AIR CRASH OVER NEW JERSEY

VON HINDENBIRTHDAY BALLOON CRASH, MONROE TWP. NJ 2014

It's practically standing still now....

They've dropped the string from the bottom of the balloon. It been taken ahold of by a number of clips down on the floor.

It's started to rain again. The rain had slacked up a little bit. The back door of the manor is open and the breezes are holding the cupcake just enough to keep it from...

It's bound to deflate! Get back, Rufus, get back. It's helium...it's leaking. It's

 

 leaking terrible! Oh dog! Get out of the way, please! It's falling on the

 

morning stars..And all party planners agree this is terrible: the worst of the

 

worst cupcake-tastrophes in the room.

Crashing, oh! four or five feet into the sky..and it's terrible, ladies and

 

gentlemen. No smoke, no flame...

... but the mylar is floating to the ground, not quite to the table mat. The rain and the breezes and Oh, the humidity! Ah! It's....ah! I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest:

It's just laying there, a mass of empty wreckage. Rufus, that's terrible. Ah, ah...I can't. Listen, folks: I... I'm gonna have to stop for a minute. I've lost my normal voice due to the helium. This is the worse deflation I've ever witnessed.

 

 

(Sorry,folks. I just couldn't resist!)

OWL BE SEEING YOU...

I would like to thank Eric Lee and Mystickal Tymes in New Hope, PA for hosting my book signing on August 9^th. It was an opportunity to see family and old friends, and to get a lot of swag bags (with Fate Magazines and other goodies) into the hands of a bunch of shoppers.

There will be another one in October, date pending.

Also thanks to Bob and Maureen for providing the wheels!

On August 12^th, I returned to hospital for my initial exam after radiology. There seems to be some improvement! I may not be out of the woods, but I'm definitely through the forest. I go back in six weeks. In the interim, there are things I must do to insure my internal health..in a matter of speaking. Use your imagination. My doctors want me to do one of the things the Sisters of Charity said would give me a one-way ticket to Hell.

Wonder what Sister “Moral Mary Immaculate” (not real name, but I'm sure there's one out there) would do in my pointed shoes. She was the grade school teacher who told us the only time we should touch our bodies was when bathing. I refused to use any bathroom stall that she used before me. Then, there was the day she scratched her nose...and I merely pointed at her (a la “j accuse!”).

Yeah, I'm sure given the choice between Cancer side effects and partying down with a medical device, the convent would be playing Barry White and lighting mood candles.

During all this, owls have been popping up in dreams, cards, symbols all over the place. In one particularly disturbing dream, many of us were plunging to our deaths from an exploding castle. Some of us only survived by moving our arms to channel the wind..and in such a manner turned into huge gliding owls who landed safely. Many didn't transform, and fell to their demise in human form. Others changed too late and struck the earth in the guise of owls, or half owl/ half human.

I was an eagle owl. I still had the power of speech. I turned to an owl beside me and asked, “Why?” The answer was: adapt or die.

Many associate owls with wisdom. They are, after all, the totem animal of the goddess Athena. However, in other societies, an owl is a warning to be discreet, to keep one's own counsel. Owls are guides to inner knowledge, and clarity in the night. Perhaps it's time to look inward, to heal what is occult and not just the obvious physical. Humm...what do you all think?

Anyway, onward through the fog. I found yet another Sherlock parody. I know they're inane, but they're kinda fun. Oh! And I swiped this off a friend's Facebook posting:

Enjoy the last of the Summer sun!

TOO-RA-LUGH-RA-LUGH-RA

Good Gods, it's already Lammas! I can't believe how fast the year is spinning! It seemed we just celebrated Midsummer, slipped in the mud, and slammed smack into August.

Perhaps those ancient Celtic farmers felt the same way. One minute you're planting, the next - harvesting. Oh yes, harvest. There are various fruits to be gathered, veggies, and some crops as well. (Here in the States, corn had to be knee high by the fourth of July. Those ears should be ripe for the picking about now.)

But Lammas (“loaf mass”) or “Lughnasadh” (for the sun god Lugh, pronounced “Loo” - oh, NOW you get the title!) is more than a day in the agrarian calendar. It is a festival. In the season of the Goddess, we take time to remember the God. Before the greater harvest of crops takes place in the Fall, we pause to appreciate the blessings of the fields and the time of plenty to come.

 

To show faith in the Divine, a small loaf (made from the green wheat) would be baked, and eaten at a family meal. (Just small bites. Unripe wheat makes terrible bread). In Christian times, such a loaf would be taken to the Church to be blessed. Yet in modern times, with flour available at the local store, ritual loaves of regular bread are often used. This bread – green or otherwise – can be utilized magically. For instance, four pieces can be broken off and placed in the four corners of your barn to protect your animals.

Lammas was also a time when fairs were held, bargains made, agreements for the sale of crops could take place, and promises of marriage arranged. In a Wiccan household of today, there would be the casting of a Circle, the telling of the old myths regarding the Tuatha De Danann, a ritual meal prepared, and the blessing of cakes and ale. Yeah – not gonna happen. I'm too lame, too tired, and too old to be hopping around in a black hooded robe, trying to neither step on the Rufus or set myself on fire. How come, when you make it to Crone, you need more “adult supervision” than you did at twelve?



("Did she say, 'Step on Rufus?'")

Anyway, enjoy what's left of the Summer. Personally, I can't wait for the color and crisp coolness of Fall. I really rock the Autumnal Equinox. Me and my walker actually probably “roll” the Equinox, but I'll manage!

The book signing: The book signing at Mystickal Tymes is Saturday, August 9^th, from 2pm to 5pm, or longer if the place is jumping. Free “swag bags” for everyone who comes by, and even a stress owl for those who buy a book! (While supply lasts).

No, not a stressed owl...

a stress owl...

Hope to see a lot of you there!

A happy first harvest, and the blessings of the Earth and Sun to you all!