Controversial Past-life Historian Claims Columbus Landed on Point Pleasant Beach

Martin Pinzon has created a whole new form of historical study. Instead of doing painstaking academic research, Pinzon has himself hypnotized and records memories of his past lives. The result has been a string of successful, but controversial books. His first book, "Founding Father's Footman" told the story of the creation of the Declaration of Independence from the perspective of a waiter. His next book, "Caesar's Salad Maker," was told by a cook for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. More recently, Pinzon published "Custodian of the Cosmos," told by a janitor at NASA during the Apollo space program. Now, Martin Pinzon is releasing what may be his most controversial book to date. It is called "Columbus's Cabin Cleaner" and is told by Diego de Salcedo, servant to Christopher Columbus on his voyages.

"I am fortunate that so many of my past lives have involved such important historical events," said Pinzon. "It was fascinating that my most recent hypnotic regressions put me onboard ship with Columbus. Like most of these past-life experiences, the memories are incomplete, but at least they do provide some unique insight." 

The uniqueness of the stories in all of his books is undeniable. Pinzon claimed that Benjamin Franklyn insisted all the other delegates call him Benny Frank-Man. He said Julius Caesar hated being a general and secretly yearned to be a toga maker. Pinzon also asserted that Neil Armstrong got so fed up with Buzz Aldrin that he wanted to launch from the moon while Aldrin was still outside. Perhaps Pinzon's most unusual claim is part of his new book. "Under hypnosis I remembered that Columbus actually did reach the American mainland, somewhere around  present day Point Pleasant, New Jersey." 

According to Pinzon, after dropping off some of his crew on Hispaniola, Columbus took the Pinta up the coast and anchored off  of New Jersey. He encountered no natives, but was hopeful that he might find treasure. "de Salcedo watched as Columbus became more and more frustrated with the lack of progress. He eventually decided to build a wooden walkway along the beach and to the ship that would speed up the crew's trips to shore," said Pinzon. Once this boardwalk was complete, progress improved, but Columbus was not satisfied. He ordered de Salcedo to build a food stand on the boardwalk. Then Columbus personally showed de Salcedo how to make flatbread with melted cheese and vegetables. He put up a sign saying that returning crew could get two slices and a grog for every treasure they found.

The boardwalk food was so good that the men went into a frenzy looking for treasures. Luckily one sailor found an oyster bed and soon the men spent their time searching for pearls. Columbus was delighted by the success of his food stand as he collected the pearls. Soon, he even allowed the men to setup stands with games of chance and other amusements on the boardwalk. As the weather started getting colder, Columbus decided they had to return to Hispaniola. The crew was naturally disappointed, but hopeful they could come back to the Point Pleasant boardwalk the following summer.

"Sadly, Columbus and his men were never able to return to the mainland," said Pinzon. The memories retrieved from de Salcedo don't include any information about the other voyages of Columbus. Mostly they describe the strict rules Columbus had for making his meals and keeping his cabin clean. Nonetheless, the revelation that Columbus may have reached mainland America has stunned historians.

"I am stunned that this guy manages to get these books published," said Dr. Fidelio Onesta, professor of  history at Stockton University. "I believe I can safely say on behalf of every reputable historian in the world, Martin Pinzon is a nut."

Pinzon shrugs off his critics. "I know what I know because it is being told to me by other versions of myself. What could be more historically accurate than that? Anyone who says I'm nuts just doesn't understand the value of past-life regression."

"Columbus's Cabin Cleaner" is available now on Amazon.com, and is on the New York Times seller list.