Dream of: 11 November 1997 (2) "Proud Parents"
I was in an extremely large house inhabited by college students. I was in need of a place to stay for a few days, and I was under the impression that I should be able to remain here, that it was common for people who didn't have anywhere to go to stay in this house. I walked around the high-ceilinged rooms, trying to get a feel of the place. In general the house was dilapidated and in need of repair; some rooms were completely empty and seemed as if they were being remodeled. One spacious chamber appeared to be an over-sized bathroom with tiny tiles on the floor. Another room was empty except for a few small pieces of antique furniture which looked as if they were also being repaired. The furniture intrigued me, and as I studied it more closely, I noticed a door which led to the outside. Sticking my head through the door, I saw that the door led straight out onto a city street, and that someone was selling pieces of furniture right out on the sidewalk. Apparently the furniture was being refurbished in the room, then taken right outside to be sold.
I continued my walk around the house until I finally encountered several people in one room. Among them were two winsome college-aged girls with whom I struck up a conversation. The girls carried on a lively banter, explaining how they had also just arrived at the house, and how they had been traveling around the world for quite a while. They specifically mentioned they had spent some time in Brazil. They were so full of their own stories, I didn't bother them with tales of my own journeys; but I thought they would probably be impressed by some places where I had traveled.
Slowly I began to realize where I was: the campus of Ohio University, Athens. I knew I had graduated from Ohio University, but I had never participated much in the social scene there. Since the university had a reputation as a party school, I thought this might be an opportunity to make up for times I had missed. I turned to the two girls and asked them if they would like to go out on the town tonight, to have a few drinks. My invitation was completely nonchalant and spontaneous, as if it were completely natural for the three of us to be planning to go out together.
The girls seemed a bit unsure, indicating they had spent all their money on their travels and now were broke. I reassured them that they didn't need to worry, that it was my invitation and I would pay for everything. They seemed to warm to the idea, and I felt sure we would all soon be heading out together.
However, the more I spoke with the girls, the more I had in focus who they really were. At first I had assumed they were rather irresponsible with few prospects in their future; but slowly I began to realize I was able to see their future. Both girls would become responsible members of society. At least one of them would even become a lawyer; I had a vague vision of her as being much older, hard at work in her law office.
***
I was sitting in a classroom at Baylor Law School. It vaguely seemed as if the two girls were also sitting in the room, filled with other students. I had come to the class even though I wasn't officially signed up. Since I was planning to live in Waco for several months, I figured this might be a good time to take a few classes. The need for class credit was all the more important because I had recently realized that I had never actually finished law school, that I still needed nine more hours of credit in order to graduate.
I was pleased to see professor Dohoney standing behind the podium and teaching the class; I felt sure she would remember me. My main concern was that I wasn't prepared for the class. I was also afraid that I might have already missed a couple classes, and that catching up would be difficult. However, I was sure I would enjoy the subject matter of the class: patent law. At least I hoped the subject was patent law, although I likewise wasn't completely sure of that. I tried to remember if I knew the elements necessary to obtain a patent, but the only word the came to mind was "fresh."
Dohoney called upon a girl sitting in front of me to read something from a typewritten paper which all the students except me seemed to have. As the girl began reading, I realized that the subject matter wasn't patent law at all, but that the students were studying logic. The girl in front of me was supposed to be performing an exercise in logic as she read her paper; she was supposed to change the structure of the paper by moving a small paragraph from the top of the paper, and inserting it somewhere in the lower body of the paper. The girl however was having difficulty and she simply couldn't seem to figure out where to place the paragraph.
Dohoney finally gave up on the girl and called out my name. I was startled, as I didn't think Dohoney had my name on her list. She must have simply looked out at the students and remembered my name. Flustered, I simply had to tell her I didn't have the type-written hand-out. She looked a little surprised, as if unsure what I was doing in the class without the hand-out, but she didn't dwell on it, and she quickly called on someone else.
When the class finally ended, I realized I needed to make some definite arrangements if I were going to continue studying here. I definitely needed to talk to a school counselor to determine if I was even taking the right classes I needed to graduate. I had a paper with a list of available classes; but I was uncertain which ones I actually needed. I certainly didn't want to waste time taking unneeded classes.
As I rose to leave, I glanced into one of the corners of the room, and noticed my mother and my father sitting in fold-out chairs, watching and waiting for me. I hadn't realized earlier they had been in the classroom. Happy to see them, I walked over and sat down beside them. They seemed proud of me, that I was in law school.
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