Dream of: 17 September 1997 "The Turning Point"

Sitting at my student desk in a classroom with dozens of other students. A tall heavy-set black-haired man (probably in his early 40s) seemed to be in charge. He looked exactly like a professor I had once had in law school. But in this setting, the man seemed to be a judge; and although we were in a classroom, all the other students and myself were lawyers. The judge was teaching us like a professor, but he was talking about real cases like a judge.

As the judge spoke, he gradually insinuated his way through the desks until he was standing right next to me. He then took a seat next to mine and began talking to me in a personal way. He was concerned about a couple problems I had with bankruptcy cases in which I had represented bankruptcy debtors. The judge was aware that the bankruptcy trustee was holding up some payments due to me. I quickly knew to what the judge was referring: a couple of trivial problems with some payments due to me. But the amount of money was so small I had been ignoring the problems, even though I knew they could be easily resolved. I told the judge that there was nothing to worry about, that the problems would be taken care of.

However I knew that the judge was correct, that I needed to tend to the problems, because I was nearing the point when I would be completely finished with all my bankruptcy clients. If I would just take care of a few last matters, I would no longer be fettered by any bankruptcy cases.

When the judge stood back up and continued talking, I soon realized he was talking about two film projects on which I had been working. I thought he was going to be critical about the projects. I remembered both projects well, and in my mind I envisioned the two projects as two swans sitting on a tranquil pool. One swan was black, and the other was white. I had never been satisfied with the results of the two films, even though I thought I had worked hard on the films and had done an adequate job. One of the films, which had also involved translating a good deal of the script from another language such as Dutch, had been titled The Turning Point.

To my surprise, the judge began lavishly praising the film. I could feel the growing admiration of the people sitting around. I didn't know what to think. The judge also praised the second film, which contained the words "Returning Home" in the title. I guessed I hadn't done a such a bad job after all.