Dream of: 01 October 1995 "Train Ride"
I had boarded a train in Columbus, Ohio, to go to Portsmouth. The train was hardly ever used by anyone, and at first I had thought it was simply a freight train which allowed the occasional passenger to board. But once on the train, I found myself in a well-equipped, albeit empty, passenger car. I was well-satisfied with the accommodations and wondered why more people didn't know about the train. It only cost $15-$20 dollars for the ticket. I thought once I reached Portsmouth I would tell my old friend Anderson about the train. I might even tell my mother, in case she had some need to go to Columbus. I wondered if it might even be possible to travel from Dallas to Portsmouth in a train such as this.
I sat in my comfortable seat, pulled out a girlie magazine and looked through it, but I didn't actually see any pictures in it. Instead in my mind I envisioned an aerial view of the train; I could look down and see it moving along the tracks. What surprised me was that at the front of the train, instead of an engine, was my red 1986 BMW; only five or six train cars were moving along behind the BMW.
Somewhat jarred by seeing my car at the front of the train, I decided to go to the front and investigate further. I laid down my magazine, stood up and went to the door. But I discovered that I couldn't get to the next car; I could get out between my car and the next car, but I couldn't enter the next car. The only alternative I saw was to walk along a narrow ledge on the outside of the next car. I decided to do that, and began slowly and cautiously edging my way along the ledge. I had to be extremely careful because if the train passed too close to something, and I were extending part of my body, such as my fingers, too close over the side, they could be clipped off. I also thought about the girlie magazine I had left behind. I didn't want anyone to find it and realize I had been looking at it. I should have brought it with me, but I didn't want to go back now.
I continued on until I was finally able to enter the front train car: it wasn't my BMW at all, but another passenger car which resembled a street car inside! Several people were sitting in the passenger seats and a man driving the car was sitting in a little booth in the front. Suddenly someone dropped something from the car and the engineer pulled a lever to put on the brakes so the thing could be retrieved.
As the train slowed down I saw that we still hadn't left Columbus. We were in a somewhat elevated position and I had a splendid view of the Columbus skyline right before me. Immediately all around me I saw the roofs of many houses, and the chimneys protruding out of them. But I also noticed some other objects on the roofs which I couldn't quite make out at first. Straining I saw that most of the roofs had small statues of dogs on them. The statues looked as if they were made of papier-mâché. Apparently they were put there like scare-crows to frighten off animals or thieves who might want to break into the houses.
Copyright 2001 by luciddreamer2k@gmail.com
