A Serenade for the Living, Dead, and Mother Nature

                                                          

I’ve posted about the many events offered at the Laurel Hill Cemetery way too many times to count. I guess you can say that I am a big fan of this Historic Philadelphia Gem near to the Zoo and you would be right on target. My friend and I volunteer whenever I’m not busy doing a book signing, psychic reading or ghost investigation. I love this place that much.

                                                       

This past Friday, Rita and I headed over the bridge and to the cemetery to see the Divine Hand Ensemble. This is about the fourth year that I’ve been fortunate to see these amazing performers. The Divine Hand Ensemble consists of Mano Divina Giannone who plays the Theremin, Monique Canniere who does vocals and violin, Julie Myers who does vocals and violin, Brit Walmsley who does vocals and violin, Hannah Richards on the Viola, Jonathan Salmon on the Cello, Gloria Galante on the Harp, Mary Kelso Bryson on the Harp and Randall Rudolph on vibes and percussion.

The Ensemble played in front of an ancient mausoleum and the music was a collection of a multitude of styles including funerary, classical, rock, and spiritual. The best part of the show was when the Ensemble performed a David Bowie tune and their rendition of the theme from Edward Scissorhands. I particularly love the Funerary tunes.

                                                                

While the music played and the bats flew overhead, I was watching a female ghost along with the several spirit children who stood at her side. I’ve seen this spirit before. She usually stays close to the old tree to the left of Benson’s mausoleum. The dead really enjoy the activities at the cemetery as much as the living does, but we were not the only ones enjoying the music this past Friday night.

Intermission

The guests and the performers took a thirty minute break, which gave everyone enough time to head to the restrooms and stretch our legs. On the way back from the restroom at the rear gate, Rita and I were surprised to see four young foxes outside their den. These animals were not frightened by the small crowd that gathered to watch them play out in the open. The crowd stood silently as the foxes chased each other or investigated their admirers from a safe distance. I was even able to film one of the more playful of the foxes.

                                                          

I didn’t think the magical evening could get any better, but it did. Monique Canniere was kind enough to serenade the foxes with her violin and beautiful voice. The human onlookers were not the only ones mesmerized by the spiritual connection between beauty and beast. Music is the communication between all living things.

                                                            

Conclusion

Cemeteries are not only for the human vessels left behind by souls. Cemeteries are home for the many creatures in nature. Laurel Hill offers nature walks in their long list of events. Become a member! Volunteer! Help keep the cemetery vibrant for the dead and the living...the foxes will thank you.

                                                              

Life with Fred & Lucy, Part 22: Batty

                                                          

                                                                   

My cousin Annie, on my mother’s side, reminded me of an incident with her brother Dennis when he had stayed at our house. My father was in the hospital recovery from surgery and Mom had asked her sister, Ann if Dennis could come down and help in the store.                                                                          

                                                                  

                                                                       

My Aunt Ann had five children, starting with Dennis the eldest and only boy, Annie, Susie and twins Gracie and Gladys. I loved whenever my cousins would visit us. We got into a lot of adventures together. They learned about life in the big city and when we visited their home, we experienced the wonderful world of nature. Bugs did not scare my cousins, but we city kids ran for cover.
                                                                        

                                                                     
cousins Gladys, Gracie, Aunt Ann, Susie, Anna with me
                                                                                                                                   

My Aunt Ann lived in New Gretna, New Jersey, and to us city dwellers, this was considered the middle of nowhere, hick town, and the big scary Pinelands. Goes to show you how much we knew. My mother was afraid of nature in general so anything not covered in tar and cement was too wild for her to visit.

                                                                                                                                  

Mom would occasionally allow us to spend a few days with my aunt and cousins at their home, but most of the time, my cousins visited us. Now that I’m older, I wish we would have visited their home more often, because I feel we missed out on a lot of fun with our cousins… anyway, my older cousin, Dennis, spent the week with us, helping my mom run the grocery store. He also handled the heavy stock boxes and whatever else needed to be done.

                                                                                                                                       

It was summer and we slept with the windows open. We had window screens but, my brother poked holes into most of the screens. When asked about this, he told my mother that it was a science experiment. Michael did a lot of science experiments and there were holes in most of our walls. He loved playing pirate and was looking for gold…he never found any.

                                                                       

                                                                Brother Michael
Now before I go further with this story, you have to understand that in South Philly during the late 50’s, there weren't that many  trees for blocks and blocks. Our version of wildlife was squirrels, pigeons and the occasional sewer rat scampering along the curb whenever the streets were dug up for one reason or another.
One night, as my sisters and I were settling in, we heard flapping and squeaking sounds. What the heck? I switched on the overhead lights and saw this big dark shape flying around the bedroom. We had never seen anything like it…except in horror movies. It was a vampire and it was in our bedroom. All hell broke loose.

                                                                 

 

My sisters and I began screaming that a vampire was in our room. My mother, groggy from sleep, realized what it was and tried to cover our heads. “Don’t let it get in your hair,” mom screamed as she pulled a pillow case over her head and tried to do the same with us.

                                                                       

Dennis and my brother Michael ran into our bedroom when they heard the commotion. But, after the initial fright, my sisters and I pulled off the pillow cases. We watched as Dennis captured the bat with one of the sheets from our bed. All this time, my mother was still screaming for us to cover our heads.

Dennis finally caught the bat in the sheets, carried it out the front door and released the poor thing. When he returned to our bedroom, there was blood on his hand. He had been bitten during the rescue. My mother cleaned the wound and wrapped the hand in bandages. She never bothered to take Dennis to the hospital, which I thought was strange.

                                                                       

Needless to say, my siblings and me believed that Dennis would turn into a vampire because he was bitten. That whole week he stayed with us, I would sneak up on him with a mirror to see if he had a reflection. Jane took to wearing a cross around her neck. Michael hung fresh garlic around his bed, and little Lucy poured holy water into Dennis's soup, waiting to see if he would burst into flames

                                                       

In the end it all turned out well. Luckily for Cousin Dennis, the bat did not have rabies and Dennis never became a creature of the night, but... I'm not sure the Bat survived its encounter with the crazy humans living on Porter Street. 

A Special Way to Celebrate an Anniversary

                                                                          

My husband and I just celebrated our Anniversary this past week. Thirty-three years and we’re still talking to each other. Only kiddingJ

                                                                               

We wanted to do something special and because the weather was cooler, we headed to one of our favorite spots, Palmyra Cove.

Palmyra Cove Nature Park is 250 acres of sanctuary for migrating birds and other species in a highly developed area near to the Delaware River. They have a great education program and offer opportunities to volunteer or become a member. Make sure you check this gem out and go visit.

                                                                         

My husband and I picked a trail on the map supplied by the main office and away we went. Our trail sometimes took us close to the river and then back towards the woods.

We saw many deer, but they were always a little too far for us to get a clear shot.

                                                                       

When we saw this fellow, I began to sing a song, don’t know why for sure. I think I was trying to let the deer know we meant no harm.

                                                                
You can see that the animal unlike the rest of my family, doesn’t mind my singing and actually stayed long enough for me to finish my song and get this shot.

                                                                            

We came upon some wild turkeys as we were heading back to the Park Center and my husband asked, “Are you going to sing to them too?”

                                                                          

Don’t laugh, I did and guess what? They must have liked my singing too because more turkeys arrived.

                                                                        

After walking at the Cove for two hours we were ready for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.