Here’s one of those historical synchronicities that we happened to come upon. This one parallels the Christopher Reeves synchronicity, even those though it doesn’t directly involve either well known actor.
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In 1973 British actress Julie Christie starred in the compelling movie Don’t Look Now that was dramatized from a story by Daphne du Maurier. In the film, Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland played the parents of a child who is tragically drowned in a shallow pond in the garden of their country house.
Six years later, Jonathan and Leslie Heale were renting their friend Julie Christie’s farmhouse in the Welsh countryside. The movie star had just left after a visit when Leslie suddenly noticed that her 22-month-old son was missing. She found him dead, as in the movie, floating face down in the duck pond in front of the house.
–That’s from the 1992 Reader’s Digest book Bizarre Phenomena,in their Quest for the Unknown.
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Although many people already are aware of the Reeves story, mentioned above, it’s worth including here.
In Christopher Reeves last role, he was wheelchair-bound as if preparing for the rest of his life. On the evening news, Wednesday, May 31, 1995, five days after Christopher Reeves was injured in an equestrian accident, Dr. John Jane of the University of Virginia Medical Center confirmed for the first time in a news conference that Reeves was indeed paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe without the aid of a ventilator.
A few hours later HBO aired, as previously scheduled, a film starring Reeve that had debuted only a week earlier: Above Suspicion. By unbelievably tragic coincidence, Reeves played in that film – his last role before he was injured – a police officer who was paralyzed after being shot in the line of duty. Obviously Above Suspicion is a film burdened with heavy emotional baggage, but how does it rate as entertainment? For those who can bear to watch Christopher Reeves say lines like: “I want to die. I can’t live my life as half a man…”, it is a taut, beautifully acted drama.
In 2004, John Kerry on the campaign trail mentioned Reeves as a candidate for stem cell treatment on a Friday, and Reeves died on the following Monday.
As Esther Hicks says, "Tell the story you want to live."
Hmmm, it makes me wonder what would happen if we start writing and acting out more positive tales, less dwelling on the ugly parts of life and more celebration of the joy.
The timing of Category Five completely spooked me, Ray.I will never again write about a hurricane!
As I've mentioned before, I bought Trish's book Category Five just around the time of Hurricane Katrina. I have always read her books as soon as I can get my hands on them. I could not open Category Five for nine months. It just didn't feel like the right thing to do.
Ray
Bottom line? Politics is in everything, and seems to be spread across the universe like super glue. Yet, synchronicity seems to recognize no political boundaries. It plays with republicans and democrats alike, pokes fun at all the political and religious hypocrites, but also holds meaning for the person who experiences it. & yeah, the release of a movie certainly can be a political decision, no doubt about it.
This is an interesting place my dears. I'm not much of a believer in anything in particular, especially something as cosmic as synchronicity, but I'm open to the possibility that I know nothing at all. In fact I'm quite sure that's true. I am however a "believer" that the political resides in everything and that everything is therefore political to one degree or another, especially the "religious" or the matters of faith. I know, we're talking about celebrities here, but the timed release of a movie is certainly a opportunistically political decision, no?
I thought it was sad, too. But it happened so soon after his passing that I wonder if, at some level, they both decided on this before they were born. With Reeves, especially, given his last role, there seemed to be a different quality to it. It was as if, at a soul level, he had agreed to the paralysis to call attention to various issues – like stem cell research. I also wonder if Michael Fox, at a soul level, agreed to the Parkinson's to call attention to the treatment of that disease.
– Trish
I've always thought it so sad that Christopher Reeve's wife was diagnosed with cancer so soon after he passed. She never got much time for herself after being his caregiver for so long. I guess they just wanted to be together… forever.
Spooky, tragic parallels.
i've seen these films – and had heard the stories, actually, but did not remember them until this great post – as your site illustrates so well, synchronicities are so abundant – but often not "caught" or "seen" – thanks for refreshing my own memory on these beautifully poignant stories – jenean
The synchronicities in both of these stories is astounding. I have heard that Heath Ledger's last performances were so intense he began to have sleeping difficulties – leading eventually to his overdose and death. It makes you wonder what kind of energy is produced when "acting" some of these roles, and whether or not it somehow manifests in "real" life. I've read where actors sometimes have a hard time shedding the role once the movie is over. Interesting.