Remembering Drayton Hall

Many times the moments we remember come upon us before we realize what is happening and are gone in an instant.

 

 

On a journey to Charleston South Carolina, I had no idea it would be a trip back in time. I should have because at that particular period in my life, everything I did was a trip back in time. The trip had been planned at the last minute,the motives were , a weeks vacation with nothing to do, a desire to go somewhere warmer than Indiana would be in April and my longing to travel.

Middleton Place, South Carolina

 

My normal plan in those days was to have no plan. Packing a few clothes, I piled in my van and away I went. Knowing nothing of Charleston and the surrounding area,whatever came about on the trip would be a total surprise.

 

As it turned out , many surprises awaited me while in that beautiful city,  the most significant , at Drayton Hall, an old plantation at the edge of town. It never  occurred to me there would be old plantations in the area and when I found a brochure describing some of them, it seemed like a good idea to check them out.

 

Middleton Place and Drayton Hall seemed to be the closest, so obviously , my van headed in that direction. Middleton Place was beautiful , it was the home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and was a showcase of beauty. Many hours could be spent enjoying the flowers and various floral gardens  on the grounds.

 

Leaving Middleton Place , the next stop would be Drayton Hall. Compared to Middleton Place Drayton Hall seemed rather plain and simple. There were no massive gardens or beautiful lawns. Just a big brick house in the middle of a field. It almost seemed like a waste of time to stop, but I’m here so I may as well check it out.

 

Drayton Hall has quite a history, it has survived two wars, the American Revolution and the Civil War. It was burned and the farm destroyed by union troops on Sherman’s march to the sea,  two hurricanes and an earthquake also came it’s way.

 

As I entered the house , the adventure was about to begin. As I entered, everyone else left. I had showered that morning, so that couldn’t have been the reason. All alone in the house , it seemed a little eerie to be in such a historic building all alone, imagine the stories these walls could tell.

 

I was to be alone with my experience.

 

Suddenly I began to hear voices as if there was a huge party in the next room. Looking around, no one was there, still the voices and noise continued. I could “see” many people milling around all wearing colonial garb.

 

I was an observer to something that had transpired many years ago, a function during pre-civil war times, I had been present at the time,in another reality.But as yet , the details have not been revealed to me.

 

Visiting the same site several years later with my wife, the very same scenario played out. I observed it , my wife didn’t. We have also been places where my wife has seen something and I haven’‘t, which just exemplifies that we each live our own reality, separate from others.

Many times we are only given a glimpse into the past, or future and when the time is right , all will be revealed to us, this was such a time to receive a glimpse. All will be revealed in due time.

Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature,landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean, and studied Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different cultures!

He has published several books about the various cultures he has studied and applied what he has learned to solving the many issues facing not only the United States, but the world as well.

Common Sense solutions to complex problems.

For more information and a link to his hard cover and Ebooks, please check his website.http://www.commonsensejourneys.com

 

You can also follow him on your Kindle.

 

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The First Day of School

It was the beginning of my freshman year in high school. For many students, this can be a very exciting time. To add to the excitement, we were expecting a new crop of kids into our class of about thirty-five students.

Obviously, I attended a very small school and most of us had been in the same classroom  for eight years. It was always nice to see new faces. There was an elementary  Catholic parochial school about ten miles west of us. To attend high school, they  transferred to our school.

The excitement always ran high on the first day of school as everyone was anxious to see who the new kids would be. This year was even more exciting because we were the freshmen class and the new kids from Millhousen would be in our class. To add to the drama, rumor had it there were several really good looking girls in the class.

This was to be expected, because, for a small community, the area produced an extremely large percentage of good looking girls. Must be something in  the water.

As the bus from  Millhousen stopped in front of the  school, our excitement peaked. We weren’t disappointed as several extremely beautiful freshman girls emerged smiling from the bus.

         

One particularly caught my eye. She was without a doubt the prettiest, and as our eyes met, I almost thought out loud, ”Wow! I knew her dad in France during the war. “ I pictured him in a military uniform.

Where did that come from? Even though as I later discovered, I had been having flashbacks to previous lives all through childhood, I certainly had never recognized anyone before. I just thought the flashbacks were childhood fantasies.

Our classmates  were all born in 1943 and ’44, the height of the second world war and as I learned later, her dad gave the supreme  sacrifice in March of 1945.

As I stood there, I had visions of fighting in France during world war two, I felt as if I had known most of the classmates on that bus, and some had  lived or been  in France during that time in history.

That thought lingered with me for the rest of my life, although it would take many years before I fully understood it.

The girl has always been one of my best friends.We never dated although I would have liked to and I have never been able to discuss these events with her, maybe someday. Sometimes it just takes something to break the ice.

Funny how our lives are shaped by the things we do and don’t do, timing is everything. As I learned that day, the simple act of walking around a corner at the right time can change everything. Many times events seem to happen that are beyond our control and they shape our destiny so we accomplish in life those things we need to accomplish.

We often think we aren’t in control of our lives, but we are, it’s just that sometimes a higher part of us is in control, for our highest good, and if something is meant to be, sooner or later it will come about.

Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature, landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean, and studied Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different cultures!

He has published several books on the various cultures he has studied and applied what he has learned to solving the many issues facing not only the United States, but the world as well.

Common Sense solutions to complex problems.

For more information and a link to his hardcover and Ebooks, please check his website.http://www.journeysthrulife.com

 

You can also follow him on your Kindle.

 

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Is there life after death? Do we really have encounters with beings from other dimensions and planets? Is there proof?