Friday, November 11, 2011

I'm dreaming of a grey Channukah

When my stuff was delivered one of the movers, who was from Bangor, warned me that it was probably going to be a wet Winter. He believed that all we were going to see was wet, sloppy snow. I sort of trusted his judgment, but hoped he was wrong. Now, I'm worried that he was right.

It's raining today, rained yesterday as well, and the forecast for the rest of the week is more sun and rising temperatures. I realize that it's not even mid-November, but looking ahead I don't see this weather changing anytime soon. Not only that, I anticipate that, when it does change, it will do so gradually, keeping things wet, warm, and not exactly Wint'ry. In Sacramento the dog didn't seem to care about the rain at all, but around here she really doesn't want to be outside in it. I'm not sure what the difference is. It's quite warm here right now, so it's not that she's cold. I dunno, I guess it's her new thing.

I actually really wanted snow. More then that I wanted ice so I could break out my skates, maybe play a little pond hockey. I'm sure it will eventually get cold enough to ice over the pond at the school, but maybe not enough to thicken it to the point where people can skate on it. Especially not if the snow storms are interspersed with rain. It makes for a Winter I'm not exactly looking forward to.

In happier news I met with my adviser at school this week, his name is Marcus LiBrizzi (look him up, he's got a couple of books out). He's really excited to have me in Machias, mostly cause he's a total ghost and monster nut so we have a lot to talk about. We spent about half the meeting talking about the supernatural, and the other half finally getting some classes together. He's putting me into a directed study course, basically the class is meeting with him once a week for half an hour with the object to try and complete the book I've been planning to write for awhile now.

He's an entertaining guy. This Winter break he is going to the Amazon to do some ghost hunting. Where and how, I don't know, but he's really excited. Remember how I told you, my readers, about the town Atusville? Well, he worked on the cultural aspect of the project that revealed the former existence of the town to everyone. We talked about that for a bit too, since I worked on a similar site when I was an archaeologist in California called Allensworth. He mentioned that the area (which is way back in the woods, too far for me to randomly roam) is very haunted.

It's sort of interesting talking to him about that kind of stuff. He really believes in it, at least in ghosts. For Marcus, these things are very real. I'm not sure what his goal is in studying and writing about ghosts. Does he want to prove their existence, or reveal their nature to the world? Or is it purely a personal thing? Does he want to prove it to himself?

For me, I prefer the mythology of the thing. I don't know what the hell ghosts are. I've had my own experiences that I know were real, but the cause is less clear to me. I like the mythology involved. I'm fascinated with the human need to create monsters, sort of like I'm fascinated by what drives people to racist ideas. Human's, by nature, are rarely willing to admit their own flaws, and I think that the monsters we create are our own ways of dealing with those flaws. People have all the traits of the beasts that haunt us, and by telling stories, especially stories where the humans prevail, is often our way of fighting our own selfish and destructive tendencies. I'd love it if ghosts and vampires and werewolves and the like existed, not because I want to fall in love with some eternally pubescent sparkly vampire, but because it would give the world so much more depth then it actually has.

Believing in ghosts and the supernatural is kind of like believing in soul mates and true love. It probably doesn't exist, but when you deny it your reality becomes so much more grey and dismal. To allow yourself to believe, whatever the reason is, creates a richer, fuller life. At least, that's how I see it. Maybe that's the driving force for Marcus's forays into places like the Amazon, all in the name of hunting ghosts and ghost stories. Maybe for him, ghosts are a symptom of a vast, uncharted world that he's only one photo, or one experience away from tapping into. Hell, I'd like very much to join him in that world.

In other news: I wash way too many dishes in a day. How am I, one person, using all these dishes? Like, three times a day I have to wash! I have to figure out how to use fewer dishes.

4 comments:

  1. Interesting post. Hey, it's gray and rainy here so...what else is new? I do appreciate your take on the supernatural - would make life richer and more interesting.

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  2. I am learning a lot from reading this blog. For example, I never knew that that you were once an archaeologist called Allensworth. That came as quite a shock.

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  3. Ok, so that was some unfortunate grammar. But given my background as a creative writer can you really blame me for being creative with English?

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  4. I had written a brilliant comment about white holidays and how down this way we don't usually have one. My husband is playing around with the networ anad took it down tho. Recreating: And that the weather changes in sharp incursions and withdrawals and not incrementally. The snowiest times are usually January, February and some of March. But we did not have a ton of acorns and that usually indicates an easier winter snow wise.

    We are having a Turducken Thanksgiving. And, I thought you were a journalist.

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