The Time Shift Into Another Era Or Life

I lived in a New Jersey town for 20+ years, but one afternoon on a busy corner of Broad Street, I stepped off the sidewalk and onto the road. Just like that I appeared to be in another era of that town, perhaps the 1800s or early 1900s.

Everything looked a little hazy and my view was a bit narrow, not being able to see too far on either side. And the weather was still warm, the sun as bright as before. Only now the road was cobblestones (exactly as they used to be in the 19th century I found out later) and to my right was a horse-drawn carriage. By then I was standing petrified and confused in the middle of the road. The carriage was approaching, the horse braying, and I could hear the traffic of horses hooves and footfalls. Behind me and before me, the area (not clearly remembered) was as busy (crowded) as normal reality had been moments before.

Then just as soon as it began, I was back in normal reality, nearly mid road and totally confused. The whole thing didn’t appear to take more than half a minute. The ‘visit’ was a normal feeling, even a bit more heightened. Then the same ‘visit’ occurred about a year or so later, exactly as before – same spot, again, as I stepped off the road. I saw the same past time scene.

It might be worth mentioning that I seldom get confused in crowds. That it happened twice in the same spot, surely must point to something having happened there once upon a time. That time stamp on that spot – if not regarding my having lived there decades ago – might be picking up on a moment in the life of another woman from an bygone era . . . .”

~ Penny