18 Comments

I do believe in ghosts. I have been to Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. And I would serve chicken in mole sauce, rice, beans and fresh hand made tortillas; because why not?

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I believe in ghosts too in some form or another--maybe not Casper but you know what I mean.

You've been to Rome! Amazing, I hadn't heard of Castel Sant'Angelo but googled it and it looks amazing.

If the King and Queen are in your house they will eat what you serve! I like it. Sounds delicious!

Thank you for reading!

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Great story! I liked how emotional it was and your use of italics was wonderful. I am a fan of cliffhangers, but in this case I think your last sentence undercut the emotional build up just a bit.

As far as ghosts, I do believe they exist in some capacity. I've never been to a castle, but I would love to visit one someday!

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This is excellent feedback, thank you. The cliffhanger is what I had in mind when I started the story--but I forced it in and didn't realize the good emotional buildup that materialized while I was writing. I need to be conscious of this!

Thank you very much for this comment!

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I'm not sure on the question of ghosts, perhaps they could be souls from purgatory. Perhaps it's my protestant upbringing but in general, I'm suspicious of the idea that ghosts are souls of the departed.

I don't recall having been to castle. Unless you count the Smithsonian Castle lol.

If the King and Queen ever come to my house, I hope they'd do so when my mom's visiting. Because I'll give them my mom's cooking. Whatever it is, I'm sure they'd like it.

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Fun fact--the Jewish tradition was that souls stay with the body for three days before they pass on to the afterlife. This is why it is important that Christ was resurrected on the third day--Jewish tradition held that not only was he DEAD but his soul had left. So it was a physical and spiritual resurrection that happened!

If we suppose there's some credence to that, maybe ghosts are just the recent deaths that linger for a day or two. The Brown Scapular promise is that Mary will come and take you to heaven on the saturday after you die--another concept of delayed spiritual departure.

I do agree though--not everything we call a ghost is a wandering soul. Best to be careful and not tread too confidently on that ground.

A meal fit for royalty! Save some for the rest of us!

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I visited a few castles in Europe last year. Neuschwanstein was incredible, both in its art and architecture, and in the story behind its construction. King Ludwig II, who funded it, is a fascinating figure if you're looking for story inspiration.

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I have heard of Neuschwanstein and can picture it in my head--that sounds like an amazing trip. I will definitely be looking up King Ludwig II! Can never do without story inspiration!

Thanks for reading!

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1. Yes. Energy is never wasted. It seems, however we try to explain things with words (soul, spirit, etc.), sometimes something of a person remains behind. Good or bad.

2. No. But I'm not opposed!

3. Some type of peasant food. The best we have to offer, but nothing too rich, sweet, or fancy. The monarch deserves to understand how the rest of us live here on planet earth.

Questions for you! How do you feel about royals in 2023? Why do certain nations hold on to this idea? What utility is served? Are the people better off?

If ghosts are real, in what new ways might they be explained. Shadows appearing from another dimension? The shells of demons breaking open on this reality and mimicking human behavior? Beings from other universes attempting to communicate with us in the third dimension? I think our explanations are often soft when we discuss the supernatural or even God Himself. We link human traits to spirits. We link them to places. We link them to human behavior, but why would a real ghost manifest caring for either continuing to behave human or inhabit their places if they took on a new form?

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Thanks for this, Sean, and great questions!

"How do you feel about royals in 2023"--I think the British Monarchy is one of very few remaining monarchies. For a lot of reasons--some more complicated than I can get into here--I am pro-monarchy. I think the British Monarchy is important to the British People and so I don't begrudge them their monarchs even if their legal system prevents them from doing anything useful. The utility question is like the utility of parents--what purpose do they serve? Monarchs are like parents, and I don't mean that in a way that condescends to the populace; i mean it as a way of increasing the weight of the responsibility on their shoulders. They are (or ought to be) personally responsible for the well-being of every sovereign citizen. It's a complicated balance! But for now, British law prevents a lot of utility, it's mostly cultural/traditional, like the national anthem or the American Flag, and the Brits seem to love their monarch so it's hard for me to say whether they are better with or without them.

As for Ghosts:

I think the Spiritual is Real. There are spirits, there are *bad* spirits. Souls are real. It is really hard for me to say whether any given ghost is real or what they are like. I think if we play around too much in that field then we risk trivializing them or accepting something potentially demonic and treating it like it's not harmful.

I don't think there are other dimensions or universes, so it's just the Physical reality and the Spiritual reality and they overlap because we humans are physical and spiritual. In fact I am more inclined to say that the Spiritual reality is the "greater" reality and the physical reality is a subset within that greater reality.

TL;DR: There is a spiritual reality. We can't really know for certain what spiritual manifestations/spooky sightings are. We are permitted to hope they are good, there is a non-zero chance they are bad. Play it safe. Pray often.

Very good and thoughtful discussion questions! I may have to write more on this subject!

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I very much look forward to reading them. Feel free to tag me so I don't miss them. I love these discussions!

As for the monarchy being a symbol, I struggle a great deal with this. Because they are people. And not a flag. Nor a song. Is this a silly burden to place on them? What are we seeing from the symbol in 2023?

My question about the utility is directly related to the use of resources of a very intelligent people in the case of the English. (Although other monarchies and royals still float around: Spain, Sweden, various African and Middle Eastern nations). They pay for their national anthem and flag. We do not. But, what are they getting for their dime?

It's a romantic idea, but in a world strapped for resources and good leaders, what are we doing paying someone simply for being born?

I agree. It's very complex. Perhaps it's my Scotch-Irish blood, but I really cannot grasp the logic of giving inbred folks free rent in today's world. In some parts of the world, they'd be relegated to their private woodland mountain, shunned from the outside. In Britain, they are given an allowance and massive, shocking wealth. What makes them worthy of such opulence? Again, what do these people do to be deserving of the money spent, land given, and time and focus lauded?

Maybe I am too American. And I hope I have not offended any pro-monarchs in the crowd, from any nation. I genuinely wonder about all of this and am shocked it is still deemed necessary or sustainable.

Sorry for my string of questions! I'm signing up to read more of your beautiful, thought-provoking work! And I'm looking forward to more of it.

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I don't want this to become (on purpose or accident) the Monarchist Zone, so suffice it here for me to say that your questions and concerns are VALID and anyone talking about the Monarchy needs to be aware of them and have an answer for them.

American culture is definitely anti-monarch. That's a philosophy embedded deeply into our cultural history, not least of all because of the revolution and war of 1812, but also that's why many people arrived here. Escaping Tyranny--which, given the American experience, is synonymous with Monarchy.

Again--if the Brits think it is worth it, all power to them! I think it is worth it to buy shoes from walmart, some people think it is worth it to drop a couple hundred dollars (or more!) on the latest Space-Yeezy-3000's from whatever shoe company makes those. What do you get for the added dollar? Not more utility--both shoes keep dog-doo off your feet--but STYLE and STATUS. As with shoes, so with monarchy--it is important to them, so they surround it with Gold. What do we surround with Gold in our lives? I don't even know how to answer that quite yet. But it's excellent food for thought.

Really appreciate your engagement on these topics! Thank you for thinking deeply about all this and sharing your questions with me. I look forward to exploring these and other topics more with you!

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Me too! I love the comparison with shoes. There might be a #poem in there...

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I do believe in ghosts in that there is another unseen world around us. I have been to a castle. If the King visited me to would serve something plain but do it in a grand way I think.

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I like your meal choice--simple but done up a bit. Thats a good way to not go crazy!

Thank you for reading!

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No, yes, and ginger tea. A royal would have all the fancy chefs in the world—what, I am to compete with them? No, sir, it’s good ol’ hard hitting strong ginger milk tea that slaps you in the face, unlike the mild bland rich-person food they’d be used to.

And oh, such a pleasant read!

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You have me a craving for some bubble tea--even though that’s not what you said, i think I will get some today haha!

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Ha, you do you! And I shall make some ginger tea to bring balance back into this chaotic world. Cheers!

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