Wake Up Call

Well, this year hasn't gone smoothly. After leaving the call center to go back to caregiving in a home, I had to quit just after 2 months there for reporting a "valued" employee to DSHS for 2 accounts of neglect. Don't know how the investigation turned out, but I didn't stick around to be fired. Got a job a The Dollar Tree close by my old work as seasonal to finish out the rest of the year. I forgot how stressful retail seasonal was...

Still dealing with major depression, but improvement has been made. Much to the alarm of a family member, when I get overwhelmed emotionally and or physically, I'll say out loud that "I could just quit." She spoke about her concern that I was running away from any problems that came up, but I laid down the bare facts for her. It was my coping mechanism. Instead of saying "I can always take my life" (as I used to think to myself when overwhelmed), I cope with stress by merely reminding myself that there is another way out, and another job waiting somewhere. "I can always quit" is a major improvement to "I can always kill myself."

"Slender Man" is real!

O Lord, hear the words of my prayer – let this message reach the right audience!

Dear Readers,

Many of you have heard on the news about this Slender Man character/meme from a popular dark site called Creepy Pasta. Many people think it’s just a figment of imagination – but it’s not. It is a demon. One that I and my brother encountered about 18 years ago, before the web became a way of life. It haunted our house – in particular my brother’s room, for reasons we did not know or understand. It made its presence known by an aura of darkness and fear. We had more than one demon to deal with at times, but this one was always present, as if trying to scare us to death, sticking to the darkest corners.

We did not call it Slender Man in those days, though looking back it would have made sense to call it that. We called it the Slim One. At times, it would physically manifest itself to sight, which impressed itself strongly on my memory from the first moment. And if I had not seen it myself, I would not give credit to the “figment” of Slender Man.

We are devout Catholics; we tried prayer, house blessings, blessed salt, St. Michael statue, crosses and crucifixes but it never stayed away long, like there was a bad penny under the carpet or something. We did not play with anything that would invite a demon or evil spirit, such as an Ouija board or Dungeons and Dragons. After many years of haunting, and only after much prayer and fasting (as our Lord Jesus said) did we drive it out: with the Green Scapular. Each time, with a prayer and a push pin, I put them on every wall and corner of my brother’s room and it worked. The demon was gone, and I never knew where it had gone until I read the story of the Slender Man stabbing.

Since then, I have looked upon many a demon – all Creepy Pasta characters – and I beg you to watch out for yourselves and your loved ones. The web is an electronic portal for these malignant spirits to use; some people are exposed accidently, and some are exposed by curiosity (and you know what’s said about that!). For years people argued about the “possible” link between violence and video games. Well, as a kid who grew up with classmates who were into that, I can testify that the link exists. And if you’ve chanced to read this article, don’t dismiss the vulnerability of a careless young mind.