Vultures   

Vultures eat the rotting flesh of dead animals. And they LOVE it.

Whether or not that grosses you out, the fact remains that Vultures are one of nature's recyclers and their importance is undeniable.

Vultures symbolize Purification, never-ending vigilance and are the guardians of mysteries. In Greek and Native American lore the vulture is not an evil animal.

Egyptians have a symbol for vultures. The symbol represents mother, prosperous, grandmother, and ruler.

Hindu's believe the vulture to represent courage and self-sacrifice. Two vulture gods wanted to find out who could fly higher. One time Jatayu flew so high that he was about to get seared by sun's flames. Sampaati saved his brother by spreading his own wings and thus shielding Jatayu from the hot flames. In the process, Sampaati himself got injured and lost his wings. As a result Sampaati lived wingless for the rest of his life. That's compassion for you. (Click here to read Wikipedia excerpt)

Who would you save from the burning sun at the expense of your wings? Mom? Dad? Brother? Best friend?

          Scary Stories          

I walked by the ranch house this one time and I saw this shadow over the front door. You see, when the sun sets, it shines right on front porch illuminating it like a flood light. The shadow I saw was real and unmistakable. It moved back and forth across the porch hovering between the front door and the windows.

Then it disappeared and a great stink rose up from the ground. It was like a phantom of farts swarming over me. I ran like a scared little mouse runs away from a big kitty. My life clearly weighing on my ten dollar tennies.

But it got me. In a way I'd never think of a phantom getting someone. It possessed me. I acted and felt like myself but with one difference. I smelled bad. Real bad. Super crazy bad. I had to sleep outside. I wasn't allowed in the school classes or in shopping malls. I couldn't be in the car at the drive-thru!

Bath after bath, I took. The lonely nights in a steam filled tub made me understand how soup feels. Yes, I can identify with roasted turkey.

Outside during my exile me and our dog, Ralph, got to really know each other and the dark doesn't quite erk me anymore, so that's good.

So remember, no matter what, don't stop in front of the Ranch House out East.

Story II

A Great and Frightful Night

I had a friend convince me to go on a moolight hike. The idea seemed innocent enough, but now I see that it was the worst Idea ever.

It was shortly after the moon peaked over the mountains when me and my friend headed out to Redington Pass. We had to hike down the private drive of Snider road before arriving at the trail head. The temperature was perfect and the sky was clear. I saw an owl fly off a mailbox and slip quietly into the night.

We didn't quite get to the trail head when we were almost run over by a huge truck speeding down the road. We didn't even see the headlights until it was almost too late. I called the driver a "Super Jerk" and waived my fist in the air. the truck sped down to the end of the road and stopped at the trail head. We cautiously approached the truck. Its lights flicked off letting the night fill in all around us.

Something was odd. When we got to the truck we noticed that it was a very old truck. Maybe built in the early fifties. The cab was empty but no one had gotten out. There was a thick layer of dust and sand covering the body. My friend gasped and pointed to the tires. They were flat and sun worn and clearly not drivable. The truck hadn't moved for years, it looked. My Friend wrestled the door to the truck open. It creaked and moaned sending thick dust into the air. He hopped into the truck saying he wanted to look in the glove compartment.

The truck disappeared. Right in front of my eyes! Poof! Gone. taking my friend along with it. I never saw my friend again.

It took me three years to get up the nerve to hike down Snider Road again. But when I did I stopped at the trail head waiting for the truck and my friend to reappear. It never did, but on the wind I heard my friend call my name, "Rick! Save me! Save me from..."

    Aunt Kathy   

Aunt Kathy is the older sister of Jennifer Chen. She has bad breath, drinks coffee all day and cusses a lot. She's also missing the part in her brain that makes her nice- that's Karl's theory anyway. It was also odd that she licked her lips more than anyone on Earth.

Aunt Kathy is a millionaire. Her story isn't filled with brilliant business plans or shinning talent but is the result of being in the right place at the right time. She walked the same way to her job at the Corner Dinner every day. It wasn't a long walk but she hated it anyway. It usually took her two cigarettes and a half a cup of coffee to get there on time. Along the trek she passed a construction site where a city project was being built. Yes, the project was over two years and fifteen million dollars over budget.

Anyway, one day a worker on the sixth floor tossed his lunch out the window which was a stale cold cheese sandwich. It gently glided through the air finally smacking Kathy in the forehead. She spilled her coffee down her uniform and stumbled over a caution tape falling into an open sewer hole. The very hole the worker was aiming for with his cheese sandwich in the first place. Kathy sued the city and won her million dollars.

That's when she decided to invest in real estate. She bought her home, two others and a Ranch House East of Tucson Arizona. The dilapidated Ranch House was purchased for the meager amount of $2,000.00 dollars! Now she claims the property is worth over 200,000.00 dollars. Not surprisingly there have been no buyers.

Now her younger sister and family have moved into the Ranch House only to find that its haunted. Thanks Aunt Kathy!

               Sirens                  

Sirens are mythical creatures that are part woman and part bird. they lure sailors to destruction by their irresistible singing.

Sirens are reported to see both the past and the future. And even though the stories are warnings to sailors, Sirens live in fields of grass reportedly on remote islands.

I've never known anyone to resist their singing. It is far more beautiful a song than the most famous of the current stars can sing. Your mind is captured by the tune and drawn to its source. When you arrive you do not see the half bird half woman, but you see the most beautiful woman alive. When you are near enough the siren will capture you and devour your bones.

Gruesome, I know. Well, now you know. Knowledge is half the power right?

(see Wikipedia article here)

             Fisherman's Wharf               

Fisherman's Wharf is located in San Francisco and is famous for its fishing and entertainment. My favorite thing I saw at Fisherman's Wharf were the statue people. They were real artists that would paint themselves silver or gold and stand as still as they could like a statue. They were so still that it kinda scared me. Can you see the statue man moving below?

          Coyote         

Coyote's have interesting spiritual qualities. The coyote is a symbol of Wisdom and Folly. It’s a playful animal and in Native American myth the coyote is a teacher and a jokester.

In the desert, packs of coyote's roam the landscape and at night you can often hear them calling. I've seen a coyote jump across my path and snap up a running mouse. My presence didn't interrupt the hunt one bit.

He looked at me and almost seemed to smile. I know why the Native Americans thought the animal to be wise and a bit goofy.

I saluted the creature, bid him safety crossing the roads and went on my way.

         Moon Illusion         

The warm color of the moon shortly after it rises is an optical illusion, based on the fact that when the moon is low in the sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead.

The reason it is so big is the subject of great controversy. One fact remains- even though it looks bigger at the horizon doesn't mean it is.

Try this next time you see the large harvest moon. Hold a dime at arm's length and close your eye. Move the dime over the seemingly large Moon. Remember that size difference. Then, later in the night, when the Moon is above you in the sky hold the same dime over the moon. You will see there is no change in size.

There are a handful of different ways to conclude the mystery. Click here to read and find out for yourself what solution you think is best suited.

            Dreams            

Dreams are often crazy and confusing. Scary things happen in dreams as well as fun and amazing things.

If you pay attention to your dreams you may find answers regarding your waking life.

Did you know that if you concentrate on remembering your dreams you will remember them easier? Then the next step is to try and dictate what you will dream about.

Eventually, you will be able to control your dreams. Fly every night. Find love instead of fear and ultimately live out your fantasies right there in the safety of your bed.

The first step is to write down all your dreams the moment you wake up. The next steps are harder but it is worth the wait.

         Macgyver         

Just though most of you youngsters would like to find out who Grandma Chen finds "dreamy".

   Escape   

Vira, with the help of her two sons, escaped from a Phoenix jail house in 1911. She was accused of witchcraft and locked up for an undetermined amount of time.

Her two sons busted her out.

I saw one of them with my own eyes sneak to the jailhouse windows and draw a circle around the window with some chalk. It was late on a moonless night. I was on my way home from a dinner at McMasons. The other son, the one with the hair down to the floor, quickly painted dark symbols around the window. I could see the old witches fingers clutching the bars the entire time.

I hid around the corner and waited. I wanted to tell the sheriff but they'd see me if I moved. Then the wall burst like a shattered glass. The blind old woman, Vira, joined her two sons in the road. Sheriff rushed out. The bells rang from the roof tops. Men with torches surrounded the family but they rose up into the sky. Like birds...but they weren't flapping their arms or anything. They were floating. More like ghosts or something. Then, poof! Gone. Disappeared into the night like a candle going out.

Thieves in the night, I say. Demons or something, they are.