THE GHOST MY CAT VISITED WITH EVERY NIGHT - SOCIALLY

MESSING AROUND IN MY ARCHIVES - YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT POP UP

     I'M GOING A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER FROM MY ORIGINAL PLAN. I'M IN ONE OF THOSE SELF-IMPOSED TECHNOLOGY JUNKETS NOW, WITH A NEW LAPTOP, AND MY FIRST TWO DAYS OF IN-SHOP WRITING. WHEN WE OPENED THE ANTIQUE WING OF OUR PRESENT GRAVENHURST ANTIQUE STORE, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, I WROTE DAILY IN THE BACK OF THE SHOP FOR MOST OF THE SUMMER, UNTIL ONE DAY, WELL SIR, I KILLED THE LAPTOP. THIS WAS ANDREW'S AND I'VE FELT TERRIBLE EVER SINCE. SO WE BOUGHT HIM ANOTHER ONE, AND SUZANNE PICKED UP ONE FOR HER BUSINESS. I HAVE BEEN BEGGING FOR ANOTHER CHANCE, TO USE THE LAPTOP AT THE SHOP......IN BETWEEN ASSIGNMENTS. I'M IN CHARGE OF HUNTING AND GATHERING, IN STORE ACQUISITIONS, PUBLIC RELATIONS, SHIPPING AND HANDLING, AND OCCASIONALLY FEATHER-DUSTING OUR INVENTORY. SUZANNE IS THE CLERK AND INTERIOR DECORATOR. SO BETWEEN CUSTOMER REQUESTS, AND HAULING PURCHASES TO VEHICLES PARKED A COUPLE OF BLOCKS AWAY, I HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO WRITE MY COLUMNS AND BLOGS IN ADVANCE. I ENJOYED IT LAST YEAR BUT NO ONE ELSE WOULD TRUST ME WITH THEIR LAPTOPS. SO I'VE BEEN COMING HOME TO WRITE THE BLOGS, WHICH MEANS I COULD STILL BE WRITING AT NINE AT NIGHT; AND FALLING SOUND ASLEEP ONTO THE KEYBOARD. THIS SUMMER, BOY OH BOY, WE'VE ALL BEEN COMING HOME EXHAUSTED AND IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO STAY ORIGINAL EACH DAY, WITHOUT SOME MINOR RELIANCE ON MY ARCHIVES.

     SO I'VE HAD TWO GOOD MORNINGS OF BLOG PREPARATION, IN A GREAT SPOT IN THE MUSIC STUDIO, AND THUS FAR, I HAVEN'T DAMAGED THE KEYBOARD WHICH IS USUALLY MY DOWNFALL. I LEARNED TO TYPE ON AN OLD UNDERWOOD, AND USED MANUAL TYPEWRITERS, LIKE A WIDE RANGE OF SMITH-CORONAS, FOR ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. WHEN I WAS FORCED TO GO ELECTRONIC, AND WAS GIVEN WORD PROCESSORS AND DESKTOP COMPUTERS, MY TYPING FORCE WAS SO GREAT, IT DAMAGED THE SENSITIVE ELECTRONICS BELOW. THIS IS WHAT THEY TELL ME, AND I SORT OF AGREE. I WAS TOLD MY TYPING WAS FAR TOO AGGRESSIVE FOR THE COMPUTER, CELL PHONE ERA......AND IF I WANTED TO USE EITHER, I WOULD HAVE TO GET SOME SENSITIVITY TRAINING.......TO LIGHTEN UP THE TOUCH.

     FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS I'VE BEEN WRITING COLUMNS FOR SEVERAL ONTARIO PUBLICATIONS, AND TRYING TO WRITE SOME BLOGS IN ADVANCE, TO CUT DOWN ON MY LATE NIGHTS STARING AT THIS INFERNAL WHITE SCREEN. I'M MUCH KINDER TO THE KEYBOARD, AND I'VE ONLY LOST MY WORK TWICE, AND THAT WAS WHILE WORKING ON THE SAME COLUMN. NOW I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO SAVE THE COPY EVERY FEW PARAGRAPHS.

      SO I WROTE A FEW PARAGRAPHS, AS AN OVERVIEW, TO A BLOG I WANTED TO RUN FIRST, BEFORE THE PHOTOGRAPH TODAY, OF MY OLD CAT "ANIMAL" SITTING IN THE DOORWAY OF MY APARTMENT, AT THE OLD MAIN STREET HOME, OF DR. PETER MCGIBBON AND HIS WIFE MABEL. SO I'VE GOT IT REVERSED, IN PART, BECAUSE I HAVE TODAY'S WORK ON A "STICK" OF SOME KIND, OR AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL IT, AND ROB HAS IT IN A COFFEE SHOP SOMEWHERE IN TOWN AS I APPROACH DEADLINE. SO I DECIDED TO RUN THE PHOTO AND DESCRIPTION FIRST, AND PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT MY APARTMENT IN TOMORROW'S BLOG.

     I'M SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION OVER THE LAST LITTLE WHILE, AS I ONCE AGAIN, TRY TO HOOK UP AND BE PRODUCTIVE, IN THIS HIGH TECH AGE. IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T LIKE COMPUTERS, FOLKS......JUST THAT I'M KIND OF CURSED IN REGARDS TO ELECTRONICS. WHY IS THIS? POWER OF SUGGESTION, POSSIBLY.

     IT SORT OF HAPPENED WHEN I ATTENDED A PROTEST AT THE WHATA FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITY, NEAR BALA, BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S I BELIEVE. I WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING BACK PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ROAD BLOCKADE, AND THE RESIDENTS JOINING THE PROTEST. I HAD NO IDEA OF THE RULES OF CONDUCT, SO I BEGAN GRABBING PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES AROUND THE COMMUNITY CENTRE, INCLUDING WHAT WAS CALLED, BY THOSE SITTING AROUND ITS FLAMES, "A CEREMONIAL FIRE."

     AFTER I HAD SHOT CLOSE TO A ROLL OF FILM FOR THE NEWSPAPER, A NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE LEFT FIRESIDE AND ENCIRCLED ME.......FOR THEN, REASONS UNKNOWN. ONE OF THE YOUNG MEN INFORMED ME THAT I WAS NOT PERMITTED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE CEREMONIAL FIRE......REGARDLESS, AND THAT THEY COULD WELL INSIST I TURN OVER MY FILM. BEING A VETERAN REPORTER, I ANTICIPATED A WEE BIT OF TROUBLE IF I TRIED TO BREAK THROUGH THE GROUP, WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE ISSUE AT HAND. I SAID THAT I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS A PROTOCOL MATTER, AND I HADN'T MEANT ANY INSULT BY TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPHS. I GUARANTEED THEM THAT I WOULD NOT PUBLISH ANY OF THESE IMAGES, EXCEPT FOR ONES OF THE ACTUAL BLOCKADE UP ON THE MAIN ROAD. THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GROUP TOLD ME THEY WOULDN'T TURN OUT ANYWAY. I DID A DOUBLE-TAKE ON THIS ONE, BUT KEPT THE PEACE.....WHICH MEANT FOR AN ARGUMENTATIVE GUY LIKE ME.......SHUTTING MY MOUTH. THE LAD ALSO INFORMED ME, THAT I COULD HAVE CAUSED MYSELF SOME EXTRA TROUBLE AS WELL, AS MY CONTRAVENTION MIGHT EVEN CAUSE ME TO HAVE "ELECTRONIC" PROBLEMS AS WELL. I MIGHT HAVE REFUTED IT BUT THIS DIDN'T SEEM TO BE THE TIME TO DO SO. 

     THEY GAVE ME AN OPENING TO WALK BACK TO MY CAR, AND HONESTLY, I NEVER LOOKED BACK, JUST IN CASE THAT WAS FORBIDDEN AS WELL. LOTS OF PHOTO JOURNALISTS RUN INTO SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, AND WE OFTEN HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE EXCESSES OF OUR NEWS ASSOCIATES, WHO AREN'T SO CONGENIAL. THE RESIDENTS MEANT ME NO HARM, AND POLITELY ASKED ME TO CEASE AND DESIST TAKING PICTURES OF A SACRED FIRE. I COMPLIED. JUST A LITTLE LATE. I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, MY CHIN HIT MY CHEST, WHEN MY DARKROOM TECHNICIAN TOLD ME THE SHOTS DIDN'T TURN OUT. JUST THE ONES OF THE BLOCKADE, AND THE FEW IMAGES OF THE SIGN PAINTERS. I STUDIED THOSE NEGATIVES FOR AN HOUR, AND THE BEST IMAGE I COULD PULL FROM THE MULTIPLE FRAMES, WERE SO BLURRED, THEY WERE A WRITE-OFF. I WOULDN'T HAVE USED THEM ANYWAY, BUT I JUST NEEDED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY TRUTH TO WHAT THEY WERE TELLING ME.

     NOW I CAN'T POSSIBLY BLAME MY ELECTRONICS PROBLEMS ON THE IMAGES TAKEN OF THAT CEREMONIAL FIRE, THAT FATEFUL DAY, BUT BY GOLLY, THE FAILURES BEGAN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER; AND HAVE NEVER SUBSIDED SINCE. IT'S A LITTLE WEAKER NOW, BUT AT ONE POINT, OUR CAR WOULD ACTUALLY TURN ITSELF OFF AT SIXTY MILES AN HOUR, WHICH MADE FOR INTERESTING DRIVING. EVEN WHEN WE TOOK IT IN FOR COMPUTER MONITORING, IT WOULD SHUT-OFF AND LEAVE NO TRACE AS TO WHY. WE FINALLY JUST GOT RID OF THE CAR BECAUSE NO ONE COULD FIX IT.  AS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES, LIKE TYPEWRITERS, WORD PROCESSORS AND COMPUTERS, I'VE HAD A PLETHORA OF ISSUES FEW HAVE BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND....EXCEPT FOR THE FINGER PRESSURE ISSUE. SO FOLKS, WHEN I SAY I'VE HAD SOME BLIPS WITH MY COMPUTER RELATIONSHIP, AFFECTING MY ABILITY TO PUBLISH, I'M NOT KIDDING. DO I BELIEVE IT WAS THE RESULT OF TAKING A PICTURE OF THE CEREMONIAL FIRE ON THAT DAY? THE RATIONAL TED SAYS "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" THE SUPERSTITIOUS NINETY PERCENT, OF THE REST OF MY MIND AND BODY, SAYS, "I'M NOT SURE BUT THERE CERTAINLY IS REASON TO DOUBT A LOT OF THINGS THESE DAYS."

     BOTTOM LINE. I DO NOT TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF CEREMONIAL FIRES WHEREVER THEY MIGHT BE SITUATED.

     SO HERE IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF MY STORY ABOUT MY MCGIBBON HOUSE CAT, "ANIMAL," AND HIS NIGHTLY VIGIL BENEATH A DOOR FRAME.

     THERE IS A HALF CIRCLE VAPOR VISIBLE ABOVE THE DOOR FRAME.

PICTURE OF A GHOST?

Is this a photograph of a ghost? A half of an orb? It was taken at the former McGibbon House, on Manitoba Street, in Bracebridge, Ontario. (It was torn down a number of years ago). You can read more about the ghost(s) of McGibbon House by referencing back in this collection of blog entries. The black and white image above was one frame of dozens taken with a motor-wind on my news-issue 35mm camera back in the early 1980's. But it was the only frame showing the arc of mist just above and overlapping the door frame itself. It was taken of a doorway into a small hall, where every night at about the same time my cat "Animal" would jump off the small sofa, and stare up at the kitchen wall.

After many months of this happening, and not being able to figure out what was attracting the cat’s attention, I set myself up this particular evening, with a camera, flash and some patience. Within only minutes of my setting up, Animal jumped down and wandered toward the open door, sitting beside the old rocking chair, and on cue looking up. If you see the cat, follow its glance upwards and you will see the misty and curved vapor on the door frame itself. If you draw a line from the cat’s nose to the vapor it’s not far fetched at all to believe this was the object of its curiosity.

I remember shooting about a full roll of 24 frames on this occasion but when my photo technician processed the film the next day, there was only one frame that contained this peculiar half ring of mist. It was determined not to be a light flare or lens flaw as all the other photographs taken with that same camera and lens were perfect......even the ones shot at the same time from the same position.

The event only ever lasted a few moments and just as I was scrambling in my camera bag for another roll of film, Animal had turned and trotted back to the couch to resume his cat-nap. The same thing happened many more nights that year and Animal reacted the same each time. What is curious, if you cross reference stories about the McGibbon homestead, is that my first major paranormal encounter in the house, was experienced on the back stairs several years earlier, just a few feet from where this photograph was taken. I went through the back door into a dark stairway one night, after working at my typewriter in the attic office, and was preparing to head down one more flight of stairs to a lower apartment,.....when without any warning, I walked into a literal wall of damp, chilled, blinding white vapor......contrasted so starkly from the blackness on this second floor landing. It was quite an experience and is detailed in the larger story about the McGibbon House. I suppose this vapor could have been a repeat performance in a very haunted back section of an historic Bracebridge house. Only Animal knew for sure.