Road Rage Innoculator

Those of us who drive have encountered drivers who cut us off, drive slower than we'd like, drive faster than we'd like, follow behind us too closely, and (generally-speaking) annoy us.

It's tempting to honk, shout and make hand gestures at them.

But many years ago, it occurred to me that I don't know who that person is whom I'm gesturing at.  What if it's a friend of mine, or my Mother-in-Law, or the Pastor at our church?

Then I expanded that list to include elderly folks and those who are disabled or are on pain medication.  How can you rant at someone whom you feel sorry for?  Besides, would you really want someone who's taking an opioid to be going as fast as the rest of us?

This morning I realized I'm allowing for another class of drivers -- teenagers.  This comes from being the parent of a teenager.  That annoying driver could (one day) be my own daughter or one of her friends.  Would you give the finger to your own daughter?

Then the epiphany landed on me.  Everyone is someone's daughter (or son).  I should rant at no one.

So that leaves me with only one outlet -- traffic lights.  Yes, when the light turns red right in front of me, and I'm alone in the car, I give it the Finger below the dashboard, where only I know about it.

Dream: Yellow Butterflies Emerging from Mud Slide

I'm outside in a lush, mossy, partially wooded area, approaching the spot that a shaman ceremony is to take place in.  As I walk closer, I see a rectangular landscaped plot that features large bowls or vessels on their sides among the bushes.  I am aware that I've forgotten to bring my bowl, which I needed for the ceremony, and so I wonder whether to take one of the ones in the plot.  I decide against it.  First of all, the bowls are not mine.  Second, they are much too large and unwieldy.

There are three or four of us at the ceremony.  We gather in a semi-circle around a pile of large boulders.  The leader has a large sacred book that he's trying to prop open at ground level in a niche of the rocks.

It's later, and I'm walking away from ceremony.  I look to my left into a valley.  Suddenly, a swarm of small yellow butterflies erupts from the ground.  I point it out to someone else who's nearby.  It signifies a glorious event.  As well, a huge mudslide begins at the same spot.  I'm concerned about an encampment that's nearby and want to warn the people about the mudslide.


I'm standing next to a large, rectangular, in-ground pool.  I know the girl who is cleaning the pool, and I'm having a casual conversation with her while she works.

Dream: Polar Bear

I'm outside in the backyard of my boyhood home.  The dog is also outside with me.  We are near the edge of our yard right next to the hedge that serves as a natural boundary to the yard of the neighbor with the small house.  I see a squirrel and a skunk at the base of the hedge.

A man is in the next door neighbor's yard.  He is either an exterminator or from animal control.  He is lying on the ground, peering under the neighbor's house, looking for animals.  I call his attention to the skunk and squirrel, but he's not interested in them.  He has a blanket or towel spread out on the lawn next to him.  On that towel is a dark animal, a fisher apparently.  But it seems calm and relaxed in the man's presence.  In fact, it's positioned on it's with it's back arched back and legs stretched out like a flirting cat.

Next, the man and towel are gone.  I notice a large white polar bear in that yard. I immediately go inside the house through the back door to warn everyone, leaving the dog in the yard.  But then I worry that the dog is in danger.  He should be brought in.

Dream: Four Vultures

I'm outside and see turkey vultures flying around.  I lie down on the short brown grass to entice them to come closer and perhaps land near me so I can get a good look at them.  (It is late winter, and the grass is hibernating.)

Shortly, the vultures alight on the ground near me, just as I'd hoped.  There are four in all, and they fly one-at-a-time in from different directions.

One approaches me, and I become concerned that it will start to pick at my flesh.  I try to get up, but I cannot.  I cannot move at all.

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Some follow on comments...

I feel this dream was a very special gift. Although I was fearful in the dream, it did not carry over into the waking state. And I didn't even _feel_ the fear. I sort of just thought it.

"Four directions" resonated with me, but I didn't wonder which direction visited me first until later.

I don't know in which direction I was positioned, but after contemplating the idea of direction, this popped into my being: "The first vulture to arrive was the one who approached me from my right side, after waiting for the other three. He came from the North."

The next day I had the urge to visit a nearby nature center where we went on a guided walk many years ago and saw turkey vultures. The guide encouraged us to lie down in the field to see if we could attract them. (But we didn't.)

So my wife and daughter and I went back to that same place. As we drove there and walked the path to that field, the sky was completely empty. But after standing and waiting about two minutes together in the field, we were rewarded with two red-tailed hawks, three turkey vultures and, believe it or not, a bald eagle! It was exhilarating! I did lie down, too.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20120308

Girl Scout cookies are in, and I devoured the two boxes I bought in two days. I didn't even share a single cookie with anyone else.

So the numbers this week reflect the weight gain from this high-glycemic way of eating and inflammation from the wheat and perhaps nasty oils. Hopefully, now that I've got that out of my system, I can get back on track.

Waist = 37.5"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Carrying the Laundry Basket at the Private School

I'm living on the campus of a prestigious private school.  It's late morning, and I've overslept.  Furthermore, I'm dressed very casually, with grungy jeans that haven't been washed for several days.  My unwashed, unshaven face matches my outfit.

I'm carrying a rectangular laundry basket in front of me with both hands.  The school administration that lets me live here doesn't want anyone to see me, especially in the state that I'm in.  So I'm trying to quickly get from one
building to another without being seen by the distinguished parents who send their children to the school.

Unfortunately, it's becoming a bit crowded with visitors.  I see two nearly identical Cadillacs pull into the circular driveway in front of the main building and park.

Dream: Torturous Dog Walk

I'm walking a circuitous route along the streets of a neighborhood (that I've walked in during dreams from many years ago).  I'm pulling / dragging my CPAP machine on the ground behind me.  I'm going rather quickly, as if I'm actually riding a bicycle.  And the path I take is a bit zig-zaggy.

A bit more than halfway through the walk, I find that the road I need to take back is blocked.  So I slow as I try to figure out a detour.  Just then I realize that our dog has followed me on this walk.  This is bad, very bad.  Our dog's right front leg is diseased with a bone tumor, and it gives him great pain to put weight on it.  So he tends to favor his left front leg.  But that leg has an old injury.  The carpus was bent too far.  As well, he had to have a cancerous toe removed from that paw.  So he shouldn't put too much weight on that leg, either.  Generally he is supposed to limit his activity.

I am devastated to see him in such poor condition.  The leg with the tumor is completely useless.  It has shriveled to just a stub.  The paw on the other leg with the old injury has flattened out like a furry flipper from the excess use.  The poor dog is soaked with sweat from the exertion and pain.

I wonder how will I get him home?  He'll need to be put to sleep, now.