teapot1

teapot1

Wednesday, June 4, 2014


 

The Strange Knowledge of Strangers

 

Sometimes conversations with strangers can be intriguing—even a little mystical.

Tim and I took Honey to a neighborhood restaurant for dinner the other night, the kind that has tables on the sidewalk.
 
 
 
 
A few minutes after we got there, an older couple sat at the table right behind us. As often happens, they noticed Honey and asked a few questions about her. Then the woman asked, “Did she come from a foreign country?”

The question took me aback. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but people often ask about her breed, as she is a little unusual looking. I said “No, but she’s half Chinese Shar-pei.”

“She has such soulful eyes,” the woman said. I happen to think she does, too, so the comment made me happy.

A little later the woman asked us, “Does either of you speak a foreign language?”

Tim and I looked at each other. Did she think there was something foreign about us, as well as about Honey? No, we said.

“Do you know what gamache means?”

Neither of us did. Tim tried asking “Siri” on his cell phone and came up with “come mosh.” The woman and her husband fell to talking in low voices for a while.

Then Honey drew her attention again. “She has medieval eyes.”

 


Medieval eyes? I liked the idea, but this was beginning to get strange.

Just as we were finishing our meal the woman turned to us again. “I have to ask you this: Do you two drink coffee?”

We don’t; we’re tea drinkers. No, we said.

She turned toward her husband. “See, I told you.”

We were both having cold drinks. The waitress hadn’t asked us if we wanted coffee. “How did you know?” I asked.

She nodded toward Honey. “She told me.”

Now I was feeling creepy. Was she making a joke? Did she really believe our dog had told her? I couldn’t tell from her face. But either way the fact remained that she knew we weren’t coffee drinkers. How?

The incident took me back to a weekend last fall. We were in New York, where I had registered for an editing seminar. We were having dinner the night before the workshop in a restaurant in a different part of the city. A group of people at an adjacent table were laughing and talking; one man in particular had been calling friendly remarks over to us. Eventually he came to our table and sat down. He looked at me and said, apropos of nothing, “Are you a book editor?”
                                                                       
I was floored. “How did you know that?”

He shrugged. “I’m a little psychic.”

Was he? And was the woman we met the other night? Is my dog perhaps a wise ancient spirit? I have a slightly mystical bent, and in some ways I’d like to think these things can happen. As Hamlet said, “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy.”

Maybe psychic experiences are embedded in our everyday lives and we just never notice them.

Have you ever had a psychic experience?

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

17 comments:

  1. Ah, I remember your blog about that experience last year. I have not had a psychic experience like this, although have had experiences that are similar. From my view it is YOU that is the constant in the two episodes. Honey may have been the conduit for this couple, but the search was for the connection with you. This is fascinating and certainly worth your exploring and/or writing and/or making fiction out of.......I cant wait to see where this leads.

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    1. Thanks, Amy. That makes me feel a little spooky, though--maybe I have powers I don't know about :-) ?

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    2. Could be Elaine - like I said.....fiction? short story? novel? I can see it all my friend!

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  2. Trying again: Wow, those are some really amazing experiences.

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    1. Ah, this time it appeared! Thanks, Carol. I really enjoyed your post today and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your conference experiences.

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  3. Really interesting, Elaine! Who knows...?

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  4. Maybe the guy overheard some conversation about your conference (the second incident you described), but the one where the lady was apparently communing with your dog is kind of freaky. You should be flattered that your dog apparently pays so much attention to your likes and dislikes ;-)

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    1. Ha ha! You're right, Suzanne! I didn't know she cared that much!

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  5. I knew animals could sense ghosts and such, I didn't know they could tell secrets, too! I think it would be neat to have abilities like that.
    I was over a friend's house probably 10 years ago and she had a lady over who read palms and tarot, etc. It only took her a second with me to see that a male who I was very close to was very ill. I'd just found out the week that my dad had cancer and I hadn't said anything to anyone! She also saw I had one girl child and while she was not academically brilliant, she would succeed in whatever she chooses to do. And at 16, she's low average in school, but she's a fantastical dancer - it's her passion.

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    1. Wow, Lisa, those are impressive predictions. They're finding out now too that dogs can sometimes sense diseases like cancer in their owners before the people know about it. Who know what else these amazing creatures can do?

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  6. Strange!
    So you're a book editor. Honey says, "You'd like my writing."

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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  7. That is kind of wild and freaky! ♥

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  8. Wow, neat story! Thanks for sharing with us. And your writing is marvelous. Pulled me right in--I wanted to know where the story went.

    Yeah... I believe it's possible that animals communicate with people. Look at the Aboriginal peoples of the Earth and their animal spirit guides.And as far as psychics...who knows what powers are mostly yet unlocked in the human mind. :-)

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    1. Thanks very much, Teresa. And I do believe that our own minds are the greatest mystery in the universe!

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