I had a Christmas miracle on Christmas Eve. I was cooking Christmas Eve dinner at my 90-year-old mothers apartment when there was a knock on the door. When I opened it there stood an angel, but at first I didnt know it was one. He was dressed like a Long Beach police officer and he asked if I owned The Bath House there in Ilwaco. I confirmed that and he told me that he thought wed had a break-in because the door at the front of the building was torn off and laying in the yard. I chuckled and said that Id been unable to lock the barn for months and that to the best of my knowledge the storm on Dec. 15 had caught the door and torn it off the 131-year-old building. Id found it thus on Dec. 21 when I arrived from Gig Harbor.

    Now Officer Jeff Cutting had tracked me down at my mothers because hed seen the door laying in the yard, talked to my neighbor and found out where my mother lived. Someone else might have knocked on the door of our house, found no one home, logged what hed done and gotten on with his shift. This nice young man had taken the time to prop the door in the doorway and track me down.

    I explained that my husband has been working out of state since June and that Id not yet figured out what I was going to do about the door, but I assured him that thered been no break-in.

    Do you have a screw driver in that barn? he asked. I told him there was, grabbed my keys and followed him the six blocks back to our place.

    Officer Cutting proceeded to nail a piece of 2×4 to the inside of our elderly barn and then screw the hinges back to the barn. Not only was the barn door back up, but it looked like Id be able to lock it when I return to our year round home in Gig Harbor following New Years. As Christmas Eve truly became eve I thanked Officer Cutting for the best Christmas gift I could have received and wished him a Merry Christmas. He smiled and wished the same to me. Then I texted my husband that wed had a miracle and to call me ASAP. When I finally got to speak with him and related the story he was as overwhelmed as I. It is as frustrating for him as for me to have him 1,500 miles away when things go wrong. Officer Cuttings parents must be very proud to have such a nice son. We are very grateful to him and heartened that such young men are willing to serve the Long Beach and Ilwaco communities.

Stephanie Frieze

and David Haeck

Gig Harbor and Ilwaco