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Inn Philadelphia Update
  (Elizabeth makes her debut)


A few months had passed and John and Todd, especially John, had made themselves regular and comforting presences around us.  I also was to shortly come to the realization that I misread Todd's name.  His name is/was TOM, or Thomas, as far as I can intuit.  Well, at least the two names sound alike and I was not mistaking Tom for Aloisius, or something! However, I DID verify the names of John, Sarah, and possibly Elizabeth  in a later study of the 1830 Census records and the Quaker Geneology vol. II.  The details from that can be read in the "Addendum" section on the "Stories" Page.

By June of 2001, Michael and I had basically given up on the idea of Sarah leaving the confines of her little world at the INN.  However, I knew that Elizabeth was not overly thrilled with the idea of staying there.  For reasons that neither Michael nor I could quite grasp, we knew that she still hadn't left.

There were legends and heresay regarding a woman who had perished in a fire on the 4th floor with 2 children, as I mentioned in the first chapter..  We felt that this could have been Elizabeth, Tom and Eliza.  The numbers were correct, and it was a woman with 2 children.  Perhaps Elizabeth was stuck there, wallowing in self-blame.  Things started changing for her, however, in June, 2001.

For most of our visits to the Inn, we always felt that Elizabeth was in the background, either upstairs or shying away in another room.  There was one exception, however, when Michael and I were relaxing over coffee, one morning.  We had a great rapport with the waiter, and most of our time was spent quipping with him and making up stream-of-conscious scenarios for our own amusement.

At one point, we asked this fellow for more coffee, after taking a very solid look at our cups to notice that they were both more than half empty.
He cheerfully went to get the pot, while Michael and I resumed our own conversation.

Shortly, he returned and began to pour more java into Michael's cup, however, he quickly checked himself and righted the pot.  Simultaneously, I was noticing that Michael's cup was suddenly full, and with just the right amount of cream.  I could tell that Michael and the waiter also were noticing this and there was a feeling of unspoken surprise and confusion between us. 

As though to cover his confusion, the waiter silently filled my cup and walked away.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut.  "Wasn't his cup half empty?"  I said to his back.   Michael agreed emphatically and Immediately the waiter turned, looked back  with something resembling relief, and walked back over.

"Yeh.  I thought I was having another crack moment," he said breathlessly.  "Must be the ghosts."

Michael and I felt that it was Elizabeth who had treated Michael to the "magic" coffee, and we spent some time after that speculating as to the dynamics of getting coffee to suddenly appear in a cup.

Then there was a brunch where Michael and I were virtually the only customers in the Franklin Room.  It was summer and most of the INN patrons were seated outdoors in the restaurant's Secret Garden.  Throughout the entire meal I watched a glowing lavender figure sitting in a chair across the room.  The figure was not well-defined and was more blobular than anything else.  But it/she seemed to be sitting, and  watching us.  One of the many remarkable aspects of this phenomenon was that it lasted so long.  Usually the things we see flash in and out, but she stayed and was there every time I looked over.  Unfortunately, I was the only person who saw it, but it was as plain as day, to me.

Somehow I knew the blob was Elizabeth, and she had moved down from the 4th floor.  The manifestation was very beautiful.

For the rest of the summer and into the fall and winter, she seemed absent from the building.  By the spring, Michael and I had both become convinced that she, too, had moved onto a better world.  Both of the children were absent, too, although Tom still dropped into our apartment on a regular basis.

Then, one day  in March I was walking down 17th street on my way home from a piano gig at the Sofitel, a local French-styled hotel.   I had had the feeling of a friendly presence staring over my shoulder, all through the job, and when I was finished and out on the street, a very large and very bright lavender orb streaked in front of me.  It then moved in a pulsating manner, out into the street, where it disappeared.  Having temporarily forgotten my lavender lady from the INN, I thought to myself, "who could that be?"

Our guides present themselves to us in various signature, perhaps aural, colors.  Joe is cerulean blue, blood red, periwinkle blue, salmon,or pink, John is various shades of green, orange, white, maroon, deep fire red, and more recently, deep purple.  Isabelle is powder blue and Chloris is red-brown, scarlet, and cadmium red.  We could always tell whose "red" it was, somehow.  But until then, there was no lavender, and I thought what I saw was a spirit from the hotel.

Time passed, again, and I momentarily forgot my hotel encounter, as well.  Then June arrived and a  couple very special events transpired that took both Michael and I completely by surprise.

By this time I had gotten used to John's continued presence, as well as Chloris' Joe's and Isabelle's.  It is important to note that these people are not "stuck", in any sense of the word.  They stay with us because they love us and are there to protect us and guide us.  When Chloris 1st made the scene with her announcement in my ear, and then later with a gorgeous red shaft of light in my piano room that took my breath away, I thought casually "Wow, it's getting crowded in here!"  
Quickly, we got used to it, however, and came to welcome our friends' presences.  They have never done anything even remotely out-of-line.

John began talking to me from the hallway leading to the front door, when I'd be half-asleep in bed, in the morning. I didn't hear words, this time, but only thoughts. I'd vaguely see fire orange blobs in the semi-darkness, and specifically, one morning, I became aware that he wanted us to visit the 3rd and 4th floor of Inn Philadelphia to help him "clean house"!

I awoke with a feeling that he wanted us to help him get Elizabeth out of there, once and for all.  Of course, I was definitely for it, however, I was wondering how the hell we'd ever convince the owners to let us wander around upstairs,  in what I believed to be offices.  Also, I was even more doubtful of our being able to conduct a long, drawn-out conversation with Elizabeth, with all those staffers around.

I told John that we'd try, and left it at that.  Sunday, we went there for brunch to see what, if anything happened. 

As we were waiting to be served, both Michael and I told each other that we felt really weird asking the owners if we could go upstairs....especially since there was a lot going on, and both George and Phil (the owners), were very busy.  So I went to the ladies room and peeked into their Gallery area.  It was jammed with patrons.

On the way back to the table, something odd happened.  For the 1st time in the year that we had been dining at the INN regularly, I suddenly noticed that there was a doorway in the wall, right next to the Green Room, where we were currently seated.  I had passed that way countless times and I never saw that doorway until then!  Surprised, I went back to the table and told Michael about my discovery. 

Michael was intrigued, and about 2 minutes later, one of the waiters came rushing purposefully into the room.  "I have a few minutes," he said excitedly, "You wanna come upstairs and see the 3rd and 4th floor?"

Of course Michael and I agreed, and we didn't even have to ask! We jumped up from our table to follow him, I thought, to another part of the building.  I was amazed to see that he took us to that same green doorway that I had just passed and noticed for the 1st time!  He opened the door, revealing steep, narrow and winding stairs that I knew were the original stairs from when the buiding was 1st erected.  I was also surprised to see that they were shabby, in appearance and the paint was very old and chipped. 

"Wait 'til you get to the 4th floor!" our friend told us.  "I usually don't like to go up there alone because there is a real creey, sad  feeling."  He made a face, then, and shivered.  He then began to make glib comments about having a bad day and that he felt the ghosts were "jinxing" him. 
We chuckled in return, feeling that he would not be receptive to our own experience. 

The 3rd floor was anything BUT offices.  As a matter of fact, in all the time the INN had been a public club or restaurant, starting in the early 20th century, I got the impression that it had NEVER been done over.  It was a shambles. There was a remnant of very old wallpaper, the original wood floors, glass on the windows and a real strong feeling of being  in an intimate living space.  All at once I was overwhelmed by a sense of pathos.

The waiter led us over to a  second staircase, which led to the 4th floor.
It, too, was narrow, steep and winding and the wood of the stairs was worn and very old, indeed.  I would not have wanted to take a fall down those . The waiter joked nervously and told us "Wait 'til you get up there! It's just so creepy!"

Michael and I reached the top of the stairs 1st.  What I felt was not creepiness but a strong sense of calm and gratitude.  I felt Elizabeth's and John's presences very strongly, and they were happy.  In addition, it was a very odd sensation of being in a time warp.  As soon as I hit the top of the stairs, I felt that we were back in the 1830's or 40's, and it seemed as though, had I looked out one of the several windows up there, I would have viewed farms out to the west, and seen horses and carriages.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced! Michael and I, I believe, were being given an intimate glimpse into life, back then, as though we were being made honorary members of their family.  I was very touched, but the waiter was confused.

"Hey wait!  I don't feel it, anymore!"  He exclaimed.  "It feels okay up here, now!" 
It seemed as though John's meaning, to me, was that "house" had already been "cleaned".

Once again, we had learned earlier that it is not wise to just share our experiences with everyone that we know, so we just  agreed and then resumed the light-hearted quipping.  Michael and I also saw the charred roof beams up there.
There had been heavy damage, but now, we were told, the owners were going to renovate the 3rd and 4th floors so that they could live there.  This was even more evidence that Elizabeth and her children had "flown".

We thanked our friend and then went back to our table, feeling totally changed.  For a few weeks after that, I often thought of Elizabeth, and was happy that she was finally at peace.  We would wonder what she was doing and who she had finally reunited with.  Little did we know that we had not seen the last of her....not by a long shot.

It was a few weeks later that Michael and I were eating Saturday morning breakfast at Cafe Academy at the DoubleTree Hotel on Broad and Locust Sts.  I knew something was up because our friends Joe and John were manifesting themselves more obviously than usual:  Joe was sitting in a chair by the window producing an almost constant stream of reddish-pink orbs that would appear immediately above the chair, float upwards and then disappear.  John was manifesting in copious areas of mist and gray- ish  blobs.  Suddenly Michael looked out over the lobby and his eyes went very wide.

"I just saw a full apparition of a woman floating!"  He exclaimed.  I was amazed.
"Really?"  I exclaimed.  "What did she look like?"

Michael went on to describe a woman with aquiline features, brunette, shoulder-length hair with a modern-looking white blouse, and, he thinks, red pants.  We were both excited, thinking we had just witnessed a contemporary spirit who had died in the hotel. 

Then, on the way home, I kept seeing lavender orbs appearing and disappearing.  I finally mentioned this to Michael, and he told me that he was seeing them too!

At home, we were sitting in the livingroom relaxing, when Michael spotted a large white sparkly that blinked in and out in our rocking chair.
Since it is usually either Chloris or Tom who likes to sit there, I 1st said hello to Tom.  Suddenly Michael began acting a bit weird, as though he had suddenly been hooked into a direct line.

"My name is Elizabeth," he said, at once, his voice taking on a softer cadence. 
"REALLY?" I asked Michael.  He kept on going as though I had not spoken.
"I like it here," Elizabeth/Michael went on.  "I want to stay here, but I do not want to bother you.  Do not trouble yourself."
Amazed, yet again, I just went with the flow and began asking her quesions. 
"We are so glad the you have finally left that house, after so long," I told her.
"Yes, it is so good to get away from there!  You are a blessing!"
"Your father is here, too," I told her.
"Yes," she said.  "He is standing right next to you."  As a reflex reaction, I began to look to the left and right of me. I sensed someone to my left but didn't see anything.
"He is very happy!"  She finished.  I was getting more choked up by the second.
When I had found my tongue again, I said. "Your mother, Sarah, won't leave that house.  Why is that?"
Michael/Elizabeth hesitated for a second.  "She is afraid to go".
"I'm sorry to hear that."  I said.  "Hopefully she will change her mind, one day."
"Thank you.  Yes, I hope so."
"How are your children doing?" 
"Oh, they like it here!" 
"Who else is here with you?  Is Chloris here?"  There was so much I wanted to ask and it was hard reigning myself in.
Her answer seemed a bit cryptic:
"Chloris is no longer at Bonaparte Court," she said.
I thought, okaayyyy, well THAT much is good to hear about Chloris.
"Who else is here?"  I asked again.
There was a slight hesitation, and then the answer.
"Everyone who loves you is here."
Now it was my turn to hesitate. 
"Well, that is nice to know," I said.  "We like it when you visit.  How often are you all here?"
Another pause as if they were conferring.
"We aren't here all the time....but we are here MOST of the time."
I was very pleased at what I was hearing, and was trying to come up with more earth-shaking questions, when I suddenly felt that Elizabeth was realizing what a tax all this was on Michael.  She very graciously bowed out, then.
"I am just going to sit here for awhile", she said, simply.  "Please don't trouble yourselves, I won't get in the way."

With that, she retreated, still in the rocking chair, I presumed.  Michael hadn't missed a beat, although he DID admit to being drained.  We sat there in awed silence for quite a while and there was a pleasant companionship that filled the room.

And she has been true to her word.  They are all still with us, MOST of the time, and for some like Joe and John, it is ALL the time.  You don't find Michael and I complaining, however.

And....a week or two later, Michael and I were at the INN for dinner, when in comes one of the owners, Phil, with a charred child's shoe that he presented to us on a silver tray.  The shoe had been found on the 4th floor, and was of mid-19th century vintage. It was a markedly poignant artifact that heightened the reality of all that we have experienced. 

To be continued, I'm sure.......... 



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