HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROB

Rob & Megan at a cigar factory in Cuba, 2017

Rob & Hemingway in Old Havana, 2017

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The first time I looked at Rob’s natal chart and saw Jupiter in his 8th house, the loner planet placed above the horizon, I knew we had a lot in common.

The 8th house represents everything paranormal – life after death, reincarnation, spirit contact, and synchronicity, all the stuff that has fascinated me for most of my life. That Jupiter placement also meant that if the relationship became anything, he probably would outlive me.

In my 8th house, I have  the  sun, Uranus, and the North Node. Uranus there means – at least to  me – a sudden unexpected death. You know, you’re out walking your dog and are struck by some wacko driver who doesn’t like the color of the shirt you’re wearing. Or doesn’t see you at all.

We were in a Fort Lauderdale bar when I looked at his chart. It was our first “date,” November 1981. I was teaching English to Cuban refugees  who had come over in the Mariel boat lift and he was a journalist writing for the Hollywood Sun Tattler. He had been assigned to our center to find out if Cubans were really learning English.

I don’t remember when we started living together, but we got married July 16, 1983. When I do the math, I’m shocked. That’s 39 years.

The only people  alive who have known Rob longer are his sister  Sandy, and her son, Guy.

39 years is a LONG time. But Rob isn’t just my husband. He’s also my creative writing partner. We’ve co-authored a number of non-fiction books. We bounce ideas off each other. We pursue our separate paths with fiction and have both won the Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America. Rob won for his YA novel Prophecy Rock and Trish won for her paperback original Out of Sight. Yet,  we don’t compete against each other.

I’m pretty sure we had a life together in Scotland, but I don’t know the details. What I know is that when I was in Edinburgh in the summer of 1975, Rob was also there. A psychic later told us that in this life we had several opportunities to meet and Edinburgh was one of them.

I’m not sure about other opportunities. In past lives, maybe Salem, during the witch trials. I’ve used that era in my fiction. Another possibility? Maybe Cuba when Hemingway lived there, another period I’ve used in fiction.

Regardless, in  this life, we had a daughter, Megan, and have enjoyed 39 years together. & I still don’t know this guy. Nine of 10 planets in his chart fall beneath the horizon, the signature of a very private individual. Eight of my 10 planets are above the horizon, so what you see and hear is pretty much what you get.

I do have a filter – although I knew people who say otherwise – but it’s borderline. I fill the silences. He brings the wisdom. Eventually, we arrive at the same place.

Me: Hey, did you read those pages I sent you?

Rob: They’re good, but I think you need to change…

Me: Let’s go back to Costa Rica…

Rob: The west coast this time…

Happy birthday, Rob!

And happy lunar eclipse in Scorpio!