I'm Back

After an extra long hiatius, I'm back. Without going into too much detail, Lella my ex, has recovered from the TTP disease as well as can be expected. There were times during her coma we could have lost her. God performed a miracle and pulled her through. She still has to under go constant monitoring, but God has answered our prayers and left her with us. Thank you Lord, our daughter still has her mother.

A lot has happened over the months I was away, too much to write about in one posting. Christmas and New Years have come and gone with the same old, same old. The birthdays and other special occassions repeat year after year. Life does go on inspite of personal crisis.

One thing I've tackled with a vengence is my paranormal studies, both academicaly and in the field with our group. We've developed into an adept group of ten paranormal investigators. Winnipeg media recognizes us a professional group of ghost hunters, and the public seeks us out to investigate bumps and thumps that happen in their homes at night. I plan on publishing the results of these investigations, along with photos and video in my blog, so keep an eye out for them.

All this attention, and we don't even advertise our off beat hobby. And it is only a hobby.....for now.

Why

On answering a call from my daughter on Sunday, I was floored by some terrible news. Her mother, my former wife, was hospitalized after suffering a series of attacks with symptoms similar to a stroke. Diagnosis was TTP syndrome, something I've never heard of. On doing some quick research, I learned this was a severe blood disorder with a 95% fatality rate if not treated in time, survival was about 80% of treated cases. My ex, the girl I liked to get pissed off at, the airhead who was the object of my poking fun at, the lady who I harshly criticized to this day, was about to die. After being divorced for 17 years, I was devastated. I don't know why. I just was.

We've known each other for 36 years, married for 17 of those years, and then divorced to live our lives apart, later with other partners. Together, we did raise our daughter the best way we could, given the circumstances. We never lost touch with each other, and got together often to discuss matters concerning our child. Is that why this is kicking the shit out of me? Aren't divorced people supposed to hate each other, and not be concerned? I guess we're not normal divorcees.

She's putting up quite a fight in the hospital. Charlene, my partner, tells me to do what I have to do. Right now I have to go to the hospital and see if I can help my ex win her battle.

Strange Coincidence

My ghost trackers group is at it again. Along with a newspaper reporter and photographer, our group of ghost trackers headed out to Woodridge Manitoba to repeat the ritual of hunting for the headless, lantern carrying phantom, who supposedly haunts the railway tracks there.

Mr. headless ghost didn't make an appearance, but we did see a bright red light in the sky. So mesmerizing was this light, none of us, not even the media photographer thought to grab a camera and take a picture of this thing. We weren't in Woodridge to spot UFO's, therefore we were taken by complete surprise. Unbeknown to us, there was a festival happening in Woodridge that night, and a fireworks show was to begin a half hour later.

Ghost trackers being interviewed beside the railway tracks in Woodridge shortly before we saw the light.

It made sense to believe the light we saw was a flare. The "flare" was in the same general area, but not directly above where the fireworks were seen later. It was a bit to the south, and more towards our direction. However, this "flare" didn't quite behave like others I've seen. None of us saw it go up. It just appeared, stayed quite stationary for 30 - 45 seconds, and had an octogonal shape when viewed through binoculars. Then it started to move off, blink out, and shoot quickly to the south, leaving a yellow streak of light behind. The flares I've seen, go up, move to the right or left a bit, then fizzle out and drop, all within 10-15 seconds.

Eventually we did disimiss it as a flare, and continued our wait for the no-show ghost. Interestingly, a few days later, a local television station reported a UFO sighting in the Piney area, which is where Woodridge is located. Strange coincidence?

Now, thinking outside the box, could that "flare" have been ETs in a UFO, wondering what so many people were doing in an area that generally has no earthlings wandering about? Is the sighting in Piney a strange coincidence, or is it a piece of the puzzle?

Back to the Grind

After 35 plus years of heading off to work, day in and day out, I'm finally in a position which allows me ample time for myself. So, this was the first summer I took off. No worries, no pressure, no headaches. How sweet it was!

However, all good things must come to an end. I've actually had enough of getting up when I want to in the mornings. My freezer is loaded with fish I've caught these past two months. The lakes and streams, the solitude I feel in the woods by a campfire, and the long drives in the country are losing their awesome wonder.

As summer here in the Peg starts its transition into fall, it's time to hang up the shorts and t-shirts, pull my business duds out of the mothballs, and give those summertime wonders a rest for a few seasons.

You've more than likely guessed by my lack of posts, I've done diddley squat all summer but have fun, fun, fun.

My Girlfriend's Day

My Charlene was downtown and met an acquaintance while waiting for a bus. As luck would have it, Germaine, the acquaintance, was waiting for a friend, of a friend, of her son's to pick her up, and offered Charlene a lift home. Ahhh, to be in the right place at the right time. How fortunate! Two boys in a car pulled up to the bus stop and the ladies got in.

A few blocks from home the cops tried to pull the car over some reason. What does the kid do? He floors it and starts driving like a maniac, informing the ladies in the back seat the vehicle wasn't his and he wasn't going back to jail.

Apparently it was a car chase that beat out some of the stuff you see on "Caught on Video" It was dramatic enough that the take down made the front page of the local paper. The ladies were scared shitless!.

The four of them were arrested, at gun point, and carted off to the slammer. After being cleared and released, Charlene told me how close this kid had come to running over and hurting innocent people. He had absolutley no regard for his, and others' safety.

Making the front page, having a gun pointed at your head, and spending a few hours in jail are things we can laugh about now, because only Charlene's pride was hurt. What was that about not accepting rides from strangers? Ha ha ha! That'll teach her.

This story could easily have had a very tragic end. I've been trying to forget this incident for some time. Unfortuately it took a death on a highway, involving a stolen car, to remind me of the deadly consequences irresponsible hoodlums cause with their total disregard for law and order.

Off the Beaten Path

My fellow ghost tracking buddies and I spent our Saturday night in the woods, beside a railway track. We were waiting for a headless, lantern carrying ghost to make an appearance in this secluded spot, over a hundred clicks from the city.

According to the legend, since the 1930s, ghost lights and a phantom, holding an old gas lantern are said to have been seen numerous times near the railroad tracks in Woodridge, Manitoba. Hunters in the area who've seen the apparition with the lantern report that their brave hunting dogs run and cower at the sight of what their owners have to conclude is a ghost.

When seen, the ghost light is reported to appear only faintly, but as it gets closer it gets steadily stronger and even goes through color changes before becoming blindingly brilliant. Meanwhile, the ghost carrying the lantern may cause your car to temporarily stall. The ghost may also chase after you. Some people claim that the lights often appear in conjunction with the sound of an approaching train. Because the sightings were so close to the railway tracks, the guess is the ghost is a rail-riding hobo from the 1930s.

A "camp" was set up and my group began to wait for the ghost to make its appearance. As the sun dropped below the horizon, we watched and waited. Sometime after midnight with nothing happening, six of us decided to go and hunt this ghost down.

We started walking down the middle of the railway tracks. About 500 meters down the track, we noticed a glow in the trees ahead of us. Suddenly there it was! A train, travelling at full speed, rounded the bend and headed right for us. We had about a minute, if that, to scramble down into the bushes before it zipped by us.

When we got back onto the track to continue, we noticed a light shining behind us. We turned around and walked towards it. It seemed to approach us rapidly, and then began recede as we neared it. Back at the "camp" we found out it was a group member shining his portable headlamp down the tracks, wondering if we were still alive after the train went by. Finally at 1:30 am we decided to pack up and head for home.

We didn't see the ghost that night, and that is a frustration which plagues our off beat hobby of ghost tracking. Things don't always happen when you want them to. Neither could we say if the stories are hoaxes. According to legend, this eerie phenomenon does occur. We had an enjoyable time just anticipating it's arrival. My girlfriend thinks we should all be institutionalized, but there is always next time.

Pictures of the entire outing are on our group's web site, Shadows of Manitoba

The Saga Ends

Bride and Groom on the Beach

Our only daughter is getting on with her life as a Mrs, now that the final episode in their month long wedding has played out. The reception dinner was held last week. Its main purpose being that we could all meet our new extended family. My ex and I were the proud parents of the bride, although we did sit at different tables throughout the dinner. How's this family thing supposed to work anyway? She's not part of my family anymore, but she is my daughter's mother.

There were the usual things that had to be done before an event such as this unfolds. My ex asked me to take her shopping for the cold cuts, so I did. We then proceeded to her residence so the meat could be refrigerated. Sabrina and Sheldon were staying with her for the weekend, and we had a nice little "original family" visit. I might add, my ex lives alone now that her fourth relationship, since our marriage, has failed, so I was welcome.

After the event the next day, a bunch of family ended up at a local bar for drinks, the ex and I included. We were having a great time and I started wondering if my ex had finally learned how to have fun. Since I was the father of the bride, I bought her mother a few drinks and loaned her some money. She promised to pay me back in a week. After all, according to her, she was once my wife and should be trustworthy. The entire evening was thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone was so happy when we all left to go home.

In sixteen years, I have not been in such a close proximity with my ex wife. Sabrina's and Sheldon's marriage brought us together, and we actually acted decently towards each other. I was even thinking how nice it would be if we were still a family and hadn't divorced. But alas, what's done is done, and life goes on. My relationship with Charlene is going on fifteen years now and we're happy.

My ex wife still owes me sixty bucks and I haven't heard from her since that day. Some things never change.

Me and My Ex Wife 17 Years Ago