Showing posts with label fortunetelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fortunetelling. Show all posts

Friday, September 26, 2008

Of Fates and Fortunes...

Gary and Anne Henry of Coronation, County Durham, were just scraping by financially. They ran a small sandwich shop out of a converted shipping container. It was just another dreadfully rainy day two weeks ago on Tuesday when a ragged woman approached the stand. She was soaked, so Anne offered her a cup of hot tea and an egg sandwich.

The woman went on to tell Mrs. Henry that she was a gypsy, capable of predicting the future. Anne was accustomed to odd people making odd claims, so she politely brushed off the notion.

"You're going to win on the lottery," the old woman said. "I can see a four but I don't know how many zeros." The gypsy went on to mention many factual things about the Henry family before finishing her cup of tea and vanishing into the rainfall. Anne went about her day not giving it much thought.

Until Saturday.

Gary purchased a lottery ticket shortly before the drawing. And it won.

The prize? £4,493,783.

They plan on building their dream home and living off the interest from depositing the money in a bank account (approximately £19,000 per month, after taxes). As for the business, they'll be giving it to their sons to keep in the family.

The couple would very much like to thank the mystery woman, yet she remains unidentified. "We have no idea who she was, though I hope we meet her again," Anne said. "I expect she'll be back at Christmas, with a wheelbarrow."

Oh, ye of little faith...

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Put the Crystal Ball Down and Come Out with Your Hands Up...

Last month, new age practitioners breathed a sigh of relief in Vermont. A 1966 ban on fortunetelling was lifted in the town of St. Johnsbury on August 21st. Among the many acts deemed illegal by the former law were tarot reading, palmistry, and even feng shui.

Many communities across the country, from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. to Florida, have similar laws on the books in an effort to prevent fraud. Arguably, these could also be considered infringements of freedom of religion in many cases.

Last year, Livingston Parish in Louisiana officially outlawed fortunetelling. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania discovered a forgotten law and cracked down on tarot readers, crystal gazers, astrologers, and psychics, closing businesses across the city.

Yet Scientology, with its belief in alien beings forming humanity and returning to earth one day, remains protected by religious freedom.

We may all have our opinions of different practices, but everything from psychics to ghosts to voodoo is a part of our culture: our human makeup. If Ebay can sell a grilled cheese Virgin Mary effigy for thousands of dollars, is there really anything inherently wrong with someone asking for a few bucks for a palm reading?

It may not last as long, but there's no worry of mold from it killing you...