For those who think of "Mama" as a one-dimensional character wearing the polyester floral dress with white high heels & matching purse, you need to give mama a little more credit than that. Seemingly conservative people may blow away your stereotypes and make you realize YOU are the conservative one!

My "mama" and grandmother are perfect examples, living in the conservative Midwestern farm belt, complete with Bible-thumping church sermons, book-burning ceremonies, and Blue Law which prohibited the sale of anything other than food essentials on Sundays.  

My grandmother was a sweet lady who crocheted toilet paper roll covers that she gave as gifts. During those sessions she opened up, telling me things about her beliefs in psychic abilities, curses and witches. I was kind of shocked--but then there was my mother.

Her girlfriends came to our house for seances. As a skeptic, I had to get over my cynicism before I could begin considering the possible validity of psychic phenomena and other "fringe" or pseudo-science topics.

When a reporter and I went to Studio City to do a slam piece for the Orange County Register newspaper on a well-known psychic, Peter Hurkos,  he caught us off-guard by giving us readings. The reporter fumbled over her questions and became nearly speechless. It was actually embarrassing. While the things he told me didn't make sense, they all came true several years later. Explanations failed me and I realized that there was something special about this guy.

Psychic fairs, fun and festivities for the open minded...and even skeptics:

• Ojai, Calif. is considered an energy vortex
• Conscious Life Expo (consciouslifeexpo.com) February 6 -8, 2015 has 200 speakers, workshops and lectures with topics such as "How to Raise Your Vibration," and "Unleash the Psychic in You"
• Contact in the Desert May 29–31, 2015 in Joshua Tree
• y, September 24–26, 2015 / Irvine, CA2015 MUFON UFO Symposium Jamboree Center, Hotel Irvine “Expanding Ufology: Opening New Doors in Academia,Industry and the Media” mufon.com