Vitality Stories
Granted: My Close Encounter with a Possible Pedophile
Part Two
Grant had two passions: photography and astrology. I’d become a willing participant in both.
My older sister always read me our horoscope (we’re both Scorpio), but at eight years old, the promises or warnings meant nothing to me. I wasn’t looking for romance, to change jobs, and I wasn’t worried about my health. They were boring and silly. So when Grant first pulled out all of his books and charts, I was not interested.
But Grant would get so animated while discussing astrology, carefully spreading out his materials like treasures. To my surprise and non-delight, he’d started my astrological chart. He explained how my birthday and time of birth would influence the rest of my life. He went over the various “houses” and how the moon, sun, and other planets could influence said houses. After a few weeks, he finished my chart, and he told me something I have never forgotten.
Grant told me that someday I was going to be a “wealthy and humble woman.” I asked him what he meant. He said, “You’ll live in a mansion, but you won’t be a show-off. You won’t rub your riches in anyone’s face.” I kid you not, right then and there, I pictured my older self standing on the front steps of a mansion, holding wild picked flowers, and wearing worn out overalls (and we all know how I felt about overalls). And I had a beat-up truck in the driveway. It’s highly possible I was influenced by reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.
Today, people talk about the power of positive thinking, applying The Secret, and more. I always think about Grant and the positive influence his passion for astrology had on the outlook of my life. He gave me hope. Not that I’d have money someday, but that my future would be very different than the way I was being raised.
But in hindsight, he was also moving me away from talking about topics interesting to a little girl to discussing more adult topics. He was changing the playing field.
For an update on Mr. Tobey and Tiger Drive, click here.
