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My Maria ~ Brooks and Dunn
My Maria don’t you know I’ve come a long, long way
I been longin’ to see her
When she’s around she takes my blues away
Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes
I’m a lonely dreamer on a highway in the skies
Maria, Maria I love you
My Maria there were some blue and sorrow times
Just my thoughts about you bring back my piece of mind
Gypsy lady you’re a miracle work for me
You set my soul free like a ship sailing on the sea
She is the sunlight when skies are grey
She treats me so right lady take me away
My Maria
Maria I love you
My Maria don’t you know I’ve come a long, long way
I been longin’ to see her
When she’s around she takes my blues away
Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes
I’m a lonely dreamer on a highway in the skies
Maria, Maria I love you
My Maria there were some blue and sorrow times
Just my thoughts about you bring back my piece of mind
Gypsy lady you’re a miracle work for me
You set my soul free like a ship sailing on the sea
She is the sunlight when skies are grey
She treats me so right lady take me away
My Maria
Maria I love you
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Originally Posted January 25, 2007
My Maria.
Friend, teacher, guide, sister, mother.
I do not recall a time when Maria was not with me. As a youngster I could actually see and converse with her, although she did most of the conversing. Since then we meet up in dreamtime.
She literally saved my life on two occasions that I recall. In one instance, I had soaked a piece of bread in turpentine from the garden shed with the intention of eating it. A split second before I put it in my mouth, she appeared out of nowhere to take it from me.
So real are the memories of her, until about 5 years ago, I believed this woman was my mother. My here-on-earth-gave-birth-to-me-mother. Imagine how nutty a person could become having such vivid memories of such extraordinary occurrences, and being the only one who remembered them. Imagine going through life wondering why your mother doesn’t remember saving your life, or telling you all the scary things she told you. I was certain she was crazed for sharing such horrifying tales with a person so young.
So real are these memories, every detail of every encounter is crystal clear. Where I was, what I was wearing, the weather, and who was in the Superbowl that year. Okay I made that last one up, but the point is, I am in my 40’s now, most of the visions happened between the ages of 4 to 5 years old, and I still see them like it was yesterday. To this day Maria Moments continue to resurface.
Who is she? I haven’t a clue. I always had to look up to see her, I know that. In my dreams she is always above me and over my shoulder, leading me from behind. I rarely see her in my dreams, but I always know when she’s there and I always know it’s her. All I am certain of is, since Purpleaura and I have known each other, she is the woman above my shoulder.
I spent a lot of time in the back yard alone as a child, and was perfectly content in doing that. If Maria came to me outside, it was either in the sandbox under the giant maple tree, (now known as the Maria Tree), or under the plum tree. The yard was full of various varieties of trees so I’m not sure why she chose those ones. She also came to me in the kitchen where I sat on a tall stool, and even on that tall stool I still had to look way up to see her.
So what did she tell me? On November 22, 1963, shortly after I had turned 5, I was happily playing away under the plum tree, when Maria suddenly appeared and said, “John Kennedy has just been shot and killed, you better come in the house and watch it on TV”. I promptly made my way to the house to do as I was told. Trust me; I did not know who John Kennedy was at that age, and probably didn’t know what “shot and killed” meant either. I did as instructed although I don’t recall walking to the house; I was just there in front of the TV watching the coverage of the assassination. Why did she show me this? Again I have no clue. These are some of my greatest mysteries.
On another occasion she told me of the Secrets of Fatima. If she told me the secrets, I have zero recollection of that. What she did tell me was a story of 3 children in Portugal who were visited by the Virgin Mary, who told those children the 3 secrets.
Friend, teacher, guide, sister, mother.
I do not recall a time when Maria was not with me. As a youngster I could actually see and converse with her, although she did most of the conversing. Since then we meet up in dreamtime.
She literally saved my life on two occasions that I recall. In one instance, I had soaked a piece of bread in turpentine from the garden shed with the intention of eating it. A split second before I put it in my mouth, she appeared out of nowhere to take it from me.
So real are the memories of her, until about 5 years ago, I believed this woman was my mother. My here-on-earth-gave-birth-to-me-mother. Imagine how nutty a person could become having such vivid memories of such extraordinary occurrences, and being the only one who remembered them. Imagine going through life wondering why your mother doesn’t remember saving your life, or telling you all the scary things she told you. I was certain she was crazed for sharing such horrifying tales with a person so young.
So real are these memories, every detail of every encounter is crystal clear. Where I was, what I was wearing, the weather, and who was in the Superbowl that year. Okay I made that last one up, but the point is, I am in my 40’s now, most of the visions happened between the ages of 4 to 5 years old, and I still see them like it was yesterday. To this day Maria Moments continue to resurface.
Who is she? I haven’t a clue. I always had to look up to see her, I know that. In my dreams she is always above me and over my shoulder, leading me from behind. I rarely see her in my dreams, but I always know when she’s there and I always know it’s her. All I am certain of is, since Purpleaura and I have known each other, she is the woman above my shoulder.
I spent a lot of time in the back yard alone as a child, and was perfectly content in doing that. If Maria came to me outside, it was either in the sandbox under the giant maple tree, (now known as the Maria Tree), or under the plum tree. The yard was full of various varieties of trees so I’m not sure why she chose those ones. She also came to me in the kitchen where I sat on a tall stool, and even on that tall stool I still had to look way up to see her.
So what did she tell me? On November 22, 1963, shortly after I had turned 5, I was happily playing away under the plum tree, when Maria suddenly appeared and said, “John Kennedy has just been shot and killed, you better come in the house and watch it on TV”. I promptly made my way to the house to do as I was told. Trust me; I did not know who John Kennedy was at that age, and probably didn’t know what “shot and killed” meant either. I did as instructed although I don’t recall walking to the house; I was just there in front of the TV watching the coverage of the assassination. Why did she show me this? Again I have no clue. These are some of my greatest mysteries.
On another occasion she told me of the Secrets of Fatima. If she told me the secrets, I have zero recollection of that. What she did tell me was a story of 3 children in Portugal who were visited by the Virgin Mary, who told those children the 3 secrets.
Maria also told me the story of Adam and Eve. She said they had been banished from the Garden of Eden for sinning, then went on to describe what the world would have been like had they not done that. She spoke of a place with no pain, no suffering, nobody was ever sick or angry or sad. Even in my tender youth I could not comprehend why they would have done that. What could possibly be worth giving up a world of peace and serenity? Again she may have told me the answer but I do not recall. The bible version of events has always had a feel of untruth to me, that much I know.
Another tale was of an earthquake so enormous, it would create a huge crack in the earth where people, houses, cars, trees, anything in its path would be swallowed up by the crack. Then the crack would close back up and anything it consumed would never be seen again.
One particularly vivid memory was of the night we watched the movie The Bad Seed together. For anyone not familiar, it’s about a young girl of 9-years-old or so, evil to the core, who goes on a killing spree. In the end the mother gives her some sleeping pills to put her to sleep forever. I was horrified at the thought of a mother killing her own child. Maria said sometimes people are just born evil, and if they remain alive, they will hurt many, many people. Sometimes these things need to be done.
For 40-some years I asked myself why the *$#^ would a mother let her toddler watch such a movie? That movie scared the crap out of me! And why in the world would she only let me watch it? I had 2 older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. None of them remember this occurring. My mother has no recollection of letting me watch it, and can’t believe she would have ever done that. And nor can I. But I do know I watched that movie at a very young age in the arms of woman I thought was my mother.
I’ve wondered if perhaps I was having a restless night, my mother came to comfort me, and I caught a bit of the movie. But no, it was like it had been pre-planned. Almost as if Maria had told me that day we would watch it together that night.
Maria told me sometimes men have sex with chickens. Yeah, you try and figure that one out.
While in school one day she explained the flying machines people used as transportation in the past. Yes the past. She even drew pictures on the chalkboard. I was so excited about this I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my mother what I had learned in school that day. I believe I was told not to tell stories.
One warm summer night she took me to the shores of Lake Erie to show me the lights of Cleveland. Cleveland is a few chapters in itself.
Again under the plum tree, after a plane flew overhead, she appeared to tell me about Pearl Harbor, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And again I had to ask, why would my mother do that? That story frightened me silly and I’ve been scared of planes ever since. Literally, to this day, every single time a plane flies overhead, I fear hearing a bomb drop. Maria said it would happen again.
The other time she saved my life was after a car accident in Niagara Falls. I was a passenger in a Pinto that hit a very large tree, head-on, at 50mph. Being a teenager, and being the 70’s, we had a fair amount of contraband in the car. Had we been caught with that contraband, a trafficking charge would have ensued, of that I have no doubt.
As it was, my father had forbidden me some time earlier to ever associate again with the boy who was driving the car. I had been threatened on numerous occasions to be sent to a home for juvenile delinquents, this would have been the thing that could very well make that happen. If not jail.
I don’t know what happened after we hit the tree. I don’t feel like I lost any time, but I am certain I had a near death experience. My first recollections after the impact were of a woman who was at the car saying to the driver, “If you have any drugs, you better give them to me, the cops will be here soon”. The driver handed her the drugs and she disappeared.
After that I recall thinking, “I am in the biggest crap I have ever been in”. I got out of the car with the belief it would be best if I just jumped over the falls. Facing my father after this situation was a frightening thought, death really did seem a better alternative. I walked across a park towards the falls when the same woman who came to the window was suddenly right beside me. She asked what I was planning on doing. I told her but she talked me out of it, how I don’t know, the next thing I remember is waking up in the back of an ambulance thinking my best friend, the other passenger, was dead. It was not, how did we say?, “A good scene”. Not good at all.
We were treated and sent home. I faced the wrath of my father, did not get sent to a home, but did get grounded for the rest of my life. The fact we all survived helped ease the blow. The two rear tires were all that could be salvaged from the car and the three of us walked away with minor abrasions. There was minor damage to the tree which we were obligated to pay.
When the three of us compared notes later, we found we had all been unconscious for varying amounts of time. I was certain I got out of the car but the boy insists I did not.
Two nights after the accident, I was making a sandwich when my dad came in the kitchen and asked what I was doing in Niagara Falls? I said nothing, we went there for the view. He said we went to buy drugs. I denied it. He asked why then, did he hear a taped telephone conversation of a witness who claims she saw us give a bag of drugs to somebody?
All I know is, whoever that woman was, if she had not shown up at the window, I would have faced some very serious charges and my life would have been much different today.
Happy Dreams
Miss Scarlet
