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Note: I wrote this in 2017. Be sure to read the end note!!

NPR recently ran a story on coincidences. There were some amazing stories and not one of my coincidences seemed to measure up to what I heard. But I have had a few.

Like the time I was in a cafe in Antigua, Guatemala, and a former housemate I hadn’t seen in eight or nine years walked in the door. Another time in Guatemala, (what is it about Guatemala?) on a different trip, I was sitting in a park in an obscure town and a friend strolled and sat beside me.

Just a few weeks ago, I hopped on the Tucson trolley to go to the Women’s March. As it was cool and damp and I have a hard time with cool weather on my legs and feet, I’d snuggled into my thermal boots. They’re warm and cozy, though I don’t particularly like them: black rubber with colored dots all over them.

Imagine my surprise when I boarded the trolley and found a young couple with their little girl, maybe age two. The child’s rain jacket was the same rubber and dots as my boots. A coincidence? Yes. Exciting? Not at all. But special in that brief moment when the child’s mother and I locked eyes and grinned. (sidenote: They also were headed to the march.)

But the biggest one, though it may not exactly count as a coincidence, happened in 1981.

I’d gone to Phoenix for a board meeting of the Arizona Solar Energy Association. After the meeting, the board members went out to tour a few solar homes. I spent the night with some friends on a chicken ranch named Huevos Rancheros del Sol (really) and returned to Bisbee the next morning.

When I unpacked the van, I couldn’t find my camera. I was devastated. I couldn’t afford a new one. Also, I’d taken lots of photos of the solar houses and wanted those pictures.

My then-partner went out to the van and searched. It was a plain panel van, two seats and nothing else, so it wasn’t hard to see everywhere. Obviously, he found no camera either.

About three weeks later, my partner and I did the co-op run to Phoenix. It was one of our volunteer activities: drive to Phoenix, visit three or four growers, pick fruits and veggies, bring them back to the coop.

The first stop was a farm in what was then the far southwest edge of the city, maybe five miles or so from Huevos Rancheros del Sol. This grower raised melons of all types. We’d stopped there first since we wanted the largest, heaviest things on the bottom of the load. 

We picked several varieties of melons and laid them across the floor of the van. I closed the van’s back doors and we headed down the road for the peach farm.

When we got there, we picked a few boxes of peaches and walked back to the van. I laid down my box, opened up the back door and shrieked. 

There, on the top of a watermelon, sat my camera.

It was impossible for it to be there. It hadn’t been there forty or so minutes earlier when I’d shut the back doors after loading melons. But there it was.

Is this a coincidence? It’s probably more like magic than coincidence, but it will have to do. 

I suppose the coincidence part is that the camera both disappeared and reappeared while in the southwest end of Phoenix. 

When I developed my film a few days later, all my shots were there, none missing or added.

The mystery of the reappearing camera still occasionally gnaws at me.

End Note: Just today, I looked at this piece and considered putting it in this blog. Then I decided it wasn’t complete enough. Not enough good coincidences. Half an hour later, I climbed into my car. My radio came on and the same coincidences story I’d heard years ago was replaying!

A sign, yes, and one more coincidence to put into this story, a story that is now complete.

She danced to a rhythm only she could hear.

When she first started dancing nearly forty years ago, she had no wings.

But it was often said she danced as an angel might, her long skirts flowing and twirling.

She danced at home.  She danced in the streets. She danced her way into church and she danced in the Safeway while choosing frozen peas.

I believe she danced through her dreams each night and then danced her dreams each day.

About fifteen years ago, she found a lump. Rather, she found two. She eventually danced her way to the doctor’s office where she was referred to a specialist, and then she danced her way there.

She paused in her dancing through the biopsy and danced up a storm when the doctor told her the lumps were benign. She danced as she told the doctor she’d live with the lumps.

But the lumps grew and within a few months they sprouted tiny downy feathers.

She danced her delight.

By year’s end, the downy feathers had become tiny wings.

Each year the wings grew, and each year she got her clothing adjusted to accommodate their size. After seven years the wings stopped growing.

With her wings, when she danced she could flutter off the floor, spin in the air, and touch lightly down. She danced her joy at having wings.

She said she would dance on her own grave.

Clifton, Arizona, is a small town, about 3400 people. And Morenci, the mining town just up the highway, is even smaller at under 1500. I hoped that, between the two towns, I’d find a decent hotel.  

I looked online and found four but checked the Clifton Hotel first. I looked at the website and found it was recently restored, and, in fact, still under renovation. It was a former “cowboy hotel” built in 1890 and at the time was called the Central Hotel. Happily, it was said to be haunted.

How could I not go? I’ve encountered spirits in the past but never when I’ve stayed in a hotel that was haunted. But I could hope.

I called the hotel and spoke to one of the owners, Karen, who bought the hotel with her husband Matt in 2017.

The couple lived in Tucson, she an engineer and he busy restoring and renovating buildings. They saw an article about Clifton that had a photo of the arch ruins downtown and decided to drive the two-and-a-half hours for a visit.

But Clifton held a surprise for them. The same day they arrived, they saw a rundown old hotel.

They called the realtor, visited the building, and bought it. That fast.

The realtor who sold it to them had once owned the hotel but sold it because shortly after purchasing it, he injured his back quite badly and wasn’t able to rehab it.

He sold it to the the current owner who just a few weeks after the purchase was hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk. His injuries left him unable to do the renovation, so he hired a crew to begin work.

The first day the crew showed up, they felt extremely uncomfortable there. They walked off the job and refused to go back.

But with all of that, Karen and Matt decided to buy the place.

Matt, however, became the third owner in a row to be derailed from his restoration project.

A few days before closing on the hotel, Matt became desperately ill. He couldn’t get out of bed for a week. In fact, he had to lie down in the back seat of a car to make it to the closing at all.

But he made it through closing and when he was better, he moved into the hotel to begin renovation.

Karen wrote this to me:

“Matt’s first few nights here were terrifying (I was living in Tucson at the time). He saw shadows and felt very unwelcome. But he persevered, and we feel that, because our intention was to restore the hotel rather than just modernize it, his work was accepted.

We’ve just put the finishing touches on our fourth room. This one is upstairs. While I don’t usually notice anything other-worldly, when I was in that room, putting up curtains, I was overcome by strong, long-lasting deja vu. I brought my bartender in there and she was immediately covered in goosebumps. She left the room and said she would never go in it again. Interestingly, the dogs do not like the room either. Katie will go in, but will slouch the entire time, while Pops will not enter at all.”

When I saw some of the before photos, I was shocked. If I hadn’t already stayed in one of their lovely rooms, I almost wouldn’t have believed it was possible.

From the outside it looked pretty hopeful.

All the “before” photos were provided by Karen and Matt, owners of the Clifton Hotel. Remaining photos of the interior today are mine unless otherwise noted.

The lobby needed a bit of work. Much of the damage was due to the 1983 flood which left 6-1/2 feet of water in the hotel! The building was abandoned then because it seemed impossible to clean up.

The walls held up well, though, since they’re constructed of slag block, a mining byproduct. Each block weighs about fifty pounds. Exterior blocks are stacked three thick making the walls 18” wide.

Matt and Karen had the blocks tested to be sure there were no traces of uranium or anything else dangerous. They’re perfectly safe.

Here’s a shot of the lobby when they bought the hotel followed by two photos of it today.

Karen shared all three of the above pictures. What an astounding difference!

Here’s the stairway as they found it.

Here are a few more shots that show the state of the hotel when Karen and Matt purchased it.

I simply can’t believe they bought it!

Here’s a before shot of Suite 2, where I stayed. Cement blocks fill in most of the space of the original window. A few photos down you’ll see today’s lovely curtained window.

And after.

Matt removed some walls to double the size of the rooms. Suite 2 was lovely, but it wasn’t large.

Back when it was a cowboy hotel, rooms must have been about 8’x10’. Today they’re twice the size, but once the bath and kitchenette are carved out of the space, the room is comfortable. But “cozy” might be a better description of its size.

The microwave and mini fridge were handy, and there was even a small sink for washing my utensils. Rooms are decorated in period furniture, but I’m sure it’s much nicer than what the guests of the late 1800s once had!

A few sweet touches.

A big plus: My bed was one of the most comfortable hotel beds I’ve ever slept in. And there was lightning-fast internet, too, something those cowboys of a hundred years ago could never have imagined.

At the back of the hotel is a common area with a large table, a coffeemaker, and space to relax.

I sat in this area for breakfast and dinner each day. I mostly had the space to myself but ran into another guest one time.

Well, I didn’t quite have the space to myself since the two hotel doggies often showed up to keep me company.

If you’re headed to Clifton, I truly recommend this hotel. I did have one disappointment with my stay, however. I never saw a ghost. Perhaps next time.

Beware when searching for the Clifton Hotel on the web, though! There’s one with the same name in Tucson that may come up first when you look.

To avoid the confusion, here’s a link to the hotel. Its website has additional information on the hotels history and on the town.

https://www.clifton-hotel.com

A number of people have told me they are unable to subscribe because they cannot find the subscribe link. I can’t see it from my side for some reason.

Can anyone of you who has subscribed recently explain what it is that you do? Thank you so much!

My adventure began when my friend Cinda sent me a small article she’d found online. It was about the Mexican folk saint Teresa Urrea, “The Saint of Cábora”. (Or it could be Cabora, without the accent. Maps disagree.)

Now, I happen to love Mexican folk saints. And I’d read about Santa Teresa in Luis Urrea’s famous book The Hummingbird’s Daughter. Luis is the great-nephew of the famous saint. I’m a big fan of Luis Urrea and have read a number of his books, but The Hummingbird’s Daughter is special to me.

Teresa’s story begins in the Mexican state of Sinaloa where she was born in 1873. It continues with the family’s move to Caborca, Sonora, and through her development there as a healer. The book ends when she has to flee for her life. The book is historical fiction but Teresa’s healing and miracles are well documented.

The article Cinda sent me said that Santa Teresa, often called Teresita, was buried in Clifton, Arizona, a few short hours north of where I live. She’d died of tuberculosis on January 11, 1906, only thirty-two years old.

As if it happened, my birthday was coming up in about six weeks. I’d been looking for something special to do. When I reached 70 a few years back, I figured it’s pretty important to celebrate every year.

So what does one do to celebrate during the time of Covid?

Easy. Visit a grave. The grave of Santa Teresa Urrea.

I did a bit of research online and found a photo of the grave. It was covered with a concrete slab and surrounded by a small, decorative metal fence. The notes said the grave was unmarked, but with the photo I hoped to find it. I saved the photo onto my iPad.

I scheduled a room at the Clifton Hotel (blog post soon about this sweet place). I reserved two nights.

I headed off on my birthday around 9:30 and after stopping along the way for gas, coffee, photos, etc., I pulled in to Clifton around 1:45. I wandered a bit and got to my hotel by 2:30.

After a quick meal, I headed out to the cemetery with my iPad containing the grave’s photo.

The photo showed two tall Italian Cypress trees, and I figured I’d line them up with the mountains in the background to find the grave.

I got to the cemetery and was happy to find there were only two Italian Cypress trees, the ones in my photo. I could see them right through the cemetery entrance.

It didn’t take long to find the grave, but I was surprised and pleased to find it was now marked with a simple cross atop the concrete. Teresita was etched into one arm of the cross, Urrea into the other.

The fence was decorated with a rosary, and there were pink and yellow plastic flowers tied to the fence. A candle to the Virgin of Guadalupe and a small card called an estampita (a little stamp) for the Virgin sat at the base of the cross. The estampita had the Virgin’s likeness on the front and a prayer on the back. The rim of the concrete was decorated with rocks. 

I sat.

I poured out some of my sorrows, told her about Covid and the terrible divisiveness in our country. I asked her to intervene. She’s a saint, after all.

We chatted for about twenty minutes. Truth be told, she didn’t really chat. But she listened.

As I left, I asked her to come to me in my dreams.

I visited her the following day, leaving some fresh-picked flowers on her grave, and stopped by again on my way out of town the morning I left. 

Each time as I left, I asked her to visit me.

She hasn’t yet, but who’s to know? If you’ve read my post of a few weeks ago, you know I sometimes encounter spirits.

Teresa, I’m ready for a visit.

“Old man, look at my life / I’m a lot like you were /Old man, look at my life / I’m a lot like you were / Old man, look at my life / Twenty-four, and there’s so much more.”

I loved those lines from Neil Young’s Old Man when I was twenty-four. I left the Midwest for Tucson at twenty-three, and a month later at twenty-four I was living in Tucson and knew I was a Westerner.

But Neil, you need to do a rewrite now.

“Young one, look at my life / I was a lot like you are / Young one, look at my life / I was a lot like you are / Young one, look at my life / Seventy-four and there’s so much more.”

I don’t yet know what the “much more” is, but to be sure, I plan on going after it.

Some of that “more” will include sorting, tossing, packing, and moving, though to where I don’t know. But it will be a place with public transportation and good medical facilities.

Part of the “more” will involve travel to places near and far and especially travel to be with my family. 

Most likely a part of the “more” will include a cat one day. An indoor cat. No more feline mass murderers in my home. 

Before Neil Young sang of  being twenty-four, there’d been songs with ages in them. Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. Janis Ian’s At Seventeen. 

When I did a Google search, I found there are many more songs with ages in their titles. Most are by people or groups I’ve never heard of and mention ages sixteen to twenty-five. Very telling about our culture.

One didn’t fit that mold, though. The next song I related to was John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High. 

“He was born in the summer of his 27th year / Coming home to a place he’d never been before / He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again / You might say he found a key for every door.”

I was twenty-seven when I moved to Bisbee. It was winter. But by the summer of my twenty-seventh year, I knew I’d come home, to a place I’d never been before. You might say I was born again, into a community of hippies and I felt I’d found a key to quite a number of doors.

Key? Ha. In those days, no one locked their doors.

Then there were no more songs with ages in them, at least not that I recall, until sixty-four. When I finally caught up to the Beatles’ When I’m Sixty-Four, well, I still liked the song, but the line “Will you still need me, will you still feed me / When I’m sixty-four” held little meaning since I didn’t much need to be needed and anyway, I was feeding myself. 

Feeding myself a bit too much, actually, since I was at least thirty pounds overweight. Glad I’ve corrected that. 

There was one more song that spoke to me though it wasn’t about a specific age. It spoke to me long ago and does so even more clearly today. It’s John Prine’s Hello in There.

“You know that old trees just grow stronger / And old rivers grow wilder every day / Old people just grow lonesome / Waiting for someone to say, ‘Hello in there, hello.’”

But Neil, now that I’m seventy-four, please do a rewrite on Old Man and call it Young One. You can use my suggested opening lines. They are all I can come up with, but please pick up on it, okay?

The first time I met a spirit, ghost, or whatever you choose to call them was in about 1975.

I was house sitting for friends about ten miles east of Bisbee (Arizona.) I stayed for a week in the little house that sat right off the highway.

I’d had several experiences of car lights flashing into the kitchen. Each time, I thought someone had pulled into the drive because it was the only way lights could have lit up the kitchen that way.

But there was never a car in the driveway. This happened every night, sometimes more than once, but there was never anyone there.

I slept on a sofa, and about six feet from it was a large open beam that ran the width of the house. The beam sat several feet below the ceiling.

Near the end of my stay, I awoke suddenly one night. Sitting on that beam was a round, oversized orange head. It was like a cartoon image—perfectly round with simple features.

The eyes of that orange face stared directly into mine.

Suddenly it hovered and moved in closer to me. It just hung there in the air for a bit and then faded away.

And no, I wasn’t dreaming.

My second encounter was in the summer of 1977.

I was on a road trip, gently roaming my way to Montana, and stopped for a night at Canyon de Chelley.

The first afternoon, I hiked some and spent time gazing into the canyon. The second day, I visited the White House Overlook.

I felt a stirring. A past. I couldn’t identify it, but I swear I felt spirits of the dead around me.

I was standing next to an older Diné man. We were both staring at a cave in the rock face high above the canyon floor.

He spoke softly. “My mother died there.”

My head spun his direction as he continued. “The army was attacking and she was carrying me up the ladder to the cave. When she got there, she handed me to my grandmother. My grandmother took me and right then, my mother was shot in the back and fell into the canyon. My grandmother pulled up the ladder, and those of us in in the cave were safe.”

I don’t remember what I said to him, but tears streamed down my face for the next ten minutes or so while we stood there side by side. 

No wonder I’d felt the ghosts of the past.

The third time was in 1982 when I lived out west of Bisbee at a place called Banning Creek Ranch, about halfway down Highway 92 from the tunnel on the south side.

The house was a delight. I loved every inch of it. Almost. There was one spot in the living room that was cold. Always cold, even on a hot summer day. The sofa sat right at the cold spot facing a beautiful fireplace. 

I couldn’t enjoy the sofa because of that cold. But I was the only one who noticed it. 

About a dozen years later I was in a writing group, and we met one evening in the home of a woman who lived maybe half a mile from the Banning Creek house. I told her where I’d once lived and she looked shocked.

“Did you know a cowboy was murdered there? He was shot and killed right in front of that big fireplace.”

Ah. The cold spot.

The fourth time was in 1989 in Guatemala. I was taking a boat across Lago Atitlán on a day trip from Panajachel to Santiago de Atitlán.

Lago Atitlán is stunningly beautiful but infamous because of the way it was used during the wars of the 70s and 80s. 

The indigenous population had many members working as or working with the guerilla, fighting Guatemala’s dictatorship.

Soldiers would come into a village and take a suspected leader away. A short time later, villagers were herded to the lake. A helicopter would appear, its side door open. The kidnapped villager, hands tied behind his or her back, was pushed out the door into the lake where he either died on impact or drown.

It was one of numerous repressive actions the government used to stifle revolution. Over a decade or so, hundreds were dropped into the deep waters of Lago Atitlán.  

On the day I was crossing the lake, I was gazing out across the still waters. Suddenly, clear as anything, about sixty or seventy people rose from the lake. All wore indigenous clothing.

A man near the front moved forward a bit and held out a large turtle to me.

I gaped. I gasped. Then I heard voices close behind me and looked around. Others on the boat were looking at me oddly.

When I swiveled my head back to the people of the lake, of course they were gone.

That is the day I became a Turtle Person.

The next time was late in 2006, about ten months after my father died. I awoke in the night and saw his face across the bedroom under the window. His face zoomed toward me and he looked at me closely. Then, just like the big orange face that had done the same thing, Dad disappeared.

I’m guessing he was there to check up on me and say goodbye.

And now I have a new visitor. Or at least I did.

For about three weeks I had a visitor, a man. I’d see him out the side of my eye, usually my right eye. I’d see him all through the house and once outside. 

He’d be standing at a slight angle to me, as if I could turn slightly and we’d be looking straight at each other. He stood somewhat slouched, dressed in browns and tans, and he wore a hat. I never saw him clearly because when I’d look, he’d be gone.

I got the sense he was youngish, maybe in his thirties. But it was hard to tell since I could never really see him.

He’d just stand there, maybe six feet away. He looked like he should be holding a cup of coffee. And maybe he was.

I got the sense he could be a cowboy, but again, since I never got a real look, I can’t be sure. 

A few weeks ago, I may have made a mistake. I told others about him. And he hasn’t been back since then.

I wish he’d come again. I’d like to find out who he is and why he’s here.

Each of my ghostly encounters is still so real, so clear. I can see every one and envision the setting perfectly.

I once assumed folks lucky enough to be visited by a spirit had that connection with just one person in one location unless they were some kind of medium. I had no idea I’d be one of the lucky ones, let alone have several experiences.

I love knowing I can, on occasion, be visited by spirits, even those to whom I have no special connection. I look forward to my next encounter.

In 1985 I left the desert for a job in Kansas City, Missouri, a city that had long been racially divided. I moved to have the chance to live closer to my family in St. Louis and take an interesting job. 

Two years later, I was offered a position as director (and sole employee) of a day drop-in center for street people. Thankfully, I was able to get an assistant about a year later.  

It was a late spring afternoon in 1988, long before the Black Lives Matter movement began.

I was walking from my downtown office at the Homeless Center to a nearby social service agency. 

Suddenly a young Black man dashed across a vacant lot with four policemen in pursuit. Three of those men were white, one I thought might be Japanese. 

Suddenly, the young man’s shoe slipped off, and he knew it was over. He stopped, raised his hands, and turned to face his pursuers.

I’d paused to watch, of course. But I was shocked when the first cop to reach the man began to beat him with his club. The victim covered his head and he was hollering, “No, man! No! I stopped!”

Without even thinking, I ran over and hollered at the cops to stop. They did. Not because I’d told them to but because they were surprised at my interruption. 

One of the white men walked toward me and said I had to leave or I’d be arrested for interfering with police business.

I walked away but continued to watch, standing there as they handcuffed and hauled their captive back across the lot and around a corner.

I didn’t follow them, but today I wish I had.

What I did do was write a letter to the editor describing the event. I told the paper I wanted my accounting printed anonymously, but they refused, saying the paper required that my name be on the letter.

I had to think about that for a bit. Kansas City police were well known at the time for basically doing whatever they wanted to do. But ultimately, I agreed to having my name printed.

The next morning, my assistant opened the Homeless Center and I came in maybe twenty minutes later. There were a dozen or so men already there.

When I walked in, one of them waved the newspaper and they all began to cheer and applaud. One guy borrowed my scissors so he could cut out the article and put it on the wall. Suddenly, I was a hero.

Within an hour, I got a call from the Chief of Police. He wanted to know if my letter was true and I told him that of course it was. He asked if I thought I could identify the policemen, and I said I believed I could.

I walked same route as I had a few days before, this time passing the social service agency and nervously entering the police station. The captain himself met me and escorted me to a room that had a few dozen photos posted.

I identified all four who’d been there, first telling him who’d swung the billyclub and next which one had threatened me with arrest. Then I quickly pointed out the other two. The whole ID process took me under a minute. The men’s faces had burned into my brain.

I was notified about a week later that all four men had been put on leave and the one who’d swung the club had been demoted.

I have no idea if the man who’d been beaten was satisfied with the outcome, but I was. I wondered if the Black man had been surprised by my intervention. I also wondered if the police had beat him more later because of it. 

Since it was Kansas City, I was truly uncomfortable for several months afterwards. I never sped. I made complete stops and always used my turn signal. I waited at crosswalks until the light was green and didn’t even consider jaywalking. 

I didn’t want anyone in the department to have even the hint of an excuse to ticket or arrest me for anything.

All was well at the Center until mid-summer when one morning one of the guys came tearing in, running through the big main area and heading out the back. I dashed out of my office to see what was going on and almost collided with a cop in pursuit. I remained in front of him as he screeched to a halt.

I chewed him out for chasing through the Center and told him he was welcome to visit but that our space was off limits for chasing and arresting. 

By then he’d lost whoever he was after, so he just snarled at me and left through the front door. 

There was a good crowd there that day, over twenty guys. They first roared with laughter and then cheered me again. 

That story circulated for days, and guys who came in only occasionally dropped by to thank me. Some gave me a hug. 

Interestingly, after that, the regular beat cop (not the one who’d been chasing a client) came in one day and said he’d like to drop by now and again. He said he wouldn’t be looking for anyone nor be there to arrest anyone. He just wanted an occasional friendly presence.

I about fainted but decided to trust him. I told him it would be okay. The guys weren’t real pleased, but over time, they got to know that cop and true to his word, he never gave anyone a hard time when he dropped in. The guys adjusted and even found they could talk to him, ask him questions.

A simple intervention on a vacant lot and stopping a chase culminated in a bridge-building between the guys I worked with and at least one man, one tiny piece, of the Kansas City Police Department.

Never doubt that one small action can have a profound effect.