Church of the Jelly Shoes

In about 1985 brightly colored plastic shoes that were all the rage with kids.  We called them Jelly shoes. Just about that same time Annie and her best friend, Ellen, were experimenting with some metaphysical ideas they had become enamored with.  They weren't kids, but they were definitely amateurs in the metaphysical group business. Jelly shoes became a symbol of that activity because the shoes were equally childlike and silly.

Their inspiration for this enterprise came from some books that were supposedly channeled from an entity named Seth.  Whether or not one subscribed to that idea was not important.  The basic premise was that one could create one's own reality, which was an enticing concept, as Annie ans Ellen were neither thrilled with the current state of affairs in their worlds.  Being broke but having been raised to deify wealth tends to make one feel out of sync with "the way things are supposed to be".

Actually what the books said was that their current experience is what they have created, which wasn't too pleasing.  But their idea was that if they had done this, perhaps if they got with the right program they could get the life of their dreams. 

One thing they both were certain of was that this had to be fun, or they weren't going to play.  So, they designed their group with fun in mind.  Since they both loved to eat, food had to be part of the plan.  Then, there were different things, such as aura reading, channeling, creative dreaming, spoon bending -- oh, the spoon bending was a lot of fun.

There appeared, in answer to Ellen's ad for the group, a really neat couple named Marianne and Harry Hardy.  He was a complete doll, about 5'5'' and pudgy, with an Elmer Fud lisp.  He was a dowser.  They were older than the rest of us and claimed to be "old souls".  Best of all, they loved the fun experiments with reality, like spoon bending.  So, one week they asked the group to bring an old spoon or two that they didn't mind destroying.

Harry had everyone close his eyes and fondle his spoon, while he led them in a relaxing meditation.  Then he suggested they bend their spoons, without coming out of the meditation.  Well, odd as it sounds, Annie's spoon, which had seemed unbendable before, was like aluminum foil in her hands, and she made it into a tight little corkscrew.  What a kick!  She kept that spoon as a talisman proving that she was capable of more than she thought.

This group had some of the most remarkable people in it.  There was Laurie, a 30-something lesbian with a quirky sense of humor who loved the spot light and had an eclectic education which made her monologues some of Annie's favorite moments.  Laurie has since become a Catholic counselor. I picture her as a modern day Friar Tuck, roaming the country-side seducing young women and swilling the local ale.

Then there was Karen, a very bright red head living a traditional life in suburban middle American.  She loved costuming, and once made Annie the best witch costume for Halloween that Annie had ever seen.  Karen was probably the most sincere and serious seeker of them all (they had to poke her now and then to keep it light.)  Her self revelations were remarkable and touching; more so considering the self-contained privacy which was her normal air.  Annie loved her, but never really felt she got to know her as she would have liked.  Karen maintained her armor.

They also had their resident skeptic, just to keep them all honest.  Donna was a little older and she had done many things Annie envied, such as travel, get a degree, and live alone for a long time by choice.  At that time she was living at and managing a storage facility.  Annie's favorite story from Donna was about the customer who stored pounds of marijuana, which she could smell, and which she called the police about.  She found this funny and made quite a story of it, but Donna's mother feared for her life for months.  Donna occasionally got herself in hot water with Ellen when she was a little too skeptical for Ellen's taste, pronouncing some new esoteric wonder "horseshit".  Annie never would have had the guts to do that, as Ellen was always her idol.

Annie's major claim to fame was that she could see auras, like colored lights around the body.  Unfortunately, she rarely made use of this gift unless prodded.  Ellen was great for that, as well as helping her get specific and interpret what she saw.  It could be a useful tool, but mostly it was just a conversation piece, and sometimes Annie saw it as a downright liability.  People tended to think that since she could see their aura, she could read their minds or something.  She couldn't, of course.

The group met every two weeks at Ellen's house for food and discussion and experiments.  For a while it met their need to talk, as they learned the tools of manifesting.  Eventually it petered out, with not enough common ground for further spiritual exploration.  Actually, what happened was that it evolved.  They discovered that the social aspect was the best part, so those who liked that became the "Girls Night In" group. 

Ellen named the activity "The Church of the Jelly Shoes."  She had a great sense of humor and one criteria for the group was that it had to be fun and light.  One thing Ellen was known for is her love of outrageous fashion.  She always dressed up, usually in the highest heels available, with her fingernails painted in wild and beautiful shades out to there.  This was during the height of the feminist movement.

Ellen discovered jelly shoes, and thought they were funny, so she bought some.  She lived at the time in a townhouse development in the foothills, and finding her house for the first time could be a challenge.  So, she issued her directions with a note that she would hang her jelly shoes over the mailbox as the signpost for "The Church of the Jelly Shoes".