Entry #0001: Entering a Paranormal Frequency

As I continue to live in the High Desert of Southern California, down in my bunker I affectionately call Area 57, this is my latest log of strange events where I dare to delve into eerie phenomena, particularly involving a multi-dimensional reality called the Paranormal Frequency! For several years now weird things have already been happening, and although they were subtle and obscure at first, they seemed to be culminating toward something very strange, almost apocalyptic.

It's as if the world I once knew has been gradually changing before my eyes, and all my senses, or perhaps my own perception has been changing, opening up to things I didn't perceive before, or sensing other realms of existence. So, over many years, weird things have cropped up now and then, here and there.

For instance, when I was a teenager, I had a dream where I could swear little grey aliens were wandering around my bedroom; not sure what their objective was though. It might have been just a dream, or perhaps a remnant of a memory of my actual encounter with ETs, I can't be sure. I doubt that I was ever actually abducted, thank God, since no weird memories of such ever broke to the surface of my conscious mind, which has happened in many abduction cases.

I have always had a definite fascination in the planets and stars above, and when you live in the desert like I do, the magnificent brilliant array of the Milky Way spanning overhead at night is truly beautiful! I can imagine ET spacecraft soaring high in the Earth's orbit as beings from other worlds observe us. But since that dream, my belief that they are definitely out there has increased.

I must also mention my other strange episode, which was explained in a post in Zones Unknown on the Bamblebrush site entitled "My Alien Encounter." This took place around 1982 when I was reading a book about ETs, and I felt as if I was being watched, and when I craned my head up, I saw only briefly the most unusual alien creature, oddly insectoid in nature! But it vanished in a few seconds. Let me say here, I can tell the difference between my imagination and something from outside of myself. Something created from one's own mind is a transmitting force, whereas something from outside is a receiving force. You can feel when it's being projected to you - or shoved right into your frigging face! Anyway, once again, this experience has also assured me that ETs not only exist, but they are closer to us than we think! And they're watching us! Perhaps they exist in some dimension beyond our own, and can manifest physically when needed. Or they could be completely physical. I don't know. But I do believe their advanced spaceships can travel in hyperspace, an extra-dimensional continuum, which is how they travel countless light-years across space in a relatively short amount of time.

Another eerie phenomenon took place over a few years, where I could swear I was being followed or watched. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I can't help think this was not the case. Sometimes I could see a dark figure at the corner of my eye and it would disappear as I looked to see who or what it was. Often it would happen as I walked down a sidewalk or while driving down a street, or lately while browsing through the aisles of Mulvern Market. In this last year I have occasionally seen such a figure as I took one of my usual leisurely walks through the desert. Sometimes several weeks would go by before it would happen again, so these sightings were very random and far and few between. I most likely witnessed one of those ominous shadow people, I imagine, who probably live in another dimension and can sometimes materialize in ours. I'm not sure what their purpose or intentions are, or even who or what they are -- but someday I hope to find out.

I have also experienced apparitions of deceased loved ones, particularly of my Grandmother and a close uncle of mine, and a fellow worker I once knew. I have also experienced what many New Agers call "reality shifts," but in earlier days I didn't have a name for it. I will explain this bizarre phenomenon and many others as my latest strange account unfolds.

Article: My Alien Encounter

Entry #0002: An Update

Alright, folks, it's been about two and a half years since the end of my ordeal with the dark strangers. However, it's time to continue these chronicles now. This second account is essentially in retrospect, so from where I now sit, it's all been said and done, so now I must flesh it out, in all it's gory details. So bare with me.

I stayed down in the cities for a while, seeing Monica, and then later I returned to the high desert once again, but we talked on the phone for several months. But during this time, I didn't feel the inclination to continue the Area 57 account -- until recently. Two and a half years ago, if you recall, was quite a roller coaster of strange events that finally ended in late August of 2009. So now that all that cloak-and-dagger and intrigue and hiding out from the world is over (as far as I know) I don't have to be obscure or elusive anymore about actual locations. I was really paranoid, you see. "Down below" obviously refers to the mass of cities southwest of the Mojave Desert, beyond the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountain ranges, particularly those of Los Angeles County. And my home town of Mulvern is approximately a hundred miles northeast of LA, give or take a few.

So in November of '09, I temporarily stayed down below to be with Monica, who lives just south of L.A. in Redondo Beach, in a little bungalow right off the beach. Odd. My own backyard is the wide-open desert, whereas Monica's backyard is the wide-open ocean. Anyway, we rekindled our relationship - which never actually got off the ground because she was only visiting her aunt in Mulvern and had to return home. But soon I returned back to the desert right after the New Years holiday of 2010.

Sometime in the Spring of that year she finally called and told me she decided to plan her move up to the desert to be with me. I was ecstatic to hear that! Unfortunately, she said she wouldn't be freed up till Summer or Fall, that it would be several more months before she could tie up loose ends down in Redondo Beach. She had friends, family, a good job, and some individuals that depended on her unofficial psychic services.

She told me she didn't look forward to searching for a new job here in the desert; the prospects would be much slimmer than in the cities. Down below, she had a few clerical and administrative jobs, like for big banking firms and such corporations. Although she originally considered advertizing as a psychic seer, to continue using her talents for good, instead of hiding it from the public, she later reconsidered and said she would rather go on hiatus for a while. This work was too psychically taxing and stressful, she said. The people of the cities tended to drain her psychically, and she said she evidently wasn't adept enough to cope with that. I asked her once if any of those people could be psychic vampires, if that's why she felt drained. She said she only intuited that a few were. But using her psychic ability for others was a strain on her. But charging people a fee for her work seemed wrong to her regardless, so she would vacillate on this point.

So finding work in the desert would not be easy for her. Although working with her Aunt Edith at the Sky High Ranch Guest Home was an option, like she did in '09 when she was here, the pay was minimal and part time at best. Anyway, she had told me she hoped to be able to move by Summer of 2010 at the earliest, but wasn't sure, but I don't want to get too far ahead of the story here.

Once back in the desert, I continued freelance writing for a few different mags and websites, and in January of '10, I got a job at the Mulvern Daily Press, with the help of Calvin Jones, who also works there. So I was assisting in gathering info for news and reporting it, of which there was little around the high desert, but enough to keep me mildly busy. I also helped in writing regional events and announcements, like marriages, celebrations, festivals, and junior high and senior high school events, like football and baseball games and dances and such, etc. Plus, the paper published their own regional magazine, the Mojave Digest, which they had been circulating for ten or more years now. It reached out to far points like Barstow to the north, Landers to the east, and Victorville to the west. I wrote travelogues and such touristy articles for this. I wanted to write paranormal stuff, but the chief editor frowned on that when I asked him one day. Hence, my only outlet for such high strangeness was currently my accounts for Area 57 and the blog for Zones Unknown.

Anyway, the pay was fair, enough to live on, and I didn't need much, not being a materialist. My writing was my only truly valuable possession - the rest could take a flying leap. Alright, my hard drive in my computer held most of my scribblings, so I gotta have that. But then I can't take this with me when I die. Oh well...

Entry #0003: P for Paranormal

In the meantime, I had been doing my old research into UFO phenomenon and paranormal activity. In fact, around early May I began checking out a couple of paranormal groups, since I was contemplating joining one of them. On the phone I talked to the head honcho of the Spectrum Paranormal Group, Shawn Williams, and I didn't get a good feeling about it. The guy sounded a little arrogant and overly competitive. So I called his competitor, Chad Phillips, the founder of the Mojave Desert Paranormal Society, which was around a little longer. Chad was a self-proclaimed parapsychologist, who led a crew of ghost-hunting geeks. But they facetiously preferred the term "Ghostwhackers." They investigated paranormal phenomena, such as hauntings or ghost sightings, as well as some UFO activity. Chad and I agreed to meet in a week at the Kountry Kitchen and talk, my normal hang out these days. I was all excited and wanted to bring my collection of footage of my own investigations and recordings of interviews with eyewitnesses - but doing that in a restaurant was a bad idea. Besides, they had no DVD players or VCRs there. Duh!

I had to tone down my enthusiasm, obviously. Better to wait, to just be cool, calm, and collected. Not try to make a big production out of it. He would think I was a hyperactive nutjob - which I probably was! So I would have to wait till the time was right to bring him down to Area 57 and show him my cool stuff!

Entry #0004: Talking with Chad

It was about the third week of May when I met Chad Philips at the Kountry Kitchen at noon for lunch. Over the fried chicken and baked potato special with coffee, we had a fascinating conversation. After I told him some of my strange experiences, he wanted me to definitely join his little team. I told him about my alien abduction dream, and also that I was pretty sure that I had been catching a glimpse of shadow people now and then. I also told him of my weird episodes that I had later discovered were called "reality shifts."

As I described to Chad, at various points in my life, strange unexplained events took place that made no sense at all at first. I've discussed these in a multi-part article in my Zones Unknown blog (see link below) The first one involved a particular monk, Brother Don Robinson, I met in San Francisco in '73; then under different circumstances, met him again in Wichita, Ks, '77, but he denied ever knowing or meeting me. I also found a beautiful little park in Wichita, but thereafter never could find it ever again, though I lived there for several years, as if it had dropped off the face of the planet -- or at least this immediate earthly dimension.

Lately I've had similar phenomenon occur. For instance, right here in Mulvern, a particular blue truck had been following me apparently, practically tailgating me along Mulvern Avenue toward the west, and when I turned left to go up Highland Ave, it simply disappeared, not just in my rearview mirror, but looking all around, he was nowhere to be seen! Not even westbound down Mulvern Avenue!

Anyway, I told him all these strange things, and he was mystified, and said he could use somebody like me. So I agreed to join his little group of paranormal investigator. He told me what I already figured, that this was a non-profit outfit, and nobody got paid for their work, so they didn't charge their clients. He explained to me how they operated, that sometimes they just had meetings a couple times a month, and occasionally they would receive a call about some kind of weird phenomena for paranormal activity occurring somewhere in the high desert. Sometimes they would take place right here in the Valley, the other times they would have to drive fifty or a hundred miles to check out a particular site. Chad said he would like me to meet the group soon, and since there was going to be an event in a few weeks, that would be the best time. He would call me when they decided on a date to meet. We parted, and I was tingling with excitement.

Article: Artivle Mysterious Dimensions and Alternate Universes, Parts V
Article: Artivle Mysterious Dimensions and Alternate Universes, Parts VI

Entry #0005: Following up on the Ghost Cave

While I was waiting for Chad's call, not really holding my breath or anything, I spent time researching paranormal phenomena online, then narrowed my search down to the Mojave Desert, finding a few instances, but one item fascinated me in particular; something called the Ghost Cave in Grapevine Canyon, which had been investigated two years ago by the Mojave Desert Paranormal Society. That led me to search for their own website, and discovered it was just a simple webpage, rather boring. So I called Chad and suggested that I could help him revamp their site, that I could journalize our paranormal investigations there, which just might draw more people, especially those reporting paranormal sightings. He agreed and said I could be the group's chronicler. I also asked about the Ghost Cave incident, what happened there. Chad said the only thing they saw in the cave was an eerie green glow approaching them, but an ominous howling scared the bejeebers out of them, so they all fled, frightened out of their wits. They had videotaped it, so they have proof of this paranormal event. But he said he planned to go back there someday. I told him I wanted to definitely be a part of that.

He said he still had to figure out a time for the group to meet next. There was an eyewitness of some paranormal incident that they had to get with and decide on a date. He would let me know.

Entry #0006: Phone Calls

So Chad finally called and informed me they had an event on June 3, to meet at his house at 6:00 PM, then we would head out to Landers from there, where there was a report of some kind of a psychic vortex. I was intrigued. I asked him why so late in the day, not in the morning. He said most paranormal events were vibrant and strong at night, and that 6:00 was actually a little early.

I called Monica and told her about this new exciting prospect with this paranormal endeavor. She said she felt that it was a positive move, although I would have to be cautious, to beware of certain psychic forces that lurked in dark places. I told her when she moved up here she should join the group, and she told me she would consider it.

I also called Leo Stroud, my old friend, the techno-geek and fellow writer, and told him all about it. He said the change of pace was a good thing, after all that time I spent in isolation, that getting out and socializing would be good for me. I also asked him when he could come out to visit. I told him he had been putting it off too long; he was suppose to visit me sometime in 2009 when my crazy ordeal with the dark strangers was wreaking havoc in my life. He said he had been too busy with clients and big businesses needing his computer services, especially in the St. Louis area where he lives. But he thought that things would free up in a few months, or so he hoped. I wasn't going to hold my breath.

Entry #0007: Meeting the Paranormal Crew

So the paranormal group met at 6:00 pm, June 3 at Chad's house, which was on Zircon Rd, a couple miles up the slope above Mulvern. Incidentally, this was the little street Leo and his family used to live on when we were teenagers. Anyway, I met the rest of the crew.

I already met Chad of course; he was a tall dark haired fellow who liked wearing a long black trench coat -- even in the summer. Odd. Travis McGraff was a stout blond guy with blue eyes, the spectral technician of the group, and he brought all his fancy paranormal equipment in his large midnight blue Chevy van. Sheila Bach was dark haired with brown eyes and looked like she might be half Native American and half Caucasian. She was the religious scholar of the group, but primarily focused on traditions such as Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca, and such. She specialized in ritual magic, spellcasting, exorcisms, and could perform banishing and protection rituals.

Rick Blain was the Librarian and researcher, particularly of mysticism and the occult, but he specialized in ancient myths and legends, and he said that in his home he had a large library of such books. He was a wiry, tawny-haired man with wire-rimmed glasses.

I introduced myself to everyone as Bert Green, the cover-name I used for the last two years while I was going incognito. People around Mulvern already new me with this name, so it would have been awkward to change it. Also, I had decided to continue using this incognito moniker in this account, just in case pesky agents from the Group might someday get a wild hair notion to find out who I really am, if they ever wanted to try and open that can of worms again. But then, I was supposed to be dead now, so perhaps I was just being paranoid.

Anyway, I did tell my new friends my public pseudonym as a writer was R. R. Stark. With a grin, Travis nicknamed me Starky, which he called me from that time on. Sometimes the others used it too, in good humor of course. So that moniker caught on fast.

After we drank coffee, or iced tea as some preferred, and munched on tuna sandwiches that Chad's wife had prepared, we took off around 6:35 that evening. We all piled into Travis's large van that could seat eight, and the area behind us was filled with the paranormal equipment. Travis drove while Chad sat in the passenger seat; the rest of us sat in the wide seat in back, buckled in. Once we left the Mulvern area, we drove down Old Woman Springs Rd, also known as Highway 247, which headed east and had a tendency to meander a little south. Landers was approximately forty miles out, and Giant Rock Airport was the big tourist trap there, especially for UFO buffs. More on that later.

Entry #0008: Off to Landers

Chad and Travis did the talking, updating me on how all the equipment worked, many of their past sightings, and so forth. The bookworm, Rick, was quiet for a while, until I asked him about some of the ancient myths he had researched. Then he began to talk nonstop. What seemed most fascinating to him was the curses related to the Egyptian pyramids and tombs in general, and how they seem to be in effect even after several thousands of years, because various tourists, grave robbers, or investigators and archaeological excavators had died within several weeks or up to a year from entering any of the pyramids, or other ancient tombs or sites. He said the whole curse extravaganza developed in the early 1900s when certain individuals, such as Lord Carnarvon, George Jay Gould, Howard Carter, and others died within months of their intrusion of Tutankhamen's tomb. Although some claim that a virus from mold in the air infected the people and killed them, others still believe a curse exists. The exception to the virus theory is that Lord Carnarvon supposedly died of a mosquito bite infection.

Rick rambled on nonstop about other ancient curses he had researched, so Chad interrupted him and said, "Let me tell you all about our upcoming investigation."

Everyone shut up to listen to their fearless leader. "The lady that called me, Mrs. Duncan, spoke of a strange anomaly out in her backyard. She said at night sometimes she saw what looked like a green glowing whirlwind, twelve or so feet high, but it would only appear for a few minutes at a time. It often changed locations, she said. She hadn't seen this for several months, but she called right after her dog disappeared. She said her dog was out back barking profusely, then suddenly yelped, and nothing after that. When she looked out the window she saw that green whirlwind. She thinks it took her dog. She also said her son's bicycle had been laying on the ground out back, and it disappeared too. Other objects had disappeared now and then, but a few times she saw the thing actually suck up objects. She's totally freaked out now."

Sheila said, "This vortex is most likely a portal to another dimension, or most likely the Dark Side, or dark plane, or the place of Shadows as some call it. But I think we can seal it with the proper banishing ritual."

Rick added, "I agree, but we must all participate to make it work."

Travis snickered, "Damn, I shoulda brought my super-enhanced seal-o-matic light saber."

Entry #0009: The Epicenter of Paranormal Activity

The drive took approximately a little less than an hour. The sun was just setting on the western horizon, so we still had some light. As we entered one of the residential areas of Landers, we found the address Mrs. Duncan had given Chad over the phone, somewhere on a dirt lane called Eureka Rd. Like most sparsely laid out houses in the desert communities, their backyards were the whole desert; greasewood, Joshuas, cholla, or just sandy barrens. We parked in front of Mrs. Duncan's shabby house, met her, and she showed us her wasteland of a backyard, which several other houses shared too. Typical. She explained excitedly what had been happening, things disappearing, especially her dog. Sometimes she would see the green whirlwind out back, but most of the time, nothing. Sometimes other neighbors said they saw it too, and things disappearing from their yards too, being sucked up by it.

When the lady went back in the house to fetch us glasses of lemonade, Chad told us this might be one of those long, drawn-out waits, and whether or not anything would even happen was questionable. Travis grabbed a tri-field EMF meter from his van and began slowly walking around the area with it in his hand, to see if anything electromagnetic registered. So far he got nothing. We drank our lemonades the lady had handed us from a tray as she babbled on, rambling on about the same old spiel we just heard. Chad gently told her she needed to go back inside so we could do our work in peace, that we needed to concentrate. She did.

We sat around in a circle in the sandy backyard, waiting for the twilight sky to darken, and for the stars to come out. I asked if most of what we did was just sit and wait. Chad said yes. They learned a lot of patients this way, he said.

Around 9 o'clock Chad went to the van and fetched a bag of food his wife had prepared; roast beef sandwiches and a large thermos of hot coffee. We would need to stay awake that night, in case something paranormal began to brew.

Entry #0010: The Phantom Whirlwind

It was nearly 11 o'clock when I began nodding off, while the others talked in whispers, sitting around in our little circle. Then I felt something, like we were being watched. Then I nodded off, but jerked awake as I caught a dark figure flashing by at the corner of my eye. It was there and gone.

"Did anyone see that?"

"See what?" Travis perked up.

Sheila said, "I felt something."

I said, "I've seen this before. Shadow people or something."

Chad speculated, "I wonder if there's some kind of connection between this green whirlwind and shadow people."

Some of the others chuckled mildly, knowing Chad was being sarcastic. Not knowing him, I didn't catch that as readily.

Travis juiced up his EMF meter again, and it began chirping, slowly at first.

Then we saw it about twenty feet away. Under the star-speckled sky, a tall, narrow, greenish swirling mass of energy appeared, perhaps fifteen feet high, several feet wide at the top and tapering down to nearly point on the ground. Travis got up and walked toward it with his EMF meter. As he drew closer, it began chirping faster and louder. Then he stopped a few feet from it, and he began to tremble. Suddenly, the device was sucked out of his hands into the green swirling energy.

"Holy shit!" He turned and ran.

We heard a scream from the house. Mr. Duncan had been watching. But then the green whirlwind disappeared.

Chad commented, "There goes your little toy."

Travis complained, "That was a two-hundred dollar device!"

"Time to replace it."

I was perplexed about the eerie green whirlwind that appeared and disappeared, while these guys were discussing a stupid device. Clearly these paranormal phenomena had gotten too normal for them.

Entry #0011: Shadow People and Green Whirlwinds

At the corner of my eyes I began seeing those weird dark figures again, and began hearing strange whispers. There were several of them all around.

I said briskly, "Is anyone getting this?"

"What?" Chad asked, looking around.

The others acted just as clueless.

But Sheila said, "I'm sensing some kind of presence."

But then the dark images disappeared, and so did the whispers. Why was I the only one seeing and hearing this strange phenomenon?

I said, "They're gone now."

Sheila replied, "Whatever it is, I believe it came through the whirlwind portal."

I corrected, "They. There were several of them, and whispering eerily. Some kind of shadow people I believe."

Rick began spouting his textbook knowledge, "Ah, shadow people. Those mysterious specters seen in the peripheral vision, not usually directly in front. It's believed they exist in another dimension, but if there is a psychic opening somewhere, they can slip through it into our earthly plane. Some theorists claim they are either demons, aliens, or ghosts, but nobody really knows for sure."

I challenged, "Have you ever seen one yourself?"

Rick hesitated, then replied, "No."

"I have, many times." I sighed heavily, annoyed by his pretentious expertise on the subject.

Sheila said, "If you can see them, that means either you are psychically perceptive, or they have created some kind of link with you for some reason."

"God, I hope not. I don't wanna have anything to do with them."

She asked, "Have you had any psychic impressions or experiences in any way before?"

"Now and then. I don't consider myself a psychic, if that's what you're driving at." I also didn't want to start discussing my more personal mystical experiences, which may be considered psychic or paranormal in their eyes.

She continued, "If they have formed a connection with you to where you see them, and hear them, we should find out why."

Chad spoke up, "So maybe there is some kind of connection between your shadow people and this weird whirlwind."

I turned to Rick and asked, challenging him again, "What do you think, Rick? Whirlwinds and shadow people?"

Rick stammered at first, then he began saying, "Well, uh, there have been numerous cases of whirlwind phenomena, not necessarily green, usually called psychic vortices, but I've read nothing connecting them to shadow people."

Chad commented, but with a smirk, "Maybe this is the first time in paranormal history."

Travis said, "Well, Starky, that gives you something to write about on our website."

Sighing, I replied, "Great."

Entry #0012: The Theory of an Opening Rift

We sat for a few more hours, but nothing further happened. The plan was to witness the whirlwind again, perform the banishing ritual led by Sheila in order to psychically seal it, then leave. But we didn't see it again. That was unfortunate, and Chad said we might come back another time and try again -- at least that's what he told Mrs. Duncan. She had goofily suggested catching the whirlwind in some kind of paranormal containment unit. Chad asked if she had watched the Ghostbusters movies, and she replied that she had. He said they had no such unit, that that was just a fictional idea.

Since this particular paranormal society did everything for free -- not charging anyone, because they simply loved what they did for the sheer thrill of it -- we drove off, leaving Mrs. Duncan disappointed, with no green whirlwind being captured, in spite of the fact she didn't have to pay us. She expected results, and so did we. One of our goals was to study this phenomenon, and the other was to extinguish it. We accomplish neither. One thing we learned was that there most likely was a connection between this whirlwind and shadow people, that it was probably some kind of portal allowing them to slip into our earthly realm. From what I have researched, obviously if any psychic entity is attempting to find a way into the denser physical world, they require some kind of portal or vortex, or some medium; for instance an Ouija board or séance or some such ritual.

Sitting next to Sheila in the van, she said gravely, "Something odd is happening - I can sense it. Like some kind of door has been opened, or a rift. And this phantom whirlwind is a manifestation of it, especially if you saw those shadow figures around, which most likely came through it somehow."

My brows jutted up. "A rift?"

Sheila explained, "A tear in the psychic fabric between this earth plane and the Dark Side in particular. And when a small tear is made, some entities slip through, but then the tear can be made larger in time."

Travis chuckled, "I've heard of such things, but I seriously doubt that's really possible."

Chad remarked, "We've detected ghosts or entities before, isn't that the rift opening?"

"No," Sheila replied. "Sometimes we can see through a thin layer to the Other Side, or they can see us, like through a glass window, but when a tear is made in this fabric, entities can move freely to and fro. Normally, due to the spiritual evolution of the planet, the veil between the worlds has been getting thinner anyway. The raising vibration of the earth is drawing closer to the higher vibration of the Other Side. Unfortunately, this particular dark rift is taking place between the Dark Side and our earthly plane. The veil has been growing thinner regardless, but it's as if the Dark Side is taking advantage of that. That's where the danger lies. But the problem is some supernatural force has been causing it."

Rick began to spout his usual pretentious knowledge. "During the last several decades psychic rifts and temporal apertures have been reported; however, some may have been hoaxes or tall tales, just like UFO or ET sightings. So we can't really be sure. But I really doubt they're a common phenomenon. Supposedly individuals manipulating an Ouija board can open a portal to let spirits or entities through, which I believe is possible, but many such reports are just crazy yarns. However, I believe we just witnessed such a psychic rift appearing in the form of a whirlwind."

Sheila suggested, "Perhaps it's a physical manifestation of an as yet invisible transdimensional nonlocalized astral rift."

Rick looked frustrated as he weakly replied, "Hmm, yes, definitely." But I suspected she spoke over his head, and I felt she knew more than the bookworm brainiac did.

Alright, that event was over, so once we returned to Mulvern, around 5:00 am, I got in my Blazer and returned to the little yellow cabin, and slept all morning and that afternoon.

Nothing eventful took place for a couple of weeks, but after that lull is when something interesting occurred.

Entry #0013: Meeting a New Friend

About the second week of June, I met a potential new friend.

I had a wild hair notion to get out of town, so I took a drive to Victorville, which took half an hour. I had never checked out the Mall of Victor Valley before, so since I had a little spending money I decided to spend it there. So I took a leisurely drive westbound on Highway 18, then at the famous Dead Man's Point landmark I turned left on Bear Valley Road until it took me to the Barstow Freeway, or Interstate 15, but the street bypassed over this, and then as I pulled into the avenue taking me to the Mall, I spied a Barnes & Nobles to the left, so I pulled in there. I could go to the Mall afterwards. I hadn't been to a Barnes & Noble since I left Sioux Falls, SD. As usual, it was a very pleasant atmosphere for a large bookstore. I could spend all day in there.

I found myself at the New Age section, where you could find a lot of books on various unconventional traditions and philosophies, including Ufology, witchcraft, astrology, numerology, and the paranormal. I saw a younger lady there, thirty-something, with long golden brown hair, with a pierced eyebrow and ring in each ear. The back of her hair looked like she had dyed it black at one time, but it was beginning to fade; ex-Goth perhaps. She also wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with "Led Zeppelin" in yellow splashed on the front. I noticed she had just grabbed a book on witchcraft and opened it.

Incidentally, as always, I had my hidden micro-recorder on the ready, in my pants pocket, so just in case, I stealthily switched it on.

I didn't want to be to forward, but I had to ask, "Just curious, are you studying to be a witch?"

She chuckled in a friendly way and replied, "You might say I used to be a witch. Not practicing any more."

"Ah, I see. I used to be Christian, not practicing anymore either."

She looked at me and smiled, "So you woke up and found something better?"

"Hmm. I woke up, yeah, but still looking for something better."

"Same here." She closed the book and patted it. "Since I left the practice, I realized how strict and dogmatic these books are, which reflects Wicca in general. But then that's why I left. Too many rules. I like the deeper philosophy involved, but not the politics and shit. It was all very appealing in the beginning, then the glamour wore off when they expected too much of me."

I nodded. "I've only met a few Wiccans before, and they seemed like fascinating people, but I've never met an ex-Wiccan. I bet I can learn a lot about Wicca from you."

She chuckled, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not any kind of teacher. I was just a groupie in the group, and the high priestess of our coven expected too much of everyone. For instance, you can't just blithely buy store-bought material, like candles or herbs and Tarot cards or incense and so forth. Any kind of witch supplies can't be purchased at regular retail stores or anyplace in fact. You have to make your own stuff from scratch, all homemade, like going back to nature. You grow your own herbs, make your own candles, like from beeswax, mix and make your own potions, and so on. There're very strict rules on all this."

"Hmm. You make your own Tarot cards?" I snickered.

She giggled. "A few people actually have. They drew them and colored them themselves. Those types are die-hard fanatics. But normally you'll see old decks handed down from person to person. So you're supposed to accept an old passed down deck from someone else, another coven member."

"I see. But somewhere down the line someone had to have bought that deck, like from at a New Age bookstore or something."

She laughed, "Exactly! So somebody broke the rules!"

"Haven't we all? Usually you don't know there are rules until you break them. That's been my experience, usually job-related, of course."

"Hey, I'm Cindy Benson."

I was about to say Bert Green, then I had this wild hair notion to say, "Just call me Starky."

"Starky. Okay."

"Actually, that's my handle, I'm a writer. So lately more and more people have been calling me Starky."

Nodding and smiling, she said, "Starky. I like that. I've got a handle too. Jezz. Friends call me Jezz all the time."

"So, should I call you Jezz? And all the time?" I laughed mildly.

"Yeah, Starky! Sure!"

"Alright, Jezz it is."

She put the witchcraft book on the shelf, no longer interested.

"So what's behind being called Jezz?" I asked.

"Just a crazy name I came up with years ago," she replied. "You see, I work at KZXY Radio in Apple Valley, where I live by the way, and I have a two hour spot in the evening, I'm a co-host actually, so it's the Jezz and Jennifer Show we call it."

"That's cool. I'll have to listen to it."

"You'll find KZXY-FM at 102.3 on the dial. Basically Jennifer and I play a lot of alternative rock 'n roll at our given time slot, 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and we're just goofy and tell crazy stories and jokes in between."

"Sounds like you have a fun job."

"What about you?" Jezz asked with a smile.

"I work at the Mulvern Daily Press," I told her, not smiling about it.

"That's right, you said you're a writer."

"Well, I just moonlight as a news writer to get a little cash in my pocket. My real vocation is being a freelance author. I write stories and articles for various mediums. And I have a couple of blogs." So I told her about my blogs and my website in general and other authorly items. But Jezz was fascinated and said she would go to my site and check it out soon.

Entry #0014: More on Jezz the Ex-Witch

After a while, Jezz asked me, "So do you live around here somewhere?"

I replied, "I live near Mulvern in the Valley, up the south slope a few miles. You see, I lived in Mulvern as a teenager, then left and moved around several years, like I lived in Wichita, Ks, for ten years, then back to California for a spell, then I settled in Sioux Falls, SD, for a while, then moved back to the Mulvern area."

She looked wide-eyed and surprised, and exclaimed "Oh my God! What a coincidence! I used to live in Wichita too!"

"No shit! How cool is that?"

"Several years ago I moved there to be with my sister for a little while, but I've only been back here in the desert a few years. Most of my family is here."

Then my eyes caught sight of a particular book. I pulled it out and we both looked at the title: The Science of Synchronicity.

"Yikes!" I beamed. "This is weird"

"According to this, it's a moment of synchronicity," she smiled.

"Pretty freaky. So, we both lived in Wichita for a while, then we both end up here. Scary!"

"Usually when you experience synchronicity like this, it means you're usually being directed somewhere, or that you're already on the right path."

"Apparently we're on the right path."

"Often it may indicate if two people are supposed to be brought together for some reason."

"That makes sense." Then something occurred to me, so I felt that I had better bring it up before we got too far into this new friendship. "Not to spoil anything for us, since things are going so well, but I do have a girlfriend."

"Oh, that's okay, I have a boyfriend. So we're even."

"Good. That's one silly little problem out of the way."

"Besides, there's nothing wrong with a guy and a girl being buddies -- strictly platonic, of course. I've had a few male friends, actually."

"I suppose you could say I knew a couple of ladies I considered to be sisters."

"That's good. Anyway, I think we've got some kind of connection here, and I think this book you're sticking in our faces is hinting that."

"Yeah, plus I've got a feeling I'd better buy it."

So I brought it down by my side, if for anything, to prevent it from jumping back up in our faces again, lest a whole onslaught of synchronicities started assailing us.

In an attempt to change the subject, I mentioned, "I'm also part of a paranormal group, the Mojave Desert Paranormal Society."

Jezz made that wide-eyed surprise expression again. "Really? Wow! I was part of that group about two years ago!"

"Seriously? We can't get enough of these synchronicities!"

"This is weird."

"No shit. But how come you left?"

"At the time too many things were happening in my life, new job, new boyfriend, stuff like that. I didn't have time."

"Maybe you could join again."

"I don't know. I have a thing about groups, ever since my Wicca experience. I'm more of a solitaire, a non-joiner."

"I see." Then I said half jokingly, "But if this is an instance of synchronicity, and if you don't join, does that break some kind of cosmic flow, or inflict karma on you, and it could mean you'll be going down the wrong path?"

She laughed, "I don't think so. The only connection I'm seeing is that maybe we're meant to be friends, for whatever reason. Maybe we knew each other in a past life."

I nodded, "I already had a feeling about that. Let's just hope your boyfriend and my girlfriend don't misunderstand and get all jealous about it."

She giggled, "We'll have to tread lightly when we bring it up to them."

She had to leave, get groceries and such, so we swapped phone numbers, and parted company. I bought the synchronicity book, then drove over to the main building of the Mall. I browsed around, did some window shopping, then I found a little ice cream shop, had a strawberry Sundae with hot fudge while browsing through the volume, then I left the Mall, heading back home.