voice trailed of, dominated by tears and
overwhelmed by emotion, She managed to ask me to hold on for a moment. After
what seemed to be an eternity a voice did return to the phone. Only the
voice was not that of the emotionally drained young lady whose life I had
effected, but a calm and collected telephone operator, totally unaware of
the shift in the universe that had just occurred. The young lady was unable
to return to the phone and a message with my name and phone number was left
with the unaware receptionist.

That was three days ago. Every time the phone rings my heart
leaps. The string of meaningless calls one encounters every day becomes more
frustrating than ever. We sit and wonder about the state of the young lady.
How has this information affected her? Is she all right? Does she have someone
to help her deal with the information she just received? My wife and I talk
often about what we feel is going on. There also are many times we only sit
and look at each other, aware of the thoughts we share. We pray for the
phone to ring and to hear that voice, to know she is all right. The weight of
waiting is often extreme.

But the balance of the universe will never be the same. For now,
there is one less adopted child in the world who has to wonder who is my
mother, does she ever think of me, where is she? She now knows a name, has
an address, a phone number. And because of this, the world will be a better
place.

Written By Ginger: [email protected]