Dream of: 26 February 1989 (2) "Menagerie"
Late at night, I was out walking around through the backyards of a residential area. A car pulled up about 30 meters from me and a bunch of policemen dressed in black descended. I sat down on a brick fence and watched the policemen from a distance. They seemed to be having a little meeting; I thought some had probably noticed me and were wondering what I was doing out here. Finally they broke up and two of policemen immediately came over to me. Neither they nor I said anything as one of them began to pat me down. Finally he stood up and asked me to take off my black shoes to see if there was anything in them. I said, "Wait a minute. I'm an attorney."
I then proceeded to tell him I needed to know what type of search he was performing; I also needed to know whether I was under arrest. I told him he was allowed under the law to make certain kinds of searches, but he wasn't not allowed to make others. I wanted to know what kind of search he was now performing. He seemed completely baffled. The other officer immediately left, apparently in search of a police officer who knew what was going on. A few minutes later several shadowy figures approached us. When they were close enough so I could see who they were, I saw that they were policemen. I said, "Who was in charge here?"
A young man who looked as if he might be in his late 20s stepped up and shook my hand. I proceeded to tell him that the other policemen were searching me and had asked me to take off my shoe. I told him I want to know whether I was under arrest or what kind of search he was conducting. To myself I was thinking that all they needed was a reasonable suspicion that I had committed a crime. And under the circumstances of finding me here in these backyards, they probably had basis for a reasonable suspicion. But the young officer likewise seemed baffled.
All the while I wasn't overly concerned, because I didn't have anything in my shoe anyway. But I felt it was important not to let them search unless they knew what they were doing. I thought about mentioning the idea of false arrest to them, but instead I considered simply walking away; I began doing just that. I thought someone would try to stop me, but no one did so I kept walking and quickly slipped through the backyards of some other houses.
I then passed through a gate and then heard what sounds like a muffled growl. Suddenly I noticed a light gray animal about the size of a medium dog run past not far from me. It looked a bit like a baboon, but I wasn't exactly sure. It was quite beautiful, and I felt as if I would like to pet it, but then I thought it might be a baby; the mother – perhaps a huge gorilla – was lurking about nearby. Looking around, I realized I seemed to have entered into a large enclosed area, apparently someone's private little zoo. I saw where I had entered, and tried to go in that direction. But before I could reach it, in succession I saw a wolf, a large wild cat and several large dogs. None of them tried to bother me, although I was afraid they might.
Finally I noticed some sticks lying to the side and among them was a blue crutch. I picked up the crutch and thought I would use it to defend myself if it was necessary. As I began edging toward the gate, a woman appeared. She was smiling and walked through the gate toward me. She walked up to me just as a large animal which looked like a dog sat next to me on my right. I asked her if the animal would hurt me and she said no.
She then said she had talked to me earlier in the day about my washing some shirts for her. I thought she must have me confused with someone else and told her so. But she seemed certain that it had been me. I said that in some cases, I might be willing to wash someone's shirts. I figured if that was what she wanted, it was fine with me, just as long as I could get out of here.
***
I was with Jon telling him about being in the private zoo. He seemed surprised and interested. I described the place as a "menagerie."
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