I’m paying a heavy price for last week’s drinking session with Steve…somewhere along the line my immune system let down its guard and I developed the worst head cold in the world Saturday morning. By Monday the doctor put me on antibiotics to prevent it turning into something worse, as I was even oozing from my eyes. I’m starting to feel better but have fallen massively behind at work, and this site. I have some new things to share.

The only consolation is I’m not alone, Steve’s got it too. I’m blaming him for the germ, and he’s blaming me. He pointed out I’m the one who had saliva explode all over her kitchen. It’s a fair point, despite the fact that I’ve disinfected it about a dozen times already. I was encouraged, however, that he was cracking jokes about the paranormal events at my condo. He may be nervous about it, but at least he’s sticking to his promise to be more open about it, and to come on board.

He hasn’t been here yet, but he did do something impressive completely of his own initiative. He drafted a letter he sent yesterday to all antiques sellers, historical societies / museums, and salvage businesses in Seattle and many miles beyond. He’s asking anyone with any items from Rose Red, presumably purchased at the estate auction, to please send him photographs of their stock for this web site. I’ve included the letter here so you can read it yourself, and see how he pitched the idea to his recipients.

I also received an e-mail and a photograph from a friend of Vic’s. Read on…

I’ll address these in reverse order. First, the communication I received from a former fellow congregation member of Vic’s. As you are no doubt aware, Vic was a devout Christian, and he was of the Baptist faith. He scarcely went anywhere without his Bible and he relied on his faith to help him come to terms with the pre-cognitive abilities he possessed. After all, it must not be easy seeing flashes of the future, sometimes unpleasant ones.

But I’ll let Victor’s friend explain:

Dear Ms. O’Sullivan,

I was directed to you by my niece who heard about your ongoing investigation into the goings on at the Rimbauer mansion Rose Red. One of my dear friends, Victor Kandinsky, died at Rose Red in 2001. My niece tells me you also lost someone that weekend, your fiancé, and for that you have my sympathy and prayers for peace.

I thought that I would tell you a little bit about Vic since he seems to be an unsung member of the party that went to Rose Red that weekend. And I’m aware you have a web site where you publish firsthand accounts so it’s my hope you will publish this, and your readers can get to know this wonderful man a little better.

Vic and I were congregation members at the Shelton Baptist Church outside Seattle. I still attend the church and even after all these years there’s something missing, the beautiful presence Vic brought to our place of worship. He was a man whose faith could move mountains, although his self-confidence, psychologically speaking, sometimes got in the way.

As long as I knew him, which was almost twenty years, Vic was kind-hearted and concerned, intelligent, well-schooled and witty, and a rock of support on which others could lean.

I also believe he was a bit shy and often felt personally lonely, because his psychic talents certainly separated him from any crowd. It was only in later years that he began to open up to us about his abilities. He didn’t want the congregation at large to know because there is something of a stigma on those who have misunderstood gifts. I must admit that when he demonstrated his gift to me the first time I was shocked and momentarily questioned if he was taken by some intimidating spirit. But the concern for others to which he applied his talents made it clear to me that he had a genuine psychic ability that he so wanted to use for good. Sometimes it caused him great suffering.

I remember when he was in his mid forties and he first opened up to his closest friends, some of whom had already witnessed enough to suspect something wasn’t quite “normal” about him, and confessed his ability. He was compelled by an event that he foresaw but couldn’t prevent. It was terrible and haunted him for years, possibly still haunted him to the day of his death. By the way, he was fifty seven when he died.

I think it was 1990 when the life-altering event occurred. A chartered plane carrying 24 college students, 4 university staff, and a crew of 3 crashed shortly after take-off from a small regional airport in a treacherous fog in Indiana. It wasn’t far from where Vic grew up. The plane was a total loss and all 31 people on board perished. Vic foresaw the event in grisly detail in his dreams for a full week leading to the event, including the markings on the plane that identified the airline. After the fifth dream and several visions he had while awake he called the airline. He told me he felt completely foolish but knew he had to do something. He wasn’t sure if the airline was going to report him to the authorities as being involved in some kind of plot but as it happened he never even got that far in the chain of communication. The airline representative seemed to think he was crazy, but told him that plane was actually operated by a smaller airline that was doing business with the larger one. So, he called the smaller airline, who undoubtedly thought he was insane (the representative he spoke to accused him of being “sick” and a “prankster”). He called several times and finally the airline passed the buck. They told him to call the airport since what he was reporting was an issue that could be avoided by air traffic control if the weather forecast involved thick fog. So he called the airport and tried to get in touch with the tower, but the operator cut him off at the pass. She advised him to seek professional help and when he called again to plead his case, she hung up on him.

There was nothing more he could do. When the news of the crash hit the airwaves Vic was despondent for weeks. That’s when he told us what had happened and that his ability to see the future had been present all his life. And as I said before he backed up his claim with proof by making a frivolous but detailed prediction that came true moments later.

Outside of the friends who knew of his talents and the larger congregation who loved him even though they didn’t know the “real” him, Vic had nobody in his life. Only once did he pursue a romantic relationship in his younger days. She was a beautiful, tall, slim blond haired woman with sparkling blue eyes and an infectious smile, he said. But his infatuation was one-sided. She was in love with another man. When I heard the accounts of Vic seeming to take a liking to the young psychic Pamela Asbury and saw photographs of her in media coverage I immediately knew why he would fancy her. She matched the description of his first and only love.

With only a handful of friends and no romance, he spent most of his time dividing his life into work and faith. He was constantly at the church and volunteered for every event. He owned a small party supply store that mostly did its business renting helium tanks to event planners. Although his desire waned over time in the earlier years I knew him Vic loved any opportunity to be social, probably because he liked the warmth of other people around him, even if I think he was secretly uncomfortable in his own skin. He loved to dance but gave it up when his health took a turn for the worse when he was 50.

He had a heart attack at age 50 and was diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease which doctors did their best to clear and keep him from further cardiac episodes. However the result was persistent angina which he suffered from until his death. He carried nitroglycerin everywhere. Nitroglycerin and his Bible, those were his two life companions. I believe that if he’d had his nitroglycerin with him at the time of his second heart attack at Rose Red, he would have survived.

Not much is known about the final moments of Vic’s life except from the account of Emery Waterman, which I read in an interview. If he was wandering the ground in his pajamas he wouldn’t have had a pocket to fit his nitroglycerin bottle in anyway. And the miniseries’s portrayal of Vic as hiding his heart condition from the rest is quite accurate. He never wanted to be thought of as a frail old man, especially given his age. 50-60 is hardly frail old man territory and he somehow got it into his head that people would judge him that way and limit him from participating in things that might trigger a cardiac event, like stop him from taking part in the annual church fund raiser golf outing. Again, only his few close friends knew about his heart condition. The congregation knew that when he was 50 he became ill and was hospitalized but he never told the church exactly what the problem was and since he hid it afterwards, I imagine everyone assumed he was cured.

All in all Vic was a gentle soul whose faith and compassion were and still are an inspiration to me and to others who knew him. He was somewhat tortured by his psychic talent and his physical frailty and he sadly deprived himself of a larger support network by keeping secret those two facts. I also found it very sad that he ran a business where he saw people planning parties excitedly and never threw any of his own. Outside of church functions, that is. He didn’t really know enough people outside the congregation to have parties. I think he participated vicariously in the social lives of others in his shop.

His business was sold after his death. His brother is alive and living in Ohio, but had no interest in the store. Vic seemed to keep his family at a distance, physically and emotionally, hiding even from them the secrets he kept.

When he died and news of the incredible, terrible events in Rose Red became known following that weekend in 2001 the entire congregation was in shock and grief. We mourned him for many months, and I’ve enclosed a photograph of our church’s outdoor sign, where we usually advertise our service times, upcoming religious holidays, and our events. Instead this memorial message was by unanimous vote of the congregation displayed exactly this way for a full month after Vic’s death.

“Be not afraid, only believe” was his favorite Biblical phrase and a sort of mantra for him. Moreover, he used it to comfort those who were going through difficult times. Many’s a time I saw him put his arm around someone’s shoulders and say “be not afraid, only believe” in such a tender way.

I’ve taken enough of your time now but I thank you for indulging me in this walk down memory lane. I find my eyes growing misty even as I write this because I still miss Victor greatly. Few times in life do you meet someone with such compassion, such a love of life, and such a love of God. It’s my most fervent prayer that he is resting peacefully and not, as some suggest, trapped somewhere with tormented souls.

God bless you and all who have been affected by Rose Red.

Sincerely,

Anthony M. Russo

I thought that was a rather touching and poignant message. I am very happy to have gotten it, because I knew next to nothing about Vic. Now I feel rather sad for him, especially the idea that he lived the social lives of others vicariously through watching them plan and shop for party supplies in his store.

And the photograph he referenced is, as you may have figured out, above the e-mail.

Now moving forward to the letter Steve wrote. I won’t copy and paste it here since I have a copy of the letter in .PDF format. I’ll link you to that, so you can see it precisely as he designed it. I only made one alteration – I removed his personal contact information (and blurred it in his company logo). It’s not that I don’t trust you, but Steve’s still very famous in paranormal circles because he’s a Rimbauer, and once in a while that results in some undesirable contact.

View Steve’s letter here.

I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of response he generates. And, of course, I’m salivating (not as much as Sukeena, apparently) at the idea of finding new objects from the house that we can admire, and maybe learn a thing or two from…

I’ll let you know when replies start rolling in. But Steve has my gratitude for doing this, it’ll be his first major contribution to my work!

Posted in: Personal, Persons, Resources | |
Post tags: emery, pam, steve, sukeena, vic

10 Comments »

1. What a touching and inspiring story. Along with swapping cold germs. Peace!

   Comment by Linda — April 2, 2009 @ 8:23 am

2. Looks like Victor was an upstanding man. Thanks for sharing.

   Comment by Sam Servedio — April 2, 2009 @ 8:46 am

3. Besides giving each other a cold, this was a very nice tribute to Victor.

   Comment by ALS of Nevada — April 2, 2009 @ 8:50 am

4. Thank you everyone. I’m sure Anthony’s niece will relay your messages to him and he’ll be pleased! (And yes, swapping cold germs was a less pleasant element of today’s update…)

   Comment by Ally — April 2, 2009 @ 8:52 am

5. Enjoyed this whole post. Thanks for sharing!

   Comment by Solo Ad Explosion — April 2, 2009 @ 8:54 am

6. Very touching! Thank you so much for sharing. I enjoyed the story.

   Comment by Sadie — April 2, 2009 @ 4:54 pm

7. This was a very moving and inspiring story..except for the colds. Get better soon!

   Comment by Barbara — April 2, 2009 @ 7:47 pm

8. This is my first time to your blog and this post has me captivated. I can’t wait to read more. What a lovely letter about Vic. Mr. Russo really took a lot of time to write that with a lot of emotion.

   Comment by ConnieFoggles — April 2, 2009 @ 8:10 pm

9. [...] totally recovered. Add to that both Steve and myself still have lingering effects from that cold we shared last week, and I could be in for a rough remainder of the week – but it will have been so worth [...]

   Pingback by Unraveling Rose Red » Birthday & Rose Red Reunion Report — April 8, 2009 @ 12:49 pm

10. [...] coming soon: Pictures and info have been pouring in already in response to my letter to businesses who might have bought things at my family’s estate auction. Ally knows you love galleries, so [...]

    Pingback by Unraveling Rose Red » Ally Update, from Steve — April 25, 2009 @ 12:26 pm

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