Tuesday night
My brother Andrew had just published his first book, a treatise on Constitutional law, and I asked him if I could see a copy. (The family was very excited and proud of him; it was going to be the real deal -- hardback cover and all.) He handed me a copy and I was shocked to see that he'd placed a 20-year-old photo of me on the cover. I was shown wearing aviator-style dark sunglasses, and had slightly longer hair than I do now. I was smiling in the picture because I'd gotten in a little legal trouble at the time, for being a jackass; I'd climbed atop a large statue and gotten busted for it. As I held the book in my hands I reminisced about the incident with Drew. I said, "I guess I deserved it." (I remembered putting my shoes on the statue's face as I scrambled to the top.)
I flipped through the black and white photos in the book, and came across a picture of Bill Clinton, Andrew and me. We'd run into the former president in a diner. He (Bill) was wearing a polo shirt and a baseball cap. I sat next to him, to his left, and Drew was next to me, standing and leaning on the end of the booth.
*****
None of the events in this dream ever happened. Well, I did have aviator frames 20 years ago, but the rest is bogus. My brother has been published thousands of times, but for newspaper articles, not books.
I never met Bill Clinton, but I've seen him twice. On the morning of his first inauguration, in January of 1993, the powers that be closed off I-66, so that he would be unencumbered while riding in a bus from Monticello in Charlottesville to D.C. Some friends and I went to the Vienna, VA Metro station, and stood in the enclosed bridge over the highway to see him pass by on the way downtown. It was strange and eerie, seeing no cars on what normally is such a busy road. After waiting for some time, we saw a cop on a motorcycle in the distance, heading our way. He was followed by several more bikes, and finally Bill's bus came through. He sat in the right front seat, and waved to us and the other folks who had come out to wish him well. I suppose I could say that I also saw him later that day at the inaugural at the Capitol, but we were so far away, I couldn't really see much. I heard him, though.
The only time I saw Clinton close-up was around 1998, when Andrew was invited to a press picnic on the south lawn of the White House, and he asked me to come along with him and my sister-in-law. It was a good time, except for the fact that is was such a hot summer day. There were free hot dogs and burgers, and ice cream, too. At one point the prez strolled out to greet people, and mingle with the families. He was wearing sort of a Hawaiian shirt; short sleeved, with no tie, of course. My first thought was, "He's a big man. He's about a head taller than everyone else." Later I got a blurry photo of him, and managed to get Drew in the frame. Bill was surrounded by chicks, of course.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Carried Away
Monday night
I was reading a blog written by a well-known book reviewer. He described a lovely British holiday that quickly went awry. It seems that he was reading an awful romance novel while staying in an old manor house, and it inspired him to pick up a dueling foil and get in a fight with two members of the staff -- one male, one female. When it was all over, all three of them were sitting on the floor, dazed and bloody; each had lost a nipple.
*****
This strange dream was no doubt inspired by one of the Star Trek episodes we watched the other day, called "The Naked Time." Sulu had become infected with a virus and suddenly he was running around the Enterprise with a foil, imagining that he was D'Artagnan.
I was reading a blog written by a well-known book reviewer. He described a lovely British holiday that quickly went awry. It seems that he was reading an awful romance novel while staying in an old manor house, and it inspired him to pick up a dueling foil and get in a fight with two members of the staff -- one male, one female. When it was all over, all three of them were sitting on the floor, dazed and bloody; each had lost a nipple.
*****
This strange dream was no doubt inspired by one of the Star Trek episodes we watched the other day, called "The Naked Time." Sulu had become infected with a virus and suddenly he was running around the Enterprise with a foil, imagining that he was D'Artagnan.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Canoe Trip / Reminiscing
Friday night
Dream 1: Canoe Trip
Jimmie and I decided that we'd take a trip in a canoe, and make a day of it. He sat in front and I sat in the back, and we paddled together down a river, for hours. Finally, we pulled over to the shore, walked up a bank, and went shopping. We'd been there for a while when I realized that it would be dark soon, and on our return trip we'd have to navigate among the rocks and whatnot without any lights. I found Jimmie and said, "Don't you think we'd better go?" He turned toward me and cocked his head to the side and said, "Oh... yeah." He hadn't given it much thought.
Dream 2: Reminiscing
Ed B. and I were flipping through his photo album. We came across a picture taken at one of Ed's parties; it showed Ed standing next to Andrew, who, for some reason, was wearing a ladies' wig. (The long, black hair hung down past his shoulders. That must have been some party.)
Ed kept flipping until he came across some photos of a vacation he'd taken to a historical site in Greece, or Rome. He was shown standing next to the base of a large, ancient, broken column. I was amazed to see it, because my wife and I had visited the same place on one of our vacations. I said, "That place was amazing, but did you go up the hill and see the site looking over the river? That was even better." Ed said, "Oh, yeah."
*****
Dream 1: Canoe Trip
The funny thing about this dream is that if Jimmie and I ever did plan a day's journey via canoe that would involve traveling back at night, he would probably have outfitted that canoe with some super duper remote-controlled halogen headlamps or something. He might over-plan, but would never, ever under-plan.
For some reason, lately I've been thinking about some of the things that I want to accomplish with the rest of my life. This is probably because the huge CD project that has occupied most of my waking moments for the past 9 years is coming to an end next Christmas. I'd like to learn to speak a foreign language well, but need to decide which one. I want to see England, Italy and the South of France, and would dearly love to return to Ireland. I'd like to learn to play the guitar. And someday, after I've paid off all credit card debt, I want to buy one of these beauties and while away my time on calm lakes and rivers with the wife:
http://www.merrimackcanoes.com
Dream 2: Reminiscing
I'm not sure where this dream came from, although I was talking with my coworker Eden the other day about foreign travels, and she mentioned that she'd been to Greece, and said it was beautiful there. Ed and I have spoken about his honeymoon trip to Italy; he and his wife had a marvelous time. The past few days my wife and I have watched two, or even three episodes of Star Trek season 1 per night, so the broken column may have appeared on one of those sets. It's a wonder that I'm not dreaming about the Enterprise or some hairy monster that wants to suck all of the salt out of my body.
Dream 1: Canoe Trip
Jimmie and I decided that we'd take a trip in a canoe, and make a day of it. He sat in front and I sat in the back, and we paddled together down a river, for hours. Finally, we pulled over to the shore, walked up a bank, and went shopping. We'd been there for a while when I realized that it would be dark soon, and on our return trip we'd have to navigate among the rocks and whatnot without any lights. I found Jimmie and said, "Don't you think we'd better go?" He turned toward me and cocked his head to the side and said, "Oh... yeah." He hadn't given it much thought.
Dream 2: Reminiscing
Ed B. and I were flipping through his photo album. We came across a picture taken at one of Ed's parties; it showed Ed standing next to Andrew, who, for some reason, was wearing a ladies' wig. (The long, black hair hung down past his shoulders. That must have been some party.)
Ed kept flipping until he came across some photos of a vacation he'd taken to a historical site in Greece, or Rome. He was shown standing next to the base of a large, ancient, broken column. I was amazed to see it, because my wife and I had visited the same place on one of our vacations. I said, "That place was amazing, but did you go up the hill and see the site looking over the river? That was even better." Ed said, "Oh, yeah."
*****
Dream 1: Canoe Trip
The funny thing about this dream is that if Jimmie and I ever did plan a day's journey via canoe that would involve traveling back at night, he would probably have outfitted that canoe with some super duper remote-controlled halogen headlamps or something. He might over-plan, but would never, ever under-plan.
For some reason, lately I've been thinking about some of the things that I want to accomplish with the rest of my life. This is probably because the huge CD project that has occupied most of my waking moments for the past 9 years is coming to an end next Christmas. I'd like to learn to speak a foreign language well, but need to decide which one. I want to see England, Italy and the South of France, and would dearly love to return to Ireland. I'd like to learn to play the guitar. And someday, after I've paid off all credit card debt, I want to buy one of these beauties and while away my time on calm lakes and rivers with the wife:
http://www.merrimackcanoes.com
Dream 2: Reminiscing
I'm not sure where this dream came from, although I was talking with my coworker Eden the other day about foreign travels, and she mentioned that she'd been to Greece, and said it was beautiful there. Ed and I have spoken about his honeymoon trip to Italy; he and his wife had a marvelous time. The past few days my wife and I have watched two, or even three episodes of Star Trek season 1 per night, so the broken column may have appeared on one of those sets. It's a wonder that I'm not dreaming about the Enterprise or some hairy monster that wants to suck all of the salt out of my body.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Hopes Crushed / Tall Trees
Tuesday night
Dream 1: Hopes Crushed
The media and the public had found out, after the fact, that Senator Obama, who had been on the cusp of victory in the Iowa caucuses, had walked to the edge of a forest overlooking the ocean, and hanged himself. He had been depressed, but few people knew it. Thankfully, there were no pictures of the event, but we all saw the site afterward, and there was a shared sense of sadness and tragedy. Senator Clinton's major roadblock to the presidential nomination was out of the way, and there was some question about how she would, or should react.
Dream 2: Tall Trees
I had walked into someone's very large yard to see two gigantic Christmas trees that they had recently installed, one next to the other. A few strands of lights had been strung on them, but it was daytime, so they were not lit. I noticed that some huge branches near the top of one of the trees had been sawed off in order to ease the process of getting it out of the forest, so it had a strange appearance; just a bunch of ugly tree limb stubs coming out from the trunk. I wanted a closer look at how the trees were able to stand on the lawn, without toppling over. They were so tall that I was able to walk around the base of each, in the space between the ground and the lowest branches. Some large logs were propped against their trunks, to hold them in place.
*****
Dream 1: Hopes Crushed
I saw a commercial for depression medicine on TV last night (the one about how it effects the whole family), and I have the new TIME magazine on my bedside table, featuring a cover story on Obama. I am getting caught up in the possibility that he might win in Iowa, and I'm getting excited about it, but I'm also worried about what his success might mean in regard to his personal safety. I'm not concerned that something might happen to him at his own hand, but rather, from the hand of some prejudiced jerk out there somewhere.
This dream seems to re-live the situation in 1968, just after RFK won the California primary. Hopes were dashed, and suddenly Humphrey's (and Nixon's) chief rival was gone. How would they react? How should they? I'm grateful that I wasn't old enough in the 1960s to grasp what was going on.
I hope I don't have another dream like this one for a long time.
Dream 2: Tall Trees
It's been a rough patch at work lately -- just a lot of complications and responsibilities, tied in with the holidays. I came in on Saturday to get some stuff done, and actually got sick from the pressure. I can't remember that happening to me before. I talked to my twin brother, and he said it's happened to him on occasion, because he internalizes stress. So, I think that the Christmas trees with the limbs lopped off signify that I'm trying to get in the spirit of the season, but I'm not in full "joy" mode yet; there's too much responsibility, too much on my mind. My Christmas spirit has a few of the branches lopped off right now.
Dream 1: Hopes Crushed
The media and the public had found out, after the fact, that Senator Obama, who had been on the cusp of victory in the Iowa caucuses, had walked to the edge of a forest overlooking the ocean, and hanged himself. He had been depressed, but few people knew it. Thankfully, there were no pictures of the event, but we all saw the site afterward, and there was a shared sense of sadness and tragedy. Senator Clinton's major roadblock to the presidential nomination was out of the way, and there was some question about how she would, or should react.
Dream 2: Tall Trees
I had walked into someone's very large yard to see two gigantic Christmas trees that they had recently installed, one next to the other. A few strands of lights had been strung on them, but it was daytime, so they were not lit. I noticed that some huge branches near the top of one of the trees had been sawed off in order to ease the process of getting it out of the forest, so it had a strange appearance; just a bunch of ugly tree limb stubs coming out from the trunk. I wanted a closer look at how the trees were able to stand on the lawn, without toppling over. They were so tall that I was able to walk around the base of each, in the space between the ground and the lowest branches. Some large logs were propped against their trunks, to hold them in place.
*****
Dream 1: Hopes Crushed
I saw a commercial for depression medicine on TV last night (the one about how it effects the whole family), and I have the new TIME magazine on my bedside table, featuring a cover story on Obama. I am getting caught up in the possibility that he might win in Iowa, and I'm getting excited about it, but I'm also worried about what his success might mean in regard to his personal safety. I'm not concerned that something might happen to him at his own hand, but rather, from the hand of some prejudiced jerk out there somewhere.
This dream seems to re-live the situation in 1968, just after RFK won the California primary. Hopes were dashed, and suddenly Humphrey's (and Nixon's) chief rival was gone. How would they react? How should they? I'm grateful that I wasn't old enough in the 1960s to grasp what was going on.
I hope I don't have another dream like this one for a long time.
Dream 2: Tall Trees
It's been a rough patch at work lately -- just a lot of complications and responsibilities, tied in with the holidays. I came in on Saturday to get some stuff done, and actually got sick from the pressure. I can't remember that happening to me before. I talked to my twin brother, and he said it's happened to him on occasion, because he internalizes stress. So, I think that the Christmas trees with the limbs lopped off signify that I'm trying to get in the spirit of the season, but I'm not in full "joy" mode yet; there's too much responsibility, too much on my mind. My Christmas spirit has a few of the branches lopped off right now.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Detente
Sunday night
Jeff D. was visiting with me in the basement playroom at 3374. We were sitting in a couple of chairs, facing each other, in the middle of the floor. There didn't seem to be any other furniture in the room. He was in a good mood, smiling, and acted somewhat sheepish and surprised that I'd been upset that we hadn't spoken in so long. He hadn't thought anything of it.
*****
Jeff and I haven't spoken since he stormed out of the poker tournament in the early hours of April 10, 2005. He and his family are back in Virginia now. Details of this spat can be found in the explanation beneath "Another Day, Another Theater," August 29, '07.
I wonder if we'll ever talk to each other again.
Jeff D. was visiting with me in the basement playroom at 3374. We were sitting in a couple of chairs, facing each other, in the middle of the floor. There didn't seem to be any other furniture in the room. He was in a good mood, smiling, and acted somewhat sheepish and surprised that I'd been upset that we hadn't spoken in so long. He hadn't thought anything of it.
*****
Jeff and I haven't spoken since he stormed out of the poker tournament in the early hours of April 10, 2005. He and his family are back in Virginia now. Details of this spat can be found in the explanation beneath "Another Day, Another Theater," August 29, '07.
I wonder if we'll ever talk to each other again.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
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
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
Divided Loyalities
Thursday night
I was the detective, or bounty hunter, this time, and I was back in Arlington, trying to track down a very large Samoan, or Hawaiian guy, who had a name as long as your arm. (I was aware of the name in the dream, but can't remember it.) While I was there, I had to figure out where I was going to spend the night. My friend, Jim B., had recently separated from his wife, and she was living in another house in the same neighborhood. Each had offered to let me stay at their place, so I had to choose.
*****
What is it with the detective stories in my dreams?
I later married Jim's ex-, and I'm still married to her now. I can't deny that there's complications and fallout involved when marrying the ex-wife of a friend. I'm glad that we're married, but there are some regrets, too. If only those two were never married, and she and I met at a party, or something...
I was the detective, or bounty hunter, this time, and I was back in Arlington, trying to track down a very large Samoan, or Hawaiian guy, who had a name as long as your arm. (I was aware of the name in the dream, but can't remember it.) While I was there, I had to figure out where I was going to spend the night. My friend, Jim B., had recently separated from his wife, and she was living in another house in the same neighborhood. Each had offered to let me stay at their place, so I had to choose.
*****
What is it with the detective stories in my dreams?
I later married Jim's ex-, and I'm still married to her now. I can't deny that there's complications and fallout involved when marrying the ex-wife of a friend. I'm glad that we're married, but there are some regrets, too. If only those two were never married, and she and I met at a party, or something...
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