Thinking in threes

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Cindy

Before I explain the title of this post, maybe I should precede it with telling you that I do not believe in ghosts.

And, I should probably also tell you that I’m not crazy, either, (at least not any crazier than the average Joe).

But, right now, I’m thinking in threes.

To tell you why, I need to go back a few years. Shortly after my brother, Dennis, died in 2004, I tried my hand at communicating with him in the “afterlife.” It happened quite by accident. One day, while driving to Charleston to run a few errands, I was thinking about him and called out his name several times while driving down Highway 176. I was wondering if he could hear me, and so I asked him out loud if he could. “Do you know I’m thinking about you and miss you, today,” I asked? “Give me a sign, brother, to let me know you can hear me, please.” I wondered how he would indeed give me a signal if he could and started thinking that maybe he would come to me in the form of a deer in the field along the side of the road or a hawk overhead or something. I thought it would be cool to get a message, but really didn’t think that I would. I got the whole way into town and got a little teary eyed a few times, but I never received a sign. On my way home, long after I had given up on seeing a sign, a big old ugly turkey buzzard flew right in front of the car! Oh, yes, that would be Dennis: not a graceful hawk or a beautiful deer, but the lowly turkey buzzard! When I got home, I relayed the story to Brian and we agreed that it would do no harm and actually be a lovely thought to believe it was a sign from Dennis.

The second time I received a message from Dennis was not too long after that first incident. I was working part-time as a newspaper reporter and was working late one night with my boss doing page layout for the upcoming issue. My boss called me into her office as she was instant messaging her friend in Utah to ask me what my recently deceased brother looked like. Her friend had just gotten a vision while messaging my boss of a guy in jeans, boots, denim jacket, ball cap and she didn’t recognize him. He was holding three yellow roses, did either of us know who he might be? Well, the outfit sounded like my brother and, yes, the yellow roses were significant, too as they were my mothers favorite.

A third incident occurred several years ago when my sisters were visiting. We had spent the day in Charleston and Folly Beach, acting like tourists, but also visiting a few of my brother’s hangouts. We even stepped in to the Sand Dollar, the bar on Folly Island, where he died. As we were on our way home and talking about him and I was relaying my two paranormal incidents to them, a buzzard flew right in front of the car. Yep, it was almost in exactly the same place where I had seen the other buzzard months earlier.

So, the other day I went to Charleston to do some shopping at the Pet Smart. And, as I usually do, when I got to “that place” on Highway 176, I yelled out to my brother. I said, “Hey, Dennis, How are you doing? Can you hear me? Can you do something to give me a sign? How’s Mom and Dad? Can they hear me? Why don’t you all get together and summon up all your energies and give me a sign? One sign from each of you? Something in threes? Yes, like three hawks or three deer or even a set of triplets at the pet store, I know you can do it.”

And, I concentrated hard the rest of the trip there and back. I’ve been concentrating on it for days, but so far, nothing.

So, I’ve been thinking about why I am even doing this thing. It seems silly in a way. But, I wonder, if maybe, when a person first dies, his spirit hangs around for a little while. I mean, if the spirit is a living thing, it just lost its house! So, maybe it takes a little while – a few days, or weeks, or months, or even longer, to leave the in-between place of this world and move on to the next.

Maybe that is a crazy notion and the only reason a person sees signs is because he looks until he finds them. Purely coincidental. Or, maybe, it’s not so crazy, but my brother’s spirit is finally too far away now to hear me. Or maybe, I just need to concentrate a little harder.

What do you think?

Sister Vacation, Part 2

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Cindy

I published a story last week about my visit to Phipp’s Conservatory In Pittsburgh, PA with my sister peeps.

Well, we did a lot more than just that on our yearly vacation together, but those sisters of mine wore me out and I’ve been just too pooped to write!

I tried to upload our Dance Heads DVD on You Tube, but it will not convert to MPEG, so the world may not ever see our amazing performance! But, embarrasing as many of them are, here are some of the pictures:

: Pam and Cindy ride the log at Idlewild.

: Pam and Bonnie having fun on the Rollo Coaster at Idlewild.

: My nephew and his family visited from Colorado. From left, Jason, Thavy, Jeremiah and Klang Yai.

: Linda’s cat Chloe.

: Bonnie’s dog, Lily.

: Jason, Thavy and “Papa” Gary climbing to the top at Idlewild.

: Linda, Pam and Bonnie. Love them!

: One of the Gateway Clipper fleet. We didn’t ride it, we just looked at it.

We rode the Rollo Coaster at least three times. I could scratch that off my bucket list, but have decided that I want to ride it again when I am 80!

A visit to Phipps Conservatory

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Cindy

My sisters and I have lived far away from one another for a number of years. Now that our kids are grown up and on their own, we make a point of vacationing together at one of our houses every year. This year, we met in western Pennsylvania for our yearly sister vacation. Because this year’s vacation was at my sister Linda’s house, and because she lives not too awfully far away from the town we grew up in and where one sister still lives, we spent several days in the old hometown, too.

I enjoyed seeing Linda’s new house. (Well, it’s not new to her, but it was the first time I had ever been there.) She sent her hubby away or maybe he volunteered to vacate the house for our visit! (Our husbands don’t care to hang around for the four sister act, although I can’t imagine why.) It’s a nice house and now I can visualize Linda in her kitchen or at her computer. She made a Pepper Steak dinner our first night there and she has promised to send it to me so I can post it on this website. (Super easy and super good.)

We spent one afternoon at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. This is a beautiful steel and glass Victorian-style greenhouse located in Pittsburgh (at Schenley Park in the Oakland section of town).

What a wonderful place! It was built in 1893 by Henry Phipps as a gift to the city of Pittsburgh.

A sustainable perennial garden, requiring minimal water and fertilizers surrounds the front entryway.

Once inside, the structure is divided up into different botanically themed “rooms.” The best way to tour it, according to our docent, is to start at the Palm Court and only make right turns. So, that is what we did. And, it was a rather smart idea, since we would have surely gotten lost a number of times had we strolled through it willy nilly.

There are something like 17 rooms and additional outdoor garden areas – Palm Court, Serpentine Room, Fern Room, Orchid Room, Outdoor Garden, Stove Room, South Conservatory, Tropical Fruit and Spice Room, Discovery Garden, Tropical Forest Conservatory, Sunken Garden, Desert Room, Japanese Courtyard, Victoria Room, Broderie Room, East Room, Aquatic Garden, Botany Hall…

An exhibition of artwork by Hans Godo Frabel is currently on display throughout the conservatory. His glasswork is extraordinary and is so artfully interwoven into the gardens.

I believe this photo was taken in Palm Court. You can see several beautiful glass masks near the base of the palm.

We ended our tour with a trip into the gift shop where Pam, bought each of us a glass teardrop shaped necklace followed by a visit to the cafe for a late lunch.

Of course, there is so much more to write about the sister vacation. Those stories are coming! But please view these remarkable pics of Phipps Conservatory and please visit there if you are ever near Pittsburgh, PA.