The 5th Wheel: (Halloween Special) The GHOST And Cindy Hansen

The 5th Wheel would like to celebrate the Halloween season with a little ghost story. Before you read on, make sure to turn off all the lights, huddle the family close to the computer monitor and prepare for a scary story from our favorite coach, Cindy Hansen.
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From Cindy Hansen:
Now that Halloween is near, I can share this true story with all of you. Some of you may or may not believe in ghost and spirits. But I am here to tell you, now- "I'm a believer!" (Lyrics by The Monkees- Hansen only quotes from the best.)

For those of you that have lived with a ghost or spirit know what I am talking about. About 10 years ago I was living in San Pedro, California. I had a nice little condo near Point Firman overlooking Catalina Island and the LA Harbor - where the Queen Mary is docked. The Pt. Firman area is one of the most haunted areas of California. Lots of stories, tours and sightings all in this one area.

One day I noticed that things in my guest bath had been taken out of the medicine cabinet and were sitting on the counter. I didn't have any guests over. In fact, I had been gone coaching for a few days. But no one had been in the condo. I put the items back in the medicine cabinet. Then it would happen again....and again, over a number of years. I would also hear the blinds move in the guest room and when I walked in they would be swaying back in forth. No windows open, no vents to blow air - they were just swinging.

One night I was sitting on my bed looking down the hallway and saw the figure of a man reflecting in the glass of a picture hanging in the hallway. There was no one in the hallway, but there was such a good reflection in the glass I could see the details of a man. His hair was bushy brown, his height about 5'10", his body was thin with curved shoulders and he was wearing a blue work shirt. He looked at me, smiled and then slowly faded into the nothing. I knew I had a spirit in the house! (Gin or Vodka?)

Too many weird things happened that could not be explained. Nothing harmful. Nothing damaging- just a little irritating. A few weeks later I was coaching Metropolis at my place. Bob Hartley ("Dude, in case you didn't hear, your quartet broke up.") heard a few things in the back room and asked me who was staying in the condo with me. I told them no one - it was my ghost. (BOO!) We all laughed a little and then they all (All = Brian) got a little freaked. We continued to sing and coach. Then Bob turned to Brian and said, "Stop touching my butt." (Some things neve change.) But there was no one there - Brian was nowhere near him. (Maybe Bob was day-dreaming of Brian touching his butt? What's even weirder is Bob got goosed by a ghost.)

Needless to say, the coaching session was over when Bob and Brian ran from the condo into the street, refusing to come back into my haunted house! Grown men running from a ghost was just too funny! (Especially when they had their arms wrapped around each other for comfort. Bob later confessed he felt more secure when Brian would hold him. The 5th Wheel SWEARS- that's what happened! It's documented. Git-r-done!)

A few weeks later, I asked the owner of the building if there was anything strange about the condos. He asked me, "Why?" So I explained to him about the ghost and the man I saw in the glass. (Don't forget the two girly-men running from the apartment.) He got "white as a ghost" (Bum-chee! Cindy will be here all week!) and said I needed to tell his wife. So we went to the diner where she worked next door to the condos. I told her my story. She asked me to describe what the ghost looked like. When I told her, she ran from the room into her back office, grabbed a newspaper and returned. It was dated when the condo's were being built - 3 years earlier. There was a picture of a man. OH MY GOSH!!! It was the man I saw in my hallway! The same hair cut, the same shirt, the same everything. It was MY GHOST! (Quick, somebody call Jason and Grant and get TAPS in here asap!) He had died in a freak accident on the site while they were building the condo. He was still there! (So was the trail of droppings left by Brian and Bob from the front door to their car.)

A few years later when I sold my condo, the ghost would show up from time to time. The people who bought the condo from me moved out a month later because they said it was haunted.

(...and now you know, the REST of the story.)

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Cindy Hansen Ellis Update On Her Condition

I just wanted to take a moment and give ya'll an update on our favorite UBER-coach, Cindy Hansen Ellis. For those who don't know, Cindy was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called Auto Immune Hymalitic Anima. Hansen explains, "One of the ways to treat the blood from killing itself is to remove your Spleen." It was suppose to be a simple outpatient procedure. However, the removal of the Spleen resulted in massive blood clots, particularly in her lungs. The blood clots closed off 100% of her right lung, 33% of the left lung as well as an 18 INCH CLOT in her left leg.

Needless to say, the Splenectomy failed miserably, which included several other complications that set her back even more, which is amazing because to know Cindy is to compare her to a lion. For all the time she spent traveling around the world coaching, I never saw her tire... EVER!

She is still working on removing the blood clots and unfortunately she's battling a disease that is life-threatening. On Wednesday she's headed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to see if they can find another way to fight the AIHA.

The 5th Wheel has known Cindy for over 20 years. She is one of the rare individuals within our hobby that has made a large impact on not only the art form, but the evolution of our Society. The theatrical performances by choruses and the comedic charms by several of our top performers are large in part due to Cindy's influence. She has coached not only the top choruses such as the Masters of Harmony and Vocal Majority, but also the smaller chapters that don't always get to have the top names come and coach them. She will never say no unless it's due to her schedule. Please leave a comment at the bottom of this post to show your support for Cindy and Dave.

Coming up... Cindy's "Top 10 reasons why it's great to be out of the hospital" and to keep in the spirit of Halloween, Cindy will share the true story of her "phantom roommate."