The Adventures of Mom

As All Hallow’s Eve is upon us and all the spirits are supposed to be walking the earth… I read that somewhere in my youth… I used to think it was funny, the dressing up & all, but the market has made it scary & down right gruesome. I encourage my kids towards more role playing dress-ups- a butterfly & a train conductor… because I know the other side.. the creepy side, and it does not just happen on the night of the dead walking….Have you ever felt the residue of death? It lingers in the Colosseum in Rome, in the tower at Dover Castle, even in that little corner room at the Castillo De San Marcos in St. Augustine (If you’ve been there, you know the room I mean!). It walks the halls of Flagler College (again, St. Augustine), the grounds of Ringwood Manor, Hampton Court Palace, and countless numbers of cemeteries and historic structures around the world…except in India (where the living and the dead are a confusing one mix).

I had a ghost in my house in Greece. He was a friendly fellow, so I would not have ever called it a haunted house, though I suppose it really was. He woke me up at times, standing at the foot of the bed and used to hang out on the living room ceiling in one corner of the house- it drove the dog and visiting dogs crazy. It was years later that I found out that it was the landlady’s husband who had died while building the house.The spiritualist who came out with that said she (the landlady) had to let go of him so he could move on. I never found out if she did, as I moved on instead! The next house a group of Roman soldiers marched through one night. It only happened once, but I found out there was a Roman settlement near the house- go figure. My sister, Sue, also had a resident ghost in her Greek abode. Hers was not so nice. At first it just moved pictures & the bed- we joked about it, but then it got mad, threw things down the steps- the “Fist of God” novel was one of them. It scared off painters. After my sister passed away it became downright violent and Sue’s partner chose his time to find a new house. I had seen a chest with Nazi uniforms that was left by the landlord in the top part of the house and wondered if that had something to do with the angry spirit. Please keep in mind  two of these houses in which we lived were 400 years old, and there is no doubt traces of the past lingering around- either that or ghosts are more prevalent in Greece???

My own sister (Sue) passed away nearly a decade ago, and the one thing I knew I did not want to see was her as a ghost, as I knew I would freak out. However, I missed her (and still do) so much that I have wanted to see her again- and I do… She appears in dreams as her old self (before the chemo) and we travel in my dreams. I’ve seen an Egyptian Bazaar with her, went Christmas shopping in the mountains, and last time we were packing for an India long-haul, me laughing because she wanted to bring 16 outfits. I did have one dream we were at Epcot together, and on the off chance, told my mother, who, suprisingly, told me that on that very night (While Sue and I were in Epcot in my dream), Sue and Her were in the Magic Kingdom in her dreams!

So ghosts tonight be a walking- in some places more than others…sleep tight & Happy Halloween!

I saw Jesus the other day…well, it probably wasn’t Jesus, but it sure looked like it could have been him. Every morning I take my son to school, we pass a house on the way, and standing in the garden is a man with flowing grey locks and a beard to match. He usually wears a robe that looks like it came straight from the Atlas Mountains, but it probably came from Sears (I try not to spoil the illusion though). A cup of tea (maybe coffee) is clutched in his hand as he calmly surveys the garden around him. It is a Zen scene with religious serenity and every morning I pass it like a picture on the wall and smile. There is peace somewhere in the world.

I have passed a numerous amount of people in my life and travels, most I will never know their names or anything about them, but they have left an imprint on my soul.. Further down the same road as Jesus is a little oriental man with a fabulous garden. I’ve seen him, drinking tea as well, sat in a garden chair while his children (grandchildren?) perform jumping jacks in the drive, on another occasion, the same children were practicing kick boxing on a sack strung up between two posts, while he kept a watchful eye. Karate Kid come to life!

In the chaos of Covent Garden (London), a red headed women passed by wearing a black cape, black suede boots and a black fur hat. I never saw her face, but I could tell she was gorgeous. A Russian princess perhaps? Or a drama student late for her play?

In the South of France, I was waiting for a train, and camped on the train station floor was a colored man with painted dreadlocks and a top hat. He had two pretty girls beside him, dressed in half ballerina- half black biker clothes. His voice sounded like Luther Vandross (it was French and purring) Rock star or busker headed for Paris?

I could continue for hours- probable princes, might-be kings, runaway royalty, foreign spies…I even met myself once- or what I may have become, had I not taken on the MOM title. Life is so rich with characters around us- just open your eyes- look, listen, BE AWARE. It’s like walking through a novel. For now, I shall enrich my life with seeing Jesus every morning and enjoying my little slice of Zen.