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It’s hard to say when our time to leave this earth will be, or to predict how we will go. My Mother’s been in the Dementia ward for five years now and with each visit there is less and less of her there, mentally and physically. It brings to mind an hourglass, the sands sifting down slowly. As a grown woman with kids of my own you’d think I’d be tougher but somehow watching her blowing away little by little, day by day, I’m overcome with a deep sense of loss and sadness. The helplessness and devastation chokes me, as if I swallowed a bull frog that won’t go down. If I’m this devastated and overwhelmed, I can’t even begin to imagine how my father, who’s been married to her for sixty two years must feel.
My Mom’s general health is good and I catch glimpses of her amazing personality when it shines through in sudden bursts that startle you, like fireworks, flooding your mind with precious memories that are long lost to her by the ravages of her disease. I know my true Mom, the smart, tough, talented, driven, chief, cook and bottle washer is still in there, buried under leaves of confusion. When I’m with her I take her by the hand and do a little dance, then ball my eyes out on the way home. To all of you who are in my shoes, it’s with firm resolve that I say; May God Bless Us All, so that we can ride out this storm called Alzheimer’s each in our own family dingy, hanging on for dear life, all the while praying that one day a cure will come.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Tracy Davis
The Brilliant Cage
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2023 by Tracy Davis
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Published by BooxAi
ISBN: 978-965-578-234-9
THE BRILLIANT CAGE
JEM STONE
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my Mother and Father, who selflessly gave their all in life and who stayed true to their hearts and their principles. It is also dedicated to All those who are suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s or who have family and friends who are. May God Bless Everyone.
I want to give special thanks to my twin daughter, Justine, who helped take my cover art vision and digitally create it, and to my daughter, Jade, for all her help with the clerical aspects of completing this book. Together we are the “Trine.”
INTRODUCTION
I want you to know what a unique and special opportunity this is for me, to be able to tell you the story of my eighteen-year journey, with both Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Never before has a patient with Alzheimer’s been able to describe what it feels like, both physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally when afflicted with these memory-stealing diseases. The toll it takes on the patient and everyone around them is such a tragedy. Until new medical advancements bring a cure, millions upon millions, of folks of all ages, will continue to suffer in silence. It is our wish that we can bring you some answers, advice, and hope, to as many souls as possible. This book is a collaboration between myself, my husband Ken, and our oldest daughter Tracy, who now goes by the name, Jem. I developed the ability to channel beings from the Spirit realm and my daughter Jem also perfected that ability at a very young age. Through the strong Psychic connection, we have with Jem, we can share our stories with everyone, from the Divine Realm of God. We hope you like it and that you learn something from our combined experiences of dealing with Alzheimer’s and the amazing supernatural. Many Blessings to you all. Mel, Ken, Jem.
*BEGINNING WITH THE END*
I passed away on the twenty-sixth of July of twenty-twenty, a few months after Ken, who died on May, twenty-third, of twenty-twenty. Covid killed me, not Alzheimer’s. It was a blessing in disguise, as my physical health was good so I might have suffered for another ten years. Ken died of internal bleeding from complications of Hepatitis, after refusing life-saving surgery because he was tired of the daily grind and wanted to exit that life. We were both eighty-eight, years old and had been married for sixty-five years. We departed from the earthly plane just sixty-four, days apart. I had been hanging on, so he wouldn’t be alone and he had been praying, I’d pass, so he wouldn’t have to watch me slowly waste away. We were both ready to go and that’s what we did. God knew our life plan and it went just the way it was designed to. It was a crushing blow for our four kids though, as due to Covid, they weren’t allowed to visit us or be at our bedside when we were dying, so for that, we are truly sorry. Our funeral was held up for over a year, due to Covid restrictions on gatherings. Our cremains were finally laid to rest together, in September, of twenty twenty-one, in a military cemetery on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. All our loved ones were in attendance, which was very heartwarming. Ken and I had front-row seats to the funeral and the memorial service, one of the many perks of being in a Spirit form. They allow you to watch the goings on of your family and friends, once you are back home in the divine realm of Heaven. They understand how tightly connected you still are to those you love. Just because you leave your body and return home, it doesn’t mean your Spirit cuts off all ties with the living. There are contracts between you and every soul that plays a part in your life. It’s true, that after your soul exits the suit of flesh, it returns home to the Spiritual plane, also known as “Heaven”. When you arrive there, you are greeted by all your Star family members and friends that have passed before you, as well as the Masters, Spirit Guides, Angels, and your Ancestors. Also, all the pets you have ever had, are waiting to cuddle with you and glory in your presence. If you have died from a long, lingering, illness, then you will be taken to a fancy hospital of sorts, where you will receive advanced healing treatments from the Holographic healing beds and the Master Healing Souls, as well as visitors that comfort and console you. All souls who died after a life of suffering from illness, abuse, neglect, or trauma, also need time to process, review and heal their auras and their spirit. Once you are healed, you are treated like the royalty each one of you truly is! No soul is left alone or rejected, especially if they have lived a life of faith in a Higher Power. A selfless life, full of unconditional love and kindness to all. Every soul that has lived a life filled with compassion and kindness, will be treated like heroes when they return home to the Kingdom of God. You are considered very brave to leave your celestial home, filled with God’s Holiness, and enter a life that will be extremely challenging and difficult. A physical life on earth that is filled with many temptations like power, money, greed, envy, corruption, crime, rape, molestation, cruelty discrimination, murder, and slavery. Everyone must also deal with unpredictable weather and diseases, that’s why it’s extremely important to treat everyone and everything with absolute respect, caring and unconditional love. Do your part every day to be helpful to those in need and share your fortune with those less fortunate. To receive blessings, please remember to say thanks to God, Jesus, mother earth, and the universe for those blessings. That keeps the balance of positive energy flowing, so it will be repeated. Give and Take equals balance. If you always give gifts to someone who never says “Thank You”, why would you keep giving them gifts? That’s the way the universe works, balance is the key to everyone’s happiness and success! Your subconscious wants to be able to return to Heaven and feel the powerful love of God and Jesus once again. I couldn’t speak about Dementia or Alzheimer’s, while I was under their grip but now, I’m able to talk through my daughter Jem and hopefully, we can bring you some comfort and knowledge, to all those suffering the effects of this silent killer or who have loved ones that are inflicted with Dementia or Alzheimer’s. We pray that all of you are spared these awful diseases and that a cure will come very soon.
God Bless You All and Thank You for being a part of our stories.
Melba, (aka) Moosie, Ken, Jem.
*THE TRINE*
I knew that since my mother Vivian, had Dementia in her early eighties, I could carry that same gene. I just didn’t know when or if it would appear. I watched my mother decline as her memory started to fade. She became paranoid, angry, and unpredictable. Dementia and Alzheimer’s wasn’t something I wanted but through each incarnation on earth, we each pick lessons to learn, as well as some that will help teach others. I was gifted with the ability to channel spirits, who would use my voice, to speak to our meditation group, “The Trine” on Wednesday nights. Each week, Ken and I would meet with three other, like-minded couples, for a thirty-minute, group meditation, then I would go into a trance state, allowing a positive Spirit from the Higher Realms to speak through me to our group. We recorded those sessions and someone also made notes. We took turns asking the speakers questions about our past lives and other mysteries of the universe. Our oldest daughter Jem was the only one of our four kids who had any interest in what we were doing. She started finding lost objects for her friends when she was seven and she could feel the energies of others, making her an Empath. Later, I taught her how to channel. Ken and I were more focused on researching our past lives, while Jem excels at Psychic readings and being a Medium, who talks with loved ones that have departed the earthly plane. She also speaks Telepathically, to benevolent beings, from other dimensions and to animals of every kind. Together, we hope to bring some enlightenment and information to anyone who has an open mind and who is willing to listen. Currently, while doctors and scientists are still puzzling over the human brain and its many mysteries, Dementia and Alzheimer’s are affecting the minds of millions of people each year! Alzheimer's is the fifth leading cause of death in the USA today. Until there is a breakthrough of some kind or an advancement with a cure, Dementia and Alzheimer’s will continue to ravage innocent minds. Before we start, I want to give you a heads-up, this book is based on real events, characters, dates, and real locations. We are an average American family that wants to share their experiences with what it’s like, to have your wife, mother, and grandmother be afflicted by first, Dementia, then later Alzheimer’s, for almost twenty years. Here are three family members, with separate views and opinions, on what they went through, dealing with the tragic effects of Dementia and Alzheimer’s.
*OLD TIMERS SYNDROME*
Through my long experience with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, I lived through every phase of those two diseases and their symptoms. Now that I’m in the Spirit Realm, I can share the truth with you, about what happens when you lose control over your mind, your body, and your sense of reality. How it feels to lose your sense of “Self “, as the diseases steal your ability to understand what is going on inside of you and around you. I am not trying to “Scare” anyone, I am trying to “Share” with everyone, my story from my perspective. Please keep an open mind, that’s all we ask. Alzheimer’s is such a tragic event. Those suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s, cannot tell anyone how they are feeling or what they are going through because their mind starts to “skip”, during its thought process but the person doesn’t even realize something is amiss. Most people who recall forgetting little things like time and dates, just laughed it off as “Old Timer’s” syndrome and made jokes about it. No one wants to think it can happen to them. Little do they know, that by the time you catch yourself going into a room and forgetting why you went in there, you “Might” already be in the early stages of Dementia. Now I am not saying that every time you forget something you should panic but keeping a journal isn’t a bad idea, as it allows you and others to track your incidents. If you or a loved one is currently experiencing any signs of Dementia or Alzheimer’s, please seek immediate help from a qualified specialist! Do Not put this off, as early detection gives you way more options. Better safe than sorry. I can tell you from my journey through both Dementia and Alzheimer’s, that it was much harder on my husband Ken, and our four children than it was on me. We hope that by the three of us sharing our versions of our lives before and during Alzheimer’s, we can shed some light on just how much these mind thieves steal from people just like you and me. We hope to bring you understanding and insight into what it’s like for a family to battle these debilitating brain diseases.
*TAKING YOU BACK*
Let us take you back to nineteen sixty-eight, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. A large town that has way more cows than people. My husband Ken, short for Kenneth, and I bought a house built in the mid seventeen hundreds, situated on the main street that ran through town. The thirteen-room home consisted of four floors, complete with four fireplaces and at least ten layers of old, vintage, wallpaper, which took many hours to remove. The old place was in much need of some TLC, which came by way of Ken and I and our two oldest kids, Jim and Jem. Saturdays were work-around-the-house days and Sundays were for museums, beach days, and Sunday dinners. After many months of hard work, the house became like an old friend and I believe it was proud of being fixed up and shown some love and respect. That place came with many charms and also some ghosts. Yes, I said Ghosts! One night as I stood alone in the kitchen baking holiday cookies, l heard the wood floor creak in the walkway to my right. It only does that when you walk on it. When I turned to look, there stood a tiny girl about five years old, with her hair half up and tied with a ribbon, her hands clasped behind her back as she gazed up at me. She wore a dress with ruffles and stockings with tiny shoes. The clothing was from the early eighteen hundreds and when I smiled and said “Hello”, she smiled back at me. I stepped back to open the oven door, removed the cookies placing them on the cooling rack. When I looked back, she was gone before I could offer her one. When we bought the house, the last owner gave us a few older pictures they had of the outside of the house. One picture was taken in the early eighteen hundreds, from across the street. In the photo, a woman was standing in front of the house with a little girl beside her, much like the ghost I had seen in our kitchen. The previous owners said that many years ago, during the depression, other owners sold candy and sweets from the house to neighbors and children. There were four levels to our home. The first floor had a kitchen, dining room, formal living room, den, and bathroom. A newer addition added on the back went the length of the house and gave us a lot of extra space. We used it as a den on one side and a large craft room on the other side. The craft room came with a vaulted ceiling and we built bookcases on the end wall that held craft supplies. There were tables and chairs for craft classes and we added a counter and cabinets, with a sink and a refrigerator. There was also a sewing area and card table. The second floor had three large bedrooms and the master suite was over the top of the extension in the rear. The large bathroom came with double sinks, a tub, a shower, and a washer and dryer. The attic was also fitted with two small bedrooms, one on each side and one in the front that looked down onto the street. We decided not to refurbish the top floor because it was a major restoration that would require redoing all the walls with insulation, drywall, new floors, and more. It hadn’t been used in ages, so we decided to make it a storage space. We found old newspapers, antique items, and a rocking chair up there. The cellar had a dirt floor with a big furnace, which made scary noises when it was on. Jim and Jem made mounds of dirt in front of the old slate, tombstones, that belonged to those long departed and brought their new friends down to the cellar, to scare them at Halloween. There weren’t any people buried down there (at least we hoped not). Having a dirt floor didn’t help it to look very inviting. As the house went through many owners throughout the years, the original acreage that went more than a mile back behind the house to the Merrimack River, was sold off when an owner needed the cash or couldn’t pay its property taxes. In the nineteen fifties, a contractor purchased the land beside and behind our house. He built a new neighborhood of small homes that were on a new, “L” shaped road, that went straight back behind us, with about six houses on each side, then it had a turn around on the right and went out to join an adjacent street on the left. There were about sixteen homes built back there in total. When the contractor built the road next to our house, they exhumed the bodies of the old family cemetery and put new headstones in the town cemetery for the bodies, and gave the old slate markers to the people living in the house at that time. Their last name was Carr and on one of the headstones, it said their child had died at six months old. Another one was engraved with a child’s name who had passed away at age two. That was common for those times because health care back then was mostly home remedies in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Ken and I felt that since we were making period-correct upgrades to the old home, then maybe that would appease any woeful spirits roaming about but our two oldest kids, Jim and Jem felt very differently. They told us how the house creeped them out, especially at night. They didn’t like being alone in the house either. They both reported hearing a rocking chair, rocking in the attic above the second floor, and hearing the sound of a baby crying, coming from up there. Ken and I had chalked it up to our kid's imagination until I met the little girl’s resident ghost. Plus, kids do tend to attract ghosts because of their high energy and open minds. The first two years seemed to go okay and we were all busy with work and school and adjusting to life in a new town. While the kids were in school, I spent my days making wreaths and doing crafts. Sometimes I would be sewing or creating crafts to teach to the locals. Our property had two acres and came with three rows, one hundred feet each, of established asparagus. I planted rows of all kinds of veggies, gourds, and pumpkins that I canned. I also made my own jelly, out of hand-picked, crab apples, beach plums, and blackberries. If the two oldest kids were in the car with me and I spied a pile of pine cones under a tree, I’d pull over and make them get out and gather them up. This embarrassed them to no end! I made up for it with a treat of some kind and they loved the jelly I made from the things we picked together. Kids grow up fast and we wanted the older two to keep hanging out with us, even though it wasn’t “Cool” to be seen with your folks after you were thirteen years old. All kids go through the “Pushing The Parents Away” phase as they get older. Once your child turns ten, they start asserting their wants and desires into the family dynamics, as they take hold of the reins, loosely at first. Neither Ken nor I had any siblings, so we didn’t have any expectations of how sisters and brothers acted. We were strict when it came to making important decisions and we were honest with our kids and they were honest with us. Every parent wants their child to feel like they can go to them for help or advice. Ken and I were fair, and listened to our children's concerns and we did our best not to judge too harshly. When it came to exploring each new neighborhood, our whole family looked forward to the trips to unexplored places that surrounded Boston. From the malls to museums, the concerts to the beaches and to plays in the city, it was a very sweet and organic way of life while living in West Newbury. I even bought our milk from a local dairy, which came in old glass bottles, which you brought back to exchange when you wanted more milk. Thanks to our amazing new neighbors and the country's surroundings, our whole family thrived during our six years there. A “Davis” family record for living in the same house in the same town. A lot of it had to do with the seventies being a much simpler style of life, more carefree and lighter. People all over the world were moving to vibes of peace, love, and kindness. Respect and compassion were the norms of society, as was the “live and let live” mentality. Humanity was like one giant, living, quilt of caring, that blanketed mother earth. Our souls were like one mind, one heart, and one thought. It was such a thrilling time to be young, involved, and committed to changing things for the better. It was a movement based on exploring everything, through an eyes-wide-open lens. Love thy brother and help thy neighbor, themes were everywhere. Peace signs and yellow smiley faces, adorned tied-dyed Tee shirts, stickers, and posters. The “Forrest Gump '' movie mirror’s our story too. Forrest Gump’s story took place in Alabama, our adventures were twenty hours away, up north in Massachusetts, where folks were kind and had respect for others and helped each other out. The whole country was facing the war in Vietnam, segregation, and fighting pollution. The Cuban missile crisis was front page news in the fifties but now folks were coming together to help make a difference in America, by standing up to government policies, regulations, and antiquated ideals. Peaceful demonstrations dotted the countryside and the cities. Jesus clubs, Buddhist groups, Hindu followers and New Age believers sprang up everywhere. Young folks wanted answers to the meaning of Life, why are we here on planet earth. We were tired of wars and we were challenging the Establishment and its policies. Meanwhile, Americans were grooving along to folk songs and rock music, full of harmony and peace. It was one of the happiest times in all our lives. As much as we loved living in New England, it was unfortunately, so steeped in deep traditions, that the locals were very uptight. Even Vermont had a growth spurt when hippies and young people moved there to live a free and creative lifestyle. New Englanders were downright superstitious, especially in the early seventies. After all, Salem Massachusetts was only thirty minutes south of us and that’s where they had the witch trials and burned them at the stake. Living in a town of only a few thousand people tends to be gossipy and small-minded but the flip side to that is, that your neighbors became your extended families, who had your back, like you had theirs and everyone watched everyone's kids. It was a spider's web of support close by, that gave us all a solid level of comfort and ease. Most folks back then didn’t even lock their back door! In nineteen seventy, almost everyone in our circle of friends was conservative and not very liberal at all. I’m in no way suggesting folks walked around with an iron poker shoved down the back of their pants but they were more cautious in nature. I suppose we should keep in mind that New England was full of tight-knit communities that were built by generations of families, moving to a certain area and staying there and their children stayed there too. That tradition continues throughout the North East. Ken and I were in our mid-thirties and we were well-educated. Ken held a master's degree in education and I had my teaching degree. We met at Teachers' College in Castleton, Vermont. Ken was born in Vermont and I hailed from Maine. During our summer breaks from the University, I got our friend's jobs, working at the pier in Old Orchard, beach Maine. There were five guys and four to five girls, who either worked the rides, the games-of-chance, or they were waiters or waitresses. My mother Vivian, knew everyone from O.O.B., as she was the safety commissioner, so we were all set for seasonal employment. We worked hard and played around between work shifts. It was during those short college breaks that we made lasting memories of those special summertimes. After graduation, Ken and I decided to get married on June eighteenth, nineteen fifty, five. The draft was still in effect, as the Korean War had ended, but the Cuban missile crisis and the war in VietNam were still a threat, so Ken enlisted in the Army. They stationed him in Fort Lee, Virginia after he finished his basic training, then we packed up and headed south. This was in the mid-nineteen fifties, and to all the Southerners, the war was still raging between the North and the South. Southerners hated people from the North and they didn’t even try to hide their disdain from us. Boy, we were in for a real treat! After we got settled in, I wanted to work so we could afford to live off base. Most women at that time were stay-at-home moms, who cooked and cleaned. When Ken saw a post on a bulletin board, that they were looking to hire a secretary, he told me about it and I wanted to apply. I graduated high school two years early, due to a double-grade promotion and I was the Dean’s secretary in college at sixteen years old. Ken spoke to his supervisor who let on that I wouldn’t get hired but he admitted that he had to, at least let me take the civil service exam. I scored the highest grade in the history of the Civil Service Exam, given by the Army, at that time. Because my score was so high, I got the job and that put a lot of noses out of joint, I’ll tell ya, especially because I was a woman and from the north! After a few years, Ken received his master's degree and started working as a federal employee for “Civil Defense”. With that promotion came a transfer, up to Maynard Massachusetts, and off we went! We lived a little over a year in Acton Massachusetts, as it was close to his new job but we yearned for an older house, closer to the coast. That’s how we found West Newbury and that big wonderful old haunted house. We were ecstatic to be back in New England again. We weren’t quite the “Adams Family” but in West Newbury, we stuck out, especially when Ken bought a nineteen sixty-three Volkswagen, Beatle, (Punch Buggy) in bright yellow! He brought home an overhead projector from work and painted “Snoopy” outlines on the side doors in black. Snoopy was the dog’s name in the Charles Shultz cartoon, Peanut’s. One door had Snoopy on his skateboard, the other door had him on “his” dog house. Sometimes, when Ken got home early from work, he’d drive onto the back lawn and down the hill to the house, just to make the kids laugh. I think you get the picture. We were young and creative with a good sense of humor, loving life!
*OUR COTTAGE*
Back in nineteen sixty-nine, Ken and I decided that instead of going on a lot of vacations, it would be much better to buy a cottage in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. We both loved going there and it was only an hour and ten minutes to get there from our house. This way we could have family and friends come up to stay and it would also be wonderful to hold family reunions there. When you drive north on the beach road from the pier, it comes to a neighborhood called Pine Point. It’s a very sweet and peaceful neighborhood of mostly year-round locals. It butts up against the rock jetty and a channel into the marsh. My mother grew up there and our kids loved that area too. We drove up and down the little streets hoping to see a for sale sign. As luck would have it, we found a big, two-story cottage that sat on three-quarters of an acre, located behind a big paved parking lot that beachgoers used. It was right on the beach before you turned left to go into the Pine Point neighborhood. It wasn’t winterized but everything about it was perfect! It had a big den, a large kitchen, and a screened-in front porch that ran the entire length of the front of the house. The second floor had two big front bedrooms, a smaller bedroom, and one bigger bedroom along the back. The only bathroom was at the top of the stairs on the second floor. The cottage had great energy and the view was spectacular. There was even a small workshop, shed near the back where the two older kids used to make stuff to float in the tidal pools. At the time, real estate prices were cheap, so we bought it right then and there. We paid sixty-nine thousand dollars, as it was such a good deal. Because the owner knew Vivian, my mother, he was happy we were the buyers. It helps to have connections. Vivian was thrilled as we all spent a lot more time seeing her and Gean. She was Dementia free in those wonderful years. Every summer we went up there on the weekends rain or shine and we all had a blast! Jim won a twelve-foot Styrofoam sailboat. He and Jem took it out on the ocean even though they didn’t know how to sail and had a lot of fun just goofing off in it. Everyone loved beachcombing best of all. Finding sand dollars, seashells, starfish, sea glass, and driftwood. It was by far the best investment we had ever made, as it gave us many years of fun and adventures! Our whole family grew very close because of that special cottage and through those sweet memories, we all shared that carefree time in our lives. When Jim and Jem were able to drive, they took their friends up there to hang out and they would visit Vivian and Gean, while they were there. Ken and I had our friends come up there too and we played cards, games and we did puzzles when we weren’t sunning ourselves or beach combing. Everyone loved to drive the loop by the pier and get pizza and french fries with vinegar. I would grind up the fresh Quahog clams the kids would dig up when the tide went out and make tasty clam fritters. We all have such fond memories of that Pine Point retreat! We finally sold it when we moved from Newburyport to Virginia. We got back three times what we paid for it. Jem was up there in twenty twenty-one and took pictures of it, as it’s all been completely winterized and upgraded. I’m sure their family loves it as much as we did!
*THE CRAFT CENTER*
It was while I was over in Newburyport, shopping one day, that I was overcome with a crazy desire to open a craft supply store! Back then, the only place to buy craft supplies was a forty-five-minute ride, each way, over and back to a major city. I went home and spoke to Ken about the idea and he knew that once I had a notion to do something, he might as well save his breath and just go with it, so he agreed and we sat down to make a list of what needed to be done. We would need a store to rent, tables, peg board, a cash register, a business name and tax ID number. We bought display shelves, a sales desk and a showcase. We had a local artist make our outdoor sign. I found out there was a huge wholesaler for craft supplies in Woburn, Massachusetts along with the Boston wholesale only flower mart, where we could purchase stock to sell. Two months later, we cut the ribbon in front of our new store located on State Street, in downtown Newburyport, named, “The Craft Center”. I was meeting all kinds of new people and before long, I was joining the Chamber of Commerce and was asked to be on the committee for their annual, two-week, summer celebration called, “Yankee Homecoming”. The celebration had many daily events such as various contests, sidewalk sales, bands, and concerts in the parks where food and dessert stands kept all the hungry crowds happy. A big parade as the finale ended a very prosperous event! Those fourteen days brought even more tourists to the bustling, smallest, city in the state of Massachusetts. Everyone dressed up in attire from the seventeen and eighteen hundreds which lent a vibe of authenticity to the festivities. It was an exciting time to be immersed, not only in running the store but to also be part of a large network of artists and customers, who appreciated what we were selling. Through our craft store, I met a lady named Lynn Random. She was a local potter and we just cliqued! Lynn and I shared many things in common. Ken and I went to dinner with her and her husband, Gig. Both men became instant friends, as the four of us shared a very strong, Spiritual connection. A few weeks later, we went on to meet some of their friends and families, which ultimately, led to us forming our Wednesday night, meditation group, consisting of four couples that shared our feelings and experiences of a Spiritual nature, that were sacred unto us. The eight of us took turns going to each other’s houses and once a month we met at our home. First, we would do a twenty-minute group meditation and for the first few months we used an Ouija board, to ask the spirit realm questions and we took turns taking notes of the questions and answers, as records of their replies. After a few months, we realized that only lower-level spirits and trickster spirits were working through the board, so we all started reading books on channeling and we began to try various other methods of deeper meditation to help us break through to a more powerful level of entities of a higher vibrational frequency. It didn’t take very long before I was able to enter a trance-like state and let a spirit speak directly to the group. It was decided that we should start taping the sessions along with taking notes as a backup. Ken would sit next to me and make sure I would be able to come out of the trance after each session. We grew very close to these souls we called friends. It was so special to each of us, to be a part of this group that believed in the same ideals, spiritual beliefs, and principles as we did. At that time, what we were doing was considered very controversial and carried a stigma, as some locals might have considered us to be witches or devil worshipers, out of ignorance of what we were doing. Our group of souls were searching for “Enlightenment” and seeking truthful knowledge about where we came from, why we were here, and where we were going. We felt so strongly about there being more to a physical life, than just working nine to five till you retire and die. We were young intellectuals, wanting answers to life’s secrets and where we fit into it all.
The Universe was knocking and our group was answering the door!
*FREQUENCY OF LOVE*
Neither Ken nor I, ever had any negative intentions while meditating. We and our group of friends, were all loving, positive, and caring people, trying to get closer to God and the white light Source of “All That Is”. We were exploring the act of expanding our consciousness and learning to harness our abilities, connecting with a higher power and frequency of love and light. When folks get together, their combined frequencies of positivity, unconditional love and their powers of white light can heal, calm, protect, and project that healing light onto other people or groups of people and situations. All positive white light energy of your Spirit contains magical powers of creativity and healing. Once you meditate and picture yourself drawing in the collective energies of compassion, faith, hope and unconditional love, that positive power of earth’s energy will open up to you and everything in your life will start happening for you on a deeper level and with more frequency. Lots of little and some big coincidences will occur all the time. Everything just seems to flow with little to “No effort” on your part. You have raised up your own soul’s frequency, so now you are hooked into the Universal Matrix of “All That Is”. It’s that powerful electromagnetic energy field of the earth that can heal and protect you. Here is a simple way to start connecting with your inner self, your subconscious mind. Try it like this in the morning before you get out of bed. Lay there relaxed, eyes closed. Now, slowly breathe in through your nose till your lungs feel full, then pause for ten seconds, slowly releasing that breath from your mouth until you feel your diaphragm squeeze in, then count to five before breathing in again and repeat that process two more times, for a total of three times. After a few weeks of breathing in slowly and slowly releasing your breath, you should start to notice that your mind and body pick up this exercise fast and it signals your Angels and your Spirit Guides that you are wanting to communicate with them. We refer to this technique as, “Dialing the Divine”. Try sitting quietly for ten minutes with your eyes closed after your breathing technique. With eyes closed, look straight into your inner field of vision, your “third eye” should allow you to see images or scenes inside your mind's eye. It’s located on the center of your forehead between your eyebrows. The “Pineal” gland, with practice, can reveal insights, leads, and clues to your journey of enlightenment, while you're incarnated on “Earth School”. It was the early seventies era but we weren’t in California, we were in New England. We asked our oldest kids not to tell anyone about what we were doing, so their friend's parents wouldn't stop their kids from playing with our kids. We weren’t being dramatic, we were being protective, as it didn’t take much for some of the old timers to make a ruckus over anything they didn’t understand. If they found out we were meditating with candles at night in a group, they would have labeled us as Devil worshippers. Luckily, no one ever accused us or our group of anything at all, in the ten years we met once a week. Those friendships were on another level and brought the eight of us even closer together, something Ken and I had never had before. Our Spirit Guide’s were delightful and they were a real font of information and comfort because they wanted us to be doing exactly what we were doing, so they made sure we were safe. They told us many things, about our past lives and who we were, and what we had done during those lifetimes. It was a truly unique and humbling experience for us all. Our group was more focused on questions about the universe and our past lives and not on predicting future events or fortune-telling. The eight of us were on a Spiritual voyage, made up of the secret knowledge of our ancient ancestors. During each meditation session at our house, Jem would sneak down the stairs and sit on the steps just out of sight, so she could listen to me channel a Spirit Guide. She was twelve then and very curious about what we were doing. Looking back, it was unusual for eight adults to sit in the dark with candles and meditate. One night, the guest Spirit I had channeled through me, spoke to her, and the group of us was surprised, as we didn’t even know she was there. We were all amused and didn’t mind the interruption. She came down and sat on the landing facing the group. The Spirit told her about a few of her past lives. In a past life she was a girl in Athens Greece, and she would run foot races with the boys. In another life, she was a Native American girl who raced ponies with the boys. The guide then asked her if she had any questions, to which she stated, she knew the house had ghosts but she asked the Spirit Guide if there was any way they could make sure she couldn’t see them. The spirit said that could be arranged. She went on to tell us, that there was a ghost living in her closet and that one night, right after she got into bed, she heard her closet door creak open, then two footsteps next to her bed just before someone sat down at the edge of her bed as the sheets got tight over her feet. She said that she was so terrified she might have passed out because she woke up in the morning, remembering the event but not anything after the ghost sat down. The eight of us were stunned! This was the first time Ken and I had ever heard of the ghost in her closet. We became worried for her safety because not all ghosts are harmless. She told everyone that she dreamt of her closet door being open and as she stood looking down, the closet floor was replaced with a pit of “Hellish flame’s” burning down below. Later that week both Jem and her older brother Jim sat down with us and admitted they had found the Ouija board and had used it a few times after school until it started spelling out swear words and saying demonic things to them. They said they barely had to put their pinkies on it and it would fly from letter to letter. Ken and I were shocked by this unexpected information, as it had never occurred to us that either one of them would do anything like that. It really hit home, that a lot was going on that we weren’t aware of or could control, especially while we were both at work. When dealing with anything supernatural or in the Spirit realm, it is necessary to protect yourself by putting white light energy all around you, to ward off dark or evil entities and also to keep negative beings from gaining control over your emotions or mind. This is extremely essential for young minds and souls, who aren’t strong enough emotionally to protect themselves. Children become vulnerable targets for those poltergeists and low-level trickster spirits that have evil intentions. Their young minds and souls are wide open to receive and they are innocent, that’s how children learn so quickly. Ken and I have always been open and honest with all four of our children, telling them the ground rules and the consequences if they break the rules, so besides the usual shenanigans, our kids were kind, respectful, hard-working, and loving. Luckily, near the end of our first year, the store was doing well enough that we hired a young woman to work a few hours here and there, so I could be more involved at home and make sure everyone was safe. I also had extra time to take on more duties at the Chamber of Commerce, which led to me becoming the first woman Vice President of the organization in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It was those challenges that spurred me on and gave my life zest and real purpose. I was spending more time in Newburyport, so Ken and I began looking for buildings that would allow us to live above our store. More and more, trendy stores were opening near our craft shop and property prices were soaring. In nineteen, seventy-five, we bought a large building on the waterfront, at the mouth of the Merrimack River in Newburyport. It was two buildings that were joined together like the letter “T.” The street front was a beautiful two-story, brick building that we renovated into a lovely store on the first floor and a stylish apartment with a bedroom loft that had a curved wrought iron staircase, on the second floor. Both levels would bring in additional income, making it a wise decision. The two-story, wooden building was approximately ninety-five feet in length and went the long way, toward the river in the back. With the help of a local contractor, we designed a store on the first level, complete with a classroom, bathroom, shelves, and a sales counter for our retail craft store. Upstairs, we had a storage room that adjoined the front brick building on the street. We then added a den with a bedroom for Jem on the left and a loft bedroom above for Jim. The main house had three more bedrooms. Our master bedroom had a walk-in closet and a full bathroom. The opposite wall had two bedrooms, one for Dean and the other for Doreen. The four kids shared a large bathroom with a washer and dryer. The kitchen was across from the stairs that led down to the door and our store. The large combination, living and dining room had an open floor plan with a vaulted ceiling and wooden beams. My baby grand piano was on the living room side, along with couches and a dining room table, and a hutch was on the other side. We had glass windows and sliding doors that looked out over a large deck, with the view of the mouth of the river where it met the Atlantic Ocean. It was such an amazing vista all year round as the river was full of boats coming and going and there was a dock behind our house owned by fishermen, who pulled up their boats in the afternoon, filled with fresh fish, and auctioned off their catch to restaurant owners and dealers in tuna. On the right of our building, was a popular seafood restaurant named, “The Starboard Galley” and next to them was the very first, “National Coast Guard” station in America. Many a day we were entertained by their boats doing drills, of their amazing life-saving skills. The mouth of the Merrimack River is very treacherous to navigate. The Atlantic Ocean has strong, cross-currents that converge at opposing angles, putting it on the list of the top ten hardest ports in the world to enter. Thank God the Coast Guard is located so close. Our best friends, Gig and Lynn Random had their beautiful sailboat moored right behind our home. Unfortunately, during a bad nor’easter storm, the strong winds and currents pulled their sloop free of its mooring and it ended up in the marsh, where it sustained so much damage that they had to sell what was left of it as salvage. Nature is beautiful but it can also be fierce. We made it through the great blizzard of seventy-eight, when it snowed so hard and so much that it blocked all the storm drains, so when the salt water came up over the sea walls, it flooded many homes and businesses. Those are the risks people take when they live near a river or an ocean or any body of water, you must take the good with the bad. All in all, living over our store were some of the very best years of our lives in that we were in our early forties' and Jim had graduated high school and Jem was a senior. The twins were eleven and had made friends at the new school in Newburyport. We loved walking uptown after dinner, stopping to speak to friends and peek in the store windows. Oftentimes, we met friends for dinner, as there were wonderful restaurants to choose from within walking distance from our place. It was a stress-free time, strolling around with the tourists and stopping for ice cream. Life in the mid-seventies was rich with prosperity and Newburyport was on fire with popularity as new faces were moving in daily while commerce was thriving.
