How did I get here?

So who am I and how did I get here? The best way to answer this question is to take a brief walk in time to my beginnings. As my profile states, I was born and raised in south Louisiana, where my family roots are as thick as the gumbo. I grew up in the country and played under the ancient oaks of grand old plantations along the lazy bayous. Early on in my life, I learned to appreciate and respect all things of age (people included) and began to develop a strong connection to the energies that define that area. A connection that still exist to this day. Oh, one other thing, it was during this phase of my life that I realized that there was a presence (or ghost) living in our home. A real difficult thing when you're just a kid, who's going to believe you?  I learned to keep it my secret, but lost many a nights sleep because of it!

Sometime in the late summer of my 13th year (I think), I had a dream about a huge explosion at plant near my home. Two days later I stayed home from a school field trip because I was afraid to leave the house (not what I told my mom). About 1 in the afternoon, we heard a thunderous roar followed by something that shook the entire house! I ran to the front door, slung it open to see a huge fireball at the very building and the very plant in my dream! OMG! Can you imagine what was going through my prepubescent teenage brain! GEEEZ, I was not only dealing with the complexities that come with puberty, but I was also struggling with my own identity and sexuality. I was realizing at this point I was gay. I'm being haunted and now........on top of all that..........I dreamed about a tragedy that was now transpiring right before my eyes!  Later the next day, when we were allowed to return home after being evacuated, I told my mother about my dream and how I was really bothered by it. She dismissed it as some kind of DeJaVu  and said it would probably never happen again. Boy, was she wrong! It was soon after this, that I began to have a series of life changing events, each one AFTER I had had a psychic adventure. Psychic Adventure.......kind of sounds like the title of a book or something! Years later, I learned to call it "my gift" from watching TV.  Where was Chip Coffey and the Psychic Kids Network when I was growing up!

Are you still with me, dear reader?   I hope so!

The next psychic adventure began about a year later. One evening while I was watching TV in the living room with my family, when I noticed an ever so slight odor of smoke. Both my parents were smokers, but it wasn't that of cigarettes. The house was closed up because of air conditioning, so it wasn't from outside. Soon after, the scent became stronger and more distinguishable......definitely the smell of wood burning. I asked everyone in the room if the smelled smoke, to which they all replied "No".  As the smell became more intense, I started to feel a knot form in my stomach. I got up and started checking each room in the house for fire, finding nothing. I inspected the structure from the outside to see if I had missed anything. Nothing....and the smell was gone. This happened several time during the next year, each time instilling a sense of panic that began in the pit of my guts! And each time, I would begin my vigilance of making sure we were not in danger. That July, my parents went out with my aunt and uncle to celebrate my dad's birthday. My sister and I were left at the aunt and uncle's house with cousins and my brother that was still living there was offshore. Later in the evening, when my parents came to collect us, I begged (practically pitch a holy hell fit) about spending the night there with my cousins. DENIED! and we proceeded home. When the house came into view, to my horror, I knew why I didn't want to come home that night. The house had caught fire while we were gone. It was a slow burning fire with lots of smoke.  We would have all perished from smoke inhalation in our sleep had we been home that night! Time to FREAK again!!!!!!

The next life shattering event occurred some time after we had moved back in the house after repairs. I'm not exactly sure of the time frame, but I do know I was in junior high school. I was lying in bed one night, unable to fall asleep because I had this foreboding feeling centered around the grandmother on my dads side. Just past midnight my bother comes in to tell me she had just passed away! And to really weird things out.....once again.....it was on my dad's birthday! It was soon after her passing, that the decision was made by my parents to move into my grandparents's house with my grandfather since he was in declining health. Gone forever would be the home and land of my beloved childhood. And my beloved country, for now we were living in the city.

Here is where I think I will end this chapter. I'm sure most, if anyone reading this has either lapsed into a coma or moved on to other things. But if you're still with me........there is more to come!

Interesting Note: The presence that occupied my childhood home was not very happy with the renovations made to the house.