I don’t care what the skeptics say, I’m pretty convinced I have telepathy.
The gift made its presence in my life known when I was young.
I must have been 9, maybe 10 years old riding in the back seat of my mother’s car when I had my first experience.
Next to me was a cousin and we amused each other by competing in various contests: burping contests, hitting contests, holding your breath contests.
My cousin suggested we have a screaming contest. Enthusiastically, I agreed. Catching a glimpse of my mother’s gaze in the rear view mirror, I knew right then what she was thinking.
“No,” I told him. “We better not.”
Over the years my mother helped me refine those skills: “Mom can I stay up late?” “Mom, can I go to that party?” “Mom can I have a new curfew?” “Mom can I go to Mexico?”
Each time, without a word exchanged between us, I knew what the answer would be.
It got to the point where I could read other people’s minds, even if only for a hazy moment.
“Deborah, is anyone home at your house? Can we go there?”
“Let’s just say we went to class and not to the beach instead.”
No and no were the answers without words being uttered.
Soon after that, the skill developed into exchanges beyond the word no.
Dude, your mom is going to kill you when she sees that cigarette burn in her car.
I am so dead.
In the years after my youth the ability to read others’ thoughts and have them read mine persisted.
In line at a burger joint, a young cashier and I knew exactly what the other was thinking as the person ahead of me labored over the decision of having a side order of curly fries or regular ones.
When walking alone on the sidewalk, solicitors, proselytizers and party promoters know I’m not interested without my having to speak.
Even in my interactions on the job, I seem to have an uncanny ability to share thoughts with others.
One afternoon during a casual conversation the chatter turned to politics.
“I heard former mayor Steve Padilla might run for city council.”
Really?
Really.
Wow.
Yep.
Of course, my telepathy doesn’t work all the time. There have been occasions when I’ve asked people what they would think if Sweetwater school board member John McCann were to become mayor of Chula Vista and Steve Padilla were to be elected to the council.
I couldn’t quite hear what they were thinking. The laughing was causing too much interference.
