West Coast Review

Right after I’d graduated from college (the first time) from one of the rare Universities (now a well respected and famous school) that accepted women I took a trip across country on a train to meet my brother Val. He’d gone to New York City without me, leaving me, a young woman, unescorted.  I would have done fine on my own but back then, in 1881 young women, even Vampires, didn’t travel alone.

I got on the train on a dark full moon night and made my way to my car. I was to share a car with several other students and some sort of chaperone. What I found was three young men dressed in rather garish suits of the latest fashion (or so they thought) and nobody else. Two had short beards, again, the style of the time. I recognized one from school. The train started to move. There was…

I’ve been a mother without the following: a lot of church, Dr. Who, soccer, tweenkies, Pokemon, parenting books, big strollers, private schools, home schools, Disneyland, hamsters and a spotless house. All of those things are FINE and lovely but just not part of my world.

I have given the following to my children: a strong sense of who they are, self-confidence, a social conscience, a strong set of values, a strong set of morals, curiosity, the love of learning, the ability to make friends, the desire to share, laughter, wit, humor, a strong sense of justice, trust, self-respect, courtesy and grace, good manners, music, love, and more love.

Once upon a time my mother was saying something despairing about my siblings and me. My response was, “You know, it could be worse, you could be Monica Lewinsky’s mother.”

Below is my famous bulleted parenting list. I promise sometime today I’ll post some Vampire…

Vampire Love Poem

I was a spirit

In white silk with pink roses

Bustle in back

You in black tails

Took my breath away

And a century later

When you realized

That I loved you

I could exhale

Austin didn’t become a Vampire Hunter because of any personal vendetta or tragedy. Nobody he every knew had been turned into a Vampire or killed by one. He didn’t even believe in Vampires. To Austin Vampire were characters in really crappy Peter Cushing movies that used to play on late night weekend TV.

He had a PhD in History and lectured at a local university part-time along with occasionally publishing articles. But his real business was restoring 19th century buildings, mostly old homes.

While in the basement of a Queen Anne that was built on the foundations of a Gold Rush era house of the early 1850’s he came upon an earlier sub-basement. In a far corner was a box, a casket, ornate with gold flowers painted on the sides. Austin could barely stand but managed to get the lid off.

Inside lay a woman almost perfectly preserved. Her face…

Today is Halloween – Day of the Dead

Memorial stones honor the dead long after all who ever knew them are gone and under their own stones. There is a quiet beauty in tombstones and cemeteries. As I walk through these places I don’t feel fear but the sense of loss and love, mixed with air thick with memories and stories.

Contrary to some popular fiction, Vampires don’t live in these places, maybe hide out, but it is the place for those who are no longer going to walk among us.

Today I want to share a few of the beautiful headstones and memorials  in the Old Sacramento Cemetery.

______________________________

_______________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

__________________________________

_________________________________________

In memory of those we loved and still love,

~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman

He stood in front of me

his neck a stump

without a head.

In his hand was a note

on expensive stationary

scrawled in rough cursive.

It said

I need

a HEAD.

To his delight

I took a gourd,

a pumpkin really,

and with a knife

carved a face

with eyes fierce

with pride

and a mouth

that smiled

not with joy

but with spite.

I put the pumpkin on his neck

then lit the candle within

and told him

“Go find another. I’m tired of loving a man who is always losing his head over nothing.”

~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman

The bit of rain and cool weather earlier this week has ended. Now we’re left with hot air and hot breezes. Still, I had to go out on my back deck to have a glass of wine and open my eyes to the night.

Everyone was out. The husband and kids had gone out to the water park. Yes, Vampires at a water park. Hey, this is 2014 and summer is here. We’re not going to spend our nights lurking around in the heat. Plus school starts next week. I just wanted a little bit of time alone to take care of a few things and just to be alone for a bit.

A cold wind blasted my face and I opened my eyes. Standing there in front of me was Nigel, the Ghost. How long had it been? Weeks? Maybe months since I’ve seen him? He gave me an…