Dream of: 06 October 1997 "Hogwash"

I had gone to a law firm to visit a man who was my father (not my actual father), who worked at the firm. While at the firm, before meeting with my father, I began talking to another tall black-haired lawyer, who resembled a lawyer I had known many years before. As we talked, I remembered that the last time that I had been at the firm, I had been given some assignments dealing with several different legal cases. I had completely forgotten. I now realized I might have been grievously negligent by failing to work on the assignments. I had this sinking feeling that I was being sucked back into the practice of law, a feeling which I hated. But I knew I just had to take care of these assignments. Fearing the worst, I asked the lawyer about the cases. What a relief, when, after talking with him, I realized there was still time to complete the assignments.

***

I was in a room talking with yet another attorney about the same cases. This attorney was extremely obese. As he and I carried on an extended study of the cases, I slowly began to realize he wasn't basing his reasoning on the law, but on the Bible. I was shocked. It was unfathomable to me that he should try to base his analysis of the cases on the Bible, instead of upon the law. As I stood next to a table, I put my hand on a thick gray book which I thought was the Bible, and I proclaimed that the book was just "hogwash."

But suddenly I realized the book wasn't actually the Bible, but an English dictionary. Realizing my error, I corrected myself, trying to explain that I certainly didn't think the dictionary was hogwash, but that it was the Bible to which I was referring.

By now the obese attorney was furious. He picked up an actual Bible and pulled it back as if he were going to hit me in the side of the head with it. I tried to reason with him. I told him to just look at himself. I hoped that he might grasp that his extreme obesity was a symptom of his believing such nonsense as the Bible. I tried to point out that there were other routes besides the Bible. I thought of trying to appeal to science, to point out that science could be a way to knowledge for him. But I thought that might be too deep, and I didn't bring it up. Instead I simply said, "You've got a mind."

I wanted to suggest that he use his mind to think, instead of just believing blindly. He seemed to have calmed down some. At least he was listening and he didn't appear intent on hitting me with the Bible.