We did it!  We survived a night in the ‘haunted’ Orillia Opera House on Halloween.  Thank you Terri Rossiter from the Opera House for the great tour!  We made our way through the theatres and back stage down to the basement where the old jail cells were and the famous elevator where the poor chap fell to his death on a Friday night and was not found until Monday morning.  I said a little prayer for him, though it seemed a little late.  There was one spot where I felt like running from the room as my skin crawled and that is where the main jail cells were in a rectangular room.  Ugh!  Photos are available on www.facebook.com/leebicematheson  Orillia Youth Centre staff Todd and Lindsay and volunteers did a great job overseeing the night and gathering the kids to come on out.  Thank you to all of the teens who came out on a rainy/snowy night for this event.  Without you, we wouldn’t have had it, nor had such a great time on Halloween.  Georgian College recreational students, post-graduate, organized all of the games and prizes – big job and well done by all.  Thank you so much!  Brewery Bay provided the sumptuous food from coconut shrimp and egg rolls to chicken wings and much more.  Awesome and thank you from all of us.  Apple Annie’s provided the fudge bags and Shoppers Drug Mart (Front St) provided the candy bags.  Thank you so much.  And Kiwanis of Orillia bought Wake Me Up Inside for each teen!  I had teens approach me after my ‘reading’ from the book and ask ‘when will I get the copy?’  They were eager and made me feel happy about writing it. 🙂  Thank you Kiwanis for donating it.  Adam Dagenais and his girlfriend, Brittany, joined us for the ‘haunted’ tour.  Thank you Adam for designing the poster for this event, but he also designed my book cover!  And I would really like to thank my husband, Dr Kevin, who always supports me in my new career and helped to sponsor this event with me.  🙂

Ghostly Gatherings was a success as each teen thanked us and said they enjoyed it through-out the night. Fantastic group of kids.

Thank you to all of the kids who turned out and made it such a special night for us all to be a part of.  We hope you enjoyed it. 🙂

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Who’s counting down the days until Halloween?  I am.  So are lots of people around the world.  I asked many who are going out on this scary yet wonderful eve, what will you dress as?  Vampire came up alot.  Hmmm.. no one wants to dress as a ghost anymore? Ha ha.  My husband, Kevin, and I are looking forward to the spooktacularly fun evening on Halloween at the Orillia Opera House with the Orillia Youth Centre.  So many wonderful people have pitched in to make this night fun!  Orillia Youth Centre is providing the games and prizes, Brewery Bay is providing the food, Apple Annie’s is providing the fudge, Shoppers Drug Mart (Front St) provided the candy, Kiwanis of Orillia has generously donated Wake Me Up Inside to each teen, and Orillia Opera House’s own Terri Rossiter, is hosting and giving a tour of the ‘haunted’ house. Makes for a Halloween dream come true for this author of ghost stories.  Thank you to everyone for participating.  Cannot wait to see the costumes on the kids!  Ours’ will surprise you. 🙂

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And so it begins…. Cannot wait until Halloween this year!  It’s exciting and cannot wait! The Orillia Youth Centre has planned alot of fun games too!  Lookout kids.  Prepare to be scared. 🙂 http://www.orilliapacket.com/ur/story/528315

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You don’t want to miss this spooktacular night!

For those of you who are signing up for the Halloween party at the Opera House, you are in for a big treat.  Kiwanis generously bought Wake Me Up Inside and we will be giving a signed copy free to all who attend, and a short reading by the author.  Terri, staff of the Opera House, is giving a tour of the ‘haunted’ house.  There is a costume contest and a special prize is awarded from Lee Bice-Matheson, brought all the way home from Montreal.  Games provided by the Orillia Youth Centre, candies from Shopper’s Drug Mart (Front St), food from Brewery Bay and fudge from Apple Annie’s.  Wow, sounds like a spooktacular night for all!  Come on out kids and sign up at the Orillia Youth Centre 705-325-8082.  You’ll never forget it!

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Join Global Girl Power and light a candle tonight in memory of Amanda Todd, the B.C. teen who committed suicide after being bullied for many months/years.  May she rest in peace, for those around the world lighting candles are shouting BULLYING IS NOT COOL!  www.facebook.com/globalgirlpower

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For those of you who have read my narratives in The Big Book of Canadian Hauntings, John Robert Colombo, author & anthologist, c2009, named Two Experiences, you will know at the time of my parents’ deaths (nine months apart), I too, was quite ill.  Watching them slip away, I decided not to pursue treatment at the time in order to be there for them whenever I could.  After they died, I waited for another four months, still grieving of course, and then decided to visit Dr Xiu-Min Li, at Mount Sinai Medical Hospital in New York city.  http://www.mountsinai.org/profiles/xiu-min-li?id=0000072500001497264242  While conducting several tests in my initial consultation, Dr Li announced I was sicker with more than my asthma.  I responded by saying that I knew that, but please don’t tell me with what  – I did not want a label on it.  Dr Li respected my wishes and started me on a course of Chinese Herbal Medicines, four years ago this November.  Dr Li has kept in touch with me by emails, and telephone calls and when I’m really sick she responds immediately.  How innovative, is she?  Dr Li is working on a patent for these herbal medicines that would negate putting children on steroids for their asthma.  As soon as I heard that in my initial interview, I said SIGN ME UP!  Yesterday, I visited my local Medical Doctor and we discussed my last lung function test.  It showed that the steroids could actually be working against me now and were no longer necessary.  THIS IS BIG NEWS!  I called Dr Li and she squealed and said what a reward for her work and a big reward for mine!  We laughed together and then I politely ended the call as she is very busy.  Now, she is working towards a chinese herbal medicine remedy for peanut allergies in children.  Dr Li is one of those rare people that has dedicated her life to helping the conditions of others.  She is a modern day hero.  It will take me one year to work on my goal of weaning off the steriod, and very carefully so.  Dr Li will be there for me and has helped me to achieve my goal of being steriod free, but more than that, it’s about helping to prove that Chinese Herbal Medicines work!  Imagine what this will mean for children in their diagnosis of asthma which is so prevalent now.  In this day and age of health care, it is important to do your research, ask the questions, and once a chosen course of treatment is decided upon, have faith!  I did, even though it was hard on many loving and supportive family and friends to watch me go through the process.  My love to you all!  Today, my blood tests came back and I am healthier than I have been in years!  In fact I was told, most physicians’ offices call with bad news!  My results made them feel good as they passed on this fantastic news!  Thank you to this local Physician and his health care team for supporting my goals.  Dr Li, thank you so much for your vigilance in the efforts to treat asthma and allergies with natural Chinese herbs ruling out the use of steroids that cause many harmful side effects.  Work towards your healthiest:  mind, body and soul. 🙂   http://www.mountsinai.org/vgn_lnk/Regular%20Content/File/Daily%20News/L/Dr.%20Xi%20Min%20Li.pdf

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If you love a ghost story, this book is for you! You won’t believe what happens.

For those of you who are interested in winning a copy of Wake Me Up Inside, to be shipped anywhere in the world, please go to my facebook page for the details.  All you have to do is write what you are most thankful for in life to info@leebicematheson.ca Good luck et bonne chance.  www.facebook.com/leebicematheson

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Come on out teens and join us for some fun on Halloween. Don’t miss the tour for the ‘haunted’ Opera House.

Ghostly Gatherings at the Opera House shall be spooktacularly haunted, I mean chilling, I mean fun! 🙂  Come join us in a unique opportunity to partake in games, food from the Brewery Bay, a book reading by author Lee Bice-Matheson, a free Wake Me Up Inside copy sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Orillia, and a haunted tour of the Orillia Opera House by Terri!  Wear a costume as there is a grand prize for the best dressed.  If you want to experience a unique Halloween, come on teens and join us for the fun, sponsored by the author, and Dr Kevin Matheson of Albert Street Chiropractic, Orillia.

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My husband was happy to hear 104.1, The Dock, announce it’s anti-bullying month and he commented, however, we should be aware of bullying, year round.  And read on to see why he was so happy!  It’s sad to say but most people have suffered from bullying in some form or another.  It could have been when you were a child and told you weren’t smart enough, handsome or pretty enough, or physically hit or shoved around.  It can occur in the teen years when a little more independence from the parents allows people to act out what they’ve perhaps experienced in their own homes.  It can occur in adulthood when meeting new people and hurtful things are said, or within our own families.  You see, bullying happens at any age, at any time.  My heart goes out to the youth of today with all of the societal pressures and access to media profiling and perhaps not enough one on one with parents who are overworked and stressed out.  In our hometown, when our son was in elementary school and into highschool, he asked if I would be there when he came home from school – in front of his dad.  We worked an enormous amount of hours and often left our son with caregivers, that were mainly good to him, with the exception of one who fell asleep on the job, constantly, and was encouraged to find another job.  So without hesitation, my husband, said of course your mom will be home for you, tears in his eyes.  Elementary school, in particular, was a volatile time for him.  After we moved out of town, we found out he was bullied. How did we miss it?!  Hmmmm…. seven people died, all close to us, within a three and a half year period.  Would I like to go back and strangle…. no wait.  That won’t solve a thing!  However, there have been suicides in our hometown, as in many others, and bullying results often times in suicide.  I am not mentioning names to protect many of the lovely people in our hometown, but the issue of bullying needs to be addressed.  I am often reminded of the struggles our son had through moments of reminiscing and wished I had seen the signs sooner.  He often had an upset stomach, wanted to stay home from school, didn’t want to go out and hang with friends at a party, listened to what I would call depressing music.  Consciously, I thought he was grieving the loss of my parents, my husband’s dad, and many others, but boy, I wished I had asked the question: “What is really troubling you?”  There is no next time for us as we have an only child.  But for all of the parents out there, ask the questions!  Don’t sit back and hope it gets better.  And for the kids who are being bullied:  Speak up!  Tell someone, do not keep it to yourself.  You are important and you are worthy!  And for the bullies, please seek counselling.  You know in your heart that it is wrong but did you know it is often a learned behaviour and in order to break the cycle, you need a third party intervention.  Stop the cycle of abuse, now!

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