Wednesday night
Dream 1: My Wife's Favorite Dream Ever
My brother Andrew and I were both stressed out about our jobs, so I told him that I'd been to a small shopping center recently, and had seen a sign on a brick wall for "Feel Good Massage." I figured that that would help us relax, so he and I went back there to check it out. A slick black dude walked us back out into the middle of the parking lot, and placed us in the front seat of a rusted 1970s car. He rubbed Andrew's shoulders a bit, then, for effect, he lit the top and bottom of the car on fire, and calmly walked away. I turned to Drew and said, "I didn't even get a massage!" Drew said, "I did." I said, "Well, I didn't get SHIT, and now THIS CAR'S GONNA BLOW UP!" At that moment the burning car began to roll backward with us in it. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" It made several 360s in the parking lot, scaring us to death -- I thought it might bash through the front window of another business. It finally stopped just before doing so, but was blocking the entrance to someone else's store.
Dream 2: Things Have Changed
I went over to my friend Jarratt's house; he hadn't been around in awhile, so I wanted to catch up with him, and he wanted to know what had been happening in his absence. I took him over to the townhouse where I rented a room on Hyson Lane in Falls Church. I used to have the large basement room to myself, but no longer; now that room had turned into a business, and my desk was right next to my boss, Jennie S.'s desk. No matter what I did, I couldn't escape work.
Dream 3: Mentor
I was walking and talking with a friend; we both had bicycles. We were about to enter a building, so we were carrying our bikes up the steps. The friend was asking me about my friendship with Mick Jagger, about how we used to carouse and date so many different women. I explained how I'd taken Jagger under my wing: "Somebody had to show him the ropes." I was kidding. I think.
*****
Dream 1: My Wife's Favorite Dream Ever
My wife said that this dream perfectly captures my brother and me, and our "retardedness." She says that we should film ourselves acting this one out, and post it to You Tube.
We watched "The Bourne Ultimatum" the other night, and one of the extras showed Damon learning how to drive a police car and hit the pedals just so to make it spin out. My wife suggests that that's why the car in this dream was making circles in the parking lot.
Dream 2: Things Have Changed
My friend Jarratt died at age 27 in September of 1991. It's hard to believe that almost 17 years have passed.
My job is so stressful that I do sometimes feel that I can't escape it; there's so much to remember, so much to worry about...
Dream 3: Mentor
I finally got off my rear end and took my bike into the shop this past week, to get it road-ready again. It had been in our basement for about five years. The guy at the bike shop said that it was in remarkably good shape, but went on to explain how bike technology had completely changed since I'd bought my Giant Rincon (sort of a street bike / mountain bike hybrid). For instance, my bike is made of steel, but new bikes are much lighter. Also, many new bikes come with shocks, but mine doesn't have those. Anyway, all I needed was a couple of new tubes, so I got off easy. I'm picking it up on Friday, so take that, oil companies.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Get On With It!
Monday night
I had discovered a tape recording of my parents' wedding ceremony, and was listening to it, and suddenly there they were, in their 30s again, getting married before me. In this case, the ceremony was taking place in front of the home they would buy the next year, 3374 N. Dinwiddie Street. Also, my mom wasn't wearing a long white wedding dress; she was wearing a nice dark skirt, matching jacket and a dark hat. Dad wore a light gray suit.
As the ceremony progressed, one of the guests who was seated on the lawn behind my parents started yelling and interrupting the proceedings. It was my aunt, Dad's sister. She was in a good mood, but she was trying to hurry everyone along. She called out, "Has he kissed her yet?! Kiss Her!" Mom and Dad were flustered and embarrassed, and finally decided to give in and kiss each other, thus ending the ceremony prematurely. They turned and walked down the sidewalk and I could see that my mom wasn't too happy about the interruption. They hadn't even gotten to their vows. I said to Mom, "He didn't even declare you man and wife!" Mom replied, "It was awful."
A few minutes later Mom had changed to her older self, as I last knew her, and she and I were walking along Dinwiddie Street, talking. The wedding guests had disappeared, but there were some neighbors around, doing their thing. Mom moved a little slower than I remembered, and her face had a little bit of a tan, but other than that, it was the same ol'Mom. I also knew that she was gone and that no one could see her but me, so the neighbors would think that I was crazy for talking to myself, but I didn't care. It sure seemed real to me. I said to Mom, "So, when I'm dead, can I hang out with you?" She thought a minute and said, "That would be nice."
*****
No recordings exist of my parents' wedding, but I have seen some photographs. They weren't married in Arlington; their ceremony was held at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1957, at 3 p.m. The Reverend Peter Maher presided.
Nobody interrupted their wedding ceremony, either, especially "Sis." This dream came from the fact that Sis was somewhat involved in pushing us to change plans for our wedding reception. She wanted to get on the road back to South Carolina, so one or more of her children approached us and sort of strong-armed us to cut the cake at that moment, so they could then say their goodbyes and hit the road. I haven't seen my aunt since. That's not the only reason -- we moved to Tennessee shortly after the wedding, so if we travel, we're either going home to Virginia, or taking a vacation to a new place. We only have so much vacation time, and South Carolina has never fit into our plans.
I think that my parents' outfits in this dream came from a photo I'd seen of them on an Easter Sunday in the 1950s. I haven't seen many pictures of my mom wearing hats, but she did on special occasions back in those days.
By the way, an odd coincidence occurred to me this morning, concerning Mom and her life at 3374 N. Dinwiddie. She moved into the house when she was 33, and left it for the last time when she was 74...
I had discovered a tape recording of my parents' wedding ceremony, and was listening to it, and suddenly there they were, in their 30s again, getting married before me. In this case, the ceremony was taking place in front of the home they would buy the next year, 3374 N. Dinwiddie Street. Also, my mom wasn't wearing a long white wedding dress; she was wearing a nice dark skirt, matching jacket and a dark hat. Dad wore a light gray suit.
As the ceremony progressed, one of the guests who was seated on the lawn behind my parents started yelling and interrupting the proceedings. It was my aunt, Dad's sister. She was in a good mood, but she was trying to hurry everyone along. She called out, "Has he kissed her yet?! Kiss Her!" Mom and Dad were flustered and embarrassed, and finally decided to give in and kiss each other, thus ending the ceremony prematurely. They turned and walked down the sidewalk and I could see that my mom wasn't too happy about the interruption. They hadn't even gotten to their vows. I said to Mom, "He didn't even declare you man and wife!" Mom replied, "It was awful."
A few minutes later Mom had changed to her older self, as I last knew her, and she and I were walking along Dinwiddie Street, talking. The wedding guests had disappeared, but there were some neighbors around, doing their thing. Mom moved a little slower than I remembered, and her face had a little bit of a tan, but other than that, it was the same ol'Mom. I also knew that she was gone and that no one could see her but me, so the neighbors would think that I was crazy for talking to myself, but I didn't care. It sure seemed real to me. I said to Mom, "So, when I'm dead, can I hang out with you?" She thought a minute and said, "That would be nice."
*****
No recordings exist of my parents' wedding, but I have seen some photographs. They weren't married in Arlington; their ceremony was held at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1957, at 3 p.m. The Reverend Peter Maher presided.
Nobody interrupted their wedding ceremony, either, especially "Sis." This dream came from the fact that Sis was somewhat involved in pushing us to change plans for our wedding reception. She wanted to get on the road back to South Carolina, so one or more of her children approached us and sort of strong-armed us to cut the cake at that moment, so they could then say their goodbyes and hit the road. I haven't seen my aunt since. That's not the only reason -- we moved to Tennessee shortly after the wedding, so if we travel, we're either going home to Virginia, or taking a vacation to a new place. We only have so much vacation time, and South Carolina has never fit into our plans.
I think that my parents' outfits in this dream came from a photo I'd seen of them on an Easter Sunday in the 1950s. I haven't seen many pictures of my mom wearing hats, but she did on special occasions back in those days.
By the way, an odd coincidence occurred to me this morning, concerning Mom and her life at 3374 N. Dinwiddie. She moved into the house when she was 33, and left it for the last time when she was 74...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Originals / Night of the Mutant Cats
Monday night
Dream 1: The Originals
The Pretenders had released their first album, and were about to appear on the Tonight Show. They were nice enough to invite their original (pre-Chrissie Hynde) lead singer (another woman) and the guy who was their guitarist before James Honeyman-Scott, to watch the performance. I met those two in the Green Room. I asked the singer, "What are you doing now?" She said she was fortunate to have grown up in Nashville, so she had connections in the music business, and was working on her own material.
Dream 2: Night of the Mutant Cats
It was Halloween night, and a band of mutant ghost cats was roaming around. They were still cats, all right, but they could walk on their hind legs at will, and had some type of pointy protrusions sticking out of their bulked-up bodies, albeit covered in fur. They looked as if they were normal black cats who had survived some nuclear fallout, and were pissed off about it. Anyway, they were locating and entering houses where kids had mistreated their pets. I saw them crawl through an open window and find a nice-looking golden retriever; they fed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to it. The idea was that the dog would die and join the mutant band, and that would teach those kids a lesson.
*****
Dream 1: The Originals
These earlier band members are figments of my imagination.
Dream 2: Night of the Mutant Cats
My wife often reminds me not to leave any chocolate out, whether it's ice cream in a bowl, or cake frosting on a plate; if our cat got into it, she'd get very sick.
Dream 1: The Originals
The Pretenders had released their first album, and were about to appear on the Tonight Show. They were nice enough to invite their original (pre-Chrissie Hynde) lead singer (another woman) and the guy who was their guitarist before James Honeyman-Scott, to watch the performance. I met those two in the Green Room. I asked the singer, "What are you doing now?" She said she was fortunate to have grown up in Nashville, so she had connections in the music business, and was working on her own material.
Dream 2: Night of the Mutant Cats
It was Halloween night, and a band of mutant ghost cats was roaming around. They were still cats, all right, but they could walk on their hind legs at will, and had some type of pointy protrusions sticking out of their bulked-up bodies, albeit covered in fur. They looked as if they were normal black cats who had survived some nuclear fallout, and were pissed off about it. Anyway, they were locating and entering houses where kids had mistreated their pets. I saw them crawl through an open window and find a nice-looking golden retriever; they fed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to it. The idea was that the dog would die and join the mutant band, and that would teach those kids a lesson.
*****
Dream 1: The Originals
These earlier band members are figments of my imagination.
Dream 2: Night of the Mutant Cats
My wife often reminds me not to leave any chocolate out, whether it's ice cream in a bowl, or cake frosting on a plate; if our cat got into it, she'd get very sick.
Down to the Wire
Sunday night
My brother Andrew and I were watching the Super Bowl. The game was in its final seconds, and the Redskins were losing. They were kicking off, and decided to try the onside kick trick. They lined up, kicked the ball the requisite number of yards, and pounced on it, so it was their ball again. That was great, but Drew was still nervous. He said, "I don't like this; it's still 57 to 51, so they will still need to score a touchdown."
*****
That was quite the defensive battle.
My brother Andrew and I were watching the Super Bowl. The game was in its final seconds, and the Redskins were losing. They were kicking off, and decided to try the onside kick trick. They lined up, kicked the ball the requisite number of yards, and pounced on it, so it was their ball again. That was great, but Drew was still nervous. He said, "I don't like this; it's still 57 to 51, so they will still need to score a touchdown."
*****
That was quite the defensive battle.
In Search of an Exit
Saturday night
My wife and our friends Steve and Kristin S. were all in a car, driving around a cul-de-sac. I was on foot, watching them. They were smiling and encouraging me, trying to show me the way out.
*****
I'm not quite sure why I couldn't find it myself, unless this is just a BIG METAPHOR for something...
My wife and our friends Steve and Kristin S. were all in a car, driving around a cul-de-sac. I was on foot, watching them. They were smiling and encouraging me, trying to show me the way out.
*****
I'm not quite sure why I couldn't find it myself, unless this is just a BIG METAPHOR for something...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Ogling
Friday night
Some strange sort of sex party was going on in a large hotel suite. Young women in various states of dress and undress were standing around -- some appeared to be wearing black and white uniforms, as if they were maids -- others wore next to nothing. Actor Ted Cassidy strolled through the room, admiring the women, as if he was on a shopping excursion in a grocery store. He was fully clothed, and wore a white tuxedo jacket over black pants. He could be heard expressing his appreciation in short hums: "Hmmm. HMMMM. HMMMM!"
*****
Creepy. This dream may have been inspired by a film I watched on DVD the other night, "American Gangster." Denzel Washington's character set up a drug factory of sorts in an apartment building. A suite of rooms was crammed with people who cut, weighed and packaged heroin. Many of the women who worked in the factory did so in the nude, so they couldn't steal anything.
Ted Cassidy played Ruk in a Star Trek episode called "What Little Girls Are Made Of," but was most famous as Lurch in the Addams Family TV show. And no, he was not that "Jaws" guy with the shiny teeth in the James Bond films. I thought he was, too, but that was Richard Kiel, another gigantic dude.
Some strange sort of sex party was going on in a large hotel suite. Young women in various states of dress and undress were standing around -- some appeared to be wearing black and white uniforms, as if they were maids -- others wore next to nothing. Actor Ted Cassidy strolled through the room, admiring the women, as if he was on a shopping excursion in a grocery store. He was fully clothed, and wore a white tuxedo jacket over black pants. He could be heard expressing his appreciation in short hums: "Hmmm. HMMMM. HMMMM!"
*****
Creepy. This dream may have been inspired by a film I watched on DVD the other night, "American Gangster." Denzel Washington's character set up a drug factory of sorts in an apartment building. A suite of rooms was crammed with people who cut, weighed and packaged heroin. Many of the women who worked in the factory did so in the nude, so they couldn't steal anything.
Ted Cassidy played Ruk in a Star Trek episode called "What Little Girls Are Made Of," but was most famous as Lurch in the Addams Family TV show. And no, he was not that "Jaws" guy with the shiny teeth in the James Bond films. I thought he was, too, but that was Richard Kiel, another gigantic dude.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Man with a Plan / R.I.P.
Wednesday night
Dream 1: Man with a Plan
Julia Roberts came to see Harrison Ford to get him to draw up plans for a large house being constructed for Roberts and her boyfriend. Feeling nostalgic, she brought with her a portrait of herself with Ford, painted many years ago, when the two of them starred in a movie. Soon it became apparent that she'd had feelings for Ford ever since. Ford came up with a plan -- he'd design a house that was so sleek and modern that there would be no way the boyfriend would like it; he'd leave Roberts and then Julia and Harrison could be together.
Dream 2: R.I.P.
I found out that one of my oldest friends, Denis G., had died. Shortly thereafter, I visited another friend, Preston, at his house, and hung out for awhile, watching TV, listening to music, the usual stuff. I'd brought a gift with me for Denis'es family, but when I took off, I left it at Preston's. I headed over to Mom and Dad's neighborhood, with the intention of calling on Denis'es parents, at their home. (Denis grew up on 34th Street, but in this dream, their house was at the corner of Dinwiddie and Dickerson, on the point.) Anyway, I went to the bereaved family's home, to see what I could do. I had parked my car and walked down the steep hill into their backyard when I saw a delivery truck pull up on Dinwiddie. Word had gotten out about the tragedy, so a man was dropping off flowers, fruit baskets and cards from other friends, including Brent and Stacy L. I took charge of these items and was about to walk up the back steps to the house when I realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt, so I figured that it might not be appropriate. I turned to my coworker, Jason, who also happened to be on the scene, and asked him to carry the deliveries inside; then I proceeded to call Preston, and asked him to bring me the gift I'd left at his place.
*****
We'll be seeing the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend. Last night I was reading about the U.S. premiere, held at Magic Johnson's theater complex in Harlem, New York. I don't believe that Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts have ever appeared in the same film. Ford is a carpenter; that's how he supported himself between "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars."
Denis'es family's house in this dream actually belonged to a girl who lived in my neighborhood, Cathy C., and her family. I think she was a contemporary of my big brother, Jimmie. She may have babysat for me once or twice. I have fond memories of that hill in their backyard. We spent many happy hours sledding there.
I think I met Denis when I was about 3. He and his family moved out of our neighborhood when he was a teenager, but they remained in Arlington. As far as I know, Denis, his wife and kids still live in Arlington, and all are alive and well.
Dream 1: Man with a Plan
Julia Roberts came to see Harrison Ford to get him to draw up plans for a large house being constructed for Roberts and her boyfriend. Feeling nostalgic, she brought with her a portrait of herself with Ford, painted many years ago, when the two of them starred in a movie. Soon it became apparent that she'd had feelings for Ford ever since. Ford came up with a plan -- he'd design a house that was so sleek and modern that there would be no way the boyfriend would like it; he'd leave Roberts and then Julia and Harrison could be together.
Dream 2: R.I.P.
I found out that one of my oldest friends, Denis G., had died. Shortly thereafter, I visited another friend, Preston, at his house, and hung out for awhile, watching TV, listening to music, the usual stuff. I'd brought a gift with me for Denis'es family, but when I took off, I left it at Preston's. I headed over to Mom and Dad's neighborhood, with the intention of calling on Denis'es parents, at their home. (Denis grew up on 34th Street, but in this dream, their house was at the corner of Dinwiddie and Dickerson, on the point.) Anyway, I went to the bereaved family's home, to see what I could do. I had parked my car and walked down the steep hill into their backyard when I saw a delivery truck pull up on Dinwiddie. Word had gotten out about the tragedy, so a man was dropping off flowers, fruit baskets and cards from other friends, including Brent and Stacy L. I took charge of these items and was about to walk up the back steps to the house when I realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt, so I figured that it might not be appropriate. I turned to my coworker, Jason, who also happened to be on the scene, and asked him to carry the deliveries inside; then I proceeded to call Preston, and asked him to bring me the gift I'd left at his place.
*****
We'll be seeing the new Indiana Jones movie this weekend. Last night I was reading about the U.S. premiere, held at Magic Johnson's theater complex in Harlem, New York. I don't believe that Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts have ever appeared in the same film. Ford is a carpenter; that's how he supported himself between "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars."
Denis'es family's house in this dream actually belonged to a girl who lived in my neighborhood, Cathy C., and her family. I think she was a contemporary of my big brother, Jimmie. She may have babysat for me once or twice. I have fond memories of that hill in their backyard. We spent many happy hours sledding there.
I think I met Denis when I was about 3. He and his family moved out of our neighborhood when he was a teenager, but they remained in Arlington. As far as I know, Denis, his wife and kids still live in Arlington, and all are alive and well.
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