Vicki is walking the streets of gold

On Saturday, December 3, 2022, at 3:45pm, Vicki O’Neal made her great ascent through heaven’s gates – four months after being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.

As a life-long follower of Jesus, Vicki passionately shared her faith to every person she met. Vicki’s spiritual calling was working with the elderly and held tremendous joy in helping those in need. 

Vicki was also an outdoor enthusiast who enjoyed gardening. She had a green thumb that could revive the most hopeless of plants. When not in her garden, Vicki would road-trip and often visited the West Coast. Her heart flourished on the beach where she collected unique rocks and shells. 

While on her adventures, Vicki wrote about her many life experiences through an online blog and as a free-lance journalist for a local newspaper. In preservation of Vicki’s memory, please visit the website, http://vickioneal.com, to view her stories.

She was born October 23, 1961 at Superior, WI to Wilbur and Irma Last and is survived by her children, Karissa Skirmont of Omaha, NE, and Mystia Skirmont of Omaha, NE.  She was preceded in death by her mother Irma Last, only weeks before.

A memorial service is to be announced. No viewing or visitation as she has been cremated.

Instead of flowers, we ask to please give a donation to your local organization in the name of Vicki O’Neal.

Her daughters Karissa & Mystia are handling arrangements. Cards can be sent to 528 N 32nd Street Omaha, NE 68131.

Condolences can be left below and would love to hear stories of how you met Vicki or a fond memory.

Advertisement

Update: The Loon and the Lunatic is on now TV!

My “Loony video” aired today on a TV Show called: “Right this Minute!” 🙂

I don’t know how it happened… but 2 different agencies saw my video on YouTube — and they both contacted me. Then one agency worked out a deal with my daughter, Karissa—who is my “business manager”—and within 24 hours, it aired on their show while their panel reviewed the Rescue.

Watch it on: http://www.rightthisminute.com/post/rtmtv-hey-looney-bird-dont-bite-hand-frees-you

“A loon rescue in Eureka, California turns into an attack on a Good Samaritan. While walking on the beach, Vicki O’Neal came across a loon tangled up in fishing line. She decided to free the bird, but that seemingly easy rescue turned into a 10-minute struggle.
The unappreciative bird bit scratched and kicked at Vicki. All we can hear are Vicki’s screams as she pleads with the bird to cooperate. Despite its stubbornness, Vicki was able to free the loon. She originally posted the rescue video on Facebook.”

“From My Heart to Yours….” (A strange but true story!)

<i

If you have no faith and you refuse to believe in “miracles”—then don’t bother reading this testimony, because you won’t believe it. But this really happened to Me today! And there are several people who can vouch for it! :

July 23: For some reason, God always deals with me at the Beach…and today was no exception! I was walking along in my big sunhat, feeling a bit sorry for myself because I had no friend to accompany me…No one but the Lord, of course!

“Jesus,” I prayed silently. “I’m sad. Can You at least give me a nice heart-shaped rock to show me that You love me? Surely You can do that for me, Jesus!?”

I walked on, mumbling and grumbling a bit beneath my breath—feeling lonely and pitiful.

I searched the seashore carefully, then sighed and was ready to give up when suddenly I noticed someone approaching me from the side.

It was a stranger—one of the other beachcombers. She came up to me as if she’d known me all her life, and held out her hand. “From my heart to yours!” she said, handing me a stone that she’d just found.

I gaped at it, stunned. It was a heart-shaped rock! I managed to mumble a few words before the woman wandered away with her head down—looking for more rocks.

I walked on in a daze—-all the way down the beach.

Somehow, Jesus had managed to comfort me and chastise me gently—all at the same time. He was showing me that He loved me–and that I was NOT alone.

But how in the world did He get a stranger to do that—just when I needed it most?

I pondered and I wandered. At last, I stopped walking.
I had to know the rest-of-the-story!
____________________________________________

I turned around and began retracing my steps until I found the woman further down the shoreline. I recognized her immediately. She was standing there talking to another woman who was wearing a big sunhat.

They both looked at me expectantly when I approached.

“Excuse me,” I said to the first woman–the one who had handed me the rock. “I just wanted to thank you for giving me the Heart-Rock because I really needed it and—-”

She was staring at me blankly, without recognition in her eyes. She shook her head. “I didn’t give you a rock…!” she said.

I was perplexed. I turned to the other woman—the one in the sunhat. “Did you give me the rock?”

She just shook her head, looking totally bewildered as well.

Something was very wrong. I felt like I’d entered the Twilight Zone.

“Look here,” I says. “I know I’m not crazy. One of you walked up to me and handed me this rock and said: ‘From my Heart to yours!'”
Slowly, a light began to dawn in the first woman’s eyes.

“Oh!” she said. “That must have been me! But I thought I was giving it to my sister here,” she said, indicating the woman in the sunhat.

Then she frowned and shook her head. “How in the world did I do that? Well…I guess it’s because she’s wearing a sunhat too, and is about your size. I got the two of you mixed up!”

Her frown turned to a smile. “Anyway….” she said. “I THOUGHT I was giving the Heart-Rock to my sister, Vic—”

“Vic…? Did you say ‘Vic”? ” I said interrupting her. My Twilight Zone had just deepened. My brain felt like it couldn’t handle any more surprises. “Your sister’s name is ‘Vic’…? But that is MY name too!”

It was too ironic. Too unbelievable. My brain was in a whirl and so was theirs! We all started to laugh.

“So—” I said when we all got done laughing.
“What happened is—you gave the Heart-Rock to the wrong Vic….!”
Then I corrected myself. “No…actually—you gave it to the RIGHT Vic—you just didn’t know it!”

We all burst out laughing again. The irony was too much.

___________________________________________

How the Lord does what He does, is just beyond comprehension! And He does it so easily—even though it leaves us befuddled.
Sometimes you just have to Laugh! There’s nothing else to do.

We might be confounded, but our Lord Jesus Christ is never confused. He takes care of millions of similar situations every day. He has His plans and ironies all laid out ahead of time.

We just have to trust Him to take care of us—whether it’s big things or small… He’s got it all under control. He does these “little miracles” to build up our faith for greater miracles just ahead.

There’s one thing that is for certain, Folks…..
Jesus has a wonderful sense of humor.
There is no doubt about that!

Bird Rescue – The Loon and the Lunatic

Through this unfortunate bird, God taught me a BIG lesson at the beach yesterday… and I shall never forget! The Lord always gives me “object lessons”—and this had to be one of the best! I share it with you now.

>>> Yesterday, I was not very happy with God. As usual, I went to the beach to hash things out with Him. As I walked along the shore, I told Him how dreadful things were going down here on the planet.

“The world is deranged and getting worse by the day! And you aren’t doing much to help us! You are so Big and Powerful—but you let us struggle so horribly! When will you DO something, Lord? So many people are struggling and hurting and in such terrible trials! Why don’t you intervene, God?”

Now normally–the Lord is pretty tolerant of me….but yesterday I could sense His displeasure. I was just too upset to care!

You see—right now the Lord has me “trapped” He has told me that I must leave the City of Eureka, CA—and I have been preparing to do just that!….but now He won’t give me final permission to leave! He is testing my faith to the MAX. I have been “dangling” for weeks now, and I’m not happy about it. I feel foolish. Humiliated. And very frustrated.

So here I was walking along, hashing it out with God… And suddenly, I came upon this unfortunate bird. He was flopping on the beach with fishing line wrapped around his beak and his feet—and worse yet, he had a huge fish hook buried in his chest. He was pitiful and quite helpless.

My heart broke for the little feller, and I immediately went into action. For some crazy reason, I put my cellphone nearby and turned on the video camera—thinking it would only take a minute or two to loose him.

Well. I struggled for almost 10 minutes, and the results were horrendous. I got got sand in my eyes…and I was bitten and mistreated horribly for my efforts. I was this bird’s “Saviour”, but he didn’t appreciate me at all!

Yes—I was “big and all-powerful”….but all my efforts seemed in vain, because he couldn’t comprehend what I was doing for him…and he refused to cooperate in any way!

In the midst of the chaos, I learned a huge lesson. I won’t belabor the point. I’m sure you understand what God was saying to me!

He is a wonderful teacher!
And He knows just how to get a point across to His foolish children!
🙂

__________________________________________________________

See the rescue here:

Update #1: The Loon and the Lunatic is on now TV!

Update #2: The Full Story of “The Loon and the Lunatic”

Sweet Summer Sojourn

Having kids makes us sentimental and a bit loopy. As babies, they weave themselves into our very souls…and we don’t know what to do when they grow up and get on with their lives. It ain’t easy being a Parent.

My youngest daughter came to visit me in NorCal for the summer. She is my princess—my baby—a Senior at a College in Omaha….A spirited 22-year-old College Kid who drove across five states to see her Ol’ Mom on the West Coast. 2000 miles of white-line fever…Endless Wyoming. The saltflats of Utah. The grimness of a Nevada desert highway. It’s a real feat for a hardened traveler like me—let alone a College Kid.

My daughter wasn’t daunted. “I made it just fine,” Mystia said, upon arrival. “I have my GPS!”

She had other electronic wonders hidden in her Smartphone, as well. She put them to good use—taking candid video clips of me living my daily life. She shared them on Social Media. Her friends responded with gales of laughter that echoed across Cyberspace. I have no idea what’s so funny.

Immediately upon arrival, Mystia took over my bedroom….my dressers, my cabinets, my bed, and my breathing space. Retreating to the couch, I look on bemused. I tolerate her gladly–paying dearly for the privilege of being a mom.

It ain’t easy being a Parent.

My bulging closet full of clothes had to be examined, and most items were dismissed as obsolete. She helped me organize a Yard Sale and we sold a few of my things—a feat that she thought remarkable—considering what we had to work with.

Mystia joined a gym and insisted that I sign up for a membership as well. She put me through a series of rigorous exercises and tortures especially designed to strengthen my half-century old muscles. I groaned my way through it. The toning, the workouts, the warm-ups…the cool-downs. It hasn’t done much for my body, but it has improved the relationship with my daughter considerably. She’s quite proud of me…At least for the moment.

I wanted to share with Mystia the glories of the West Coast. But within days of her arrival, it seems that our Pacific Paradise has gone completely wacky. I took her to my favorite stretch of coastline, hoping to find sand-dollars. Instead, we found a beachful of dying jellyfish, dead birds and rotting seals.

“What’s going on?” I said. “It’s never been like this before!”

“It’s my fault,” Mystia sighed. “I’ve brought with me the curse of death.”