Adult Art Class

Friday night

Habib, the best friend of my next-door neighbor here in Nashville, was taking an adult art class in Alexandria, VA, and he had invited me to be a spectator during his "final exam." He was going to debut an animated film that he'd created. An old friend of mine, Stuart R., was showing his own film in another room, and I hoped to see it, too, if I had time.

I drove over to the classroom on my lunch break, so I was still wearing my work clothes, including a tie. When I arrived, my brother Andrew met me there. He'd be watching Habib's film, too. I greeted Habib and thanked him for inviting me. He said, "Well, I liked your film, too." (Apparently I had taken part in a live-action film that he had seen before, possibly for the same class.) As his film began, I quickly fell under its spell. There were wondrous scenes of colorful animals and plants in the sea, all rendered in lifelike detail. I was particularly interested in his depiction of a large green sea turtle, one of my favorite animals. I said, "How long did it take you to do this?" He said, "About two years."

As interested as I was, the film was pretty long, and I started to fall asleep after awhile, curling up on the floor, near my brother.

*****

Habib is a very close friend of my next-door neighbor, Jack, and both of them are very talented artists, although I'm not aware of any animated films made by either of them.

The strange thing about this dream is that while it clearly was about Habib, the main character wasn't him; it was another, shorter Middle Eastern man that I knew some time ago. The maddening thing is that I can see him clearly even now, but can't remember his name, or the context. I particularly remember him being a pretty sly, cagey guy, and can see him smiling, with a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. Is he the guy who runs the cafeteria at my current job? Is he the guy who managed the gas station where our friend Ed M. worked in high school? Is he Mexican, the father of my childhood friend, Mark D.? Hopefully it will come to me later.

At the end of this dream, I was making fun of myself. No matter how great the DVDs are when we're watching at home, as soon as I stop moving, I fall asleep. I must be chronically sleep deprived, or something. Anyway, so it's funny that I nod off during films in my dreams, too.

*****

November Dream Roundup: More musicians and actors, plus a couple of politicians. I've listed the last time I've seen some of these people in parentheses, just for the heck of it.

Family & Friends:

My wife
Andrew C.
Brent L. (2006)
Dad
Denise P. (1997)
Ed B.
Gordon S.
Jeff V. (1999?)
Jim B.
Jimmie C.
Kevin W.
Kyle N.
Laura M.
Mom (1999)
"Sis" (Dad's sister; my aunt) (2001)
Stuart R. (2006)

Coworkers & Acquaintances:

Christy S.
Connie P. (1984)
Darrell B.
Dasha T.
Eden F.
Erik B.
Habib
Max C. (2000)
Sally C. (2006)
Shannon F.

Celebrities:

Belinda Carlisle (Her 45s were seen in "Collection")
Bob Dylan
The Cars (Their 45s were seen in "Collection")
Cher (She'd once dated the star of the show in "A Shot at Fame")
Danny & the Juniors (My kid & I twisted to their hit "At the Hop" in "The Eye in the Sky")
Don Henley (His son was interviewed in "Not My Thing")
The Eagles (Their new album was mentioned in "Not My Thing")
Gilbert Godfried (I compared Max C. to him in "A Shot at Fame")
The Go-Go's (Their 45s were seen in "Collection")
Hillary Clinton (Bob Dylan, Ed B. & I campaigned for her in "On the Trail")
Jackie Cooper (Starred in a DVD watched in "The Pharmacist's Daughter")
John Cleese
John Seigenthaler
John Travolta (His 45 was seen in "Collection")
Linda Hunt (Probably in her role as Billy Kwan)
Martha Stewart
Mick Jagger
Prince (Someone phoned to say he'd died in "The Call")
Roy Orbison (Mick Jagger mentioned him in "Airport Meetings")
Sally Field
Ted Kennedy