Monday, August 27, 2007

new ghost story

the other day, I was hangin' out inside my apartment ~ attempting to deal with my monthly visitor

and I overheard my landlord (a man with whom I have very little personal rapport) comment outside, rather off-handedly, to his friend that he didn't think anyone ever even came into his open carport, as he's never found anything missing or out of place in all the time he's lived here, unlike inside his house where stuff seemed to move around all the time......

possibly I was just bored & possibly being bored may help, too ~ but I was *hit* with this whole story/scenario that filled in much "background" & context on my landlord's lifestyle......

two little boy 'ghosts' (I don't really make the distinction between ghosts ~ earthbound, non-physical entities & spirits ~ non-physical entities who are not trapped, just visiting for whatever reasons; although I do think think that the distinction is 'real') are attached to my landlord & they 'play' with him ~ often winding him up, until he bursts into into passionate & somewhat heated debates/harangues with the neighbors (also sometimes overheard by my roommates & I) ~ the ghosts like to 'feed' off this energy & although I don't think that my landlord is consciously aware of these ghost boys' mischievous pranks & feeding habits, I do think that he has some inkling of his ghostly companions, as he tends to be somewhat of a reclusive eccentric ~ I'm guessing that he assumes most others won't "get" or accept him ~ it's kinda too bad that he ignores me, as I do *love* a good eccentric & he may be happily surprised by my uber-accepting attitude, but again, I digress....

I couldn't get these two ghost boys out of my head, once they got in. They seemed a little surprised that I noticed them & were a bit protective of their relationship with my landlord, but also kinda happy for the attention ~ ghosts are said to 'feed' on the energy of attention ~ usually fear energy, but in my case I think it was just novelty ~ over a period of a few hours, I was able to pull more details out of my ass & put together more of a story.....

I'm going to ask one of my roommates, when he returns from his current business trip, to try & confirm or dismiss some of these details from my landlord, as he has a better friendly relationship with the guy.

I think one of the ghost boys is a dead childhood friend (who died as a child), or a dead brother, or cousin.
The other one is more like an ancestor, but also a child ~ or a really immature adult ~ I *picture* him in old-fashioned clothes.
They aren't malicious, but still kinda annoying even tho they are happily connected to the landlord guy ~ they are pleased with the 'arrangement' & 'prolly help him out in odd ways, too. They psychically bat my landlord around like they were playing badminton with him as the shuttle-cock ~ he's not 'harmed' by this, but I'm sure that it frustrates him from time to time. They think it's funny to tease him ~ very much in that school yard way that elementary age school kids are prone to.

I've personally found that when ghosts 'hide' physical objects around the house on me ~ they don't necessarily have to actually move the physical object (that is said to take lots of energy for the ghost to accomplish, but is possible) ~ more often, they just mess with the 'corners' of my perception ~ veiling what I'm looking for, or counter directing my attention away from said object ~ clouding my mind, distracting me ~ much like a stage magician/illusionist does, only ghosts have better access to the inner machinations of our heads (a skill that would make Penn & Teller VERY jealous, I'm sure!).

Well, that's the bulk of it.
I'd be happy to answer any questions that people may have as the further discussion on the topic may help to spark more specific details for me & maybe this will help me break the ice with this guy, so that I can talk further with him :)

love all-ways,
mem

update: I found out from my roommate that my landlord does, in fact, have a dead brother who died VERY young ~ but I still haven't gotten the chance to talk to my landlord about any of this, yet

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Mary Ellen Pleasant


I first heard about Mary Ellen Pleasant about 10 years ago, when I was living in San Francisco & dating a triple Pisces from New Orleans named Kirk Pleasant. Suffice to say, that a curious number of synchronicities all lined up & introduced the amazing story of this inspirational woman into my life......

Here are just a few highlights:

Mary arrived in rough an' ready San Francisco on April 7, 1852-- a place with about 40,000 people, 700 drinking and gambling establishments, and 5 murders every 6 days. There were six men to every woman. It was not a safe place, but Mary was up to the challenge. Once there, she was forced to use two identities to thwart capture under California's Fugitive Slave Act. Under this law anyone without freedom papers could be captured and sent into slavery. Mary had no papers. Still Mary, both as "Mrs.Ellen Smith" (white boardinghouse steward/cook) and as "Mrs. Pleasants" (abolitionist/entrepreneur) helped her people. As Mrs. Smith, she served the wealthiest and most influential men in San Francisco, and using their regard for her as well as the "LaVeaux model" of leveraging their secrets for favors, she was able to get jobs and privileges for "colored" people in San Francisco. It is said that for this they nicknamed her "The Black City Hall."
from http://www.mepleasant.com/story.html


The reason she is not better known today is probably because of the scandals of the late 19th century which began by dragging her name through the mud in the courts over another person’s dishonored marriage contract. This court battle between Sarah Althea Hill and William Sharon smeared Mary Ellen badly, but the job was finished later when Teresa Bell, Thomas Bell’s widow, sued Mary Ellen over Thomas’ estate. The house Mary Ellen had designed for Thomas Bell and herself became known as the “House of Mystery” and the peculiar arrangements with Thomas’ farce of a “marriage” were exposed and paraded through the courts though they had nothing to do with the battle at hand. It does show you what a black woman and a white man thought they had to do in that time and place to have a life under the same roof.

The Hill/Sharon battle and Sharon’s newspaper allies, publicly named Mary Ellen as a Voodoo priestess (which she may have been) but went on to say that she was a baby stealer, a baby eater, a multiple murderess, a madam, a lying, conniving, cunning, schemer, and maybe, worst of all, hung the epithet of “Mammy” upon her. All the press from the 1880’s and beyond was extremely negative to an aging Mary Ellen. She was quoted on more than one occasion as saying, “DON’T call me Mammy!”, a request too often ignored by friend and foe alike.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ellen_Pleasant


A few years later, after the Civil War and the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Mary Ellen Pleasant was able to drop her White persona and let everyone know that she was, in fact, African American. She provided financial assistance for Black people challenging the Jim Crow laws in California, and fought a legal battle to guarantee Black Californians the right to testify in court. In 1868 she brought a lawsuit against two San Francisco trolley car lines whose conductors had refused to allow her to ride. Her suit went to the California Supreme Court, where she won the right for all African Americans to ride the streetcars.

As Pleasant grew in power and influence, she attracted the attention of the media and various detractors, who began to refer to her as “Mammy Pleasant” behind her back. There were many rumors about her, concerning the way she obtained influence over San Francisco’s richest families—learning their secrets through African American servants whom she had helped to obtain the positions, then blackmailing the families, was something that many people thought she did. She was also said to practice voodoo to control people, and people claimed she had “hypnotic powers”. She ran a boardinghouse for her young female “protégés” who socialized with the wealthy and powerful men who knew Pleasant through business dealings; some accounts referred to her as a madam. Rumors circulated regarding mysterious deaths of several people connected with her, but she was never charged with a crime. In 1935 a San Francisco newspaper reported that a family acquaintance of Thomas Bell, the banker, swore before he died that Pleasant had given Bell drugged wine and pushed him over a banister to his death. Afterwards, Bell’s house was said to be haunted.

In any case, Mary Ellen Pleasant was one of the most influential women in San Francisco’s early history. She increased her fortune through speculation on mining ventures and investment in other businesses. Pleasant died in San Francisco at the age of 89. While accounts of her life are full of controversy, there is no question that she was a major force in San Francisco’s early days, and was the first powerful person to fight for the civil rights of Black Californians.
http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Mary%20Ellen.htm


Even though her house is no longer standing, the trees that she planted in front of where it stood are ~ I go & visit them, every so often.

love all-ways,
mem

Thursday, June 28, 2007

The World's Worst Ghost Hunter


It's me!

So the other night I'm hanging out with the caretaker of the Redwood Mosque that is next door to where I'm staying & he tells me that this whole place is sacred Native American land. We are having a few beers by this 'natural' pool (it's now lined with cement ~ although fish swim in it & a turtle popped it's head out to say "hi") that was once the gathering place for many local tribes who came to celebrate the special healing waters here. My new friend, Manuel, says that down in the town of Fairfax, some of the locals told him that this whole place is supposed to be 'haunted' & Manuel finds it quite psychically "crowded" himself ~ he says that he can't walk outside after dark without *seeing* something spooky.

I've felt nothing "unusual" since I started staying here in December! Although, I guess I'm used to "psychically crowded" places already ~ like my old apartments & my head!

My parents once rented an old house in Newport, RI for the summer that was on the local list of "officially haunted houses" in the area ~ I spent a few weeks there & felt nothing "unusual" either ~ although the place spooked both my brother & aunt. I'm up in the attic, at midnight, with a candle ~ attempting to make contact & I think the "ghosts" just laugh at me! They then 'appear' to other members of my family who are a bit more 'startled' by the sight.....

Am I 'trying' too hard? I don't know how to do anything else.... I just happen to 'like' ghosts & I guess that makes me somewhat 'immune' to their shenanigans..... sure, I've had a couple of 'sightings' ~ but so has everybody! It's difficult to find anyone who hasn't encountered a few 'unexplainable' things in their life ~ even if they don't count these things as actual "ghosts".

I've been told on a few occasions that I have more than the 'regular' amount of spirits hanging around me & that my aura is 'unusually bright' (one person told me that I could guide ships into SF Bay!). My ghost friend (one of the few that I've *seen*) told me that I was the brightest thing he'd seen in a while, when I told him to "go to the light".... the flatterer!

But now I'm kinda annoyed! I feel 'welcome' here ~ no 'bad feelings' or anything ~ but we could use a bit more excitement up in these woods! It's like there's a party on my block that I'm not *seeing*!

love all-ways,
mem

Monday, June 25, 2007

Discovering Astrology


I wrote this in response to a question & wanted to share......

> What do you mean that the world makes so much
> more sense to you after "discovering" astrology?


Well, I've got 6+ planets in the sign of Scorpio ~ which makes me very, very, very Scorpionic ~ it's like I'm a walking Scorpio textbook. During my childhood (up until I was like 23 I didn't know anything about astrology), I didn't understand why I seemed to "scare" other people more than seemed "reasonable"...... I mean, I knew my birthday was the day before Halloween & I was into punk music ~ but I was/am a more than "nice" person ~ helpful, considerate, etc. & yet somehow I kept freaking people out ~ without even trying to.... the fact that I have an Aries ascendant just compounded this "problem" ~ the Aries ascendant means that other people will see me as being more intimidating & pushy than I seem to myself.

Up 'till this point I thought that I was a bit "dysfunctional" but I couldn't figure out a "reason" why ~ my parents never divorced or abused me in any way that I could remember ~ I got good grades in school, wasn't deprived during my childhood, etc..... when I finally saw & had my chart interpreted ~ I realized that I wasn't "dysfunctional" ~ in fact, I was "highly functional" ~ no matter how much I tried to be "normal" & "fit in" it just wasn't supposed to happen.

Scorpios are attracted to the "dark side" of life. We are the sign that is most comfortable in the underground, back alleys & taboo places in life ~ the places that few other people even want to acknowledge is being there. No wonder I kept making people uncomfortable by just being me!

Also ~ as a born translator (my father is deaf & I was raised interpreting for him), astrology gave me a symbolic language to translate the reality I lived in into terms that were more "acceptable" and/or understandable to other people ~ who, for the most part, are not as Scorpio minded as I am.

Up until this point, I had assumed that everyone else "saw" the world the same way I did. It confused me a bit ~ the way that everybody else seemed to ignore things that were as obvious to me as the nose on my face ~ but hey, it's a free country & I just thought that other people had "reasons" for making the choices they did that they didn't care to share with me. It never occurred to me that most people didn't even see these things & that's why they didn't pay any attention to them and/or got all freaked out when I would bring stuff up in regular conversations. Scorpio is known for being extra-sensitive & having a highly focused eye ~ kind of like an eagle.

Once I learned the language of astrology ~ was like , "Oh! THAT'S the reason I experienced so-&-so!" ~ something that up until this point, science ~ the subject that I excelled in during school & my personal studies ~ had no "reasonable explanation" that could satisfy my almost obsessive curiosity & well developed research skills (other typical Scorpionic traits).

For example, I really thought that I was one of the minority who HADN'T been sexually molested as a child 'cuz so many people, usually within the first half hour or so of meeting me, would spill their guts about some horrible childhood abuse or another & I would listen, aware that this person really needed to get this off their chest & just tell someone ~ I had no idea that as a multiple Scorpio other people could just "sense" that I was the "right" person whom they could tell/unload to & that people who had dark, scary secrets to release are disproportionately "attracted" to me ~ this doesn't "normally" happen to other people. Well, it "normally" happened to me!

I hope all of this makes some sense to you & answers your question ~ thanx for asking!

love all-ways,
mem