A Flutterby Day Journey

Demons Ghosts Goose Bump

2006-10-05T00:11:00.000-05:00

Posted on Wed, Oct. 04, 2006
Demons, ghosts and goose bumps? All in a day's work
Three local paranormal investigators talk about how a simple interest
turned into a lifestyle. What do you believe?
By Nikki M. Mascali Weekender Staff Writer

When it comes to ghosts and paranormal activity, people either believe
or they don't.
Maybe some have had experiences where they've had a feeling that
something was near them, the hair on the back of their neck stood up, or
they suddenly got a chill up their spine. Or maybe some have actually
seen apparitions with their own eyes.

With ghost hunting, there's much more to it than just going out looking
for ghosts, and there certainly aren't any séances. And often, even if
someone is actually a ghost hunter, chances of actually seeing a ghost
are pretty slim.
"Some people think that you have this epiphany, I never did, it was just
curiosity," said Kevin Tersavige, director of the Central PA Paranormal
Research Association (CPPRA), when asked how he got interested in the
paranormal 19 years ago. "My parents are second generation Ukrainian and
they still carry the legends and stories about ghosts and things like
that. I was just intrigued by those stories and thought that I'd like to
see if there is really something out there."

Tersavige got his start in the way one might imagine: by going to
cemeteries. When people heard he was interested in the craft, his phone
started ringing. "I got involved in my first house (investigation) , and
then it just blossomed. I needed more people to go with me, so I started
recruiting people that were interested."
CPPRA, in existence for the nine years, is based out of Danville and
includes four chapters throughout the state. At last count, Tersavige
said the group has 80 members.

"That makes us the largest investigative team in Pennsylvania, " he said.
And investigate they do, from residences to universities to demonic
infestations. According to Tersavige, this year alone they have
investigated five demonic infestations alone. Usually, the yearly
average is about one.
"They are really starting to climb a lot," he said.
While each member brings their own specialty to the group, be it audio,
video or computers, Tersavige is trained in demon cases, along with 10
other members of this subgroup within CPPRA. He explained that the
demonologist from the Anglican Church contacts the group to do the
documentations of the events before the demonologist actually steps in.

"We do the initial investigation, and then they decide if it does
warrant a cleansing or an exorcism. When they need to intervene, we
document those procedures," he said, adding that such encounters are
just as nasty as they sound.
CPPRA has three psychic investigators, but they are never included on
any demonic activity cases. Tersavige explained that the demons could
have the psychic's use their gifts against themselves.

"They'll start to see things that they don't want to see, and the demons
will try to terrorize them," he said. And if that's not enough to
conjure up images of "The Exorcist" and have you screaming for the
nearest well lit place, Tersavige also told us about his one – and
only – apparition sighting at Mansfield University.
"I'll tell you, you'll never forget for the rest of your life when it
happens," he laughed.
According to Tersavige, the group was called in to investigate a
possible haunting in the university's library, which he informed us was
once a girl's dorm where a girl either committed suicide or fell
accidentally from the sixth floor to the lobby.

"They were having problems in the library with people seeing an
apparition of a woman. Doors would slam, books would move, disembodied
voices, footsteps … people being touched," Tersavige said.
He and his lead psychic investigator, Jo Soltow (who happens to be his
fiancée), were sitting at the librarian's desk on the third floor at 2
a.m. when Soltow covered her eyes and said, "We are going to see
something here, and I really don't want to see it." Tersavige then asked
what was wrong.

"I looked up - there was a girl standing about six to eight feet away
from me. She had her hair in a bun and a ruffled collar and was smiling
at me, but she had no lower torso," he stated.
As a ghost hunter with a camera in his hands for documentation of such
happenings, Tersavige froze. "It felt like half an hour, but it was only
maybe 10 seconds that she was there," he said.

Not only is Tersavige a ghost hunter, he is also a teacher to ghost
hunter wannabes. There is an American Legion outside of Danville that he
takes students to as a training tool, because it is ripe with paranormal
activity. The Legion had been a stagecoach stop in the 1850s and, during
the Civil War, it was a hospital and asylum.

"It's very playful," he said of the haunting nicknamed Captain Jack. The
Legion actually has four hauntings, but Jack is the dominant one - and
the Captain likes the ladies.
"If I take a class, there's always one woman that gets her rear-end
pinched or he strokes their hair," Tersavige said, adding Jack also
picks out the weakest link of the group. "He'll manifest something they
don't want to see just to scare them, almost like he gets the giggles
from it," he said.

While that might scare future hunters or anyone planning on visiting a
Legion anytime soon, Tersavige is quick to add that haunters can't
follow you home unless they are invited.
"It might tag along for a little while though, almost like a power
thing. But, our basic rule when we leave a house is to say 'Stay here,'"
he said.
Not a job, but a hobby
Most ghost hunters are not paid to do such – they all have day jobs
and/or families and any investigations or research they do are done on
their own time, using their own self-bought equipment. This includes
DVR's, low light surveillance cameras, and electro-magnetic field
detectors, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

And the thrill of the hunt stems from that basic curiosity of the
unknown.
Robin Luchko and her husband Tom Fritz, founding members of the Dickson
City based Society for Paranormal Research and Investigation (SPRI),
have been interested in the paranormal for the last 15 years, though
SPRI came into existence in July 2005. SPRI has 53 active members, 10 of
which are actual investigators. One doesn't have to be an investigator
to be involved.

"It became a thing we were both kind of interested in," said Fritz, when
talking about how he and Luchko got started. The two have been
interested enough to even have their hobby influence their vacation
plans for the last 10 years.
"Instead of going to the beach, we decided to pick a historical
destination to go to that has a history of a paranormal past and see
what was there," Fritz said, rattling off such impressive locales as the
vaults under Edinburgh, Scotland; Loch Ness; Salem, Massachusetts; New
Orleans and his personal favorite, Stonehenge.

"To me, it was great because even though you were outside around the
stones, it had the feel of a church. The very next day we went to
Westminster Abbey, and though it was a church, it felt like a
dancehall," Fritz said.
As for NEPA sites, Fritz doesn't have any favorite famous location
haunts (pun intended) or even those that have a haunted past, though
last year, they visited Andy Gavin's (Washington Ave., Scranton).
"It's said to have been haunted since at least '88 when the owner took
it over," Fritz said. "We got a little bit of what we thought might be a
resident ghost, not enough to say for sure. It's worth going back."

The investigation of Andy Gavin's, as well as other cases, are
documented on their website ( www.spriparanormal. com), which also
includes information on how to become a member, the equipment used and
member profiles.
Surprisingly, in all their years of interest in the unknown, Luchko and
Fritz do not have many pictures depicting paranormal activity.
"[As for] the famous 'orbs,' I would say that more than 999 out of a
thousand are just something normal - a reflection, water droplets,
something like that," Fritz said, adding that though he is a skeptic, he
does leave room for a paranormal possibility. "Robin's opinion differs
from mine, which is good, because we have a lot of different backgrounds
and opinions. The more people you have thinking about it, the better. A
lot is your own belief. We are just looking to prove it."

Fritz does believe in the concept of their longtime hobby, but he has
not had a paranormal experience, while Luchko has had a few occurrences.
"I've had a few odd things happen, not that I could say that they were
actually paranormal, they were abnormal, but no definitive proof
unfortunately, " she said.
Part of fact finding for proof is researching past deeds, lot numbers,
or owners of the houses or businesses SPRI investigates, which Luchko
loves to do. "I could spend days just researching, " she laughed. As for
demons, SPRI has not been involved in any infestations, but Fritz
explained that a demonic haunting is a non-human spirit, not someone who
has died, but a spirit who is attached to hell or the devil that has
never existed in this plane - another thing Fritz said is up to personal
belief.

"There are evil humans who have haunted, but there are also demonic
haunts," he said, adding that one of his clients was actually having an
issue with one of those situations, but they have not been able to prove
it yet. "Through her testimony and what has happened to her, including
physical attacks, that's what we believe has been going on," he said.
If that doesn't induce goose bumps, anyone interested in ghost hunting
should know that SPRI is a strict believer in the buddy system. No one
is ever alone on an investigation, partly so they don't get spooked and
partly to make sure that there is a witness to whatever might or might
not happen.

"Once you actually go on an investigation, it's more scientific, more
than anything else," Luchko said. "Once you actually get into it and are
watching the equipment, reading the numbers and paying attention to
things, it kind of changes it for you."
When asked where they would love to be able to investigate, Fritz was
quick with is reply: the White House.

"Past leaders of the world have spent the most influential years of
their lives in that building," he said, adding that a popular theory of
ghost hunters, with the exception of a tragic death, is that most haunts
occur at a place and time people felt the most happy or connected.
"So I can see, for presidents, the White House being the place to be."
w
go:

• Central PA Paranormal Research
Association: Contact Kevin Tersavige for more information on seminars
or to request an investigation, visit www.pa-paranormal. com
or email him at kevters@hotmail. com

• Society for Paranormal Research & Investigation: Contact Robin
Luchko
and Tom Fritz for information about becoming a member or to request and
investigation at www.spriparanormal. com or
email info@spriparanormal.com
Story

Poltergeist may haunt

2006-10-04T23:20:00.000-05:00

Poltergeist may haunt city bar
10/4/06

A BAR in York's city centre is to be investigated for ghostly goings-on,
which may be malevolent, before Halloween.
Preparations are well under way for the city's annual festival of the
paranormal.
The highlight of this year's spine-chilling festival will be a
paranormal investigation of Thomas's Bar, in Museum Street, York.

Rachel Lacy, York's Ghost Finder General, said: "We have had reports of
hauntings about this property, but to our knowledge it has never been
investigated, so our overnight investigation will be the first one ever
done.
"It's a place that has regularly had strange goings-on for the last 30
or 40 years - nothing spectacular, but things moving around, which could
indicate poltergeist activity."

The psychically- attuned may already know it - but if not, the third York
Ghost Festival will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 27 and 28.
Spirit-ridden York can be a pretty frightening place - lurking in its
snickets lie hundreds of spooky inhabitants, according to research
conducted in 2002.

The Ghost Research Foundational International recorded 504 hauntings
when it inspected the city.
Other fright-filled events are in the pipeline - but still remain
shrouded in mystery.
Last year's festival lasted an entire week in celebration of the 400th
anniversary of Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot.

This time round, though, the organisers have cut the festival down to
two days of concentrated ectoplasmic activities.
Ghost Finder General Lacy added: "We get a good mix of people in every
year. Many are locals, wanting to know more about the hauntings of the
city - after all, how can you live in such a haunted city and not want
to know more? But we also get visitors from further afield.

Last year people came from across the Pennines and even as far away as
Portsmouth - obviously ghosts are big business!"

For more information, the festival's website has just gone live at
www.yorkghostfestiv al.co.uk.
Tickets for all the events will be on sale there tomorrow.

7:35am Wednesday 4th October 2006

By Tom Stirling
Story

Baltimore Ghosts... Look Out
It's Halloween all year long for some local ghost-hunters!
GhostStoryHere

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) October 4, 2006 -- It's that time of year again.
Although the Christmas decorations are already displayed to some degree,
the prominent locations in the stores for the month of October are
reserved for the spookiest time of year – Halloween! Monsters,
jack-o'-lanterns and ghosts are everywhere you look and the 31st is
still weeks away. The average person may feel a bit overwhelmed by All
Hollow's Eve but some think it may not be enough.

"Ghosts do not just come out on Halloween," claims author and ghost
hunter Vince Wilson. "This may be the time the media gives it the most
attention, but we get reports on hauntings and paranormal phenomena all
year long."
Vince Wilson has dedicated his life to the world of the strange and the
unusual. Not only is the founder of the Baltimore Society for Paranormal
Research (www.bsprnet. com) he is the president of the Paranormal
Investigators Coalition (www.marylandparano rmal.com) and the owner of
the Mysterious Maryland Tour Company (www.mysteriousmd. com). Somewhere
along the line he even managed to write two books.

"Ghost Tech is about the technology that ghost researchers use to find
the disturbances that ghosts create in a given environment. Ghost
Science explores the theories behind what ghosts or spirits are. For
years skeptics have used science against the existence of life after
death. My colleagues and I are asking the question, 'If ghosts exist,
how.' To us, the evidence is overwhelming, " he said.

According to Wilson reports of ghostly happenings shouldn't be anymore
scrutinized than Francis Scott Key's observation of the Battle of Fort
McHenry. "What is history after all," asks Wilson, "than eyewitness
accounts? Why do we take it for granted that certain historical events
actually happened based on eyewitness, but someone says they see a ghost
and they get labeled a liar or a nut."

Vince Wilson and his colleagues, fellow author Rosemary Ellen Guiley,
vice-president of the Paranormal Investigators Coalition Jaime Lee
Henkin and video/photography expert and Director of Operations Robbin
Van Pelt have been investigating reports of the paranormal together
since 2001. Each has had an interest in the supernatural long before
that.

When he's not hosting ghost tours at Edgar Allan Poe's gravesite or
doing haunted overnight excursions Wilson is out with Guiley, Henkin and
Van Pelt investigating homes and businesses. With dozens of
investigations under their belts they are without doubt the most
experienced and professional group of ghost investigators in Maryland.

###
Contact Information
Vince Wilson
http://www.maryland paranormal. com
410-558-6224

Mysterious news spooks group of ghost hunters
10/04/06

Mystery surrounds an announcement that a group of ghostbusters who
investigate spooky happenings in the Sudbury area are about to disband.
Founding members of North East Essex Ghost Hunters were shocked when
people called them to say they were sad to hear the club was closing. A
call from Great Waldingfield village hall to say they were sorry the
club would not be meeting there anymore further added to the group's
concerns.The final nail in the coffin came when David Turner and wife
Tina heard letters in their name had been sent out saying the club was
closing."We are categorically not disbanding the group â€" in fact
we are going from strength to strength."The source of the rumour remains
a mystery, although ghostly-goings- on have been ruled out."It seems,
especially with the letters sent out, that someone is maliciously trying
to undermine the group," said Mr Turner.

"The world of paranormal research is a small one and things can get
competitive, but I do not know who started this rumour."In a letter seen
by the Free Press, someone, claiming to be Mr and Mrs Turner, said the
club was closing due to unforeseen circumstances and because of
scepticism within the group.In the past the group have investigated the
Olde Bull in Sudbury, St Mary's Church in Chilton, Little Hallingbury
Mill in Stansted, the Swan Hotel in Lavenham and the King's Head in
Great Cornard. Ade Rose-Belcher, landlord of the King's Head, said:
"They were very professional, had all the right kit and presented me
with a report after their investigation. "They said the pub was
definitely worth further investigation, although on the night they found
no evidence of paranormal activity. But there was a lot of evidence of
orbs, which they said could be pre-manifestations of a spirit."Mr
Rose-Belcher added two mediums had experienced paranormal events and he
and previous landlords had felt the presence of ghostly forms."

Glasses have been smashed without anyone near them, tables have been
lifted when mediums are here and I have felt someone walk past when
no-one was there."He added it was thought the spectres might be the
owners of the pub before it became a Greene King property."They owned it
for over 100 years. The feeling you get is a very positive one and the
place it is strongest is in the restaurant which used to be the family's
private lounge."He added one landlady had even come downstairs once to
ask when the children were going to bed as she had heard voices coming
from the (totally empty) restaurant area.paul.holland@ sudburytoday. co.uk

04 October 2006

FullStory

2006-09-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

Have you Forgotten?

2006-09-11T05:39:00.000-05:00

American Soldier Video...

Mystery of a missing sub

2006-09-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

Posted on Tue, Sep. 05, 2006
Mystery of a missing sub
WWII sailor lost at sea, but residents feel spirit By Jim Carney
Story
Sixty-four years after sailor Paul Patrick Sullivan was lost at sea, new
chapters in his story continue to be written. Sullivan's tale is not
simply a war story about an Akron man who left home to join the Navy and
died when his submarine disappeared in World War II.

It is a ghost story, and a saga of love, loss and reunion. Sullivan
joined the Navy after graduating from Garfield High School in 1933. In
1940, he married Norma Wolff, who grew up next door to him on Neptune
Avenue in Firestone Park.
He became a pharmacist's mate 1st class. On July 31, 1942, his
submarine, the USS Grunion, disappeared off the coast of a
Japanese-occupied island in the Aleutian chain of Alaska.
The sub had confronted a Japanese freighter before sinking, taking the
Grunion's 69 crew members with it.

After Sullivan's death, a wooden sea trunk containing his personal
belongings was shipped home to his parents, Basil and Florence Sullivan.
In 1969, when Patti and Fred Christ bought the old Sullivan home on
Neptune, the empty sea trunk was still in the basement.
Over the years, Patti and other members of her family said they had seen
the image of a man in their home, a man they believe to be the spirit of
Paul Sullivan, who died at 27.
The first time Patti Christ saw him, she was sleeping on a couch. She
said she saw Sullivan on a love seat.
She said she has seen a full-size body image of Sullivan once and other
times has seen only his legs.

When her daughter was in high school, she confessed to her mother that
she had seen something when she was a child.
``I want to know if anybody else has seen this besides me so I know
I´m not crazy,´´ she told her mother.
In the early 1990s, she said, her grandson said he saw a man in the
house who called him by his name.

After talking to neighbors, Christ, 59, who is retired from a trucking
company, learned that Paul Sullivan had lived in the house and had died
on the Grunion during World War II.
She said her family was never afraid of the man they often saw, and in
fact welcomed him into their home.
When Dawn Kmet, now 36, Christ's daughter, was a teenager, she said
everybody who knew her family knew that the spirit of Sullivan was
always present in their home.

One time, she said, she and her boyfriend even set up a video camera in
the house in hopes of taping an image of the lost sailor. Not knowing
who lived in the Sullivan house on Neptune Avenue, Linda Sullivan of
Castro Valley, Calif., the niece of Paul Sullivan, sent a letter to the
home four years ago. She wrote that she and her father, Stanley
Sullivan, and brother Arno and sister Kathy Nichols were coming to Akron
and would like to see the house again.

Linda Sullivan and her family moved from Akron to California in 1961.
When the Sullivans arrived at their old family home on Neptune that
year, they rang the doorbell and Christ answered. They hit it off
immediately.
Christ told them that she and her family felt they knew Paul.
While walking through the basement, the Sullivan clan spotted the sea
trunk.
Christ described the Paul Sullivan she and her family had gotten to know
to his family.

``What amazed my Dad was she was right on with his personality,´´
Linda Sullivan said. ``She described how he looked and what he was about
with no picture.´´
Christ and Linda Sullivan became friends and often spoke or wrote
e-mails to each other.
Stanley Sullivan, 79, now retired from the U.S. Postal Service and
American Can Co., said he was 12 years younger than Paul. Stanley had
polio as a child and Paul helped him deal with the disease. Paul often
would put him in a wagon and pull him around the neighborhood.

Search for sub
In late August, the Sullivans heard the news. A large underwater mass
believed to be the Grunion was found by an expedition led by Bruce, Brad
and John Abele, the sons of Mannert L. Abele, commander of the
submarine.
Bruce Abele, 76, of Newtonville, Mass., the oldest son, said the group,
using side sonar, detected an underwater image that is clearly not a
land mass.
He said the length and breadth of the image are consistent with what
would be expected from the Grunion and the location is in the area where
they figured the submarine would be.
He also said there is no evidence of other subs being sunk anywhere
close.

``It´s very encouraging,´´ he said.
He said the group would likely go back to the spot next summer to
attempt to get a better view of what he believes is his father's
submarine.
When word spread that the submarine may have been found, the Sullivans
and Christs were elated.
Linda Sullivan said the expected discovery of the Grunion ``doesn´t
take the pain of losing someone special away,´´ but does bring some
closure for the family.

She said it brings the family ``a step closer to what happened´´ and
that can bring some relief.
Her father said he is ``grateful´´ that the sub may have been found,
and said there now can be ``peace and closure.´´ In the backyard of
Christ´s house is a piece of a maple tree that was cut down several
years ago.
The tree was the one planted in Sullivan's memory by his mother after he
was killed.
``It feels like he is a member of the family,´´ she said.

Trunk to stay
She said anytime the Sullivans want the trunk back, she would be happy
to let them have it.
And Linda Sullivan said the family would like the trunk back some day,
knowing that Patti Christ would give it back to the family ``in a
heartbeat.´´
She said she believes the trunk is where Paul wants it to be.
For now, the trunk will remain in the house on Neptune. Linda Sullivan
said she regrets she never knew her uncle. The Sullivans will visit
Akron in mid-October and once again will stop by the Neptune Avenue home
to visit the Christs. That the Christs have gotten to know Paul
Sullivan, she said, is comforting.

``I have always believed that there is something to the other
side,´´ she said. ``It is not anything to fear.´´ And Dawn Kmet
said she feels her family´s home on Neptune has in a way been
``heaven´´ for Paul Sullivan, the sailor who died seven decades ago.
``To us, he is someone we care about,´´ she said. ``We love his
family. We want him to be found.´´

For more on the search for the USS Grunion, go to www.ussgrunion. com.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or
jcarney@thebeaconjo urnal.com

Ghost hunters roam halls of sci-fi fest

2006-09-02T19:52:00.000-05:00

Ghost hunters roam halls of sci-fi fest
By JOHN BLAKE
Cox News Service
Friday, September 01, 2006
Story

ATLANTA Jason Hawes says he's been attacked by a ghost, stalked by
another and even taped the whispers of dead people calling out from
beyond the grave.

But the co-star of the Sci Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters" is more leery of
the people who summon his team to investigate hauntings. "We went to one
little old lady's home," he says, "and after 45 minutes she's chasing us
around with a frying pan. She had the beginnings of schizophrenia and
she thought we had broken into her home. She had forgotten that she had
invited us in."

Hawes will talk about uninvited guests of the paranormal kind in Atlanta
today when he and his colleagues appear at DragonCon, the four-day
science-fiction and fantasy convention at three downtown hotels. Hawes,
34, doesn't believe that ghosts are fantasy. He formed TAPS the Atlantic
Paranormal Society with his friend Grant Wilson in 1990 after a personal
paranormal experience. They've been chasing ghosts ever since.

TAPS started in a spare room in Hawes' apartment, but it took off after
The New York Times ran an article on it on Halloween in 2002. The
article featured some of the elements that would later make TAPS famous:
the scientific approach toward investigating hauntings and refusing to
charge people for their investigations ("the rich and the poor both need
help," Hawes told the Times).
"The next thing I know I had an agent, producers calling me and it just
steamrolled, " Hawes says.

The Sci Fi Channel picked up the series in October 2004 and a
spokeswoman says the show has enjoyed high ratings for the cable
network. The show returns for its third season on Oct. 11 when TAPS
travels to England and Ireland to investigate haunted castles. TAPS has
branches across the United States and affiliates in 12 countries.

A typical show unfolds with a TAPS team being summoned by an anxious
homeowner. TAPS members stay overnight at the location to gather
evidence using high-tech equipment they say is designed to capture
unusual sound waves and images. In each case, they try to disprove a
haunting but sometimes come up with harrowing results that appear to
defy explanation. In one show, for example, they filmed a cameraman
apparently being attacked by an entity that hurled him to the ground.
Hawes says he's never been afraid during an investigation.

"There are times that you get startled, but scared, no."
Not even during one show when some entity apparently attacked him and
left a red bruise on his back.
"That's all that happened," he says. "It would be different if I would
get slapped around the room."
Some wonder if the paranormal events that TAPS captures on tape and film
are staged, but Hawes says that "everything that happens is 100 percent
real." Most of their investigations debunk supernatural causes, he
points out.
"We might go on 30 cases and out of the 30 cases, we'll catch things on
two cases," he says.

Hawes says some of the show's appeal may be rooted in his demeanor. He's
not a tweedy scientist or a flamboyant psychic hotline television
character. He and his partner, Wilson, are Roto-Rooter plumbers and
family men.
Yet he admits they've become such celebrities that they no longer answer
residential calls for Roto-Rooter.
"We've had people break toilets trying to get me and Grant in their
houses," he says.

Hawes says he never worries about bringing his work or some uninvited
spirits home.
"I have faith in myself and a higher power," he says. "I think I'm
perfectly safe."

John Blake writes for The Atlanta

NWA Ghost Connection

2006-08-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.thnews.com/article.php?id=30

NWA Ghost Connection releases official report Published: August 04, 2006
Alan Smith, T-H Staff Writer

The Northwest Arkansas Ghost Connection, the non-profit organization
that spent two nights in mid-July at the St. Francis County Museum, has
released its official report on the ghostly activity at the facility.
Lori Arhangelsky, the case manager, director and founder of the
Northwest Arkansas Ghost Connection, recently discussed the time they
spent in an earlier story, but wanted to wait until several hours of
both audio and video tapes were analyzed before filing a final report.
"On the 13th and 14th of July, the Northwest Arkansas Ghost Connection
was invited to conduct an investigation of the paranormal activity at
the St. Francis County Museum,"
Arhangelsky wrote in the report. "Prior to our investigation, we
conducted extensive research on the history of the museum using
materials provided by Harvey Hanna, the museum's manager, information
provided by the Internet, local newspaper articles and personal
experiences of locals."

The report explains what the research found before entering the museum.
"Reported hauntings include, but are not limited to, relocation of
objects, strange unexplained noises and sightings of both a woman in a
blue dress and a man wearing overalls. The woman in the blue dress has
often been witnessed standing in the south bedroom window, while the man
in overalls has occasionally been seen standing on the front porch,
There is a trophy case in the main hallway of the museum where trophies
reportedly move around inside the showcase by themselves."
In the report, Arhangelsky thanks the local community for information
provided to them. "It greatly aided our research and investigation," she
said.

The report then outlines the group's observations during their two
nights at the museum.
"During the first night of the investigation, we had many encounters
with the spirits that dwell within the walls of the museum. One of our
team members heard a woman talking to her while she was in the upstairs
hallway. Another witnessed a visage of a woman in a white dress manifest
before
him in the same hallway. Downstairs, two members walked around the
corner and came to an immediate halt as a six-foot tall man with a
mustache and wearing a dark suit stood before them in the artifact room.
"The team's EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) captured the distinct
voices of two different females as well as two different males. One
member saw a shadow walk across the floor before her and was lucky
enough to capture that very apparition on video," continues the report.
It also mentions that several different light anomalies were witnessed
throughout the night by several different team members.

According to the report, on the second night of the investigation, the
spirits became more "physical" with some of the team. "Two members
followed a shadow into the parlor only to be pushed through with such
force that one member received a bruise on her arm while another had his
glasses knocked crooked on his face. We don't feel that the spirit
intended any harm, it just reacted like an animal would if it was
cornered and scared. Spirits can be dangerous if they feel threatened.
"Later that night, one of our members was 'attacked' in the artifact
room. She was feeling pin pricks on her cheek and when another member
told the spirit to leave her alone, she was clawed across the face,
resulting in scratch marks on her cheek."

In previous stories, Arhangelsky stated that she felt that the spirits
were not malevolent, but would not know for sure until after the
investigation. She said that she holds to her initial feelings, despite
what happened.
"I believe the spirit reacted that way because it was cornered," said
Arhangelsky in an interview this morning. "The scratches actually
happened to me. I think that they got more physical on the second night
because we were there doing the same things. This is not a residual
haunting where the spirits don't know where they are and are doing the
same things over and over. This is an intelligent haunting, they are
there because they want to be there. I think they saw us with our
equipment and the first night just wanted to check us out, but the
second night, they felt threatened."

But should people be afraid to go to the museum because they might be
attacked? Arhangelsky says no.
"They felt threatened by us because we were trying to call them out,"
explained Arhangelsky. "I do not believe that on any given day or week
anyone will be attacked. Visiting the museum is not going to threaten
them. People shouldn't be scared to go to the museum." She also
commented on those wanting to go to the museum to see "ghosts." " Ghosts
do not perform for people," stated Arhangelsky. "If you want to know
about the history of St. Francis County, go to the museum. If you want
to see ghosts, it probably will not happen, but that does not mean that
they are not there, they just do not perform."
According to Arhangelsky, the group has plans to visit the museum again,
possibly as early as this December.

The report states that the St. Francis County Museum is "Rich with
history and legend," and thanks both Hanna and his wife Caroline, a man
named Charles, for whom Arhangelsky did not know his last name but
provided help with the location's history, and the citizens of Forrest
City for inviting them in and making them feel welcome.

For more information about the Northwest Arkansas Ghost Connection,
visit their website at www.nwaghostconnection.net

Ghost stories populate the Cincinnati Art Museum

2006-08-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

Last Updated: 4:23 pm Sunday, August 6, 2006 125 years of history
makes for good stories
BY DAN KLEPAL ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Story

Ghost stories populate the Cincinnati Art Museum almost as much as the
sculptures, paintings and artifacts.
Well, not quite, considering there are more than 60,000 works of art
spanning 6,000 years. But more than a dozen ghost stories were told
during the museum's 125th birthday celebration. Starting at 4 p.m.
Saturday, the museum opened for 25 consecutive hours of tours, family
activities and, yes, hourly excursions into the rooms where employees
have experienced the downright spooky.
Light a candle, turn off the lights, and consider these tales, as
timeless as much of the artwork on display:

A curator and art handler working late at night in the museum heard the
200-year-old Samuel Best grandfather clock begin to chime. It was only
later that they learned that all of the clocks components had been
removed before being displayed.
A guard was cleaning in the portrait room when all of the lights went
off, leaving the room pitch black. He stood very still, waiting to hear
an explanation for the loss of power over his radio. Silence. Then,
softly, a voice: "Stand still. 'Twill be all right." Moments later, the
lights came back on.

On Saturday, about a dozen children were asked to whom that voice might
have belonged. Kate Lytchakov, a 7-year-old from Lexington, got it
right: "Someone came alive out of the painting." At least, that's the
legend. The guard reported seeing a figure resembling the subject of a
portrait in the room.

Kim Crawley has been a guard at the museum for 13 years, and has many
times seen moving shadows out of the corner of his eye. He's not scared.
"I'm a believer," Crawley said. "But they're not harmful. They're here
to help us."

E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted on Sun, Aug. 06, 2006
Unusual Kansas
A trip through some of state's odd attractions By Tom Uhlenbrock
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Kansas-Haunts
ATCHISON, Kan. - Ghosts, black squirrels, mummified farmers. Kansas has
it all.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the interstate
highway system, I wanted to take a drive that avoided the interstates -
the Wal-Marts of the roadways - and see real, homespun America. My route
would be the back roads where drugstore soda fountains and Mom 'n' Pop
diners still thrived, where roadside attractions abounded and where
billboards and fast-food joints did not clog the arteries. I wanted big
skies and sweeping landscapes where buffalo once roamed and where silos,
not skyscrapers, were the tallest buildings. U.S. 36, an antique
two-laner that cuts arrow-straight across the top of Kansas, fit the
bill.

Despite the state's reputation as flat, drab and boring, books have been
written about the abundance of oddities, both human and geologic, found
on the Kansas prairies.
Pam Grout, author of "You Know You're in Kansas When ...", wrote of the
state: "It's by far one of the most interesting of the 50, yet it has
never, like Rodney Dangerfield, gotten the respect it deserves." Grout
also revealed in the foreward to her book that she omitted this
one-liner: "You know you're in Kansas when you've seen people wear bib
overalls to funerals and weddings."

Reputation for eccentrics
Over a spaghetti lunch, I asked one resident about his state's
reputation for weird-
ness. He pushed back the bill of his cap to ponder, revealing a
bone-white forehead over a sun-stained face, and replied, "Well, in
Kansas, people have a lot of time on their hands." Another explanation,
this one from the state school board, is that evolution is merely a
theory in Kansas.
That might be why one farmer sat in his barn winding string from his hay
bales into what has become the world's largest ball of twine.
Or why another built a concrete mausoleum in his backyard, dug up his
dead wife from the local cemetery and buried her there, and then had his
own body mummified and enshrined in a glass-topped casket with a
double-exposed photo nearby of himself admiring himself in the coffin.
Pay $6 and you can stare down at the withered face, now 74 years dead.
President for a day
The fun started immediately when I crossed the Missouri River into
Atchison, in the northeast corner of Kansas, and found that the town was
named for a senator - from Missouri. In fact, David Rice Atchison was
acting president of the United States for 24 hours, beginning at noon
March 4, 1849. He snoozed for most of his term.

The world's smallest presidential library is housed in the town's
restored Santa Fe depot and tells how Atchison became president when
James Polk and his vice president stepped down at noon Sunday and
Zachary Taylor refused to take the oath of office on the Sabbath,
waiting until noon Monday. Atchison, as head of the Senate, was next in
line and slept most of Sunday, although he was awakened occasionally by
friends asking to be named to his Cabinet.
His presidential library is only slightly larger than another display in
the depot that tells the story of William "Deafy" Boular, a deaf and
legless man who is credited with paving many of the brick streets
throughout town and earned mention in a 1933 "Ripley's Believe It or
Not" column for laying 46,000 bricks in eight hours. Atchison also is
Amelia Earhart's birthplace, and a park on the edge of town honors the
ill-fated pilot and other famed aviators and astronauts.
A sycamore tree in the park was grown from seeds that went to the moon
during an Apollo mission. You can buy packets of seeds from the Moon
Tree at the train depot.
"We explain to people that they are not seeds from the moon," said the
depot's clerk. "Nothing grows on the moon, you know."

Ghost goings-on
But missing aviators, short-term presidents and speedy bricklayers are
not Atchison's real claim to fame - ghosts are. The town has been
heralded in books and TV shows as Kansas' most haunted. John Settich is
a seemingly sensible Atchison resident who is head of the political
science department at Benedictine College and proprietor of St. Martin's
Bed & Breakfast in a stately home. He also narrates a trolley tour and
relates the ghoulish goings-on inside some of the town's Victorian
mansions.
"This is our most famous ghost - this is Sally's house," Settich said of
a modest-looking bungalow.
Sally, it seems, was given an emergency appendectomy by a doctor who
didn't wait for the ether to take effect. She died of the pain.
Mysterious scratches, apparently payback from Sally, appear on men who
sleep in the house.
"It's empty now," Settich said. "The owners offered it for $250,000 on
eBay, but nobody would buy it. They're thinking about trying to rent it
out for special occasions, maybe on Halloween."

Pies square off
From Atchison, I took Highway 7, also known as the Glacial Hills Scenic
Byway, north to catch U.S. 36. But first I made a quick stop in Troy to
check out a rumor that the Home Place Restaurant sold only square pieces
of pie.
"It's easier to portion - you can cut it faster," said owner Jeannie
Ricklefs, who handed over a piece of rhubarb-strawberry. Sure enough,
beneath the sprig of mint and scoop of vanilla ice cream was a square
piece of pie. It tasted just like a triangular piece, maybe even better.
"This used to be a funeral home," Ricklefs said of the neat-as-a-pin
restaurant. "Up there's where the caskets used to be."
It was easier finding Charlie Becker's house at the corner of 6th and E
streets in Washington. Becker, who played the mayor of Munchkinland in
"The Wizard of Oz," lived in the house with his wife, Jesse. A couple
strolled by on their evening walk and I asked if the little stucco house
belonged to the Beckers.
"Three little people lived there; I think one was his sister," offered
the man. "Look in the window," said his wife. "The kitchen sink is built
down real low."
I did, and it was.

Time for twine
The next morning began in Cawker City, where the world's largest ball of
twine sat under a pavilion. Frank Stoeber started winding sisal twine
from hay bales in his barn in 1953. The ball now is bigger than a Buick
and said to contain 7,801,766 feet of twine, weighing 17,886 pounds.
"Frank hadn't been well, it was winter - what else is a farmer going to
do?" said Linda Clover, the school librarian and unofficial keeper of
the twine. "The third weekend in August, people come from all over and
we wrap twine at a Twine-a-Thon. We have a parade and games. Honestly,
there's not a whole lot around here for entertainment. If you have
lemons, you make lemonade.

"We've had people come from every continent to see it. They come in all
ages; it isn't just old people on tour buses. And I know people have
climbed it and done things on top. And I mean everything." Because many
of the storefronts in town were vacant, local artist Cher Heller Olson
decided to dress things up by painting familiar figures on the windows,
each with a ball of twine. There's the Statue of Liberty with a ball of
twine on her torch, Mona Lisa holding a ball of twine, and the
grim-faced farm couple from the Grant Wood painting, "American Gothic,"
with twine in the pitchfork.
"We had Michelangelo's David; he was covering his anatomy with a ball of
twine," Clover said. "You couldn't see anything, but someone wrote an
anonymous letter complaining. So he's stashed in the studio."

Smack dab in center
The ball of twine was going to be hard to beat, but I pressed on, and
found the geographic center of the United States at the dead end of a
two-lane blacktop just north of Lebanon. The U.S. Geological Survey says
the center is the spot where a plane map of the lower 48 states would
balance on a pinpoint if it were of uniform thickness. A marker and an
American flag stood at the spot, and there was a tiny white "U.S.
Center" chapel with four one-person pews inside. Other than a meadowlark
singing and the flagpole clanging in the wind, it was eerily quiet in
Middle America.
Downtown Lebanon has seen better times, but Ladow's Market was full of
farmers eating lunch. The bill for the special of spaghetti, salad,
garlic bread and pumpkin cake was $4.21. I left a buck tip and Debbie,
the waitress, came running after me. "We don't take tips," she said.
"That way we don't have to pay taxes and we tell everybody we don't have
to treat 'em nice."

The previous day, the Kansas sky was full of clouds in the shapes of
battleships and nuclear-plant cooling towers. But when I arrived at
Brewster Higley's log cabin on a farm north of Athol, the sky was "not
cloudy all day."
Yep, Higley was a doctor who retreated to the remote cabin on Beaver
Creek and in 1873 wrote the words to "My Western Home," which is known
all over the world as "Home on the Range." A plaque on the log cabin
said Kansas adopted the tune as its official state song in June 1947. I
saw no deer or antelope playing, but a turkey gobbled in the woods by
the creek as I drove off.
Heading east on Interstate 70, I couldn't resist a billboard advertising
the new Oz Museum at Wamego, which turned out to be a pretty little town
that looked like a movie set itself. The museum was nice, too, although
the ruby slippers on display are not the ones that graced Judy Garland's
feet. A highlight was the life-sized figure of the Wicked Witch, with a
warty green nose, next to one of her monkey-faced henchmen.

Comanche's corner
My last appointment was with a dead horse. "You mean Comanche?" said the
clerk at the Super 8. "We used to go see him when I was a kid."
When the smoke cleared after the battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876,
the only member of Gen. George Custer's U.S. 7th Cavalry still standing
was a big brown horse named Comanche.
Wounded, he was nursed back to health at Fort Riley in Kansas and lived
to the age of 29.
When he died, the cavalry at the fort had him stuffed by the taxidermist
at the Kansas University Natural History Museum in Lawrence.
But the cavalry stiffed the stuffer, so to speak, and the horse has
remained in a glass case in Lawrence ever since. The display recently
was closed for a makeover, and reopened with Comanche looking great in
his cavalry gear, his mane combed and his coat groomed. "Comanche is
back!" said a sign on the exhibit.
You know you're in Kansas when a dead horse is a state celebrity.

If you go
In Atchison The Unofficial David Rice Atchison Presidential Library is
in the Santa Fe Depot at 200 S. 10th St. Visit www.atchisonhistory.org.
The Moon Tree in the International Forest of Friendship is at (913)
367-1419 and www.ifof.org. Haunted Trolley Tours (1-800-234-1854) are $8
per person and offered in the fall. The chamber of commerce is at
1-800-234-1854 and www.atchisonkansas.net. St. Martin's Bed & Breakfast
is at 1-877-367-4964 and www.stmartinsbandb.com. In Cawker City The
Ball of Twine Inn (1-877-266-2963) is across the street from the World's
Largest Ball of Twine. In Wamego The Oz Museum is at 1-866-458-8686
and www.ozmuseum.com.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.
Sunday. Admission is $7.

Kansas info Call the Department of Commerce Travel & Tourism Division
at (785) 296-2009, or visit www.travelks.com.

Jaunt to haunts

2006-08-13T21:51:00.001-05:00

Posted on Sun, Aug. 06, 2006
Jaunt to haunts
Harpers Ferry, W.Va., boasts army of ghosts, guided tours By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Story

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - John Brown's body may be a-mouldering in the
grave.
But there are some who are convinced that they've seen Brown's ghost
wandering the streets of Harpers Ferry.
The gaunt, white-haired man is often accompanied by a small black dog.
That is just one of many stories of haunting and mysterious events in
West Virginia.

Guided ghost tours are offered in history-filled Harpers Ferry, a pretty
town where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet. Harpers Ferry Ghost
Tours (304-725-8019) offers lantern-lit walking tours at 8 p.m. Fridays
and Saturdays from Memorial Day through early November. Reservations are
needed for October and November trips. Admission is $5 a person.
Ghost encounters are also frequent in Charles Town, Martinsburg and
Berkley County in eastern West Virginia.

Martinsburg Ghost Tours (304-267-0540) offers guided tours of local
haunted graveyards on Fridays and Martinsburg on Saturdays from late May
to the end of October.
Brown, a strange man with strong Ohio and Akron ties, was hanged on Dec.
2, 1859, after his ill-fated attempt to trigger a slave rebellion in the
town.
Brown, accompanied by five black men and 16 white men,arrived in Harpers
Ferry on Oct. 16. He had a wagon with 200 rifles, 200 pistols and 1,000
pikes with which he intended to arm the slaves.
His plans failed and the U.S. Army, under Col. Robert E. Lee, stormed
the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry. Ten of Brown's men were killed,
including two of his sons. Brown was captured and convicted of treason.
The town's No. 1 attraction is John Brown's Fort, the one-story brick
building in which Brown and a handful of supporters barricaded
themselves before being overpowered.

It is the only armory building to escape being destroyed in the Civil
War. The building -- 35 ½ feet by 24 feet -- is about 150 feet east of
its original location.
Brown, however, is not the only ghost reported in Harpers Ferry. Most of
the ghosts appear to have ties to the Civil War when the town changed
hands eight times.

Picturesque village
Harpers Ferry is a very neat outdoorsy place. It is filled with lots of
history, rugged scenery and hiking trails, white-water rafting and
bicycle trails.
In fact, the restored 1850s industrial village with its cobblestone
streets is the most popular tourist attraction in West Virginia. The
central attraction is Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and its
Lower Town with its quaint preserved buildings. There are museums and
ranger-led programs.
Most of the town's restored buildings of brick and stone are tightly
aligned along narrow Shenandoah, Potomac and High streets, and
pedestrians rule Harpers Ferry.
The 3,646-acre historical park covers part of the town and historical
attractions in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. For additional
information, contact Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, P.O. Box
65, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425; 304-535-6029 (visitor information) or
304-535-6222 (park administration). The Internet site is
www.nps.gov/hafe.
Park admission is $5.

Other haunted sites
Other haunted West Virginia sites are said to include Darkish Knob at
Parsons, the strange lights on Coal Mountain at Mooresfield, a tall
bald-headed man along a fence row outside Seebert, two headless
college-age women at Cheat Lake north of Morgantown and Shepherd College
in Shepherdstown.
Odd doings have also occurred at the old Moundsville Penitentiary, the
Point Pleasant area and Flatwoods, where a UFO allegedly landed in 1952.

The West Virginia Division of Tourism has even put together a Web site
that provides tales, events and information about the Mountain State's
haunted happenings. It lists 23 sites around the state. The site is
www.callwva.com/hauntings. Information: 800-225-5982.
Other states, including Ohio, have their own reports of ghosts. You can
find walking ghost tours in plenty of eastern cities including Boston,
New York, New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Philadelphia and
Washington, D.C.

Ohio sites with reports of ghosts include Beaver Creek State Park in
Columbiana County, where a woman haunts an old mill, and the Moonville
railroad tunnel near Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County,where a dead
man is said to linger.
At Beaver Creek, the ghost of Esther Hale, a stern Quaker preacher, is
found wandering through the old mill at night. In Vinton County, a
careless railroad brakeman waved his lantern to stop a train at the old
coal camp of Moonville. He stumbled into the path of the train and was
killed. Some say that late at night, you may see the green and red
lights of a brakeman's lantern near the old tunnel. The ghost of a
lovesick teenager, Ceely Rose, is said to haunt a white house on the
grounds of Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County.

Nearby, the ghost of pioneer Paul Lyons, who fell to his death while
searching for a lost cow, is said to haunt a trail at Mohican State Park
on the line between Richland and Ashland counties. Other haunted Ohio
sites include the lodge at Punderson State Park in Geauga County, the
old Mansfield Reformatory in Richland County and Clifton Gorge State
Park in Greene County. Friendship Hill ghost
In western Pennsylvania, one frequently mentioned haunted site is
Friendship Hill National Historic Site at Point Marion in Fayette
County.
It was the one-time estate of Swiss immigrant Albert Gallatin, who was
secretary of the U.S. Treasury for 13 years under presidents Thomas
Jefferson and James Madison.
The property off state Route 166, now managed by the National Park
Service, is supposedly haunted by Gallatin's first wife, Sophia.
The couple married in May 1789, but she died that October and is buried
somewhere on the property.

Park rangers and visitors claim to hear Sophia walking around the upper
floors of the house.
For more information, contact Friendship Hill National Historic Site,
223 New Geneva Road, Point Marion, PA 15474; 724-725-9190 (park
information) or 724-329-5512 (park headquarters); www.nps.gov/frhi.

Bridge fest
Pennsylvania's Kinzua Bridge State Park will hold its annual Fall
Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 16-17 with arts and crafts,
entertainment and a stunning view of the Kinzua Viaduct. 814-778-5160.

Heritage fest
Pennsylvania's McConnell's Mill State Park will hold its Heritage
Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24.
It will include tours of the old mill. Call 724-368-8811.

Big trees
Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania will measure four of its biggest
old-growth trees on Nov. 19. The program begins at the Log Cabin Inn
Environmental Learning Center and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain
or shine. Bring a snack and water. 814-744-8475.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or
bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

Jaunt to haunts

2006-08-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

personal snips

2006-08-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

Rob wrote:
Hello Barbie,
I can not tell you the number of times I have been asked/heard
about situations similar to yours-I think its actually a lot more
common than people realize. I also have had several photos sent to
me of people days before they had died and they seem to have some
strange pattern of orbs around them. Someone showed me one
of "Dimebag" Darrel-a guitarist killed while in concert-the night
before he was killed. The photo was of him on stage and it does seem
as though there were orbs or something around him the night before
he died. Just my 2 cents but I have seen it a lot-Anyone else?? Take
care and be safe-Rob Hall www.sightparanormal.com

--- In Ghosts-and-Ghouls2@yahoogroups.com, Barbie
wrote:
>
> Before my husband passed away, i smelled funeral parlor flowers
for two weeks. I think this is a way that spirits contact as by
smells, noises, etc.
> hugs, Barbie
>
> Misty wrote:
> Could be. That happened with me after my grandad
passed away. I was driving to work in the winter with my windows
rolled up and I could smell him. He owned a flower shop so he
always smelled like every flower scent all in one scent. It's a
very distinctive scent when you walk into a flower shop. I knew he
was there to tell me he was okay because I was still sad about his
sudden passing.
>
> Misty
>
> carol wrote:
> My mom was a smoker. After she died this yr I smelt smoke
in my car. I just thought that maybe it was just from the last time
she was in my car. Then the other night coming home from work I
smelt it again. The car was moving and my windows where up so it
didn't come from someone else's car. I smelt it for about 5 mins.
Then it was gone. So maybe it was my mom.
Carol
http://www.myspace.com/ceda4321

"Ghost Hunters"

2006-08-13T21:11:00.000-05:00

Full-Story
"Ghost Hunters"
Sunday, Aug. 13 2006

"Ghost Hunters," written by Deborah Blum, a professor of science
journalism, is
a chronicle of the often-ignored story of the great efforts made 100
years ago
to delve into those mysteries. Extrasensory conversations have a weird
quality,
of course; the title of this book is a reflection of that. It is
difficult to
believe that some men, and more frequently women, can be put in a trance
and
figure out where bodies are buried — or talk to dead friends.

Then and now, most people — and the great majority of scientists —
view the
subject as a pastime of superstitious fools or credulous folk searching
for
impossible comfort. But not everyone. It is a fact, and the chief theme
of this
book, that many educated and eminently reasonable men and women,
including a
number of scholars attached to famous universities, were prominent in
the study
of contact with "spirits."
The most famous such individual was William James. He knew that his
colleagues
at Harvard thought the large amount of time he spent on this matter was
a ridiculous waste of his talents. He was troubled by this, but it
didn't affect his determination.

We learn, in this well-written history, about many other dedicated
students:
Richard Hodgson, Robert Hyslop and Frederic Myers, to name three of the
most
important. They were acutely aware of the danger of frauds, but they
came to
confide in a number of mediums, entranced women who seemed to them to be
able
to relay messages from the dead with fidelity.
Their favorite was a comparatively uneducated, unsophisticated woman,
Leonora Piper, whose sessions are the central focus of this book.
"Ghost Hunters" begins with the spread of interest in this subject in
the mid-19th century, picks up intensity with the growing interest of
James and ends with his death in 1910.

Author Blum confesses, in an acknowledgment at the end of the story,
that she
has been affected by the material that she undertook as simply a
scholarly
exercise. It is hard not to have similar thoughts as a reader.

'Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of
Life After
Death'
By Deborah Blum

Published by Penguin Press, 354 pages, $25.95 Joseph Losos is a St.
Louis investment adviser.

Big Bend Ghost Trackers to Investigate the Windsor Hotel, Americus, Ga

2006-08-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

Big Bend Ghost Trackers to Investigate the Windsor Hotel, Americus, Ga
FullStory
AMERICUS, GA (August 9, 2006) - The Big Bend Ghost trackers will be
conducting an investigation at the Historic Windsor Hotel this Sunday,
August 13, from 8pm-11pm. According to the results of the investigation,
they may classify the Windsor as a certified haunted hotel!

The Big Bend Ghost Trackers is a group of professional paranormal
researchers based in Tallahassee, FL. The Big Bend was created in 2000
to investigate the presence of ghosts and paranormal activity in
historic buildings and sites. The group of 5 investigators and
researchers will spend the night at the Windsor on the third floor
(haunted floor), and will bring different kinds of gadgets and devices
that can sense ghost activity. They will investigate areas of the hotel
where strange happenings have occurred over the years. Among the areas
where they will perform the investigation is the third floor hallway,
where legend says that the ghost of a little girl, daughter of a former
housekeeper, runs laughing at night. The third floor hallway is also the
place where, in August of 2005, Turner South recreated the story of the
little girl ghost for its Blue Ribbon Show. Other areas of the hotel
will also be investigated, such as old staircases, basement and
guestrooms.

The Big Bend has performed investigation in several sites in Florida and
Georgia, including the Andersonville National Historic Site, and they
have been featured in different national and regional publications.

The Windsor Hotel has been featured in several publications as one of
the most haunted hotels in the south, including the Atlanta Journal
Constitution, NBC Today's Show, Turner South, The Arkansas Democrat
Gazette, The Americus Times Recorder and other local publications. The
Windsor was also featured in the book Georgia's Ghostly Getaways, by
author Kathleen Walls. In the book Walls tells the story of the
housekeeper and her little girl, and states that the housekeeper "is a
restless but not a dangerous ghost" and "she has been at the Windsor
though all the renovations and isn't likely to ever leave". The book
also tells the tales of ghosts that haunt the many historic attractions
of the south.

The Windsor is located on 125 West Lamar Street, Americus, GA. For
information visit: www.windsor-americus.com or call 229-924-1555.
E-mail: weeklypub1@mindspring.com

Mailing address: P.O. Box 921141, Peachtree Corners, GA 30010-1141

TV star set to haunt graveyard (Scotland)

2006-08-05T14:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.geocities.com/thetropics/5994/ghosts.html

Ghost stories
http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1344
Spooky stories
http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=623
This article:
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1136922006

TV star set to haunt graveyard
ANDREW PICKEN (apicken@edinburghnews.com)

THE star of TV show Most Haunted is coming to Edinburgh to try to fine
evidence of one of the city's most notorious poltergeists.
Historian Richard Felix is holding an overnight vigil in Greyfriars
Kirkyard in a bid to find out more about the ghost of 17th-century
nobleman Sir George Mackenzie, which is said to haunt the graveyard's
Covenanters Prison.

Thirty volunteers will spend a couple of hours in the tombs of
Edinburgh's oldest surviving burial place armed with monitoring
equipment to try and learn more about its paranormal activity.
For decades visitors to the prison have claimed they have been left with
scratches, welt marks, bruises and feelings of nausea, with some saying
they have been knocked to the ground.
Those taking part in the vigil will be split into small groups and given
a range of recording devices - such as tape recorders and thermometers -
to try and gather more evidence about "Bloody" MacKenzie.
Mackenzie was the King's Advocate who put thousands of Covenanters to
their deaths at the tiny prison.

Mr Felix said it was the first time he had led a vigil in Edinburgh and
hoped he would get a mix of paranormal fans and sceptics along to the
one-off event.
He said: "I have done over 115 programmes now for Most Haunted, so I
have seen a few scary places in my time, but there is nothing like the
Covenanters Prison.
"I would say it was arguably the most haunted place in the UK and this
will be a great opportunity to spend a bit of time in there and try and
learn a little bit more about what on earth is going on.

"I will try and give people a bit of the history of the place but it
will be quite an active process with the groups helping me conduct more
research about the tombs.
"We've only got a couple of hours but I am sure we'll be able to make
some progress and the odds are pretty high that we'll see some sort of
activity."
A spokesman for City of the Dead Ghost Tours, which runs daily tours of
Greyfriars Kirkyard, said the Covenanters Prison was awash with
paranormal activity.
He said: "It is going to pretty scary for Richard and his group because
the prison has the most amount of recorded paranormal activity in the
UK.
"It will be quite an adventure and I'm sure there will one or two scares
over the course of the vigil."

The Covenanters vigil will start at around 1.30am on Thursday and lasts
for around two hours.
Greyfriars Kirkyard is visited by an estimated 15,000 people every year
with about ten times that number coming into the graveyard, many of them
tourists visiting the Greyfriars Bobby memorial.
Mr Felix has just published his new book, The Ghost Tour of Great
Britain: Scotland, which features more than a dozen supposedly haunted
sites in the city.

Mr Felix will be doing a book signing at WH Smith at Cameron Toll and
Blackwells Bookshop on South Bridge on Wednesday. Tickets for the
Greyfriars vigil are available from the Tron Centre on the High Street.

Related topics
This Story

Spooky

2006-08-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Posted on Wed, Aug. 02, 2006
In pursuit of the paranormal
Investigators gather in KCK to discuss their research efforts.
By BRIE HANDGRAAF
The Kansas City Star
StoryHere

PHOTOS BY SUSAN PFANNMULLER SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Becky Ray looked over some equipment to be used Saturday night in the
overnight ghost hunt at the Alcott Arts Center in Kansas City, Kan.
Ghost stories around the campfire are where most people's interest in
the paranormal stops. For Becky Ray those stories were just the
beginning.

She became interested in ghosts when she was a kid. In college, she
started researching paranormal activity across the country. She's
visited places such as a sanitarium, a jail and a former nursing home.
"I kept putting myself in places because I wanted to see ghosts," she
said. "I wanted to do it to prove it to other people. Then I finally had
a really cool experience and thought, 'I don't care about proving it to
other people, I know what I saw.'?"

Ray, a freelance writer from Grain Valley, Mo., joined other local ghost
investigators Saturday at the Alcott Arts Center in Kansas City, Kan.,
to talk about their passion. The night was sponsored by the Paranormal
Encounter Documentation and Research Organization. Other local groups
included Paranormal Activity Investigators and the Southern Platte
Inter-Dimensional Research & Investigation Team, or S.P.I.R.I.T.

The S.P.I.R.I.T. Web site describes its mission:
"It is our main goal to collect evidence of the paranormal that can be
observed, measured and documented using scientific techniques."
The investigators use tools that aren't made especially for researching
ghosts, like motion-activated cameras designed for wildlife
photographers. The investigators place a camera in a room and hope
something paranormal activates the camera.
Some of the things that show up are called orbs. An orb is an anomaly
that some people think are ghosts or spirits. Others think the orbs are
caused by dirt on the lens. The investigators do not use digital cameras
— they use film, which drives up the cost. But film adds credibility,
because people doubt pictures from digital cameras more.

"When you use 35mm you don't have immediate results, but you do have the
negatives and you don't have those questionables," Ray said. "If
something odd does show up in it, you can send your negatives to either
Fuji or Kodak and they can tell you what went wrong or what didn't go
wrong. It is always great to hear them tell you that they don't know
what it is."Jennifer Tarwater, a member of PEDRO, said her group bases
its research on science.
"It is all about matter being neither created nor destroyed," Tarwater
said. "When you die, energy is released. You get orbs because the center
of gravity forces everything in a round formation."

Tarwater, a librarian from Kansas City, Kan., has a background in
science.
"I was pre-vet before I changed my major so I've had three years of
physics and five of biology and chemistry," she said.
Ray said the investigators use a scientific basis to overcome
stereotypes that the public has because of 1-800 psychics and bad press.
"There is a lot of bad stigma that has really given the paranormal a
black eye," Ray said. "I think the biggest hurdle is trying to get
people to take us seriously."

Ray said new paranormal groups are popping up and more people are
accepting the idea of ghosts because of TV shows like "Ghost Hunters" on
the Sci-Fi Network.
Ray isn't thrilled with the term "ghost hunters."
"When I think hunter, I think that means you are going to catch it," she
said.
But the TV show does serve a purpose.
"It is something a lot of people look at," Ray said, "and when you say
what you do, they don't look at me like I have five heads."
Ghostly encounters
Paranormal investigator Becky Ray has a Web site, ghostsagogo.com, where
she describes some of her experiences, including a 2004 visit to a
sanatorium in Kentucky:

"Four of us happened to be looking towards the hallway windows and doors
as a blond woman in a gown holding something over her mouth passed in
front of one of the windows. She appeared to have a glowing effect to
her, but what threw me the most was that she only passed in front of ONE
of the windows, not the doors, or any of the other windows. All of us
immediately commented, 'Did you see that?' and one of our group ran to
the hallway to find her, but there was no one there. … None of us had
our cameras at the ready, it happened so fast, but it was the kind of
thing that I don't need to prove to anyone. I know what I saw."

Do witches, sorcerers and soothsayers really exist?

Ruby Lilaowala Thursday,

August 03, 2006 10:15:15 IST

Story Here

Everyone of us can practice white-magic by constantly sending healingthoughts to hospitals, mental-asylums, when we see an ambulance or afire-brigade...In books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Peter Pan,King Solomon's Mines and most fairy-tales, witches, diviners, sorcerersand soothsayers are mentioned. In the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean:Dead Man's Chest', there's a very flamboyant soothsayer called TiaDalma, played beautifully by Naomi Harris. So do these people withsupernatural powers really exist? Do they really perform 'magic'?Well, magic has two sides: one 'white', used by healers and Reikimasters, and the other 'black'. White magic involves rituals that areopen and having collective authorisation. They help people. Black magicis secret, antisocial and supported by collusion, not consensus. It isbad since it harms others. Also, it harms the person doing it the mostsince the Law of Karma says: What you give is what you get.A sorcerer is one who casts spells against, or puts curses on others.Curses are like chicken – they'll hatch in your own garden because ifaimed at any person of spiritual-purity, they boomerang with greaterforce on the person who cursed.In pockets of African interiors even today, you'll find witch-doctorswho 'heal', herbalists who cure, even mediums who exorcise and divinerswho can predict an earthquake. The medicine-man has knowledge beyondpractical chemistry. The rain-man can 'feel' almost any weather in hisbones. These people are in touch with nature and live life at a higherstate of consciousness hence, their perceptions are subtle. They are thepsychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, priests, confessors,counsellors and solace of their people.Several people have extra-sensory-perception and even today, in U.K. andU.S.A.; help is taken from physics to nab a rapist or murderer. Sinceyears, para-psychology has been researched, in Russia. In India, thereare a few psychics, leaf-readers, palmists and face-readers, who areaccurate in spite of the multitude of Dhongi-Babas, who pretend tochange your fortune while they live in poverty and cannot change theirown fortunes.There are soothsayers among the Maori tribes of New Zealand. I met onesceptically, on the outskirts of a place called Milford Sound. Shepointed to one lady and said: You heal the sick mind… till then, noone in our tourist-bus knew she was a psychiatrist. To me, she said: Youwrite. To another gentleman (a widower): You grieve. We asked ourtour-guide about her and he said she can 'smell and feel' vibrations andenergies surrounding others.People who perform white-magic, always for the good of others, alwayswith best wishes and kind regards for all, have these gifts. They can'feel' things most accurately, without prompting or access to any cues.I know several cases of clairvoyance and telepathy. In fact, inchildhood, my maternal grandmother and I used to 'send' accuratemessages to each other through telepathy – there were no phones then.It was a childhood game which none of her other eleven grandchildrencould play.Children have an uncontrolled ability to play with the paranormal.There's no scientific analysis for this. All humans who live close tonature can cultivate these fragile talents to 'see' everything aboutmatters removed from ordinary perceptions. "Everyone of us can practicewhite-magic by constantly sending healing thoughts to hospitals,mental-asylums, when we see an ambulance or a fire-brigade." These weregranny's words… her legacy which is more precious than all the wealthin the world!!Ruby Lilaowala is a well-known columnist and writer.

'Haunted home' will be lost in street project

2006-08-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

TheStory

Posted on Fri, Aug. 04, 2006
'Haunted home' will be lost in street project

When Belleville widens South 17th Street, it may be turning a ghost out
into the street.
Or the ghost may already have gone on to a higher plane.

The ghost story is recounted in "Gothic Ghosts," a 1970 book of ghost
stories by noted parapsychologist Han Holzer. "The Man in Gray" is the
Belleville ghost story.
The book is in the Belleville Public Library and was brought to my
attention by a former library worker.

The haunting supposedly took place in the mid-1960s in the Star Music
Studio, which was at 1700 W. Main St. The building later became
Hairport; it is now slated for destruction to widen the street.
I have no idea where Holzer heard about the story, but he claimed to
have researched it thoroughly. His introduction won't win him many
Belleville fans.
He writes: "Belleville, Illinois, is a sleepy town about an hour's drive
from St. Louis and has nothing particular to offer in the way of
commerce or beauty except for a few charming old houses still standing."
The music studio, run by the Walta sisters, Dollie and Judy, apparently
experienced a ghost that opened and closed the back door, trod heavily
on the floor and made loud, disturbing noises.

The ghost was dressed in gray and had no face or a blur where the face
normally would be.
Holzer said Judy researched the history of the house and discovered that
a resident, a retired coal miner named Jacob Meyer who was in ill
health, committed suicide in 1923 at the age of 77. She thought that he
was her ghost.
Holzer noted that after the sisters discovered Meyer's suicide, they
noticed a calmer atmosphere in the house. The ghost went from a scary
phenomenon to one they understood, he said.
In the mornings they would hear the sounds of chairs scraping in the
kitchen and smell coffee brewing and cigar smoke.
Near the end of the month they often heard what they thought was the
sound of a package dropping to the floor but later theorized it must
have been the ghostly gunshot that killed Meyer.

"The reputation of the house as a haunted abode seeped out despite the
sisters' reluctance to discuss it, except with friends and pupils when
necessary," Holzer wrote.
Things came to a head in 1967, when a woman trying to peer in the
windows from outside was tripped by an unseen force, apparently scaring
the daylights out of her.
"About that time Judy discovered that the ghostly miner's wedding to
Mary White had taken place on Sept. 9, 1867," Holzer wrote. "When a man
celebrates his one hundredth wedding anniversary, he should not have
time for such foolishness as tripping people outside haunted houses.

"Quite possibly Mrs. Meyer has since taken him in hand and made a better
home for him beyond the veil.
"At any rate, the door in the rear no longer opens and closes as it used
to, and perhaps Jacob Meyer is now retired for good."
We have to hope so, since his haunting place is going to disappear.

Wally Spiers' column runs five days a week. Have a column idea? Call
Wally at 239-2506 or (800) 642-3878; or e-mail: wspiers@bnd.com

Spitits Moving?

2006-08-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

Moved by the spirits: Some hair-raising ghost stories come to light
By Roger K. Miller
Special to The Seattle Times
Deborah Blum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist and author.

"Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of
Life After Death"
by Deborah Blum
Penguin Press, 370 pp., $25.95

The real center of "Ghost Hunters" is not, as its subtitle suggests,
William James, the American pioneer in psychology and researcher in the
paranormal, but Leonora Piper, a Boston housewife, mother and paranormal
phenomenon. Her astounding capacities as a medium captured the
attention, and often the approbation, of not only James but a crowd of
19th-century scientists.

James, brother of the novelist (and ghost-story writer) Henry James, is,
of course, central to the tale in that he was a leading name among
several scientists who risked their reputations — "intellectual
whoredom," James' fellow psychical researcher Edmund Gurney called it
— to search for scientific proof of life after death. But they might
not have been able to endure the ridicule and persevere if, among the
dozens of frauds working the spiritualist con, they had not come across
a handful of remarkable people like Piper, nearly all women, whose
apparently supernatural powers — to engage in mental telepathy and/or
to summon the "spirits" of the deceased — staggered the imagination.
Indeed, they stagger Deborah Blum's imagination today, if I read her
right. Not that Blum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former science
journalist, and now an author and professor of science journalism at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, comes down on either side of the issue.

Rather, her book, skillfully organized and felicitously written, lays
out the facts like a good, extended piece of newspaper writing and lets
the reader decide. Yet she cannot suppress a sense of wonderment that
makes her say that writing this book "changed the way I thought ... I'm
just less smug than I was when I started, less positive of my
rightness."
By the mid-19th century, interest in extrasensory powers and other
expressions of the supernatural was widespread. The Fox sisters, the
notorious "spirit rappers" of Upstate New York, were a sensation as were
early forms of what later became known as Ouija boards.

Mediums and spiritualists were also popular. Most proved to be
charlatans, notably the founder of "Theosophy," Madame Blavatsky. But a
few whose knowledge of things they could not know, knowledge seemingly
from beyond the grave, withstood minute scrutiny.
The topic attracted great names. When the British branch of the Society
for Psychical Research was founded in 1882, Mark Twain — anguished for
a quarter-century by a recurring dream about his brother's death —
joined. James was a founder of the American branch of the SPR in 1885.

Alfred Russel Wallace, recognized as the co-author of the theory of
natural selection with Charles Darwin, got interested in spiritualism as
an outgrowth of his speculation about the existence of, or at least need
for, a moral force in the universe and his worries about mankind
stripped of faith. A convincing séance with the medium Daniel Dunglas
Home (mocked by Robert Browning in his poem "Mr. Sludge") left him quite
unsettled.

The SPR's most indefatigable exposer of frauds was the Australian-born
Richard Hodgson, but on Leonora Piper he broke his lance. When Oliver
Lodge, a British physicist, sat in on one of Piper's session, he was
bowled over by what Blum calls the "transcendental eeriness" of what
Piper knew and revealed. Hodgson, so obsessive in his attempt to expose
Piper that he spied on her in the depths of the 1888 blizzard, was
finally won over when he was visited by a deceased friend through Piper
in a session that, in Blum's account of what Piper did and revealed, is
truly mind-boggling. " ... he'd been persuaded of the impossible —
that the personality in the room was indeed a spirit, proof that his
friend lived on."

As we know, James and his colleagues never "proved" anything to
science's total satisfaction, and psychical research has scarcely been
pursued in as concentrated a manner since. But they did come across some
corking good ghost stories, related herein. One of the best stories,
however, involves one of their own, Frederic Myers. Another of the
founders of British psychical research, Myers always had pined
desperately — unbeknownst to his wife — for a former love named
Annie who had died young.

In a séance, Rosina Thompson, a medium nearly as brilliant as Piper,
connected Myers with the spirit of his long-dead Annie and prophesied
that he would soon be reunited with her. Within about a year the
prophecy came true and Myers' unrequited passion came to light — to
the fury of his widow, left to deal with quashing gossip about an
unhappy marriage of which she had been unaware.

Roger K. Miller, a newspaperman
for many years, is a freelance writer,
reviewer and editor in Wisconsin.

GhostHunters

INNER AWARENESS

2006-08-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

INNER AWARENESS
Inner Awareness : No conflict between religion and the paranormal
By Jaime Licauco
Columnist
Inquirer
Posted date: August 01, 2006
TheStory
HERE are the rest of Julian Qua's questions about my work in
parapsychology or psychic research:
What is the Inner Mind Development Institute?

It is a small organization I established in 1988 aimed at expanding
people's consciousness and hastening their evolution. It develops and
conducts training programs and workshops to develop people's inner
mental faculties and powers. The institute is open to any man or woman
regardless of color, race, religion or political beliefs.
What gave you the idea to establish the institute?
My background is business management. I've been in the corporate world
for over 20 years, specializing in human resources, management training
and development, as well as consultancy.

As head of human resources, I've seen the utter failure of many
industrial training programs that address only the employees' outer mind
and external behavior. Nothing was done to train their consciousness or
inner faculties.
I sought to correct that weakness by developing programs that would
train people's inner minds and enhance their innate powers or abilities
for practical purposes.
How would you key in religion with the paranormal?

I see no conflict nor incompatibility between religion and paranormal
phenomena. As a matter of fact, all religions, whether Buddhism, Islam,
Hinduism or Christianity, started with a paranormal phenomenon, with a
vision or contact with a supernatural or divine being.
Since I believe that "truth is one," it cannot contradict itself. Truth
is truth whether it comes from God or the devil himself.
I think the problem lies in the erroneous assumption, especially by
Christian religious authorities, that everything that is paranormal or
supernatural must come from the dark side. This is not true at all.
Even Jesus Christ performed so many paranormal wonders, like when he
predicted the future, read people's minds, healed the sick, walked on
water, changed water into wine and revived the dead. Calling them
miracles does not change their paranormal nature.
How does science fit with the mystical and paranormal?

Again, I say, true science cannot be in conflict with paranormal
phenomena. However, because of the reductionist, rationalistic and
materialistic paradigm that modern science has adopted, it has
eliminated many aspects of reality that fall outside its chosen
categories.
So, consciousness, the spiritual and the mystical are considered outside
the scope of materialist science. But true science should encompass all
of reality, should it not?
But, as things now stand, science and the so-called paranormal phenomena
seem to be incompatible. In fact, the paranormal is defined as that
outside the scope of what science considers normal.
So, there you are! The conflict between the two is a question of
definition. It is more superficial and accidental rather than
substantial or essential.

The living are very much affected by spirits, but are spirits also
affected by the living? How?
The answer is yes. When a person dies suddenly—either because of
accident, violence or sickness—his/her consciousness is still here on
earth, among the living. If he/she has any unfinished business, his/her
spirit can be seen by sensitive individuals.
The dead will still be affected by the affairs and thoughts about them
by living relatives, close friends and other persons significant to them
when they were alive.
That's why it is wrong to mourn too much the passing of a person. It
keeps the dead from ascending to higher realms in the spirit world.
Prayers help the spirits of the dead but calling on them all the time is
bad for them. They will be pulled back to earth.
How do you feel about television shows or movies that depict the
mystical and paranormal?

They are mostly unrealistic and exaggerated. Some are downright false!
This is especially true of local shows. Their only objective seems to be
merely to scare people, not to educate or inform them of the facts about
these mysterious happenings. I don't pay too much attention to them.
At least some foreign productions are well researched and more
realistic. A few outstanding examples are "Ghosts," starring Demi Moore
and Patrick Swayze; and "Sixth Sense," starring Bruce Willis and Haley
Joel Osment.

What would you say to the skeptical and nonbelievers of the paranormal?
Nothing. I have no interest in converting them to my way of thinking.
Maybe one thing I would want to tell them is, "Do your homework. Conduct
some in-depth research and serious reading before making any conclusions
or before dismissing these things as nonsense."
I held that same skepticism before I started investigating thoroughly
these phenomena. I thought they were nonsense and a product of people's
fertile imagination, until I came across real scientific data and
extensive research supporting belief in them.

So, unless they have proof of the phenomena's validity or experience the
events themselves, they are correct in not believing.

Searching for signs of after life via electronic voice phenomena

2006-08-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

StoryHere
Searching for signs of after life via electronic voice phenomena
By Phil Hayworth
San Joaquin News Service
Last updated: Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006 - 06:29:18 am PDT Comments(0)

Nearly every Friday night, a team of self-described ghost hunters hits
the cemetery and spookiest spots in Tracy to look for signs of life
after death.

They call themselves Project Mayhem, and so far, they've haven't had a
face-to-face meeting with anything that even resembles a quivering,
howling ectoplasm or ghost — unless you consider the strange, soft
whisperings of unseen people as evidence of contact with another world.

Ricky Hyppa, a member of Project Mayhem, looks for "audio clues" next to
a grave at Tracy Cemetery on Friday night. (Courtesy photo) The work is
called "electronic voice phenomena," or EVP, as portrayed in the 2005
movie "White Noise," and the people involved try to pick up
communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic
devices.

"We lost; we lost them all," one disembodied voice said recently —
recorded on a tiny pocket-sized flash memory device during a foray into
Tracy's cemetery.
"Lost what?" You might ask. "The big game? A series of big games?" "We
really don't understand what we record," 19-year-old Kevin Grigsby said.
He said the team, which includes Brad Corbet, 18; Ricky Hyppa, 18; and
Cohen DeYoung, 18; are simply out to collect evidence and bring it back
to a skeptical and scared world.
"Most people are too afraid to go out and do it themselves," Corbet
admits.

So he's got himself a niche market. In a way, the teens are budding
entrepreneurs, convinced that people are willing to pay to have
"experts" spend a few hours in places where even the brave dare not go.
But mostly, it seems like the boys are having harmless fun. The police
have warned them to be careful, they said, and they've found themselves
explaining why they're hanging around abandoned hotels and cemeteries.
Once they explain themselves, the police generally chock it up to the
lively imaginations of the young and, perhaps, slightly bored. On the
other hand, they might be onto something. Belief in EVP in the United
States seems to have mushroomed with the popularity of things such as
Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" radio program. The late-night show regularly
hosts EVP-hunting guests, who play what they've recorded to a national
audience that may be cowering beneath the covers.

There's even a group called the American Association of Electronic Voice
Phenomena, claiming members in 40 states.
But the members of Project Mayhem haven't heard of the program or the
association. Their inspiration comes from the 1984 hit movie "Ghost
Busters" or the more recent "White Noise," which stars Michael Keaton.
"Go away," "Hey" or "Yeah." These are some of the words and phrases the
team members say they've recorded. Nothing spectacular and you have to
listen really hard sometimes to hear anything at all. Often, what one
hears is a matter of perception.

If they can make a living at it, it sure beats working at Burger King,
where all the men are gainfully employed. Their parents, they say, think
they have over-active imaginations.
But the work is addictive. One good, loud enunciated "Boo!" or a
blood-curdling scream only keeps them wanting more.

Contact reporter Phil Hayworth at phayworth@tracypress.com.

First published: Tuesday, August 1, 2006

The Devil Baby of Hull House

2006-08-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

Story

Posted By Alex Lucard on 07.31.2006
The Legend of Hull House

Odd week for me as we had a flood here in Minneapolis and my car took
some damage. I spent most of the week worried that the ol' Pikachu
Beetle would be totaled, but thankfully due to speed and care on my
part, the only thing needed was a tranny flush and some upholstery
replacement. However, this means I spent most of my week trying to take
my mind off the possibility of losing a car that looks like Pikachu and
thus didn't really do any research this week. So instead my friends,
this is where I let you in on a little secret.
Do you know why certain IP writers are consistently reliable and never
miss a column. Okay, Widro informs me I'm the only one, so do you ever
wonder WHY I seem to be the only one able to keep a column up even if I
have a family emergency or some strange offline drama? Simple. I plan
ahead. I keep a stock pile of non-dateable material that I can pull up
whenever I need to and put it out as my column. It means a I do a little
work early on to save me some last minute crunch or problems due to
writer's block or whatever else is thrown my way. This is going to be
one of those columns.

The Devil Baby of Hull House
Before Hull House was a multicultural museum owned at operated by the
University of Illinois, this famous Chicago landmark was the center of
Paranormal controversy in regards to a strange infant that was
supposedly locked away with in the house.

Hull House was built in 1856 when Halsted and Polk Street were the upper
class areas of Chicago. After the great Chicago fire of 1871, the richer
Chicago citizens move to other parts of the city, and the Southwest
corner that Hull House was part of soon became the immigrant location of
the city, housing mainly Italian, Greeks, and Jewish families. In the
1880's Hull House became surrounded by industry, with factories and
tenements, swelling the immigrant ranks of the Southwest and further
segregating Chicago's wealth.
In September 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr Gates moved into Hull
House, and founded the first United States Welfare Center there. Helen
Culver, secretary to the Hull Heirs, was allowed to given the social
workers a guaranteed twenty-five year rent-free lease.

Hull House began to provide many services to the poor such as
kindergarten and daycare for working mothers, an unemployment agency, an
art gallery, a library, settlement housing for the homeless and abused,
and even music and art classes. Hull House was a century ahead of its
time, housing other famous activists as Florence Kelley, Julia Lathrop,
Alice Hamilton, and the Abbots. Hull House managed to launch many new
organizations dedicated to labor and social welfare, including The
Immigrants Protective League, Juvenile Protective Association, and the
Institute for Juvenile Research. Due in part to the women of Hull House,
the Illinois legislature passed laws in 1903 giving women and children
protective labors laws and compulsory education. The federal government
soon followed suit, passing laws in 1916 enforcing child labor laws.

Addams became a prolific writer, and was a member of many local and
national organizations for race and gender equality. She became the
first leader of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
in 1919 and won the Nobel peace prize in 1931. Although Addams died from
cancer on May 21, 1935, the Hull House Organization continued on. Hull
House moved to a new location in 1963, and the old house was purchased
by the University of Illinois and turned into a Museum.
It was during Addams occupation of Hull House that the rumors of the
Devil baby began. But before that controversy started, Addams and Starr
encountered other supernatural phenomenon. Several years before Addams
came to Hull House, Mrs. Hull died of natural causes there, and a few
months after her passing, rumors began that Hull's ghost haunted the
room where she died. Overnight guests admitted to hearing strange
footsteps along with other ghostly and disturbing noises.

Jane Addams first occupied Mrs. Hull's room when she moved into Hull
House. One night however, Jane was awakened by loud footprints. She was
aghast to discover her room totally empty, with the noise still
persisting. Nights after night this ghostly occurrence repeated itself.
Jane eventually confided in Starr about the strange happenings, only to
find Ellen has experienced the same thing. Soon after this admission,
Jane moved to another room.
Other friends of Jane's tried the room only to encounter the same thing.
Helen Campbell actually saw the apparition who quickly vanished before
her eyes when she lit her gas lamp. Louise Bowen, Jane and Mary Smith,
and Canon Barrett all witnessed the odd noises and footsteps when they
visited the house in 1893.

Jane commented in her book, Twenty Years at Hull House, that she had
learned previous residents of Hull House considered it haunted as well!
The Little Sisters of the Poor, had kept a bucket of water at the top of
the stairs, believing the ghost was unable to cross it. This ghost was
believed to be harmless and forlorn, but a spectral presence nonetheless
than Hull House residents eventually learned to live with.
It was the 'Devil Baby' that truly cemented Hull House in haunted
Chicago folklore. In 1913, Hull house was overtaken with rumors that a
strangely deformed baby was born in the house and hidden away. The
immigrant communities passed their own version of the tales and the
house had a veritable horde of onlookers wishing to see the decrepit
child. Addams was perplexed as to where this story had sprung from and
constantly had to inform visitors that there was no basis to the rumor,
but when Chicago reporter Ben Hecht picked it up, things exploded to the
point where Jane had to devote two entire chapters of her biography to
disproving the story.
There are many versions of the story that Jane discovered when inquiring
where locals heard the story.

The Italian/Catholic version of the story involved a Devout Catholic
girl who married an Atheist. When the woman became pregnant and hung a
picture of the Virgin Mary over their bed, the husband became angered
and destroyed the picture, vowing he would rather have Satan himself in
their home. God punished the couple by making the woman birth a child
that bore an eerie resemblance to the Devil. It had horns, cloven
hooves, pointed ears, a long prehensile tail and scales covering its
entire body.
The Devil Baby was able to talk and walk from birth and constantly
threatened the father. It smoked cigars and its laugh frightened all who
heard it. The father, knowing nowhere else to go, brought the babe to
Jane Addams and begged her to take it. When Hull House members took the
creature to be baptized, it escaped from the priest and ran away on top
of the pews. Jane, with no other options, locked the baby in the attic.

The Irish Version of the story had an Irish girl not confessing an
affair and her pregnancy by that man instead of her husband.
There are no less than FOUR Jewish versions of this story, featuring a
Jewish girl marrying a Gentile where her father swore he would rather
have Satan for a grandson than a Gentile for a son-in-law. A Jewish man
who had six daughters already swore to his pregnant wife that he would
rather have the Devil than a seventh daughter. Yet another Jewish
version had a pregnant woman who watched the play Faust, and bore the
devil's child because she watched the devil on stage too intently.
Finally, there is an Orthodox Jewish version of the story where a woman
hid that she had an illegitimate child, and claimed her second child,
who was born in wedlock, was the only one she had. Then when she gave
birth to her third child, it was the Devil as punishment for her lies.

The final and most sinister version of the tale, according to Jane, was
a Husband who had committed a hideous crime years before and had never
concealed the nature of it to his wife. Because he had deceived his
innocent young bride and the priest who performed the Ceremony, the
child became the incarnation of that sin, resembling the devil itself.
For six straight weeks Jane had to turn back people who wished to view
the creature. She received calls form people who wanted to organize
tours, and had to crush people's hopes repeatedly by explaining to them
such a creature was not possible. People even offered her money in hopes
of glimpsing the satanic child.

Jane wrote in, The Long Road of Women's Memory, that the child's story
had been most likely created by older immigrant women of the community,
taking a tale from folklore 1000 years back and modifying it to show
that this current 'fad' of female equality and modernization was
frightening and against the words of the religion they had grown up
with. In other words, it was a metaphorical warning against changing
gender roles.

Jane also wrote that the story gave the community something to brighten
the humdrum existence that came with being part of the impoverished
working class. It let them hold on to their old world beliefs from the
countries that had left and also a way for the various groups to mix
without commentary on religion or race. So in some respects, in the
month and a half where curious and superstitious visitors plagued Hull
House, the rumor helped with Hull House's goal of uniting people.

Eventually the rumors abated and things returned to normal for Hull
House. But the story refused to go away entirely. Many believed Addams
had the child still in the house and merely denied the rumors. It
remained locked in the attic until it died. Some also believed it was
moved to another house in a city north of Chicago called Waukegan. Some
with a more rational view theorized the child was merely deformed and
its appearance was exaggerated. Jane, taking pity on the child, hid it
from the slack-jawed yokels who wished to gawk at it.
Even today though, the rumor persists. People claim that the baby can
still be seen staring out the attic window at passerby's. The house is
still on tours of Haunted Chicago and a few people claim they can an
uncomfortable aura when inside the museum. The Devil Baby legend was
even the inspiration for the novel, 'Rosemary's Baby,' written by Ira
Levins in 1967.

Today, other less famous rumors about Hull House being haunted exist.
Some claim Adams herself haunted the building, waiting for her work to
be finished. Other claim a woman committed suicide upstairs and exists.
Others have claimed to witness the ghost of monks. Unlike the Devil
baby, none of these rumors have any foundation or documentation, and
even the Devil baby was merely spoken word Urban Legend until Hecht.

Hull House is open to the public, featuring rotating exhibits on the
history of Adams and Hull House itself. The interior has been
refurnished to resemble how the house looked during Addams' occupancy of
it, and is filled with original painting, piece of furniture and photos
in an attempt to recapture the feeling of yesteryear. Attached to the
Hull House is an Arts and Crafts building which Addams had added on to
Hull House in 1906 as a dining hall. As of this writing, the first floor
is currently being renovated, and the second floor houses audio-visual
activities.

One can visit Hull House weekdays from Ten
am to Four pm and on Sundays from Noon until Five pm. The museum is
closed from December 24th, until the First of January, and admission is
free. Group tours must be booked in advance.

For more information about Hull House write;
JANE ADDAMS-HULL HOUSE MUSEUM
The University of Illinois at Chicago
800 South Halsted
Chicago, IL 60607-7017
(312)-413-5353
Sources
Addams, Jane. The Long Road of Woman's Memory. New York: Macmillan
Press, 1916;
Boondocks Edition, 2000.
Addams, Jane. The Second Twenty Years at Hull House. New York: MacMillan
Press,
1930; Boondocks Edition, 2000.
Bielski, Ursula. Chicago Haunts. Chicago: Lake Claremount Press, 1988.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, The. New
York:
Checkmark Books, 2000
Riccio, Dolores, and Joan Bingham. Haunted Houses USA. New York: Pocket
Books,
1989.
Scott, Beth and Michael Norman. Haunted Heartland. New York: Warner
Books, 1985.
Taylor, Troy, Haunted Illinois. Alton, IL: Whitechapel Production press,
1999.

2006-07-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

Boots

http://livinglifetoitsfullest.blogspot.com/

What I told her is in the U.S. the average police fire fight last approx 2.5 sec for any cop. Our military have give much more time than that to this man. As a cop from L.A. N.Y. or Houstan to wait approx. 15 secs when a perp is coming at him like that. Yea right. Now tell me again what our military is doing wrong.
not shooting fast enough.

Who Are You Gonna Call

2006-07-30T10:11:00.000-05:00

WhoYaGonnaCall

Who You Gonna Call?

By Josh Eiserike
Media General News Service
Friday, July 28, 2006

A Waynesboro, Va., family claimed a demon possessed their daughter. They also said people were literally stepping out of paintings into their living room.

Since Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were unavailable, they called the Center for Paranormal Research to investigate these otherworldly happenings.

Brian Bradley of Fairfax, Va., was part of that investigation, which took place in October 2004.

"We kept our skepticism to ourselves, but that family was a little off," said Bradley, 32.
He said the daughter, 17, was alleged to have participated in a double-homicide a couple weeks prior. Allegedly, she aided and abetted a convicted murderer by stealing a car, before both were apprehended in a high-speed chase in Florida. Bradley added that they also found a marijuana cigarette in the open in the house.

"The problems were not paranormal," said Bradley. "Their issues were family-related and psychological in nature. They were blaming their issues on ghosts."

This was just one of two dozen paranormal investigations Bradley has participated in with the Center for Paranormal Research, a non-profit organization based just outside of Richmond, dedicated to researching paranormal phenomena.

The Center for Paranormal Research scientifically investigates unexplained happenings, such as apparitions or noises. They do not use psychics, Ouija boards or other new-age methods. Instead, they measure electromagnetic frequencies, psychological profiles and recordings to study the unexplainable -- apparitions, noises and flying objects. They operate across Virginia, and have 20 investigators.

Bradley has been interested in paranormal activity since he was young -- in fact, a potentially paranormal experience sparked his curiosity in the topic. When he was 3 or 4 years old, he vividly remembers having a conversation with his uncle, who died two days prior.

"Looking back, that could have just been my imagination," said Bradley, who then devoted his free time to reading everything he could about ghosts and paranormal activity. In 2002 he got involved with the Center for Paranormal Research.

"I believe there's something not fully explained by science," said Bradley, who also said that he has not personally witnessed any paranormal activity other than that conversation with his uncle, which may not have even occurred. Bradley also works as the director of facilities for Nortel Government Solutions in Fairfax.

Bobbie Atristain is the director of the Center for Paranormal Research. She founded the organization in 2000 because she wanted to pursue paranormal research from a scientific perspective. This research is a hobby for Atristain -- she holds a day job as an applications engineer for Longwood University in Farmville, Va.

Atristain said that every year the Center for Paranormal Research gets hundreds of cases from across the state, which include people seeing apparitions, hearing strange noises or seeing objects inexplicably hurl across a room.

First the Center for Paranormal Research does a preliminary investigation, which includes an electromagnetic reading with an instrument called a TriField meter. The preliminary investigation also includes a psychological investigation, to determine if the person who is experiencing the paranormal activity is stable and to get an idea of their perception.

"Only 5 or 6 percent are credible cases," said Atristain, 30. "The rest can be explained."

If the case is determined to be credible, they conduct a full-scale investigation to document the unexplained happenings, which includes video and audio recordings and surveillance. All of this is free of charge, a hobby of the investigators.

Atristain said the immediate satisfaction from an investigation is helping the family. However, they don't stop the phenomena --they can only help explain or document it, collecting data of paranormal activity.

"We're not ghostbusters or exorcists," said Atristain.

Potomac News staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at (703) 878-8072.

Mo Ghosty Stuff

2006-07-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

TheStory

On lookout for ghost stories: Paranormal sleuths to visit Library Park
Saturday, July 29, 2006
BY KATHY HALLORAN

WATERBURY -- If you believe in ghosts, you may want to steer clear of
Library Park.
A Westport-based paranormal investigation society, the Smoking Gun
Research Agency, said it has received several reports of ghostly
activity in the park on Grand Street.
The group plans to "spook" around the area this afternoon at 3 if the
weather cooperates, said the agency's director, Jon Nowinski.
The city's first burial ground, known as the Grand Street Cemetery, was
on the site of what is now Library Park. It was the only burial ground
in the city from 1686 well into the 1800s. As many as 2,000 graves
reportedly remain in the park.
The agency has received seven "experience reports" from people who say
they've had contact with the great beyond, Nowinski said.

"What we've had is information from people who have been walking in the
park and had strange feelings, or driven by the park and thought they
saw a figure within the park,'' he said. "One person who was walking
outside of the park wall claimed they saw a figure kneeling at a
headstone. It was one of those things where they looked back and the
figure was gone, but they were certain of what they saw."
Sometimes called "Burying Hill Yard," the cemetery was divided into
sections for Episcopalians and Catholics. More than 30 years after the
cemetery was established, a section was known as the "Colored Burial
Plot," where people of color were buried.
The oldest known grave is that of Benjamin Barnes, the cemetery's first
gravedigger, who died at age 25 in 1709. Caesar Rose, who died Jan. 31,
1868, at age 77, is the last known person to have been buried there.
The cemetery was also the burial place of the Rev. John Southmayd and
the Rev. Mark Leavenworth, the second and third ministers in Waterbury.

On April 24, 1891, preliminary work on Silas Bronson Library began. A
group of men began moving headstones, and some caskets and remains were
moved to Riverside Cemetery, which is off Riverside Street.
Many residents called the day "Black Friday," most notably resident
Sarah Pritchard. In an April 26, 1891, editorial for the Waterbury
Republican, she wrote: "For alas! Strangers and aliens have turned under
the sod the beloved memorials of Waterbury's noblest, bravest, oldest
dead."

During the excavating, many of the stones were removed. Many others
scattered around the grounds were crushed under the wheels of carts. The
stones that were left were reset, but not always over the graves to
which they belonged.

And this, Nowinski said, may be what's contributing to the unexplained
phenomena.
"When someone or something seems to disturb a cemetery, there seems to
be a lot of activity there," he said. "That's something we've found in a
lot of our investigations."

The agency, formed in 1997, does around 200 paranormal investigations a
year, Nowinski said. It has 12 investigators and more than 300 members.

Usually, four to six investigators and what Nowinski called a "lot of
sophisticated camera equipment," visit sites to determine if, in their
opinion, there is ghostly activity. The investigators use video, digital
and still cameras attempting to capture spiritual images. Digital
thermometers, electromagnetic thermometers and audio equipment are also
used.
"We'll do a walk-through of the area first," Nowinski said. "It's best
if we have experienced reports from people in a certain area so we can
center in that area.

But we'll walk the whole site. Then we'll go back (to Westport) and
spend a lot of time reviewing everything we have. It could take anywhere
from a couple of hours to a couple of days, and if we do seem to have
activity at the site we'll go back and do a more specific
investigation."
The agency does not go into any private sites, such as a cemetery or
home, without permission, Nowinski said. It also does not support
trespassing or vandalism in any way, he said.
Investigations can take anywhere from one to six hours. Nowinski said he
tells his investigators, or those aspiring to be investigators, to have
an open mind.

"What we always tell people is that in order to be an investigator, you
have to be open to the possibilities that there are other things out
there. But you also have to be skeptical," he said. "You can't go into
an investigation 100 percent believing you're going to find something.
We say go in with an open mind, but accept there may be a logical
explanation."
Some Waterburians have already made up their minds.

Ken Killer, a local historian who taught biology at Wilby High School in
Waterbury for 33 years, said he hasn't heard of any ghostly activity in
Library Park.
"I don't believe in things like that -- I'm a biologist, I'm more
science-oriented," he said. "I don't see any scientific evidence in
paranormal investigation."
Renaldo Betts, who lives in the city, was walking his dog Max in the
park on Friday. He said he was undaunted by the fact he was walking over
graves.

"Look at this place -- the grass is green, the sky is blue, the sun is
shining," he said. "You think some ghost is gonna show up here? Baby, I
believe in taxes, God and death. Ghosts? Nah. I don't believe in that."

Ghost Hunting

2006-07-28T15:13:00.000-05:00

Article published Jul 27, 2006
Ghost-hunting group searches out paranormal activity on Eastern Shore

It takes a lot of equipment to hunt for ghosts. In this case, two cars
full of cameras, audio recorders, infrared thermometers, electromagnetic
field detectors and a couple of stopwatches.The members of Eastern Shore
Paranormal are unloading it all on to a dining room table in Snow Hill,
flipping open metal cases to demonstrate how each device works.

"The main goal, as I see it, is to collect whatever evidence we can,"
said ESP member Chris Power. "We capture these hauntings that people
think they are experiencing in order to try and prove or disprove
ghosts."
Chris, a statistician with a master's degree in engineering, founded the
ghost-hunting group along with husband Jimmy Power in 2004. Each had an
early interest in the paranormal. "I think with any field, the more you
find out, the more questions you have, and that's where we are right
now," said Power.

They have captured strange lights, strange sounds and strange energy
from some of the Shore's legendary haunts and from private homes. Some
"ghosts" turn out to have a simple explanation: condensation blowing off
a roof that forms a specter-like object, a power line that creates an
energy spike. Other experiences, such as the distinct sound of a young
voice recorded at a local cemetery, are a bit harder to explain. A video
showing a bedside clock that appears to move across a hotel nightstand
-- seemingly on its own -- is positively creepy. "We can't always
explain what the causes are, but when we share that data with others in
the paranormal community who are also collecting data, hopefully all
that information together will point to causes."

Jimmy is the only one in the group who whole-heartedly believes in
ghosts, but fellow member Steve Frey, a history major at Salisbury
University, admits he's willing to do just about anything to get more
information. A long night in a reportedly haunted cemetery paid off when
he caught a glimpse of a little girl in a blue dress skirt behind a
tree. He chalked it up to exhaustion and an active imagination, until he
reviewed the night's data. "We got home and listened to the audio tape,
and we got a little girl's voice," said Frey. "I've seen things, I've
heard things, we've recorded things. I'm not ready to say (the data) has
anything to do with ghosts or an afterlife, but I don't know what it
is."

The five members of ESP are eager to collect more information, offering
their services for free to anyone who suspects a haunting. "I think if
we're different in any way, we try to be very thorough in recording
everything we can," said Chris. They spend three to six hours per visit
taking notes, recording sounds, running cameras and asking questions.
"It's also absolutely anonymous. We publish only as much as the client
will allow."

Jimmy points out that there are many kinds of paranormal experiences:
Spirits, poltergeists, ghosts, each with defining characteristics. The
holy grail of ghost hunting for this group would be an interaction.
"Communication, honestly, would be the best way to convince the skeptic.
If there's something out there trying to talk ... trying to talk back,"
said Chris.
Yes, they've been scared. Frey still laments the time he watched the
temperature drop -- rapidly -- on an infrared thermometer. It bothered
him enough to walk away from the site instead of getting out the camera.
And while they always hope to come across the unknown, discovering a
non-spooky cause can be rewarding, too.

"Sometimes we can make people feel better if we can just explain what's
happening," said Chris.

To reach Eastern Shore Paranormal, call 443-270-6213, or visit
www.spellfyre.com.

Story

__._,_.___

2006-07-26T20:41:00.000-05:00

Link

Psychics and Spirits Haunt East Village's `Strange Powers´ Show

July 24, 2006 (Bloomberg) -- What New York building of a certain age
doesn't have its ghosts? ``Strange Powers,´´ a group exhibition
organized by the art-nonprofit Creative Time, shoves more than the usual
spirits into a creaky old building in the East Village. The organizers
even claim that the brick townhouse may be haunted.

The claim is a showboat gesture, less earnest than enticing. But just in
case, artist Miranda Lichtenstein kindly brought in a psychic healer,
Sondra Shaye, to ghost-wash the space before the exhibition opened. A
photograph of Shaye at work hangs on a wall; she stands relaxed but
focused, her eyes closed and palms open. (The photograph will later be
replaced by a video of Shaye's cleansing.)

All of the works either document similar transformations -- recording
auras, drug trips, spiritual pilgrimages -- or (even more fun) enact
psychic change on the spot.
The psychics and healers clearly think they are in communion with
invisible powers. But the 21 artists included, for the most part, engage
the occult coyly, leaving the work of figuring out the limits of belief
to viewers.
Sophie Calle takes the instructions of a psychic as her road map in a
video journey through France. Ultimately, a text message from a distant
relative with a similar name to a town she visits convinces her that the
experiment was worthwhile. It is a thin, unpersuasive thread, but the
spectacle of Calle's blind trust in the psychic makes the video entirely
engrossing.

Scary Dark Room
Faith -- in the otherworldly and in the invisible in general -- is at
issue. A completely dark room summons the ghost of artist James Lee
Byars, who died in 1997; he created ``The Ghost of James Lee Byars´´
while he was alive. Entering the room begins a trust game. Deprived of
sight, there´s no way to know who or what you might bump into. Bodily
borders disappear in this simple but extremely effective magic trick.
I am a skeptic. I don't believe anything is true unless it can be seen
or proved. But I was loath to linger in the dark room or in front of a
small square of black paint that had been cursed by the exhibition
curators, Peter Eleey and Laura Hoptman. Artist Douglas Gordon sent them
a letter instructing them to ``do something evil.´´ They tried to
get a witch or psychic to curse the paint for them, but all refused to
participate in black magic. So they did it themselves.
Charmed Circle
And when artist Peter Coffin drew a chalk circle around me, I
automatically hopped quickly out, anxious to avoid any kind of unnatural
luck, good or bad. (Less cautious visitors can ask a gallery attendant
to encircle them if Coffin is not there.)

The art on view exposes the superstition that lies under the skin of
skeptics like myself. It is strangely powerful indeed to be moved by art
like this -- not to tears or to joy, but to doubt. Much contemporary
conceptual art, let alone art about the supernatural, can seem like an
elaborately staged fraud. But by openly engaging a desire to believe,
works such as Calle's and Coffin's are touchingly honest and accessible.
In courting the absurd, the works in ``Strange Power´´ offer a
respite from total logic; they are deeply escapist. But escape from
worldly pressures into haunted realms is, temporarily, a welcome tonic.

``Strange Powers´´ is on view through Sept. 17 at 64 E. Fourth St.
Information: (1)(212) 206-6674 or http://www.creativetime.org
``Euan Macdonald: Healer´´ (2002), a video portrait of an eerily
staring psychic, is also running on the NBC Astrovision by Panasonic
Screen in Times Square every 59th minute to the hour.

(Carly Berwick is an art critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions
expressed are her own.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Carly Berwick at cberwick@gmail.com.

Last Updated: July 24, 2006 00:07 EDT

Spooky Web Links

2006-07-26T10:27:00.000-05:00

http://www.thesupernaturalworld.co.uk/

http://the-psychic-detective.com/

http://www.spiritandsky.com/

http://www.sightingseekers.com/

http://www.true-ghost-stories.com/

http://www.ghosts.org/

http://skepdic.com/reincarn.html

http://www.geocities.com/richard_holmes/reincarnation/faq.htm

http://skepdic.com/esp.html

http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/esp1.htm
...........Test your ESP

http://www.near-death.com/

A psychic checkup

2006-07-24T17:55:00.000-05:00

A psychic checkup for a happier house
Paul Asay
The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette
July 23, 2006

Most home inspectors deal with concrete stuff.
Faith Ranoli does that -- and a little more. For her, "energy" isn't
about how many electrical sockets are in a room. It's the psychic vibe a
house gives off -- electromagnetic currents, subatomic particles and the
thought waves from previous owners. It's all about whether the home is
"happy."

"[This job] is not so much about the money," Ranoli said. "It's more
about healing the planet one house at a time."
Ranoli calls herself a "holistic home inspector." She combines mold
inspections with metaphysics. Most of her clients are home buyers: Not
all ask Ranoli to gauge the psychic health of their would-be home, but
if they ask, she's happy to help.

Ranoli says that she can see ghosts and sense the presence of memories
in a house. She uses measuring devices to help her find the house's
electromagnetic fields.
Ranoli says her work is based on science and natural law. Artificial
electromagnetic fields can change the feel and health of a house. So can
leylines, part of what Ranoli characterizes as a natural worldwide
energy grid. Psychic flotsam builds up.

Such homes require a clearing, said Ranoli. Clearing ceremonies sweep
away psychic residue.
But home buyers don't necessarily want to get rid of all those psychic
impressions. Some may help the home be more welcoming and inviting.
"I believe the soul of the home is comprised of all the energy that's
passed over that land," Ranoli said. "Some of that you may want to keep,
and some you want to balance out."
Story

July 23, 2006
And you thought your job stunk
Cleaning crime scenes can be a very lucrative trade, but it can be
pretty creepy
By NATALIE PONA

I shake hands with the Caretaker of Death.
"We're employed by the Grim Reaper," says Christian Cadieux, waiting on
the porch outside the Riverdale home.
"Can you smell anything?" he asks, once behind the heavy hardwood doors
of the 120-year-old house.
"I don't smell anything bad," I say with a shrug. I smell chemicals, old
lady, sickly sweetness.
"No decomposing flesh? Nothing offensive? Just old house?"
Once his job is done, this place could go for $1 million, he says,
adding it won't smell like anything but old house by then.
- - -
Cadieux asked one question after leaving university with a business
degree: "What am I going to do that will allow me to retire before the
age of 40?"

After working with a crime scene cleaner in the U.S., "I found it so
intriguing that I decided to pursue it," said Cadieux, 31, over an iced
tea at a Timothy's on the Danforth.
That was five years ago. Now, $40,000 in equipment later, Cadieux is
trained in neutralizing biohazards, like anthrax, and decontaminating
drug labs, accident scenes and stolen cars for his company, Crime &
Trauma Scene Cleaners. It's one of those dirty jobs that someone's got
to do -- but no kid grows up dreaming about.
"There will always be a demand for this. Toronto has become the OK
Corral," said Cadieux, a bachelor with a strong Greek Orthodox faith.
"It's a little difficult, sometimes, meeting somebody when you tell them
what you do," he said, blushing. "I make my living off unfortunate
circumstances. I am no different than a funeral director. It's nothing
personal."
- - -
"Do I have a story for you," the Caretaker whispers, as we make our way
up the stairs.
The sun spills in through the picture windows but the light is dim,
bouncing off the starkly white walls of this sealed building.
"This house is haunted."
It had been owned by a reclusive Canadian painter who was diagnosed with
schizophrenia. Last January, she just disappeared.
"She was an introvert. She isolated herself from the world," he says, as
we climb to the attic. "She lost it towards the end."
Six months later, "the neighbours had picked up a really foul odour."
She froze to death when her boiler broke. Police found her body rotting
in a mountain of pizza boxes, maggots and unopened mail.
We pass Cadieux's crew on the way up. They're stripping sticky carpet
adhesive off the hardwood floor.

"Did you guys turn on the lights? Tell me you turned on the lights,"
Cadieux says, as he flicks off the light switch in an attic room. "I'll
just pretend nothing happened."
Strange things -- like that -- began happening soon after Crime & Trauma
started the job June 18, he says.
"I'm a very realistic person. I've seen a lot of things in my life and
not a lot of things bother me. But there are things I've seen on this
job and that members of my crew have seen ..." he trails off. "A lot of
cold air, goose bumps. We don't talk about it. We try to ignore it and
just do our job."
But he couldn't ignore what caused him to lose two workers.

The female employees had been tidying the former computer room -- the
very room we're standing in.
He was working downstairs when he heard screaming and pounding on the
stairs.
"The two ladies were in absolute hysterics."
One woman, a grandmother, claimed she was shoved into the wall by an
invisible assailant, Cadieux says. Now he insists his crew work in teams
of two.
There have been other unexplained things, Cadieux says: Doors opening,
equipment moving, "orbs" appearing in insurance pictures, dusty
footprints on clean stairs.
He's so convinced it's haunted that he left a voice-activated tape
recorder in the home one night.

OPEN OFFER
What it seemingly captured guarantees he'll never lose the $1,000 he's
offered to any employee willing to spend a night there alone.
"No way, only if my dog can come," says employee Ron Bridgelal, after
bringing up the player from the van, along with some fresh batteries.
Sitting on the stairs, Ron hits ON. We huddle in, listening to static.
After a few minutes, Ron and I jump when we hear a voice -- we think.
"Please help me," it says.
- - -
"I never have nightmares. I just say three Hail Marys before I go to
bed," Cadieux said, taking another sip from his iced tea.
Nothing truly bothers him in cleaning up after rage, despair and
loneliness.
"At one point in my life, evil was just a theory. Now it's a reality."
He does it because, like any businessman, he's found a niche.
Emergency crews take away the big pieces. Without Cadieux's services,
grieving family members would be left to clean up the rest. Blood and
guts are like "Frisbees," splattering up stairs and under beds.

MASSACRE
Though most of his 100 jobs blur together, one stands out.
"It involved very similar circumstances to the Amityville Horror
massacre," he said, referring to the 1974 incident in Amityville, N.Y.,
where six members of a family were slaughtered.
In this case, a man murdered three relatives after his sister didn't
split her lottery winnings. Then he killed himself. The bodies went
undiscovered for two months, sealed in a home in the Southern U.S.
"That was the worst thing I ever smelled. And I did vomit," he said.

He decompresses with humour: "The key question, and I know this is going
to sound bad, but I want to know who gets the lottery ticket."
One of his most troubling jobs was for an elderly bachelor living alone
in Toronto.
"He had a fatal heart attack in the shower. He broke his teeth, he was
bleeding everywhere."
The man left a blood trail that traced his dying moments.
"He was within arms reach of the phone. He didn't make it."
- - -
This job will cost $25,000, Cadieux says, as we pass through the living
room into the dank basement. An average scene runs $2,500 to $5,000.
When his crew arrived, the house was piled high with garbage.
"Most (victims) on decomp jobs suffer from packrat syndrome. We used 10
dumpster bins for contents removal. The house was beyond dirty."
He found a 1948 Superman comic in the filth -- too destroyed to salvage.
They also found a couple of Ouija boards and candles, maybe explaining
the haunting, Cadieux guesses.
But he's more than Molly Maid. Typical scenes are rife with biohazards
-- blood, brains, urine.
An employee spent several hours "chiselling" feces out of a toilet that
hadn't been flushed in years, Cadieux says.

"It's equivalent to the waste that is generated from a surgical room, if
not more."
"A basic janitorial company won't go there" -- and shouldn't try, says
Cadieux, who wants his business regulated, as it is in some U.S. cities.
"That's what separates the butcher from the artist. A true artist knows
his solvents, knows his equipment, knows his personal protective gear,
and knows the law."
Cadieux points to a section of the basement ceiling he's stripped of its
drywall.
"These are body fluid stains," he says. "They trickled down from the
tile flooring," then dripped onto a cardboard box and futon.
Back up the creaky stairs and we're in the kitchen -- ground zero.
"This is where they found her body."
He had scraped the floor to the wood. Workers stacked orange china on
one corner counter, waiting to be collected by the woman's ex-husband.
They divorced after her diagnosis but she never changed her will.

PROFESSIONALS
Snaking stains on the bare floor mark where the fluid leached from the
woman and through the linoleum.
"You could eat off this floor," he says, explaining it's been thoroughly
decontaminated.
Average cleaners can't handle crime scenes, Cadieux says. Viruses, such
as hepatitis, are spread by crawling insects that had made a meal of the
victim's flesh.
This entire house has been scoured, done to make it appear as if the
Caretaker has never been here, as if his services were never needed.

Cadieux putters around the kitchen, readying his atomizer for another
round of decontaminant.
"You'd be surprised how many people came here and dropped off letters
wanting to buy this house."
Story

Ghosts

2006-07-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

Story
Paranormal investigation conducted on the Morgan
7/23/06
By TIM WEISBERG,
Standard-Times correspondent
Photo courtesy of Mystic SeaportThe Rhode Island Paranormal Research
Group, which has been using a scientific approach to investigate claims
of the paranormal for more than two decades, has received numerous
reports about spirit activity on the Morgan through the years.

MYSTIC, Conn. — For more than 60 years, people in New Bedford have
pleaded for the return of the Charles W. Morgan, which began its life in
the Whaling City back in the mid-19th century.

Now, the spirit of the world's most famous whaling ship might also long
for a return home.
The Morgan, one of Connecticut's top tourist attractions at Mystic
Seaport, appears to be inhabited by the spirit of "Gerald," a
19th-century seaman who still works on the ship as he did more than 100
years ago.
The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group, which has been using a
scientific approach to investigate claims of the paranormal for more
than two decades, has received numerous reports about spirit activity on
the Morgan through the years. When the group received three similar
reports from three different groups that described an encounter with a
spirit aboard the ship, it decided to investigate.

When the research group checked out the claims, investigators had a
haunting feeling that they weren't alone on the great vessel.
Director Andrew Laird had an encounter with a spirit during the group's
investigation, although he didn't know it at the time.
"We had security guards that were helping us out, and Dr. Laird
approached someone who he thought was a security guard, near the
midmast," group member Maggie Florio said. "The guard didn't respond to
him; he just walked toward the midmast but never appeared around the
other side."
She added that in more than 20 years of investigating the paranormal,
this is only the second time Dr. Laird has seen an apparition.
A fellow "sensitive" with the group, Renee Blais, is the one who felt
the presence of Gerald.
A search of the Morgan crew lists on the Mystic Web site did not turn up
anyone with the first or last name of Gerald, although the site
indicates that there are crew lists from six voyages that have yet to be
discovered.

spiritual energy
Ms. Florio, a "sensitive" who can connect with the energy of a location
when others might not, was part of the five-person team that
investigated the ship. As part of their preliminary investigation, the
group took digital still photographs and also brought digital voice
recorders in hopes of catching EVPs. EVP, or electronic voice phenomena,
is the idea that spirits that cannot be otherwise heard can imprint
their voices on audio devices that are discovered upon review, but not
heard when they occur.

In addition, Dr. Laird examined the ship using a Natural Tri-Field EMF
Detector, which according to Ms. Florio, will detect disturbances in the
electromagnetic field of an area. Unlike other EMF detectors, it ignores
the signals given off from explainable electronic devices, such as
wiring or cell towers.
The theory is that for a spirit to manifest, it needs to draw on energy;
therefore, a spike in EMF ratings could indicate the presence of a
spirit summoning up power.
"Near the midmast of the ship, he started getting some very high
readings," she said. "It was what we call 'pegging' the meter. It was
pretty amazing. We don't usually get readings that high."

On a return trip with FOX News, another EMF detector indicated an EMF
disturbance with regularity, something Ms. Florio dubbed "a signature."
The signature followed the crew around as they visited various parts of
the ship, as though the spirit wanted to see what they were up to.
"It's very strange, but also very exciting," she said.
Mystic spokesman Michael O'Farrell said this is the first time that
Mystic Seaport has ever allowed a paranormal research organization to
investigate one of its ships.
Although Mr. O'Farrell said he was originally skeptical about the
existence of the spirit, he was present for the initial investigation
and said he saw some things that piqued his curiousity. He is awaiting
the group's complete report before approving a more thorough
investigation.

renovation looms
So why is Gerald making himself known to visitors of the ship now?
In fall 2007, the Morgan will come out of the water to undergo a
three-year, $3.5 million restoration of the main hull. The final 30
percent of original timber still on the ship, which falls below the
water line, will be replaced by new live oak, including some 200 trees
donated from along the Mississippi coast that were uprooted in Hurricane
Katrina.
Could this affect the spirit of one of the more than 1,000 seamen who
served on the Morgan during its years as a whaler? Is there one
particular former sea hand who doesn't want to see the old girl change?

Local paranormal researcher and investigator Derek Bartlett of the Cape
and Islands Paranormal Research Society agrees that the work on the ship
could play into the possibility for paranormal happenings.
"In our investigations, about 40 percent started occurring due to
renovations," Mr. Bartlett said. "Renovations can serve almost as
'stirring up the beehive' when it comes to paranormal activity."

According to Mr. Bartlett, the spirit seen can be either an "intelligent
haunting," in which the spirit interacts with people and is aware of its
situation, or a "residual haunting," in which the spirit is actually
like a videotaped event that keeps playing over and over.
The fact that the ship is floating in water, an excellent conductor of
the energy needed for paranormal activity to occur, could be what he
called "the batteries to keep recharging the haunting."

Tim Weisberg hosts "Spooky Southcoast," a talk show about the
paranormal, from 10 p.m. to midnight Saturdays on WBSM, 1420 AM. E-mail
him at tim@spookysouthcoast.com

Date of Publication: July 23, 2006 on Page A07

GHOSTS JOIN EXTRAS IN SPOOKY TV SHOW
7/24/06

The dead are spooking actress JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT and her GHOST
WHISPERER cast and crew by making blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances
in frames of film.

Editors behind the scenes of the hit US TV show, in which the actress
speaks to ghosts, have started spotting sinister images when they check
back through film. Producers think that perhaps the dead 'extras' are
trying to tell loved ones they've left behind they're OK, and so they've
posted the split-second cameos on the show's official website. Love
Hewitt says, "They (editors) find presences on film all the time.

In one instance they froze the still and saw a person in the background
who wasn't in the frame before or the frame after." The actress admits
her show has helped grieving parents and spouses come to terms with
their loss - and realise their dead loved ones are never too far away
from them. She adds, "I was talking to a fan and she told me how her and
her husband always sit down to have dinner together and watch the show
and hold hands. "It wasn't until the end of the conversation that I
realised that the woman's husband was dead."
STORY

2006-07-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Monday July 24, 2006
Ona sees dead people

A maid from West Java, Indonesia, has the uncanny ability to see ghosts
– and not just during the Ghost Month. MAJORIE CHIEW catches up with
her for some real-life ghost stories.

ONA RASIKAN, 21, has no way of dodging ghosts and is resigned to her
fate. "I try to pray to keep my sanity and hope for divine intervention
to keep me safe. Given a choice, I would not want to see ghosts. Nobody
would," she says.

For her, the eerie contacts with ghosts are not confined to a particular
month, like Ghost Month. These unnerving experiences can occur anytime,
anywhere.
Her first sighting of the paranormal occurred when she was just 10. She
had a sleepover at a friend's house. That night it was raining and she
heard someone calling her thrice. When she confronted her friend the
next day, she realised to her horror that she had not called her.
"Something was amiss," she recalls, as she looked out the window from
the canteen of a hospital in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, where she was
being interviewed. "About 50m away stood the ghostly figure, calling me.
My friend's house was next to a graveyard."
One of her scariest encounters was with a beautiful pontianak (female
vampire) in Banten, West Java, when she was 14. Her face was pale as she
related a series of ghostly encounters.

She warmed her hands against a hot glass of Chinese tea and shuddered. I
reached out to hold her icy cold hands; momentarily, I felt her fear.
"A group of us were walking home at about 10.30pm. I was the last one.
Out of nowhere, her nose caught a whiff of a fragrance in the air –
that of assorted flowers and misik oil (applied on dead bodies). "I
asked myself: 'What's that smell?' Then I felt a tug at my tee-shirt.
After a few more tugs, I felt annoyed and turned around to see if any of
my friends was playing a prank."
Instead, she claims she saw the ghost of a woman holding a baby. She
screamed and everyone ran for dear life. One of them tripped and fell
into a drain.
After that incident, she fell ill for a month. The most unusual
encounter was with a durian ghost.

At 18, she and five friends were returning from town on motorcycles
after a night of dancing. On the way to the village, they had to pass
through secluded stretches of trees and undergrowth. Along one
stretch, their motorcycles suddenly stalled for no reason and they
alighted. Then the lights started blinking.
They heard a thud and saw that a durian had fallen and rolled onto their
path. One of her friends picked up the thorny fruit and screamed,
"Hantu, hantu, lari lari (Ghost, ghost, run, run)." They tried to run
but felt as if their legs were tied and their mouths were locked. So
they sat huddled together, trembling.
"The durian had eyes, a mouth, a nose and long, sharp fangs. That
freaked us out," she claims.

"At about 1am, a passer-by found us in a state of shock. Only after he
touched one of us did we awaken from the 'trance'." Later, the girls
found out that the haunting probably had to do with a tragedy in which
someone died after leaping off a bridge nearby.
Another time, Ona saw a roll of cloth with lights blocking her path. She
knew that it was unwise to touch or move the cloth. She prayed:
"Saya tak kacau. Tolong kasi jalan (I do not want to cause any problem.
Please give me a way)," and took another way to her destination. When
she turned back, the roll of textiles had vanished.

She also claims that she has seen a pontianak on the branches of a guava
tree and, on another occasion, a pochong, a ghost all wrapped up in
white cloth.
While the pontianak had the most eerie laughter, the pochong moved in
the most unusual manner, recalls Ona.
Two years ago, she claims she had another haunting. As she was sweeping
the floor of her employer's apartment in Petaling Jaya at about 5pm, a
female ghost called out to her.
"The ghost was in a white outfit and floating. It had no face but had
long hair and it was waving to me," she says. Ona fled.

Her most frightening and vulnerable moment was when she was apparently
possessed by 40 evil spirits many years ago. "I was screaming,
laughing and crying. My voice would waver and alter from a man's to a
woman's voice. Three bomohs came to my rescue," she says, adding that
she has no memory of the exorcism.

However, she remembers suffering aches and pain all over her body.
Story

Searching for Spirits

2006-07-24T13:17:00.000-05:00

Searching for Spirits
By Darrell Laurant
Lynchburg News & Advance
Sunday, July 23, 2006 BEDFORD - Go ahead and tell Sue Sereno your ghost stories - she'd loveto hear them. The supernatural world has held a lifelong fascination forher, and she never tires of listening to tales of half-glimpsed faces inempty windows or mysteriously moving objects. Just understand that as a"ghost hunter," she'll have to remain a skeptic. "A human being giving you details is the worst kind of proof," Sereno,co-founder of the Central Virginia-based Ghostec, said recently. "Thingsyou see, feel and hear aren't really of any use to us unless they can beverified, and 95 percent of the time, they can't. We live for the 5percent that can." The name of her organization emphasizes this approach. Although"Ghostec" actually stands for "Ghost Hunters of the Southern EastCoast," the confluence of the two words appears to meld the supernaturaland the scientific. On a Saturday evening earlier this month, a dozen human beings were upon the second floor of the historic Avenel House in downtown Bedford.The dusk outside was slowly fading to black, and group members werebusily setting out various electronic devices in the upstairs bedrooms. Sereno and her best friend and fellow ghost hunter, Sandy Ayers, loveAvenel. "I can't count how many times we've been over there," said Ayers, anamiable woman who works in retail ("Let's just leave it at that"). "Alot of times, I'd be over to Sue's, and we'd be wondering what to dowith ourselves, and she'd say, 'Let's drive over to Avenel.' "We've alsodone a lot of research. I'll bet we know more about the place now thanthe tour guides do." They know that the graceful white two-story mansion was built in 1838and has been visited (according to legend, at least) by Robert E. Leeand Edgar Alan Poe. And that it is said to be haunted by a serene,white-gowned specter dubbed "The White Lady of Avenel," who has alsobeen seen in the company of a white-clad gentleman ghost (apparently,this couple believed in dressing well even in the afterlife). They've heard other people tell of witnessing an older black man and awoman wearing a bonnet, an old-fashioned dress, and a broach. "I waswalking around the property once with Peggy Maupin, the last owner,"said Ayers, "and when I glanced back up at the house, I saw a woman'sface in one of the upstairs windows. I grabbed Peggy's arm and pointed,and she just smiled and said, 'Oh, yes.'" Avenel is empty at the moment,undergoing restoration, and open by appointment for tours. To the members of Ghostec, it seemed like a ghostly bed and breakfast.Besides Sereno and Ayers, the hunters included Ayers' son Jonathan,Sereno's son Scott Zerfuss and his wife, Susie, and longtime Ghostecmember Peggy Graybill. "I saw her (the White Lady) once," said Scott Zerfuss. "I was workingfor the Bedford City Police back then, and one of the things we used todo was check on houses when the owners were out of town. I was doingthat one night at Avenel when I glanced up at the windows and sawsomeone looking out at me. "It was right at dusk." On another visit there, he said, "I reached for a doorknob and itstarted to move." As a former cop, though, Zerfuss agrees with his mother that hisexperiences don't provide enough evidence for an open-and-shut case.That's where Jonathan Ayers comes in. "He was ghost hunting before he was born," said Sandy Ayers. "I waspregnant with him when we were exploring some old houses around here." A self-described "computer nerd," Jonathan Ayers puts the "tec" in"Ghostec," maintaining the group's Web site (www.ghostec.us) andproviding some of the equipment on hunting trips. "It's nothing realfancy," Sereno said. "We have digital cameras, a non-contact thermometerand an EMF meter." The first thing the ghost hunters do when they arriveat a place is to find out what is "normal." "We test for the ambient temperature," Sereno said, "and identify allthe places that might give us false readings, like electrical outletsand air conditioning units." Sandy Ayers broke in at that point. "Does anybody here smell lavender?" she asked. "To me, there's a verystrong smell of it here." I smelled it, too. I think. Or maybe it was just the power ofsuggestion. The moment passed, and it was back to business. "I've had drops of asmuch as 30 degrees in the ambient temperature, for no apparent reason,"Sereno said. "Those 'cold spots' can be evidence of spiritual activity." According to Jonathan Ayers, ghosts also suck batteries dry. "I alwaysbring a lot of them when we go out," he said. "It's really amazing howfast they get drained." Sereno has heard and read that "ghosts need a certain amount of energyin order to appear, and they get it from wherever they can." This also explains the "cold spots," she added, "because heat is a formof energy, and if heat around you dissipates, it could be that thespirit is trying to use it." She first became interested in ghosts because of strange happenings ather own house. Unexplained footsteps on the linoleum floor of herkitchen. A plastic covering on a kitchen light that kept falling to thefloor overnight, no matter how tightly it was screwed on. Voices out inthe woods in back of the house. "I've heard them, too," Sandy Ayers said. "One time, it was a woman'svoice, very clear, calling me 'Honey.'" There's even a phantom car, a la Stephen King's "Christine." "We'll hearit sometimes, coming down our drive," Sereno has said. "You can seeheadlights and hear the gravel crunching, but no car." After this, the White Lady of Avenel must have seemed almost mundane.The group concentrated much of its efforts on the bedroom where GeneralLee had supposedly slept, setting up a couple of cameras and a recordingdevice to capture sound. "That's the real fun part for me," said Jonathan Ayers, "going back andlistening to what we've recorded and trying to hear things." He's neverbeen actively frightened on a hunt, he said, "although I have had thekind of chill that goes all the way up your body." "We treat the spirits with respect," Sereno said. "We always ask themfor permission to photograph or tape them." Moments later, all thelights were turned off. Sereno, Jonathan Ayers, my wife Gail and I wereleft sitting at a long table in a "board room" adjacent to the Leebedroom. Zerfuss and Susie Ayers were in the adjoining bedroom, anotherteam member in the Lee bedroom itself, several others downstairs withPeggy Graybill ("The most intuitive member of our group, by far," saidSereno). The minutes crawled by. The furniture began to materialize out of thegloom as our eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light. And then, about15 minutes into the waiting period, Zerfuss slipped into the boardroom."I left our room for a minute," he said, "and when I got back, the doorwas open." Everyone bolted for that bedroom, instruments in hand. The old door waspronounced too heavy to open on its own. There seemed to be no physicalevidence, although I could have sworn I felt a cold spot. Then Sereno, who had also been missing, walked back into the room andsaid: "The door? Oh, I opened that myself." A communal sigh drained fromthe group. It was time to pack up. "We want to come back here and spendthe night one night," said Sandy Ayers. "This was sort of like a trialrun." Taffy Mays, the Avenel tour guide who had opened the house for thegroup, came back to close it down again. The foundation that now ownsAvenel is fine with the ghost stories - they're good for business,actually. "Almost everyone who comes through here asks about the White Lady," Mayssaid. One by one, the cars pulled around the circular drive and off into thenight, leaving Avenel to its ghosts - or its solitude. But I couldn't help glancing up at the windows as I drove past. Ghostec doesn't charge for its services, and welcomes new spirits toinvestigate. Check the Web site for contact information. This story can be found at: FullStory

Orbs Ghosts Imps Faces

2006-07-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

Brown Mist?

Orb with a face?

face/light

Face

Orb on walkway

MERRY MEET

First a bit about me. I love rEading and hearing about others
experiences. It lets me know that I am not alone in this area. I don't
often share much because most think I am a nut.

I have uploaded a few pictures taken in my front yard. We purchased
this property about 16 years ago. I am on lake Ft. Gibson in oklahoma.

When we first arrived within days we noticed colored lights floating
around wildroses year around. This area was checked for swamp gases and
other things that could have caused the lights. Nothing has ever been
found. As the brush was cleared the roses appeard to be growning in an
L shape. This area is generally cooler than other areas.

Now for the pictures. I began making a front yard by adding a garden
pond and planting flowers, and trees around it. I started taking
pictures of my yard after the pond was built. (My hobby. Decent
pictures entail early am lighting.)
The picture of the imp/spirit in blue was taken around 6 am 6/15/02. I
was the only one in the yard at the time. I submitted it to All About
Ghosts. It was posted there for quite awhile until the web site took
off. This was the very first picture I had ever seen in color of
something that could float. This was taken with a Polroid fun flash
digital camera.

This year on 6/6/06 around 630a.m. I took around 30 pictures of my
yard. My father was staning on the porch talking to me while I was
snapping pictures. I don't know what this is. I submit it is what it
is. I didn't see anything while taking the pictures. Dad said that he
didn't see anything except me and the camera.
What I find puzzling is that the orb was headed about where the brown
mist appeared. Once the mist appeared you could no longer see the back
lighting of my front door.
The other night I was walking around at dusk taking more pictures,
Being in the high 90's this last week it was hot and humdid in the
another Random, photo to the left is the cat's glowing eyes. To the
lower right is something? As I was walking around taking pictures a
cold breeze kept tickling the right side of my head and shoulders. I
tried a point and shoot with some pictures I raised the camera pointed
over my shoulder and I took a picture of a rose of sharon. My dad
pointed out the face of a wolf looking creature in the bush. I am not
quite sure what it is.(It does look like a face)
My 4 year old grandaughter told me that the lady in the yard has a
little girl and they love the flowers. All you have to do is ask them
to show themselves and they will. She talks to someone out there at
times. Her friends she calls them.

I had an offer by a man from Arizona to hunt ghost in my front yard. At
the time I declined as I only had the one picture of something. Now I
would be glad to share the yard with anyone that will respect my
gardens.
MPMMA
Patty

6/15/02 6 a.m.ish pic
Loaned to All About Ghosts website in 2002 Was one of the first posted color photo of something.

Take Time

2006-07-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6
years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It
was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain
gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the
spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the
Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their
hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and
sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories
of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome
reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all
caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run
through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl
said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get
wet?"

" Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you
said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but
the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now
some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even
ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young
child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will
bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's
us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they
darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping
bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed
by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can
take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can
ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and
take opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a
season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Crypto

2006-07-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

I live approx. 1/4 of a mile from Lake Ft. Gibson. Actually there is a boat ramp about 800 Ft from the end of my drive. A few years back the woods around us were starting to be developed into small acre tracs for homes. Fortunately there is plenty of Corp. land near by that the animals may retreat to.

I have approx 4 acres 2 of which annoy the neighbors because I refuse to cut the brush and clear it off. I have blogged on this on Frog hair. I hate the fact they come in cut down the native trees and brush then add the city crap. Who ever heard of a mock pear or box hedges in the country. Then there are the street lights. Every dad gummed idiot from the city has a huge street light gracing their yard never mind they are ugly. When you add a dozen of them its hard to enjoy the sunrise sunset or stars.

Over the years we have had many four legged critters that have visited us. When we had some pygmy goats we had a cougar that attempted their demise. Which I had the dubious pleasue of meeting just outside my back door. This occurred late in the summer. I assume she was ony passing through. However we have heard her scream on several occasions. This large wonderful cat has visited us right up until last summer.

We have had a she bear that visited us nearly ever year for the past 12 or so. She is very nocturnal and has even brought her young a few times. I spotted her once during the night on a moon bright night. The rest of the time we knew she had been visiting by her tracks and those of the young.
Bobcats, skunks, coons, possums, rabbits, turles, ground hogs, and deer run the yards and brush all the time. Once in awhile we see the elusive squirrel. I say elusive because for a number of years they were hunted out of the area.

After first purchasing our land we discovered pickerel frogs were all over the place. These are or were endangered. We also have lace bark elm that is also endangered. We have had many snake encounters. The snakes range from the garden variety to the copperhead and Eastern diamondback. In order to reside with the critters that slither crawl and waddle. We put down tick crystals or fog the yards. Every fauna picture on this blog is from my yards. The crystals don't seem to deter the turtles very much.

Anyway for the last 16 years we have tried to reside with the critters and birds in peace. I have enjoy many winter hours watching the mice and rats eating the crumbs lefted over by the birds. Its so awesome to get up early to a cours of songbirds and tree frogs.

A few years back we added a garden pond to the front yard. I have often filled this with coa goldfish minnows. Only to find that a raccoon war was raged the same night and the fish lost. We started to add onto the pond and before it was finished it filled with water and has remained full since. Or nearly full.

The outside perimeters of my yard is persimmons blackberries and many other plants. Mulberry trees surround my patio. Generally there is some type of fruit that is coming off all summer long. Including strawberry, grapes, peaches and plums. We planted these hoping for the crops.

Last spring I decided to make some gardening changes around my yard and pond. After an entie weekend of sifting top soil over compacted soil I came home to find that something had damaged the beds. Being me, I marched around and found a trail of these huge prints. Now mind you I have been country all my life. I have enough sense to come in out of the rain. I have been a decent tracker in the day. In other words able to identify most native tracks. From a very young age hunting, fishing, tracking and just being a country person. When you are country you know a cayote track from a dog track and such.

Back to these tracks they showed up and perplexed me. What were they the ball of the foot was 5 inches across there were funny shaped toes. The resemble a human yet had a different shape. I drug my family out to look at them. My dad came armed with his tape measure. We measured the step at 48 inches from track to track........ Try that without a leap. the tracks were larger than a sized 13 workboot. Now either this was a very large monkey or something that was very tall and weeeeelllllllll.........

The next day I had calmed down from the anger of my new flowerbed being torn all to hell to snap a few pics of these prints. I tracked the prints at an angle through the yard to an area where they halted then began walking again. Thus the two hard to see poloroid snaps.

2006-07-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

"Educating the soul"
By Bob Perks

He was a big man with a huge pain in his heart. Not the kind that a doctor can cure.
Not the kind that one can define easily. He was hurting and there was nothing anyone could say.

I think it comes with age. Not a particular point in life that one can mark on a calendar.
Nor can you see it coming. It just seems to sneak up on you and suddenly you find
yourself crying over little things that appear to cast big shadows on your life.

I approached him from behind and couldn't tell that he was crying until I walked past.
I turned and glanced his way to simply acknowledge him standing there and saying
"Hello!" I startled him.

He looked up quickly and then struggling to gain his composure he reached for a
tissue and mumbled "Hello."

I walked just a few steps and stopped. I couldn't just walk by without offering a
word or two.

"Anything I can do?" I asked.

"No." he replied.

Sensing he wanted to be alone I turned and continued on my journey.

"I'm just educating the soul," he said.

I stopped.

"I'm sorrying, I didn't hear you right. Did you say you were educating the soul?"
I asked as I turned back toward him.

"Yes, I am."

Now you know I was intrigued by this. I had never heard of such a thing before
so I walked back to where he was standing.

"Tell me, how does one do that?"

Wiping his eyes, he smiled a little and began to explain.

"I have never been so sensitive to worldly things. I mean, I'm a tough guy or at
least I always thought I was. You would never catch me shedding a tear. No way.
Suddenly life has grabbed my heart and I find myself so wrapped up in it. I am not a
bit depressed. I can easily find joy in many things in my day. But even joy brings tears," he said.

Now shuffling his right foot nervously back and forth he looked down and up a few
times before continuing.

"I have lived a good life. I don't have all the things that I once dreamed of having,
but still, I am a happy man. My heart aches for those who are hurting. In recent weeks
the millions caught up in hurricanes, the bombings over seas, the soldiers far from home
all have taken a spot in my heart. In stark contrast I have been thrilled with the announcement
of my first grandchild, the recovery from a cancer operation for my old friend and we just paid
off our car," he said.

I didn't interrupt. I waited.

"My reaction to all of this is so powerful, so emotional...so alive!"

I smiled. "I like that part. "So alive!" I think you have the answer if you are indeed searching
for one. I am guessing you are retired," I said.

"Yes, recently."

"Not to suggest that you have not been "alive" before, but I believe you have arrived at that
place where you have suddenly realized that life is exciting. Being fully aware of everything
around you, being so in touch with the energy that comes from life itself, has awakened your
spirit," I said.

"That's why I call it, "Educating the soul." I have lived a full life in the direction I was headed
but I have not lived a full life emotionally. I believe I was so focused on "doing" that I paid little
attention to "being."

He smiled and said, "Wow, even that last statement was pretty amazing for me."

"So now you are educating your soul. I love that idea."

"Yes, I am teaching me to be more in touch with reality, with the stuff of life, with my soul
however one defines that."

I met a man today who lived and then began living more.

He was "Educating the Soul."
"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks
Bob@BobPerks.com

2006-07-12T00:49:00.000-05:00

You are a very special person.

There is only one like you in the whole world.

There's never been anyone exactly like you before,

and there never will be again. Only you.

And people can like you exactly as you are.

Lesson Learned

2006-07-09T23:25:00.000-05:00

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?""Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said."Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him."I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly."What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked."The box is gone," he said "What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read. >Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside."Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time"Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said."Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"

A Father

2006-07-09T23:20:00.000-05:00

A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and
listened to her prayers - which she ended by saying "God bless Mommy, God

bless Daddy, God bless Grandma, and good-bye Grandpa." The father said, "Why did you say good-bye to Grandpa?"

The little girl said, "I don't know, Daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."

The next day Grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence. A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her prayers, which went like this -- "God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and good-bye Grandma." The next day the grandmother died.

My goodness, thought the father, this kid is in contact with the other side.

Several weeks later when the girl was going to bed the Dad heard her say, "God bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."

He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be OK. He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound.

Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home. When he got home his wife said, "I've never seen you work so late, what's the matter?"

He said, "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."

She said, "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened to me. This morning the mailman dropped dead on our porch."

Grandparents

2006-07-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

The bond between you and your grandchild can be strong even if there are long distances between you. Contact for even a short period of tie can establish a strong bond. Spending one-on-one time with each grandchild helps even more to speed up the bonding process. Just a few quality days with you can provide the child with memories that last a lifetime.

Thankful

2006-06-24T17:30:00.000-05:00

I Am Thankful :

For the wife ......Who says it's hot dogs tonight.
Because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.

For the husband.... Who is on the sofa being a couch potato.
Because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

For the teen child.... Who is complaining about doing dishes.
Because it means she is at home, not on the streets.

For my boss who gives me so much work....
Because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean up after a party.....
Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug....
Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work.....
Because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning,
and gutters that need fixing .... Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government....
Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot....
Because it means I am capable of walking, and I can afford to drive a vehicle.

For my huge heating bill....
Because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key.....
Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing.....
Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day....
Because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours....
Because it means I am alive.

And finally, for too much e-mail....
Because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

Love Vs. Obligation

2006-06-24T17:23:00.000-05:00

"Love vs. Obligation"

A house is a house is a house-until love comes through the door,
that is. And love intuitively goes around sprinkling that special
brand of angel dust that transforms a house into a very special
home for very special people: your family.

Money, of course, can build a charming house, but only love can
furnish it with a feeling of home.

Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to tuck
a little love note inside.

Money can provide a television set, but love controls it and
cares enough to say no and take the guff that comes with it.

Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the
covers in around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even
to teenagers!).

Obligation can cook a meal, but love embellishes the table with a
potted ivy trailing around slender candles.

Duty writes many letters, but love tucks a joke or a picture or a
fresh stick of gum inside.

Compulsion keeps a sparkling house. But love and prayer stand a
better chance of producing a happy family.

Duty gets offended quickly if it isn't appreciated. But love
learns to laugh a lot and to work for the sheer joy of doing it.

Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often love will
add a little chocolate.
--Author Unknown

Things To Make Things To Do

2006-06-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

Calendula & Lavendar Balm
Makes 4 ounces
Ingredients:
1 oz. melted Beeswax
1 1/2 oz. Calendula Infused Oil
1 1/2 oz. Lavender Infused Oil
25 drops Lavender Essential Oil
55 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

Notes: This is a simple balm that my family uses for any minor burns, scrapes, scratches, cuts, abrasions, and other such boo boo's. This is also a nice balm for dry or irritated skin.

Directions: To make the balm, start melting your Beeswax on the stove top. In another pan, add water and let the water simmer. Set the jar you intend to make the balm in down in the water. It should come up about half way on the jar, but not so much the jar is floating. Pour your Infused oils into the jar and add 1oz. of melted Beeswax. Stir this well until all the ingredients are mixed. Take the jar out of the hot water and add your essential oils, again stirring well. Put the top on and allow to cool.

Precautions: Familiarize yourself with the safe use of essential oils before trying any recipe or essential oils. Check with a reputable aromatherapy book and your doctor regarding the safety of each ingredient before using any recipe or synergy.

Candle Plates Candle Plates

Candle Plates are big selling items these days, but they're pretty easy to make on your own. You can make them as plain or as creative as you like with pebbles, glass beads, broken dishes, or whatever suits your fancy. For this project we'll be using leaves, twigs and acorns, but you could just as easily use glass beads in a pentacle design.

Items needed:

plaster of paris
disposable plastic bowl
bottom of a milk carton or cardboard container the shape you want, at least 1 inch deep for the mold
newspaper
wooden spoon
items to decorate
ceramic paint and acrylic (optional)
Directions:

Line the table with many layers of newspaper. This is a messy project, and oh so fun!
Gather all the items you wish to put on your candle plate and play with the design, figuring out what you want to go where. Plaster sets up pretty fast, and you'll have to move quickly. For this project, we'll be lining the edges of the plate with the twigs, laying the leaves in the center, and placing the acorns randomly in the corners and edges. You want the center to remain level because this is where you'll place the candle.
Mix the plaster according to the directions on the box, and pour into the mold, at least a 1/2 deep.
Place the items into the plaster, being sure to leave the center free for the candle.
Once the plaster dries, peel the carton away and brush off any loose particles. Paint and seal with acrylic if desired.
HP Lady Elaine 4/23/2002
Chalices Spinner Looking for a wooden chalice with a pentacle or Goddess symbol carved on it. I make them is many sizes and woods. Browse my interfaith web site and look for "Wiccan Chalices" in the showroom.
www.woodenchalice.com

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EMOTION PAINTING

Objectives:
Children will gain an understanding of how much of a role emotion plays in artmaking. The connection between line, color, texture, shape etc. will be explored as students create a painting which expresses a certain emotion or feeling.

Vocabulary:
image, feeling, emotion, idea, expression, color, texture, line, imagine, create, change, evolve, happy, sad, angry, excited, alone, bright, dull, acrylic, tempera, experience, share, design
What You Need:
a large sheet of heavy paper (or canvas)
acrylic paint (for older students)
tempera paint - or crayons (for younger students)
paintbrushes
water
containers
mixing trays (could be styrofoam trays or sheets of old cardboard)
paper towels
newspapers
old shirts or painting smocks
music (various styles)
scrap newsprint
pencils
What You Do:
Talk about emotion. What does the word emotion mean? What kinds of emotions do we experience on a day-to-day basis.

Talk about color. How do certain colors make us feel? Why?

Talk about line. What kinds of lines are there? Straight, jagged, squiggly, zig-zag, etc.

Warm up by having children draw lines (using pencil on newsprint) based upon certain feelings. IE: draw happy lines, draw angry lines, etc.

You can also encourage your children to draw lines based on the music they are hearing (IE: jazz, classical, pop etc.)

Once everyone is "warmed up" begin working with the paint. Make sure each child has a paintbrush, water and access to at least the three primary colors (red, yellow and blue).

Give a quick demonstration of how paints are used properly (always clean brushes before dipping into a new fresh color ... treat the brushes well by not squishing them down on the paper etc. Also, review color mixing (yellow + blue = green; red + yellow = orange; red + blue = violet)

Everyone can then decide on an emotion or feeling which they will express using various paint colors, lines, textures and shapes.

Allow your artists to take as long as they need to create the final work, encouraging them to stand back from time to time to have a really good look at what they are doing. Is it moving in the direction they want it to? Are the desired feelings starting to emerge?

Remember too that this is a very intuitive and subjective exercise and as such the works should not be analyzed by the instructor, but rather by the children themselves.

When the paintings are complete, hang them up and see how others interpret the work. Does everyone see similar emotions in the same works? Yes? No? Why?
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Fairy Light Wreath

Hot, humid summer nights - the air heavy and moist with a sensual collage of herbal and floral aromas. Fireflies pulsing their love lights to potential mates. Elusive hawk moths darting silently back and forth between fragrant, creamy-white moonflowers and ivory nicotiana trumpets. One can feel the magic in the air, sense the power of the Creator; touch the core of peace.

Close your eyes, breathe in deeply and surrender yourself to the moment - to the feel of the sweet damp air on your skin, the mingling of earthy scents in your nostrils, the night sounds pulsating softly in your ears.

Times like this, it can be very easy to believe that tiny eyes are peering from behind leaves and flower petals waiting patiently to reclaim the garden for themselves and their evening festivities.

This is the perfect time to celebrate summer nights and those wee garden folk by making a Fairy Light Wreath. In the dark days of winter, it will remind you of the sights, scents, sounds and warmth of a memorable summer night.

Materials:
A small grapevine wreath base 3-4 inch diameter
Spanish moss
Tiny dried flower - white and yellow
Clear-drying craft glue or use a glue gun
Floral or woodsy essential oil or blend (Ylang ylang, rose geranium, jasmine, spruce, cedar, cypress, pine, etc.)

Stuff or glue small bunches of moss in and aground the wreath base. Add tiny flowers, securing them with glue. If using tansy or yarrow, break the flowers clusters apart so you have single tansy "bulbs" or very small pieces of yarrow. It works best to stick to uneven numbers (say three white miniature roses, and five tansy "bulbs"), keeping an eye for balance. The idea is to create a small wreath that evokes a fairy ring surrounded by minuscule floral "light." Put a drop or two of essential oil on the moss for a little extra appeal. Fairies love things that smell good.

To make a wreath base of thyme, wrap several sprigs of thyme together with clear nylon fishing line. Make ten or twelve "bundles." Place a second bundle on the first one, overlapping. Wrap it tightly to secure it. Repeat, adding bundles in the same overlapping fashion. Form this into a circle. Wrap and shape until it has a pleasing form. Place the wreath in a container with an inch or two of silica gel. Completely cover with additional silica gel. Seal the container and allow the wreath to dry for several days. Remove and shake off the silica gel. Decorate as above.

~~#~~#~~#~~#~~~#~~~#

Herbal Bath Tea Blends
Secrets of the Orient
( rather uplifting - good for any skin especially oily like a man's skin)
2 parts epsom salt
1 part lemongrass
1 part ginger
1 part lemon verbena
1 part comfrey leaf
1 part chamomile
1 part green tea
( possible enhancement or fragrances to add ..lemon grass essential oil, china rain fragrance oil,seashore type )

Calm (relaxing )
2 parts lavender
2 parts epsom salt
2 parts rose petals
1 part chamomile

No More Sore Muscles
2 parts Thyme
( this herb is a great muscle relaxant. This is why you see it in so many recipes)
2 parts rosemary
2 parts lavender
1 part cramp bark
( the name gives it away, excellent herb often overlooked)
1 part epsom salt

Troubled skin
2 parts rooibos tea
2 parts oatmeal
1 part sassafras
1 part chamomile
1 part comfrey leaf

..~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

Homemade Oil Candles

What You Need:

Old bottles such as wine bottles, perfume bottles, vinegar bottles, etc. (remove labels)
Nylon wick with bottle cap holder (available at candle making/supply stores
Lamp oil
Funnel

Instructions:

1.Put funnel on bottle and fill with lamp oil.
2.Place the wick in the bottle; the bottom of the wick must touch the lamp oil.
3.Let wick soak for about 5-10 minutes and it's ready to light.
4.Remember, the wick is made of a special nylon material that lasts a long time and doesn't burn up like a candle wick. You may need to trim it a few times a year.
5.Two ounces of lamp oil will burn for approximately 12 hours.

Safety Tips:

Please do not leave burning candles unattended.
Keep children away while preparing your candles.
Make sure you are not near an open flame when pouring the lamp oil.

Aesthetic Tip:

Your candles will be more visually stimulating if they are various heights and are filled with differing amounts of lamp oil.

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Ice Candles

Empty half-gallon cardboard milk or juice carton
(rinsed and dried)
10" white candle
ice cubes
crayons
candle scent-optional
2 lb. wax

Prior to melting the wax you can prepare the mold. Place candle in the middle of the carton and fill with ice cubes. Make sure candle is centered while filling carton. Place carton in freezer until ready to use. Melt wax in coffee can placed in a pan with several inches of water over low to medium heat. Add bits of crayon/candle coloring and candle scent as desired. Stir wax while melting usingan old wooden spoon or wooden dowel. Do not leave melting wax unattended on stove. When the wax has melted, remove the mold from the freezer and slowly pour the melted wax into the mold. Make sure the coffee can is not too hot to handle prior to pouring the wax. Fill to the top of the mold and let sit for at least 15 minutes. The ice cubes will start to melt and you can drain water out of the candle by holding over the sink. Let candle sit for another 15 minutes and drain again. Repeat several more times, then carefully peel away the carton from the candle. Let the candle sit for several more hours in order to ensure all of the water has drained out. You can dust the outside with glitter for decoration. Place on a ironstone plate, decorate bottom of candle with greenery, light & enjoy
..~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

Kyphi Incense
(Kyphi Tsa)
This recipe was reconstructed from ancient Egyptian papyrii. Although an ingredient or two may not have translated correctly, this should be pretty close to the actual incense used in Egyptian temples.

Amount (In Parts) Ingredient
3/4 Honey
3 Raisins
1/4 Copal
1/4 Myrrh
1/4 Orris
1 Sandalwood
1/4 Storax
1/2 Frankincense
1/2 Cinnamon (REAL stuff only, and grind it forever)
Red Wine (enough to moisten mixture)
Benzoin (enough to roll balls in)

Thoroughly grind all ingredients separately, then mix together groups of ingredients by nature: resinous together, powdery together, etc. Finally, mix all batches together, add red wine to moisten, then roll into 5/8" balls and roll balls in benzoin. Lay out on waxed paper for a week or so, until firm.

CAUTION: Incense balls will look like donut holes. Be careful that folks know that these scrumptious looking balls of incense that you've left laying around are NOT edible!

The balls can be used when firm, but for best results, they should be allowed to cure a few weeks. Kyphi I've had for two years is better than ever.

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Making Your Own Herb Vinegar
By Brenda Hyde
For years I've been making my own herb vinegar after I discovered how simple it is to make. You can grow your own herbs or use bundles of herbs from your local grocery store (be sure they are organicly grown if possible). I have done both, and the results have been wonderful. Last year I gave gifts baskets with homemade treats, herbal vinegars and recipes. They were a big success! Just follow these easy steps to create your own vinegars.
Herb combinations

Basil, thyme and oregano
nasturiums, garlic clove and chives-turns a wonderful color!
lemon balm, nasturtium and dill
peppercorns, basil and nasturtiums blooms cilantro, chives, a dried pepper, garlic-spicy!
thyme or basil by themselves
equal amounts of sage, thyme and basil, plus one sprig rosemary
Use your imagination!

The above combinations are ones I have tried. Once you create your own,you will think of different combinations to experiment with. Each one is unique in taste, and you will find different uses. Dill is one herb you need to use sparingly because it is so strong.

Supplies and Ingredients

clean glass or plastic jar w/lid
white distilled vinegar, cider or wine vinegar
your selection of herbs

The vinegar selection is highly debated among herb growers. Some will only use wine vinegar. Because of my frugal nature I tend to go with white, and I love the outcome. I find cider is too strong, except when using a variety of herbs, garlic and stronger flavors.

Rinse and pat dry your herbs, gently stuff them in the jar up to the top. Pour your vinegar over the herbs, filling to the very top. Place the lid on tight, and set on your windowsill for approximately 4 weeks. Shake gently once a day as you pass by the windowsill. After a month, strain out the herbs and place in your cupboard until you need it!

Using Herbal Vinegar

Now what do you do with your vinegar? Here are some suggestions!

Replace the plain vinegar in most savory recipes-especially dressings and marinades.
Use 1/2 water, and 1/2 vinegar to baste your meat as you grill it.
Drizzle over a beef roast after placing in the crock pot (I place in baby carrots and potatoes also).

Comments and tips

I buy white vinegar by the gallon for about $3.00. I've received a lot of compliments on the taste. Feel free to use the more expensive vinegar if your budget allows.

I use any glass or plastic jars that I come across-dressing jars, pickle jars or anything that can be washed! Glass spagetti sauce, dressings or salsa jars work great. Later, for gifts, I may use nicer bottles.

Use raffia to tie a bow around your bottle, and attach a homemade gift tag. Raffia is inexpensive and available from most craft stores.

Please try the vinegar just once and you will be amazed at how easy it is. The herb vinegars are so expensive in the store, but creating your own will cost you almost nothing!

About the author:
Brenda Hyde is editor of Seeds of Knowledge, a freelance writer, cook, gardener and Mom. Growing and using herbs has become one of her favorite things.

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How To Make Quarter Candles

Do your quarter candles blow out, fall over (or get kicked over?) Here's an idea for easy candle holders that offer a little protection from wind & stray feet!

You will need:

4, 3" or 4" clay flowerpots (depending on the size of your candles)

4, matching clay saucers

Acrylic paints, stones, feathers, sea shells, etc.

To make the holders: Decorate each pot around the top edge with a representation of the Element. For example, you could paint the pot for "Water" blue, then glue seashells around the top edge; green with rocks for "Earth"; yellow with feathers for "Air", red with yellow flames (painted) for "Fire."

If you don't want to do much gluing, try a stylized representation of the Element around the top edge...a wavy line in blue for "Water," flowing, feathery yellow strokes for "Air," sharp triangular lines for "Fire," and square, boxy shapes for "Earth."

Let your imagination be your guide. After the pots have dried for 24 hours, you may wish to put a sealant over your painting, especially if it's to be used outside. Then place each pot in it's saucer, add a candle in the center and you're done!

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Scented Potpourri Tiles

These potpourri tiles make any room smell great, and don't they look good, too.

Display them on a shelf in your bathroom or in a basket in your livingroom. Everyone will wonder how your home smells so great.

And best of all... They are so easy to make.
What you need* Recipe compliments of Glenbrook Farms

Pink Tiles
1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/2 -3/4 teaspoon of rosemary essential oil
2 drops of red food coloring
1/2 oz Rosemary leaf whole
1 cup to 1 1/3 cup of very hot water
Small square container (like tupperware)
Oval measuring spoons

Pale Green Tiles (not pictured)
1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/2 -3/4 teaspoon of lavendar essential oil
2 drops of blue food coloring
1 drop of yellow food coloring
1 oz Rosebud petals
1 cup to 1 1/3 cup of very hot water
Small square container (like tupperware)
Oval measuring spoons

What to do
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl into a stiff dough.

2. Sprinkle flour in the bottom of the small square container.

3. Press a portion of the dough into the bottom of the container until it's about
1/4" -1/2" think. Be sure to press all of the edges & the corners to get the best shape.

4. In 1 fast motion, turn the container upside down on to a piece of parchment or wax paper. Fix any corners or edges to maintain the square shape.

* Note
You can also roll out the dough and cut with cookie cutters.

5. Use the oval measuring spoons for the top decorations. Try the 1/4 teaspoon and the 1/2 teaspoon. Sprinkle the spoon with floor before making each decoration. Fill the spoon with the dough firmly packed. Tap the spoon upside down to get the piece to release. Lightly wet the flat edge before placing it on the square. The water will glue it into place.

6. Allow the potpourri tile to air dry on the top 1st. This will take about 24 hours. Carefully turn over the tile, and allow the bottom to air dry. You might get a crack or two on the bottom.

7. Roll the remaining dough into small balls. Put them in a bowl after they are dry.

Enjoy the scent.

To see the detailed step by step pictures http://www.livingandentertaining.com/Archives/2001/Newsletters/Vol2_11.htm

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Sinus Headache Pillows
Cut two pieces of material 10"x4" and sew together or use
"OK TO WASH IT glue. Making a bag , leaving one end open stuff your bag with the ingredients given after mixing well in a bowl

1/2 of flax seeds
1 part crushed spearmint leaf
1 part crushed peppermint leaf
1 part lavender buds whole
1 part eucalyptus leaf
1 part rosemary leaf

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Witches' Broom

This is another that you can change with the seasons. A simple small broom that you can pick up from any craft store, and by adding seasonal flowers, fruits, berries, and some odds and ends you can have a decorative piece that will last. You can even apply this to your Besom.

ITEMS YOU WILL NEED:

1: Small broom, about 1' by 8"
2-4: Plastic seasonal flowers. For Yule: Holly, Mistletoe, Evergreens, Pine Cones etc. Berries or fruit: Oranges, Black Berries, Gourds etc.
1: Of 3 different colours of ribbon, about 12"-16" long. For Yule: Red, Green, and Gold.
Some thin (non-lead) wire, or you can strip garbage bag twist-ties of thier paper coats.
1: Ornament oriented to the sabbat. For Yule: In Celtic tradition Yule was a Sabbat that was added later, so you can add something like a sun ornament to honour the returning of the sun, a unlit red candle. If it were for Litha I would add a small spear or sun.
Wire Cutters, Scissors and some glue should you need it.

DIRECTIONS:
Using the wire cutters cut down the flower stems to a workable height. Using the wire, begin tieing in the seasonal flowers and berries at the base of the broom where the bristles begin. Manipulate the leaves of the flowers to lie flat against the bristles. This will give a good background for the colour of the flowers to show.

Lay your berries and or fruits in between the flowers and tie off with wire. Once you have all the foliage in, wire in the sabbat ornament of your choice.

To hide the wire tie the ribbon in a bow or whatever knot you prefer and let some of the excess drape around and under the the piece.

TO HANG:
String a bit of wire through the top of the handle and hang on a nail in the door. If you prefer to hang your broom bristles up, then weave the wire through some of the bristles and really twist for strength. If you are hanging this on the front door, it's going to get a lot of traffic by it, so make sure it is secured well. For Eostre (Ostara, Spring Equinox etc.) I hung an egg in the centre and it didn't fall off once, even though it had to face big guys carrying large musical equipment in and out.

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Aphrodite's Bath Melts
2 oz grated cocoa butter
2 oz baking soda
3 Tbsp of powdered oatmeal (optional)
1 oz citric acid
4 drops of Patchouli
4 drops Ylang Ylang
2 drops sandalwood

Mix baking soda, oatmeal & citric acid together . Set aside.
Melt cocoa butter in microwave or "bain-marie". Add essential oils. Add dry ingredients to melted cocoa butter.
Pour in ice cube trays or soap moulds. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
Store in jars or plastic bags. Keep cool

To use, place 1-2 cubes (if using ice cube tray) to 1/2 filled tub.

Tip: Before pouring mixture into moulds, i like to sprinkle some dried herbs at the bottom. I like to use rosebus, whole rosehips or rose petals to decorate each melt.
Bulb Flowers

Bulb flowers are so easy to grow, and they can be planted in any container. You just need a container that will hold water, and something for the roots to wrap around.

That's it!

You can get very creative.

I have planted several arrangements of paper whites,
but you can use any type of bulb flowers.

Check back every few weeks to see how much they have grown.
Normally you will see flowers in about 4 to 5 weeks.

For quality flower bulbs and perennial plants at rock bottom prices, go to bloomingbulb.com

Salsa Jar & Aquarium Pebbles
1. Fill the jar with the pebbles. Try layering different colors of pebbles to make a design.

2. Add water so that you just cover the pebbles.

3. Place the bulb on top of the pebbles, and maintain the water level just at the bottom of the bulb.

4. Tie a ribbon around the top of the jar.

* This is a great project for kids. They will always know when to water it.

..~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

Cheese Shaker & Pennies
1. Add about $2.50 worth of pennies for the bottom of the shaker.

2. Place the bulb on top of the pennies.

3. Fill with water so that the water just touches the bottom of the bulb and maintain this water level.

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Craft Stick Bowl & Rocks
* This can work with any type of bowl or basket.
1. Place a small bowl in the center of the craft stick bowl to hold the water.

2. Fill the area in between the bowls with rocks.

3. Fill the smaller bowl with marbles of small rocks.

4. Add water to the small bowl until you just cover the marbles.

5. Place the bulb on top of the marbles, and maintain the water level just at the bottom of the bulb.

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Large Vase & Rocks
1. Fill the bottom of the vase with rocks.

2. Add water to the vase until you just cover the rocks.

3. Place the bulbs on top of the rocks, and maintain the water level just at the bottom of the bulb.

here

2006-06-18T20:48:00.000-05:00

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The daughter of a Soldier

Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest act's of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, their were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Friday
Just keeping you "in the loop" so you'll know what's going on in case this takes off.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long
before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

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Top 10 Reasons God Created Eve ...
10. God worried that Adam would frequently become lost in the
garden because he would not ask for directions.
9. God knew that Adam would one day require someone to locate
and hand him the TV remote.
8. God knew that Adam would never go out and get himself a new fig leaf when his seat wore out and would, therefore, need Eve to go get one for him.
7. God knew that Adam would never be able to make a doctor's, dentist, or haircut appointment for himself.
6. God knew that Adam would never be able to remember which
night to put the garbage on the curb.
5. God knew that if the world was to be populated, men would
never be able to handle the pain and discomfort of childbearing. 4. As "Keeper of the Garden," Adam would never remember where he left his tools.
3. Apparently, Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on
when God caught him hiding in the garden.
2. As the Bible says, "It is not good for man to be alone!"
And finally, the number ONE reason that God created Eve...
1. When God finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back,
scratched His head, and said, "I can do better than THAT!"
~~#~~#~~#~~#~~~#~~~#

Perks Pearl of Wisdom

"I am a total summation of all the choices I have made
in my life thus far. I can change anything I don't like about my life
by making new choices. Or I can continue on the same
path. Even doing nothing is a choice. It is never too late to
claim the good life God has given you."
Bob Perks

"Walk A Little Plainer Daddy"

2006-06-18T19:26:00.000-05:00

"Walk A Little Plainer Daddy"

Walk a little plainer daddy
Said a little boy so frail,
I'm following your footsteps and
I don't want to fail.
Sometimes your steps are plain
Sometimes they are hard to see,
So walk a little plainer Daddy.
For you are leading me."

I know that once you walked
This way many years ago,
What you did along the way
I'd really like to know
For sometimes when I'm tempted
I don't know what to do
So walk a little plainer, Daddy,
For I must follow you.

Someday when I'm grown up.
You are like I want to be,
Then I will have a little boy
Who will want to follow me
And I want to lead him right.
And help him to be true
So walk a little plainer, Daddy
For we must follow you.
~ Author Unknown

Obedience

2006-06-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

What would you do if you won the lotto. Would you fullfill your dreams? Would you do good for the world?
If you are Christians would you give God what is Gods? Would suddenly becoming wealthy change you? Anyone that reads this I would love to hear what your thoughts are.

Rambling

2006-06-17T22:29:00.000-05:00

No matter what our age, no matter what our condition, life's disappointments often show us the limits of what we're able to do. But, of course, in dealing with them, we just might create a new forward striving.

What comes around, goes around!

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard..

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."

There is an old saying "What goes around comes around." Today, I sent you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on .. Let this light shine.

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

2006-06-17T19:59:00.000-05:00

When someone offers help to you,

Don't say with solemn face,"

Oh, I can manage, thank you dear

"Accept it with good grace,

That other person needs to give

And you must learn to take.

~author unknown~

Perspective: Poor People

2006-06-14T00:08:00.000-05:00

Perspective: Poor People

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Dog Therapy

2006-06-13T23:51:00.000-05:00

Dog Therapy
Copyright 2004 W. Bruce Cameron www.wbrucecameron.com

If you want to teach your children about accountability and hard
work, allow them to adopt a puppy. The feeding and care and training
of a dog takes enormous effort, and your children will gain a special
understanding of what is meant by the word "responsibility" as they
watch you do it.

When my older daughter told me she wanted a puppy, I explained to her
no she didn't. I told her how difficult it is to take care of dogs,
and she listened very carefully so she could be sure to ignore
everything I was saying. She responded that since she was an
independent adult, living in her own apartment, attending college and
working full time, she had a right to make her own decisions and she
had already adopted a dog and the only thing she needed from me was to
watch it when she was at work. Or class. Or on a date. Or had plans
for the weekend. And she needed me to pay to have the dog spayed.

The dog's name is Duchess, though sometimes my daughter calls her
"your majesty," as if the animal is the descendent of a long line of
British nobility known for peeing on carpets.

When my daughter suggested that the two of us take Duchess to a
specialist to try to figure out why the dog insisted on seeing my
house as a giant canine urinal, I assumed we'd be seeing a trainer,
but Doctor Stillsutter turned out to be something entirely
different--a dog psychologist.

"A what?" I sputtered. "That's crazy!"

"And who better to talk to when someone is crazy than a
psychologist?" she responded. Her answer had so many things wrong
with it I felt physical pain.

Stillsutter was a doughy man who sat in a dimly lit office. I
decided he kept it gloomy so we wouldn't notice that all the diplomas
framed on his wall had been printed on his home computer.

Stillsutter charged sixty dollars an hour, which mean it cost us
nearly twenty bucks for my daughter to explain why we were there, and
another dollar and a quarter for Stillsutter to consider his reply.
"When dogs resist housebreaking, it is often because they sense
hostility in the home," he intoned.

"What, now it's my fault that the dog wets the rug?" I protested.

"You're the only one home, Dad," my daughter answered. "Who's fault
could it be?"

"Oh, I don't know...the dog's?"

"Mr. Cameron, if I might interrupt, can you see how making this about
the dog just makes Duchess defensive?" We all glanced at Duchess, who
did her best to look unjustly accused. "Do you yell at her?"

"No!" I yelled.

Both my daughter and Duchess gave me an "oh-come-on" look. "Well,
yeah," I amended. "When she chews up my shoes, then I yell."

"Chewing shoes is a sign of hostility," Stillsutter informed me.

"Hostility? To what, footwear?"

"No, your hostility. Duchess senses you are hostile."

"I'm hostile to coming home and finding she's been snacking on my
loafers," I agreed.

"Your father and Duchess just need better communication," Stillsutter
confided to my daughter, who nodded as if this made any sense at all.
"Mr. Cameron, when you talk to Duchess, tell her why you are so
angry--what's really behind your reaction."

"I'm angry at her because..."

Stillsutter held up a hand to stop me. "Don't tell me, tell her."

I took a deep breath. "Duchess, when you eat my shoes it makes me
mad because they cost more than you did."

Stillsutter groaned in disappointment, and Duchess looked away in
shame. My daughter put her hands on her hips. "Nice going, Dad."

"We never mention dog adoption as involving a purchase," Stillsutter
lectured. "It makes them feel owned."

"Oh for heaven's sake."

"Let's do some verbal exercises," Stillsutter suggested. "I'll teach
you to use language that opens up the conversation, rather than
building barriers."

"Conversation? Has anyone here noticed that Duchess is a dog?" I
demanded.

"Try using more supportive language. Let Duchess know you appreciate
the things she does well."

Duchess stared at me expectantly while I pondered this. "Duchess,
you do a good job chasing the tennis ball when I throw it."

Everyone beamed. Duchess shrugged modestly.

"You don't bring it back, but you do chase it."

There was a long silence. Duchess gave Dr. Stillsutter a
"see-what-I-have-to-put-up-with?" _expression.

"And that makes you feel..." the doctor prompted.

"Pardon?"

"When Duchess doesn't bring the ball back, that makes you feel..."

"It doesn't make me feel anything, it's a stupid tennis ball!"

"Perhaps Duchess senses that you think it's stupid, and that's why
she doesn't bring it back," my daughter said, using the same soft,
"I'm-a-psychologist-and-you're-a-mental-patient" tone of voice.
Duchess nodded.

At the end of the session, my daughter asked me to pay for it.
Apparently I am her dog's health insurance carrier.

On the way home, I tested my new language skills. "Duchess, when you
pull your head in from out the car window and sneeze all over me, it
makes me unhappy because I don't like dog slobber on my face."

"See?" my daughter praised. "Was that so hard?"

"TODAY"

2006-06-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

"TODAY"

1. TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK:
If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if
someone is unkind....
I will not respond in a like manner.

2. TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY":
If I come across someone who treats me harshly or
unfairly, I will quietly ask GOD to bless that individual.
I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor,
co-worker or stranger.

3. TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY:
I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain
that I do not spread gossip.

4. TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE:
I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

5. TODAY I WILL FORGIVE:
I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

6. TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT SECRETLY:
I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

7. TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED:
I will practice the golden rule- do unto others as I would
have them do unto you-with everyone I encounter.

8. TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE WHO IS DISCOURAGED:
My smile, my words, my _expression of support, can make the
difference to someone who is wrestling with life.

9. TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY:
I will eat less; I will eat only healthy foods. I will thank
GOD for my body.

10. TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY:
I will spend a little more time in prayer today: I will begin
reading something spiritual or inspirational today; I will find
a quiet place (at some point during this day) and listen to GOD's
voice.
--Author Unknown

"Beyond The Storm"

2006-06-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

It was evening as I climbed aboard the jumbo jet. I was tired.
It had been a hectic, emotionally stormy week. I had endured
more than the usual schedule changes, telephone calls, interruptions, childrens activities, and arguments.

I settled into my seat, relieved to see the plane was nearly empty. Maybe I could get some much needed rest. The giant plane took off and climbed up over the condominium complexes hugging the white stretch of beach bordering the deep blue sea of the Atlantic Ocean. As we passed over Fort Lauderdale, I looked down at the twinkling lights reflected in the many canals and waterways and realized why our city is referred to as the Venice of America. I never tire of the beauty of South Florida.

I settled down, grateful for the quiet, Suddenly I noticed dark,
ominous clouds off the left side of the wing. Soon bolts of
lightning began to streak across the dark clouds.

I sat mesmerized by this vicious storm only a few miles away.
It was frightening, yet fascinating. It brought to mind many
of the tempests I had experienced in my life. Financial storms,
physical storms, emotional storms, relational storms, So many
different types of storms with varying degrees of intensity.
Some had been as fearful and terrifying as this large thunderhead, others had been sudden, Some storms had resembled a weather front that moves in and wont go away.

As I sat there contemplating the severity of the weather outside
the window, and the storm that had raged within my own life, I
suddenly saw beyond the storm.

There, along the horizon, was one of the most magnificent sunsets I had ever been priveleged to witness, Brilliant gold blending with deep crimson fading into multiple shades of yellow, peach, apricot, and rose. What absolute, breathtaking beauty.

I watched with wonder and awe.

From the vantage point of 42,000 feet up, I knew that at any
moment this formidable thunderstorm would probably hit our home west of Fort Lauderdale. But I could also see beyond the storm, and knew that in just a short space of time, those who would be hit by the storm, would also experience incredible beauty. I was suddenly aware of how God must look upon the storms that hit our lives.

Often I have been in the midst of a fearful squall, and like the
disciples, cried out, " Lord don't you care? Don't you see that
I can't take any more?"

Of course He cares. In 1 Peter He reminds us that he cares for us. That we are his personal concern. But, from his vantage point, He also sees the glory that is to follow. His message? Don't be discouraged in the midst of life's storms. Be assured that God cares and that his plans for us include a future and a hope.

Sorting Clutter

2006-06-02T02:24:00.000-05:00

This is true, even if you are not superstitious, agnostic, or otherwise faith impaired.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE! . Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

"A REAL FRIEND IS ONE WHO WALKS IN WHEN THE REST OF THE WORLD WALKS OUT."
~~~~#~~~#~~~#~~~~

All we're ever asked to do in this life is to treat our neighbor - especially our neighbor who is in need - exactly as we would hope to be treated ourselves. That's our ultimate responsibility.
~~~~#~~~#~~~#~~~~
"Eagles in a Storm"
Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching
long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot
and wait for the winds to come.
When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will
pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages,
below the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape
the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It
rises on the winds that bring the storm.
When the storms of life come upon us ... and all of us will
experience them...we can rise above them by setting our minds
and our belief toward God.
The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's
power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the
winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure,
and disappointment into our lives. We can soar above the
storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that
weigh us down, it is how we handle them.
--Unknown
~~~~#~~~#~~~#~~~~

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty , to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season .

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

~~#~~#~~#~~#~~~#~~~#
STOP TELLING GOD HOW BIG YOUR STORM IS, Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is! In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.. The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?" Mommy, "I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true." Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us ! his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat-not a toy one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast." Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition. The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room? About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window 16 firefighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand," the chief said. With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.." He closed his eyes one last time. My instructions were to send this to at least four people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Please pass this to at least four people you want to be blessed. This story is powerful and there is nothing attached, please do not break this pattern; uplifting stories are one of the best gifts we Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is !!!
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Knobs and life

2006-06-02T01:56:00.000-05:00

Subject: The Knob

A woman in her fifties went to a plastic surgeon for a face lift.

The surgeon told her about a new procedure called "The Knob," where a small knob is placed on the top of a woman's head and can be turned to tighten up her skin to produce the effect of a brand new face lift.

Of course the woman wanted "The Knob"

Over the course of the years, the woman tightened the knob and the effects were wonderful.

The woman remained young looking and vibrant.

After fifteen years, the woman returned to the surgeon with two problems.

"All of these years, everything has been working just fine. I have turned the knob many times and have been very pleased with the results. But now, I've developed two annoying problems: First, I have these terrible

bags under my eyes and the knob won't get rid of them."

The doctor looked at her closely and said, "Those aren't bags, those are your breasts."

She said, "Well, I guess there's no point in asking about the goatee!

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

LIVE TO GIVE
When you are placed in awkward situations where somebody doesn’t treat you right, you have a golden opportunity to help heal a wounded heart. Keep in mind, hurting people often hurts other people as a result of their own pain. If someone is rude and inconsiderate, you can almost be certain that they have some unresolved issues inside. They have some major problems, anger, resentment, or some heartache they are trying to cope with or overcome.

~~#~~#~~#~~#~~~#~~~#

"TURNING THIRTY"

I dreamed of being sweet sixteen
Then magic twenty-one
But suddenly I'm twenty-nine
And seeing thirty come.
My baby sitter calls me "ma'am"
It makes me feel quite numb
How can I think of me as old?
I've always been so young

Once I could name the "top ten" songs
Played on the radio,
And now I turn the rock groups down
Or hunt for something slow.
Now there are lines around my eyes
I thought would never show.
And pounds that used to be above
my waist have sunk below.

The boy I worshipped as a teen
Now lies beside me snoring.
His middle's thicker -- so is mine,
And he is not so adoring.
He used to worship at my feet;
now mostly he's ignoring.
I once clung to his every word,
Now sometimes he is boring

I was depressed to see how fast
My youthful days could flee,
and then I met a fine old man
His age was eighty-three.
His hair was white, his walk was slow,
And he could barely see.
He called me "child" and said he wished
He was as young as me.
By: Sharon Yates Lyerly

2006-05-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

Isn't Your Bag Heavy Enough?

One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes.

For every person we'd refuse to forgive in our life experience, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.

We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it in embarrassing places. Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime.

This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity!

Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person, and it clearly is for ourselves as much as anyone!!
So the next time you decide you can't forgive someone, ask yourself... isn't your bag heavy enough?

- Author Unknown
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

HEALTHY SELF IMAGE
Our value is intrinsic. It is not something you or I have earned; indeed we cannot earn it. God built value into us when He created us. To God, we are His ultimate creations. That means you can stop obsessing about all your faults and give yourself a break. Every person has weaknesses. Even the great men and women of the Bible made mistakes. They all had shortcomings, but that didn’t stop God from living them, blessing them, and using them to accomplish great deeds.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
LET GO OF THE PAST
You need to give that bitterness, resentment, and other contaminants to God. Forgiveness is the key to being free from toxic bitterness. Forgive the people who hurt you. Forgive the boss who did you wrong. Forgive the friend who betrayed you. Forgive the parent who mistreated you when you were younger. Get rid of all that poison. Don’t let the root of bitterness grow deeper and continue to contaminate your life.

In two days

2006-05-12T07:39:00.000-05:00

In two days tomorrow will be yesterday. Today is no special day and I have no particular reason for writing to you... I have no news to tell you.... nor any problems to discuss with you.... or gossip to tell you... It's only one of those happy moments... when I thought of you... and I would like to share these thoughts with you...
MANY SMILES BEGIN BECAUSE OF ANOTHER SMILE...Keep scrolling, and if you don't smile, then I believe you must be dead!!!

Always have good self esteem...

Take care of your friends, especially those
dearest to you...

Foot Prints

2006-05-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

FOOTPRINTS...
A New Version Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together.

For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turn arounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.
You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change.
The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray: "
Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You."
"That is correct." "And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely." "Very good.. You have understood everything so far." When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way" "Precisely."
"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first." There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. "You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"

To everything there is aseason,
a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to weep,
a time to laugh,
a time to mourn,
and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

2006-04-29T19:20:00.000-05:00

A Different Approach to Fasting...

Fasts have a tendency to be oriented toward things like giving up foodor television.

But there are many other creative ways we can welcomeJesus' healing touch.

Below are some suggestions you may want to consider.

1. Fast from anger and hatred. Give your family an extra dose of loveeach day.

2. Fast from judging others. Before making any

judgments, recall howJesus overlooks our faults.

3. Fast from discouragement.

Hold on to Jesus' promise that He has aperfect plan for your life.

4. Fast from complaining. When you find yourself

about to complain,close your eyes and recall some of the little moments of joy Jesus hasgiven you.

5. Fast from resentment or bitterness!.

Work on forgiving those who mayhave hurt you.

6. Fast from spending too much money.

Try to reduce your spending byten percent and give those savings to the poor.

Surely, you will be blessed

abundantly.

Wishing you all Peace, Love, and Happiness.

SMILE CAUSE JESUS LOVES YOU.

Dandelions

2006-04-28T13:51:00.000-05:00

"Dandelions"

Despite their bad reputation, dandelions are pretty little flowers with their yellow strands all tucked neatly into the center.

And truly they are the most beautiful of all flowers when presented clutched in a child's dirty little hand.

No one gets yelled at for picking them.

Perhaps they grow only to be used and enjoyed by children. Dandelions are ignored or attacked, never nurtured or cared for, and yet they always bloom profusely.

They demand no pampering or special attention to yield their bright blossoms;

they pop up in fields, in lawns, and between cracks in the sidewalk, even in the best neighborhoods.

Can you imagine trying to grow them in a garden? They'd sneak through the boundaries and pop their sunny yellow faces up in the surrounding lawn.

They would never stay put!

Christians should be more like dandelions.

Our sunny yellow faces should be a reminder that simple faith has deep roots that are impossible to dislodge.

Our vast number would show the world that even though we are not fancy or pampered we are evident every-where, even in the best neighborhoods.

We should be as easily accessible as a dandelion.

Jesus is.

We need to get out of our gardens and jump across the boundaries that keep us where people expect to find us. We need to show our sunny yellow faces in all the spots that need a little brightening up - the crack in the sidewalk or the lawn of a country club.

Ladies

2006-04-27T20:55:00.000-05:00

I'm only as strong as the cocktails I drink, the hairspray I use, and the girlfriends I have. Here's to you! Why do we only have parties for each other when one of us gets married, pregnant, has a birthday, or retires? What would most of us do without our sisters, confidants, and shopping, lunching and traveling girlfriends? Let's celebrate each other for each other's sake!

Someone will always be prettier.

Someone will always be smarter.

Someones house will be bigger.

Someone will drive a better car.

Someones children will do better in school.

And Someones husband will fix more things around the house.

So let it go, and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it.

The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart.

And the most highly favored Woman on your job may be unable to have children.

And the richest woman you know, who's got the car, the house, the clothes....might be lonely.

And the word says if "I have not Love, I am nothing."

So, again, love you.

Love who you are.

Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say

"I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!"

"Winners make things happen.

Losers let things happen."

Be Blessed ladies and pass this on to encourage another woman.

"To the world you might be one person,

but to one person you just might be the world".

As Is

2006-04-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

"As is"
By Bob Perks
"That's got to be the worst advertising I have ever seen!" I said.
"What advertising?" he asked.
I pointed to the pin he was wearing on his jacket.
"As is!" I said.
He appeared to be embarrassed. His face turned a bright red and he couldn't
look me in the eye.
"Oh, that thing," he said as he fumbled to remove it.
"Don't take it off, I was really joking," I said as I grasped his hand. "Leave it there."
"I feel foolish," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"I had that made for me. I wear it when...." he began to stumble over his words.
"When?"
"When I go out."
"When you go out where?"
"Out dancing...at the club and places," he said.
I waited for more. There wasn't any.
"That's it? What's it mean?" I asked him.
"Oh, I want to meet a lady. A companion, friend...you know."
"So the pin means..."
"What you see is what you get!" he replied loudly. Then he smiled.
"Oh, like a used car..."As is?" I said.
He started laughing. "I know it's silly, but I'm too old to be trying to impress
someone. They're all looking for "razzle-dazzle."
"You have razzle-dazzle!" I assured him.
Through his now increased laughter he said, "I have a little bit of "razzle"
but I think I lost my "Dazzle."
We both sat there laughing. "I can relate to that!" I said.
"Really, "As is" isn't a bad deal. I think it's a brilliant way to start a
conversation with a stranger," I said.
"Well, I have met a few ladies because of it," he said.
"Nothing became of it? I mean, you didn't meet the special love of
your life?" I asked.
"No. Most of them came "As is," too. But they needed a lot of work," he said.
"You're not buying a car there. I think we are all "As is." There's a
lot of mileage, a lot of issues, you know...the stuff of life," I said.
It got me thinking about things. I can picture those words on a sale agreement for
used equipment or as a description in a want add for something being sold.
Usually when you see them, you hesitate, simply because it suggests there may be
something wrong with it. Enough wrong that the seller didn't want to fuss with it.
They didn't want to invest anything more in it so you have to take it as it is.
The price is lowered, the expectations limited and you just hope someone
will take it because you don't want to keep it any more.
I sat quietly thinking about it.
Who would want something or someone marked "As is?"
The one with vision. The one who sees hope and potential. The one who looks at sand
and still sees a place to grow. The one who sees withered and lifeless and takes time to prune away
the dead parts and nurture the life back into it. The one who reaches for the rose knowing
there may be thorns, but willing to take a chance because they value the beauty in it.
The one who lights the smallest candle in the darkest room while others sit in
fear of the unknown.
God, take me "As is" and help me to see again. Cut away the lifeless, wasted parts of my life and
nurture it until it bears fruit worthy of You. Help me to see the beauty within my life. It has been buried
for so long in the thorns of negativity. Teach me to be the light for those who hide in darkness.
God, I am "as is," and pray that through you, I will become "As you want me to be."
"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks
Bob@BobPerks.com <>
I encourage you to share my stories with your friends but, when
copying I ask that you keep my name and contact information
attached so that new readers can find their way here. Use of this
story for commercial use is prohibited without direct permission
from the author.

2006-03-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

gnome garden house

KARMA

2006-03-19T03:08:00.000-06:00

The Law of Karma In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.) Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them. Let's take an example of a sequence of events. An unpleasant sensation occurs. A thought arises that the source of the unpleasantness was a person. (This thought is a delusion; any decisions based upon it will therefore be unskillful.) A thought arises that some past sensations of unpleasantness issued from this same person. (This thought is a further delusion.) This is followed by a willful decision to speak words that will produce an unpleasant sensation in that which is perceived as a person. (This decision is an act of hostility. Of all the events described so far, only this is called a karma.) Words are carefully chosen in the hopes that when heard they will cause pain. The words are pronounced aloud. (This is the execution of the decision to be hostile. It may also be classed as a kind of karma, although technically it is an after-karma.) There is a visual sensation of a furrowed brow and downturned mouth. The thought arises that the other person's face is frowning. The thought arises that the other person's feelings were hurt. There is a fleeting joyful feeling of success in knowing that one has scored a damaging verbal blow. Eventually (perhaps much later) there is an unpleasant sensation of regret, perhaps taking the form of a sensation of fear that the perceived enemy may retaliate, or perhaps taking the form of remorse on having acted impetuously, like an immature child, and hping that no one will remember this childish action. (This regret or fear is the unpleasant ripening of the karma, the unskillful decision to inflict pain through words.) If there are no persons at all, then there is no self and no other. There is no distinction between pain of which there is direct sensual awareness (which is conventionally called one's own pain) and pain that is known through inference (conventionally called another person's pain). Whether pain is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to quell it or an urge to cultivate it. Whether joy is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to nourish it or to quell it. In the conventional language of speaking of events personally, the urge to quell all pain and to nourish all joy is known as being ethical or skillful or (if you like) good. The urge to nourish pain and quell joy is known as being unskillful, unethical or bad. Being fully ethical is said to be impossible for those who make a distinction between self and other and show preference for the perceived self over the perceived other, for such perceptions inhibit being fully responsive. Being fully ethical is possible only for those who realize that all persons are empty, that is, devoid of personhood.

The Heart

2006-03-14T11:23:00.000-06:00

Today I want to mention something. I started to write a story of being a mom.I have 6 children total. Three are steps and I didn't have as much influence on them. They had mothers of their own. I have a bio son and a bio daughter. Then I have my son born from the heart. (I stole that from Barbra Walters.) An adopted child is born from the heart. Its a long process with older kids.
Children do not come with a love me tag and an I love you tag. Children that have endured many losses and managed to survive life up to school age are different. The clay has been molded and partially fired into something already. They do not want to be loved. Loving hurts. Forgiving hurts more. Letting go is hard.
Children as a rule bounce back, from just about anything. However every rule has an exception. A child that has endured the system don't bounce. They decide early on to be a brick wall. It takes many dedicated people bare these children from the heart. Then there is always the chance that failure will happen.
We attempted to bring two more children into our family. After 18 long months of our lives being turned upside down. We realized that these were not children that we could help.Hours of therapists and family therapy.
However they were born from the heart on my end. As I write this the wound in my heart is still there. I pray for the children everyday that Our Higher Power will help them change them and they will someday fit into the world. The following I told the boys the night before they were taken back into the child welfare system. I told them to keep their forks. I would.

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live.
So as as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she excitedly.
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The woman explained.
"In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners I always remember that when the dishes were cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.'
It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming... like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and of substance!
So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?'
Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork... the best is yet to come.'
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye.
He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven that he did. She knew that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand.
Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died.
He also told them about the fork and what it symbolized to her.
The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.

Roses

2006-03-08T12:21:00.000-06:00

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he stopped watering the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.
This is one of the characteristic of love... to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life... all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

MARCH 4TH

2006-03-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

This is a new beginning in so many ways. A new day, a new month, a new opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

Permit me to warn you ahead of time...the most positive day of the year is on the way!

When is it? March 4th! Yes, the day we go ahead with our plans. The day we pick up where we left off and ...March "Forth" toward better days.

More Thoughts

2006-03-04T12:50:00.000-06:00

The two most important ingredients of education are: knowing that we're valued, and being in the presence of people who want to share with us something of this world that they love.

Thinking

2006-03-03T00:24:00.000-06:00

As we grow up, we learn that even the one
person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down
probably will. You will have your heart broken probably
more than once and it's harder every time. You'll
break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours
was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll
blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry
because time is passing too fast, and you'll
eventually lose someone you love. So take too many
pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt
because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a
minute of happiness you'll never get back

Sounds Good What do you Think.

2006-03-02T01:44:00.000-06:00

White House Apple ToastTuesday, December 6th, 2005
Apple ToastSource: White House Cookbook: A Selection of Original Recipes During a Period of 40years, 1887 (recipe abbreviated)Six apples1 ounce butter2 ounces powdered sugar2 Tablespoons water4 slices toastCore, peel and slice six apples; toss with powdered sugar and water. Melt butter insauce pan, saute apples for a few minutes until tender. Toast four slices of http://www.drtoast.com/departments/toast-recipes/

A Thought

2006-02-27T23:39:00.000-06:00

As a relationship matures, you start to see that just being there for each other is the most important thing you can do, just being there to listen and be sorry with them, to be happy with them, to share all that there is to share.

A thought

2006-02-26T00:35:00.000-06:00

It may be that the most important mastery we achieve early on is not the mastery of a particular skill or particular piece of knowledge but rather the mastery of the patience and persistence that learning requires, along with the ability to expect and accept mistakes and the feelings of disappointment they may bring.

Epelipsy What Is It? Who Has It?

2006-02-19T23:53:00.000-06:00

Chris, who has epilepsy, spends most of his school days concerned about having a seizure in front of his classmates. Even though his teachers and friends know of his condition - and Chris knows that he'd be OK if he did have a seizure - he is always concerned that he'd embarrass himself or scare his friends.

What Is Epilepsy?Epilepsy is a condition of the nervous system that affects 2.5 million Americans. More than 180,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year.
It can be scary watching someone have an epileptic seizure. The person may lose consciousness or seem unaware of what's going on, make involuntary motions (movements the person has no control over, such as jerking or thrashing one or more parts of the body), or experience unusual feelings or sensations (such as unexplained fear). After a seizure, he or she may feel tired, weak, or confused.
People have seizures when the electrical signals in the brain misfire. The brain's normal electrical activity is disrupted by these overactive electrical discharges, causing a temporary communication problem between nerve cells.
Just because someone has a seizure does not necessarily mean that person has epilepsy, though. Seizures can be triggered in anyone under certain conditions, such as life-threatening dehydration or high temperature. But when a person experiences repeated seizures for no obvious reason, that person is said to have epilepsy.
Many people develop epilepsy as children or teens. Others develop it later in life. For some people with epilepsy (particularly children), the seizures eventually become less frequent or disappear altogether.
What Causes Epilepsy?This is a tricky question with no clear-cut answer. Often doctors can't pinpoint exactly what causes epilepsy in a particular individual. But scientists do know that these are some of the things that can make a person more likely to develop epilepsy:
a brain injury, such as from a car crash or bike accident
an infection or illness that affected the developing brain of a fetus during pregnancy
lack of oxygen to an infant's brain during childbirth
meningitis, encephalitis, or any other type of infection that affects the brain
brain tumors or strokes
poisoning, such as lead or alcohol poisoning
Epilepsy is not contagious. You can't catch it from someone who has it.
Understanding SeizuresSeizures may look frightening, but they're not painful. They affect different people in different ways. Epileptic seizures fall into two main categories: partial and generalized.
Partial seizures start in one part of the brain. The electrical disturbances may then move to other parts of the brain or they may stay in one area until the seizure is over. A person having a partial seizure may lose consciousness. There may be twitching of a finger or several fingers, a hand or arm, or a leg or foot. Certain facial muscles might twitch. Speech may become slurred, unclear, or unusual during the seizure. The person's vision might be affected temporarily. He or she might feel tingling throughout one side of her body. It all depends on where in the brain the abnormal electrical activity is taking place.
Generalized seizures involve electrical disturbances that occur all over the brain at the same time. The person may look like he or she is daydreaming, may stare off into space, or may pass out. The muscles may stiffen and the person may make sudden jerking motions, such as flinging the arms outward. He or she may suddenly go limp and slump down or fall over.
Most seizures last only a few seconds or minutes. After a seizure is over, the person may feel sleepy or confused for a few minutes or even an hour or more. People who've had seizures may not remember the seizure or what happened immediately before the event. They may be alert and ready to resume whatever they were doing before the seizure happened. It varies from person to person.
Certain things can sometimes trigger seizures in people with epilepsy. They include:
flashing or bright lights
a lack of sleep
stress
overstimulation (like staring at a computer screen or playing video games for too long)
fever
certain medications
hyperventilation (breathing too fast or too deeply)
What Do Doctors Do?Doctors who specialize in the brain and other parts of the nervous system are called neurologists (pronounced: nuh-rah-luh-jists). If you think you might have had a seizure, it's important to tell your doctor about it. He or she will most likely refer you to a neurologist who will check for epilepsy or other conditions.
In addition to doing a physical examination, the neurologist will ask you about any concerns and symptoms you have, your past health, your family's health, any medications you're taking, any allergies you may have, and other issues. This is called the medical history. It's important to give the most accurate description possible of the seizure (or seizures). Because people who've had seizures may not remember anything about them, it's a good idea to get a detailed description from someone who saw it and write it down afterward.
The neurologist will most likely perform medical tests such as an electroencephalogram (pronounced: eh-lek-tro-in-seh-fuh-luh-gram), or EEG test, to measure the electrical activity in the person's brain. Scans of the brain, such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, may also be done. All of these tests are painless.
If the neurologist determines that a person has epilepsy, he or will recommend an appropriate type of treatment. Treatment for epilepsy usually involves medication, but in some cases the person may need to eat a special diet or have surgery. The goal of treatment is to control seizures so that a person can live as normally as possible.
In some cases, doctors can implant a device called a vagus (pronounced: vay-gus) nerve stimulator. This device sends signals through the vagus nerve in the neck to control seizures. A doctor also may recommend a ketogenic (pronounced: kee-toe-jeh-nik) diet, a special diet that may help people with epilepsy who don't respond well to medication alone. Sometimes doctors can help by performing surgery directly on the brain tissue of people with epilepsy when the condition can't be controlled using other treatments.
Living With EpilepsyPeople with epilepsy can and do live normal lives. Many athletes, authors, politicians, entrepreneurs, doctors, parents, and artists have epilepsy.
If you have epilepsy, you can still become involved in extracurricular activities, go on dates, and get a job. Your doctor will give you instructions for taking precautions to protect yourself in various situations. For example, teens with epilepsy can enjoy swimming, but should always swim with other people to be safe. Aside from some minor safety precautions, though, you can enjoy all the stuff your friends and classmates do. As long as epilepsy is under medical control, people with epilepsy are able to drive.
Tell the people close to you - friends, relatives, teachers, coaches - about your epilepsy and teach them what to do in case you have a seizure when they're with you. Some of the things friends can do to help someone who's having a seizure are:
Stay calm.
Help, but don't force, the person to lie down on his or her side, preferably on a soft surface, and place something soft under the person's head.
Take the person's glasses or backpack off and loosen any tight clothing near the neck.
Don't restrain or hold the person.
Move objects, especially sharp or hard ones, away from the person.
Stay with the person or make sure another friend or trusted person stays with him or her.
Talk with the person in a calm, reassuring way after the seizure is over.
Observe the event and be able to describe what happened before, during, and after the seizure.
Do not place an object into the person's mouth during a seizure.
There's usually no need to call 911 if you know that a person has had an epileptic seizure. However, if the person is injured, has another medical condition like diabetes, or has a long seizure or multiple seizures, he or she may need medical attention.
Click on the Resources tab at the right of this article for more information on managing epilepsy from The Epilepsy Foundation and other organizations.
Epilepsy sounds frightening, but managing it can be simple. If you have epilepsy, follow your treatment plan. Get plenty of sleep. Eat right. And exercise to reduce stress and stay in shape.
Reviewed by: Michael H. Goodman, MDDate reviewed: September 2004

Diabetes History

2006-02-19T23:48:00.000-06:00

HistoryAlthough diabetes has been recognized since antiquity, and treatments were known since the Middle Ages, the elucidation of the pathogenesis of diabetes occurred mainly in the 20th century6.

Until 1922, when insulin was first discovered and made clinically available, a clinical diagnosis of diabetes was an invariable death sentence, more or less quickly. Non-progressing type 2 diabetics almost certainly often went undiagnosed then; many still do.

The discovery of the role of the pancreas in diabetes is generally credited to Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, two European researchers who, in 1889, found that when they completely removed the pancreas of dogs, the dogs developed all the signs and symptoms of diabetes and died shortly afterward. In 1910, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer of Edinburgh in Scotland suggested diabetics were deficient in a single chemical that was normally produced by the pancreas - he proposed calling this substance insulin.

The endocrine role of the pancreas in metabolism, and indeed the existence of insulin, was not fully clarified until 1921, when Sir Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best repeated the work of Von Mering and Minkowski but went a step further and managed to show that they could reverse the induced diabetes in dogs by giving them an extract from the pancreatic islets of Langerhans of healthy dogs7. They went on to isolate the hormone insulin from bovine pancreases at the University of Toronto in Canada.

This led to the availability of an effective treatment - insulin injections - and the first clinical patient was treated in 1922. For this, Banting et al received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923. The two researchers did not patent their discovery and insulin therapy rapidly spread around the world.

The distinction between what is now known as type 1 and type 2 diabetes was made by Sir Harold Percival (Harry) Himsworth in 1935; he published his findings in January 1936 in The Lancet8.

Other landmark discoveries6 include:
identification of sulfonylureas in 1942
the radioimmunoassay for insulin, as discovered by Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson (gaining Yalow the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine);
Reaven's introduction of the metabolic syndrome in 1988
identification of thiazolidinediones as effective antidiabetics in the 1990s.

Herbal Soaps Aroma Theropy

2006-02-19T21:38:00.000-06:00

Most oils maybe purchased at health food stores. Note you may wish to purchase several different droppers. Some oils are very strong and often difficult to remove the scents from droppers.

Easy Herbal Soap Recipe

Assemble Materials:
Glycerin (available at any drug store or health store) Fresh Herbs (optional) Dried Herbs(optional) Natural Essential Oils Cookie Cutters or Sharp Knife (for cutting soap) Grater Crock Pot, double boiler, or similar contraption (can sitting on open mason jar lid inside of pot) Baking sheet with edges Ladle (for pouring glycerin) Butter or cupcake molds (or any homemade molds - tuna cans, milk cartons, etc)
Melt the Soap
Use the grater to grate the glycerin into pot. If you don't have a grater, just cut it up into small pieces. Heat, letting it melt slowly for about 15-20 minutes. Don't stir the soap or you'll have air bubbles in it.
While the glycerin is melting, rub 3-5 drops of the essential oil onto the sheet. This will add aroma to the soap. The next step is to pour the melted glycerin onto the sheet, making sure it is at least an inch or two thick. Let this set before you cut out the shapes. Cutting Crazy Shapes
Once the glycerin has cooled, you can use the cookie cutters to make your bars of soap. Just push them into the cooled glycerin. Keep in mind that any left over pieces can be melted down to make more soap.
Once you have your shapes cut out, take a damp sponge and smooth the edges.
Using Molds to Make Soap
To add color and appeal to the soaps, you can use fresh herbs as well as dried herbs. Take a mold and spray the inside with cooking oil. Place some of the herbs into the molds, making sure it is lying flat. Slowly fill up each mold with the melted glycerin. When they cool just pop them out and you'll have some fabulous decorative soap.
To make these soaps even more fun, try putting flowers, amulets, or even little toys in the middle.

Oatmeal Soap Makes One Bar

This soap is great for facial and body cleansing. Also relieves dry, itchy skin.
14-ounce bar Castile soap shredded
1/4 cup dried oats
1/4 cup distilled water
1 tablespoon dried chamomile
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon jojoba oil
Shred the Castile soap and set aside.
Grind the oats into fine powder in a food processor or coffee grinder and set aside.
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and place the chamomile and rosemary in a tea strainer in the water, letting it steep for thirty minutes to create a strong herbal infusion.
Remove the herbs from the water and reheat to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low and add the shredded Castile soap a little at a time while stirring.
Continue stirring until mixture forms a sticky mass.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the oat powder and jojoba oil until evenly distributed.
Pack the soap into a mold and let it set for four hours or until hardened..... Enjoy!!

Peppermint and Chamomile Soap
Makes One 1 4 oz bar Castile soap

1/4 cup distilled water
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
1 drop food coloring {optional}
1 tablespoon liquid lanolin
1 teaspoon jojoba oil
10 drops peppermint oil
4 drops vitamin E oil (can squeeze out of capsule)
Shred the Castile soap and set aside.
Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan and add the chamomile.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the chamomile steep for twenty minutes.
Pour the water through a strainer, collecting the water in a bowl (this removes the chamomile}. Pour the water back into the saucepan and reheat the water and stir until evenly distributed.
Lower the heat and add the soap chips. Stir until it forms a sticky mass.
Add the lanolin, jojoba oil, peppermint oil, and the vitamin E oil and stir until well mixed. Remove the soap from the heat and pack into a mold.
Let set for six hours or until the soap hardens.

Peaches and Cream Bath Bar
Makes One Bar 1 4-ounce bar

Castile soap
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 tablespoon sweet almond oil
1/8 teaspoon peach fragrance oil
1 drop food coloring {optional}
Shred the Castile soap and set aside.
Heat the water in a heavy saucepan over low heat.
Stir in the shredded soap until it forms a sticky mass.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered milk, Sweet almond oil, Peach fragrance oil, food coloring; stir until well-blended.
Spoon the soap into its mold and let set for four hours or until hardened.

Vanilla and Almond Soap
Makes One Bar

This soap is great for removing dirt and oil from the skin without drying.
Vanilla gives it a delicious fragrance and the ground almonds provide a beautifully textured soap. 1/3 cup whole almonds
1 4-ounce bar Castile soap
1/4 cup distilled water
1 tablespoon almond oil
1/8 teaspoon vanilla fragrance oil
Grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor or coffee grinder and set aside.
Shred the soap and set aside.
In a heavy saucepan bring the water to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer;
Remove the pan from the heat and add the almond powder, almond oil, and vanilla fragrance oil, stirring until well blended.
Spoon the soap into a mold and let set for five hours or until hardened.

Cinnamon Soap
Makes One Bar

1 4-ounce bar Unscented glycerin soap
10 drops cinnamon oiL
1 drop food coloring {optional}
In a heavy saucepan, melt the glycerin soap over low heat until liquefied.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cinnamon oil and coloring until well mixed.
Pour the soap into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened.

Oriental Jasmine and Rice Bran Body Bar
Makes One Bar

This soap is gentle enough to use everyday, it cleanses and softens the skin.
1 4-ounce bar Castile soap
1/3 cup soy milk
4 tablespoons rice bran
5 drops jasmine fragrance oil
Shred the soap and set aside.
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, warm the soymilk and gradually add the shredded soap until the mixture becomes a sticky mass.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the rice bran and jasmine oil, stirring until the bran is evenly distributed.
Spoon the soap into a mold and let set for four hours or until hardened.
For extra large body bars, double the recipe and use an empty milk carton as a soap mold.

Liquid Ritual Soaps (3 recipes)
Ingredients
Castile soap(a white, concentrated, unscented bar soap, available at health food stores.
Money Soap:
3 parts patchouly oil
2 parts peppermint oil
1 part basil oil
1 part pine oil
1 part cinnamon oil(wash hands with this to attract money)

Protection Soap:
4 parts rosemary oil
3 parts basil oil
1 part frankincense oil
1 part bay oil
1 part mint oil(use when you need protection)

Witch's Soap:
3 parts rosemary oil
2 parts pine oil
1 part cinnamon oil
1 part orange oil(use before rituals to increase personal power)

Procedure
Grate castile soap into a large bowl. Pack this into a measuring cup until you have exactly one cup. (per type of soap) Be sure to pack it.
Heat 3 cups water until almost boiling.
Add the soap chips to the water.
Turn off heat and whip with a wooden spoon or metal whisk until the soap is completely melted.
Let sit until cool, then add 50 - 60 drops of the mixed oils.
The exact amount will vary.
Stop adding oils when soap is heavily scented.
Using a funnel, place the liquid soap in a jar or bottle.
Cap and shake vigorously to mix in the oils.

I was checking out the soap recipes and didn't see my favorite, so I thought I would share.
Love & Light Ariadne Rayne
Peppermint Patty Soap
Looks like a brownie and smells like peppermint.
Or make it chocolate orange, or coconut instead of the peppermint if you like.
10 oz shortening
4 oz coconut oil
2oz olive oil
2oz lye
1 cup distilled water
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 droppers peppermint essential oil
Hold back one ounce olive oil to mix with the cocoa powder, melt the rest of the oils together.
Mix the lye and water and allow to cool. With the lye mixture at 95* and the fats at 115* pour the lye into the oil and stir until it traces.
Pour into molds.
Unmold after 48 hours, and cut if needed.
Allow to age 3 weeks.

Three Little Words

2006-02-18T16:07:00.000-06:00

Three Little Words
Author Unknown
There are many things that we can do to perk up and strengthen our interpersonal relationships. Yet the most effective involves the saying of just three words. When spoken or conveyed, these statements have the power to forge new friendships, deepen old ones and restore relationships that have cooled. The following three-word phrases can enrich every relationship.

I'll Be There: If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase "I'll be there." Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

I Miss You: Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other "I miss you." This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how ecstatic you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say "I miss you.

" I Respect You: Respect is another way of showing love. Respect conveys the feeling that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become close friends. This applies to all inter-personal relationships.

Maybe You're Right: This phrase is highly effective in diffusing an argument and restoring frayed emotions. The flip side to "maybe your right" is the humility of admitting, "Maybe I'm wrong". Let's face it. When you have a heated argument with someone, all you do is cement the other person's point of view. They, or you, will not change their stance and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying "maybe you're right" can open the door to further explore the subject, in which you may then have the opportunity to get your view across in a more rational manner. Please Forgive Me: Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

I Thank You: Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

Count On Me: A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship; it is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating you can "count on me." Let Me Help: The best of friends see a need and try to fill it. When they spot a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they pitch in and help. I Understand You: People become closer and enjoy each other more if they feel the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know in so many little ways that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. This applies to any relationship.

I Love You: Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person's deepest emotional needs; the need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your family, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words. "I love you." And how about "God Bless You?"

Recipes

2005-11-26T12:46:00.000-06:00

A recipe site with lots of good sounding food.

http://www.diabetic-recipes.com/

cool

2005-11-23T19:18:00.000-06:00

"Hockey is a sport for white men.
Basketball is a sport for blackmen.
Golf is a sport for white men
dressedlike black pimps."-- Tiger Woods

Feedblitz

2005-11-09T20:41:00.000-06:00

http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?AddNew

Cool Quote

2005-11-08T19:06:00.000-06:00

Chris Rock's Quote of the Year:
"You know the world is going crazy when
the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the
tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup,
France is accusing the U. S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to
war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush',
'Dick', and 'Colon'.

Comprehensive Article

2005-11-06T15:30:00.000-06:00

As a person living with diabetic I am starting this blog to talk about how I feel and what is happening in my world.
I have a small child I worry often she will have this disease and how it will affect her. I share this site with my family.
This disease hurts everyone in my family. My wife my daughter my mom dad and brothers and sisters.
I do not set good examples for those that love me. I recently was in an accident and broke my back and neck. With diabetics this is a major problem. I may or may not heal up. I may or may not completely recover from my injuries.

Type 1 diabetesResults from the body's failure to produce insulin, the hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes Results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Most Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases in the United States each year.
Pre-diabetes Pre-diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. There are 41 million Americans who have pre-diabetes, in addition to the 20.8 million with diabetes.
Additional Information
Diabetes Learning Center for the Recently DiagnosedYou've just been diagnosed with diabetes. Chances are you have a million questions running through your head. To help you answer those questions, and take the first steps toward better diabetes care, visit the Diabetes Learning Center -- an area for people who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes, or those needing basic information.
Diabetes SymptomsOften diabetes goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem so harmless. Learn what they are in this section.
Diabetes Risk Test More than 20 million Americans have diabetes - nearly one in three does not know it! Take our diabetes risk test to see if you are at risk for having diabetes. Diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Diabetes MythsFind the truth about some of the most common myths about diabetes.
Diabetes StatisticsWith so many people affected by diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has compiled statistics on the impact of diabetes and its complications. We have statistics listed by population, complication, and economic impact.
The Genetics of DiabetesYou've probably wondered how you got diabetes. You may worry that your children will get it too. Unlike some traits, diabetes does not seem to be inherited in a simple pattern. Yet clearly, some people are born more likely to get diabetes than others.
Who's on your health care team?No matter what kind of diabetes you have, it affects many parts of your life. You can get help from health professionals trained to focus on different areas, from head to toe. A health care team helps you use the health care system to its fullest. So whom do you need on your team? Find out here.
Multimedia EducationThis section contains Webcasts of several different diabetes-related topics.
eNews Original Content ArchiveFind original content articles from past issues of Diabetes E-News Now!
Books & MagazinesVisit our bookstore for a variety of cookbooks, meal planners, self-care guides and other educational materials to assist you in managing diabetes.

What's the difference

2005-11-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

What's the difference between a Jew and a canoe?

A canoe will eventually tip.

no offense to anyone who maybe Jewish

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-06T14:17:00.000-06:00

Remember during Holidays to eat right and have fun !!