Dream of: 03 November 1986 "Ship Under Starry Sky"
While sitting with my paternal step-grandfather Clarence and my paternal
grandmother Mabel in a living room which reminded me of the one in their Gallia
County Farmhouse, I noticed that two paintings which I had never seen before had
been hung on the south wall. The paintings were rather large (about a meter and
half high and a meter wide) and quite colorful. They seemed abstract and I had
to look at them a while to figure out what they were. The one on the
left—primarily in shades of blue—pictured colorful mountains. The one on the
right displayed large buildings on a city street.
Another painting hung on the west wall; I immediately liked it best. Again, I
had to look at it awhile to decipher it. It was colorful with many white,
star-like specks. I finally realized it was a sailing ship under a starry sky.
None of the pictures were originals. They probably had not cost much, but they
were definitely nicer than the type Clarence and Mabel usually had in their
house; I was pleased to see them.
Clarence began asking me about a recent trip I had made to New York City. I
began telling him about the trip and described the room I had stayed in. As I
thought about and described the room, I found myself in the room in New York;
Clarence and Mabel were still with me. My sister was also there. I suggested to
them all that they stay there with me for a while and visit. They seemed
interested in the possibility. I was unsure exactly where everyone would sleep
but thought we could make room. I might have to sleep with Mabel and for an
instant she seemed sexually attractive; but that thought immediately evaporated.
This building resembled a large inexpensive hotel; I thought I was only paying
about $25 a night for the room. I remembered that my old friend Steve Weinstein
had stayed in the building when he had first moved to New York. In fact, he had
moved to an adjoining building and was still staying there.
I had been thinking lately about Steve and wondering how he was turning out. I
remembered having recently visited him. He had taken me into the back yard of a
neighboring building and had shown me a flower garden he had planted. The garden
had obviously taken quite a bit of work and reminded me of something a Zen
Buddhist might do. I wondered if Steve had simply planted the garden so he would
be able to write articles in the garden section of newspapers.
I had doubts about what Steve was doing with his life. He seemed to be quite
poor, but I could not fault him for that. And besides the industry he had shown
with his flower garden, he had also been working out with weights and had put
his body in excellent, impressive shape.
As I was thinking, it began to seem as if Clarence, Mabel, and my sister had
already been with me for several days. Indeed, the garbage had begun
accumulating and needed taken out. On a table next to a wall were several banana
peels from bananas I had eaten. I gathered them up to put in a brown paper sack,
but the sack contained other garbage and seemed weak. Nevertheless, I managed to
put the peels in anyway and walked out the door to dispose of the sack.
My room was on the fourth floor of the building. It took me a while, but finally
I remembered that a room for garbage was on the sixth floor, and I headed for
the stairs. As I walked, I began wondering about the number of people in New
York; it simply amazed me. I thought about young people coming to New York and
what they did when they arrived. A dialogue and images began forming in my mind.
I saw a young man (probably in his early 20s) in a group with other young
people. He was talking about how he had been raised in a good family and he was
not accustomed to doing mundane work, but now he was in New York and needed a
job. He was having a difficult time.
An older man seemed to be leading the group. He reminded me somewhat of a movie
director or a producer. I thought how it would probably be possible to contact
movie directors and obtain a job with one as an assistant director. It would
require persistence but seemed feasible.
I watched the man (who appeared to be bald) guide the group around; he reminded
me of John Glenn. I thought about how John Glenn had been an astronaut and then
had become a United States senator from Ohio.
I had seated myself in an inside auditorium in some circular bleachers which
rose from the stage-like area where Glenn was speaking. I was not completely
sure what he was talking about, but a group of about 20 people was gathered
around him. Apparently, the group had a leader and finally Glenn said it was
time to pay that leader (a woman) the fee for having heard Glenn speak. Glenn
seemed to be acting as if he did not receive the money himself, but I had my
doubts. The fee was $25, but each person had previously paid $10 which made the
total cost $35 for a talk which had probably only lasted about two hours. People
began handing over the money.
A young, black fellow on my left began talking to me; he seemed to be trying to
explain something about Glenn to me. He seemed friendly, but I did not really
trust him and I thought he might be trying to pickpocket me. Finally, he was
quiet, and I said something to him. He immediately backed about a meter away
from me; he gave me the distinct impression that he did not want to talk
anymore. I wondered if I had bad breath and indeed became convinced I did.
I had been given a paper which had prices of refreshments being sold at a
concession stand next to where Glenn was. A certain kind of gum only cost five
cents for five sticks; I decided to go down and buy some.
My ex-wife Bonnie was seated to my left; she was also staying with me in my room
in New York. I told her I was going to go buy some gum and would be right back.
She said something about Gallipolis and Rio Grande as I headed down toward the
concession stand.
I began thinking of the pronunciation of the words Gallipolis and Rio Grande. I
knew they were communities in Gallia County, Ohio and that the people there
pronounced the names in a specific way. For example, Rio was not pronounced like
the Spanish word "rio," but rather with a long "i."
I reached the concession stand and told a girl what I wanted. She gave me the
pack of gum and told me it would be 44 cents. I began to protest that the flyer
had said the gum would cost only five cents. I decided the flyer was probably
wrong and I began looking in my billfold for some money. At first, I did not see
any money. Finally, however, I pulled out some bills and laid them on the
counter. I had several ones and at least one ten. We had some difficulty sorting
out the bills so that she had the right one. Finally, she did; I stuck the rest
in my pocket.
Two girls were at the concession stand. I waited for my change and other people
began lining up behind me. Finally, I realized I had been standing there a long
time and began voicing my dismay. I hollered that I had been here 15 minutes
just to buy a pack of gum. The girl to whom I had given the money said she could
not give me my change until the other girl used a green card to open something.
The other girl was occupied with something else and was in no hurry.
I hollered that I was simply going to take another pack of gum and some other
penny candy which I saw in a large glass jar on the counter. Finally, I did that
and walked back up toward my seat.
To my surprise Bonnie was no longer there. I had been gone a long time, but
where could she have disappeared to? She did not know where to go in New York
and did not have a key to my room. I would just have to sit down and wait for
her to return.
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