The Psychic

Fri evening Spouse & I got the house in shape for our friends/guests before joining 'the usual suspects' for dinner at the Miltonian. Not long after we'd returned, Liz & Rob arrived.

I know I've mentioned them before, but don't think I've explained the various connections between us. First I met Liz when she and her mother moved to the area and started going to the church I attended. Then I met Randy at a party. He was visiting from WI. We became friends and Randy moved to the area and became my roommate. Randy convinced me to let Rob move in with us. I was friends with Rob's mother but didn't know Rob well at all. He needed a place badly so I agreed. All of us attended the same church so we all knew each other on some level. Randy and Liz dated, got married, moved to WI and then to GA. We lost touch after a few years. Rob went into the military, got married, and came back to the area when he got out of the military. He and I lost touch for many years.

Then about 4 years ago I got a call from Liz & Rob. They told me Liz & Randy split up, she got in touch with Rob, and now they were dating. They looked up my name in the phone book and called every one until they found me. Shortly thereafter we met for dinner, got reacquainted, and caught up on the last few years. Liz & Rob were later married.

They are both quite busy. They both work full-time, plus they take photography classes and have a part-time photography business shooting weddings. But they made time in their schedule to visit Spouse & I and have a relaxing weekend. Although it has been at least a year since we saw them, we talked and laughed as if it were yesterday.

We had coffee and talked on the screened porch until nearly 11:00, at which time we walked over to the Blue Plate Diner and had breakfast, then walked around downtown a bit. They'd been to our beach place before but we'd not really showed them around downtown. Then we sat in the living room for a while, just relaxing, talking, and laughing. Spouse needed to make a dish for the Block Party, so we relocated to the screened porch (off the kitchen) so he could stay involved in the conversation while he cooked.

Prior to the start of the Block Party the pet psychic arrived. I walked over to our neighbor's porch and listened as she verbalized the pictures the pets sent, and communicated pet owners' comments back to the pets. She's not just a pet psychic, but she also communicates with people who have passed on. During our neighbors Larry & Rob's session with their 3 dogs she interrupted by saying that she had the presence of a friend of Rob's who had passed away recently. Rob looked startled. Then she repeated the friend's name and Rob looked at Larry in disbelief. Indeed his friend by that name had passed away recently! She gave Rob a message from the friend, then returned to facilitating communication between Larry, Rob, and their 3 dogs.

Next it was Jordan's turn! The psychic indicated that Jordan wanted us to know that she was happy living here and enjoyed it more than the other place. That wasn't surprising, since Jordan gets walked at least twice a day here, which she loves, as opposed to simply having time in the backyard at our other house. Jordan also wanted us to know that she was getting enough exercise and water. She said we should be careful when lifting her into the car because sometimes it made her back legs hurt. Okay, I thought to myself, that's not very generic. Indeed, sometimes Jordan yelped when Spouse lifted her into the car. Then she said that although she was being quiet at the moment, she liked being vocal at times. That is her way of expressing her excitement. That was true, she hadn't barked at all with the psychic and she does bark at home, especially when we return from being away. So far, interesting but nothing too surprising.

The psychic said that Jordan was telling her that there was a cat in the house, and that the cat believes he is the boss, and that she didn't mind. Okay, now she had my attention. How could the psychic know we had a cat, just 1 cat, that the cat was a 'he', and that he felt dominant? Pretty interesting!

The psychic asked if there was anything I wanted to find out from Jordan. I felt a little caught off-guard, as I hadn't anticipated asking anything of Jordan, so I told the psychic we were proud of Jordan for learning how to ride in the car without getting sick. She told Jordan what I'd said, and she responded that Jordan said it had taken a little while, but she'd eventually become comfortable with it. Then I asked the psychic to ask Jordan to please not get into the trash can anymore because she could eat something dangerous. The psychic relayed my message and Jordan responded that she would work on that.

When Spouse became available he walked over and joined the session, which was nearly over. As soon as he walked over Jordan went to him and wagged her tail furiously as he petted her. The psychic looked at Spouse and said she felt the presence of 2 males in spirit (passed on) who were related to him, one was his father. She asked if he had died from cancer or something to do with the heart, since she saw a picture indicating pressure in the chest. He replied that no, he'd died of leukemia. Spouse took this as a 'failed guess' but I reminded him that although his father's death was due to leukemia, he also had a stroke. The psychic said his father was not alone in the spirit world, but that next to him was a female whose name began with the letter M. Spouse's father's deceased sister is Margie. Spouse told me he'd heard an expose' on psychics say that the most common names begin with the letter M, so he chalked this up to a 'correct guess'. Then the psychic told Spouse that his father wanted him to know that although they had not had the best or closest relationship, he stilled loved him and was proud of him. I thought this was indeed true, but Spouse (the critic) thought it was another 'correct guess', as the chances are high that gay men often have not-so-close relationships with their fathers.

So, Spouse was far less convinced of the psychic's abilities than I. This led to an interesting conversation between the 2 of us and Rob & Liz about whether psychics use physical clues and people's responses to make 'guesses' about them. Then we joined the Block Party.

Everyone brought a dish to share, and Jim & Barb generously provided all the meat and drinks. We had a nice time talking to the neighbors we already knew as well as meeting some of the neighbors we'd not met before. Jim had his iPod hooked up to big speakers which provided music for the soiree'. It was a lot of fun.

I spoke to our neighbor Brenda, whose dog Molly had also had a session with the psychic. Brenda related that the psychic told her that Molly had indicated she really liked the bandanna with the pumpkins on it and wanted Brenda to put that one on her. Brenda said just that morning she'd taken the pumpkin bandanna off Molly so it could be washed. The psychic also said that Molly enjoyed having that other dog in the house for a while, but did not want Brenda to get another dog permanently. This stumped Brenda, as she had never owned another dog while she'd had Molly. The psychic closed her eyes again to communicate with Molly, then said that it was a small terrier that had stayed with them. Ding ding ding!!! Brenda remembered that she had helped a friend out by taking in a foster dog for 6 weeks - a small terrier! I was sure to relate these two gems to my disbelieving Spouse.

We returned home to feed Jordan, and then the 4 of us took her for a walk. Rob & Liz took some photos of the beautiful church on Second St, which is lit up marvelously at night. Then we sat in the living room and talked for several more hours before going to bed, just before 1:00.

Sun we had coffee on the porch again, followed by blueberry cake and bacon which Spouse had made us for breakfast. After talking for a while, we went to Rehoboth Beach and walked along the boardwalk. Liz & Rob took pictures, and then we had lunch at Cafe Sole'. We returned home, they packed their things and left at 3:00.

Spouse & I changed into our swimsuits and headed back to Rehoboth Beach to meet Rick & Nick, who'd left us a message indicating they were already at the beach. But just after we'd gotten on the road they called to say they were leaving the beach, so we turned around and went home. Spouse said he really wanted to take a nap anyway, so he wasn't disappointed. While he napped I sat out on the screened porch for over 2 hours and read several magazines. The weather was so lovely I just didn't want to stay inside. Sept is my favorite month of the year. Spouse & I had cereal for dinner, then he watched crappy TV downstairs while I watched a crappy DVD (Mulholland Drive) upstairs.

More and more construction equipment returned today, meaning more noise and dirt in the air. I have a feeling I will be writing this many more times in the future.

Drag Queen name of the day: Dee Lourdes Myshepherd