|
LIFE
WITH RICHARD SENATE: VENTURA'S OWN GHOSTHUNTER By Debbie Christenson Senate Everyone
sees my husband Richard in one way. He is a local historian, psychic
researcher (he calls himself a ghost hunter) and lecturer. To me he is
husband, father and friend. He is very human. He never picks up his
socks. He has stacks of books all over the house. His office is a mess
of papers placed in piles. I never touch his stuff because when ever I
do he yells that he can't find something that he really needs. He
likes to watch STAR-TREK shows on television and the X-FILES.
I learned never to try to talk to him when one of his shows are on
because he will just tune me out and nod his head. The house would have
to be on fire for him to notice. He
is an excellent father. He helps our daughters with their home work and
tells them stories at night. Recently because our oldest daughter is
interested in the GOOSEBUMPS books Richard wrote a whole original
book just for her. It was about a fourth grade teacher who is a witch.
Her name is "Miss Grimlee". In one part that had our daughters
rolling with laughter, he had Miss Grimlee teaching biology by letting
the students sew back together the dissected frogs from another class
and bring them back to life with jolts of electricity! Richard gets all
sorts of odd phone calls at all hours of the night. Calls from people
with ghosts in their houses and people with questions about such things.
He has had writers and Hollywood people calling him with this detail and
that. I keep telling him to charge them but he just shrugs my
suggestions off. I
have seen him take off in the middle of the night when someone has a
problem. Some of his calls are kids doing reports on ghosts for classes.
He is always ready to do an interview for students. Once a week he sits
down and does all his e-mail. He has things from all over the world,
numbering in the hundreds. He once had a group contacting him from
Norway about ghosts. They were so impressed that they came all the way
out to California for a visit. He has a group of people in Japan who
send information about a haunted castle and ghost hunts all over the
world. These are just a couple of examples at how widespread his
influence has reached over the years. A
lot of people don't know that Richard is also an artist. He likes to
paint and draw. He sometimes makes cartoons up and does paintings. While
he paints he likes to sing. He really has an terrible voice but it makes
him happy. His father was an artist so I guess it runs in the family.
Both of our daughters have talent with art. However, I
really like it when we get a chance to go out on our overnight ghost
hunts. It is a lot of work but its also a chance to see one another for
a change. With my schedule and his and the kids we have very little time
to just talk. When we go down to the Queen Mary or
Hollywood it gives us a chance to have dinner without the kids and just
catch up on who we are. Sometimes its almost like a vacation. This year
I have planned a vacation in November. Richard and I will be taking a
cruise to Mexico! Just the two of us. Just as long as he doesn't find a
ghost on the ship maybe we can have a well deserved time just for the
two of us! What else can I tell you about Richard? He likes show tunes.
"Kismet" is his favorite musical. He loves stuffed Bell Peppers, Mexican food, and Chinese Egg Foo Young. He loves to eat. He takes his job with the City of Ventura very seriously. I have seen him work way into the night to make sure a special tour is just right. He makes it look so easy but it really is a lot of hard work to organize and research the tours. He works many hours for which he isn't paid. Very few people know he is only a part time city employee. He loves the city so much that he will do anything to let the public know what a special place Ventura is. Well, that’s about all I can think of to write about Richard. I know in an hour or more I will think of maybe a hundred more things to say. Remember this; I love him very much and it has been a wonderful life together with him. ---Debbie Christenson Senate Some
superstitions about Ghosts If
you want to see a ghost, take a dog to a cemetery at midnight. At the
exact second that midnight comes, look between the ears of the dog and
you will see a ghost. If
you meet a ghost, the best thing to do is say "What in the name of
God do you want?", and it will answer or vanish.
|