311/366: Ghost Boys

 After all the candy was collected, sorted and partially eaten, my boys had a dance off.  Or what they called, "Rockstar Show".  It was exciting.  Unfortunately, it was performed to a full house and only a one night engagement.

They were so crazy dancing and jerking around in a less than graceful manner.  They made me smile.  I slowed my shutter speed down to let in the light - since it was dark except for the disco ball - and got these ghostly images.

Perfect for the eve of All Saints Day!

Lily Dale, NY

I believe in spirits.

I believe that this cat is more than just a cat. He was trying to tell us something. He was the only cat that came right up to us and watched us walk away. Okay, that might be a stretch, but our visit to Lily Dale was enlightening and rejuvenating.

Even though we were late in the horticultural season, we were sprinkled with a few beautiful flower displays.


The homes were beautiful. Well, many of them. Some of them on the side streets were a tad run down.


This tree was my first picture at Lily Dale. We were waiting for a service of Healing at the Forest Temple. Amazed at the height of this tree, yet more delighted with it's Seussian foliage.

We weren't able to get an appointment for a one on one reading, but had 4 opportunities to be plucked from the audience and receive a message from the 'spirit world'.

I know, some of you don't believe, and that is totally understandable.

But I do. I believe.

And I believe more today than I did yesterday. I've heard the naysayers claims that other people are 'planted' in the audience and the medium calls on them because they know them. That may be true, but I'm no plant and I got a message.

The identifiers were 1) a woman that was a shoe shopper. 2) Any type of shopping. 3) She loved to shop. Of course, that's my Aunt. She gave me a message that my Aunt knew I was going to be buying clothes soon. Sure enough, my Mom (my Aunt's twin) wrote me a check for my birthday and in the note, wrote "Clothes for Carrie - only".

Some things about job and life were intermingled in there. One thing that really stuck with me is that the medium said, "You notice and feel when a spirit is around you. You sense it or you shiver. That's because they are touching you." That made me shiver (wonder who was touching me then!?!).

And the last message that came at the very end, even after I thought it was over, was that another woman has joined with my Aunt that has a tiny dog. A tiny teacup sized dog. She sends her love.

I had no idea who this was. We grew up with big dogs. My mom and her sister grew up with big dogs. We used to make fun of little dogs.

So my mom and I walked. And recalled what had been said. Then my mom said, "I did give Grandma that little stuffed dog".

My grandma Ruth had recently died and for her birthday, my mother had found a Furr Real pet for her. It was a tiny tea cup sized dog that barked, and wagged, and nuzzled.

And that's what I'm going with. Grandma Ruth and Aunt Kay, chillin' together.

It is an amazing place. By the time we were done, I felt like we had just gotten there, but I felt more aware and more attuned to nature and sounds and sights.

Then, going through my film of the day, I stumbled across this photo.


I didn't see anything while I was sitting at the inspiration stump, virtually alone with my mom, talking about the names on the stone pavers. We found (Grandma) Ruth & Roy, Catherine (my Aunt Kay) and some other names in our family.

Do you see anything? I checked my film before and after shots. Not one of them had any smudge or dust on the photo. My lens is clear.

I truly believe someone was there.

Watching with us.

And this is further proof to believe that there is life or 'something' after death.

Do you believe?

Ghost Phost

I think I watch too many ghost shows. Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel and Psychic Kids on A&E, being my favorites. LifeTime has Lisa Williams.

Ghost Hunters has always been our favorite, a time for Tom and I to both enjoy a show together. Either our tastes are changing, or we both have major remote control controlling issues. Tom will often walk around the house asking out loud "Is there anyone here that would like to speak with us".

Someone in this house (aka Tom) tends to leave the medicine cabinet doors and the front hall closet doors open. I feel like I close each at least twice per day, perhaps an exaggeration, but it is now blamed on "the ghosts". We pretend that we have ghosts in this house, but sometimes I actually believe it.

My father in law died when I was four months pregnant with our first son. I love Don. He was such a good hearted person, but didn't take any crap. He kept the family together and gossiped all the while. He always had gossip. In fact, I think he gossipped more than an adolescent girl on prom night. And this is why I think he is around. Always looking for a story, he wants to know what we are up to.

When Tom and Sam and I moved back to Buffalo from Chicago, things were difficult. We were spending a lot of time together, we lived with Tom's mom, we were trying to buy a house, get settled and Tom was looking for a job. I was having real doubts whether or not we could afford to live. It was around this time that I had THE dream. This dream was 50% dream and 50% real life. I could feel the dream. I can still feel the dream.

I was pushing Sam around in the stroller and feeling frustrated and in tears. I felt Don's hands on my shoulders. It wasn't just a hand, it was the energy coming from that hand, the way the fingers pressed harder in places and the slight squeeze of the right hand. I can see his thumbs and how short his fingernails were. He told me, "It will be okay". I know that sounds general, but I knew exactly what part of IT would be okay. This dream has stuck with me for six years now and I can see it and feel it as vividly today as I did back then. And as proof of the tissue in my hand as I type, it still carries the power of the message through my days.

Our cousin, Don being her uncle, has had psychic readings where Don comes out to chat, gossip, joke around. He is definitely the type of person to come through.

It is with all this that I believe in ghosts. Not the white sheet kind, and perhaps not a FBA (full body apparition), but a sense that someone is there, someone is watching, someone is enjoying my kids just as much as I am.

On Lifetime, Lisa, that chick with the white and red hair, once said, "if you are thinking about someone that has passed on, then they too are thinking of you."

I truly believe that when I think of Don, he is with me.

Although it kind of freaks me out when that happens and I am on the toilet.