Turn Around

A total eclipse of the sun is a once in a lifetime thing and all, and before I actually witnessed it, I was not sure that I understood all the hoopla about it.  Someone told me that the one hotel and at least one of the BnBs in town were entirely booked months ahead of time. They saw it in the local newspaper apparently. It was expected all through the path of the eclipse that there would be an influx of people coming in to witness and they did. There were streets blocked off and parties all over the place.  Here -- a man at the grocery store told me that his neighbor had rented out space in his back yard at $50/tent. The upcoming eclipse was all over social media and TV news programs. It became a "happening".  I began to appreciate that apparently, for a lot people, a total eclipse is a really big deal. Pre-eclipse me, on the other hand, figured it would get dark for a few minutes and then it would get light again. And that is exactly what happened, but... the thing is... it became a really big deal for me too.  It was more than I anticipated.  It was awesome and I shared the experience with most special people and that made it even better. Bonus.  The gradual darkness, the sounds and the stillness, the excited voices off in the distance, the slow return to bright sunlight ... sort of a fresh start somehow.  

Also note worthy though - at least to me -- is the scientific explanation and random speculation about the meaning of it all. Science teachers, at all levels from elementary school through the graduate level had a heyday with the opportunity to explain and teach. I am happy for them. Interesting info there.  I read reports and listened to interviews. Good stuff.  I also read speculation about portals opening and still can’t understand what people are thinking, and there were other sorts of unusual (some might even say weird) things too. In addition -- on a most serious level, there were those who wondered about Biblical prophecy as well and had come to believe that the world would end in those few moments.  I hope they were not too disappointed that it did not.  At my age I have lost count of the number of times that some have predicted the end of the world. 

Perhaps people just need to have something different, extraordinary once in a while and, when it has passed, simply know that they will come out the other side of it just fine. I think people also relish an amazing shared experience that was unanticipated. I am thankful for it.

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The thing is, after all is said and done and looking back on the pre-eclipse me, I am also wondering what is the matter with me? In anticipation of the eclipse, I had a song from the 80's replaying in my head.  Remember Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? I think of it as the "Turn Around" song.  Then as I watched news coverage from Indianapolis where NASA had set up one of their fancy telescopes, that song was playing loudly in the background and the newscaster even mentioned it.   What?  Are you singing it right now?  

Part III: Unexplainable, but interesting...

I look back now to my growing up as a mix of moving a lot and of unusual experiences mixed in with a lot of normal.   Maybe the early not so normal experiences were, in some way, a preparation for what was to come. Time passes. The business of life can sometimes be a bit overwhelming and one tunes out some things. It’s a matter of survival. Moving now to more current and in many ways better and easier times -- I started to notice “out of the ordinary things” a few years after I had settled into my new home which I had built in 2001 and where I still live now twenty never boring years later.  A case in point -- one grandson, when very young, was talking about things that he had no way of knowing – odd things really.  I asked him how he knew whatever it was that he was talking about, and he told me that my friend had told him – the one I had the photo of on my dresser at that time.  Now that was understandable to me as I had lost a good friend a few years prior to my grandson’s arrival, and it only made sense to me that he might be communicating with him is some way.  Further -- I think this friend might also have been communicating with my granddaughter even before she could talk. She would look up, smile, listen and laugh at someone no one else could see.  It was later, when she could talk, that one day, reaching her limit in patience, she blurted out to a someone/something no one else could see, “Stop tapping me on the head!”  It was at that "enough now" moment that I decided to begin paranormal research of the property including my barn and on what has become known rather tentatively, yet fondly, among family members, as “the creepy corner” inside the house itself.  

And so, it began – a series of mediums, psychics and a team of ghost hunters who liked to come to my land, barn and home to test new equipment.  Why?  – because there is so much activity here. (Actually, I think the ghost hunters would prefer to be called Paranormal Investigators. Sorry.  The ghost hunter thing just slipped out.) Anyway – they think my property is a wonderful place for exploring the unknown. For me that is a dubious compliment, but we have had rather amazing experiences in my home and barn…and on my land – especially in one garden where one medium told me not to dig too deeply. (How creepy is that?). Conformation of this is that one of my dearest friends, who has the gift of intuition and mediumship, has told me more than once that when she comes into my home, she doesn’t know if “they” are all waiting for her, or if she brings them with her.  (How does one respond to something like that?)

Activity is sometimes so commonplace that my granddaughter, for a period of time, would mention casually that Nanny (that’s me) has a portal in her kitchen. That is how some of the expert opinions explained it all.  The was a time when my granddaughter tended to speak of this to visitors when they dropped by. These people were often total strangers to her, but I guess she thought they should know - especially if they were standing on the spot that one investigator had designated as the portal area. (I think of that often when standing there while making toast.) Imagine, for a moment if someone indicated that you were standing on a portal.... Anyway -- she would mention it as if the portal were a point of interest like one might point out hand painted wallpaper or even something more commonplace and not at all exceptional. I actually have no idea how many people she shared this with. Eventually I mentioned to her that some people may find the idea of a portal to be a bit unnerving … that perhaps we should keep the portal business within the family for now. Portals are not good Show and Tell topics.  She gets it now a few years later – now that she is a grown-up 10-year-old.  For a while though -- after our "talk", she whispered the world portal when talking about Nanny’s house – much like my Mom used to whisper the word cancer.  What can I say? I have to admit that I did find the whole thing amusing.  Both my nearby grandkids take it pretty much in stride these days. They have grown up with it. Things have been relatively calm of late and the last time there was an unexplainable loud noise in the kitchen, my grandson and I just looked at each other and shrugged.  It was a bonding, but “there they go again” kind of moment.

Anyway – the consensus of the experts I invited to explore the situation -- mediums (3), psychic (1) and the ghost busters (an entire team, who came several times) is that there is nothing negative or dangerous going on here.  The "entities" (is that a euphemism?) seem to be passing through (perhaps sometimes utilizing the aforementioned portal in my kitchen). It is the land, actually) that is the basis of activity. Part of my home just happens to be sitting on that land.  There is also a lot of activity in my small barn. Lucky me.  Further -- the collective opinion is that there is a strong Native American presence as well as other spirits hanging around, but it is important, I think, not to discount the possibility of a residual haunting presence of runaway slaves. Whoever they are - I live with them.  They don’t bother me at all except for the pipe tobacco smell now and again. I don't like anyone smoking in my house. The occasional tapping, knocking, bells ringing, or gentle brush on my face that feels like spider webs is nothing I can’t handle. I do find that guests are sometimes not so easy-going about the taps which, sometimes, are more grabby than tappy. I don't get a lot of company.

Things that bother me more are of an electrical nature like the TV coming on in the middle of the night, but that has only happened once… so far.  It was startling - blaring actually. I thought there were people arguing in my living room, and I didn’t invite them. Scary.  Then again there is the fact that my son, when visiting one time, refused to sleep in the back bedroom after a rather impressively firm grab on a leg.  Now that he brings his dogs, (yes – plural wagging tails), things seem to have quieted down in that room… the hangers in the one closet have stopped rattling and nothing has grabbed him in the dark --- recently.  Point of interest -- that same grabbing thing happened to my nephew’s wife. They haven’t been back to visit since then. Actually - now that I think of it, they did come back once since then, but they stayed at the local Cobblestone Inn.  Anyway -- the level of activity varies.  Another grandson once mentioned that it sounded like someone was preparing an entire meal in the kitchen in the middle of the night. The sounds woke him up and kept him awake. He hasn't come for a visit in quite a while. 

These kind of things affect people differently. Denial is real.  My son-in-law was, until a couple of years ago, a total sceptic.  Then he heard voices in the room near the kitchen where he was washing up a few things, and he realized that everyone was outside – including the kids. Then when these “entities” leaned in and began to whisper in his ear, he joined the rest of us outside on the patio -- immediately, and of course, had to share the story of his conversion from a sceptic to a believer -- complete with his wonderful sense of humor. He is an outstanding story teller. His goose bumps were most impressive.  He says now though that nothing whispered to him, but that is not how I remember it.  My daughter-in-law, however, is still a bit on skeptical side, even though I have seen her react to a presence. Actually, everyone in the room saw her turn to look as if she had been tapped on the shoulder. I think I may have heard her say "What?". Those kinds on taps are pretty routine “stuff” around here.   Those in the “fam” are quite used to it. We hope that she will join the rest of us soon.  Her level of hope for that? Well - maybe not so much, but she is a good sport about the whole "thing".

 

But – there is more….