Vivid dream. Continue reading
Throughout the twenty-first century my most prevalent dream1 has been of being in a city with which I was somewhat familiar. However, I generally have trouble finding the exact location that was required for something—an appointment, a round in a debate tournament, or even a flight booked on an airline or hotel room. In general something about the location had changed radically from what I remembered. During my quest I often have lost valuable items such as my camera, my suitcase, my briefcase, my wallet, my car, or even my pants.
Lately, the location has often bid Ann Arbor, MI, or more specifically the east side of town, which is the location of the University of Michigan. On occasion I have been impeded from reaching my destination by newly constructed buildings, rerouted highways, a railroad yard, and even a gigantic canyon.
This is being written on July 3, 2025. Last night’s dream was set in Ann Arbor, but its contents had no relation to either the city or the university. I know that it was Ann Arbor because in the earliest part of the dream I and a few companions were walking east toward South University St.
There was a short period of confused travel that quickly reached a place that bore no relationship to Ann Arbor. Instead, there were three small very small peninsulas2 that each contained five black objects in a line down the middle of the peninsula. They all appeared to be metallic. The three closest to the mainland looked like large crosses. There were figures on them, but they were not being crucified exactly. The other objects had no noticeable definition. They might have been carved, but they might just have been rocks. There might have been some of one and some of the other. The dream must have been in color because the land around the rocks was a field of green and brown.
A ceremony of some sort was in process. It wasn’t religious, but several dozen people were in attendance. The fifteen monoliths were intended to commemorate or honor something. I was somehow responsible. I as on the outside (or above?) looking on. I worried about one of the crosses being out of place. I wanted to rearrange the black objects, but I don’t know why. There was, however, not enough time.
Afterwards a woman—the only things that I remember about her appearance were her big black eyes—needed to borrow my car. She got into some kind of trouble with it, but I woke up before it was resolved.
I went to school at U-M for ten and a half adventure-filled years. It was not surprising that I had strong memories off it. The two main streets on the central campus were State Street and S. University. I spent many hours on the former and very little time on or around the latter.
The thoughts about the ceremony might have been triggered by the last episode of The Man in the High Castle that I watched on the previous evening. Featured was a tribute to a young man who turned himself in to the Nazis for extermination because he knew he had muscular dystrophy.
The only woman I have ever encountered with big black eyes was Betty Boop.
1. For three decades after I graduated from U-M my most prevalent dream involved the discovery that I had missed a test or a deadline for a paper. Almost as often the dreams involved the discovery that I had registered for a class that I had intended to take but neglected to attend.
2. Ann Arbor does not abut a body of water. The material surrounding the three strips of land might not have been water. In fact, it might not have even been liquid.