Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Bring me the Hebrew, Daniel.

In my dream, I was hanging out with my friend Staghounds. I think we were, like, next-door neighbors or something. We went to lots and lots of used book stores. Then we went to a horse race, except it was like the local dirt-track version of horse racing; very casual. And somehow a mascot pig got loose on the track, and it was faster than the horses, which the crowd seemed to find extremely peculiar.

We left when the horse racing was over and they had started a flat track motorcycle race; as we were leaving the stands, I looked over my shoulder and noticed they'd had a tremendous pileup on the back stretch, leaving the winner to wobble down the track on his own, even though his bike kept falling over.

Then we got a ride from Og in his Explorer. Staghounds was sitting up front, talking to Og, and I was riding in back. I noticed that since I was sitting up high, I could look down into the vehicles around me, which is always a novel sensation for me. There was a bronze-colored '64 Pontiac Catalina that kept following us and trying to pace us, but Og kept cutting it off. Looking down into the car, I realized that it was empty; nobody was driving it. "Og, dude, that car is driving itself!"

"I know," he growled, "That's why I'm not letting it pass!"

"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked. (I mean, by my way of thinking, pilotless demon cars have the right-of-way.)

When I looked back at the car, now there was somebody in it. Oh, there was still nobody driving it, but there was an old man in the passenger seat. He smiled and waved at me. And the car wasn't a Pontiac anymore, now it was a cream-and-maroon Austin Mini.

Then I was dropped off at my ex's place, except he lived in a small town now, and we had to go get him registered to vote, at the combination 7-11 and post office. We went back to his house, where an old roomie of mine was waiting, and the three of us played this awesome video game that was like a combination of System Shock and Left 4 Dead.

Then I woke up.

36 comments:

Tango Juliet said...

Recoil deprivation.

og said...

Mmmm. Bacon. Mmmm.

Weer'd Beard said...

Man what a salvation waking had to be. Can you imagine how exhausting life must be if reality was so plastic?

McVee said...

I think I've seen that Pontiac...

Bram said...

What exactly do you ingest before bed? I feel like I'm missing out on some great entertainment.

Retardo said...

The pig winning the horse race was a prediction about the next election.

You could call a bookie and clean up -- if you only knew which pig...

Anonymous said...

Those pepperoni and anchovie pizzas with double onions and garlic at 2 am will do that to you...

.45ACP+P said...

First thought: What in God's name have you been eating? Memorable dreams with that level of detail remind me of the loo-loos a friend of mine used to relate the day after a 2 Jack-in-the-Box super taco snack before sleep.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Hmm, I didn't know you'd taken the 15th Degree, Tam :)

Although it's true that your name isn't Cyrus the Persian :)

Rex said...

System Shock + Left 4 Dead?

Sign me up.

Jason said...

See, Tam, this is what happens when you invoke the name of the ancient tribe of the Cletii. Their vengeful spirits pester you with dreams of various modes of transportation. Those dreams are why they put all their chariots and wagons up on blocks. Well, it was that and their desire to settle in Pannonia.

Tam said...

Weer'd,

"Man what a salvation waking had to be. Can you imagine how exhausting life must be if reality was so plastic?"

Actually, waking up was a little disappointing. It was one of those dreams that had great duration; a year in a night. The post just kinda brushes the highlights that I remember. I had some great times, distorted reality field and all.

og said...

You shall not pass!

staghounds said...

My dream self has a better time than my real self!

Daniel says that the racing bit may have come from this story.

The ex and voting, maybe here.

The neighbor part, I'm not tall or Scotch enough.

And pilotless demon cars, well, you have ridden with me in the past...

And, for Retardo:

"I dreamt about the winner of the Derby," said Lola...

perlhaqr said...

Og: Now I really need video of McKellen playing a racing driver, so I can dub that in.

bluesun said...

I am now humming songs from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dream Coat." Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank heavens you had the bronze Pontiac in your dream. Had it been the sky blue one, you might never have woken up.

Or something.

og said...

Perl: Didn't mckellen do one of the Top Gear laps?

Aaron said...

I believe the modern automotive Hebrew for your dream would be:

Mini, Mini, Catalina, Explorer.

RobertSlaughter said...

I'm not sure what you have for a night-cap, but it must be good stuff.

Brad K. said...

Tam,

I notice all the sequences are memories, most of them fond. Yes, the pig and driverless cars are disturbing, but the cars are objects of admiration.

The pig at the horse race is a bit of absurdity - you like the race, the casual setting, but think waiting for horses (when there are mechanical speedy things available) somewhat silly. You are just going along, here, accepting what the crowd wants. Except you are rooting for the pig. And since, in the scene, you are also the pig, you win. You are also the lone, wobbly, winning biker. Yeah!

This seems like a 'light' dream, where you were reasonably rested when you retired for the evening, and never really dredged down into deep sleep, just hovered on the edge. The main theme is the memory of favored mechanicals and driving. And perhaps a bit of wistfulness about letting someone else drive for a bit.

Anonymous said...

Spicy food last night? That usually works for me if I want a dream like this.

Jim

Sarah said...

"I mean, by my way of thinking, pilotless demon cars have the right-of-way."

And if we all thought like that, the pilotless demon cars of the world would rule us all. :)

BobG said...

Wish I could have interesting ones like that; mine are usually unmemorable.

North said...

I'd pay $100 to be in a dream like that...

John Stephens said...

"And if we all thought like that, the pilotless demon cars of the world would rule us all."

Considering the likely choices in the next election, I'm willing to take a chance on the demon cars. What are their views on the Second Amendment?

staghounds said...

Aaron wins.

Anonymous said...

Always a bad thing when an ex shows up in a dream.

Often a worse thing when they show up at your door.

LabRat said...

Gotta love the all-night mind-movie express. I've had some very entertaining times there.

At least when the feature playing isn't a horror flick.

Robin said...

Someone needs to dial back on the peppers in dinner.

Anonymous said...

Too many sweets after dinner Tam!!!

Walt

Sport Pilot said...

Do you always dream in color?

Anonymous said...

System Shock + Left 4 Dead?

Sign me up.

+1

Beaumont said...

The consensus at the Fellini Kroger is that the Pontiac DID have a driver.

Anonymous said...

Someone needs to dial back on the peppers in dinner.

The hell with that, let's give Tam a habanero and see what she dreams about! :-P

Jim

Cybrludite said...

Forget the Habanero, & skip directly to the Bhut Jolokia... :-D