The Pope Leo XII story:

On Tuesday, February 7, 1995, I received an invitation to study creative writing in a charming medieval monastery in Spoleto, Italy. I was amused and flattered, not knowing how they got my address, and toyed around with the idea of going for about thirty seconds before realizing I had no money and my parents would never let me go. So I forgot about it for a while.

On Friday, February 10, 1995, I woke up with Pope Leo XII’s name on my brain. I had just had a dream where I was living in my white Chrysler Le Baron Turbo (nickname: Dyke) with Eirik, a foreign exchange student from Norway. The car was parked in my parents’ backyard, and we just lived in the car. There wasn’t much to do, so I was writing on the frost on the windows. I felt compelled to write Pope Leo XII in big letters. A voice in my head said, “Nancy didn’t want to be anything; she just wanted to be Pope Leo XII.” The Nancy referred to was Nancy Spungen (of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen); her mother was the one whispering to me. I then had a terrible feeling. I also dreamt that I was writing it down and that I almost wrote down Pope Leo XIII, but I knew that was wrong and that it really was Pope Leo XII.

So, after waking up, I told my mom the odd dream I had and she asked me if there really was a Pope Leo XII. I looked up it up in our encyclopedia and, sure enough, there was a Pope Leo XII. He was born in Spoleto (where I had received an invitation to study) and died on February 10th, the day I had the dream about him. I was a little spooked for the rest of the day, and my “friends” divvied up my stuff in case I died. They were helpful.

Of course I didn’t die. My car was already in the shop though. A year later, in 1996, my car died its final death on February 10th. I was always a little bit cautious around Pope Leo XII day, but since nothing has really happened on that day since then, I have a feeling that Pope Leo XII was somehow tied to my car, my beloved Chrysler Le Baron Turbo.

Pope Leo XII didn’t do much, so it’s not like I had read about him in a history book or anything. He only served for six years. Pope Leo XIII had a much more influential “reign” or whatever it is that popes do.