This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Prediction

           My friend Fred often spoke of Vernon for many years before I actually met him.  Vernon and I attended the same high school for three years, but I never actually saw him until the end of my senior year in 1969. 

          We were introduced by Fred in the school parking lot where we were admiring Vernon's car.  Vernon had already been working for a couple years at the rope factory where his parents had both worked since they were young.  He had paid for the car on his own and was quite proud of it.  I liked Vernon from that meeting, but I had liked Vernon even before we met just from the way Fred used to talk about him.

        After graduation, Vernon traded his car in for a new red 1969 Firebird.  The car was sharp and sporty and was admired by all who caught sight of it.  During that first summer after high school Vernon started coming over to visit my house quite frequently.  He actually had a crush on my younger sister, Joy, and was coming with hopes of being around her.  But I didn't mind since we were friends and he would end up spending time with me.

         He was working the rope factory job that would become his career for the next forty odd years.  I was working at a construction company for the summer in order to make money to go to college come fall.  On the weekends we would stay up late with not much to do.  We'd cruise the main street of Maryville and circle the A and W Drive-in on one end of town and then circle the Dwarf Drive-in on the other end, repeating the ritual for as long as the evening would allow.

          We'd spend a few hours cruising and then when everything would close up, we'd go over to my parents' house to hang out.  Since Joy would be there, Vernon was happy to come over and spend some time in hopes of seeing her.  We were usually bored since there was not much of any place to go after eleven at night.

          Sometimes we'd just lay out on the blacktop street where heat of the sun had been stored during the day.  There were rarely cars that passed at night so we didn't worry about getting run over.  Or we might just sit in the driveway that led to the carport.  We'd talk about whatever we could think of and wish there was someplace to go.  Sleep was not on the agenda.

            One particular night I recall that we were in the basement recreation room of our house.  We had decided to become psychic.  Or at least try.  We played mind games and tried to see visions.  If we would have had a Ouija board we would have done that, but we didn't have one.

            Then Vernon told us that he could predict the future.  I don't recall what he predicted for Joy, but I recall what he told me.  When he made the prediction, he closed his eyes and he made it with such an air of authority that I believed what he said.   I questioned how he knew and he replied, "I just know these things," and I didn't have a  reason to doubt him.

           That night he predicted two things for me.  First, he said that of all of our friends that I would be the only one to go into space.  He claimed that he had seen this clearly in his vision.  Then, he said he saw me in a distant future where I was living in California with a somewhat short dark haired woman who seemed to be older than I.   These predictions stayed with me.

             In 1982, when I was visiting Toronto, I went to the CN Tower one night for dinner.  While there I went through an amusement attraction that simulated a tour through space.  I marveled at how real the simulation was and how it seemed like I really was in space.  Then I recalled Vernon's first prediction.  Could this have been something that ten years previously he had really seen me doing?

            Then in 1991, I moved to California.  I had not previously given any thought to ever moving to California, but then a job opportunity came and I took it.   My wife at that time was a somewhat short dark haired woman.  We got divorced the following year.   However, a few years later I got remarried and this woman was also short and dark haired.  We've been happily married for thirteen years now.  Both of these women are younger than I am, but they seemed older to me.  Perhaps Vernon had seen one of these women in his vision and likewise thought that she appeared to be older than me.

            What did Vernon really see?   Was he just goofing off and pretending?  I've asked him about it in recent years and he doesn't remember that night.  But he still says in his sly way, "I know these things."   His prediction stayed with me all these years and it is a bit uncanny that he described pictures from his imagination like I would actually see them one day.

              Do you think we can sometimes see visions of the future?    Have you ever had someone make a prediction about you that came to pass?   Have you ever made a prediction that actually came true?   Where do you suppose a prediction like this comes from?

30 comments:

  1. That is a little freaky, I must admit. Perhaps he was just making things up, or perhaps he really saw something. Interestingly I just saw a quote by Lewis Carroll: "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward." I suppose the idea of "remembering" the future wasn't all that foreign to him...

    I've had my palm read once. I was ten or so, and at the time it was very "in" for young girls to write the name of the boy they had a crush on in their hand (perhaps young girls still do this, I don't know). I had of course a crush on a boy in my class, and so his initials were written in a heart in my hand. The palm reader told me she could "see" that there was someone "special" in my life, and that we would share a bond forever or something to that effect.

    Only later it occurred to me that she wasn't reading my palm, she was reading ON my palm. The boy in question remained a distant crush for years, and these days we are estranged acquaintances. I suppose that is a "bond" of sorts too...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I read my tarot cards and that of my friends (if they want) and work mates. So far they've yet to be wrong :) Is this seeing into the future? I think it more has to do with time just being a human conception. I feel the tarot cards are an easy tool for people to use to get past that. I don't shuffle the cards they do, I just lay them out and I use a book for the correct descriptions - it is just a hobby after all, but still they are bang on. Every time. It's the one who shuffles who is seeing into the future, not the reader.

    http://damselinadirtydress.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe people can predict what can happen.
    How they can remains a mystery. I was told many years ago I would be living by the sea and my children would have a happier life than city life. I thought no more about it then out of the blue a job oppourtunity came my hisbands' way which meant us from moving from Bristol to Weymouth Dorset on the south coast, my children had a better education, John my youngest son became a pro. soccer player....Though I have moved quite a bit since being widowed I have always moved my the sea.
    Another three prdictions were my doctor told me in 6 months time you're going to be a mother,
    all true......lol
    If somone told me something that was not nice I think it would make me uneasy.
    Thanks for your interesting post.
    Take care.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it's mostly perception and a lucky guess.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Greetings:)

    Very interesting post. I suppose some people have the ability to make some predictions which might become true.Perhaps these predictions stays glued in our minds so firmly that we try to interpret various things that happen to us in terms of the predictions.

    I have seen many people who have made a profession of making predictions and reading the palms.

    There are men and men who walk around the Kochi Marine drive with a book and magnifying glass in their hands. Once a person approached me for reading my palm.I told him that he should read his own palm and become rich instead of reading other people's palm to earn his livelihood.He confessed that he is doing this because he doesn't know any other way of earning a livelihood.

    Another time a man was reading the palm of a young couple in the marine drive.He had assumed that the couple was already married and started making wrong predictions.Finally the couple told the palmist that they were actually students from a nearby engineering college and they have come there to enjoy the cool breeze from the backwaters.Then the man insisted that he should be given some money for the predictions that he has made and collected RS.50 from.The young couple quietly paid the money because they didn't want to make a scene in a crowded place.

    Best wishes:)
    Joseph

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't know about predictions, but I do believe in feelings...the time I worried when I friend went out one night. It just didn't feel right to me. I told him to be careful and when he chuckled at me I responded: "No, I mean tonight be very careful." He mocked me but then appeared at my door the next day in a sling saying: "At least it was only a broken collarbone."

    That's one example of many. So, no, I'm not a believer in predictions, but I'll definitely go with intuition.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Okay--that's weird, but I'm afraid I don't believe in that kind of thing. Maybe if I did my life would be more entertaining. LoL ;-)

    ~JD

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cruella --- Palmreaders and such learn to catch cues and say what we are likely to want to hear. This is the danger of this sort of thing and why some people are easily scammed by fortune tellers. I like the idea of thinking backward--it relates to a novel that I'd put on hold years ago.

    Nicole -- I believe tarot card reading is much like astrological readings. It can be generalized to such an extent that it sounds possible and it's easy to conform the reading to the way we view our lives and our futures.

    Yvonne -- Maybe someone predicting something about one's future helps to makes one more prone to lean in a direction that causes the prediction to come true, either conciously or subconciously. Seems like I've heard a saying about by saying something you can make it happen. Then again anything that happens can probably be related to something that has been said or thought in the past.

    Alex -- I think what you've said is a more direct way of what I said in my previous comment. I think you a probably right.

    Joseph-- I think that like you've observed that people who proclaim these "talents" are for the most part grifters and con artists who have honed the skill of reading people and manipulating them. I'd rather be conned in passing in a public encounter like you saw than to be swindled out of a lot of money because I really believed in someone's psychic abilities.

    Liza -- Intuitions often are good to pay attention to. That sense can be quite mysterious. Guardian angel or protection from God perhaps?

    Justine -- I think it's more entertaining if you don't believe in this sort of thing, but merely accept it as entertainment. I really like eerie movies about psychic phenomena, but I wouldn't want to attune my actual life to be a believer in this sort of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen -- There are many mysteries in the universe. Tuning in to threads of thoughts through time, intuitions, interpreting others--who knows how it works. I believe certain visionary abilities are there to be tapped, but I am wary of anyone who makes claims to be able to do this, especially if they are doing it to take money from other people.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I do believe, we all are intuitive, but a lot of people aren't open to it! I believe your friend; I have had several predictions that have came true. One that freaked my husband out was when we lived in Alaska. The mail usually arrived around between 10-noon! I said, I can't wait to see my pictures. He said,"you think they will arrive today?" I said, "Yes, they will". Okay, I admit you can factor this in with time you mailed them, processing, blah, blah. The mail lady arrives..husband is all smug goes out and gets the mail and shouts, "You are wrong". I said, "No, my pictures are on that vehicle, she has them" so he says, well, hop on your bike and go get them. There is still some snow on the ground...I decide against it. I go down in the basement to start the laundry. I hear a knock at the door; Husband gets it and then hollers, "Witch your pictures are here!"
    2nd one is weird: My Mom's birthday, Hubby has plans with his Dad. My Mom,the kids and I are getting ready to go to this huge "Common Ground Fair". We are all ready, I take the kids for a walk, while we wait for my Mom. I start getting this migraine, really bad. I get back to the house and I tell my Mom we can't go, she said, because of your head. I said, "No there will be a head on collision, we can't go." I take meds, I start to feel better and now guilt sets in..I'm ruining her b-day. She also has intuition, so she doesn't dispute it. She doesn't want to go; We go out to eat, local. We are back home, local news is on. They announce a bus was in a head on collision at 1pm, they were headed to the fair. I look at my family and they are stunned. The post with you was odd, but another one happened yesterday to me. I met a girl online, we are one day, one year apart. We both have a parent that died, same age, there is more...but anyway. Yesterday I did the poem about my Mom; Being Ruby is the blog, go check it out. Guess what my Mom's name is...I had goosebumps! There are more...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Lee, Thanks for the great Vernon story. I do remember him claiming these abilities but I don't remember any of them. Anytime Fred or Vernon are mentioned it brings back great memories of our younger days.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've also been hurled into space via the Toronto CN tower. What a ride! Psychics have been correct about my present circumstances, and the odd time about my future. I have stopped going as I grown more in God's ways. This is a great story, Arlee. Very well written and easily can transpose orally, if you delight in speaking stories in auditoriums.

    ReplyDelete
  13. >>Palmreaders and such learn to catch cues and say what we are likely to want to hear.

    Not all of them. Such blanket generalizations, whether you're talking about Moslems as terrorists or palm readers as frauds, is inaccurate and demeaning.

    I've known many psychics in my life and have written books on the subject, including PSYCHIC POWER from a few years ago. What I've typically found, especially among the better ones, is that the less they know about their clients the better. Once they're given information, their logical minds start to influence or overpower the intuitive side and that taints the reading.

    That said, yes, there are frauds. There are also medical doctors who are frauds, who just push pills, order unnecessary tests, or overcharge patients. But that doesn't mean all doctors are frauds.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is a great story... I've always said that I'm a little psychic. I'll get this weird feeling that something is going to happen or I am going to see someone and it always seems to come true! I went to see a psychic about 2 weeks ago and while I was there she told me that I need to start listening to the feelings I feel because I am a little psychic myself... I knew I was right.

    ReplyDelete
  15. r-LEE-b ~
    Yes, certainly there is some truth to some visions and dreams. The Bible is filled with such examples. These can be considered spiritual gifts, but anyone who is charging money to predict your future et al., is engaged in occult practices. And the Bible also has plenty to say about occult practices.

    What I think is the neatest part of your story is the fact that after all these decades you still have a friendship with Vernon. That's great!

    And I see that your new friends Trish and Rob MacGregor (with their humble and higher vibrational tuning) are unable to let it go. They had to bring their negative evaluation of your viewpoints into this blog bit as well. I've learned through first-hand experience that a lot of really "enlightened" spiritual seekers operating on the higher planes can often be like that. To paraphrase Bob Dylan from his song 'Positively 4th Street': "I used to be among the crowd they're in with", so I know the type well.

    But don't worry, Lee, in some future lifetime, you'll be one of the illuminated ones too, emanating all that white light and stuffs, and then the MacGregors won't be able to speak to you like that anymore.

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

    ReplyDelete
  16. again a story which flows like a river.

    OMG, Vernon predicted you'd go into space? Don't tell me you'll be on that alien mothership I've been wanting to land in my backyard, because I want real aliens not some Californians :)

    I have the power of predicting people's psychological profiles, and my friends say I'd be great in CIA or FBI because what I say about people always prove true later on.
    I also have a power of empathy, which is sometimes good, and sometimes not, because people can bore you with their stories and problems.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ellie -- I do think we all have a sort of 6th sense that works in conjunction with our other senses and our mental capacity. Often I think it boils down to intuitive deduction, but sometimes it's just hard to explain. I have had many strangely coincidental and relational events and encounters in my life that have turned into something quite wonderful at times and foreboding at others.

    Lonnie --Well hello there my old friend! --Or perhaps I should say long time friend since we're not that old. Yes, we both have many old stories, many of which we might not want to tell here while there are others I will still tell one day.

    Lynn-- Thank you for your thoughts. I usually read my blog pieces out loud before I post them because I like to write like I might speak. Maybe someday I'll be telling some of my stories before audiences.

    Trish and Rob -- Welcome back dear fellow bloggers. I enjoy your visits.
    Sometimes I will admit that I do generalize more than I should -- my first wife used to always tell me that, but everybody always trusts everything that I say. :)
    In this case, my generalization is true. All psychics, psychologists, salesmen, and everyone else relies on visual and verbal cues in order to further their ongoing interchange. It's all communication and it subsists on cues which determine the direction of the interchange.
    I don't dispute your experiences and I'm sure your books have been very interesting. All spiritualists, etc may not be dirty scamming frauds, but even if their intents are well meaning doesn't necessarily mean what they are doing is true either. As they say, "seeing is believing", and I just have to say I haven't seen anything myself. But I am pretty certain that there are prophets and people with unigue gifts. As you acknowledge, there are frauds and I wouldn't take anyone just on their saying that they had special powers.

    Emilee -- Did you pay for the psychic? I always think of the line, "If psychics know so much about the future, why don't they buy lottery tickets?" I didn't make that up, it's something I heard a comedian say the other day.

    StMc -- I agree with your assessment of spiritual gifts and that it's pretty neat that Vernon and I have been friends for 40 years.
    I'm happy for Rob and Trish to visit here and have their say. I don't mind some verbal sparring so long as it doesn't get abusively vitriolic. Now if only the Existentialist Cowboy would drop by and add his thoughts I would be surrounded in a peaceful aura of enlightenment.

    Dezmond -- But haven't you heard? California is
    filled with aliens. Problem is they're all here illegally. (rimshot)
    Being a psychologist, do you think that people who practice spiritualism pick up on verbal and non-verbal cues from their subjects in order to come up with readings?
    I too have a strong sense of empathy. People will sometimes seem to seek me out to tell me their stories. If I see someone experience extreme pain I will also experience an empathetic version that will sometimes nearly cause me to pass out.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great post! And yes, I do believe that some people are more open to seeing things that will happen in the future. I've done it many times. One example is when I was driving to work one morning, when I was 25. I kept seeing a vision of my face, wrapped in bandages. It was disturbing, so I blocked it out. Then later when I was driving home, a pick up truck ran a red light and broad-sided my VW bug. Ouch! This happened despite the fact that I was being extra careful because of the vision. I ended up with a broken nose and my face bandaged up! And I could go on and on...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Well, I've never believed in the ability to see the future or communicate with the spirits.

    I'd have been Doubting Thomas if I was an apostle.

    I don't believe God actually answers prayers (by talking to you).

    I am willing to concede the possibility, as I have in many discussions with friends that disagree, that maybe my close-mindedness on such things prevents me from experiencing them.

    But I yam what I yam, and I believe what I believe.

    But if any of these things are possible, I want it to be the one about dreams predicting the future.

    Because there's this one dream I have involving the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, a case of grape wine coolers, Cool Whip and a trampoline that I would not mind seeing come true...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fascinating post Lee! I love to hear your reminiscences.

    There is so much that we do not fully comprehend about "our world" and "alternate universes" that co-exist - according to the laws of physics.

    Yes, I firmly believe it is possible to predict things to come, and yes, I have experienced this.

    I also believe that we can alter outcomes with certain mindsets. We are constantly being given messages from the universe, which translate into choices that we make everyday. These are the thoughts we dwell upon and the outcomes are given to us based on those thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Marguerite-- Thank you for that premonition story. I wonder if there could have been a way to have prevented the accident by understanding what was going to happen or maybe in was just destined to happen no matter what.

    Larry -- Focus on your dreams and you may will them into being. This sounds like a dream with some real possibilities.

    Paula -- Thank you and I appreciate your comments. There is no denying that there is a lot of errant energy all around us. Proper focus may be what is needed to capture that energy and use it for our benefit.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Arlee,
    Funny, I had a 69 Firebird too. It was black and I really wish I still had it! Anyway I do believe that we are capable of seeing visions of the future. Some more than others. And I think it fades as we get older. But I do believe that God has given us many gifts. Foresight being one of them.
    I have had many dreams that have come true, and I always follow strong feelings about things. I wish that I could put it into the right words.
    I believe that God gave us this gift but we don't practice it as we should. It's the only way I can think of to describe it.
    Love Di ♥

    ReplyDelete
  23. Diana -- the 69 Firebird was a classic. I used to love Vernons car. We spent many an hour cruising around town, on the back roads, and in the Great Smokey Mountains which were near the town where we lived. Cruising and listening to his 8 track tape player-- Led Zep, Uriah Heep, Allman Brothers, and so many others. They were great times.
    My wife and her sister believe they have very prophetic dreams. Maybe mine are too, but mostly they just seem really weird.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Lee-

    I'm still laughing!

    All others-far be it from me to tell you what is and is not possible!

    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders-I'm kidding! Remove the restraining order!

    Larry

    Larry

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yes, I have known things before they have happened. Dunno why or where the information comes from. They have however turned out to be remarkably precise in detail.

    ReplyDelete
  26. "Being a psychologist, do you think that people who practice spiritualism pick up on verbal and non-verbal cues from their subjects in order to come up with readings?"

    Depends on the spiritualist himself. There are crooks who use the same system on naive subjects, and thus only stupid people can believe them, but there are also those who can read your verbal and non-verbal cues in order to get the material for manipulation.

    When it comes to empathy, yes, I get what you saying, and I can also feel when someone has an inner problem or suffers emotionally even if I don't generally know the person from before. I guess we pick up the unhappy vibe in their auras or something. Or maybe we are just good in listening and spotting things on people.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Larry -- People will believe what they want to believe I guess. I can't say about the Cheerleaders, but who can resist a trampoline.

    Elizabeth-- It is a mystery about some of these intuitive gifts. You might be more in tune with yours than others.

    Dezmond --Thanks for an assessment from one whom I would deem on the pro level. And I would agreee with you about empathy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. As I went to post a letter to someone on Craiglist through Yahoo, I saw Arlee bird on a list in my mail section. I use live.com now, but I read your story. Good writing.

    Marvin

    ReplyDelete
  29. Marvin -- Thanks -- I just now realized who this was from.

    ReplyDelete

Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
I normally try to respond to all comments in the comment section so please remember to check the "Email follow-up comments" box if you want to participate in the comment conversation.

For Battle of the Bands voting the "Anonymous" commenting option has been made available though this version is the least preferred. If voting using "anonymous" please include in your comment your name (first only is okay) and city you are voting from and the reason you chose the artist you did.

If you know me and want to comment but don't want to do it here, then you can send me an email @ jacksonlee51 at aol dot com.

Lee