Do Dead People Watch You Shower? (18 page)

Yes, absolutely. In
a prediction, a “birth” is literally “a child in your arms,” so it could be an adopted child or a biological birth. The result is the same. That child belongs to that mother or father.

Let’s put it
this way: I can bring messages only from those who had a connection with the person who is receiving the reading. So if you think that Elvis or James Dean is going to speak to you from the Other Side, you are going to be disappointed unless you had a relationship with one of them. There have been some occasions where I’ve been connected, spiritually speaking, to someone who was famous when they were living. But in every case it has been because the person I was doing the reading for had a connection to that individual. Hey, if I could talk to whoever I wanted I’d tell Jim Morrison, “Sorry for what they all did to your grave site!”

Not much. They
want to know the same stuff that everyone else does. They want to talk to their relatives or ask if they are going to get married, have kids, and so on. One aspect that is different is that oftentimes actors will come to me because they are looking for something spiritual to connect with that will help them with their craft. Acting is so delicate and I think it helps actors to be in touch with the spiritual world. But other than that, it’s not different. Except when they offer to send a private jet. That’s a bit surreal and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.

There are a
handful. I’ve done readings for Alec and Billy Baldwin; Ed Begley Jr.;
Sopranos
cast members Edie Falco, Federico Castelluccio, and Vincent Curatola; and also Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Illeana Douglas, and Jeff Goldblum—what a sweetie! He is every bit as nice as he seems onscreen. When I met him, he gave me a hug and I just wanted to melt! I’ve become very good friends with Talina Fernández, whose show is based in Mexico but goes out to Spanish-language television around the world. And there’s also Cristina, who is like our Spanish-language Oprah here in Miami.

I’m terrible about even knowing who is famous sometimes. There have been a few athletes and I never really knew who they were until they were leaving our house and my husband said, “Do you know who that
was
?”

Once my friend Jon Cornick, who is a movie producer, introduced me to a woman who is a music promoter. She had a client in town and told me that he really wanted to meet me. By “in town” she wasn’t talking about Boonton, New Jersey, she meant New York City, about forty-five minutes and the Hudson River away. She said her client was doing a couple of shows and he wanted to send a limousine to pick me up and bring me to his hotel for me to do a reading. I knew this man was a musician, but I didn’t recognize him. I did the reading and then we all had a very nice dinner together. The guy was Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead—a very nice man, he invited me to one of their concerts but unfortunately my work schedule didn’t allow me to go. You might be asking did Jerry Garcia come through? The answer is, yes he did! But the point is, this is not the kind of thing people are interested in when they come to see me—or have me brought to them—whichever. We’re all human. We all have similar concerns. We want to know about our families. We’re grateful to hear from the dead who are close to us even when they aren’t anyone famous.

In the case of Talina Fernández, I met her because I first read for her daughter Mariana. But to back up a little bit, I owe the opportunity to meet both Talina and Mariana to my friendship with James Van Praagh. Once James became aware of me and my abilities, he was incredibly generous. He put my information up on his Web site and then I received this amazing invitation to do some shows with him in Mexico City. In Mexico, we were interviewed by magazines, radio, television, and then we did these large group shows. At one of these I did a reading for Talina’s daughter Mariana. She’d recently lost a friend and I was able to have her validate that her friend had died in a plane crash. It was Mariana’s deceased friend’s son’s birthday and I was able to convey that her friend was saying “Happy Birthday” to her son. Apparently, Mariana spoke very glowingly of her reading to her mother. The next part of the story is very sad. Unfortunately, while traveling, Mariana, her husband, and their kids were stopped by banditos. Mariana had a weak heart and the experience was so terrifying that she literally died of fright. She was only thirty-eight years old. Mariana had talked about me so much to her mother, Talina, that when Mariana died, Talina thought to call me and I was able to bring mother and daughter together. It was a very sad circumstance, but I was awfully glad I could help in that small way. Since then, I’ve been invited back to Mexico a number of times to appear on Talina’s show. I also was then invited to be on Cristina’s show when she did a special program on Talina. I loved hanging out on Cristina’s couch with these amazing women—they are both gorgeous, warm, and funny! When I did a reading for Cristina, her mom and dad came through and told me about a particular photograph of them that Cristina had—she went and got it from her desk, a photo of her parents dancing. She told me she always has it with her, even when she’s traveling. And her dad talked about a chain with small medals that she had of his, which she confirmed.

I’ve really loved having the opportunity to work in Mexico, but I need to improve my Spanish. Right now just about all I can say is
“sí,” “no,” “A dónde es el baño?”
and
“Te amo, todo el mundo!”
(“yes,” “no,” “Where is the bathroom?” and “I love you, everyone!”).

I loved reading
for Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, because then I got to talk with Diana. She was so bubbly and vibrant and she didn’t stop talking. Diana told me to tell Sarah that she was sorry they argued about “the borrowed shoes,” but she was laughing when she said it, so I knew it was something of an inside joke, not serious. And when I did relay that message, Sarah laughed, too. She got it, but she wasn’t telling. I also loved reading for the cast of
The Sopranos
because they were my first celebrities and I loved the show.

I actually have
been in this position. When the person made the appointment, I was unaware of who this person was. He certainly didn’t volunteer any information like “By the way, I’m a wiseguy.” When he showed up, even though I was still unaware of the exact nature of what he did, I definitely got it that he was “not innocent of crimes.” I don’t know how else to put it. It was nothing specific, I didn’t know for sure that he had killed anyone, but I knew that he was untrustworthy in a spiritual sense. The whole energy around him was different than from anyone else I ever did a reading for. When I asked him to tell me his name, he looked at me like I was the FBI, and when I asked permission to listen, from the look on his face, he probably thought I was wearing a wire.

Although I take precautions against evil, I guess my answer is, yes, I’d do a reading for Tony if I was commissioned to do one. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it’s actually two different things. I always ask for protection from God, and that God keep evil from me and my home. No spirit who is evil and no one who intends evil is getting through. If I did a reading for Tony Soprano, the spirit I’d hear, most likely, is his grandmother, if she was a nice lady. Or his mother might say through me, “Please, son, ask for forgiveness.”

Before I went
professional, I worked as a receptionist. I was really terrible at the job. I’m severely dyslexic and really don’t know how to type properly. I was good at answering phones and greeting people, but the rest of it I did my best to avoid. I worked at a few different companies and my favorite was the famous rod and reel company Abu Garcia. I didn’t know anything about fishing and I didn’t care. And I certainly never imagined that I would have the opportunity to meet Marilyn Monroe there!

I’ve always been a huge Marilyn fan—even being dyslexic I’ve collected numerous books about her, simply for the pictures, and I happened to have one in my desk on the very day that Joe DiMaggio came in to buy a fishing rod. When he walked in, I immediately recognized him as Marilyn Monroe’s man (he also played a little baseball, I’ve been told). I was very excited, but the boss said that under no circumstances were we to bother Mr. DiMaggio, and we were warned not to mention Marilyn Monroe,
at all
. All I could do was shake his hand and say, “How very nice to meet you.”

However, the moment I shook Mr. DiMaggio’s hand, I immediately heard Marilyn’s completely distinctive breathy voice. She kept saying, “Tell him that a stone is missing. Tell him that a stone is missing. He’ll know what you’re talking about.” But I had been warned not to say her name, I was afraid I’d lose my job, so I bit my tongue and instead asked, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

About eight years later, most of Marilyn’s belongings were put up for auction at Sotheby’s. There was a diamond eternity band that Joe DiMaggio had given her. One stone was missing. Of course I now wish that I had told him, but I was young and stupid. Okay, very young and very stupid. Not at all a good excuse, I see now. You just
don’t
ignore Marilyn Monroe to keep a receptionist job at a rod and reel company!

Well, one time
I was doing one of my big group shows in Verona, New Jersey, and I came out of the green room and was greeting the audience and was beginning to explain how everything worked. I said: “I just want to give an example, they’re talking to me all the time. When you all got here, you saw me walking around the room out here. I couldn’t stay in there [meaning the green room, where I normally wait before the beginning of a show]. There were so many souls in there talking with me—the room was cold! There were a lot of souls in there who wanted me to give messages to people out here. I’ll just show you what I mean—right now, someone is telling me, ‘Say
Lou Costello
.’ Does that make sense to anyone here? I don’t know what it means, but it’s a guy who’s saying, ‘Say the name Lou Costello.’” A woman behind me raised her hand and one of my assistants handed her a microphone. She said she thought the message was for her. I asked her why she thought so, and she revealed that her mother and Lou’s mother were best friends. She had Lou’s picture on her wall, and when she was a kid, Lou Costello was supposed to come to her birthday party, but he died just before her birthday! I was knocked out. I said, “
Really?
That’s wild! See? I didn’t know
anything
about that.” But Lou Costello could come through for this woman because there was a real connection with her.

At that same show I was doing a reading for a thirty-something man. I said, “There’s someone here who says he’s not a family member. He’s a friend—someone who died in an airplane crash.” The man said he didn’t know anyone who died in an airplane crash. I said, “He’s saying to say ‘Teeterboro.’ Do you know what that means? That’s an airport here, right? It must be someone who has something to do with Teeterboro, maybe flew out of Teeterboro?” The man started to laugh, but it was a kind of hand-in-front-of-your-mouth shocked kind of laugh. He said, “Just before we came in here, we were standing outside joking about how maybe JFK Jr. would come through.” I said, “You’re kidding me. I’m talking to JFK Jr.??” In all honesty, I am positive the spirit who was speaking was not JFK Jr. I didn’t want to say this during the show because I try not to make anyone feel bad, but I do think the spirit who was speaking was a friend of the man—he did, after all, say so. I believe I was confused in what he was trying to say. Rather than saying that he himself died in a plane crash, he was trying to make the JFK Jr. connection, but his message to his friend probably was not to make fun of the dead.

A celebrity is
not a celebrity on the Other Side. Yes, they contributed something to this side, but that doesn’t mean much when they cross over—no more than anyone else’s contribution, since their reason for being in a body was for them to learn their own lessons. We are all equal on the Other Side.
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