Common Mystics Podcast
Season 2 Episode 12: Bonus- Holy Shit Moments
www.commonmystics.net
00:00:35 On this episode of Common Mystics, we discuss our holy shit moments and what we learned from them. 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 today we're talking to you about notable moments in our everyday lives, but first I have some housekeeping. Ooh, housekeeping.
00:01:02 So, it was just brought to my attention that our earlier episodes from Season one, for whatever reason is- are not on Apple. So we're going to have to figure that out and we will get those back up there as soon as possible. And secondly, we have a shout out to my favorite freight broker, Mike and his team in South Carolina with Total Quality Logistics. Yay. Yay, Mike! So, T.Q.L has 52 offices nationwide. They service loads that are full truck loads, less than truckloads, and they even have rail options for you. So check them out if you can, T.Q.L or Total Quality Logistics. Wow.
00:01:43 That sounded so professional. Jill. Stop it. I'm practicing for when we really get sponsors. So, Jennifer in the last episode had brought up this story from my childhood with the Westside Rapist, and we are trying to figure out, we were trying to figure out how, like what's the point of telling the story. So we had multiple conversations and Jen, do you want to share what occurred to us as we were discussing how to share this story,
00:02:14 Basically, you and I are really different. I think [a hundred percent] like that, I think is, is it in a nutshell, you, even though we grew up in the same house and generally had the same experiences to live through, we have very different perspectives on life. Wouldn't you say that's the truth? Absolutely. And so for me being the oldest, um, I'm very type A. I'm very self-reliant. I'm very like, if it has to be done, I'm going to do it myself, kind of person. That’s true. Yeah. That is true. And you, what's, what's your kind of take on things? You tell me. I think, whereas I can be a little inflexible and more exacting and more detail-oriented, you really see the big picture of things. Oh, I like that. Yeah. I mean, I think you learn the big concepts really easily. Um, I think that that's your strength quite, quite frankly, but also I think being the youngest, you're not, you're not someone who sees a stigma against asking for help.
00:03:18 No, not at all. Actually. I really believe positioning myself with people that are smarter than me, or I view better than me. I gained from, I, I never feel like I'm the smartest person in the room. And if I do, I feel like that's a problem. Right. Or I'm in the wrong room.
I think the point is that we, we kind of have opposite perspectives and...
00:03:41 I think our listeners can benefit from having us be in the same situations, but coming at certain things like, completely different way, like somebody is going to identify with you [yeah] and someone's going to identify with me.
00:03:53 Well, I hope so. Knock on wood. So, when you named this episode, “Our Holy Shit Moments.” That's right. What exactly do you mean by “holy shit moments?” It has something to do with our psychic abilities, right?
00:04:05 Well, not really. When we call ourselves “Common Mystics,” what we are saying is that our experiences are not only accessible to people, but they're similar, right? We've all had moments. Our listeners all over the globe have had moments like, oh my God, that just happened. Or, oh my God, what the F is happening and we've lived through them. But what we chose to do in this episode is to look at those moments and be like, holy shit, that really happened. Why did it happen? What did we do in those moments? And what did we gain from those experiences?
00:04:37 And some of them are more trivial than others. Oh. I don't think so. I do. I mean, well, I mean, we'll get to that. Let, let our listeners decide. You're so silly.
00:04:49 So, as I was saying, I'm sure all of you had these moments, so please share them with us. I think it would be a great idea. If you can email us audio of your story so we can create another bonus episode talking about your moments. I think that that would be really fun. And we want to hear back from you guys too. Yeah.
00:05:05 Audio would be great, but even if they wanted to just type it in the text of an email, that would be fine too.
[email protected]. Thank you so much. So, Jennifer? Yeah. Do you want to introduce me and my story? Um, yes. I don't know what order we're going in.
00:05:24 Do your dress one. Okay. So, you were-- what year did you get married in, Jill? 2011. Okay. So it was around sometime in 2010 when we had to get the dresses- order the dresses for your wedding. Well, I think honestly I was getting married May, 2011. Our mother, December 2010 had gone into septic shock, and so Jennifer and I were in the hospital with mom, [doing] shots of pizza.
00:05:59 A complete wreck for two weeks straight. So we were plump. We were full-on saturated. [We were juicy.] We had, we had already bought our dresses. Right? [Right. That’s a good point.] So that's where we start. So, trivial? No. This was like, a moment.
00:06:14 You’re so funny. You know, I completely forgot about the circumstances. You're right. So I ordered this dress in a size four. And even before mom got sick, that was a stretch even before, you know, the pizza and the Mexican and you know, the overnights in the hospital [and the wine] and the wine.
00:06:41 I just remember Dennis bringing us trays of wine. Do you remember that? And we were just crying with wine. Yeah.
00:06:47 Crying and drinking. So like I said even before that episode, a size four dress was a stretch, but it started to get closer to the month of your wedding, and I realized, holy shit, I'm not going to be able to fit in that dress, like something drastic needs to happen. And so, you know, we're, we are Catholic and I was taught that you can pray to the Blessed Mother, Jesus's mom. We, I grew up calling her the Blessed Mother. You can pray and ask her for things and she will help you. And so I asked the Blessed Mother to help me lose weight. And I was very specific because I, I told her I don't have the strength to not eat all the time. Like I don't have the strength to do that. I said, you have the strength, so you need to give it to me when I'm stressed and I wanna eat.
00:07:45 When I'm bored and I want to eat, you know. When I'm in the store and I want to make a bad decision, you need to give me your strength. And I would pray this every night before I went to bed, I would say, all right, Blessed Mother, here we go. Tomorrow is going to be another day. I don't have the strength to do this. And, um, as it turned out, I actually did lose enough weight to fit into that size four dress. And that was no small miracle. And it really was because I asked for help. And again, that's very, unlike me, unlike my personality. That is legit not like her. Right. But, uh, it, it seemed like an insurmountable task, but it, I mean, in that case, it did turn out.
00:08:32 You looked great. I'm going to post pictures with the, with the episode of us on my wedding day. Oh my gosh. Okay,
00:08:38 Great. Great. You did! You looked really good. Well, thank you. And that was the thinnest I was in my adult life, too. You also, you were working out like twice a day. Three times. Three times a day, and I was eating 1200 calories. That little Russian Nazi of a seamstress. The little Russian lady made me cry. She made you cry? She was like, you're never going to fit in that dress. And I was like, that's all I needed. Like if it was just for me, I would have never have been able to do it. But because that little woman-- [Because she was so rude-] Yes. Yeah, but we're off topic now,
00:09:12 But no, it's the same topic cause I'll tell you why. Oh. That really
demonstrates our personalities and why we're different. In that moment, you're like, this doesn't seem like, like I'm going to be able to, and you were vulnerable, where I start vulnerable and someone has to kick me and then I'm like, oh no, you don't. And then I like, fight back. Right? Oh, that's funny.
00:09:30 I see. Uh huh. Yeah. So, so, um, that happened and I do credit the Blessed Mother for, for losing that weight. I want to hear about, um, the transcripts. You do?
I do. So, then you have to tell two stories in a row. Uh, you're going to tell, I think you should tell all your three, and then I'll tell my three. Yes.
00:09:49 Who's in charge of this outline? Me. Oh, you are. You’re supposed… you don’t always follow it. I know. Here’s another thing, Jill, that was really,-- this just happened recently. I know, that's why I like it.
00:10:06 Some of our listeners might not know that if you go to our website, commonmystics.net, and you click on the podcasts tab in the menu, you can go to the different podcasts, all of them from the very beginning, and then when you select one, there is a link to the transcript.
00:10:23 And what also, you may not realize is that we both have full-time jobs. And Jennifer is back at her full-time job because she's in education and she's not working from home. She's back in the school, mask on. She doesn't have time to do the transcripts. There is absolutely no way I have time to do the transcripts. Right.
00:10:45 And the transcripts are long. Transcripts are like 17 pages and single-spaced, okay? And our aunt only reads the transcripts. And if Jennifer doesn't do the transcripts, then our Aunt Irene will be like, uh hello. Well, I was looking for episode four.
00:11:01 Anyway, so the transcripts need to be done. And I, at this point I was like four behind. And each one takes, I don't know, four to five hours. And so I decided I can't do this anymore. Now that work has started. I need to reach out to someone who has in the past offered, you know, to do some work for, for us. I took out my phone and I got on Messenger and I typed this, this message to this, this person who had offered, like I said, in the past to help us out. And I was prepared, you know, to give, to give her a few dollars, you know, just to help us out, nothing substantial, just, you know, something for her time. And then I typed out this message, Jill. I told you I typed it. And then I stopped because it just felt wrong.
00:11:55 I don't know how else to explain that. Except it almost felt like someone was right next to me going, hold on, hold on. And so I looked at this message that I typed and there was no logical reason for me not to send it, but I listened. I listened to that voice saying, hold on, don't be hasty. Hold on. And so I ended up deleting the message and I didn't send it. So then the next day someone else pops into my head: Jocelyn. so again, I got back, I got a message typed up. This message and I sent it to Jocelyn. And as it turns out, Jocelyn answered right away. Yes, yes, please. And as it turns out, she, um, she actually really, really needed that, that money, that few dollars, like had no idea how she was going to buy groceries. And so, I'm so glad that I stopped and I listened because I think she was meant to be helped, you know? Like she was meant to have that opportunity, so that she could like, feed herself. I love that. Yeah. So anyway, that was like, holy shit. Holy shit. That, that, wasn't just my, you know, that wasn't just my head. That was like, real. That was a message like, that's not the person who needs this money right now.
00:13:26 I love that because we talk about so often, how do we discern if it's you or not. And with you being so logical, there's no way, like, there was no logical reason why you stopped. It was only that pull.
00:13:37 That’s exactly right. And I asked myself that, I'm like, why aren't I sending this right now? Like I had that conversation with myself, and I decided to wait on it. And I'm glad I did. So. So do you want to, do you want to talk about yours or do you want me to keep going? Keep going.
00:13:54 And this is a big one. I love this one. Oh, this is one of my favorite ones. I can just-- go on, and I'll tell you why I love it. So, Jill mentioned that I'm in education, and it was my first year in this position that I had never had before. What year was it? It was 2013. Okay. Okay. And our grandmother had died the year before.
00:14:23 That’s right. It was, she did die in November, 2012.
00:14:26 So one interesting thing about my upbringing is whenever I had a problem, I would always call Grandma. Because Grandma would always help me out. She would always pray for me. She'd always help me out. She'd always make me feel better and Grandma was gone and that was sad. But I was in this new position, and part of my job was to tell the District Office which students in a particular grade level tested into this accelerated program. And so, because you know, when something is new to you, you kind of prioritize and say, oh, that's going to be easy. I'll I'll, I'll put that off until it's due. Right? This is going to be harder, I'll do it now. Well, I assumed because the students had already taken this test, I assumed all I had to do was get the scores, which I had. All I had to do was sort them by scores, draw like, a line between those that made the cutoff and those that didn't and send that list over to the District Office.
00:15:31 Big deal. I can do that the day before it's due. So, the week comes that it's due. It's that Monday actually, because I didn't exactly wait till the last minute, but I had this information like, a month and a half before it was due. But whatever, I sat on it. The Monday before the Friday that it's due, I sit down and I open up the email and now I'm reading through it. And I find out that it's not just the scores, Jill. It's not just the scores. It's an entire rubric that involves interviews with the teachers, and it requires the teachers to fill out these surveys. And then you're supposed to take the interviews and the surveys and the test scores together to determine if these students qualify for this accelerated program. [ Did you go ‘D’Oh!’] No. So, I am sitting in my office and all of a sudden, like, I'm getting hot, like blotchy, blotchy hot.
00:16:40 You know what I mean? [Yes, I know exactly what you mean, like Flushed.] Like, my neck is like, red., and I am flushed. And I feel like, oh my God, I will never get this done because in a normal place of business, perhaps, the employees are at your access, right? You can, you can go into someone's office, but that's not true with teachers. Teachers are teaching all day. You can't just go into the classroom and say, I need this rubric done in this survey. And I need to interview you right now so that I have information that I should have had a month ago, but I'm just getting around to it now. You know what I mean? So I was in trouble, Jill. I was in big trouble. So I sent a bunch of emails. I tried to get as much information as I can, but still I couldn't get to all of the teachers because four days is not enough time to, to, you know, get the information that you need.
00:17:42 So what did you do? So every night, oh my God. Oh my God. Every night I went to bed and I prayed and I prayed myself to sleep and I would wake up in the middle of the night and I would start praying again. And I was actually, I was praying to God and I was asking Grandma because Grandma had just died and she always helped me. I was like, Grandma, you have to help me. I'm in big trouble. And so like every night I did this and I would come to work and I would just be ragged,
00:18:09 Ragged.
00:18:10 And I would be running around trying to catch teachers on their plan. I still didn't have everything I needed. And my logical brain was like, okay, Jennifer, you can call the District Office and you can tell them, look, I messed up. I need an extension. Right? Or [There is no way. There is absolutely no way that you would ever do that.] There's absolutely no way I would ever do that. [That is just not an option.]
00:18:33 Not only would I look bad if I missed the deadline, my entire school would look bad because I was representing the school. Or Jill, or I could not do the extra work. Just take the test scores and send them in.
00:18:49 No, you wouldn't do that either. I would never do that either because then I'm like, these are children's lives at stake, ya know?
00:18:57 Oh my gosh. So, the- now, it’s Tuesday. The only option is to pray all night and hope to God for a miracle. Okay. So then it was Tuesday. Then it was Wednesday. Then it was Thursday and it was all due Friday. Again, I prayed myself to sleep. I wake up. 2:00am. I start praying again. Grandma, please help me.
00:19:20 I don't know what I'm going to do. Fall back asleep. 4:00am. Oh my God. Grandma, you have to help me. I don't know how I'm going to work this out.
00:19:27 I wake up that Friday. It's the day of the scores are due. I still don't know-- I still don't know how I'm going to do it. I noticed that it's raining out because it's spring. It's April. I noticed that it's raining out. I got in the car.
00:19:41 And come to think of it. It had been raining. It had been raining Wednesday, too and Thursday. Not a big deal. Just something that I noticed in the back of my head, because [April showers bring May flowers.] I drive into work and I park in the back, like I usually do. And I always get to work early. So, the entire, the entire parking lot is empty, which it usually is. But [She's a crazy over achiever so she's usually there.] Except for the custodian.
00:20:11 He's always there before me. So, I go into the building. I walk in, and the custodian is standing there, looking out the front door, not far from my office. So I walk past him, and as I do, he turns around and he looks at me and he says, well, you're a brave one. And I was like? I had no response to that. I just looked at him oddly, like, I'm brave because I'm coming into work? Like, what are you talking about? And I see that he's looking out the front window through these big, glass doors. You know how they have the glass pane doors in schools? Mm hmm. And I can see that the entire front of the building is underwater. Like, you can't see the drive where the buses unload the students. You can't see the curb. The water is up to the building. And he said, you know, school is closed today. And I said, what? And it was all I could do not to fricking drop and start crying. I said, what? He goes, yeah. He goes, the entire city is flooded, Jennifer.
00:21:33 People can't get out of their driveways. Bridges are closed, like, school's closed. And I was like, you’re kidding?! So, I go to my office and- [You're like, Charlie with a golden ticket.]
I like, skipped. I skipped to my office. And I started working. And Jill, every teacher that I needed was stuck in their homes that day. I was able to interview them and get my stuff together and get it in. And Grandma did that.
00:22:14 Grandma totally did that. And it just, I can just picture her smiling, like little, you know how she's like, mischievous smile. Right. I can just picture her doing that. Right.
00:22:23 Do you think it's crazy that I really believe that Grandma did that? Like, Grandma really flooded Naperville for me? Legit. Like Grandma did that. Legit. I legit believe that Grandma did that. But what about the fact that some people's basements were flooding? Like would Grandma like, flood basements? See, I would rather think that Naperville was due for a flood, and then Grandma adjusted like, space and time for me to be like, okay, make it flood this day. Do you know what I mean? I would hate to think that, you know, somebody suffered potentially because I missed a deadline because I didn't read the email.
00:23:00 Stop it. I think that, I think that's a really good point. I see what you're saying, but I really do think when people say bad things happen or good things happen, it's all relative, and it's all perspective, right? If someone, you know what I mean? Like someone was looking at that rain being like, oh, this is sucks. Like, this sucks or someone who's like, I don't have to go to work today. And then you were like, oh my God, I can get all my work done. So it's just- there's like, this old Buddhist proverb that the whole point is like, who's to say what's good and what's bad.
00:23:29 Mm. Yeah. But Grandma did that. Grandma flooded Naperville for me. Thank you, Grandma, Grandma, that was really sweet. All right. So you've got some holy shit moments. I do got some holy shit moments. I love this one. Tell us about the bracelet.
00:23:47 So, I moved to Arizona by myself in my early twenties and I had no friends. It was very brave, very, very courageous of you.
00:23:58 So I would like, hang out with like, a karaoke troop and like, follow this troop around. And I met, uh, my friend Kevin there. Now Kevin and I never dated, strictly platonic, the nicest person in the entire world. He was the kind of guy that you would meet and be like, oh my God, he's going to be a millionaire. Like he just had that personality. And he was so funny. And so I met Kevin. Like, he's like a part of my family. I would like, stay at his house. His mom loved me. I took his mom's shopping. I still call his little brother, my little brother. And I moved back to the Midwest. Actually, you came to pick me up [I remember] at Kevin's house. And um, then I met Chad. Kevin, and Chad would talk on the phone. And I always thought that Kevin was going to be like, our friend that we traveled to go see, that would come on vacations with us because he was that person.
00:00:24:51 And Kevin had come to the Midwest already to visit us, him and his family. He had just got married and I was getting married the May after. So this is actually 2010, too. So Kevin got married and I'm excited because I'm going to meet his wife. And his wife's coming to our wedding in May. And I like, send them a reminder. I'm like, “I got you down, boo” I was like, “I'm going to see you.” And he's like, “you're going to see me?’ And I was like, yeah.
00:00:25:18 So that weekend, after I sent that message to him, Kevin and his wife and Kevin's friend went, um, and his wife went to a river in Arizona, which is not uncommon. Everyone hangs out by the rivers. And, um, he, they, him and his friend went into the river to go for a swim.
00:25:39 And Kevin never came back. He drowned. And so I get a message that, um, what happened and I'm devastated. And I know that I have to go to Arizona and I am afraid to fly like legit afraid to fly because I had been on small planes before and [they’re terrifying] all of a sudden the plane dropped. Oh, it's so sad. I can't, but I'm like, I don't have a choice. That's my friend, and I'm going to go and I'm friends with his family. Like I said, they're like my family, I'm not letting them down and I'm going [to the funeral] to the funeral. So, I go to Arizona. I do the funeral thing. I stay a couple of days at Kevin's house, um, with his mom and I'm on my way back. And I am emotionally just empty. Do you know? [Yeah, just drained]
00:26:36 He was such a good person. And he was so down to earth and he just, it was just such a loss. And like, I, I always thought that we would be friends. I literally thought like ,we would be like, traveling together and he would be like, come visit us. And it's so unique that Chad liked him too. Like Chad wasn't threatened by him, [right] but they really dug each other. And they [your husband now] spent time together. Yes, my husband. Um, so I was just spent and I had a book and I'm sitting in the Sky Harbor Airport, waiting for my flight and I have to fly to Milwaukee to take this little puddle jumper to Grand Rapids. So I'm sitting there and in my book, Kevin's funeral card is like a little paper book with Kevin's picture on it. And I'm sitting there, I'm reading a book and I hate flying.
00:27:23 So I'm just kind of nervous. I'm not even reading the words and I'm waiting for boarding. And the whole sitting area is full. And when I look up there, a woman and an older gentleman, and the gentleman walks away from her as if he was going to go buy something or get something or use the restroom. And she's standing there and she looks like Debra Messing. She was just so pretty. Like her hair was auburn. She was wearing a maxi skirt. And she had like three quarter sleeves. She was just adorable. And I thought to myself like, oh, she's beautiful.
00:27:59 She ain’t got no place to sit because the whole place was full.
00:28:03 And so I go back, can I look down at my book? And the person next to me gets up. And so this woman sits next to me. It was not Debra Messing, spoiler alert. She sits next to me and I'm like, hey, whatever, I'm sociable. Usually it's not uncommon for me to like smile or whatever, but again, not feeling it. Just like, just drained. And she notices the funeral card as my bookmark. And she asks me about like, Kevin or whatever, or like, what am I doing here? And we start up a conversation. I don't remember the flow of the conversation, but she shared with me, someone in her life that had drowned. I was talking about Kevin. And, um, she was telling me how she was just flying around the world with her boyfriend, and they had to go back to Milwaukee for a family reunion.
00:28:52 So she, um, had better seats than I did because they were, um, call out sections for boarding. So like, you know, like the Airline Plus Plus People go first. So of course, her and her boyfriend, like he, he never came back to be with her. I think he was already standing in line. So when they called her section, she stood up. And when she was walking away, she took a bracelet off her wrist. And she goes, I had just been to Israel, and I had been to the spot where Saint Christopher helps Jesus with the cross, as he stumbles during the passion. And in that spot, there are missionary nuns that make rosaries into bracelets out of Rosewood. And that's what this is. That's where I had gotten this. And I want to give it to you, so, you know, you're going to have a safe flight. [Oh] and she just walks away.
00:29:45 I don't even know her name. And Jen, you know, me. I am sentimental AF. And I used to wear like, do you remember my scapulars? Yes. I have a whole box of scapulars that I used to wear, which is a Catholic thing, That you wear it over your back and on your throat. And it's a reminder that you're in spirit with God. And that if anything happens to you, it says, um, that you will have eternal rest basically in heaven. So I used to wear it all the time, like on vacations, like as a kid, I always had this like, raggedy ass cloth around my neck and I didn't even care. Um, so to have someone give me something beautiful, right, because this is not a cloth [from Israel]
00:30:30 From Israel, well made out of Rosewood. So, it smelled like roses [by nuns] By nuns, at the spot where apparently St. Christopher helped Christ. Like Jesus Christ. This is the best gift. That checked all your boxes. Oh my God. My tail was wagging like a motherfucker. Like, oh my God, what am I going to do with this bracelet? Like, that's all I thought about.
00:30:56 Like, am I going to wear it every day? Am I going to put it into my car? Like I was like, oh my God, this is the coolest thing. I cannot wait to like, show mom because I was like, oh, I was just like, so excited. So, I get on the plane. I ended up in Milwaukee. I do not see this woman again. I know she was a real person, but I like, again, she had better seats than I did. I was like low. If it was a Titanic, I was on the bottom with the rats. So I get to Milwaukee and I'm going on this little baby plane to fly like 45 minutes over lake Michigan to Grand Rapids. Now this plane is scary AF. It is like three seats, right? Two on the left, one on the right. And I don't know how big, like how long it is, but it ain't long. It is not long. And I look at my ticket and I, and I like shimmy past the seats to get to my seat. And I sit down and there are three ladies already on the plane to my right, a couple rows back. There was two people sitting and then one in front and the two together were telling the poor woman in front of them how safe this flight was. And don't be afraid, even though the plane looks like a joke. Right?
00:32:01 And, and I'm hearing, I'm like, okay, that's encouraging. And then this guy comes up to me and he's all like, you're in my seat. I'm like, I'm not in your seat, man. And I looked at my ticket. I was like, oh, I'm in your seat. And he goes
00:32:13 And walks away from me and goes to the front of the plane. So I was like, oh, that's embarrassing. And so I continually hearing this conversation between these three ladies and one of the ladies, the one in the further back sitting next to the window was saying, how this is her mom. They come here every day. They take this flight every day for treatments, because she's sick. She has this, like, different kind of cancer. That's only treated in Milwaukee from her area. And so I was like, oh man, that sucks so bad. And I look out the window. I'm like, I hope, I just hope we make it cause this plane does not look legit. And I'm really afraid. But you know, she says, everything's fine. And I hear as if someone was right next to me in this androgynous voice that was like, nondescript, “give her the bracelet.”
00:33:02 And I've heard this voice before, like, I'm going to be honest. Like, I've heard this voice before. And I know it wasn't for me, but I never heard it twice. Right? So I was all like, did I just hear that? I may be going crazy. Are you talking to me? You talking to me? What bracelet? I know. I ain't in your seat, too.
00:33:27 And so, I was like, if I hear it again. Okay. Cause I think I'm not going to hear it again. I never hear it twice. I was like, if I hear it again, then I'll give this woman my bracelet. Okay. And then I hear, “ give her the bracelet.” And I was like, God dammit! I really want this bracelet. Oh. And I was like, I literally like, slumped in my seat. I was like, God.
00:33:48 I just got this bracelet, Bro. I was like, that's not even fair. I didn't even bring it home yet. And I just like, look over my shoulder at them and they're still talking, blah, blah. And so I was like, God. And I tap on what turned out to be her mother's knee, cause that's how close we are because the plane is a joke. And I'm like, I look at them, they stop talking. Everyone's looking at me. And the woman that has the treatments is looking at me all wide-eyed. And I look at her and I'm like, I take the bracelet off my wrist. And I'm like, I guess this is for you
00:34:25 I was all mad. I was like, someone just gave me this bracelet and apparently it's for you. I was supposed to bring it to you. So here you go. Holy land, blah, blah. Israel, blah blah. Jesus Blah, blah.
00:34:36 Very special, here you go. Are you even Catholic? I didn't think so.
00:34:38 I just turned around and she looked at me like I was her angel, very pissed off, large angel, but I was so upset.
00:34:50 She was just so like stunned in that moment. Wow. So I get back to the car. I know it's I get back to the car and it hits me as I'm getting in the car. Like that is such an analogy for, for life and for Kevin's life. And it just even gives me goosebumps to think about. In that moment, I knew that I don't know the purpose of anything. Right. Just, because something's given to me doesn't mean it belongs to me. I could be acquiring something just for the sole purpose to give it to someone else. No matter how much I love it, how much I think, it deserve- I deserve it, and what a gift it is to me. And I thought, and then I called Kevin's mom, crying,
00:35:38 Cause it was like, that's so beautiful. And Kevin's mom was like, oh, you made it, huh? She's like, oh did you get drinks? She had no idea what I was talking about.
00:35:51 But every time something bad happens to me. I think about the bracelet and either I think I'm in a situation, whether someone is giving me a bracelet, that's a gift, but also it's a gift to give it away. So to bring up my other story that I was going to bring, I, um, got I, I was working for my boss, Richard at Metro and I left because I got- You’re getting awfully specific with our listeners. You want to drop your social security number too while we’re at it? . And what's that address Jill? In case our listeners would like to come by.
00:36:34 So, I left my job with um, my long-term job to go work with a startup company, um, in a different area of the recycling industry. And I was like, hells to the yeah. And I was successful. I was getting accounts. And part of the mission was to be an ambassador for, for not only our recycling efforts, but the company. So I was like, going to, um, conferences and had my own booth and speaking. And I was making all these connections that I didn't have before that I wasn't making before, because I never had that role with Richard. Right? So, um, long story short, they fired me. The, the, uh, recycling laws in Michigan, as it pertains to this particular area of recycling, had changed. Nobody cares.
00:37:21 So they fired me. And so I was very, very upset and I was looking for a job and I just remember thinking Jill, this is, this is the moment where the bracelet is going to come to use. Like either you're getting a bracelet or you're giving a bracelet. And at this moment someone's going to give you a bracelet. And Richard had found out from a coworker of mine, my past coworker, that I was looking for another job. And he said, do you think she'll come back? And in true to form, if you know Richard, he didn't ask me to come back. He called me to say how I was doing and if I would be interested.
00:38:00 And I said, yes. And then he's like, well, I'm going out of town for like three weeks. And when I get back, we'll talk about it again. So I didn't know whether or not he was going to hire me back. But when I asked him that, he was like, yeah, of course I was, what did you --?I was like, okay, I was eating a lot for three weeks, but he ended up hiring me back and I have not left since. And I learned my lesson. I'm a Metro girl.
00:38:28 Wow. What I love about both of those stories is that it reminds us that when you get something good in your life, that shouldn't be the end of it. That should inspire you to give good to someone else. And also a reminder that when something really shitty comes your way, that's temporary too. You know what I mean? Like nothing is permanent. We are here to, you know, to embrace in the moment and then let it go. Embrace and let it go. Good and bad.
00:39:01 I think of my friend dying. There is- I look at that experience and I think nothing good can come out of it, but true to form, like Kevin, like something good always comes out of Kevin.
00:39:13 Do you know what I mean? So that moment that like that happened, it's like,
00:39:18 Of course. Of course, Kevin was going to leave me with this tidbit of knowledge because that's who he was. Right. Wow. So, I'm not saying it's obviously it’s good that he's not with us, but I'm saying even know bad things happen, if you pay attention, there are, there are sprinkles of light and goodness in those moments, even when they seem the darkest.
00:39:38 And that brings us to the Westside Rapist. We'll work on that transition in editing. I thought it was rather smooth.
00:39:53 So I have a friend named meghan and my mom would always tell me whenever you're with meghan, it's just a combination for trouble. And she's right. Whether we're looking for it or not. It always seems like meghan and I were in some kind of shenanigans together. And so, um, this particular night, meghan and I were going to go to some guy's house that she met really far away. Now this was 1996 and there wasn't an internet. Like we, like if we were cool, which we weren't, we had pagers, but we didn't. So like, no, and I don't know how she met these people, but it was always people like, really far away. So this, on this particular night, it's a school night, Meghan and I living in Forest Park. As you recall, our town Forest Park is separated by the 290 expressway, north and south. But also that runs parallel along that same expressway is the Chicago Transit Authority, Blue Line. The train that goes to the city and back. And they stop. The end of it was there. At the train depot. Right. Yeah. Forest Park, the end of the line,
00:41:01 Forest Park, end of the line. And when you get off the train in Forest Park, you got options.
00:41:05 You’re either in Forest Park or you’re then getting on a bus. Most people don’t stay.
00:41:12 You get on a bus and you can go to any other Western Suburb farther west, north, south, whatever. So we were at the train station and the train station is set up where the trains come above you. So overhead, if you were in the lobby of the train station, that's where the trains would, would exit and arrive. And then you would come downstairs and as you're coming down the stairs, you had the option to go left to the different buses or long-term parking or right to like a kiss and ride and very short-term parking lot. Right? So, meghan and I, on this night, we're going to take a bus somewhere to Northlake for whatever reason. God knows what the hell we were even thinking. So I am too. How old are you again? 16. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So, I am looking and again, before the internet, there are paper schedules up on the wall of all the buses, the bus routes and what time.
00:42:15 So I had to figure out what our bus was. I didn't know the number of our bus, so, and what time it was coming. And it was dark out. So I'm thinking it's probably like at the end of the year, sometime. So like November, December, and, um, I'm standing there trying to figure out what, what, what bus we get on to go to Northlake. And meghan comes up to me with a shorter fellow. Now, meghan and I are both six feet tall. She's a lanky, Pink Panther looking, 6 feet tall. I am not, I am more of a husky, like meaty build. Eastern Europe. Solid. Juicy, we like to say.
00:42:54 So when she arrives with this little fellow, I'm just like, who's your little friend, you know, like what, what is happening? And she's like, this guy is going to give us a ride to Northlake. And I look at him and I say, okay, we have $4 in our pocket and we need $2 and 50 cents each to get back home. So we don't have money to give you. He’s like, ah, it's all right. It's all right. And I was like, uh, we're going to Northlake. I'm like, that's far. Like 45 minutes. Yeah. And he's like, it's okay. I have a Cadillac.
00:43:28 I'm parked over here. And he, he gestures to the short-term parking. So I'm like, well, if you're parked in the short-term parking, then you're waiting for someone like, why are you here? Right. And so I said, whoever you're waiting for, you're going to miss, because this is a really far drive.
00:43:47 And he was like, no, you're going to like my Cadillac. It's really- it's the blue, whatever. And to me, I remember that because our mom had a blue Cadillac that I would always get sick in. And so that's why I remember he had a blue Cadillac. I'm like, I don't know, I don't have a good track record in blue Cadillacs. I've thrown up many a times.
00:44:06 Just the thought of it was making me nauseous. And so I, I was like, ah, it's sure it would beat trying to figure out the schedule and waiting. So I'm like, all right, let's go. So we go back into the bus terminal or the train station in the lobby area. And we're walking directly across to the short-term parking. And all of a sudden, this larger gentleman is walking with us and I'm like, oh, who the fuck?
00:44:32 Um... and I stopped dead in my tracks. And I just got, um, I just knew. I go, meghan, I'm not going. That's all I said. And I turned around and I walked out. And I got on the first bus, and she was following me. We got on the very first bus that had their doors open. And you didn't even know where you were going. I had absolutely no idea where we were going, but I, I just, knew we had to get out of there. And we ended up somewhere on, like, 25th Avenue north of North avenue. Like I have no clue. The last thing I remember of that bus ride was getting off in like nowhere Melrose Park being like, now what?
00:45:07 I have no idea how we got home, but I did get home that night. And when I got home, I was going up to mom's room to give her a kiss tonight. And she was in bed. She was doing her crossword puzzle, laying on her stomach and the TV was on. And she had just watched Channel Five news at nine. And it was 10 o'clock. So she changed it, as I was in the room, to Channel Two news.
00:45:29 And I was like, Hi, I just got home, me and Meghan...
00:45:32 And all of a sudden there was a sketch of the little guy at the train station on the TV. Now it was muted, but I saw the sketch and I stopped talking to mom. I'm like, mom, I got to call Kevin-- Kevin.. Ma I gotta call Meghan. That's the guy. There's this guy that was at the train station today. And so I called eghan and I'm like, Meghan turn on Channel Two because it's not-- like we don't have TiVo. Right? Like this is like, satellite back in the day. And so mom hears me on the phone with Meghan and she's like, hang up, hang up. And I'm like, I gotta go change it to Channel Two, like right now. I'm like, what? And she's like, tell me about the guy. I'm like, well, he was like, a little bitty, nothing, but he was telling me that he was like, gonna drive us to Northlake.
00:46:08 And I was trying to explain like, dude, you're not going to be here for whoever. And she's like, what kind of car does he drive? And I'm like, well, I didn't see his car, but he told me he had a blue Cadillac. And she was like, okay. So she picked up the phone and I, she's not communicating with me. She was like, in her own, like, I'm like, okay. So she picks up the phone, she calls the Forest Park police and Officer John Scott came to the house. Wow. He was JR's... and this is how I remember this... He was JR.’s stepfather. So he recognized me from being in JR's class. I see. But yeah, so he was like, okay, what happened? And I'm like this guy, and I told the whole story to the officer. And um, he said that apparently they didn't understand why people were going with this guy, because he had said that it seemed unlikely that people would feel comfortable. And I was like, but this guy was really small, officer. I said, I felt like if anything were to happen, I can surely me and Meghan can overpower this guy in like a second. Like, honestly, it wasn't until the larger gentleman who was taller than me, and was like buff, like a solid, thick way, that was like, all my instincts were like, just get out of there. So that could have been…so.
00:47:21 Wow. And Jill, and that guy was known as the Westside Rapist, right? Okay. Let me tell you, this is why it’s weird. The reason why I always called him the Westside Rapist. And I don't know if I heard that title from the news that day, but I could not find that title on the internet when I was searching cause I was trying to find the guy for the story today. So I found the article and, um, I don't know if they caught him. Oh my God. I called. I know. I called the district. Um, the district police that he was raping people out of, he raped four women all picked up at, um, CTA stops, Chicago Transit Authority stops. And, um, it was like a string of, of rapes, like four. And the, the, when I saw the sketch, cause that's how I found it on newspapers.com. The police sketch. I knew it was him. It looked like, almost like someone had like, airbrushed because he was older looking than the sketch. But he was in the article. It said that he was tall. Interesting. I know.
00:48:30 I don't know why that's a disconnect and I don't know, but, so that's what happened. And I don't know what happened. And I called our cousin, Renee and Jenny, who is, um, a Chicago [police] officer. And she's like, without a name, she's just like, there's just no way I can find out. Yeah. Wow. I couldn't find anything else about them. Just that one article still that's super scary. Super scary.
00:48:52 So the theme is holy shit moments. That was certainly a holy shit moment for you. But my question is, was that moment, was that your common sense or was that like your spiritual sense? Like you, like, you like to say your spidey's?
00:49:09 I think it was two things. I think we, as humans have instincts, like as mammals have instincts, I think that that's part of it. I think that's part of our spidey senses. I think our spidey senses are part of the intuition of being animals. And I think that we, as Western cultures, had somehow conditioned ourselves not to attribute those, those things, those senses as something substantial. Like listening to your gut? Right. It's more woo woo, cause there is no rational reason why I would have been scared. To be honest, me and my friends were asshole kids and we hitchhiked all the time. Like it was not a thing. So to be like all of a sudden, and as soon as we got on the bus, Meghan and I were like, holy shit. Like it was like, we knew we were in trouble. That's why it was such a big deal that I called her right away when I saw that little guy on the news, like we knew on the bus that we like, that was a situation.
00:50:02 Wow. So when we were talking earlier, going back and forth about what is really the theme of this bonus episode, and it's about spirit in some way, influencing your life for the better. Right?
00:50:19 I think when you and I were talking earlier, you made such a good point. You, you said to me, I surr--- , because I, in my opinion, I always think of myself as surrendering to spirit, where you feel like, you will do everything you can yourself, like first. But I'm the kind of person to be like, God, just like, help. If anything happens in my life today, I'm like, Mom. I still like, yell for her in spirit to help me. And I was like, I feel like I surrender to it. And she's like, but, but you said, I make decisions and react based on whatever information I'm getting.
00:50:51 That is exactly right. That is exactly right. And I didn't realize that until our conversation about it yesterday. Aw. Well, good. I'm glad we had it because it's true because you need to be open. You need to be listening, but then you have to respond, you know, just like I didn't have to respond to that feeling to hold off and not message the first person that I was going to hire to work on our transcripts. You didn't have to listen to that voice that told you to give away that bracelet. You know, I mean, that, I think is a really important theme. You have to, if you want to be a more spiritual person and really use your instincts or your gut or your gifts or your psychic abilities, whatever you're going to call it, you have to pay attention and then you have to respond to it. Don't you think?
00:51:40 Yeah. In kind. I like the analogy, it's as if you get an Amazon package, like you want something and you want something, right. So you go out and you're like, this is what I want. And then it comes to the door, but you never answered the door. You never pick up the package. It's like, it's, you're not, you have to, you have to have the behavior, the action to go get the package so you can receive whatever it is that you were looking for.
00:52:02 Right, and if you're like me, if you're that self-sufficient, type A, empowered personality, sometimes you just have to let go. Release that control and ask for help. And for me, that was such a powerful experience because that's not me. That's not what I do. I don't get in these situations. Do you know? She doesn’t.
00:52:26 I never, never wait to the last minute. You know? So for me, I almost feel like that was an important journey on my own psychic development, because I knew that Grandma helped me.
00:52:40 To me, that story, the reason why I love it so much is because it literally was the trust game in spirit. You were literally closing your eyes and leaning back into Grandma, being like, [I got you] I don't know how else this is going to happen. That's how, like in my mind's eye, that's exactly what it is. And she caught you. Yeah, she did. Thank goodness.
00:53:02 Now, I have a question. What is it? Because I legit hate when I read on the internet, like “an angel intervened on my behalf” and you're like, really?
00:53:11 Don’t you just hate that shit. I'm like really did they? Did they just swoop right in there? What’s your question? My question is how come it doesn't happen all the time?
00:53:20 That's a great question. I think that- it does --that we're not always saved by grace. We don't always have angels rushing in to save us because we're actually here to learn some lessons.
00:53:34 We're here to make growth. The journey of our lives is all about growth and learning. And you can't learn, if you don't sometimes fail. You have to be tested. You have to go through those difficult moments because that's how you get your mettle. Mm hmm. That's how you improve. Hopefully, you reflect, and you know, it's not sometimes about improving. It's more about just the experience. Evolving. It's about evolving.
00:54:06 It's about the evolution of your soul. Yes, the evolution of the soul. Exactly. Yeah. In a more hokey way, I believe, and I don't know where, I mean, I think a lot of people have subscribed to this philosophy of a soul contract where you're like, [I sign up for this life. Sign me up.]
00:54:22 Exactly. You like, you created the stage with your soul induction. With your soul guides, right? Right. Before you incarnate, and you're like, this is who the child I want to be in this area, to learn these lessons, right? Right. And then you come into this life and then everyone has free will, and you ad lib, but the lessons that you were supposed to learn, you are like, I want to learn these. And so your guides, your angels, your helpers, your heavies on the other side won't intervene if that's what you signed up for. If you're so, so the, the catch 22 is that you don't know what those things are. So you have to be faithful and stay in the moment and know that either you're getting a bracelet or you're giving a bracelet.
00:55:08 Right. So those were our, some of our holy shit moments we would like to hear your holy shit moments. It'd be great to do a bonus about some of those moments that happen to our listeners. Wouldn't it? Yeah. I want to hear from you guys. I do.
00:55:25 I feel like it shouldn't always be us. This should be an interaction, people. No seriously. Email us at
[email protected].
00:55:38 Check out our website, commonmystics.net, where you can read the newly subscribed or transcribed transcripts. Also look for us on Instagram and Facebook at Common Mystics Pod. We're also on Twitter. You can subscribe and listen in on Amazon. Audible
00:55:57 Tuned in, Stitcher, Spotify, Google podcasts, and Apple podcast, where you can leave us a positive review, so other people can find us. We do love those positive reviews. Yay. Yay. Thank you for listening, everyone. Thank you so much guys. Good night.
