dreams

1. The dream opened with my mother and me in a restaurant/bakery. She appeared to be about 45 years old, so the setting was a long time ago, even though I didn't appear to be appreciably younger than I am now. She was paying for our purchase over a glass counter that allowed me to look at all kinds of attractive confections. But she wanted to be able to cash a check for $300. She was quite insistent that she needed this much cash to get her through the weekend. The employee with whom she was talking, an African-American, gamely tried to give my mother what she wanted, but only could come up with about $75, mostly in rumpled bills. The scene ended.

2. I was talking to my older brother in an unclear location about my future. He was offering to talk to me about options or even provide a place for me while I sorted some things out, but the contours of the offer and our conversation are unclear, as I try to recall them.

3. I was in a place that was suppposedly for "creative people." I don't know how I knew that; I think that when I arrived at the place it had some kind of streamer or banner welcoming creative people. I recall walking through the place. The one building I remember looked as cavernous as a state fair-type building which held livestock exhibitions--i.e., it was a very huge and long barn. I remember going into this concrete-floored building and running into a bald guy around my age who explained that this was where people worked. I looked around for a minute, but saw no accommodations, no phones, no desks, no computers, no library or anything that was part and parcel of what constituted a "creative" life for me. The scene ended.

4. I next was at home and recall receiving a letter in the mail. It was an unusual color for a letter, a sort of pale green envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper in the same green color, with printed matter on it. The style of print was a cross between the old German "Fractura" script and a sort of clear "New Times Roman-type" of script. On it were telephone numbers but they were international numbers, because they had clusters of two or three digits like international numbers do. At the bottom of the sheet was an invitation to move to Germany where I would be able to do my work at some kind of (unspecified) institute or entity. It said nothing about how much it would cost or if I would get paid. The only thing it said was "rent controlled," which I understood to mean that my room would be for a fixed rate for the time I decided to stay there. The scene ended.

5. I was with one of my younger brothers in the next scene; I think it was my youngest brother. He was pointing out to me a person whom I should get to know. That person was a woman who was either 39 or who had a daughter at age 39. The reason for my confusion was that when my brother was explaining this to me the woman appeared with a girl about 5 years old. The girl was wearing one of those leotards or ballerina costumes which young girls do, and she began to perform a little baton-twirling or dance routine, I don't remember which. I don't recall much about the 39 or 44 year-old woman, other than that she had black hair and seemed to be rather short (but most women appear short to me), and was slender. She was dressed in pants and a shirt, with a sort of Guatemalan-type of covering which you can pick up in those stores which promise you that a $1 purchase will save most of the country or will contribute to stamping out something--like disease or illiteracy. I didn't get a chance to see her face.

6. The final scene of the dream had me back at my home or my "space" even though I didn't identify it as my Salem, OR home. I had just awakened (in my dream) and I was thinking about what had transpired in the dream. That is, I was dreaming about the earlier part of the dream. Then, I remember asking myself what day it was and saying to myself, "It is Friday" (It actually is Friday today). Then I recall wondering if it was a Holiday (it isn't). And then I said to myself, "Well, I can go to the bank after all today" (referring to scene 1). My mother was not in sight or in this part of the dream at all. I just knew that I could go to the bank and get the right amount of money for the day. Then, I awoke.

Conclusion

Several images here call for mention, if not for reflection. What does the money image mean, both at the beginning and the end? Why the repeated notions of places to stay or to explore ideas? What is the connection of family with all of this? Why didn't I get a look at the woman, who was either 39 or 44? Any other questions you can think of?

APPENDIX--TWO BRIEF IMAGES FROM A 1/13/06 DREAM

Today is Friday, January 13, 2006. I am going to Portland with my son after my Insurance Law class. My dream related to a Portland friend.

1. I saw him in my dream but he was a lawyer and not a college professor (which he is). He had a shingle outside of his office giving his name and saying that he had been practicing since 1980. The impression I had in my dream was that life had been rather "seamless" for him and that he continued doing what he had been doing for 25 years, though I don't know what kind of legal cases he handled.

2. The other image was when I got to his office, I saw that he was now working with his son in the law business. But, in fact, he has no son.

I didn't have any feelings relative to anything I saw in my dream other than a vague sense that I was proud to count him as a friend.

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