A Really Good Day

So yesterday was a big day. I started the morning with a drop of gas. I got to the gas station, where Becki was suppose to put $5 in just so I could get her to and from the train station, only her ATM card wouldn't work at that pump. I dropped her off, and then drove to work to get my check. I figured I'd walk to the currency exchange rather than drive. I had that little gas that I honestly didn't think I'd make it to the closest gas station if I didn't walk.
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Anyway, I'm walking down the street when this woman sees me. I wasn't sure if I should run, figuring she'd probably ask for a hand out. But then half way across she yells at me, "Do you belong to the United Way? We contribute to the United Way at work and I wanted to be sure you guys would get it." No, I told her we didn't. I was relieved anyway. I didn't have money for me let alone her. Then she starts telling me she saw me on cable access addressing City Council. She read my work and she knew of my connection with our Angel Group, but until she saw me, she didn't know what I looked like. She hugged me and told me that we helped her years ago when the IRS put a lien on her paycheck. She and her 6 kids were surviving on next to nothing. She didn't know how she would have made it without our help. She said she wanted to do something and thought she might be able to collect canned food at work. I'd never turn that down. She made my day. Right after I talked to her, I called my friend, George. I wanted to make her day, too.
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Needless to say, we are up and running for the year, and it is going to be a good year. One of the Smith brothers called Ed to ask if we could use a food drive for Thanksgiving. His mother is a minister. She was asked by a cemetery administrator if she knew of anyone who could use it, and she thought of us. No, we don't do much at Thanksgiving, but, yes, Christmas is coming, and I really need all the food I can get my hands on. So they called me. There's this group of 3 cemeteries located on the same intersection, and owned by a much larger corporation. All three will be holding food drives for us. George told me, too, that a bank is going to hold a hygiene and beauty aids drive. It's been quite busy and things are coming together well.
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So last night was the big night when the Library, in conjunction with the Historical Society and the paper, previewed the film we made back in September about 3 haunted homes in our town. And you know who owns the 3rd house. It was cool and a lot of fun besides. They showed about six minutes from each interview, and then asked the homeowner to talk about the house and answer questions. It was packed. The first lady, Janet, told about how she knows her mother and her ex husband are around, and how she's seen some people she didn't know in her home. She said she wasn't afraid at all, that if anything, her home has a homey feel to it. At the second house, the homeowner described waking up in the middle of the night and finding people walking through her bedroom and out through a wall. As things progress, she'd find these characters face to face with her. Our sensitives weren't comfortable with that. They felt that a portal had been opened up somehow, and that some of these characters were evil. And we talked about our place. On film, they showed Becki, Jen and I talking about taking photos, and how Becki would point at something and say, "Mom, quick, take a picture." And sure enough, there's this big orb in it. As I talked about this on film, they showed the photos. There were a lot of oo's and aw's. I was surprised how they showed the one of the baseball guy coming out of the bush, but not that one of the smoke that I put on the sidebar. Later we talked about the people running and walking down the street. We talked about shadow people, and fairies.
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I loved the story the ghost hunter told about fairies. She said she visited a farm in Indiana. The owner said that there was a lot of activity in her barn and on the hill next to it. The ghost hunter brought a sensitive with her. The lady investigated, and came back with her assessment. There were fairies living there, and fairies are good luck, so she better feed them to keep them around. "So, what do you feed fairies?" Good question. Neither the lady, the sensitive nor the ghost hunter had any ideas as there aren't many fairies in North America. The sensitive told the lady to experiment. Leave different types of food out. So she did. She left chicken and beef, and toast, veggies and other things. She found that when the fairies liked something, that the food would disappear in the time it took to turn around. And it seems they like brownies, Cheetos, coffee and blended whiskeys best. The ghost hunter said that she has photos taken during another visit of people visiting the barn where the fairies were suppose to be. They would hold out both hands, each having something the fairies liked, and in the photos are these huge orbs landing on each hand. The food would just disappear.
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Now I wonder if that lady would be interested in a trade. Say one hooded figure for a fairy? Well maybe not. Hopefully our hooded figures floated off somewhere else where people and dogs aren't going to be haunted by their presence.
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The night ended with the ghost hunter selling and signing her latest book. I had read one of her earlier books about Chicago Cemeteries, which she wrote with her husband. I told her I would purchase this on payday. "No, let me give you one." So she signed a book and handed it to me. I can't wait to read it.
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So, if you're interested in this subject, her book is called Chicago Haunts 3, and her name is Ursula Bielski. She's also wrote Chicago Haunts 1 and 2, and Chicago Cemeteries.
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My only disappointment was to see myself on film. I'm very conscious of my weight, and I was concerned about it as we went into this project. I thought for sure I'd come across as this huge lump of blubber. Instead, I swear I came across as all boob. I knew I had a big rack. I didn't realize they took over everything.

Not Condiments - In other words, it's catch up time again.

I wish I had photos. This has got to be the most vibrant falls I've ever seen. The leaves are falling quickly now, and should be down before the weekend is over. I'm sad to see them go as this has been an early fall. I've enjoyed them as much as I could.
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It's been very wet besides. Retention ponds all over the South Suburbs are near overflowing. I dropped Ed off at the main UCLA (The University Closest to Lagrange Avenue) campus last week. The pond there was creeping very close to the road. This part of Illinois is swamp land. The name Chicago is a bastardization of the Algonquin word meaning stinky place, as wild onions were suppose to grow in the swamps where Lake Michigan and the Chicago River met. As engineers historically have tried to move or remove wetlands, they found out water has a will of its own. Rather than trying to dry them up, engineers and architects are now installing retention ponds and water features in order to prevent flooding.
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Jon bought a brand spanking new, okay not so new, Mustang. This is his dream car. Ever since he got his license, he's been talking Mustang. Which is fine and dandy. I'm happy he has a nice car, but...... He doesn't own a car anymore. The car owns him.
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He and Gloria broke up. In spite of the new car, in spite of a decent job, in spite of all those good things in life, he was devastated. I'm only happy because he can spend more time here.
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So my nephew, Christian, got married this weekend. He is Bill's brother, R's, son. We were all suppose to go, but we were counting on going in Jon's Pontiac Sun Fire. I don't want to complain, or seem ungrateful, but that Mustang kind of sucked enough cash out of the air that we backed out. We truly don't need to be sponging off of Jon for everything. So the other two sponged off him instead. Jon had asked Gloria to be his date weeks before they broke up, so she went. Becki brought Chris, and Ed joined them.
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I've talked about rivalries before. In baseball, it's the Northside against the Southside. We get very hot on that subject. Now football is worse. It's the Bears against the Packers. Seeing that the wedding took place in Wisconsin, and the bride's family are Packer fans, and groom's family are Bears' fans, they did something with the cake decorations; half for Bears and half for Packers. When they cut and served it, Bear fans got the Packers' side, and Packer pans got the Bears' side. And Becki said something about small rocks. Apparently someone collected them and cleaned them. When wedding guests arrived, each person received one. He or she was suppose to squeeze their wish for the new couple into it, and then pass it onto the new couple after the ceremony.
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I understand that there was a lot of carousing this weekend, and almost no one was exempt. Something about Ed ending up at a pizza parlor because he erased his pass card by placing it next to his cell phone. He couldn't get into his room. I also heard stories about the nieces and nephews which I won't repeat. But everyone had an extremely good time. Becki enjoyed the idea that brother-in-law N twisted his butt off. And as far as that goes, neither he, nor C., or R. were too sober. And the bride's family were in the same condition. "You wouldn't believe it, Mom," Becki told me. "Her family is as crazy as our is." Now figure everyone else went out after the wedding. Becki had the sense to go to bed. Leave it to her.
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I'm sorry we missed it, although I wish the best for Christian and his new wife.

Father Came to Lunch Yesterday

I am very happy to report that Father Paul blessed my yard, my garage, and my sun porch yesterday. He sprinkled holy water and prayed, and then told the entity or whatever, to leave. Then I made lunch. We had a wonderful conversation. We told ghost stories, yes, that sounds silly considering the situation, but Father is as bad on the subject as I am. We even talked cemeteries.
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To my surprise, Bill and Father had never met before. Bill is not Catholic. As I've said a zillion times here, we have a mixed marriage. (He's a Cubs fan and a Republican, too.) Although when it comes to religion, we don't disagree. He was never raised in a church, so when the subject of raising our kids Catholic arose, he was all for it. I think that even if he doesn't practise any religion, he misses it.
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Anyway, Becki says the thing is not gone. Sheeba is returning to her old self though. She spent most of the day playing in the yard. In the last few months, she just refused to go anywhere near it. If I let her out of the van and I had parked on the street, she insisted on exiting on the driver's side, and then crossing over to Lawrence's side to wait until I got the door open. If I backed into the driveway, she insisted that I open the passenger side door for her so she didn't exit next to the yard. If I took her for a walk, I'd have to pull her down the sidewalk to get to the alley just because she had to pass the yard. She'd pull in the other direction. Now suddenly she is running down the sideyard looking for someplace to pee, and she is staying on this side of the street even if she had to walk by the yard. Becki had her in the yard this evening, but still insists that nothing has changed even if the dog is behaving.
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Heard a good story the other day. My great nephew, Jay, had a conversation with my SIL, D, who is his grandmother and his Dad. Now Jay is 4, and too smart for his own good. Jay said,"Tim is a warewolf, Grandma. He got bit by a wolf and has to be tied up at night before the moon comes out. Cuz otherwise he turns into a warewolf and goes wandering around. He told me this. He says it's true. I have to stay away from him at night because he'll try to bite me when he's a warewolf, and I'll turn into a warewolf."
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Jay's Dad, Rich, asked him. "Jay are you making this up?"
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"No," Jay said. "If I was making this up, I would have started this with 'Once upon a time.'"