Bonus- A Christmas Message for 2020

Common Mystics Podcast Bonus: A Christmas Message for 2020 www.commonmystics.net 00:00:09 In this special Christmas episode of Common Mystics, the sisters are led to nearby Marshall, Michigan in search of a Christmas story. I'm Jennifer, James, I'm Jill Stanley. We're psychics. We're sisters. We are Common Mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And this December, we actually found a Christmas story. I cannot believe we did it. I can't believe we did it either. So Jen. Yes. 00:00:40 Tell us what's going on right now because we're obviously not in our regular season. Obviously. Yeah. We are on hiatus from our regular season. Season 1 ended in October and we are putting our destination episodes on hold until Season 2, which will start in June of 2021. Yeah. Yay! However, we do want to keep our momentum going. So we are dropping about an episode a month, uh, just to keep people interested in listening. So we have actually, Jill, you and I, we've been discussing for quite some time, uh, that we wanted to do a Christmas episode. Have we not? 00:01:23 We have. And the funniest thing is that we didn't even know what that meant. Like… how would we do a Christmas episode? No idea. It didn't even make sense. Like, I did not formulate the process. Like, how do we even…? We had no plan. We had no concept for our Christmas episode at all. So what did we do? 00:01:40 I think it was the Friday after Thanksgiving. It sure was. Yeah, it was the Friday after Thanksgiving and we were shopping near my house and I was trying to get all the decorations up because I was having a very small dinner party on Saturday. 00:01:58 And your house is in Battle Creek, Michigan. My house is near Battle Creek, Michigan, Jennifer. Right? So Jill, tell the people about our intention. 00:02:11 Well, our intention was, we were very tired and we wanted to find a Christmas story, whatever it may be, close by. Right? Right. We did not want to drive farther than like 10, 15 miles, right. Because usually we're in the car for hours. And this was, that was not going to happen that day. 00:02:32 You didn't want to spend a whole day looking for a Christmas story because we didn't even know what that looked like. Honestly. So the odds where we were going to drive around, not find anything, and then have to start at ground zero anyway. 00:02:45 Right. We would have to have a contingent plan for the special bonus episode. But we did an intention. We did do an intention and the intention was a little different. We just wanted, we asked the spirits to give us a Christmas related story that was verifiable and that we were both unaware of, but that was also nearby. And I asked for angels. 00:03:11 You did, which is ridiculous. Like you're, you're asking for an Angel? I really well, I was like, you know, hey spirits, an angel would be nice. And then we started having a fight because you're like, you're ridiculous. You're asking for angels. And I thought that that was a reasonable request, given that the entire intention really was ridiculous. That's true. That's fair. That's absolutely fair. So I just threw in angels. 00:03:33 So I suggested we go to Marshall, Michigan, which is nearby. Yeah. Aside, aside from its convenience, was there any other reason why you felt drawn to Marshall? It's a beautiful little town and I thought, worst case scenario, we would drive around the town, looking at the lights. It's so cute. It is adorable. So we're driving there in the car, and I'm trying to think of what we can do in case this just doesn't pan out. It was very likely that nothing was going to come out of this because we didn't even know what we were looking for. So Jill... 00:04:06 [Okay. I don't like your tone right now] ...brings up the idea that we will sing... [I didn't say sing] Christmas carols... [I did not. I said Meow] That's exactly what you said. 00:04:28 Followers, Jill wanted to sing Christmas carols, substituting all of the lyrics with “Meow” as in a cat’s meow. 00:04:38 Listen, this is fun to do and amusing to hear. It works with every Christmas Carol, except for [Oh my God] “Away in a Manger.” it does not work for that one. It sounds very sad. And it sounds like abuse to the animals, but for every other Christmas song, it works. Try it. 00:04:58 Ridiculous. So we, this was, this was actually a very serious, long argument that we had the entire way. I said, bah humbug. I put my foot down. 00:05:07 I have a lovely, lovely, Meow voice. And I want to share it with the world. But honestly, um, we were actually, there was one that we were kind of laughing about, one Christmas carol, and this, this would come up later, believe it or not. This was actually a breadcrumb, but you and I were having a laugh over “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Can you explain why? 00:05:28 Because the lyrics in the second verse are about the “figgy pudding” and how they're like, “bring me the figgy pudding, bring me the figgy pudding.” And then it gets really aggressive. And “we won't leave until we get some,” So I, I, I don't, I guess we apologize if anybody out there likes figgy pudding or serves figgy pudding at Christmas, but I have to tell you that's not right. Like, you're serving figgy pudding? There's something wrong with that. I believe that that's a hate crime, because there are so many delectable desserts that can be served on a holiday. 00:06:11 In our repertoire of desserts, that it's not our go-to. But we have a large repertoire of desserts. So it is surprising. Like if you compare us to the average, the average American, we know our desserts. And it might be okay, but it's not in the top 20. 00:06:32 That's true. That's true. And I certainly wouldn't get aggressive. Not about figgy pudding. Yeah. Weber's cake? All right. I've been known to throw down. Anyway, we were having a good laugh about the lyrics of that song as we rolled into Michigan's Marshall, the little town of Marshall. So Jen, the town was founded in 1830 and it's known today for having a large number of historic buildings. There are historic walking tours and it has over 200 structures of historic buildings. And mainly there's a lot of beautiful operating historic mansions. It's just a gorgeous little place. 00:07:14 It is. It's so cool to walk around. We parked just off the main road, Michigan, Michigan Avenue. And we were, we were immediately drawn to a church. True. So we got out and we walked around and it was cool. It was a cool old church. But I remember saying to you, this isn't our church. No, I remember saying we need something older. This isn't, it's not vibing with me, but I think we're on the right track. Right, right, right. This is not our church, but we were looking for a church. 00:07:45 Yeah, for sure. We continued on walking around town. We did. Do you want to discuss what we were doing? Why, we're such idiots... on, on this day, we were just acting very silly. I’m so tired of looking ridiculous in public. I really am. Are you? Isn’t that commonplace now? I don’t understand your discomfort. It's fair, but I feel like I should be maturing in some way. 00:08:15 So Jill and I are walking around this beautiful historic town of Marshall, Michigan, and it is decorated. There are lights, there's garland everywhere, wreaths. I mean, it's just adorable. We're feeling the vibe. We were feeling Dickens. Right? That’s not what I thought you were going to say. Dickens, Jill, Charles Dickens. That took a turn there. Sounds like we should have been arrested. So we're walking around town and A Christmas Carol comes to mind, you know, that scene after Ebeneezer Scrooge has a hell of a night, right? He's got the ghosts coming to him of Christmas past, present, and future. He gets up in the morning, he throws open the window pane, he thrusts his head out into the winter air, and then he sees on the street... a boy. And he says, “You there, boy, what day is it?” “Oh, it's Christmas day, Sir!” So yeah. So we are skipping around playing the scene over and over and just laughing for no particular reason. But believe it or not, that was a bread crumb. That was a bread crumb. That was absolutely a bread crumb. 00:09:52 So as we're skipping around, uh, we, um, get to the intersection of Exchange and Michigan Avenue. Right. We do, we do. And we are immediately drawn to this property where there's a building on it. And it, I mean, it looks pretty cool, but we were fixated on it so much that we, like, chilled and walked around and really checked it out. 00:10:16 Yeah. It dated back to 1902. Do you remember what it was? Okay. It was the Marshall Historical Museum at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall. And, like you said, the building was constructed in 1902 as a meeting place for the Grand Army of the Republic. And it was an organization that organized the Union soldiers after the Civil War. 00:10:37 Right. And even as we were learning about that, as we were walking around, I was a little confused because it didn't seem in sync with the other information that we were getting, but still we spent an awful lot of time walking around the property. 00:10:53 And the first church that we came across, I think the historical marker had dated it back to the 1840s. And yet we were looking for something older. Why were we intrigued by this building that was constructed in 1902? That's what you were referring to that it didn't fit because we were thinking way, like, mid to early 1800s. We were also looking specifically at churches and this was not a church and had nothing to do with a church. That is right. So we continued on. We sure did. We headed back to the car. And again, we were looking for an old church, “our” church. 00:11:28 We saw two additional churches on our way to the car. And again, not our church. Right. Checked them out, felt them, whatever...not “ours”. So we’re in the car. And we say to each other, okay, we are going to find our church, the oldest church that we can find, right? You start driving, you make a left, and another left. And then... describe what we saw. 00:11:48 In panoramic view throughout the windshield, two blocks down from where we had made that left-hand turn, is the end of a T intersection. And right in front of us, in full view is a beautiful, brick, old Gothic-looking church. 00:12:07 Right. It was like, we could drive straight into it. It was in front of us. You couldn't miss it. And so as soon as you made that turn, we were both like… Well there's our church! Yeah. Exactly. That was our church. It could have slapped us in the face. And we both knew it. Exactly. It was not even a conversation. It was like, well, there's our church. 00:12:23 Yes. Right. Ding, ding, ding. So we parked and we got out and we saw right away that there was a historical marker there. So we got out of the car, and we read the historical marker. And instead of it being about the structure, which was the Trinity Episcopal Church, the historical marker was about a man, a man named Montgomery Schuyler who lived 1814-1896. And the historical marker said: “Trinity’s second minister Montgomery Skylar was born in New York City. He came to Marshall in 1835, entered a hardware business, began a Sunday school and helped found Trinity. He was ordained and made pastor of Trinity in 1841. In 1842, he founded St. Thomas Church in Battle Creek. [Near where I live.] He founded St. John Parish in Buffalo, New York in 1845 and was the Dean of the Church of Christ in St. Louis from 1854 to 1896. He is buried in Marshall's Oakridge cemetery.” So we read this historical marker. What are you thinking at this point? 00:13:31 This is our guy. We need to check this man out. Exactly. All of a sudden, we like, we're no longer looking for churches. It was like the church brought us to this man. And this man was our story or had something to do with our Christmas story. Presumably. 00:13:48 So it was, again, we had no idea what was going on. This was kind of on a limb for us. We were on a limb, like, “Hey, close by Christmas story.” So we're just following these bread crumbs, like, kind of like a child, just following along. We had no idea. So, so yeah, we got back in the car and where'd we go? 00:14:11 We went to the Oakridge Cemetery because the historical marker clearly said that he was buried there. So we went not knowing anything about Oakridge or even how to get there. So tell our listeners a little bit about Oakridge. 00:14:29 Well, Oakridge Cemetery was originally developed in 1839. The cemetery itself is 65 acres and is composed of four different sections. The cemetery has approximately 15,500 burials and is one of the oldest operating cemeteries in Michigan. So, really big, really old, gorgeous cemetery. 00:14:58 Huge. I don't know. I'm glad we didn't know that when we got there. Ain't that the truth? Because I think we might've felt intimidated because we're looking for one guy's grave. Right. Abso-freaking-lutely! What were you feeling as we crossed into the cemetery? 00:15:14 Right away, I started looking at the names on the gravestones. Right. And that's what was so interesting. Because it's like, we started seeing names on gravestones that were somehow related to Christmas. It's so true. For instance, the name, the last name “Joy” we saw the last name, joy- J O Y. And so we would start driving in that direction. Right. 00:15:45 Then we would see the name, like the last name, surname “Church”. And we had been looking for churches. So, then we, we would follow along and, and go to where that gravestone was. And then what were you, what did you see? 00:15:59 Oh my gosh. The goosebump moment was when I saw a gravestone for someone named “Ebeneezer,” as in Ebeneezer Scrooge of the Christmas Carol, which we had just been acting out. 00:16:12 Like, we were connecting the dots. We went from one headstone to the other, recognizing the names, recognizing that they were bread crumbs for us as we navigated through the cemetery. And honestly it didn't take any time at all before Jen was like, “Go here!” Right? Then you stopped the car at some point. And we were just getting our bearings because honestly, we were both astounded at what was happening. We just kept saying, “What is actually happening right now?” 00:16:40 Again, this was kind of cheeky of us. We were kind of, we weren't really expecting to find a Christmas story. Again, we did not even know what this would mean. We had asked for a tall order and we didn't really have much faith that it would be delivered. So here we are like, following along these headstones, and suddenly we stop and we're like, Holy cow, what is even happening right now? And then I am drawn to the section of the cemetery that we're facing on the left. So I tell you, because you're driving, head over to that area right there and you do. And so we slowly start driving to this one specific area that I had pointed out. And then suddenly you stopped. Now tell us why you stopped. 00:17:23 I stopped the car because I glanced at you and past the passenger window, I noticed that there was a series of headstones that had different types of crosses at different heights. And it looked really appealing visually. And it looked as if it was staged and it just had... it was calling to us to stop and check it out. I even took a picture of it in that moment. I was like, I have to take a picture of it. This looks like a movie. 00:17:52 Exactly. I mean, you'll have to post that on Facebook. So we, we immediately knew we need to get out of this car and we need to check out this area because for some reason it is special, right? As we head over to the grave stones that looked staged to us, and we're in the middle of the scene, we notice that among those gravestones that were so appealing, there was a headstone that had the last name “Schuyler” engraved on it. So it was, like, shut up! Whose headstone was it? 00:18:27 I think it was his wife and some of his kids. Right. So we were thinking he was close by because his wife and kids are here. And then you found him. I found him sure enough. And he, that gravestone, his gravestone is in the original picture I took from the car. So that happened. We, literally, within like 10 minutes in a 65 acre cemetery find the man's headstone. Okay, Jennifer? Yes. We find his gravestone. We find it against all odds. We frickin 'find his gravestone. Do you notice about his gravestone right away? 00:19:03 Well, I start reading it and after his name and the dates, it has this quote: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and glad tidings of good things.” 00:19:20 Glad tidings! Tidings, just like in the silly song that we were laughing about, We Wish You a Merry Christmas: “Good tidings we bring to you and your kin, good tidings of Christmas and a happy new year.” So right away... Tidings! Like, where else do you ever see or hear, or even use the word tidings? Like never, except for in a Christmas song. 00:19:44 I know never, ever, ever, never have I. So to me that was even further validation that this is the guy who we're supposed to research. Our story is somehow wound up with this guy. 00:19:58 So we leave the cemetery and we get our research on. Jen, let's talk about, uh, may I call him Monte? You may. Um, let's discuss Monte and what we found out about him. 00:20:12 Well, uh, Reverend Monte was born January 9th, 1814 in New York City. He studied law, but then in 1835 he came out west to Marshall, Michigan. He did open up a law office, but in 1836, he also opened up a hardware store and started the first Episcopal Sunday School out of his home. So he was a busy guy, um, who had a lot of different interests in the area. In addition, he was involved in managing two sawmills in town and was the editor of the Marshall Whig paper in addition to operating his hardware store. 00:20:56 So he was a jack of all trades and by all records, it shows that he was really good at what he did. So he was cultivating business in town. Whatever he touched became a success. Yeah, he was very successful. However, suddenly his life takes a sharp turn when he became determined to give up his secular pursuits and prepared to enter the ministry of the Episcopal Church. So suddenly he decides to get rid of all of his businesses, sell them off, and study ministry. So he goes to New York and studies ministry. And in may of 1841, he was ordained to be the rector of Trinity Parish in Marshall, Michigan, the old church that we were standing at, where we learned about him for the first time on that historical marker. Isn't that interesting? 00:21:52 That's very special, especially because he organized that church and that congregation from its infancy. And it's really where it seems like he fell in love and had his calling. 00:22:05 So here's where the story gets dark. So his wife, Sarah, um, and his three children took sick with the milk sickness. Now the milk sickness was apparently a disease that you got when you drank poisoned milk from cows that ate a poisonous plant. And it ravaged the Midwest during the 1840s. It sure did. Monte lost his three children in 1841. And then he lost his lovely young wife, Sarah. 00:22:38 So I just want to say this out loud, this incredibly successful man gives up his businesses and stops pursuing wealth. And after he does that, soon after he does that, within the five years, he loses his entire family. 00:22:54 It's unbelievably tragic. I know. So then what happened in 1843? Monte marries Miss Lydia Roosevelt. But in the years that follow, he loses a son and on his second anniversary to Lydia, she suddenly passes away. And then he was left with two living children from that marriage, five and 10 months. 00:23:23 Oh my gosh. Poor Monte. It’s like nine years later when he marries his third wife, Sophia Norton in 1854. 00:23:32 I want to say this... during this time, tragedy after tragedy in this man's life, he's traveling to different areas of the country and working with small parishes that he's growing stronger and more successful. Even through these moments where he's having his personal devastating tragedies. 00:23:52 That's a good point. That's a good point. And so in 1854, he goes to St. Louis, Missouri, where he becomes rector of the Christ Church. Now he would be there for 24 years. So this is the end of his moving around. But in St. Louis, he faced additional difficulties. 00:24:11 What more can happen to this poor man? Well, in 1861, the Civil War breaks out. And if you recall our Shelbyville episode, we talked about how the Civil War not only divided the country, but the states and cities and even families. Well here, we have Monte in his parish in St. Louis and during the Civil War, it completely divided his parish. And so people were on the opposite ends, uh, you know, in terms of the ideology. And so you have death, you know, their sons, their brothers, their husbands are going out to war. So you have death and you have division and you have hatred. I mean, it was just a terribly stressful time. 00:24:57 And also during this time of this great divide in our country, it was also a moment where Monte was trying to construct a larger cathedral for the Church of Christ to bring more people together. And those efforts were discouraged to say the least with the war and the bickering families within his parish, right? How did he deal with it? 00:25:22 He visited prison hospitals. He ministered to the unfortunate poor and the sick. And he did so regardless of their loyalties. So he himself was a sympathizer with the Union, but it was said that none ever heard a word of rebuke or lack of empathy for those that sympathized with the other side. So he was all about unity. He was all about bringing, bringing people to God, despite the fact that they had fundamental disagreements. Wow. Bringing people to God. I know. Crazy. And like you said, all this time, he's trying to grow the church and build a new cathedral for Christ's Church, the Church of Christ in St. Louis, Missouri. But then guess what. What happened? There was a cholera epidemic! A cholera epidemic breaks out in 1867. So this is like a year after the Civil War ends. That's finally put to rest for better or for worse, and then the cholera epidemic hits. Now, in St. Louis in 1866, when cholera breaks out, you move away from the city. You don't stay because people didn't know what caused cholera, but they know you got it from other people. So they are leaving. They're fleeing the city. They're going out in the country, you know, to keep them in their families safe. I wouldn't blame them at all. So what does Monte do? Well, I'm assuming he got himself out of the city and saved himself and his family. 00:26:49 He can't afford to lose any more wives. Actually, he stayed. He stayed and ministered to the living. He comforted the bereaved. He gave the dead a Christian burial and he never faltered. And because of this heroism, he gained the admiration, not only of his parishioners, but people in the area and of the country took notice of this Reverend, this Episcopal Reverend, this man who walked the walk and, you know, was courageous and took care of people. Even when it, it, you know, it was dangerous for him to do so. 00:27:27 If he were Catholic, I would totally canonize him. Oh, would you? Do you speak for the Catholic Church? No joke. I do. Blasphemy! Exactly. Yeah. We apologize to any Catholics who might be listening. The cathedral was completed in 1867. Finally, finally, after years of death and war and disease and poverty and just terrible division and hatred and isolation, finally, this cathedral is finished. And guess, guess what day he held the first service in his new cathedral? Why, it’s Christmas day, Sir! Exactly. It was Christmas day in 1867. Do you even freaking believe that? I do not. How did we even stumble on this? Gosh, I can't even believe it. Yeah. We were obviously meant to talk about this man and meant to talk about his story. 00:28:35 This man, this man is our story. Tell me why you think so. Once again, he's performing a Christmas miracle more than a century after his death. Why a Christmas miracle? Because it was a miracle we found a Christmas story like that, honestly. 00:28:53 So what do you think we were meant to talk about specifically? I mean, we talked about his story, but what elements of his story do you think are particularly topical and relevant today? 00:29:03 Well, not only do I find this topical and relevant, but I also find it beautiful and I admire it so much that even through his life, as he went through the horrible losses of children and wives and his beloveds, he not only still stayed the course and was faithful to his faith, but he was a success at it. And he drew more people in through that love and faith. I think that's amazing not to be bitter from those losses. 00:29:34 Well, I mean, I think I can speak for myself and for people that I've known that when you go through hard times, that those are the easiest times to turn away from God, those are the, that's the easiest time to turn your back and say, why, why me? What did I do? 00:29:53 Where were you? Where were you? Where were you to let this happen? And despite tragedy after tragedy in Monte's life, it's just inconceivable to me that he would turn toward God. I mean, I think I find inspiration in that personally. He found strength and love and joy. Yeah. Wow. Also though, I think it's also inspiring that he loved his fellow man and served his fellow man, despite the fact that he might have, well, he did disagree with some of their personal beliefs and ideologies. And I think we talked about this before it comes up again. 00:30:31 Well, exactly this message of loving your fellow man through whatever is going on around you is something that we keep stumbling upon over and over again. It's really, it's really apparent that spirit is telling us to stop it. It doesn't matter what they think or believe; they're still humans. They don't deserve your hate and you don't deserve that burden of hating another. 00:30:59 Right. And Monte reminds us that there is hope and light at the end of the darkest tunnels, just like during this time of year, the shortest day of the year is today, actually, the day of our recording, the winter solstice. And the whole purpose, whether or not you're Christian, the whole purpose of celebrating this time of year is celebrating the return of the light. Literally the return of the sunlight; the days will now start getting longer. There is hope. And I think that, you know, all of our traditions, whether they're Christian or non-Christian, that, that we go through this time of year, that's the point of it, you know, and I think Monte really brings that home to me that there's always hope no matter what you go through. 00:31:49 There's a little bit of a surprise that we have. We have some of his very words from that very special Christmas service. Do you want to share it? 00:32:00 I will. How special. So, these are some words from Monte’s Christmas sermon that he delivered on December 25th, 1867 in Christ Church in St. Louis, Missouri: “Under no circumstances, could we suffer Christmas to pass without an explicit acknowledgement of that greatest of all gifts of God to man, the gift of His dear Son. But there is a special call upon us as a parish for rejoicing. This house of God, which is now open for His worship is the result of long years of persevering struggle, anxious, toil, prayerful thought and unstinting devotion of our worldly substance. Cold, indeed, must be that heart which does not beat with a quicker throb of grateful joy as we assemble here for the first time to mingle together and record our glad acknowledgement of the goodness and mercy which have blessed our labors and brought them to a successful issue.” Those are his words. And he's referring obviously to the opening of his new church on Christmas day in 1867. But Jill, so much of this message hits home in 2020, does it not? 00:33:33 Persevering struggle and anxious toil? So much of this year has been just that- the isolation, the loneliness, the loss of loved ones. So many. We ourselves lost a member of our family. And I even feel lucky and blessed that it wasn't so much worse. 00:33:51 Yeah, absolutely. And I love the references to the goodness and mercy to come and the successful issue of our labors. Wouldn't that be nice. It's a beautiful, beautiful sentiment. And I think we need it today. 00:34:06 I do think we need it today. What do you think Monte's trying to tell us? 00:34:10 I think he's trying to tell us that there's hope at the end of this year, that has been so difficult for us all and devastating to so many. There's hope. There is hope. What do you think? 00:34:21 You know, we do these episodes and usually it's to give voice to the voiceless, right? And, and this particular story for me was, again, we were being cheeky. We're kind of being stupid. We really weren't expecting to get anything. I literally thought I was going to be meowing for 40 minutes. 00:34:40 Thank God we found Monte. Um, but Monte brought his words to us, his story to us, so that he could remind us yet again, that not only is there light, but we need to love one another and we need to come together as a people, especially during these hard times, because it's in these hard times that we grow and we find out what we're made of and who we are. 00:35:08 Right. So should we debrief? 00:35:10 Let's debrief. I'm exhausted. 00:35:15 You wanted to go to Marshall. Yes. Obviously that worked out. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Okay. So, the Dickens. Wow. We're walking through Marshall doing a scene from the Christmas Carol, which by the way, was published in London in 1843, right? At the very same time that Reverend Monte was there in Marshall and Battle Creek! Oh my God. Crazy coincidence. A crazy coincidence. I didn't know that. I know. I know. And also, let's not forget Ebeneezer, that name on the headstone that led us unwittingly to his actual grave in the cemetery. Nuts. That is crazy. Churches, churches, all around, just all churches coming out. Apparently Marshall, Michigan is chalk full of churches and the “Church” surname on the headstones, again, were breadcrumbs. Right. Right. And we were looking for, we knew we were looking for a church. We didn't know why, but we knew we were looking for a church. 00:36:28 We, when we were stopping at those other churches, somehow we knew those weren't our churches. Yup. Jen. Yeah. Your angel. Tell them. Oh my gosh. Okay. So I have to tell you this, because remember when I asked for an angel? At the very beginning, when we were setting our intention, I was like, Hey, if you can send us an angel. You took a photograph of Monte's grave. And in the photograph, which we will post on Facebook, you can see the tiny angel statue on the upper left. And it looks like it is pointing directly at Monte's gravestone, which it isn't of course. But in the vantage point of the photograph that you took, it's like just another acknowledgement. Here's your angel. And here's your story. Oh my God. And then, Jen. Yes? Good tidings on Monte's headstone. Come on, come on. Come. On. We were literally dissecting that song. 00:37:27 Come on. I just, I had no words for that. That is just nuts. I can't even believe that again. Validation. We've got our story. Yeah. Yeah. What we left out and we need to address is what's up with the building on Michigan and Exchange? Oh yeah. That 1903 building. That was the Marshall Historic Museum and at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall. Okay. So that building is nothing. However, it sits on the property... Um, I don't mean to say it's nothing. It doesn't have anything to do... It's a lovely, it's not nothing. It's, it's wonderful. It is a wonderful place and everyone should go there. But that property is the property where Reverend Montgomery Schuyler had his hardware store. We were pretty obsessed with that. We were walking around, like, wondering why are we so interested in this? Yeah. He was there. He was there. And he worked there. So we must've been picking up on his spirit. Oh my gosh. Can you even believe that this happened? Because I really can’t. 00:38:37 This doesn't even make sense in my little Jilly brain. Like, I like, how did this even, like, unfold? So, uh, I don't think anyone is going to be more surprised than we are that we actually got a Christmas story out of this. 00:38:49 So what we're learning in 2020 is, honestly, Jen, the power of our intention is like a real thing. I know. And if it's real for us, then it's real for everybody, because we always say, we're not special. We're not, we're not special. Right? 00:39:05 So not only are we setting an intention, but we're like literally relying on it and… they're not letting us down. Even if we're ridiculous. 00:39:13 If you are listening, set intentions. Set intentions for the things that you want in your life and set them with goodness in your heart. And I think they're going to pan out for you the same way they pan out for us. Spirit has never let us down. Not yet once. Not yet once. If nothing else, that that's a good thing to bring with you into 2021. I love that. If you can't control anything, control your intention and rely on it. 00:39:39 I love it. I love it. All right, Jill, tell the people where they can find us. 00:39:46 Ooh, I don't have my list out. So you can find us at commonmystics.net. You can listen and subscribe to us on Amazon music, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts, where you can leave us a positive review so other people can find us. And check out our Facebook page, where our sister Jessica is killing it. And check out all of the photographs that we referenced in this episode today. 00:40:21 Can we Meow now as a special treat for our listeners? Oh my gosh. Or punishment? Yeah. (Jennifer and Jill meow to We Wish You A Merry Christmas.) Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! Happy holidays, everybody! Bye-bye now. Thank you. Good night. Happy New Year!