I haven't been hit by lightning, but I've seen mountain lions four times in the past ten years in the San Francisco Bay area, and that's pretty unusual.

The first time was in Novato, a residential suburb in Marin County. I was awakened by the sound of a woman screaming at 3:00 am. When I looked out my front window, I saw that, instead of a woman, it was a mountain lion sitting next to my curb under the streetlght, screaming his head off. This went on for about 15 minutes before he finally left.

The next time was when I went hiking on Mt. Tam with a girlfriend. We hiked down to Stinson Beach and, on the return trip, we were tracked by a mountain lion for about the last 1/2 mile of the trail. He kept pace with us--in plain sight--about 100 yards off the trail as we walked extra fast. Fortunately we made it back to our car in the parking lot before he made up his mind what to do about us. And lest you think that of course hikers are more likely to see one, this was the only time in ten years I ever went on a hike (and the last time too!).

The third time was when I was driving down to Monterey. I was on a public road bordering the National Guard base which contains a lot of open space. Suddenly a mountain lion burst out of the weeds and ran along the dirt frontage road on the opposite side of a chain link fence separating the base from the public road I was on. The lion kept pace with my car for a minute or so and then dropped back to a trot as I left him behind and sped up.

The fourth sighting was several years ago as I was riding my bicycle around a local community college campus. I came upon a mountain lion crouched down, busily crunching on a severed deer leg. I was close enough to see that it was the hind leg of the deer. The lion looked at me but didn't move. I turned around and got out of there fast.

So I think it's pretty weird to have so many up close sightings of a supposedly rare and elusive predator. Needless to say, I'm quite afraid of them and I never walk my dogs in the evening in my neighborhood or hike in parks or woods. I figure why tempt fate?

Wow! elise, in a way I'm a skeered, but in a way I'm jealous.
The only wild animals I ever see are possums, skunks, & coyotes!

well, & the neighbors' kids...

but I do know a couple of examples, one my own, one someone else's:

I don't know if it's me or if the mailbox smells enticing, but lost dogs always seem to find their way here.

& over the last few years, I've noticed that they
1) come in groups rather than alone &
2) are often purebred

Going out for the morning paper, which usually lands right by that mailbox, I've encountered

1 pair of miniature Schnauzers,
1 pair of Bassetts, &,
on one record-breaking day, a whole pack of Beagles (5)!

& I used to know an escrow officer at a title company who was extraordinarily lucky!

Of all the farms & ranches in our county, a movie company chose hers to shoot some footage (can't remember, but it might have been Places in the Heart).
Not only did she get to see her place in the movie, but they paid for the privelege!

& her daughter was in a commercial that'll pay her way through college.

If Cindy attended a meeting/gathering/function where a prize was to be awarded, the rest of us knew we could leave at any time;

Cindy was going to win it.

One day a lender sponsored a luncheon for the Realtors Association.

It was festive, complete with beautiful centerpieces & balloons tied to the backs of the chairs.

I was sitting behind Cindy.

At the end of the meeting, the hostess said that there was a $100 gift certificate inside one of the balloons, & we could puncture them with our forks.

so I got to watch her puncture the balloon & retrieve the gift certificate.

Elise, that is crazy! My brother would say that I should know about Totem Animals and then proceed to clam up and make me look it up myself ;]

I had a buck walk up to me at the Arby's drive-thru, lol... as I sat by the open passenger side window. Not so scary but an odd experience none-the-less. Nice, tall fellow, very friendly. Wanted some fries??? Actually he was scary cos he was so so big!

Sylvia, you are the dog lady, lol! I don't get any more dogs than my Gmom used to get here [country dumpsite] but mine are bizarre breeds like Basenji, or one that looks exactly like my Istvan! Istvan's fixed so no don't go thinking he's a pimp-daddy ;]

My mom and I were the lucky ones... she could win anything small, no lotteries unfortunately. I don't win but rarely... but when I do it's all the doorprizes in one day. Did that at a Microsoft Conference and folks were trying to see if it was rigged!

Dad had me telling my meds that work to a friend of his yesterday on the phone, and that dude has a bullet in his head from having been shot! Some convuluted story. Still, bullets in the head, mountain lions everywhere... see, life is just weird overall, methinks!

Four mountain lion sightings! That is unusual. I saw one as a kid in Oklahoma, only in that part of the country they called them puma and they were seldom seen though more often heard. Actually, the horse I was riding, spotted the puma and dumped me when I insisted that we continue on the trail. Smart horse, dumb kid - I figured it out about 15 minutes later.

See, between the ages of 15 and 20 I was in three vehicle rollovers and one small plane rollover (as in caught the landing gear on a wire and flip over). Does that count?

Last month I had a dream that somebody in my family died. The soon-to-be-deceased was not identified but I remember talking in my dream with my sister and mother about the person. "How he was a character" and his other eccentricities. Nobody in my family died but two days later Rob got a phone call from his mother telling him that his Uncle Rich had died from a massive and sudden heart attack. When Rob's mom got back from Florida we took her out to dinner. During the meal Rob and his mother got to talking about his uncle - how he was a character and his unusual habits. Yep, the same conservation just different corpse and different people talking together. Sometimes The Sight gets the details off but the end result is the same.

Does that count?

OOOH Patrick, you gave me shivers. Sometimes I wish I had those premonitions and sometimes I'm glad that I don't. I do have feelings of deja vu occasionally. BTW, that's not the only time this has happened to you is it? I remember you sharing other similar happenings. I'm glad you can handle it. I don't know if I could.
Kathy