Uncle Norman, My Mentor

Maybe I had better tell you a bit about myself, so you can better understand my stories. I never had any paranormal experiences as a child (I don't think) unless you would call this one. (?)

My youngest uncle Norman, my dad's brother, who was 17 years older than me (he didn't let me call him uncle, he said it made him feel old) was still living at home with his mom, (my Granny) when I arrived. He was the "black sheep" in the family because he drank alcohol, smoked and dabbled in the occult! From an early age, he invested in me an interest and curiosity for supernatural; occult; paranormal and mysterious stories, including, astral travel.

Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you, this story took place in Kimberley, South Africa. We lived just across the road from the reef that led to the famous Big Hole. The time frame was 1950s, in those days; it was not common to talk about anything supernatural, without people thinking you were a little strange. As my Granny and Auntie (her only daughter) were both very religious, Norm and I had to have our little discussions out of their hearing, or we would 'cop it'. We were like two conspirators, May be, that is what made it so much fun! We remained great pals, even after he got married, when I was 6 ½. I was the flower-girl at his wedding. Norm and Bee, (his new wife) stayed at Granny's house until they could afford one of their own.

One night, (I can't remember how old I was, probably, between 8 & 10) he called me to watch something 'spectacular'. He asked me to get him a glass of water, from the tap. I duly did this, wondering what was up. He asked me to take it to the dining room for him. I did so as I saw him follow me in and close the doors. Now my curiosity was really piqued! He told me to sit by the light switch (it was night) and not take my eyes off the glass that was on the big old dining room table.

Well, next he told me not to say a word until he asked me to switch the lights on; this might take a while, as he had to concentrate very hard. I was extremely puzzled as I did not know what he was talking about. He then said "OK, lights off". I sat with him in the dark, silently watching the glass. After a long time, (on reflection, maybe 10 minutes) the glass began to glow. The glow became brighter as he concentrated on it harder. The water in the glass turned a soft yellowish-green colour (luminous). I watched in absolute wonder, Then Norn said, "OK, lights on and you can talk now". I switched on the light, and saw the glass of water where I had left it for him. In the light, it didn't look any different, from when I had set it down.

He then told me to take a sip from the glass. I did so and was utterly amazed by the taste. It tasted like, hmmm, Metal!

This happened a long time ago. I don't know how he did it, because he never touched the glass once, nor put anything into the glass.

To this day, I still don't understand how Norm did it. Was this paranormal or not? Please, let there be somebody out there that can tell me about how this could be done. I somehow just never got around to asking him when he was still alive.

Thanks for reading my story.