I have been lost in the past in a wonderfully lyrical poetic novel set in Sonora, Mexico, written by Luis Alberto Urrea

I have been revisiting some of my experiences living for 20 years in the Mexican part of town where I met many people who remind me of the characters in this novel, "The Hummingbird's Daughter". This novel is the essence of the Mexican experience, including a poor girl who becomes a saint. She is raped and murdered, is prepared for burial, but just as her services are about to commence, she opens her eyes and sits up. She has indeed been dead for five days but because of her psychic gifts and great healing powers she is given the gift of resurrection. She tells the astounded people around her she was being returned to heal and to bear witness.
Since she was born of a very poor mother who was murdered when she was very young, she relates to the poor, but her father, a rich landowner, has made it a habit to seduce all the beautiful poor girls he sees, and he eventually discovers that she is his illegitimate daughter, has a good inheritence of his intelligence as well as the gifts of healing and second sight from her mother. She has for example insisted on being taught to read as a very young child. Eventually she becomes the most important person in his life because she understands him, and he tries to save her when she is slated for death for inciting the natives gathering in the thousands to worship her as a saint.
But the dictator realizes he cannot kill her or the people might rise up and turn against him, so he exiles her and Tomas, her father, to the United States. Tomas leaves his ranches to his sons, legitimate and otherwise, and goes to join another exiled revolutionary friend in the U.S., who taught his daughter to read. He is putting out an underground newspaper for which Teresita has written articles defending the rights of the poor. On the way some of Teresita's militant following line a canyon to kill her guards and rescue her but she has the train slow down and commands all her followers not to fire a shot, and out of respect, they desist and she and her father go on to a new life in the States.

Sister Ann receives warning of danger

Ann had just been reading a book by John Edwards, one of America's famous mediums, called "Crossing Over," which our niece Cheryl had given her. She was talking to Cheryl on the phone about a book project and she said that somethng very odd happened. She felt and even saw in her mind what seemed like a bolt of lightning. It went into her computer as she was talking and then she thought it went through my sister LaRae who has been dead over 20 years, who seemed to be right there, and from there it went into her ex-husband Vernon, who is still alive, Cheryl's father. Ann said she did not want to say anything to Cheryl right then, but she decided to heed John Edward's instructions to share these experiences in order to give them validity.
So she went to the family site after she hung up and wrote down what had transpired. And then she asked Cheryl if anything was going on with her dad, had something happened to him very recently?
Well, folks, it had not happened yet! Later, I am not sure how long, Cheryl came on the family site and said a few hours after my sister Ann posted this entry, her dad Vernon was in a car wreck. It disabled his car so that he could not drive it, he was shaken up and upset because he had not seen the vehicle he hit, but did not seem to be seriously hurt.
I thought that this psychic pickup was real and undoubtedly happened because my sister Ann was so in tune at the moment with all the people involved. I do not think we can get these advanced warnings unless we remain open and aware and always concerned about the safety and well being of those around us. Ann could not stop the event from happening, but her sensing danger would give comfort to Cheryl and Colette, Vernon's daughters, conveying to them, that no, they were not alone. The mother they have missed so many years was close by and watching over them, and had once again made contact, as she has done many other times when a family member is in crisis.
My sister Linda has had many dreams about her, since her crisis with her back and her numb hands has begun. She said when I talked to her yesterday that our sister LaRae spoke to her very strongly in a dream and said, "Leave now, go as fast as you can." Moving to San Francisco right now seems to be the fastest way she can get seen by a specialist since she has been advised that she would have to wait up to 45 days here to get on medicaid and see a specialist. If she moves to San Francisco she will be under the watchful eye of her daughter who I am sure will be able to help her to get this seen about. She said she had a very bad night just from trying to pack, but her son Scott is coming today from Los Angeles to drive her van. She will need a bed in back she said because there is no way she can sit up all that way. People with serious problems like this are having a tough time right now getting seen in a timely manner. I just hope that she gets to San Francisco within the next few days without serious mishap and is soon seen there. I fear that surgery will be her only alternative, as she is not recovering.
I am recovering from my fall well and was able to walk to the library yesterday with a load of books to return. Walking keeps the body strong, so I realized I needed to get going again as soon as possible. It is the best protection from gaining more weight there is. I told Doc yesterday it is very hard for me to hold my weight in check when he is not holding his drinking in check. I spend too many hours alone, while still attached to him. I am unable to spend more time with him because of his drinking. He is just too irritable.
I am going to Los Angeles with him if for no other reason than that he volunteered and I need someone to accompany me. He realizes this is going to be a test of his strength and is already worrying some about his drinking. He said he would not be carrying his thermos on the bus, but I am afraid he will go into withdrawal if he doesn't. He really wants to get out of this constriction on his life alcohol imposes. I know he is excited by the magnitude of what Raymond has been able to do sober, which he could not do. Without sobriety and good health habits, there is no way in the world Raymond could have gone to Los Angeles and staged his play. No way! I think Doc is impressed. He could disdain what happens in Utah, but Raymond going to Los Angeles was a step that he had to admire in spite of himself.

Catching up

Connie sent me this snag featuring James Dean. I don't know if she knew that he came a number of times after he passed over to give me messages and to make sure that I stayed safe on a trip. I figured that he found me through my psychic abilities to pick up messages from the dead. To that extent I have been somewhat of a medium my whole life, but knew I did not have the capabilities to be a working one.
I was just reading another memoir by an English medium who happened to have been a policeman for many years. One of the ways that he found out he was gifted was when he was quite young, in high school I think it was, he met up with a kid he thought was kind of strange, but he hung around, and so one day he decided to introduce him to another friend. The friend just laughed and said something he didn't quite understand. He introduced this kid to still another friend, and this one said something to this effect, "Your idea of a joke, right, introducing me to a friend who isn't there!" He finally realized from what the other one said that he had not seen this kid either, that neither one of his friends saw him because he was a spirit!
I have never heard of an experience quite like this, but some people's psychic gifts manifest in strange ways, very often with seeing a spirit in their younger years.
I was listening to the George Mooney show the other night and someone came on and told him about a dream of the future he had. I wanted so badly to get on the phone and call George because I have had so many dreams of the future. Years ago James Dean came and gave me a message as I was drivng down a road in Los Vegas where I lived for a short time. I was even wide awake and James Dean spoke in my ear and said, "There is going to be a death in governmental circles, a man in his forties, a theatrical personality." I thought oh, this must be bad for him to come and tell me when I am awake, but for the life of me I could not think who this could be, because I don't think I could fathom at that time that someone would assassinate President Kennedy. This message came in late August, and I had this dream on my mind until President Kennedy was killed in November.
James Dean went on to other activities after a few years and so did I.
My sister Linda has been dreaming non stop about her ailment and what could be wrong. I have never seen anyone dream as much as she does. She is the dreamer in the family, more so than I am. She seems to think in dreams.
Last night I had a dream that someone waa wearing a red, white, and blue necklace that was designed in the form of a choker, that is it lay close to the neck in this almost magical beaded design that could change form right on the neck. President Obama is to speak today at Dobson High School to address the severe economic problems in Arizona where foreclosures are so high. So I think this necklace kind of represents his visit of hope to our citizens who certainly need it, who have lost jobs and homes.
Linda is resigned to losing her home as she can't afford the bills of keeping her home up either with an injury and inability to find and hold a job. She has decided to go to California, as her daughter has called her and told her she is already lookng for an apartment for her, and will fly down to LA to see my son Raymond's play so she can drive her back to SF.
Linda also told me this morning that she remembered she wielded a pick and shovel a couple of months or so ago when she was putting in a little garden! The ground was very hard and she remembers hitting a rock with the pick and causing her back to twinge. She thinks that after that she started with the numbness in her hands. She thinks that she was too hard on her body for her age, thinking she could do pick and shovel. I said, yes, especially, when you aren't doing it on a regular basis. How many people have attempted to do something they are not used to with bad results, like shoveling a ton of snow? She nounded pretty cheerful this morning, saying she could probably work through all the red tape to see a specialist in Calif, as fast as she could here, since the budget has been severely cut to the Department of Economic Security.
I am very concerned about all the people starting to hurt who have been laid off. I know that has to be a top priority in the months to come. As soon as any knd of work stimulus package comes, Arizona has plenty of highways, etc, that have been neglected for years.
One good note, after ten years of drought, Roosevelt Lake is reported to be more full than it has been in 98 years! Could that be? They are going to have to let the Salt River flow again. A lot of moisture must have come down just this winter. Joy! Now if it just doesn't flood!