The Party's Over / Sympathy for the Monster

Monday night, June 16

Dream 1: The Party's Over

I was in my 20s again. The Super Bowl had been moved to Paris, and somehow several of my old guy friends and I had scored tickets and flown over for the festivities. After the game I was walking back from the stadium toward our hotel. I thought about all of the things I wanted to see and other avenues that I might wander, but it was late at night and I was walking by myself, so I decided to play it safe for the moment and head straight back to our room. Maybe I'd be able to do some sight-seeing in the morning. Once I got there, a party was going on, and the guys had asked some women to join us. I was thinking of ordering some champagne and asking one of the women if she'd like to try some when the phone rang unexpectedly. One of the guys answered, said a few words, and then he called out, "Hey Eddie... [our boss] has taken a turn for the worse!"

Dream 2: Sympathy for the Monster

I was at the home of a friend or acquaintance, and was walking down a large stairway, toward the main floor. Near the bottom of the stairs I came across a large slow, or semi-retarded man. I'd met him before, so I struck up a conversation. I told him that I'd been watching the classic movie "Frankenstein." He thought for a moment and, looking down, he said sadly, "Maybe he's my brother."

*****

Dream 2: Sympathy for the Monster

It occurs to me that the slow man's comment can be taken in different ways. Is he showing sympathy toward the monster because he, like Frankenstein's creation, has been feared and misunderstood his entire life? Or does his comment mean that he loathes himself, and considers himself to be a monster, too -- someone who feels that he's the ultimate outsider, who will never fit into "normal" society?

There's something deep going on in this one.