The Skeptic

To date, I've told you about my mom's poodle, my brother, my dad, myself and my son. I've mentioned my husband. He is the ultimate skeptic who moves back and forth between belief and outright disbelief. He has no qualms telling me I'm imagining things or that I'm crazy. Then when something happens he can't deny or explain he just shrugs and says, "that's weird." So I thought I would tell you a bit about a couple things he says, "that's weird" about. These are not anecdotes, but things I witnessed or was involved with first hand, from my perspective.

My hubby and I met in the military. We lived in base housing for the first 3 years of our marriage. The base housing dated back to the early 40's. Our barracks and our squadron dated from pre-WWII era. While we were still dating, we both lived in the Barracks. He lived on the 3rd floor and I on the 1st. We'd usually meet in the 1st floor lounge. I'd cook dinner for us and we'd hang out and watch television most nights. I didn't drink and he was a 'hidden' alcoholic. Hidden as in I didn't have a clue until after we were married.

One Tuesday night, I pulled barracks watch. We had a big sortie planned the next day so everyone was in their racks except me. I really didn't care for wandering an old dark barracks in the dead of night, but it wasn't too bad. The occasional shadow person, sometimes a scurrying not-quite-corporeal thing sliding along the walls, once in a while a full torso in old uniform moving along, nothing to get alarmed about. Respectful avoidance. There was no interaction between them and me, just awareness and avoidance.

That night, I was doing my wandering patrol on the second floor and heard a low startled sounding shout coming from the floor above. I hurried up there thinking someone had fallen or something. Nobody in the hall and the shower/bathroom were quiet and dark. I looked around a bit more, nothing. I shrugged it off, and being a woman of opportunity, took the chance to slip a flirty note under my boyfriend (hubby's) door. It shocked the hell out of me when the note was yanked from my fingertips as I slid it under the door, then it pushed back out and skittered all the way across the hall to bounce off the opposite wall.

I picked it up and put it in my pocket. If he didn't want my note then fine, he could piss off. I turned and went back down the hall - and ran into my hubby/boyfriend. He gave me a look that was half ego half irritation. "Want to see me so bad you couldn't wait?"

"What?" I was still processing what had happened. I mean if HE wasn't in his room who the heck was?

"I was just getting the rubbers. I left them in my car. You said to meet you by the geedunk right?" When I didn't answer he shrugged "Kinda hard to hear with you whispering. And yeah, you're not supposed to use the master, even if it's to get laid." He kind of gave me a playfully lecherous once over. "Don't worry I won't report you."

I was still processing. All the rooms had their own keycode pad, but there was a master key that released any of the rooms in the barracks. The watch had the key, but to use it without CO permission was risking Captain's Mast. I'd never do that.

"I didn't... Jerry, you have to be up in a couple hours. I wouldn't wake you when you have to work on the birds." I kind of blinked myself back. "So who the hell is in your room?"

It was Jerry's turn to look confused. "Nobody. I told you I went out to get the rubbers."

I told him about the note and what happened. He laughed and called me crazy. I handed him the note to prove it. He went back to his room and shoved it under the door. We waited a second and when it stayed, he shrugged like that was that, hugged me, groped my butt, and told me to enjoy my watch, he was going to get some sleep. I told him that he needed to open the door and prove there wasn't anyone inside - not because I am some kind of jealous girlfriend, but because if he was being honest and he hadn't been inside, and he didn't KNOW someone was inside, then as watch, I had a potential intruder. (you believe that right?)

He laughed at me again, but didn't argue. I think he thought he was going to get lucky if I went in his room. When he reached out to key in his code, the folded note shot out from beneath the door and pinged into the wall across the hall. Jerry jumped about a foot and did something that equally warms and pisses me off to this day, he instantly shoved me back behind him. I was freaking armed and he is shielding me? Really? *coughs I digress.*

Jerry opened the door and shoved it wide, his other hand reaching for the light switch at the same time. Nothing, nada, empty. At least at first glance. He looked under the bed, behind the radiator, dresser and bedside table. Nothing. For some reason Jerry kept returning to the corner opposite the window where a small dresser sat. He said he thought he saw something, a rat or something, run over there but I'm not sure if he recognized something on a conscious level. I did. Overlaying the dresser was a shadow that did not belong in that room. Tall, thin, with disproportionately long arms and legs, a shadow person watched us. I got the impression of amusement, a kind of wicked, gotcha playfulness. No feeling of evil though,

Jerry saw the 'rat' several times and always when something mischievous happened. Strangely no rat or mouse was caught in his room though.

***

I did promise more than one incident. Let's skip forward several years - 15 to be exact. My husband is an only child and was raised in a household of himself, his mother and his maternal grandmother. His mother was an addict and didn't have a lot to do with him, so his grandmother was more of a mother to him than his mom.

I want to make this clear, I did not like her in the slightest. She was one of those people who covered their mean words and intent with pseudo niceness and christian values. She was a racist bigot who would call someone she never met a name based solely on the color of their skin or what state/city they lived in or were born in. She would attribute character traits on that person for the same reasons. For all those faults, she gave Jerry parental stability - I gave her respect for that.

She passed away at the age of 84. Jerry was devastated. He would get his alcohol and go to the cemetery and visit with her 2 to 3 times a week and when he woke up in the morning he'd be full of the 'dream' or 'hallucination' conversation he had with his grandma.

I would have to go to the cemetery to pick him up because I refused to let him drink and drive. One day, on a day I knew he'd go to her grave, I went early. I wanted to catch him before he started drinking, I wanted to stop him and make him see what was happening to him. Grief and depression were dropping him deeper into his own addictions and it was hurting everyone he touched.

As I waited, I didn't really have a sense of anything large paranormal around, just a sense of rest, peace. There were flutters and shadows, but they were normal for me to see, nothing with intent or interest in me. At some point during the half hour I waited, I began to talk to her. I'm not sure why, it just seemed to start. I said hello and it went from there. By the time my husband arrived, I'd explained why I was there, what was happening, and my fears. At some point, and I don't know when, I began to feel like she was there, listening, although it was such a gradual realization, that I didn't acknowledge it until Jerry arrived.

Jerry was already mostly trashed when he got there so it wasn't hard to talk him into just leaving the flowers he'd brought and get him to go home and sleep it off. That is not what happened. When we got home, I sent the kids to their rooms to do their homework, while I fix dinner, and Jerry, instead of passing out, sat on the couch. I went to the kitchen, and after putting the meat in the microwave to defrost I returned to the livingroom to find him staring at our rocker glider. I noticed it was moving slightly and then I saw the odd... Shimmer.

Jerry gave me his sloppy drunk smile. "Grandma can't stay to supper, but she said she needs to talk to me."

I carefully sat on the opposite end of the couch. "Oookay." What followed was a one sided conversation where my husband broke down, admitting he was an alcoholic, shared his feelings about his mom's addictions, something about someone named Alan (later learned bio-dad as Jerry is adopted) and that he didn't understand why he drank. I also learned about Family members long dead who had issues (that had never been discussed). "Sofia's dad drank?" Was just one part. Basically what I got out of it was that Jerry came from at least 4 generations of addicts (alcohol and drugs). Jerry passed out and when he woke several hours later, he said it was a helluva dream/hallucination, then he said that he was going to see about counselling for his drinking. When I told him about the family stuff that I'd picked up on from his hallucination/dream all he says is 'that's weird.' He refuses to even think it was an intervention even though the information has been verified.

Not going to lie, it's been an uphill battle and my husband has been known to make fun of his recovery "Alanon is for quitters and I'm not a quitter." Right now he is dry... And we will keep trying. I'm just glad his grandma was able to help... Even if she had to come back to do it.