I met some members of my family and among them was
my grandfather Liston. I was quite surprised to see him. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. My brother Chris was also here. I was very happy to see him. My grandmother Mabel was also present.We all got into a car together. I got into the back seat and Liston drove. I looked at Liston and saw that his hair was mostly gray but still had some black in it. I thought I needed to get to know him better because he might not live much longer.
We continued along until we came to a place in the country. We drove to the bottom of a deep ravine until we reached what appeared to be a picnic area. We all stepped out of the car. Almost immediately it began raining. I was concerned that with the rain we wouldn't be able to go back up to the top of the hill. The road was just dirt and was becoming very slippery with the rain. Some of the people here started trying to walk up some dirt paths but they were too slippery. We were simply stuck here.
The water began to rise in the ravine. I was afraid of what might happen if the water rose too high. We would be trapped. I saw an older woman protecting Chris from the rain. I was sliding around but finally found a muddy ledge to stand on.
Finally the rain stopped and the ground began drying up. I looked around and realized many more people were here than I had originally thought. They seemed to be having a good time. I looked out over the valley and saw that the water had gone away and some people were now folk dancing. Nina Cahan (a Dallas acquaintance) was leading a group of four or five other dancers in a line dance. She was wearing something blue and was making some very intricate and delicate steps. She was quite light on her feet as she moved around. She was leading four or five other people who likewise were doing quite well. One or two of the others would occasionally miss a step; but Nina didn't miss any steps. She was quite graceful.
I walked around and the place reminded me in a way of a Roman coliseum. Some seats were here. One fellow was playing a trumpet quite loudly. He would occasionally miss a note. I realized I was carrying my
flute. I didn't really want to play with the trumpet player so I walked on. I then began playing my flute. It was a little squeaky at first; but then the notes began coming out better.I saw another group of dancers near where I was. They didn't have any music so I walked toward them playing the flute. They were doing what seemed to be some kind of South American dance. They would take two steps forward and then one back. They swung their arms as they danced. I sat down and played my flute to the rhythm of their dance. They continued to dance and seemed to like my playing. I was becoming quite engrossed in the affair.
Suddenly someone walked up and sat down to my right and began playing what sounded like a drum. But I saw that it was merely a very large can turned upside down. They were pounding away and I didn't mind. But the fellow playing the can got closer and closer to me until finally he was right in front of me and I couldn't even hear my own flute. All I could hear was his drum. Then he moved to my left.
I noticed the dancers had stopped dancing and had dispersed. I stopped playing the flute. The can-player spoke to me. He was a rather heavy-set fellow. He was apparently just learning to play the drums. He asked me if I had any music written down. I told him I didn't. But I thought I really needed to have some written music if I wanted to play with someone.
I hadn't minded playing music with him but I really didn't care to talk with him. I wondered why the dancers had left. Had I not been playing the flute right? Had they wanted to leave? Or was it because of the guy playing the can? I had certainly enjoyed watching them dance and playing for them.
Copyright 2004 by luciddreamer2k@gmail.com
