Today’s post is the ninth in a 10-part series involving serendipitous and mysterious events and occurrences involving the date of Nov. 14th (the same date my mother died). These posts will be categorized as events that happened before Nov. 14, the day of Nov. 14th, and after Nov. 14, 2013. Enjoy!
In this ninth post of serendipitous occurrences after Nov. 14th, I’ll be sharing the last and biggest “coincidence” that really blew my mind. This one has some history to it that I’ll share here.
Back in 2001
Back in 2001, I moved from Atlanta to Arizona for a change of pace and to dedicate myself to becoming a more serious writer. I worked at the Tempe Public Library and the Changing Hands Bookstore so that I could be totally surrounded by books.
One day, an older lady came into the bookstore looking for an astrology book and as we began to talk, she asked me if I knew about the Astrological Institute in Scottsdale, AZ. Apparently, the school had been getting a lot of media attention as the only accredited school for astrology and psychology at the time. I told her I didn’t know anything about it, but that I’d look into it, since I was a big fan of astrology. The next day at work at the library, I told a co-worker at the reference desk about the school and she got the address and number for me (this was before the time you could just talk the question into your cell phone ;0).
When I went to the school to inquire about their program, I found out they needed a person with my skills in nonprofit fundraising. To make a long story short, I ended up working at the school and taking classes for free as an employee! During the short time of my employment, I got a chance to know founder and visionary, Joyce Jensen (my boss) very well. I even spent a month living with her before moving to the Bay Area to work at The University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland. I remember thinking Joyce was the coolest White woman I had met in my life back then. I listened to her stories of how she left home as a teenager and climbed her way to the top in the real estate business to become a millionaire. I listened to her stories with her run-ins with her boyfriend with mafia ties, and all the jazz legends she heard play in the segregated Black clubs back in the day. When all the famous astrologers used to hold weekend workshop intensives at the school, she would drag me along when she took them out to eat. Good times. Needless to say, I was shocked to receive an email telling me Joyce had passed away from a terminal illness, when just six months earlier, I was assisting her and the AI staff at the 2002 United Astrology Conference.
Moving Forward to 2013
So that was back in 2002. Let’s move forward in time to February 2013 when I was visiting friends and family in the Virgin Islands. When I moved from St. Croix,VI to live in Mexico in 2008, I had two weeks to sell, give away or ask friends and family to store my belongings. On this trip, I went to collect some of my belongings I had left at a good friends place. One box in particular had a lot of memorabilia that I wanted to hold onto. As I was going through some of my old journals and letters, I came across the email that my friend at the Astrological Institute sent me to tell me Joyce had passed away. My jaw dropped when I saw the date of her passing as Thursday, November 14th 2002! Here is her story as told by Philip Sedgwick on StarIQ. We miss you Joyce!
* David King * William Scott, Jr. *Janice Donovan * Isaac Causey * Sharonda Caldwell * LaVerne Freemon * Lumumba Corriette * Cher Hermschulte *Camara Barbara Knight * Alzonia Goss * Larry Boykin * Titilayo Tahir * Tex Mason
Remember, it’s never too late to spread the word on social media, to help out by shopping on
OR by making a donation or volunteering your professional services.
One Love,
DeBorah
PS. Go to the Pushing Daisy Drive Page to learn more about the fundraiser goals and the other ways you can contribute.