I haven't posted in a few weeks because we've been so busy. We've been working on two very interesting and involved cases, one in East Texas and one in Dallas.
Sometimes, if a paranormal investigation group is doing a thorough job, they just cannot get in and out in one visit! Occasionally, there are just too many layers and intricacies at the location.
This really makes a "P.I's" day generally speaking to be sleuthing everything out to everyone's satisfaction. At times, these cases will be on-going. At other times, the client finally comes to some of their own conclusions and begin to finally feel "safe" in their own homes.
The goal is not generally to make anything leave. The main goal is to figure out what exactly is going on at the site, and to more or less counsel the clients, and even help them learn to communicate with whatever is there! It becomes somewhat of a negotiation or a marriage between the living and the dead!
Hope everyone has a great week! Now I'm going back to our cases . . . .
Copyright © 2010, The ASUP, Inc.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
A Case of Synchronicity
Rick Moran, the Founder and Coordinator of ASUP spoke a lot about the synchronicity in all of our lives.
According to Wikipedia.com, "Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance."
So on this, the one-month anniversary of Rick's passing, I find that I am once again reminded and can no longer keep quiet about just what happened in the days before and at his funeral.
You see, Rick was Scottish on one side of the family and Irish on the other. He was raised very much in those traditions by his mother and his "Sainted Grandmother". He was also raised a Catholic, was the "product of a Jesuit education" as he was fond of saying, and in fact was a Deacon of a large church in Manhattan at one time. As many people do, he strayed this way and then that way during the course of his life investigating several religious traditions, but once again came back to at least the core beliefs of the Catholic faith. He and his wife Joi used to attend a parish church at one time in The Colony, but they had moved to Wills Point three years ago, and had not attended regularly since that time.
Rick passed over unexpectedly that day on March 13, 2010. He did have a known heart condition, but he had been doing so well recently, that it was truly a shock when he collapsed.
However, even this situation was interesting. Rick had had a WONDERFUL day full of accomplishments in regard to a new hoop house being set up on the ranch. He and I were just about to leave on yet another investigation together (his first love besides Joi). My husband Joe had been with him earlier that day, I had talked to him on the phone before driving over there, and he and Joi had had a lovely lunch. We all commented that he was happier than we had seen him in weeks.
Joi and I were luckily right there with him in the room when he began to go down. He got dizzy, reached out for me, and I know at that moment we both thought he would be fine if he just sat down in a chair. When that did not work out quite as planned, I eased him down as best as I could so he would not hit his head on the floor.
Joi began monitoring him right away as she used to be a Fire Department Captain in New York and is a trained EMT. I called 911 immediately. Everything that COULD be done was in fact done which I can tell everyone makes a HUGE difference when dealing with the "what-if's" of life and death!
Afterward, we were all devastated of course, and although in shock, funeral arrangements were made in a timely and efficient manner. However, to the family members it was VERY important that a priest at least officiate even if he could not do full mass at the funeral!
That afternoon and the next day, calls were made. The only two priests in the immediate area were tied up with other things with their own parish members, and as Rick was not a member, they could not rearrange their schedules. Other Catholic churches within 30 miles, as well as the Dallas and Tyler Dioceses, both 50 miles away, were called by his family, but to no avail!
Finally, one of our Directors, Sheryl Baird, contacted me on Tuesday evening and simply asked in general (not knowing yet about the dilemma), "Is there ANYTHING I can do?" I quipped in complete irony, "Can you find a Priest???!!!" Surprisingly, Sheryl said (because she's just this way), "I'll do what I can!"
Wednesday morning, bright and early, Sheryl began to call. She called anybody and everybody she could think of in the entire Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Finally, a very nice Priest, a Fr. Michael in Mesquite said, "I'll find you a priest!"
Two and a half hours later, a very nice man with a lilting accent called Sheryl back. He said that he was the Priest over a small Catholic church in -- are you ready for this name -- Gun Barrel City -- a VERY small town near a recreational lake about an hour Southwest from Wills Point. She couldn't place the accent, but something about this priest was different. He asked, "Why on EARTH would ya schedule a funeral WITHOUT a Priest?" lol! He said he would rearrange his schedule and be there although he could not perform full Mass without permission from the Diocese. She told him that was all right. We just needed a Priest to officiate for the family. Whew! What a relief.
He called the funeral home right away to get the details. The funeral was spectacular -- a celebration -- as his wife Joi has since commented. His daughter Nichole arranged for a man wearing a traditional kilt to play the bagpipes, and led the family into the chapel. One of the songs played during the funeral was a traditional Irish prayer. The Masons came and conducted a brief ceremony as well since Rick was "Legacy Mason".
When we looked down at the funeral program, we were astonished to find the name "Fr. Francis Dowd". A chill went over those of us in the "know". Francis Dowd is an IRISH name -- of course!
It seems that Father Francis came straight from Ireland several years ago to Texas, and has a wonderful first generation accent. He performed an incredible service in English, Latin AND in Gaellic (which Rick was fluent in)! During the ceremony, he commented, "I knew this man!" A small gasp went through the family members and close friends. Understandably, everyone at this point were even more surprised and shocked to say the least!
After the service, he walked up to Joi and said, "I used to see Rick at the Knights of Columbus meetings several years ago in Rockwall." Rick and Joi had lived in Rockwall back in the 90's when they first moved from New York to Texas, and Rockwall is about another hour away from Wills Point in the opposite direction.
Now perhaps reading all of this, you think that this is ALL just a coincidence, but those of us who knew Rick well do not think so. We like to look at it as one final lesson from a man who taught us all so much about all the possibilities in life!
Copyright © 2010, The ASUP, Inc.
According to Wikipedia.com, "Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance."
So on this, the one-month anniversary of Rick's passing, I find that I am once again reminded and can no longer keep quiet about just what happened in the days before and at his funeral.
You see, Rick was Scottish on one side of the family and Irish on the other. He was raised very much in those traditions by his mother and his "Sainted Grandmother". He was also raised a Catholic, was the "product of a Jesuit education" as he was fond of saying, and in fact was a Deacon of a large church in Manhattan at one time. As many people do, he strayed this way and then that way during the course of his life investigating several religious traditions, but once again came back to at least the core beliefs of the Catholic faith. He and his wife Joi used to attend a parish church at one time in The Colony, but they had moved to Wills Point three years ago, and had not attended regularly since that time.
Rick passed over unexpectedly that day on March 13, 2010. He did have a known heart condition, but he had been doing so well recently, that it was truly a shock when he collapsed.
However, even this situation was interesting. Rick had had a WONDERFUL day full of accomplishments in regard to a new hoop house being set up on the ranch. He and I were just about to leave on yet another investigation together (his first love besides Joi). My husband Joe had been with him earlier that day, I had talked to him on the phone before driving over there, and he and Joi had had a lovely lunch. We all commented that he was happier than we had seen him in weeks.
Joi and I were luckily right there with him in the room when he began to go down. He got dizzy, reached out for me, and I know at that moment we both thought he would be fine if he just sat down in a chair. When that did not work out quite as planned, I eased him down as best as I could so he would not hit his head on the floor.
Joi began monitoring him right away as she used to be a Fire Department Captain in New York and is a trained EMT. I called 911 immediately. Everything that COULD be done was in fact done which I can tell everyone makes a HUGE difference when dealing with the "what-if's" of life and death!
Afterward, we were all devastated of course, and although in shock, funeral arrangements were made in a timely and efficient manner. However, to the family members it was VERY important that a priest at least officiate even if he could not do full mass at the funeral!
That afternoon and the next day, calls were made. The only two priests in the immediate area were tied up with other things with their own parish members, and as Rick was not a member, they could not rearrange their schedules. Other Catholic churches within 30 miles, as well as the Dallas and Tyler Dioceses, both 50 miles away, were called by his family, but to no avail!
Finally, one of our Directors, Sheryl Baird, contacted me on Tuesday evening and simply asked in general (not knowing yet about the dilemma), "Is there ANYTHING I can do?" I quipped in complete irony, "Can you find a Priest???!!!" Surprisingly, Sheryl said (because she's just this way), "I'll do what I can!"
Wednesday morning, bright and early, Sheryl began to call. She called anybody and everybody she could think of in the entire Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Finally, a very nice Priest, a Fr. Michael in Mesquite said, "I'll find you a priest!"
Two and a half hours later, a very nice man with a lilting accent called Sheryl back. He said that he was the Priest over a small Catholic church in -- are you ready for this name -- Gun Barrel City -- a VERY small town near a recreational lake about an hour Southwest from Wills Point. She couldn't place the accent, but something about this priest was different. He asked, "Why on EARTH would ya schedule a funeral WITHOUT a Priest?" lol! He said he would rearrange his schedule and be there although he could not perform full Mass without permission from the Diocese. She told him that was all right. We just needed a Priest to officiate for the family. Whew! What a relief.
He called the funeral home right away to get the details. The funeral was spectacular -- a celebration -- as his wife Joi has since commented. His daughter Nichole arranged for a man wearing a traditional kilt to play the bagpipes, and led the family into the chapel. One of the songs played during the funeral was a traditional Irish prayer. The Masons came and conducted a brief ceremony as well since Rick was "Legacy Mason".
When we looked down at the funeral program, we were astonished to find the name "Fr. Francis Dowd". A chill went over those of us in the "know". Francis Dowd is an IRISH name -- of course!
It seems that Father Francis came straight from Ireland several years ago to Texas, and has a wonderful first generation accent. He performed an incredible service in English, Latin AND in Gaellic (which Rick was fluent in)! During the ceremony, he commented, "I knew this man!" A small gasp went through the family members and close friends. Understandably, everyone at this point were even more surprised and shocked to say the least!
After the service, he walked up to Joi and said, "I used to see Rick at the Knights of Columbus meetings several years ago in Rockwall." Rick and Joi had lived in Rockwall back in the 90's when they first moved from New York to Texas, and Rockwall is about another hour away from Wills Point in the opposite direction.
Now perhaps reading all of this, you think that this is ALL just a coincidence, but those of us who knew Rick well do not think so. We like to look at it as one final lesson from a man who taught us all so much about all the possibilities in life!
Copyright © 2010, The ASUP, Inc.
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