A Ghost Story

My thanks to Becky, who sent this story to me just in time for Halloween.

This happened about a month ago just outside of Bamberg , S.C. , a small town on the banks of the Edisto River, and while it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's indeed real.

An out of state traveler was walking along the side of the road hitchhiking on a dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by. It was raining so hard he could barely see his hand in front of his face.

Suddenly he saw a car approaching, moving slowly and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.

Wanting a ride very badly, the guy jumped into the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel, and no sound of the engine to be heard over the rain.

Again the car crept slowly forward and guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and beg for his life. He was certain the ghost car would go off the road and into the canals, and he would surely drown! But just before the curve, a shadowy figure appeared at the driver's window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the hitchhiker was alone again.

Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally the guy, frightened nearly to death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran through the storm to the nearby town.

Wet and in shock, he went into a lighted tavern and with voice quavering, ordered two shots of whiskey, and then, shaken, he told everybody about his supernatural experience.

A silence came over those listening and everybody got goose bumps. They realized the guy was sober and was telling the truth. And the sounds of the storm continued outside.

About half an hour later, two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other, 'Look Billy Bob, there's that idiot that rode in our car while we was pushin' it in the rain.'

All That Glitters is not Gold, Sometimes it's Beads, and Sometime's it's a Campfire

Leading campfire songs:

Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple eater to me

Singing along:

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)


Story Teller. I'm not sure whether this one was about "The Hairy Man" or "The Duck." But the story teller asked the audience if we knew what the only thing the Hairy Man was afraid of. Eric responded "The Barber." The correct answer was dogs.


Miles appers to be enjoying the tale:


Gabby and Ian were transfixed too:


After the show was over, we all went out to Islands, a restaurant chain in our area.
Adele demonstrated something that, to me is just wrong. She ordered Thousand Island dressing for her salad, and had the request turned down because they do not make it in their restaurant! And no, our waitress could neither confirm or deny the fact that they don't have it on their menu because there are not 1000 locations in the chain yet.

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My haul from the Bead Society of Los Angeles semi-annual bazzar. I will talk more about it later.

Size 11 Czech and Japanese Seed Beads:


Unusually shaped Japanese seed beads. I don't know what I'm going to use them for yet, but they were beautiful:


Size 15 Japanese Seed Beads:


Hand blown decorative beads by Suzanne. I had the good fortune to meet her today. I have some ideas what I will use these for although the prices will force the resulting finished jewelry to be a bit higher in price than I would have hoped in today's economic times. Ah well. I'll figure it out in the end.

Pushing It

I'm pushing it. Although there's no question at this point that I am getting better, I am incredibly fatigued at almost all points during the day. I barely can get myself out of bed in the morning; and am even too tired to do mundane things like brush my teeth or eat breakfast once I do. When I'm not interested in food, all is not right with the world.

On the other hand, once I do force myself into motion, I kind of work like a flywheel. The energy from that initial push forces me to keep moving and get at least a certain number of tasks done in a day. Once the energy is spent, I drop into bed like a boulder (I'd say a rock but the collapse is more profound than that), and all I am good for is maybe watching some TV. But at least there is a lot of good things to view right now. This presidential campaign, no matter who's side you are on, has been the most entertaining thing I've ever seen. Good stuff... thank you gentlemen and lady.

Last night, I made my way to Slimmons for exercise class. The motion of the flywheel already was slowing down upon arrival and I questioned my sanity for taking it on. But surprisingly, I was able to do 3 or 4 songs before settling down in a seat to watch the rest of class. I was a bit fuzzy in the head; my clasmates noticed and worried and helped me on those occasions that I needed to move.

I'm not sure what was going on. I attributed it to not having eaten enough before attending, and that is a real possibility. Paula was a doll and found/produced three snyder's pretzel rods and one stick of red licorice. You know that I am grasping at straws when I actually ate red. I didn't really feel any better after eating, but I lied and said I did because they all looked so worried. But after making my way to my car and driving through the canyon, I stopped off at Ralph's Market and bought, amongst a few other staple things, some sushi. I do admit to a small surge of energy after eating that. Enough to make it home on.

I'm worried. Is this fatigue a result of disease? Is it a result of medication? Is it just a part of recovery and because this go-around was so different than anything that I've experienced, so is the recovery? Or is something else going on that nobody's diagnosed?

For the time being, I'm just going to keep pushing the envelope. I have a list of tasks that I want to get done every day. For a normal person, they would not be all that challenging but for me... I don't complete them. I do accomplish some of it, though, and some of it is way better than a couple months ago. Then, all I could do is lay in bed, 24/7.

Time to say Good Bye

It's time. Ruth, aka Twisted Spinster, has been gone since last July. In deference to her, I let her blog remain on my "Great Reads" list. She was a wonderful woman with an interesting perspective. She was always involved and had a great thirst for knowledge. She was also just plain funny and good.

But her last post was written the day before she died, and her last comment/response to that post on her death date. It's kind of macabre to continue to look in on her when I know what I'm going to find. The last post before she died. And the comment on the day.

So I'm going to take it down in a minute. But I wanted this one last chance to say good bye to her before I do.

Blind in One Eye

Eric & I spent a lot of time with his mother Anne in the past several days. It was an emergency; no she is not ill but there was a situation that is not for public consumption which needed to be addressed and addressed immediately. For whatever reason, Anne has liked me right from the beginning (Eric told me then that I had an unfair advantage because she absolutely hated his ex-wife and that anybody who came around after that would be accepted on first sight - lol), and her feelings seem to have intensified over time.

At any rate, it was very tense and the problem required long hours over days to be fixed. Eric was in charge and did most of the work; my job basically was to sit there and provide moral support for both sides. I apparently did my job well.

In the end, Anne grabbed me and hugged me and kissed me all over. Yes, she was wearing lipstick. Bright, greasy, old-lady lipstick.

Eric & I walked to the car, got in, and I started to laugh. "What's so funny?" he asked.

I moaned. "I'm blind in my left eye."

"Huh?"

"Your Mom, when she was kissing me, gave me a great big smack-a-roo right on the left lense of my glasses. I can't see!"

You should know that I have, for the time being, resorted to using my old reading glasses. I don't have the heart to take the loving grease off of my bifocals yet.

Changing Plans

I thought, yesterday, that I would push myself this morning and go to exercise class. When I got home from visiting with Angie, I even did a single load of laundry - exercise clothes - so that I would not have any excuse when I woke up. But when I woke up, I did not need an excuse not to go. I felt absolutely horrible; like I had been run over by a steamroller. I did too much in the last two days. I was not physically ready to take that much on. Instead of going to class, I stayed in bed.

I thought this morning that I would be going to Christan and Hung's wedding reception with Eric. I was a little stressed about what I would wear because most of my clothing is tight and it was going to be a dressy affair. But I figured that my brown dress pants with my olive suede jacket would fit, and that I certainly had a tee and a fancy necklace to go with it. But Eric called, stressed out and coming down with a bug, and decided that he (we) were not going. My reaction is mixed. I'm tired and the event would be a stresser since I barely know anyone, so in that sense it will be easier not to attend. But this is a repeated pattern with Eric & I. We never make plans. We never go anywhere. We never do anything. Even when we (I) make suggestions, there is always a reason to end up not doing it, or anything. This pattern is old and established and I am a little tired of it.

I was fairly certain this morning that I would not attend the dance party at Slimmons tonight. That Eric's event was more important to attend, that it would be nice to do something with him, and that I would be drained of energy before the dance began. I was uncommitted to showing up, but still flexible and hopeful that we might stop by for a short time to say hello to the people that I know. But now that everything else in my day is off, I am going. On my own. For how long, I don't know as I am not in great shape, but I will definitely show. I will turn off my cell phone and not take calls. I will not decide in advance what time I will be showing up, or how late I will stay. I won't even determine whether or not I will go to any of the after-parties. I need to be amongst people, people who want to have a good time, and in the world.

What will happen tomorrow in terms of recuperation will be what it is. It's likely that I will pay the price for this evening's activity. But it's not like I have any other plans that I can depend on anyway.

What I have been doing for the past two days

For anyone who has been seriously ill for an extended period of time, you know that recovery is hell. You're weak and tired all the time, and the whole path back to health is paved with obstacles. But you also know - or at least I know - that the only way to get past all of this is to forge on. Push yourself physically to the very brink, take a rest, then push again.

Enter Angie. She has helped me push myself hard for the past two days.