Today is following the pattern of my previous two or three Mondays. I got up, did my knee exercises, made my bed, folded my quota of origami cranes, dealt two cards for a simple tarot reading, checked a few things on the computer, then drove to the mechanic’s shop.
As on the previous Mondays, I talked to the mechanic for a few minutes, then drove away. He’s dealing with some post-Bob issues, and even all these months later, isn’t back to his normal healthy self. He’s been closed the past week, and even though he’s way behind in his work, he planned to work on my car today. I didn’t want to put more pressure on him, so I made an appointment for next Monday instead.
The problem is one of the brake cylinders. Three were replaced, but the VW parts place sent the wrong part in the right box, so that fourth cylinder has to be replaced as well as — perhaps — the master cylinder. Because my brakes seem to work for the light driving I do — a few miles out and back on the four-lane highway outside of town — I can wait a while longer.
I did have an odd thought as I was driving that road — it was once part of the Santa Fe Trail, and it occurred to me that the brief journey I took today would have been an arduous, all-day trek for those folks. (Well, I did say it was an odd thought, not a deep thought.)
Once back in town, I went to the library and got a few extra books than I normally do because I wasn’t on foot. (Luckily, being a loyal and constant patron has its privileges, so they don’t hold me to the normal limit.)
And then, as I have done after coming home from a library visit ever since I was a child, I immediately grabbed a book and plopped down to read.
In the book I chose, the crime scene investigators used a CrimeScope — some sort of blue light — to check for fibers and stains, of which there were a lot. Afterward, they used Luminol to check for blood.
That’s when another odd thought popped up. I wondered what we would see if someone checked for those things in my house. After all, it’s almost one-hundred years old, and has probably seen a lot of living and maybe even some dying.
Except for purposes of this blog, I put the thought out of my mind. I don’t want to know where the invisible stains are, and I definitely don’t want to know what they are, especially since one over-night visitor claimed to have seen a ghost in my guest bedroom/office.
Which leads me to another odd thought. Why do people who think they see a ghost think they are seeing ghosts rather than that they are hallucinating? I mean, if I saw a ghost in my house, I wouldn’t get scared and think to myself, “Oh, no. A ghost.” I’d get scared and think, “What the heck is wrong with me?”
That’s enough odd thoughts for the day, though who knows. The day isn’t even half over, so there is plenty of room for more odd thoughts.
***
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August 23, 2021 at 8:04 pm
I’ve never seen a ghost, but I might have heard some. My cabin is quite isolated, with few signs of other humans extant. After a few weeks alone there a few years back, I could have sworn I heard something like the sound of muffled voices. I checked around, finding nothing.
It’s possible some freak combination of regular cabin sounds made the noise I heard, but I doubt it. I know pretty much all the sounds well. Most likely, it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Even if it was ghosts, it was my mind giving them an audience.
Now that I live alone, I tend to leave the radio on a lot so my mind doesn’t go to odd places (or at least not odder than usual)..
August 23, 2021 at 9:36 pm
I’ve learned to ignore all noises. In an old house, there are so many creaks that sound like people walking and bangs as if they dropped something or ran into something that I’d drive myself crazy if I paid attention to them all. I hope that if ever there’s a real problem, I’ll be able to distinguish it from all the other noises.
August 24, 2021 at 2:48 am
I feel people learn to tolerate noise sleep better. Nearly all the Asian and African countries, with hot climate they don’t have closed windows. And lots of sound with festivals. Now only rich people adapted with western culture with air conditioning live with closed windows. Another reason mosquitoes.
Something about ghost as a child I have learned with lot of ghost stories. Strangely all stories started with silent and isolated houses in old villages. Big chateaus, ever with busy towns.
After my sole mate departure I am living in the same place and if it is possible I love to see her as a ghost and I am not afraid. First time in my life I am not afraid with the ghost.
August 24, 2021 at 6:11 pm
That sounds nice, doesn’t it, to live with such a friendly and well-know ghost?
August 25, 2021 at 7:50 am
Thank you Pat for your good thoughts. All the stories which I read about ghosts were:
Some people died not finished their works so became ghost to finish.
Some ghost to protect their family or materialistic things.
Some revenge ghosts.
Some only to kill anybody without reason.
So far all ghosts were man made and I don’t know if there is a real ghost !
But you can create with your indefinite imagination friendly and well-know ghost?
August 25, 2021 at 2:12 pm
Someday I’d like to write a ghost story.