Riddle Me This!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

If you could go back in time and pick one person that you wanted to beat up on the playground, who would it be? No last names...... please ..no last names.

Riddle Me This!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Who was the most influential person from your childhood period and why?

Riddle Me This!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

What was your most prized possession as a child?

Riddle Me This!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

What did you fear the most when you were a child?

Riddle Me This

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

What is your worse childhood memory?

Coke From Burger King

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

High School....1976

One Saturday our class was having a car wash to raise money for some function?? I cannot recall what. I think it was for the yearbook--yes it was. The day was hot and after a day of standing in the street holding signs and waiving at cars all day were were tired and thirsty. There were about 10 of us at the car wash and one of the nuns was with us all day. We attended a private catholic school. When it was all over we gave our money to the Sister and we all piled into 3 cars to go home.

First there was a stop at the Burger King for the biggest, iciest drinks we could get. We all went in instead of going through the drive-thru. We all ordered Cokes.

One of the guys with us took the top off and drank his non stop without a straw. He drained the cup in one continuous drink. As the cup was in the air and his head tilted back, he noticed something dark under all the ice in the bottom of the cup. He cleared some of the ice out with a spoon and saw a huge, dead roach. We all saw it.

None of the rest of us drank our Cokes.

My Parents On Dating

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

My mother thought that the world was made up of different classes of people. There were only two. Low class and Appropriate Class or I guess High Class. While she tended to place everyone she knew, met or worked with in a category, I could never see the world that way. My mother could just look at someone and knew instantly what class they belonged to. She felt that I needed to do this too when I made decisions about friends or people to date.

Well I was a very late bloomer being very shy and quiet. Dating was quite an experience. I did not date until my junior year of high school. Before anyone could go out with me they had to pass the test my mother gave them. Before the date was even sanctioned, the unsuspecting boy had to come over to my house for an interview by my mother. If they did not EVEN pass the interview the date would never happen.

So...said boy would show up to meet my parents. Setting was the formal living room not the comfortable den. My mother and father would sit on the sofa and he would sit in the chair. I was sitting at the formal dining room table watching. It was all that I could do. It was totally out of my control.

Plesantries were exchanged and the interrogation would begin. My mother did all the talking. She would ask all of the following questions:
1. Who are your people and what are their names?
2. Where do you live?
3. What do your parents do for a living?
4. How long have your parents worked at those jobs?
5. How old are you?
6. What grade are you in?
7. Do you plan to attend college?
8. If so where do you plan to attend college?
9. Do you smoke?
10. Do you drink?

Those were the basics and depending on the answers, those questions could be expanded upon. Well, even if the boy passed the test, the grilling he got was severe and he most likely would not want to go out. Imagine a bug under a magnifying glass. That was how I felt just listening and I was not even my potential date. I did go out on less than 5 dates my entire high school career. Once the news got around that any boy I wanted to see or who wanted to see me had to interview with my mother, boys steered clear.

If the boy failed my mothers test he was told on the spot that I was off limits and could not ever go out with them. Out of the 2 handfuls of people that she interviewed I feel that 2 really good honest people got away. One was a guy (I cannot recall his name now) who was in the ROTC and was going to college and entering the military. He came to call once after the interview and my sent him away post haste.

The other fellow I resisted my mothers wishes and dated for a long time. We were even engaged. The entire time we dated my mother basically harassed him and me about us dating. To me privately I was told that she never liked him and that he was worthless and would never amount to anything. To his face she would repeat key interview questions over and over again on a monthly basis. He and I vowed to stay together. He was my first love. Eventually we did drift apart and we broke up. We tried to get back together 2 times after the initial break up. He tried on the first attempt and I was dating someone else. The second try it was me doing the initiating and he was seeing someone else. He was even thinking of marrying this new girl. I was devastated. I wished him the best and hung up. I pined and cried over him and knew that he was the one that got away.

I did not hear from him for about 10 years. One holiday-4th of July about 3 years ago--I was visiting my parents in the states and was taking a walk around the block. A green van stopped and a man who looked familiar jumped out and called my name. It was my first love-the one that got away. I asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood. He said he was looking for me. For me??? He told me that every holiday for the last 10 years he drives over to my parents neighborhood to see if he may get a glimpse of me...to see me. I was flabbergasted. He said this was the first time I had ever been outside/seen in all those years of his driving by.

We stood there talking in the street for about an hour. He was still married to the girl he was thinking of marrying that last time I spoke to him. The marriage was basically over, they were together for the kids. He told me he still loved me and had never stopped and that I was the only one for him, but given circumstance there we both were. Personally I still had feelings for him. I always have had feelings for him. I never stopped loving him either but here we were. We exchanged phone numbers to be forever friends. We still keep in touch to this day. We did meet for drinks once--that is all. He does remember me and calls on every holiday to wish me a merry day or to have a happy birthday. In my heart of hearts he is the one that got away. I have loved and cared deeply for people after him but it has never been the same.

Part of our drifting away had some to do with my mother. When we got engaged I tried to arrange for his family and mine to meet. My mother refused. His mother was afraid of mine. Her reputation preceded her and me unfortunately. We began to plan the wedding. I wanted violins and jazz. She wanted organ music and hymns. I told her this was my wedding and these were the things my finace and I wanted. She then said that she was not going to pay for the wedding if it was not as she wanted it planned. She then said she was not going to attend if we got married. Being young I was at a loss as to what to do. My love and I thought about eloping. In the end, it finally got to him that my mother disliked him so much and thought that he was not of the proper "socioeconimic standing" that she was refusing to pay for a wedding or have anything to do with it. We finally drifted apart.

FYI...after that I never involved my mother in any relationship I had. The only time she may find out about a significant other in my life was if I came home for a holiday with him in tow. I have gotten married without the big dream wedding that evey girl wants her parents to help her have. I have not had the money to throw a big wedding--but my parents sure do--so the justice of the peace is what I have had to live with.

Funny now...my marriage has failed and when talking to my mother now she says that I should have married my first love. He stayed on in my hometown and never left. My mother did see him around town from time to time and he has done well for hismelf. Good job, home, 2 kids. She wants that stability for me. The 2nd time she said to me that I should have married him, I let her have it. I told her that if she recalled she never liked him and thought that his family was low class and not good enough for me. I mentioned the wedding she refused to pay for because I wanted jazz and violins and she wanted organ music and hymns. I also mentioned that after that she refused to attend the wedding at all. Who would give me away? I also mentioned the fact that in all the years we dated she never liked him and told him so to his face. What did my mother do? Deny everything that I had just told her.

We both know it is true. Now the only thing she asks me about him at least once a month or so is, "have you heard from ____ lately?" My answer is always yes, as I have heard from him. We do stay in touch by phone but that is all. It makes me sad to talk to him now. To think about the life we may have had. It may not have worked out in the end but at least we would have tried and failed. It makes me sad to think about dreams lost and hoped for, for so long..spending my life with him and not having the chance. We dated for 7 years. He was the one I was supposed to loose my virginity too and did not. It makes me so sad now I almost wish that he not call. He is sad too. We are both sad together for a dream of being together that has not been fulfilled and by the looks of it never will.
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Something for fun: What sort of high class person are you? My profile is below. What is yours?


Monika


Which high class ho are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

First Dance

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

4th grade...1971

I was going to my first dance with a friend of mine. The dance was to be held at church. I am a presbyterian and the dance was on a Friday night from 7-11pm. I had never been to a dance before and I knew how to fast dance so I was prepared..or so I thought.

At first noone asked me to dance but that was ok. My friend Yvonne and I stuck together. We were best friends. She got asked to fast dance. I then got asked to fast dance.

Then the music changed. A roster of slow songs after slow song was played and I was asked to dance. I declined as I had never slow danced before. I watched other couples and it did not look so hard. You just stood kind of close, swayed and moved your feet a little.

The next song that played was another slow song. I got asked to dance and this time I said yes. I followed my dance partner out to the middle of the floor. I put one hand on his shoulder and one hand near his waist and he did the same with me. The music was playing and I began to slow dance.

I stood in one spot and marched in place. Slowly..but marching all the same. I was slow dancing. I was slow dancing until my dance partner said I could not dance and proceeded to leave me standing alone in the middle of the dance floor--marching.

I was crushed. I was mortified. I was humiliated. I was embarrassed. I felt that everyone at church was laughing at me because I could not dance. This all happened at about 9pm. I immediately went to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall and cried and cried and cried some more.

I was inconsolable. My friend Yvonne came looking for me. I would not come out of the stall. I could never come out of that stall. I asked her to call my father. She did and noone was home. I stayed in that stall until the dance was over crying hysterically. When my father finally came to pick me up, I made sure that all the boys were gone...especially the one who left me standing alone in the middle of the floor. I got into the car with my father and went home.

I never went to another church dance. I did spend time with my mother asking her to teach me to slow dance. She did teach me a few tricks from the 1950's. That was not going to do.

When I was ready to go to another dance, it was after I had watched many episodes of American Bandstand and Soul Train and had spent lots of time in the mirror practicing and perfecting all the dance steps I could learn. Once I had practiced all those steps I also practiced slow dancing with myself until I could do it the proper way. I leaned to let the male lead and it was okay. Never again did I experiece the pain of being " slow-dance " challenged.

Codes: The Da vinci Codes and others

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Currently I am reading The Davinci Code by Dan Brown. So far is is a great read. Intriguing and mystifying. If you print out pictures of all the artwork mentioned in the book and refer to the pictures as you go, you will get a better understanding of what the book is trying to tell us.

Not So Happy New Year's Eve

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

New Year's Eve 1987

I was living in Atlanta at the time. I had met my best friend (who later became my child's godmother) Sandy when I first moved there at the first of the year. We both lived in the suburbs in Lawrenceville, which was about an hour away from the city. We spent the year exploring the city. She had just moved down from Spokane, Washington. We decided that we were going to have a glamorous new year. We planned to go to a club for dancing and then before midnight, go have an elegant dinner. Everything was planned to the "t." We even bought formal dresses to mark the occasion. We left home about 7pm --we had a long drive to get downtown. The club was in Buckhead. Buckhead was our favorite place to go. We went there often.

We had made reservations in advance and we had to have tickets also. I was unable to physically pick up the tickets before that night but I had been assured that our tickets would be at the door. I had paid for them in advance...or so I thought. And was told! So off we went. Me in my strapless black cocktail dress with the white tuxedo bow in the front. I looked stunning. Sandy had on a black cocktail dress as well. We arrived at the club, left the car in the hands of valet parking and approached the biggest line/mob/chaos I had ever seen.

After waiting for quite some time to get to the front of the line we were excited to get in. We were stopped at the door. The club was overbooked and while I was down on the list to get in with a reservation, they could not let me in like many others they turned away. I pursued saying that my tickets were paid for as I have given credit card info. I was told that they did not run the cards thru as they were concerned about being sold out. My name on that list only meant that if they had room, I would be a allowed to enter and tickets would be paid for at that time. We had no place to go. We were so disappointed. Well, we were a frequent patron of all the local jazz clubs so we decided to go to a few of our favorite spots to see if we could get in. Every place was booked and filled to capacity. It was New Year's Eve.

Time to regroup. We knew the restaurant had a bar area so we decided to just go to the restaurant early , sit in the bar area and at our appointed time for dinner, let them know we were there. Our reservation time was 10:00. We had chosen one of the most trendy places to go to at that time: The Pleasant Pheasant. At that time the owners of that restaurant owned about 6 others in the area and they were distinguished and set apart for food quality and service. It was the place to be that night. It was packed and it was so packed that I told Sandy that we had better check in earlier than out reservation time. We checked in at 9pm. We sat in the bar with all the other festively dressed people and had drinks. We watched New Year's shows on the TV.

It was very festive and we had a great time in the bar area. Around 10 I went to the bar and asked again about our reservation. I was told the same thing the employees had been telling many others that night--that the place was packed, they were running behind but we would be called for dinner soon. We had to go upstairs for dinner.

A little about the Pleasant Pheasant chain.
The Peasant Restaurants began in February 1973 when co-founders Steve Nygren and Dick Dailey left their respective careers with $25,000 in borrowed money and a dream. Poor and happy, they opened the Pleasant Peasant in a charming turn of the century building in Midtown Atlanta. The casual yet elegant atmosphere, sophisticated, yet informal service, and large, yet affordable portions made the Pleasant Peasant an instant favorite of Atlanta diners.

The restaurant was a place to meet friends and make new ones, yet distinct enough to provide a very special night out. This success led to the opening of the Peasant Uptown in Phipps Plaza in August of 1974. Set in a New Orleans style courtyard, this new Peasant Restaurant proved once again that fine dining need not be stuffy or expensive.The company grew happily over the next decade, then was sold in 1988 and again in 1997.

At 10:30 I asked again and I was told that we would be called within the next 30 minutes. I was starving and we wanted to have a gourmet dinner. The new year was fast approaching. Well about 11pm they broke out the free champagne and everyone got happy on the bubbles from that. About 11:25 I again asked the reservation and the face on the bartender froze. In fact he froze still as a statue and I knew something was wrong. He said he would be right back and he frantically called somewhere and then I saw him go to the bottom of the stairs and someone came down and they began to speak frantically. They called a third person who looked like the manager and I knew that from that huddle we would not be having dinner. 2 of the men went upstairs, then a few minutes later came back down and talked some more.

Finally the "manager" looking man came over and the first thing he did was apologize profusely. The kitchen was closed and we would not be able to eat. I was furious and told the manager so as we had been checking repeatedly about the reservation. He said with so many people there and the place was packed we had been missed. I explained that this fabulous dinner we were to have was the pinnacle of the evening. We wore formal gowns to have this magical dinner and bring in the new year at that restaurant. He apologized some more and apologized even more. We were so disappointed. Our planned celebration was a bust!

The manager offered to make it up to us. He gave us each $100 gift certificates to come back and eat whenever we wanted at any of the restaurants in that chain. We took the gift certificates. He even refunded back to us anything we had spent on drinks or appetizers that night. He took down our names and we had even more free drinks to bring in the new year.

Well, Sandy and I were starving and were wondering if anything was still open. There was only one place open. There is always just one place that is open regardless what time it is? (Have you guessed where?) The Waffle House of course!!!!! Open 24 hours a day, 8 days a week. AND...we had to wait an hour to eat. It was also packed to the gills with people. We had steak and eggs and called it a night. Happy Friggin' New Year.

About a week or two later we showed up at the Pleasant Pheasant and we did not even have to say what we wanted. As soon as we walked in the door, I saw an employee at the bar make a call and within an instant the manager and a chef greeted us by name and escorted us upstairs to the best table in the house. We were treated like queens. Our every whim was attended to. We had the most fantastic , gourmet dinner ever!! I ate escargot till I could eat escargot no more. It was well worth the wait and the disappointment we felt on New Years Eve was made up for in food quality and extra special service.

Sandy and I were able to enjoy 2 other dinners at 2 other restaurants in that same chain and we got great treament wherever we went. We never had another New Year's like that one where nothing worked out as planned; but, I can safely say that it all worked out in the end. We had a Happy Belated New Year.

A HODGEPODGE OF 100 THINGS ABOUT ME!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

~1. One of my favorite things to do is to go storm watching.
~2. I discovered the best time to go to the beach is right after a rain storm because the best shells and sea life wash up on the beach.
~3. Gary Brana-Shute is the professor I admired the most during my college career. He was a great man and will be missed, but never, ever forgotten.
~4. The most mysterious gift I ever got was a gourd filled with the soul of a dead fisherman given to me by Gary Brana-Shute.
~5. My favorite author is Stephen King.
~6. NPR is my favorite radii station to listen to due to great programming.
~7. The music I love the most to listen to is Celtic, Jazz and Classical.
~8. I have no idea what "my milkshake is the best in the yard and they'r like it's better than yours" MEANS??!!!???!
~9. I love sushi and when I was pregnant, I had sushi cravings for a week and satisfied them by eating sushi for 4 days in a row for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
~10. I am a cat person! MEOW!
~10. When I am down the things that cheer me up are a good English drama(public television) or watching The Color Purple.

~11. I have only been scuba diving once in the Caribbean and when I did I visited a coral reef 30 feet below the oceans' surface. The beauty was incredible! I want to go again!
~12. My favorite coffee table book is called " American Folk Painters of Three Centuries," by Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong. It was given to me many years ago for my 26th birthday by a dear friend and lover.
~13. If the day has been bad, the only thing that takes the edge off is a shot of iced ABSOLUT Kurant vodka.
~14. My favorite CD of the moment is Paganini: After A Dream by Regina Carter.
~15. I try to live by the Four Agreements. I discovered them 3 years ago.
~16. Aliens are real and are living among us. I know...I have seen a ship.
~17. I think I am developing "blog addiction".
~18. I love Canada as well as the United States. I call both my home.
~19. My zodiac sign is LEO.
~20. Grief takes my breath away to the places of silence between breaths. I am there now.

~21. My passion is anthropology and I have the dream of floating down the Amazon River in a dugout canoe.
~22. I used to be very shy and introverted.
~23. My Spanish is fair, but I plan to study up to become fluent again.
~24. I was the one who wrote "butterball is a pig" on the blackboard in 6th grade resulting in the whole class getting detention.
~25. I have never felt loved by my mother due to a great divide that has been there since my birth.
~26. Baths are the only true way to wash and I take a tub bath every day!
~27. I spend a lot of money at Bath and Body Works.
~28. I have had an out of body experience and I was worried I would not get back into my body. It was hard to get back in.
~29. I have had a secret lover in the past--for many years.
~30. Out of my siblings, I am not the favorite child. I am clearly the outcast yet have always been the more responsible, more educated, more gainfully employed child of them all.

~31. Coke is my favorite soft drink.
~32. My worst date ever was the guy who went with me to my senior prom.
~33. Diamonds are my favorite gemstone.
~34. They say what comes around, goes around but I want to be there to see it happen to at least get a little satisfaction.
~35. The one who loves me the best is my child.
~36. I spend an hour every Christmas eve just watching the night sky and listening for sleigh bells with my child before packing her off to bed.
~37. Tinkerbell is my favorite Disney character.
~38. Writing is my secret passion and would love that to be my dream job.
~39. I love ice cream and milk products but they do not like me. Soymilk has become my friend.
~40. My goal for 2005 is to learn how to climb the climbing wall.

~41. When I lived in North Carolina my favorite place to go was the Eno River.
~42. Go shopping when all else fails...that is what I do.
~43. I play the violin and have been playing since the 4th grade.
~44. The Matrix is real. Do you think that is air you are breathing? I am trying to unplug.
~45. Shoes make my day. If I have on bad shoes, I will have a bad day.
~46. Silence of the Lambs is one of my favorite movies. Clarice, is that you?
~47. I live for Halloween!
~48. Martha Stewart is my homemaking idol--Still. Will always be.
~49. Survivor is my favorite reality television show.
~50. Did I say I was a cat person? If not, I am a cat person.

~51. The two best performances I have seen in person in recent years has been "Lord of the Dance" and "Yanni." Before that it was "Sting Live."
~52. I went thru the punk rock phase for about 6 months in college and wore nothing but black leather, spikes and purple streaks in my hair.
~53. The book I am reading right now is The Da Vinci Code.
~54. B1 d- t- k- s+ u f+ i o++ x e- l c+ is my blogger code.
~55. The greatest joy in my life is my child.
~56. I want to be a contestant on Survivor.
~57. Last Easter, I ate ostrich eggs and alligator sausages for Easter breakfast.
~58. I am addicted to Starbuck's Java Chip Frappuccino's.
~60. A nice steaming cup of green tea is what I have every morning once I get to the office.

~61. The Four Agreements have made a lasting impression on my life.
~62. I am into Feng Shui..so much so I have a Zen garden at my desk at work.
~63. I love to buy lobster from the grocery store and cook it myself at home. Restaurant lobster is not as good.
~64. Oval diamonds are my favorite diamond shape.
~65. I eat whole garlic cloves and drink lemon water when I have a cold to cure it.
~66. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my weekend favorites to watch on DVD. Savvy?!
~67. I learned to swim in college.
~68. People tend to think I am aloof, but I am just a little shy, and am taking it all in before making any sort of outward demonstrations.
~69. When Miami Vice used to come on in the 1980's I was seriously in love with Don Johnson for many years.
~70. If I am lagging at work in the afternoon, nothing "perks" me up more than 5 chocolate covered expresso beans.

~71. People other than my immediate family(toxic) have treated me the best throughout my life.
~72. I have over 35 pairs of shoes.
~73. I have never been in an adult book store--too embarrassing--someone might see me.
~74. I can sew, cross stitch and paint--generally arts and crafty.
~75. I have never gotten over the crushing news that Santa was really my parents. My mother told me the summer of my 12th birthday. I have never forgiven her.
~76. The summer of my sophomore year in college, I participated in an archeological dig for colonial and Indian artifacts.
~77. The best time I ever had dancing was to Can't Touch This by M.C. Hammer. I had flown to the Bahamas for vacation to Paradise Island . I had on a formal, black strapless dress that had one sleeve. The front of the dress had a train that hung on the right side. I was doing the dance called the Chinese typewriter that MC Hammer used to do. My formal gown split in the back seam all the way to my butt. I had to go change into another formal and then I continued to party on!
~78. Sleeping naked is the most comfortable way for me to sleep.
~79. Gardening is one of my favorite ways to relax.
~80. I have 3 windchimes handing in my garden.

~81. I have a dreadful fear of the praying mantis. I was even attached by one once.
~82. My biggest disappointment came when I was in eighth grade. I was first chair violin and we were having a performance at the local auditorium. My mother refused to come to the performance to see me. That was one of my biggest accomplishments/performances in grade school.
~83. I danced ballet for many years and performed in The Nutcracker in the Teapot Scene for the city ballet company.
~84. I love to juice. I do not have the Jack Lalanne power juicer but mine is just as good!
~85. Fur is something I love. I have 3 stoles, a muskrat jacket, a fox cape and hat and a full length muskrat, mink and fox coat.
~86. I believe that angels have saved my life three times.
~87. Tae-Bo is my favorite exercise of the moment. I have every tape there is to have by Billy Blanks.
~89. I have met two celebrities in my lifetime: Dom DeLuise and Wally Kurth who plays Ned Ashton on General Hospital. I even have their autographs!
~90. My favorite fragrances are: Pleasures, Knowing, Picasso, Laila and White Witch.

~91. I own over 20 handbags with 5 of them being my favorite brand--Oroton.
~92. Peonies are my favorite flower.
~93. Oreo cookies are my favorite kind of cookie!
~94. The first alcoholic drink I ever had was the Sloe Gin Fizz.
~95. I truly believe that Howard Stern is the King of all Media! I do listen to him from time to time. He is good!
~96. My favorite place to go for touring in Canada is Goat Island and the Cave of the Winds Hurricane Deck.
~97. I have a tattoo of a rose on my left shoulder blade.
~98. My Sunday mornings are reserved for leisurely breakfasts, several cups of coffee and A Prairie Home Companion on NPR.
~99. Star Trek forever made me a lover of all things sci-fi!
~100. Most of the time I feel that I am on the cusp of greatness...that just around the next corner, the next hour, the next minute something is going to happen. I am in a constant state of anticipation.

The Gourd: A Gift From Gary Brana-Shute

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Senior year of college-1983

That year there were 4 anthropology students that took an independent study class and we did very well. To celebrate our success and graduations our anthropology professor, Gary Brana-Shute invited us to his home for dinner. We had a feast with him and his wife, Rosemary. The best part of the night was at end when we all got a surprise from Gary. He had a gift for each of us. Not just any gift but an anthropological gift. A gift from his travels and studies down in Suriname. In this past post, Floating Down the Amazon in a Dugout Canoe, I mentioned some general detail about the indigenous people he studied.

The population he studied believed in animism,if I recall correctly . A little bit about is listed below. I do not recall what gift anyone else got but I could never forget mine.

Basic Beliefs of Animism
In anthropology, animism can be considered to be the original human religion, being defined simply as belief in the existence of spiritual beings. It dates back to the earliest humans and continues to exist today, making it the oldest form of religious belief on Earth. It is characteristic of aboriginal and native cultures, yet it can be practiced by anyone who believes in spirituality but does not proscribe to any specific organized religion. The basis for animism is acknowledgment that there is a spiritual realm which humans share the universe with. The concepts that humans possess souls and that souls have life apart from human bodies before and after death are central to animism, along with the ideas that animals, plants, and celestial bodies have spirits.

Animistic gods often are immortalized by mythology explaining the creation of fire, wind, water, man, animals, and other natural earthly things. Although specific beliefs of animism vary widely, similarities between the characteristics of gods and goddesses and rituals practiced by animistic societies exist. The presence of holy men or women, visions, trancing, dancing, sacred items, and sacred spaces for worship, and the connection felt to the spirits of ancestors are characteristic of animistic societies.

I got a hand carved gourd. Not just any gourd but a gourd that contained the soul of a dead fisherman. That night he told all of us the story of the gourd. This is what he said.

Gary had been living with a family in Suriname and became a member of the family chewing and spitting betel with the best of them. One of the family who was a fisherman died. Because of the animism, exorcisms were held whenever someone died to capture their soul.

On a side note, Gary brought in a tape of a possession into class for our Magic, Ritualism and Symbolism class a year earlier and played it. It was the most awful thing you would ever want to hear as it was real. Linda Blair does not even compare. He said that the shaman held a small bowl of water in his outstretched hand for as long as he could. All the time he was chanting and praying. The soul of the deceased family member would be captured when one drop of the water in the bowl spilled over the side. After 15 minutes of listening to demonic sounds there was a loud yell and silence. Gary told us that the drop of water had spilled over the side and the soul had been captured. He told us the soul was placed in a gourd for safe keeping in the home. That was a year before the dinner. Who knew or even remembered that? Not me. Until I was reminded that night.

Gary was on his way back to America when this family member died and since he had become like a brother to this man, the family presented the gourd to him for safekeeping since he was leaving and may not be back. He accepted his friends soul and kept that gourd for about 15 years. Now he was presenting it to me. I was speechless. After my "thing that was darker than dark" scare, I did not need the soul of a dead fisherman to stay with me forever.

He said that he could not ever get rid of the gourd unless he was able to present it to someone else who would understand the meaning and take care of it. I was honored and just a little leary. I accepted the soul. I still have the soul. I take good care of that soul. The gourd itself has been designed so that the top of the gourd acts as a lid attached with some sort of native twine. Throughout the years whenever I have had to move, the gourd was the first thing packed and traveled with me in the car. It has a permanent location of the highest bookshelf away from the cat. I have never even thought about throwing it away for fear of some strange thing happening with soul.

I have told others about this story and offered them the soul. Noone wants it. They are all fearful. My mother says I need to take it to our minister and let him say a few words over it and then quietly bury it in a cemetery. I do not know it that is the right thing to do either. Only one person has been interested in it and it was a former co-worker who was a wiccan. I had no idea she was a wiccan until I told that story. She said she needed that gourd. I refused to bring it to her. Who knows what would have happened to the soul or to me. Come on, noone needs a soul.

Thoughout the years strange things have happened with the gourd. As I said earlier, it has a permanent home on a shelf and is never touched. Sometimes when I come home the lid of the gourd is off. I put it back on. Some months later the lid will be off again. I put it back on. Finally, I took 2 very small pieces of scotch tape and taped each side closed. The lid has not been off since. During the years when the lid was coming off on its own I lived alone so there was no way anyone else could have removed the lid. It was very creepy! I live with the soul of a dead fisherman. I do not think I will be able to find anyone else to pass it on to.

In light of the last post and the passing of Gary Brana-Shute, I will be keeping my gift of the gourd. I will continue to keep the soul of the dead fisherman safe with me.

My prayers and best wishes go out to his family.

Gary Brana-Shute: Mr. Caribbean

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Oh my gosh. Such bad news today. I was searching the web for anthropology subjects and came across the following. I just wish I had seen it in time to attend the services. Gary Brana-Shute was a great man-such a smart man with a great love of people and gusto for life. I thank him for all the things he taught me and exposed me to. I WILL be keeping my gourd!
~~~~~

BRANA-SHUTE, Gary Charleston resident Gary Brana-Shute, internationally renowned for his expertise in the socioeconomic and political affairs of the Caribbean, died peacefully at his residence on Friday, February 20, 2004 after a prolonged bout with cancer. A cultural anthropologist and prolific writer, Dr. Brana-Shute spent his professional life working in and studying issues of the Caribbean, publishing four books and about fifty articles and commissioned reports. One of the books and about a dozen articles and reports were coauthored with his wife of 32 years, Dr. Rosemary Brana-Shute, a history professor at the College of Charleston, whom he met as a graduate student at the University of Florida and with whom he shared a love of travel, living and learning in the Caribbean. A gifted field researcher, Dr. Brana-Shute worked with ease with a wide variety of peoples, especially those who were the least empowered. His first book was on working-class Afro-Surinamese men (former Dutch Guyana), an effort which forever fixed his love for Suriname and the Surinamese Creole language. He returned many times to work on the issues of human rights, land tenure, and Amer-Indian land rights; to work with women police and monitor elections. He was actively involved with President Jimmy Carter and the peace keeping initiatives of the Carter Center to assure free elections throughout the Caribbean, especially in Suriname, Guyana, and Jamaica. He served as a United Nations international election observer numerous times since 1990. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida and his M.A. from the University of Michigan. Over the course of his career, Dr. Brana-Shute taught in universities in the Netherlands as well as here in the States and lectured as a special consultant to World Wildlife, the World Bank, the US Census Bureau, and various branches of the US military. From 1991-1995, he was Deputy Director of the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State. Increasingly in recent years, Dr. Brana-Shute was called upon to offer his expertise as a consultant to governments and international non-profit organizations on the Caribbean Basin, providing recommendations and pragmatic guidance on issues as diverse as local business development, militarism, and building democracy, a far cry from the early days of his career as a traditional anthropologist studying the folkways of the Caribbean peoples. Dr. Bana-Shute has a great love of the people and places where he traveled and worked. Outgoing and social by nature, he quickly made close and life-long friends of the people with whom he worked, and he thrived just as much exploring Suriname's rivers and jungle communities by canoe together with local acquaintances as he did with college students in his classrooms or with foreign service advisors. In fact, he is remembered by the Chair of the Western Hemisphere Area Studies of the Foreign Service Institute as "Mr. Caribbean." Born June 19, 1945, in Ossining, New York, the son of Vivian Shute and the late Monroe Shute, he is survived by his wife of thirty-two years, Rosemary Brana-Shute of Charleston; his mother; his sister, Nancy Paganelli; and two young nieces, all of Ossining. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, February 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Circular Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to Hospice of Charleston. McAlister-Smith Funeral Home at 150 Wentworth St. is serving the Brana-Shute family.

Mom Left Us To The Wolves!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Summer 1972

My mother took my brother and I to Charlestowne Landing for the day. It is a state park where the settlers first came to America in 1776. There are all sorts of historical things to see and visit there. One of the exhibits they have is an Animal Forest that is made up of all native South Carolina animals. It takes about 30-50 minutes to walk thru. I recall it being in the shape of a "U". You go in one entrance, walk down, make a wide "U" and walk the rest of the way straight out, all along seeing native South Carolina animals. It is set in deep woods so you are walking in a "forest" with water and swamps around.

As you walk in one of the first exhibits you see are the wolves. That means that on the back half of the "U" on the way out, the back of the wolves pen is to you, where there is a door for the staff to feed and care if they need to go in. Well, that day we were on the way out. We had just passed the puma and the bears and were walking past the door to the wolves. My mother was slightly ahead of my brother and I. We were walking along talking to ourselves.

All of a sudden my mother took off running. We had no idea why. She was running fast. She rounded a slight curve and was out of sight. I looked at my brother and told him to run. We both began to run. We had no idea why. My mother just took off with no warning at all. She was gone. I caught up with my mother and passed her. I kept running. My brother caught up with me and passed me, after passing my mother. He ran out of the animal forest. I ran out of the animal forest. My mother came running out bringing up the rear. We all collapsed on the ground in a heap panting and trying to catch our breath.

I asked my mother why she was running and leaving us in the animal forest. She said she heard a low moan when we walked past the door to the wolves and the door was open. She thought that the wolves were going to attack so she ran to get out of there. I realized then that my mother literally left us to the wolves. If the door was open and the wolves were loose, my brother and I were on our own to get mauled to death. A few minutes later one of the rangers came out right behind us. She had been in the wolf pen. There was not a danger of them getting out. I asked her about the door being open as I did not see it open. She said it was cracked.

My mother was walking ahead of me when I asked the ranger about this. I just needed confirmation that indeed my mother had left me to the wolves with nary a thought about protecting her own children.

Mi-Ha: The Golden Years

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

1987-1999

The golden years of Mi-Ha were really golden. She brought me great joy! I loved my cat. One of the things we loved to do together was take cat naps. Many a time I recall being tired after doing a Jane Fonda workout tape and ending with a cooldown on the floor. I would collapse right there with my bottled water and over she would come. She would curl up on the floor next to me and go to sleep. I thought that only dogs followed their owners around but my Mi-Ha did the same thing. Wherever I went she followed.
~~~~

I remember after I moved from Chapel Hill to Durham, the apartment I moved into was a basement apartment. When I looked out the window all I could see was feet. One morning I was getting ready to go to work and I had the living room window open. It had a screen of course. Mi-Ha was always at the windows as cats always are. All of a sudden I heard a low yowl and then she pitched herself at the screen, it popped out and she was gone. There must have been another car out there. I was just about to leave so I was fully dressed. I grabbed my keys and flew out the door to find her soon. I had to get to work.

I walked and walked and walked some more. I called her name softly, then louder and finally I was yelling her name. I called work, hysterical and crying that my cat was lost and I would not be in until I found her. I began the search again. 2 hours passed and still no Mi-Ha. Despair and heartbreak began to set in. I walked and yelled name some more , all the time crying in between. Someone called the police. They must have thought I was disturbed and needed some help. I did--but only to find my cat. When the officer approached me he asked if I was okay. I explained the situation and demanded that since he was there that he also help me find my cat. He retreated to his police car and left. Aren't the police supposed to serve the public? Why did not he help me?

Finally around 12:30pm I called Mi-Ha's name and I heard a faint meow. I could not tell where it was coming from. I was about 1/2 mile from home and still in the apartment parking lot. I listened. Silence. I called her name again. Again that faint meow. Just one. It was coming from down low and behind me. I walked to the row of cars behind me and called again. "Meow." I got down on the ground and looked under all the cars in that row. Nothing. I called again and this time the sound seemed to be coming from the row of cars on the aisle behind me.

I walked over to that aisle behind me and called her name. I heard a much louder MEOW now. She had to be near. I got down on the ground and looked under all the cars. Finally I spied her 2 cars away. I got up and ran over to that car calling her name the whole time. She came out from under the car and literally leaped into my arms. She was shaking like a leaf. She clung to me and we walked home. Mission accomplished. I called my boss and told him I was coming in. He told me to stay home and just take the day. He said after speaking with me the first time I would most likely be no good for the rest of the day.
~~~~

I also remember that Mi-Ha was my personal alarm clock. Just minutes before the alarm clock would go off, she would climb up from the foot of the bed where she normally slept and climb up on my chest and just sit until the alarm rang. If I got up she would get up. If I did not get up she would begin to purr very loudly with her nose less than one inch away from mine. If I did not open my eyes she would snake out a paw and touch my nose. She would continue to place her paw on my nose until my eyes opened. Once they were open she would get up. Her work was done.
~~~~

Let's not forget the fish platter incident. I had found a wonderful set of clear fish dishes and a matching fish platter at Pier One Imports. The fish platter was a heavy, glass platter with a trout imprint made into the glass. It was lovely. The only place to keep it was on top of the refrigerator. Well one day when I got home Mi-Ha was sitting on top of the fish platter on top of the refrigerator. I had never seen her up there before or anywhere in the kitchen up on anything. We had gone through lots of water bottle spritz training to keep her off of things. Well, she saw me and I saw her. She knew immediately she was not to be up there.

What happened next happened in slow motion. Mi-Ha jumped from the refridgerator to the floor. When she did, her back paws made the fish platter fly into the air. Tha platter flew in slow motion into the air to the right of the fridge. I leap forward to catch the platter with arms outstretched. Unfortunately I was just short an inch or two. My outstretched arms and the platter passed each other like ships in the night. The platter fell and smashed in slow motion into a thousand pieces of broken glass.

Yes, yes, yes. Those were the golden years.

Mi-Ha: A tribute

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

1987 Summer

Mi-Ha.

I will never forget her. She was my first cat that I got after I moved out on my own. I was living in North Carolina and I had just broken up with a boyfriend. Needless to say that after the initial drama, turmoil, despair, the world is ending drama, I decided I needed a pet. A cat. That was the ticket. A pet would solve everything, be my constant companion and love me forever.
She did many of those things. We had a wonderful relationship!

I went to my local animal shelter and looked around at all the cats. After looking at all the kittens a shelter worker suggested an adult cat because if they were not adopted within a certain time they went to "kitty heaven." I was mortified. It was decided. If I could save an adult cat and gain a lifelong companion I would. I looked at the adult cars and there was one that caught my eye right away.

She was a beautiful, long haired cat with a multicolored fur. She looked like she belonged sitting on a pillow in a mansion that was owned by someone wealthy. She was beautiful. She did not look like any of the other strays. A domestic long haired tortoise shell was what she was. I claimed her. She was about 3 years old and was kind of a fat cat. The shelter staff thought she was pregnant. I was so smitten I wanted her that day, pregnant and all. I would keep all the kittens. That was impossible. The shelter staff said she needed to be spayed and if there were any little ones they would go to kitty heaven. I paid my $65 and went home to come back in 3 days.

In the interim I bought a litter box, litter, cat food and lots of toys. I was just a little nervous as well. I bought a car carrier and went to the shelter and collected my cat. I had decided on the name Mi-Ha. I was into oriental furniture and stylings at the time so her name had to fit in as well. The vet told me that she may be a little shy at first due to the new surrounds but in time we would bond. I got her home and opened the carrier door and just waited for her to come out on her own. It took about 15 minutes for her to do that. When she did she went under a glass coffee table and sat for about 2 hours just looking around and sniffing. I talked to her and showed her toys and just waited. I put out food and water so that she could hear me in the kitchen. Eventually she did come out from under the table and I picked her up ever so softly and showed her to the litter box and sat her inside. She sat in the litter box, which was enclosed, for another 2 hours. I called the vet just to be sure she was okay. The vet said that she had been in the shelter for a long time in a cage so she was used to being in "closed-in" spaces but she would get over that in time. The vet also told me that she had been living on the streets for sometime before she was brought into the shelter.

The next day I put out fresh food and water before I went to work. When I came back home the food was not touched. Instead the entire contents of my kitchen garbage can was shrewn all over from one end of the kitchen to the other end of the living room. This "garbage can ransacking" continued everyday for about 2 weeks. Onviously she was used to eating out of garbage cans instead of eating cat food. Cat food does not compare to the taste of scraps! Even if there was no food in the can, paper and whatever was in there was all over. Finally I locked the can in the utility closet daily until that stopped.

I grew to love her and she grew to love me too. Our bond finally clicked and she grew into the pampered pet that I knew her to be. She walked on a leash with no problems and people thought that was odd. I would let her go outside on a tethered leash as well. I did also let her roam free at times but only at late night when there was not a lot of car traffic. Where I lived in Chapel Hill, was a quiet community in the suburbs with lots of green spaces.

We had a lot of time together. From 1987 to the summer of 1999, the July 4th weekend. 12 long years together and she was 3 when I got her. She lived a very good life. She was my child before I had a real child. To any male who was in my life the rule was love me, love my pet. No love for the pet? Get out! Now! It was a good arrangement.

She left me in July of 1999. Our family reunion was being held in Canada that year --the Canadians of the family were hosting it that year. Mi-Ha became ill the day before we were leaving. I got home from work and she was not doing well. She was lethargic and did not seem very active. I called the vet in a panic because she was ill and I was slated to be in Canada for a week and not there to check on her. I was a woman gone crazy and it did not look good. I took her to the vet that evening, explained my travel arrangements, left all sorts of numbers and went to Canada with a broken heart. If Mi-Ha needed to go to "kitty heaven" I needed to be with her. I began crying at the vet even as they told me the bad news. She was old and was having kidney failure and most likely she would not be here when I got back from Canada.

They said they would do everything to keep her comfortable and pain free. I told them I would call everyday which I did. They would not give me any news really of her over the phone. They knew I was a crazy women when I left them. I had asked them to call me if she went to "kitty heaven." They did not in an effort to help me I guess. What I got was that they were doing all that they could. I finally resigned myself to the fact that MI-Ha was comfortable and pain free. I was not there but she would go to "kitty heaven" with the fact that she had been loved everyday of her life that I had I treated her like a queen everyday of her life.

The trip was finally over and after getting home after 6pm it was too late to go to the vet. I prepared myself for the morning and days of grief to follow. (Even now as I type this, I am crying my eyes out.) I got to the vet and Mi-Ha was gone. She was in a cold storage container. They did let me see her and pet her for one last time. They did not let me pet her for very long and believe me it was not long enough. She was cold and stiff but her coat was still beautiful. She was still beautiful.

The vet helped me make arrangments. I could never let her be away from me or go to the cold ground. I had her cremated and Mi-Ha is still with me today. She is in a beautiful, black, oriental, ginger-jar, cremation urn. Her favorite room was always the kitchen. That is Mi-Ha's home. Her urn and picture have a permanent location on top of the microwave on the kitchen counter. I still get to see her everyday! Commitments to pets really are for a lifetime!

Wheat Germ, Worm Medicine and Cod Liver Oil

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Wheat Germ, Worm Medicine and Cod Liver Oil. These were some of the staples of my youth.

My mother swore by each of these things for different reasons and for all of my child hood years and those of my brother, we had ample doses of all of those things all year long. We grew up thinking that these things were normal. Some other kids I spoke to did not have to have these things as a basic part of their diet. Lucky them? Maybe.

Wheat Germ

My mother loved wheat germ and it went into our foods all day long. In the morning it was sprinkled on cold cereal, stirred into hot cereals and poured into batters for pancakes, bisquits and muffins. It was also sprinkled into flour that was used to fry chicken. It also was stirred into yogurt. I grew to love it's nutty flavor. And in fact somethings just do not taste the same without wheatgerm.

Today I also use wheat germ. Not to the extent that my mother did but I do use it in all things involving backing: muffin mixes, pancake mix. You know. We always bought Kretschmer® Wheat Germ and that is what I buy today. It tastes good and is very good for you.

What is Wheat Germ?

It’s the “heart” of the wheat kernel - a concentrated source of several essential nutrients including Vitamin E, folate (folic acid), phosphorous, thiamin, zinc and magnesium.

A two-tablespoon serving of Kretschmer® Wheat Germ with added Vitamin E and Folic Acid may help to improve your vitality and promote a healthy heart.

Wheat germ adds a delicious taste and healthy crunch to virtually any recipe, and it's an easy way to add extra nutrition. Wheat germ can also replace up to 1/2 cup of the flour in recipes for muffins, breads, pancakes, and many other baked goods, making it even easier to work into your diet.

Kretschmer® Wheat Germ, manufactured by The Quaker Oats Company, is the oldest and most widely available wheat germ. Unlike wheat germ sold in bulk, Kretschmer® Wheat Germ is toasted to enhance its natural, nutty flavor and vacuum-packed to preserve freshness. Make sure to try the healthy crunch of Kretschmer Wheat Germ in the recipes featured on this site, or add it to your old favorites. Two varieties are available: Original Toasted and lightly sweetened Honey Crunch. You’ll find both in the cereal aisle of your local grocery store.

Worm Medicine

Every July or early August the yearly ritual of drinking down small cherry flavored bottles of worm medicine would roll around. My mother gave us worm medicine every year as a preventative measure. We did not have worms that i knew of. She said that because we played outside in the grass with no shoes, we could pick them up. So it was a ritual.

She would bring home 6 little bottles of worm medicine. It was a three day dosing. I hated that acrid, cherry taste. Once you drank it, your stomach would begin to hurt and cramp after a little while. Soon after that you would be going to the bathroom for the rest of the day. After the 3 days, my mother was assured that we were worm free. We were free of that awful stuff for another year. Now a little about the little buggers!

What are pinworms?
Pinworms are small, white worms that live in the intestines. Pinworm infections are common in young children and are easily treated.

If your child is infected with pinworms, you may notice him or her moving around a lot in bed at night or being unable to sleep because of an itchy bottom. The itching is caused by the female pinworm that comes out of the rectum to lay eggs around the anus (the opening to the rectum). Sometimes tiny white worms (shorter than 1/2 inch) may be seen on the child's bottom at night or they may show up in the child's bowel movement.

Pinworms are easy to get. Pinworms are usually spread from child to child, and the eggs can be picked up on children's fingers when they are playing. Eggs can stay or your child's skin for several hours. They can survive for 2 weeks on clothes, bedding and toys. If the eggs are on your child's hands or toys, and your child puts their fingers or toys in their mouth, the tiny eggs can enter their bodies. The eggs stay in the upper part of the intestine until they hatch. After they hatch, the worms move down the length of the intestine, and then out the anus where they lay eggs.

Cod Liver Oil

Cod Liver Oil was something my mother gave us everyday. Like a liquid vitamin. I love Cod Liver Oil! I love it! Yes I do.
I came in three flavors that I can remember. They are flavorless, Mint and Cherry. I was never happy with cherry. Back in those days, all childrens medicines seemed to be cherry flavored. It was the only flavor. I loved the plain and the mint! My mother believed Cod Liver Oil could cure all things. When she saw other kids that were sickly she would always comment to us that that child was like that because they did not take cod liver oil.

I take cod live oil now from time to time. I have a large bottle in the fridge-plain that I give to my household. A teaspoon a day is all you need! Cod live oil is good for you due to all the vitamins and omega fats. A little about the benefits of Cod Liver Oil-and there are many!

In the late 19th century, cod liver oil was used to treat youngsters with rickets, a disease in which bone softens and weakens due to lack of vitamin D (abundant in cod liver oil). Rickets has all but disappeared thanks to fortification of milk and other foods with vitamin D.

Cod liver oil is now one of the most popular dietary supplements in Europe because it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. And recent research in this country has shown that a daily teaspoon of cod liver oil combined with a multivitamin containing selenium seems to prevent middle ear infections (otitis media) in children. In a study at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, investigators found that the youngsters prone to otitis media had lower than normal levels of EPA (an anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid), vitamin A, and selenium. When they gave the youngsters cod liver oil, a multivitamin, and selenium, they found that the children suffered fewer ear infections. The findings were published in the July 2002 issue of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology.

Meanwhile, researchers in Wales have found that the omega-3s in cod liver oil may delay or even reverse the destruction of joint cartilage and the inflammation and pain of arthritis. Their studies showed that these essential fatty acids blocked the action of an enzyme responsible for destroying cartilage and also blocked the action of other enzymes that cause inflammation and joint pain.

Have you had your wheat germ, worm medicine and cod liver oil today? Chop, chop, hop to it! Go get some!

The Ritual Process

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure by Victor Turner was one of the most influencial books of my college career. It was our anthropological bible. I recall referring to this book all 4 years of college. The common themes that ran thru many cultures we studied and that we could relate to the book was the rite of passage and the liminal phase of the rites of passage. During the liminal phase the people in that state are ambiguous and are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention and ceremonial. Once the rite of passage was complete, they would achieve a new status in their society.

I loved the book and it was one I could never get rid of. I can relate many things in our culture today to things in the book. It is a good book for anyone to read to gain a little knowledge into relationships and culture. Below is a little bit about the Victor Turner.

Victor Turner: The Man

Victor Turner was born in Glasgow on May 28, 1920. His mother was an actress and his father was an electronical engineer. Influenced by his mother, at eighteen he studied poetry and classics at the University College, London. His studies, however, were disturbed by World War II. During that five year peiod he lived near the army base in a gypsy caravan with his wife and two children. It was at this time that Victor became interested in anthropology. He then returned to college to study under some of the greatest anthropologists at that time.

At age 29, Turner earned a Bachelors Degree with Honours in Anthropology and left London. He then decided to study anthropology under Max Gluckman at the University of Manchester. Also at this time (1950-1954), Turner worked among the Nbemu, a central African tribe, studying their society and religious practices. Later, he refocused his interest to ritual; he spends the rest of his career on this. In June 1955 he completed his Ph.D. and lectured at Manchester for several years. He wrote and published two monographs at this time along with his dissertation, Schism and Continuity in an African Society: A study of Ndembu Village Life (1957). These works presented him as a dominate figure in the Manchester School of Anthropology.

In 1961, Turner began a career in California as he became Fellow of the Center for Advanced Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. There, he wrote The Drums of Affliction: A study of Religious Processes among the Ndembu (1968). He completed three books in 1964 while at Cornell University and conducted studies among the Gisu of Uganda. Turner became a professor of Anthropology and Social Thought at the University of Chicago in 1968.

At this time, his interests shifted to world religions and mass societies. He also began a study of modern Christian pilgrimage while at Chicago. Finally, at the University of Virginia he was a member in the Center for Advanced Studies and the South Asia Program. While at Virginia, his interest in performative play and theatre grew. Turner became interested in experimental theatre as a modern form of liminality where everyday reality is transformed into a symbolic experience. Turner adapted Max Gluckman's ideas on processional change to the study of ritual and centered his career around the ideas he developed from his studies. Victor Turner died in 1983.

The Gourd

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

Senior year of college-1983

That year there were 4 anthropology students that took an independent study class and we did very well. To celebrate our success and graduations our anthropology professor invited us to his home for dinner. We had a feast with him and his wife. The best part of the night was at end when we all got a surprise from our professor. He had a gift for each of us. Not just any gift but an anthropological gift. A gift from his travels and studies down in Suriname. In this past post, Floating Down the Amazon in a Dugout Canoe, I mentioned some general detail about the indigenous people he studied.

The population he studied believed in animism. A little bit about is listed below. I do not recall what anyone else got but I could never forget mine.

Basic Beliefs of Animism
In anthropology, animism can be considered to be the original human religion, being defined simply as belief in the existence of spiritual beings. It dates back to the earliest humans and continues to exist today, making it the oldest form of religious belief on Earth. It is characteristic of aboriginal and native cultures, yet it can be practiced by anyone who believes in spirituality but does not proscribe to any specific organized religion. The basis for animism is acknowledgment that there is a spiritual realm which humans share the universe with. The concepts that humans possess souls and that souls have life apart from human bodies before and after death are central to animism, along with the ideas that animals, plants, and celestial bodies have spirits.

Animistic gods often are immortalized by mythology explaining the creation of fire, wind, water, man, animals, and other natural earthly things. Although specific beliefs of animism vary widely, similarities between the characteristics of gods and goddesses and rituals practiced by animistic societies exist. The presence of holy men or women, visions, trancing, dancing, sacred items, and sacred spaces for worship, and the connection felt to the spirits of ancestors are characteristic of animistic societies.

I got a hand carved gourd. Not just any gourd but a gourd that contained the soul of a dead fisherman. That night he told all of us the story of the gourd. This is what he said.

He had been living with a family in Suriname and became a member of the family chewing and spitting betel with the best of them. One of the family who was a fisherman died. Because of the animism exorcisms were held whenever someone died to capture their soul.

On a side note he had brought in a tape of a possession into class for our Magic, Ritualism and Symbolism class a year earlier and played it. It was the most awful thing you would ever want to hear as it was real. Linda Blair does not even compare. He said that the shaman held a small bowl of water in his outstretched hand for as long as he could. All the time he was chanting and praying. The soul of the deceased family member would be captured when one drop of the water in the bowl spilled over the side. After 15 minutes of listening to demonic sounds there was a loud yell and silence. Gary told us that the drop of water had spilled over the side and the soul had been captured. He told us the soul was placed in a gourd for safe keeping in the home. That was a year before the dinner. Who knew or even remembered that? Not me. Until I was reminded that night.

Gary was on his way back to America when this family member died and since he had become like a brother to this man, the family presented the gourd to him for safekeeping since he was leaving and may not be back. He accepted his friends soul and kept that gourd for about 15 years. Now he was presenting it to me. I was speechless. After my "thing that was darker than dark" scare, I did not need the soul of a dead fisherman to stay with me forever.

He said that he could not ever get rid of the gourd unless he was able to present it to someone else who would understand the meaning and take care of it. I was honored and just a little leary. I accepted the soul. I still have the soul. I take good care of that soul. The gourd itself has been designed so that the top of the gourd acts as a lid attached with some sort of native twine. Throughout the years whenever I have had to move, the gourd was the first thing packed and traveled with me in the car. It has a permanent location of the highest bookshelf away from the cat. I have never even thought about throwing it away for fear of some strange thing happening with soul.

I have told others about this story and offered them the soul. Noone wants it. They are all fearful. My mother says I need to take it to our minister and let him say a few words over it and then quietly bury it in a cemetery. I do not know it that is the right thing to do either. Only one person has been interested in it and it was a former co-worker who was a wiccan. I had no idea she was a wiccan until I told that story. She said she needed that gourd. I refused to bring it to her. Who knows what would have happened to the soul or to me. Come on, noone needs a soul.

Thoughout the years strange things have happened with the gourd. As I said earlier, it has a permanent home on a shelf and is never touched. Sometimes when I come home the lid of the gourd is off. I put it back on. Some months later the lid will be off again. I put it back on. Finally, I took 2 very small pieces of scotch tape and taped each side closed. The lid has not been off since. During the years when the lid was coming off on its own I lived alone so there was no way anyone else could have removed the lid. It was very creepy! I live with the soul of a dead fisherman. I do not think I will be able to find anyone else to pass it on to.

Anyone interested in a gourd containing the soul of a dead fisherman?

The Exorcist!

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

1973 High School Freshman Year

The film The Exorcist, terrified me. I was attending private catholic schools at the time and was just being introduced to the fact that exorcism is REAL! (I am a Presbyterian.)

The Rites of Exorcism

Although it has been practiced for centuries, the Roman Catholic church uses the rites of exorcism only as a last resort. The priest performing the rite has to be certain that the victim is truly possessed, and not suffering from medical or psychological ailments.

The rite usually takes place in a church. The priest will wrap his stole around shoulders of the possessed person - known as a "demoniac" - to show that the victim is welcome in God's community. The priest will then sprinkle holy water while reciting prayers and passages from the Bible. He then makes the sign of the cross and touches the the demoniac with a crucifix. The priest finishes with exhortations to the possessing spirit to leave. The exorcism is over when the demon tells the priest its name and reason for possessing the subject. After the exorcism has been completed, the victim is warned not too stray too far from God's grace, lest the demon return.

This was the face that haunted me for months!

When the movie came out, there were not many tv ads..not back them..advertising was done differently then. It was heavily advertized on the radio. The radio stations played over and over the sound of the demonic Linda Blair speaking and calling "Karen." I can still hear it echoing in my ears now just like it was yesterday. I finally got to the place where I would have to turn off the radio when those horrible demonic sounds came on. I did not go see the movie. I could not. The demons were already in my room. Seriously!

I became very afraid at night and thought that there was something in my room with me. I have always know that children can see things that a lot of grown ups cannot. I was a child that at times saw things.

The existense of ghosts has been debated for centuries. It is only in modern times with technology having advanced to it's current stage that we may now capture on film and audio what many believe to be images of the supernatural. The questions of why some can and yet others cannot see or sense the presense of these entities has been contested with numerous theories both for and against the subject of spirits. One such cause for speculation is do our children see and sense what many adults either cannot or will not see?
One theory is that children have not had years to adjust their thinking and have not had the time to train themselves as to what to accept or not accept as reality like adults have. Adults program their thinking and consequently refuse certain images, noises, and feeling as real simply
because in our minds we cannot accept impossible or unproven science.
Some parents unknowingly start to teach and train their children at a very young age to block these images. They do it out of protection and misunderstanding of the situation. How many parents have tucked their little ones back into bed with the words that they thought were reassuring; there are no such things as ghosts, you just had a bad dream, it wasn't real, it was just your imagination? I think most parents are guilty of this including myself. How many parents are guilty of telling their children that their imaginary friend is not real, maybe not realizing that not only is that friend real but a ghost? I am sure it has happened before. Do you ever wonder if any of those bad dreams, those images seen in the night, those imaginary friends how many may actually be ghosts that for whatever reason have shown themselves to a child?
When we tell our children it was just a bad dream we may inadvertently teaching them to mistrust what they may have actually be seeing. Eventually training themselves to block what they have been taught cannot be real. Where as the opposite side of this theory; the parent who teaches their children that sometimes for whatever reason, a spirit may linger after death,is leaving a space in that child to be able to accept the vision, the noise or the feeling of the supernatural. Could this be why some people are able to accept the supernatural with an open mind and yet others cannot? Does the door get shut at childhood or can it remain open? This is just one of the may theories used to explain why children see more of the supernatural world than adults do.

So...to continue on when the exorcist came out I think things became attracted to me because I was so afraid. I had nightmares over and over about the same thing. It was a parallel to the tv ads I saw for this movie. One ad showed Linda's mother walking up the stairs to Linda's room where she was in the bed with her head spinning around. I had this dream over and over. I was walking up the stairs and when I opened the door, there I was in the bed with my head spinning around crazily on its axis. I had this same reoccurring dream for months. It was horrible. I lived for daylight.

In addition, there were at times when I would wake up and the room would be in total darkness--which it should be as it was night, but...big but...there would be a shadow of a body or person that was even darker than the room standing over my bed. Right over me. I remember thinking I was still dreaming and would blink my eyes to clear then but the figure never left. It was darker than the room that was in pitch darkness but
I could see it because it was so much darker than the room. I called it "the thing that was darker than dark." I have come to learn it was a shadow ghost.

Shadow ghosts appear as a shadow of sorts. They look a bit like Ecto-mist but are dark gray to black in color. There are actually three separate types and we list them all in classes below. In photographs, it's easy to confuse them with natural shadows, so be careful with your analysis. They are usually extremely sneaky and evasive. When they are spotted it's usually out of the corner of your eye or as they are darting through a wall. They can also be spotted as a reflection in shinny objects and mirrors. As for photography, They are one of the rarest ghost types to be captured on film. Birds and cats are especially sensitive to them.

Type A - Appear as a small dark misty cloud and are almost always under two feet in length, but can hover or float up to 8 feet high.

Type B - Appear as a huge glob of thick cloudy mass. They typically range from 2 to 8 feet in height.

Type C - Appear in human form and some may be seen wearing a hat. They typically appear up to 8 feet in height.

I began sleeping with the bible and praying for a long,long time before going to sleep. I would sleep with the bible in my hands and would wake up with it still there. This went on for about a year. I began to sleep with onand would be fine until my mom would turn the light off. I would wake up later with the thing that was darker than dark standing over me. It was like he was waiting. Waiting for me to make the least mistake and maybe then I really would have my head spinning around in real life.

Matthew 25:4: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
1 Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment."
Jude 1:6: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
Revelation 12:9: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

One night or very early morning I woke up in the darkness and the thing that was darker than dark was right over my face leaning down over me. I froze and did not move. I closed my eyes and prayed. Everytime I opened my eyes it was still there. I lay frozen there for about an hour. I turned my head ever so slightly to the left so I could see my clock. It was about 4:30am. It was summer and I knew daylight would be coming soon. I did have the bible in the bed with me. I decided to move, turn on the light and read the bible. Maybe that would make it go away.

In one quick move I sat up, turned on the lamp next to my bed and began to read the bible out loud. I read the bible outloud until the sun came up. Once the sun was up I read outloud for another hour. I then turned off the light and went to sleep in a sitting up position. After that episode of reading the bible outloud, the thing that was darker than dark, that had been standing over my bed each night for over a year never came again. I never saw it again.

It was not until my sophomore year in college that i did go to the movies with a girlfriend and saw the Exorcist. I took my bible with me. It was creepy and once was enough. I have never seen it again. It has been on Tv reruns and whenever I have come across it, I changed the channel very quickly.

The Exorcist Revisited

Snapshots In My Time, Of My Time.....Hauntings.

'The Exorcist' 25 years later: Director William Friedkin

Linda Blair in The Exorcist
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m. ET

Have you wondered how filmmakers made Linda Blair float in 'The Exorcist'? Or how the infamous "spider walk" was filmed? Now's your chance to chat with award-winning director William Friedkin about the story behind one of the greatest horror films ever made. Or you can ask him about some of his other films, like The French Connection, which five Oscars, including one for Friedkin as Best Director (he was also nominated for The Exorcist); or just talk about Hollywood today: Is it really true that "they don't make 'em like they used to"? Catch The Exorcist when it goes into wide theatrical release October 13th.

Read the chat transcript below:


Kosciusko Mississippi: what do you do beside scare people

William Friedkin: Well, my main hobbies are basketball, music and literature, not necessarily in that order. But I've made other films that aren't scary. I've only really directed one horror film, which is the subject of this chat.

MD: Sorry to say that I have never watched the first release of Exorcist. I'm pretty scared. Should I go ahead and watch the second release in viewing the Exorcist the first time or rent out the first release on video before I go see this one.

William Friedkin: I would say that this version is much more definitive and has a more positive spiritual underpinning, so that while it is likely to be just as intense, it may in fact be less disturbing.

Williamstown, KY: Do you personally belive demonic posession, as portrayed in the film, actually exists ?

William Friedkin: Yes. The film was in some way based on an actual case. I've read the diaries of the priest and the doctors and nurses in that case. Along with the Catholic Church, I'm convinced that this case was authentic. There are very few exorcisms authorized by the Church is this country. Most recently, you may recall, the Pope participated in an exorcism himself in the Vatican. So yes, I'm convinced of the possibility.

New York, NY: Given the the tremendous success of reprises like Halloween H20 and the surge of ticket sales for The Exorcist's re-release, would you consider revisiting Regan McNeil 30 years later in a sequel?

William Friedkin: No. I think "The Exorcist" says all that needs to be said on the subject, and I believe that the two sequels that were made are completely unnecessary.

Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania: Would you ever consider doing a re-make of 'The Exorcist'?

William Friedkin: No. Not at all.

Fairfax, Virginia: The Exorcist was in the opinion of many the best horror film ever made. Across the board, all facets of putting a story on film were of the best calibre (writing, direction, acting), not to mention a topic involving complete opposites of a spectrum, true innocence of a child and the exploitation of the child by the devil. Is there the possibility of such an interesting story as this in the horror genre that will produce the same fear and excitement?

William Friedkin: If there is I haven't seen it. I think "The Exorcist" as a novel and screenplay are totally unique.

Pittsburgh, PA: To this day, the book and movie remain so vivid to me. Did you have a clear picture of Regan and her transformation going into the movie, or is the end result reflective of collaborative input and character developing itself per se?

William Friedkin: I did have a clear vision of it from the time I first read it, but I was very fortunate in my collaborators who contributed a great deal to the movie's success. All of the makeup and special effects, for example, were achieved mechanically on the set as a result of trial and error, so that while we had a vision of what we wanted to achieve, it took a lot of experimentation before we got it right.

oakland ca: hi just wanted to ask how did you guys come up with the spider walk she did in the movie just released and was it hard? by the way thank you for rerelewasing it i still love it alot it was one of all time favorites thank you. april

William Friedkin: And thanks to you, April!

The spider walk comes from reports of similar occurences in demonically possessed people. I cut it when the film was first released because this was one of those effects that did not work as well as others, and I was only able to save it for the re-release with the help of computer graphic imagery.

cape town, south africa: the exorcist was truelly shocking,was it hard to get it made and released?

William Friedkin: At the time (1973), most of the studios passed on it, and the initial release by Warner Brothers was in fact very timid. They released it in only 26 theaters in the U.S. and Canada for 6 months. So yes, they were afraid of it once they saw it.

Pulaski, Tennessee: I recall vividly that the most frightening thing to me about The Exorcist was the sound. Tape loops and exagerated thumps and bumps (not to mention that damned phone!)lent so much to the overall effect...Obviously digital technology enhances the new edition tremendously, but did you run into any special problems in transfering the sound?

William Friedkin: I had to redo almost all of the sound effects for the new version. We also added aural textures as well as new music, and it took two months to remix everything into six track digital stereo.

Rochester, NY: Was having actual Jesuit priests like Bill O'Malley helpful in keeping the move real?

William Friedkin: Absolutely! And I would periodically have priests as technical advisors so that all of the Church ritual was portrayed accurately. Several priests were called upon to bless the set, the cast and the crew from time to time.

SCOTTSDALE,ARIZONA: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BOY UPON WHO THE STORY WAS BASED?

William Friedkin: He's still alive, and according to people close to him he has no memory of what happened to him when he was 14 years old in 1949, and has no knowledge of either the book or the film as far as we know.

Oxford, Ohio: Were there actually weird happenings on the set, or are the stories only myths?

William Friedkin: There were a great many unusual occurences that I experienced during the making of this film that I had never experienced before, and hope to never experience again. For example, one morning the set burned to the ground with no one in the studio, causing us to shut down for two months and rebuild the set. To this day, there is no explanation for why this occured. There are so many more similar stories that I could occupy this chat for the next week or so.

Champaign, Illinois: In your research for the exorcist (and to this day) have you learned of a real case (non mental problems) of a spirit taking over a person. i.e. proveable by person speaking different languages (Latin) or knowing information the person would not have access to?

William Friedkin: Yes. The case of the boy in question involved all of this. The 1949 case, which took place in Silver Spring, Maryland and Mt. Ranier and was widely reported at the time by the Washington Post.

Baton Rouge, LA: The "subliminal" scary face appears a total of three times during the movie (i think). What was the significance of adding this into the movie and was it written into the script or just added later as an "effect". Mike Hanberry

William Friedkin: I added it later because of my interest of subliminal perception as a tool to suggest the images that occur in the mind's eye, often without any aforethought.

ottawa,ont: Was this movie seriously based on a true story? and who was possesing the girl, was it satan , captain Howdy or the leader of the Black Mass who ate his daughter's brains? ( I read the book fun.)

William Friedkin: Bill Blatty, author of the novel, believes Regan was possessed by the demon Pazuzu (an actual demon), and that the demon appeared to Regan as Captain Howdy. In cases of possession, it is believed that the person possessed is inhabited by a demon or evil spirit, not the devil itself.

Modesto, Ca: Mr. Friedkin: I thought that your movie "To Live and Die In LA" was certainly one of the most original and visually compelling movies of the 80's. It's really an excellent film. How do you now view that film within the context of your career: as an important accomplishment, as just a silly "cops and robbers" B movie that you did to make some money, or something else? Either way, I really believe it is underrated.

William Friedkin: It is my favorite of all the films I've made. Thank you for remembering it.

Arlington, Texas: What movie has scared you the most since the first release of The Exorcist?

William Friedkin: Alien.

Fergus Falls, Minnesota: Mr. Friedkin ... First, do you "bring" any particular personal religious perspective into your involvement in this "artistic" endeavor? Secondly, I realize there is great money to be made and entertainment to be enjoyed, but is it appropriate to treat a topic as serious as demon possession with such triviality? Thank you for attention to these questions. Chris Wasberg

William Friedkin: First, I don't believe we treated it trivially at all. I certainly took it very seriously, and still do. Second, I think of myself as a religious person and a believer in God, although I believe that the power of God and the soul are unknowable, and I don't think that any particular religion has the final answer to the exclusion of any others.

Silver Spring, MD: Mr. Friedkin, without a doubt, The Exorcist is the scariest movie ever, was the hysteria overplayed about people seeing the movie then actually praying outside the theatres?

William Friedkin: No, the hysteria was not overplayed! When the film was originally released, there were many examples of people running out of theaters screaming and becoming visibly upset, often for a long time afterwards. The reactions today are not quite as graphic, but it's still scaring people wherever it's playing. I would like to think that it is also giving people the opportunity to contemplate spiritual matters.

pittsburgh, Pa: I just want to say that this movie scared me then, it still brings chills down my spine even today. Its truly the scarest movie ever made. Good work Friedkin.

William Friedkin: Well I thank you very much for that. Be careful, I may be coming to Pittsburgh soon....Also, this is high praise from the city that originated "Night of the Living Dead".

Everett, Washington: I once heard a rumor that you and the the production team for the Exorcist, while making the film, thought the movie would either turn out to be really scary or that people would laugh themselves out of the theatre due to it unbelievable "cornyness." In light of that rumor, if it's true, what was it like for you the first time you saw your finished movie in its entirety with a theatre audience and how was their response?

William Friedkin: The initial response to the first screening was one of schocked silence, so we weren't sure how it had effected people, but I can tell you that that first audience at the National Theater in Westwood, California remained in their seats without moving or saying anything for at least 15 minutes.

Washington, DC: One of the scariest parts of the movie was the scene where the priest is listening to his recording of Regan as the devil and then all of a sudden the phone rings!! Did it scare everyone on the set too? Did Mr. Blatty know that it would be so scary when he wrote it? I also liked the subliminal images of the devil on the walls and over the stove in the kitchen.

William Friedkin: No, it didn't scare anyone on the set because, as with all the other sound effects, they were put in long after the shooting was finished. I've always regarded the soundtrack as a completely separate entity from the picture.

Rochester New York: I'm a major "Exorcist" fan. The countless film imitations were pretty poor. Do you have an inclination about the upcoming "Lost Souls" movie? In your opinion, what film comes close to The Exorcist in that genre'?

William Friedkin: I haven't seen "Lost Souls". It smells to me like a ripoff. In that genre, "Rosemary's Baby" is a really fine film.

john limpert-ny,ny: What was the most challenging scene of the film to shoot? Why?

William Friedkin: Of course, the exorcism sequence took the longest time, because the entire set was refrigerated to below zero temperatures for weeks. The set was a refrigerated coccoon. Equally as difficult was everything we did in Mosul, Iraq (Pazuzu originates there), because at the time we were filming, Iraq was at war with its neighbors on all of its borders, and we were there with no diplomatic protection, as there was and is no U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
Comment from William Friedkin: By the way, keep up the great work, John!

Rochester New York: Mr. Friedkin- What is the significance of the medallion that appears in the film on numerous occasions (Iraq dig, dream sequence, Karras possession, ect)?

William Friedkin: It's there simply as a talisman or a metaphor that passes from one character to another throughout the course of the film. It was not in the novel. We added it during filming.

Westchester, IL: Did you have any concerns at the time about how filming The Exorcist might affect the young Linda Blair?

William Friedkin: Of course I was concerned. But she was a highly intelligent and totally together straight-A student at the age of 12. We are in constant touch and she looks and is marvelous to this day.

Noxapater, MS: How long, exactly, did it take to make "The Exorcist"?

William Friedkin: About 10 months of filming, followed by about 4 months of editing and sound work. This is a very long time for the production of any film.

Comment from William Friedkin: This was partly due to the numerous unexplained difficulties we had.

San Francisco Ca: In the book the Exorcist there are pages and pages of dialog between the demon and Father Karras yet you only put in about 5% of it in the movie. I felt that was the best part of the book. How come you only put in a very small amount of it? Also, how come in the movie it was just Merrin and Karras in the room doing the Exorcist when in the book Sharon Spenser and Karl are also in the room as well as the Mother for a brief time. Thank you. Matt

William Friedkin: I felt that in reality the mother and others in the household would not be in the room, because of the disturbing things that went on there. To the first part of your question, in adapting the book, I did not feel it necessary to retain long passages of dialogue, but rather to convey the essence of that dialogue.

Santa Rosa, California: Fabulous film! What do you think of todays more gore,less thought provoking horror films?

William Friedkin: Most of the horror films today are either satires or out and out comedies, with rare exception, i.e. "The Blair Witch Project".

San Diego, CA: I have the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Exorcist on DVD, will there be a new DVD issued on the current release?

William Friedkin: There will be a new DVD and VHS in mid-December with an added audio commentary from me.

IRVINE, CA: What made you make a film like that? It was just pure evil.

William Friedkin: That's what Billy Graham said at the time. I think you're both wrong. To me, "The Exorcist" is a story of the eternal struggle between good and evil in which the forces for good, in this case, win out.

Tulsa, OK: What was the biggest challenge in shooting the Exorcist?

William Friedkin: Achieving the special effects mechanically without any opticals, and maintaining a spiritual underpinning for the story, so that it was never "just a horror film".

Columbus, Ohio: I view "The Excorist" as the most terrifying movie ever made. Mr. Friedkin, did you have any problems sleeping after you finished work on the film?

William Friedkin: I do have problems sleeping, but not because of that!

Orlando, FL: Thanks for bringing probably one of the best horror films of all time to the screen but, did you ever get scared looking at what this beautiful little girl had become on the set while you were filming. In other words did you ever stop being the director for a moment and look at the horror of what was being portrayed in front of you?

William Friedkin: This is really a wonderful question. I treated Linda Blair, who was 12 at the time, like a daughter, and I made the whole experience a game for her. Our relationship is stil like that.

Dallas, Texas: With a distinguished career longer than the age of most executives that you must work with in the development of your films, how have you been able to get your projects made.

William Friedkin: With great difficulty.

Portland, Oregon: What is it like to be the director of the greatest horror film ever made? How did Warner Brothers go about choosing you.

William Friedkin: It was actually Bill Blatty who wanted me for the film. There were 7 other directors who had been contacted first, all of whom declined, leaving only me! I'm very proud of the film and consider it an honor that new generations can continue to watch it and be moved by it.

Holland Michigan: Hi my name is wilson, I am a student at holland and I was wondering how did you deal with the religion disputes over the film at the time?

William Friedkin: The film was supported and lauded at the highest levels of the Catholic Church. People from other religious groups or with no particular religion had problems with it. Many of their problems, I believe, came from a lack of understanding of the Roman ritual and of Catholicism itself, for which I have the deepest respect. But very few scholarly Catholics had any quarrel with the film.

Comment from William Friedkin: I would like to thank everyone who participated in this chat. The questions I answered were superb, and if USATODAY.com will make some of the unanswered questions available to me, I will attempt to get to them all.

Comment from USATODAY.com Host: Thanks so much to William Friedkin for being so generous with his time, and thanks also to John Limpert from Warner Brothers for making this chat possible!