Last post I mentioned something strange that happened to me and wondered what the Universe was trying to tell me. It's not the first time I've asked that question.
For instance, one day last September I decided to change my research to some kind of science, because I was fed up with religion and wanted nothing to do with spiritual things any more.
That day I received a letter from my mother, who lives in Canada. It included an international money order to be paid out to me, and papers authorizing me to take control of her Australian bank account. She had it for when she came to visit us in Australia, but because she isn't well enough to travel any more, she decided to close it. She wanted me to have the money that was in it.
So, that's fine. I was happy because the money would help me pay off the mortgage faster and I could use some of it for physiotherapy and exercise classes.
The next day I went to the bank. The first thing I did was go to a teller and give him the money order and my bank card and told him to put the money into my chequeing account. He said "No problem."
He swiped the card into the machine, typed something, then handed me a receipt. Done.
Then I went to the help desk with the legal papers to close my mother's account. They got me to wait about 20 minutes until I could talk to a customer service rep.
He looked at the papers, checked out my mothers signature, checked my ID and said everything was in order. He then took me to another teller to close the account and transfer her money over to my account.
There he discovered that the money order from the first transaction had been put into my mother's account, not mine. This weirded out both the bank teller and the Customer service rep- they couldn't understand how it could possibly have happened, since her account hadn't been signed over to me until 30 minutes later. My mother and I have totally different last names, the first teller couldn't have known she had an account there, and he couldn't have known what her account number was. The first transaction went quickly- half a minute or so, so it's not like the first teller had been looking anything up. Besides, the receipt I got had said it was put into my account. He had no idea I was going to do any other transactions either.
Weird, eh?
I'm still trying to think why this might have happened. I've got two
explanations,
1. I sometimes fritz out machines, so this may just be another example of that.
or
2. Maybe it's a message saying that even if I'm doing something as boring and as straightforward and non-spiritual as depositing a cheque in a bank, I'm still going to have the spiritual with me.
Of course there's always the explanation that it was some weird coincidence, but if so, it must have been really unlikely or the bank employees wouldn't have been so freaked out.
Showing posts with label anecdote. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anecdote. Show all posts
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
How a Backhoe Broke my New Year's Resolution
Hi
Hope you all had a great holiday!
We were away, so I didn't get to make a New Year's resolution until last night. I was thinking about how many things worried me and I decided that this year I wasn't going to be afraid of anything any more.
I was quite happy with this decision, and felt much better once I'd
made it. I then started to plan how I could make it come about.
Cue to this morning. I'm walking my dog at a huge park which is only a block away from my house. It has a swimming pool, many football fields, tennis courts, a dune area and a bicycle path that winds around a couple of its small hills. Currently they are upgrading it so there are a lot of tractors, trucks and backhoes driving around the place.
Anyway, I'm walking my dog behind the swimming pool complex and cut across a couple of unmowed fields to get to an area behind the tennis courts. I notice that one of the backhoes is coming up behind me. It looks like it's heading straight for me.
I decide to go around a hill to hide from the driver, but I can see by looking at the shovel which is poking up above the hill that he's turned to follow me. There is a row of bushes next to the path I'm on, so I quickly take dog behind them and reverse my direction.
He passes me by a few hundred feet, but then must have seen me, because he reverses so he's following me again. At this point I come to a clearing where there are two other people walking their dogs and letting them run free.
I join this group and I point to the backhoe and say- "I could swear that thing is following me!"
After I pointed at the machine, the backhoe takes off to the direction it came from and starts digging, exactly where it was before.
I've been followed by cars before, but never a backhoe! I wonder what the universe is trying to tell me. :)
Hope you all had a great holiday!
We were away, so I didn't get to make a New Year's resolution until last night. I was thinking about how many things worried me and I decided that this year I wasn't going to be afraid of anything any more.
I was quite happy with this decision, and felt much better once I'd
made it. I then started to plan how I could make it come about.
Cue to this morning. I'm walking my dog at a huge park which is only a block away from my house. It has a swimming pool, many football fields, tennis courts, a dune area and a bicycle path that winds around a couple of its small hills. Currently they are upgrading it so there are a lot of tractors, trucks and backhoes driving around the place.
Anyway, I'm walking my dog behind the swimming pool complex and cut across a couple of unmowed fields to get to an area behind the tennis courts. I notice that one of the backhoes is coming up behind me. It looks like it's heading straight for me.
I decide to go around a hill to hide from the driver, but I can see by looking at the shovel which is poking up above the hill that he's turned to follow me. There is a row of bushes next to the path I'm on, so I quickly take dog behind them and reverse my direction.
He passes me by a few hundred feet, but then must have seen me, because he reverses so he's following me again. At this point I come to a clearing where there are two other people walking their dogs and letting them run free.
I join this group and I point to the backhoe and say- "I could swear that thing is following me!"
After I pointed at the machine, the backhoe takes off to the direction it came from and starts digging, exactly where it was before.
I've been followed by cars before, but never a backhoe! I wonder what the universe is trying to tell me. :)
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Evolution of the Story of a Shipwreck
Here are excerpts from a series of newspaper articles about an event that happened to one of my husband's ancestors in 1874. His name was Patrick Humphries. It is interesting to see how the
accounts differ. Here's a map to give you an idea of where in Sydney Australia this happened:
Now here are some basic facts to compare the stories to:
-A fishing boat called the Mermaid left Watson's Bay on Feb 8, 1874.
-There were 4 passengers on board.
-A storm hit shortly after 2PM when they were a couple of miles off Dee Why.
-The boat sank beneath their feet.
-There were 3 oars for 4 people.
-One of those who had an oar didn't make it.
-Of the 3 that made it, 2 had an oar to cling to, the other man didn't.
-The 3 landed at Curl Curl, where they hid in the bushes until a policeman brought them brandy and clothes from Manly.
..............................
1. Here's a newspaper report with information from a signaling station:
THE SYDNEY EVENING NEWS FEB. 9, 1874
STORM AND LOSS OF LIFE. The following memorandum was received this morning by Inspector Ferris from the signal station on the South Head:-"The fishing boat Mermaid was capsized and sank off Deewy yesterday. One man, named Manuel Jocento, was drowned; the other three men swam ashore."
2. The article continues with information from a police report:
From Senior-constable Carton, stationed at Manly Beach, we were enabled to gather the following additional particulars this morning:-"Shortly after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon a very fierce squall came up from the north-east and broke over the Heads and Manly Beach suddenly, and with terrific violence. It continued for over a quarter of an hour, during which time it did a great amount of damage to the timber at Manly, sweeping down the trees and scattering them in all directions. The windows of the station house and other houses were threatened to be broken by the heavy fall of hail, combined with the terrific force of the wind.
During this storm-which seems to have been confined to the locality of the Heads and Manly, -the Mermaid, fishing boat, was running home when she was caught in the squall, capsized, and sank about a mile from the shore off Deewy.
The occupants of the boat were residents of Watson's Bay, named Patrick Humphries, Henry Bowman, John Blanket (a Maori, a servant of the Hon. John Robertson), and Manuel Jocento. When they were thrown into the water, they divested themselves of all their clothes except their shirts, and struck out for the shore. There was a tremendous sea running at the time, and the men found themselves making very little headway, and drifting fast round the North Head. Jocento became exhausted and sank, but the other men buffeting with the waves for over an hour, were finally enabled to reach the land at Curl Curl.
The men hid in the bush, until some boys who were passing by discovered them in then- unhappy plight, and gave information to Senior-constable Carton, who immediately procured some clothes and a bottle of brandy from the lodgers at Lambourne's Hotel, and took them down to the men.
They were much exhausted, so much so that they were all convinced that had they been in the water ten minutes longer they must have given up and sank. When they were sufficiently recovered, Carton put them into a waterman's boat, and they were taken across to Watson's Bay.
.....................................................
3. The Sydney Morning Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1874.
FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT OUTSIDE THE HEADS. At 11 a.m., on Sunday, four men named Patrick Humphries, Henry Bowman, John Blanket (a Maori), and Emanuel Jacinto, left Watson's Bay in a fishing boat and proceeded outside the Heads under sail. Off Long Reef, at between 2 and 3 p.m., and when the boat was about three miles from the shore, she was suddenly struck by a cyclonic squall, which fairly lifted her out of the water and capsized her, leaving the crew struggling in the waves. Having ballast on board, she immediately sank.
The men being all excellent swimmers at once struck out for the shore. Humphries, Bowman, and Blanket succeeded in effecting a landing at Curl Curl, after being over two hours in the water, but, Jacinto unfortunately was drowned. Tho survivors' state that they saw a shark swimming near them shortly after the boat went down, and it is supposed that Jacinto was seized by it.
On reaching Manly Beach the men were kindly received by Mr. John Woods, who supplied them with brandy and tea. Messrs. Lambourne and Barcett also provided them with dry clothing, after which they were sent over to Watson's Bay by senior-constable Carton in one of Mr. B. Skinner's boats.
….....................................................................................
4.This is a letter to the editor. Patrick Humphries says this is an accurate account:
Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday, March 4 1874 and republished Monday 26 May 1890 at Humphries' request:
THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
The 8th February last commenced with as lovely a morning as ever brightened our coast, and having had for some days previously exceedingly unpleasant weather, the people of Watson's Bay rejoiced at the change, and many boats that had been long laid up were put in requisition.
A fisherman, named Henry Bornan, a Dutchman, determined to try for the first time the first-class fishing boat Mermaid, which he had lately rented, and with him there went forth to sea Emanuel Jesson, otherwise Jacinto, a Portuguese ; John Blanket, a Maori ; and Patrick Humphries, an Australian, and native of Watson's Bay.
They proceeded to the northward along the coast several miles, and anchored off the headland called D. Y., but had not been there very long before appearances to the northward warned them of a change of weather. They therefore got their boat underway, with the intention of coming home, but when about one mile and three-quarters from the shore, in a line with D. Y. Head, Bluefish Head, and North Head, the severest northerly gale known on our coast since the settlement of the colony overtook them, and completely swamped their boat, which from the weight of the stone ballast she carried sunk from under their feet to the bottom.
I shall not attempt to describe the terrible position of the four unfortunate men ! Nearly two miles from shore, their boat gone, and the sea raging mountains high ! They were good swimmers, all of them, and instead of desponding they bravely determined to battle to the last for dear life. They had but three oars, two of which having floated near to Jesson and Bornan respectively, were seized by them as some slight means of aid in their calamity. The other oar reached at the same time the hands of both Humphries and Blanket ; whilst to only one of them could it be of the slightest use.
Then, in that boiling sea, those two men acted towards each other with such bravery and generosity as has never been surpassed, if indeed equaled, in any age or country. Blanket said to Humphries, ' Pat, you take the oar ; you have a wife and little children, I have no wife, no children, am an old man, never mind me.'
To which Humphries replied, 'No, Blanket ; you are old and weak, I am young and strong ; you keep the oar.' Humphries remained with the oar the shortest possible time necessary to enable him to get his clothes off, and then darted away, leaving it with Blanket.
Nothing but their glorious heroism had those two men in common. One an aboriginal native of New Zealand, between 60 and 70 years of age ; the other a young Australian, of European parentage, of but 29 years.
After three hours battling with the sea, Humphries landed about three or four miles north of North Head. Bornan landed about 20 minutes after Humphries, and Blanket 15 minutes after Bornan, all near the same place ; but, alas! poor old Jesson was never seen more.
JOHN ROBERTSON.
….............................................................
5. Here's a letter written 16 years later:
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 19 May 1890
WATSON'S BAY.
TO THE EDITOR OT THE HERALD.
Several years ago he [Blanket] was capsized in a fishing boat some distance outside Sydney Heads, the only other occupant being a well-known Fisherman of Watson's Bay, whose name I forget.
When the boat sank from under them, leaving the two men floating, Blanket secured an oar, but his comrade was not fortunate enough to find any support, then Blanket performed a grandly heroic deed. He went to his friend and made him take his oar, saying " You got wife and children, Bill, I got nobody," and then struck out for the shore without any support.
Both men were saved or the heroic incident would never have been known. I relate this from memory as I heard it at the time. I shall be glad if someone who remembers the circumstances better than I do will give them to you more completely. They are worth recording in letters of gold.
May 17. HENRY T. FOX.
….................................................................................
6.This is written by the same guy who wrote the account which Humphries said was accurate. Notice how he gets some details wrong:
Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 22 May 1890
EASTERN SUBURBS-" BLANKET" AND WATSON'S BAY.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
What happened was this. Three boatmen-Jacinto, Humphries, and Blanket-were out fishing four or five miles north of Watson's Bay, and about two miles from the coast, when a terrific gust of wind upset their boat. Blanket, a New Zealand native, got possession of an oar, and seeing his friend, Patrick Humphries, getting the worst of it with the waves, made his way to him and handed him the oar, saying, "'You take it, Pat you have a young wife and little children, save your life; I have no wife, no children, it don't matter about me."
In the attempt to reach the shore-two miles of a swim-they lost sight of each other, and each thought the other drowned. However, Humphries got on shore, and so did Blanket, a mile or more apart but poor Jacinto was seen no more.
May 21. JOHN ROBERTSON.
…...................................................................................
7. Humphries writes to the paper to correct the previous letters to the editor:
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 26 May 1890
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
Mr. Fox is very much " at sea " though (as I suppose he ought to be), in his narration of what he "remembers" as the particulars of a capsize which occurred about 16 years ago, and in which "Blanket" played a heroic part. Now, as I am the Bill referred to, I will, instead of narrating the circumstances of this sad affair, as requested by Mr. Fox, forward you the enclosed letter from Sir John Robertson, which states the actual facts correctly, and which is taken from an issue of the Herald of February, 1874, immediately after the occurrence took place. Of a truth it is simply marvelous how the particulars of an incident which occurred but 16 years ago, and which attracted so much attention at the time, should become so twisted and contorted, as also in the case of the Dunbar wreck. No wonder that people doubt supposed historical and biographical facts, and disbelieve that Homer and Shakespeare ever existed.
PATRICK HUMPHRIES, alias "Bill."
Watson's Bay, May 23.
The paper then reprinted the letter to the editor, #4 above. This series of articles shows you how quickly the details of an event are forgotten. On the other hand memorable words are preserved quite well.
................................................................
My computer is busted and I'm using an old one to type this so I'm just going to give the websites of these articles instead of giving in-line citations:
1 and 2: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/5881595
3: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13331323?searchTerm=blanket+%22fishing+boat%22
4: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13770592
5.http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13784604
6:http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13780669
7:http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13770594
The map is from Google Earth @2010 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd PSMA
accounts differ. Here's a map to give you an idea of where in Sydney Australia this happened:
Now here are some basic facts to compare the stories to:
-A fishing boat called the Mermaid left Watson's Bay on Feb 8, 1874.
-There were 4 passengers on board.
-A storm hit shortly after 2PM when they were a couple of miles off Dee Why.
-The boat sank beneath their feet.
-There were 3 oars for 4 people.
-One of those who had an oar didn't make it.
-Of the 3 that made it, 2 had an oar to cling to, the other man didn't.
-The 3 landed at Curl Curl, where they hid in the bushes until a policeman brought them brandy and clothes from Manly.
..............................
1. Here's a newspaper report with information from a signaling station:
THE SYDNEY EVENING NEWS FEB. 9, 1874
STORM AND LOSS OF LIFE. The following memorandum was received this morning by Inspector Ferris from the signal station on the South Head:-"The fishing boat Mermaid was capsized and sank off Deewy yesterday. One man, named Manuel Jocento, was drowned; the other three men swam ashore."
2. The article continues with information from a police report:
From Senior-constable Carton, stationed at Manly Beach, we were enabled to gather the following additional particulars this morning:-"Shortly after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon a very fierce squall came up from the north-east and broke over the Heads and Manly Beach suddenly, and with terrific violence. It continued for over a quarter of an hour, during which time it did a great amount of damage to the timber at Manly, sweeping down the trees and scattering them in all directions. The windows of the station house and other houses were threatened to be broken by the heavy fall of hail, combined with the terrific force of the wind.
During this storm-which seems to have been confined to the locality of the Heads and Manly, -the Mermaid, fishing boat, was running home when she was caught in the squall, capsized, and sank about a mile from the shore off Deewy.
The occupants of the boat were residents of Watson's Bay, named Patrick Humphries, Henry Bowman, John Blanket (a Maori, a servant of the Hon. John Robertson), and Manuel Jocento. When they were thrown into the water, they divested themselves of all their clothes except their shirts, and struck out for the shore. There was a tremendous sea running at the time, and the men found themselves making very little headway, and drifting fast round the North Head. Jocento became exhausted and sank, but the other men buffeting with the waves for over an hour, were finally enabled to reach the land at Curl Curl.
The men hid in the bush, until some boys who were passing by discovered them in then- unhappy plight, and gave information to Senior-constable Carton, who immediately procured some clothes and a bottle of brandy from the lodgers at Lambourne's Hotel, and took them down to the men.
They were much exhausted, so much so that they were all convinced that had they been in the water ten minutes longer they must have given up and sank. When they were sufficiently recovered, Carton put them into a waterman's boat, and they were taken across to Watson's Bay.
.....................................................
3. The Sydney Morning Herald TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1874.
FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT OUTSIDE THE HEADS. At 11 a.m., on Sunday, four men named Patrick Humphries, Henry Bowman, John Blanket (a Maori), and Emanuel Jacinto, left Watson's Bay in a fishing boat and proceeded outside the Heads under sail. Off Long Reef, at between 2 and 3 p.m., and when the boat was about three miles from the shore, she was suddenly struck by a cyclonic squall, which fairly lifted her out of the water and capsized her, leaving the crew struggling in the waves. Having ballast on board, she immediately sank.
The men being all excellent swimmers at once struck out for the shore. Humphries, Bowman, and Blanket succeeded in effecting a landing at Curl Curl, after being over two hours in the water, but, Jacinto unfortunately was drowned. Tho survivors' state that they saw a shark swimming near them shortly after the boat went down, and it is supposed that Jacinto was seized by it.
On reaching Manly Beach the men were kindly received by Mr. John Woods, who supplied them with brandy and tea. Messrs. Lambourne and Barcett also provided them with dry clothing, after which they were sent over to Watson's Bay by senior-constable Carton in one of Mr. B. Skinner's boats.
….....................................................................................
4.This is a letter to the editor. Patrick Humphries says this is an accurate account:
Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday, March 4 1874 and republished Monday 26 May 1890 at Humphries' request:
THE LATE FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
The 8th February last commenced with as lovely a morning as ever brightened our coast, and having had for some days previously exceedingly unpleasant weather, the people of Watson's Bay rejoiced at the change, and many boats that had been long laid up were put in requisition.
A fisherman, named Henry Bornan, a Dutchman, determined to try for the first time the first-class fishing boat Mermaid, which he had lately rented, and with him there went forth to sea Emanuel Jesson, otherwise Jacinto, a Portuguese ; John Blanket, a Maori ; and Patrick Humphries, an Australian, and native of Watson's Bay.
They proceeded to the northward along the coast several miles, and anchored off the headland called D. Y., but had not been there very long before appearances to the northward warned them of a change of weather. They therefore got their boat underway, with the intention of coming home, but when about one mile and three-quarters from the shore, in a line with D. Y. Head, Bluefish Head, and North Head, the severest northerly gale known on our coast since the settlement of the colony overtook them, and completely swamped their boat, which from the weight of the stone ballast she carried sunk from under their feet to the bottom.
I shall not attempt to describe the terrible position of the four unfortunate men ! Nearly two miles from shore, their boat gone, and the sea raging mountains high ! They were good swimmers, all of them, and instead of desponding they bravely determined to battle to the last for dear life. They had but three oars, two of which having floated near to Jesson and Bornan respectively, were seized by them as some slight means of aid in their calamity. The other oar reached at the same time the hands of both Humphries and Blanket ; whilst to only one of them could it be of the slightest use.
Then, in that boiling sea, those two men acted towards each other with such bravery and generosity as has never been surpassed, if indeed equaled, in any age or country. Blanket said to Humphries, ' Pat, you take the oar ; you have a wife and little children, I have no wife, no children, am an old man, never mind me.'
To which Humphries replied, 'No, Blanket ; you are old and weak, I am young and strong ; you keep the oar.' Humphries remained with the oar the shortest possible time necessary to enable him to get his clothes off, and then darted away, leaving it with Blanket.
Nothing but their glorious heroism had those two men in common. One an aboriginal native of New Zealand, between 60 and 70 years of age ; the other a young Australian, of European parentage, of but 29 years.
After three hours battling with the sea, Humphries landed about three or four miles north of North Head. Bornan landed about 20 minutes after Humphries, and Blanket 15 minutes after Bornan, all near the same place ; but, alas! poor old Jesson was never seen more.
JOHN ROBERTSON.
….............................................................
5. Here's a letter written 16 years later:
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 19 May 1890
WATSON'S BAY.
TO THE EDITOR OT THE HERALD.
Several years ago he [Blanket] was capsized in a fishing boat some distance outside Sydney Heads, the only other occupant being a well-known Fisherman of Watson's Bay, whose name I forget.
When the boat sank from under them, leaving the two men floating, Blanket secured an oar, but his comrade was not fortunate enough to find any support, then Blanket performed a grandly heroic deed. He went to his friend and made him take his oar, saying " You got wife and children, Bill, I got nobody," and then struck out for the shore without any support.
Both men were saved or the heroic incident would never have been known. I relate this from memory as I heard it at the time. I shall be glad if someone who remembers the circumstances better than I do will give them to you more completely. They are worth recording in letters of gold.
May 17. HENRY T. FOX.
….................................................................................
6.This is written by the same guy who wrote the account which Humphries said was accurate. Notice how he gets some details wrong:
Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 22 May 1890
EASTERN SUBURBS-" BLANKET" AND WATSON'S BAY.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
What happened was this. Three boatmen-Jacinto, Humphries, and Blanket-were out fishing four or five miles north of Watson's Bay, and about two miles from the coast, when a terrific gust of wind upset their boat. Blanket, a New Zealand native, got possession of an oar, and seeing his friend, Patrick Humphries, getting the worst of it with the waves, made his way to him and handed him the oar, saying, "'You take it, Pat you have a young wife and little children, save your life; I have no wife, no children, it don't matter about me."
In the attempt to reach the shore-two miles of a swim-they lost sight of each other, and each thought the other drowned. However, Humphries got on shore, and so did Blanket, a mile or more apart but poor Jacinto was seen no more.
May 21. JOHN ROBERTSON.
…...................................................................................
7. Humphries writes to the paper to correct the previous letters to the editor:
Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 26 May 1890
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.
Mr. Fox is very much " at sea " though (as I suppose he ought to be), in his narration of what he "remembers" as the particulars of a capsize which occurred about 16 years ago, and in which "Blanket" played a heroic part. Now, as I am the Bill referred to, I will, instead of narrating the circumstances of this sad affair, as requested by Mr. Fox, forward you the enclosed letter from Sir John Robertson, which states the actual facts correctly, and which is taken from an issue of the Herald of February, 1874, immediately after the occurrence took place. Of a truth it is simply marvelous how the particulars of an incident which occurred but 16 years ago, and which attracted so much attention at the time, should become so twisted and contorted, as also in the case of the Dunbar wreck. No wonder that people doubt supposed historical and biographical facts, and disbelieve that Homer and Shakespeare ever existed.
PATRICK HUMPHRIES, alias "Bill."
Watson's Bay, May 23.
The paper then reprinted the letter to the editor, #4 above. This series of articles shows you how quickly the details of an event are forgotten. On the other hand memorable words are preserved quite well.
................................................................
My computer is busted and I'm using an old one to type this so I'm just going to give the websites of these articles instead of giving in-line citations:
1 and 2: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/5881595
3: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13331323?searchTerm=blanket+%22fishing+boat%22
4: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13770592
5.http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13784604
6:http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13780669
7:http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13770594
The map is from Google Earth @2010 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd PSMA
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Four Footed Angel
A friend of mine and her partner were at his family holiday home in
Wyong Australia. It's in a residential area but across the street from a nature reserve. They took the English Staffordshire Terrier they were dog sitting with them.
The boyfriend took the dog for a walk in the afternoon. The path they were on had broken glass on it. Normally he would guide the dog around the glass but this time he lifted him up to protect his paws. He'd never done this before because the dog is so heavy. When they got home the boyfriend wanted to take a nap in the double bed, but he chose to sleep on the lounge room floor because he had some dog fur on his T-Shirt and didn't want it or the doggy smells in his bed.
My friend also wanted to take a nap that afternoon, but the dog began growling & howling when she approached the bedroom door, so she turned back and sat down to comfort him and pat him and ended up falling asleep next to him on the lounge.
About 6:30 that evening my friend got ready to pack to return to Sydney. She pulled back the bed cover on the bed to tidy it up with her right hand. She was wearing a cotton glove because she had recently had a flare up of dermatitis . She grabbed what appeared to be a bit of black fluff. When she tried to get rid of the fluff it suddenly had legs. As it unfurled she could see it was actually a spider! She screamed loudly and shook it off her glove and it dropped to the floor. Her boyfriend freaked because he recognized what it was- a male funnel-web spider!
These are one of the three deadliest kinds of spiders in the world. They give you a nasty bite which releases toxins into the bloodstream that cause tingling around the mouth and tongue, twitching facial muscles, nausea, vomiting, sweating, salivation, and shortness of breath which leads to agitation, confusion and coma if not treated with antivenom. These spiders usually sleep during the day and she discovered the spider when it was still light out so he was probably in the bed in the afternoon, just when they had planned to take their naps. If it wasn't for the dog, they probably would have gotten bitten. The funny thing is, the dog minding just came up at the last minute.
As my friend says:
I think last Sunday the events leading up to finding the spider all seemed to definitely work together - the last minute dog sit ( we had planned to go up together without any dogs), even me having dermatitis! (obviously the spider still thought it was in the sheets or something as the glove is so soft so didn't attack me!) to the broken bottle on the footpath which made my boyfriend pick up the dog who is so heavy and it was such a hot day! You cant say its all coincidence. It just proves to me that something / an all knowing being is definitely watching us and is able to manipulate us when he feels like it! We tend to call it God!
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The picture was taken from this website: http://www.thakurgaon.com/images/sydney_funnel_web_spider.jpg
Wyong Australia. It's in a residential area but across the street from a nature reserve. They took the English Staffordshire Terrier they were dog sitting with them.
The boyfriend took the dog for a walk in the afternoon. The path they were on had broken glass on it. Normally he would guide the dog around the glass but this time he lifted him up to protect his paws. He'd never done this before because the dog is so heavy. When they got home the boyfriend wanted to take a nap in the double bed, but he chose to sleep on the lounge room floor because he had some dog fur on his T-Shirt and didn't want it or the doggy smells in his bed.
My friend also wanted to take a nap that afternoon, but the dog began growling & howling when she approached the bedroom door, so she turned back and sat down to comfort him and pat him and ended up falling asleep next to him on the lounge.
About 6:30 that evening my friend got ready to pack to return to Sydney. She pulled back the bed cover on the bed to tidy it up with her right hand. She was wearing a cotton glove because she had recently had a flare up of dermatitis . She grabbed what appeared to be a bit of black fluff. When she tried to get rid of the fluff it suddenly had legs. As it unfurled she could see it was actually a spider! She screamed loudly and shook it off her glove and it dropped to the floor. Her boyfriend freaked because he recognized what it was- a male funnel-web spider!
These are one of the three deadliest kinds of spiders in the world. They give you a nasty bite which releases toxins into the bloodstream that cause tingling around the mouth and tongue, twitching facial muscles, nausea, vomiting, sweating, salivation, and shortness of breath which leads to agitation, confusion and coma if not treated with antivenom. These spiders usually sleep during the day and she discovered the spider when it was still light out so he was probably in the bed in the afternoon, just when they had planned to take their naps. If it wasn't for the dog, they probably would have gotten bitten. The funny thing is, the dog minding just came up at the last minute.
As my friend says:
I think last Sunday the events leading up to finding the spider all seemed to definitely work together - the last minute dog sit ( we had planned to go up together without any dogs), even me having dermatitis! (obviously the spider still thought it was in the sheets or something as the glove is so soft so didn't attack me!) to the broken bottle on the footpath which made my boyfriend pick up the dog who is so heavy and it was such a hot day! You cant say its all coincidence. It just proves to me that something / an all knowing being is definitely watching us and is able to manipulate us when he feels like it! We tend to call it God!
.........................................................
The picture was taken from this website: http://www.thakurgaon.com/images/sydney_funnel_web_spider.jpg
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