EclecticDreamsVol2-20180915

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

happiness. I could not get into my Army dress blues so I rushed out
and had a tailor make me a new set.

The night of the dance she donned her dress and was radiant; she
looked like a princess. As she waltzed across the living room waiting
for her beau to pick her up, the phone rang; it was her date. She
listened attentively then ran upstairs. When she returned she had
taken off the wedding dress and had casual clothes on. She dashed
out of the house to her friend’s car and was gone.

We were flabbergasted about what had just transpired and when he
finally gathered our wits about us my wife decided that rather than let
that investment in a new wedding dress go to waste she would put it
on and go to the Graduation Ball with me.

We arrived at the large gymnasium where the dance was to be held,
my wife in her resplendent white wedding dress and me in my brand-
new dress blues uniform. We were surprised to find only a handful of
couples there. It was just a few minutes before the grand entrance
was to start where we would promenade into the gym in our beautiful
garments, but we had just enough time to ask others where everyone
was. It shocked us to hear the seniors had decided, at the last
moment, to boycott the dance for some perceived grievance. Only
those who had not gotten the word were in attendance.

The promenade waltz began, and the eight couples there slowly
promenaded into the dance floor. We, of course, had not rehearsed,
so we simply tried to mimic what the other couples were doing. My
wife was radiantly beautiful in her wedding dress, but my dress blues
pants kept slipping down my waist and I could see that the pant cuffs
had not been well stitched, and they began to unfold and drag on the
floor. As I reached down to fold the pant cuffs my hat slipped on my
head to where I had difficulty seeing what I was doing.

When the promenade was done, an attendant came by with a basket
of chocolate squares covered in gold foil. I took several and ate them,

49

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

only to notice that I had smeared chocolate all over my dress blues
sleeves.

Later that evening, after returning to the fraternity house, I went to
the basement that had all four walls painted in a white material that
you could write on and attempted to complete my professor’s take-
home exam. The test was very challenging, and it took me three walls
to calculate my responses. By the time I had copied the answers onto
the test paper, two others in my class had joined me in the basement.
Not wanting them to copy my work, I grabbed a brush and cleaned
off the walls. They had been able to see my approach to solving the
problems but not the actual details. It was only after I had brushed all
my answers clean from the walls that I remembered that the
professor had clearly stated that we were to show all of our work on
the test paper!

Guest Conductor – 2018-03-09

My wife and I were staying in a hotel in New York City. I had been
selected as the Guest Conductor for the NY Philharmonic for a
performance in London, England, and for the past few weeks, I had
been rehearsing with the orchestra. I was very proud to have been
selected and felt that the orchestra was coming along very well under
my direction.

The maestro and I had carefully gone over the pieces that we would
perform, weeding out the tunes that would be controversial. I had
sorted the score pages in the order that we would perform and had
left them momentarily on a table in the lobby while I attended to
some situation or other.

Suddenly, the orchestra members began to gather in the lobby and
were placing their suitcases in a pile near the door. I realized, then,
that we were about to depart for London and clueless me had not
even begun to pack.

50

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

I rushed upstairs to my room and hurriedly began to pack. I knew
that my medications would be the most important thing for me to
take so I focused on them first. I grabbed my only suit and realized I
did not have a garment bag with me. My wife loaned me her garment
bag and I shoved my suit into it. I had black shoes on at the moment,
so I thought I would not need to pack any more shoes, but my wife
suggested a better pair. The shoes were a mustard color and I did not
feel that would be proper for the guest conductor in his tuxedo. It
then hit me, I had not arranged to rent a tuxedo!

Just then one of the orchestra members rushed in to let me know that
the maestro was livid because I had left the music sheets unattended
on the table in the lobby. That was enough for me! I was so upset
that I woke up.

New VW Bus – 2018-04-02

My wife and I had just recently purchased a brand-new VW Bus. It
had four benches that would seat three adults each, a front end that
was hinged so that you could enter the front seat from the front, a
plethora of windows and air conditioning.

We were headed for a distant city and stopped at our church before
departing. There we ran into a young man that I knew from
somewhere. He had married and had many, many children, more than
a dozen. They were going to the city also. I invited them to off-load
many of the children to our VW Bus since it was air-conditioned and
his van was not. He eventually decided to keep his family together but
suggested that we caravan. That way, if he had car trouble we would
be there to lend a hand.

We agreed, and I took the lead. When we arrived at a junction of two
possible routes to the city we stopped and discussed which route to
take. He said he would rather take the back roads rather than the
main highway so that his children could see some of the countryside.
I was in no rush so we agreed to take to the back roads.

51

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

We had not gone more than an hour when we began to encounter
bicyclists coming towards us. First one, then another, then a group. I
pulled over to the narrow shoulder to let them pass. Just then a small
vehicle zoomed up from the direction of the bicyclists and set up a
barricade right across the road. It was just the right size to prevent us
from proceeding yet narrow enough that the bikes could pass through
unhindered. Apparently, we had stumbled upon a bikeathon in which
hundreds of bikes were participating in raising funds for a charitable
cause.

Behind us, my friend had also pulled over to the side to let the bikes
pass through. Before long there was a line of cars a mile long pulled
over to the narrow shoulder. We waited and waited for all the bikes to
pass but they kept coming. After about an hour of cooling our heels,
I decided to take action. I had noticed that just before the barrier
there was a small road that branched off to the right. I calculated that
it might lead me to other similar roads that would carry us past this
blockade. There was a gap in the fence in the field to my left, so I
maneuvered my van onto this field so that I could be perpendicular to
the roadway and be able to dash across to the other small road when
there was a temporary gap in the stream of bikes.

Since my VW Bus did not back up well I opted to make a circle and
come back to my spot on the road. I was making the circle when the
VW slammed down and back up; I had just traversed a ditch in the
field!

I stopped to assess the damage. Seeing none, I completed the circle
and gunned the engine to again traverse the gulley. This time things
did not go as well and as I went across the ditch the VW Bus reared
up on its hind tires like a bucking horse. I floored it and managed to
get across before the VW came crashing down again.

Again, I stopped to look for damage but found none. I climbed back
in the VW to head for the gap. However, the line of cars behind me
had taken the opportunity to dash onto the field as well to do what I

52

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

was doing and there were cars strewn all across the field now. I
maneuvered through them and found the gap. However, to enter the
gap you had to go slightly uphill then stop and wait for a break in the
bike traffic.

When I finally spotted a break in the bikes I let up on the clutch to
floor the gas pedal and shoot across the roadway but my VW began
to roll back. I had to hit the brakes quickly because there was
someone right behind me. But, I could not reach the brakes. The
pedal was just beyond my reach. I heard a crunch then a clang and the
VW came to a stop. I rushed out and to my horror, I had backed right
into a motorcycle. The rider was unhurt, but the bike had been
scratched and dented. I immediately offered to pay whatever it cost to
repair. I gave him my address and told him to have it repaired and
then send me the bill.

I opened the front door that opened up to the driving compartment
and found a lever that moved the seat forward a bit. When I got in I
found that I could just reach the brake now. I started the VW to
make another run at the gap but by now another vehicle had taken
my place at the gap and there was long line right behind him of other
vehicles with the same thought in mind. I knew that my solution was
no more. I must find another.

My eyes scanned the fence line and I discovered that about thirty
yards down there was a small iron gate. I went over and determined
that if I took the gate down my VW would just fit through the
opening. The only problem was that another motorcyclist had chosen
that spot to take his bike apart and had pieces laying on the ground
right in front of the gate. The parts were all rather small and even if I
ran over them they would simply just sink into the slightly moist earth
and grass and receive no damage. I asked the owner for permission,
which he gave.

I disassembled the gate and drove my VW across the bike parts and
then through the gate and up the slight incline to the road. I could

53

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

reach the brakes now, so I managed to hold my feet on both the
brake and the clutch until that moment I could dash across the
roadway.

By now, however, the bicycle race had moved on and the long line of
waiting cars was moving. My friend had been one of the first ones
across the barricaded road and was well ahead of me now. The line
had picked up steam and I could no longer find a gap in the traffic so
that I could merge into the flow. What frustration!

College Play – 2018-04-08

In a previous dream, I had rather reluctantly agreed to take a bit part
in the college play. I was to be a Jester, would wear the traditional
Jester costume with a gaily decorated face, and would walk and move
grotesquely. I agreed because the Jester only had three lines which
would make the task of memorization much easier.

At the first walk-through, the play came to a stop as the director
scurried around trying to find me; I had totally missed my cue. Of
course, I did not know my lines and a person off-stage whispered the
lines to me.

After that first walk-through, I promptly forgot all about the play
until my secretary told me that the play was three days away! I still
had not even read the play, had not secured a costume, did not know
my lines, and did not know my cues to say the lines. I vowed to spend
the evening memorizing my lines. I would secure a copy of the play
so that I could figure out when I came on stage and could find out
what my cues were.

Before leaving work that afternoon my secretary asked me if I would
walk her to the district office since it was already dark. I did, thinking
I would still have enough time to get home on focus on memorizing
my lines. However, once at the district office, she said she needed to
finish a paper she was typing. I agreed but became more and more
anxious that I would not get home in time to learn my lines.

54

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

After she had completed typing the paper we left for her home but
stopped at the theater where the play was being rehearsed. The
director was pleased to see me come to the rehearsal and talked me
through my part. It was then that I realized that this Jester was to
provide the comic relief and was a central element to the play.

My evening’s plans were shot as I knew that by the time I reached my
home there would not be time for me to memorize my lines. I still did
not have a copy of the play and the costume I was to wear would be
presented to me at tomorrow’s dress rehearsal. Who would make-up
my face? I still did not know!

Burned House – 2018-04-11

My wife and I had just recently moved to a small cottage on the
outskirts of a country village and were in the process of cleaning it
out. I had rented a very powerful pressure washer and instead of
sweeping out the interior of the house I proceeded to power wash the
floors until they were spotless.

After pressure washing the inside of the house and the front and back
porches, I power washed the wood-slat fence around the backyard.
The power washer was so powerful that one of the fence sections fell
flat on the ground. I looked up to see that the side of the house was
on fire and it was rapidly spreading to the entire house. Evidently, the
fence section nearest the house had also fallen and it had ruptured the
natural gas line to the house. Some stray spark ignited the gas.

Using the power washer, I quickly brought the fire under control and
finally extinguished it. By then, the small volunteer fire department
had arrived along with the sheriff and his two deputies and most of
the villagers. It was quite an exciting first day at our new home!

Where’s My Room? – 2018-04-12

I had applied for a part-time teaching position at a nearby college and
had been told that I was accepted. I was to come to a certain building
at their central administrative office and they would hand me my

55

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

assignment. At the appointed date and time, I showed up along with
dozens of others that had apparently also been accepted. A person at
the lectern in front was calling out names and then some numerical
designations. When my name was called they told me that I would
teach in Room A83. That was it.

Along with others, I began searching for my room. I tried that floor
and the other three floors of that building but did not find a Room
A83.

Someone confided that I should look in some of the other buildings
on the campus. I went to the nearest building and searched all four
floors. No Room A83.

I left the buildings on campus after looking in all of them and walked
down city streets. Evidently, the college had appropriated the
buildings along the streets leading to the main campus since I could
see placards that announced Building D or Building E, etc. but no
Room A83.

I asked a man on the street where A83 was and he said he knew right
where it was and that I should follow him. He took off at a very rapid
pace, walking street after street, alley after alley, and began climbing
up a series of metal ramps and hallways. He was much younger than I
was and soon outpaced me. I lost track of where he had gone. I never
did find Room A83.

Church Work – 2018-04-19

My wife had started a new job at a nearby church. I was on vacation
so that I drove her to her work and remained with her. The church
was being remodeled so that many functions had been moved to the
parsonage, a large house not far from the church. You could hardly
move about in the house for church furniture and items were stacked
everywhere. To appear busy as my wife worked I picked up a church
newspaper and found an unused room and began to read.

56

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Before long the pastor approached to invite me to visit the church
with him while I waited; I agreed and rode there in his car. That was a
mistake for the pastor had much to do and contemplated staying
there all day.

I decided to walk back to the parsonage for it did not seem that it was
that far. However, it had been snowing and the streets were snow-
covered, slushy and the wind was howling. It was freezing!

I lost my way and took this street then that street. I finally stumbled
into a restaurant that I recalled from a previous dream and its location
pointed me in the right direction. I seemed to recall from that
previous dream that a bus stopped near this restaurant so I left the
warmth of the restaurant to seek out the bus stop.

To tell you the truth I do not recall how in the world I made it back
to the parsonage but I did.

Bike Road Trip – 2018-04-20

I worked for a company that had suffered from a windstorm. We had
filed an insurance claim and the insurance appraiser, accompanied by
my boss, was inspecting our building. I pointed out several structural
damages to them and they took note of them.

When the inspection was complete they left together for our satellite
office which was some 150 miles away and had also suffered
considerable damage. After leaving instructions with my assistant for
the day’s work, I set out in my own car for our satellite office to join
my boss and the adjuster for that building’s inspection. I planned to
return that same day even though it was a long drive and decided to
take a shortcut that I thought would allow me to arrive at the satellite
concurrently with the others.

I drove fairly fast to make up for lost time and must have made a
mistake at some intersection for it was not long before I no longer
recognized the route. The main highway became a two-lane road
then a one-lane road which turned into a dirt road that eventually

57

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

ended in a pasture surrounded by woods. I could see faint traces of a
track in the grass and followed them. A gap in the fence at the far end
of the pasture led to a blacktop road. I had to decide which way to go
since there were no road signs and elected the side that appeared to
go in the direction of our satellite office.

I do not know how it happened but before long I noticed that I was
no longer driving a car but riding my bicycle. Not only that but I was
riding along a route that I recalled from previous dreams. I was
pedaling furiously and must have been going way past 50 mph in a
roadway that was constantly changing. First, it would be blacktop,
then a dirt path, then a highway interchange. Some stretches of road
were so steep that I had to get out and walk my bike to the top of the
incline.

At one time, going around a curve the route suddenly became a
bridge across a rushing river. The bridge, however, consisted of a
several-hundred-foot plank of wood that was only six inches wide. I
was going so fast that I could not stop in time and hurtled across
praying that my bike would stay on the plank.

I thought the worst was behind me after that scare and simply was
not ready when the route simply ended at a small body of water. Of
course, I could not stop in time and plunged into the water. There, I
saw others floating by and asked them what river this was and they
replied that it was not a river but simply a waterway. Eventually, the
current abated and I saw others pulling out of the waterway onto a
roadway so I followed.

By and by, I reached a small town where I stopped and asked for
directions. By that time it was late afternoon and I knew I could not
make it to our satellite office and back in the daytime and, not
wanting to travel at night, I sought directions to the city from which I
had departed.

At one small town the road split up in the middle of town but the
directions were marked on a large road sign so that I was able to

58

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

choose the correct path. However, as I left I looked over my shoulder
and could see that workmen were rotating the directional sign 90
degrees so that it pointed towards the other route. I had to backtrack
and go that way.

I woke up before reaching my destination. I hesitate to hazard a guess
as to whether I could have made it back or not.

Daddy Photos – 2018-04-22

I had gone to a library that specialized in ancient documents and
photographs to do some research. To my amazement and delight
there I found my father who was reading some old books. I sat down
to talk to him and remembered that at this library I had, in previous
dreams, seen photographs over 100 years old that I suspected he had
taken. I asked him to verify them and to identify others in the
photographs.

The library employee could not find the cache of photographs so I
asked to be allowed to search for myself. Back in the stacks, I
rummaged through boxes and boxes of old photographs and finally
found a stack that looked promising. Sure enough, it was the group of
photographs I had seen in the past.

My father verified that he had, indeed, taken the photographs and
identified the others in the pictures. As he named the persons I would
write their names on the back side of the picture in pencil.

I greatly enjoyed the time I spent with my father. I tried to tell the
librarian how old my father was but I could not get my arithmetic to
calculate the time span.

Scholarship – 2018-04-22

I was at my daughter’s parochial school and was visiting with the
principal. I asked her if they would accept a college scholarship for a
deserving student. She readily agreed and I went back to my office to
arrange for the scholarship.

59

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

When all was in order I returned to the school. They were preparing
for a religious ceremony but agreed to grant me a minute or two to
make the presentation.

Mysterious Woman – 2018-04-23

A new girl joined our class today. She is petite, dark-haired, foreign-
looking, and rather mysterious. All the guys are seriously trying to hit
on her, but she simply ignored them. She surprised me by asking to
come to my house after school.

We walked home not saying much of anything and when we arrived
she asked to talk to my father alone. They talked for a good amount
of time and then she left. My father said that she had come to him for
help in getting her family over to the states.

Rats and Scorpions – 2018-04-25

I was serving my annual stint of active duty in the Army Reserves in a
Regular Army fort out West. I had just completed my first week and
had elected to volunteer for the early shift on the weekend. Now, I
had the rest of the evening and a full day off to relax and enjoy myself
before the final week of service. I was tired, grungy, and hungry and
wanted only to check in to a hotel room in town, take a nice long
shower, grab a good dinner and go to bed.

I chose the fanciest hotel in town and, still in my dusty, sweaty
fatigues, I checked in. The concierge led me to the top floor, then to
the corner room which he boasted was their best room. When he left
the room I immediately pulled the mattress off the bed and onto the
floor. Why? I don’t know. Some kind of safety precaution, I would
guess. I dropped down on the mattress just to savor the comfort of
finally being able to relax. I began to fantasize as to what I would
order for dinner as I slowly began to doze off.

It was then that, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something
scurrying across the room. I looked again, and, this time, I was sure it
was a large mouse or a rat. Then, I saw it distinctly; it was a rat and it

60

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

had run to the other side of the room and had disappeared
somewhere behind some furniture. It was then that I first saw the
scorpion crawling across the floor. I pulled my legs, which had been
dangling from the bed, onto the bed for fear the scorpion would
attack my feet.

I tried to get up out of bed but I could not muster the strength to do
so. However, I used my legs and feet to scoot the mattress away from
the path of the scorpion. The mattress came to a stop and I could see
that I had run into an end table and would not be able to scoot it any
further. There, dangling from a spider web on the end table was
another scorpion, translucent, this time. It appeared to notice me and
began to move down towards me. I struggled to get up, to move, to
speak! I couldn't!

Furniture Robbery - 2018-04-26

I was undergoing basic training in the army. We were billeted in an
apartment building of rooms that housed two men to a room. Our
unit had received a long weekend pass and everyone in my area of the
building had gone home. I remained on the post and just read and
relaxed. On the final day, I was sleeping in when the cleaning lady
arrived. She needed to clean my room so I vacated it and went into
the adjoining room where I promptly fell asleep.

When I awoke, two men, whom I presumed from another unit, were
preparing to carry some of our furniture out. I tried to stop them but
they each grabbed a piece of furniture and confronted me brandishing
their wooden implement as weapons. I realized the futility of fighting
them.

Bay Volleyball - 2018-04-28

I was at the beach and was playing volleyball while standing on a pier
and the opposition was on a boat moored out in the bay. I had
portrayed that I was quite an accomplished volleyball player and was
very crestfallen and embarrassed when I could not seem to serve the

61

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

volleyball. I kept missing it. Not only that but I fell into the bay
several times. I was so frustrated that I resorted to showing off to
save my reputation. I began to hover over the bay and move rapidly
over the water.

Confused - 2018-04-29

I had just awoken and was not feeling well. My daughter came to my
room and played a new board game she had received. After playing
the game with her for a while I remembered that this was a Thursday
and that I had two classes to teach at the college. Looking at the
clock, I doubted that I could make it to the first class since it was so
late. I no longer recalled the last time I had made it to the class to
teach it and had no idea where in the syllabus they were. But I
thought that I could make it to the second class except I could not
remember what course I was teaching and had no idea how to
prepare for it.

Nevertheless, I got up and went into the shower room to get ready. It
was a large room and used exclusively for showering. There was only
a small stream of water and I looked outside and could see that there
was a leak in the water supply coming into the house.

I could hear my father talking to my wife downstairs as he fixed
everyone breakfast. It was strange since he seldom talked and never
got angry and he sounded a bit upset now.

Is This the Right House? – 2018-05-02

My wife, daughter and I had driven to the house of my wife's father.
It was a very large, stately home in one of the best streets in town. He
had moved out and we were going to move in. When we arrived we
thought it strange that the house had been painted a deep blue but we
figured he had gotten a good deal on the paint.

62

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

We proceeded to set up or domicile occupying the rooms on the
second floor in the back part of the house. Once settled I decided
that I should beautify the area around the flat roof to an addition at
the back of the house. My daughter helped me to install a solid door
that led out to the flat roof and then we built steps to the ground level
on the outside of the addition. My daughter being a good artist,
painted a delightful cartoon scene that covered the entire door.

When we returned inside to clean up we saw that a relative had
arrived and had made himself at home in the master bedroom in the
front of the house on the second floor. When he saw us he asked if it
was OK to smoke inside the house. I told him that I would join him
for a smoke but on the front porch.

We actually went across the street to a hillside where a very wide
stairway system had been built to reach a platform at the summit. He
offered me one of his cigarettes and, even though they were menthol
ones, I took it and began puffing away.

From our spot across the street we could see the front of the house
and right away we noticed that there was a large company name
painted onto the side of the house and that a person appeared to be
living in the basement.

Could it be that my father-in-law had sold the building to another and
they had converted it into a business building?

Possible Graft – 2018-05-05

As was my normal practice, I was walking about the college campus
towards evening visiting with our employees. Some of our buildings
were still housed in temporary barracks-like buildings but others were
in sparkling new structures. In one of the barracks, we had located the
Community Education department which was tasked with providing
short-term, non-credit offerings to the public. I was surprised and
delighted that the entire ground floor of the building had been
transformed into a flower shop. Quite enterprising, I thought and

63

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

made a mental note to compliment the director of the program on
her initiative.

I went down to the basement level and discovered it had been
transformed into a dark, inviting bar and lounge. I made a second
mental note to again laud the director’s ability to make maximum use
of her very poor temporary facilities. At one of the tables, I noticed a
swarthy trio who were whispering amongst themselves. After a few
minutes, they sauntered out onto the patio. I followed for they looked
as if they were up to something nefarious. I struck up a conversation
with them and gained their trust to the extent that they invited me to
accompany them.

We piled into their car, began driving around campus and eventually
arrived at a parking lot behind the Automotive Technology building
where the staff stored the cars the major manufacturers had donated
to the instructors so that the students could practice their skills on the
latest technology. The group was discussing which of the automobiles
they would pilfer next. Apparently, they had an arrangement with
someone on the staff that they could select whichever car they
wanted for a set sum of money. They had paid their money and were
there to collect their car.

When they came to a stop and got out of the car I jumped on top of
their car, brandished a shotgun, and told them they were under arrest!

Wrong Uniform – 2018-05-06

I was back at the Army Reserves Summer Camp and it was the
weekend before we went out into the filed for maneuvers. In a
previous dream, I had the foresight to go to the quartermaster’s
building and purchase a new set of fatigues since the first week in
camp we had been in the offices and had worn khakis. I had fatigues
but I could no longer fit into them. I even had the quartermaster sew
all my insignia on the shirt part of the uniform so that I would not
have to pin all those insignias on it.

64

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

It was Sunday afternoon so I thought I had better be getting my
uniform ready for the next day. I unpacked the bundle the
quartermaster had given me and began to dress. First came the pants
and I threaded the wide army belt into the loops, ending up the
wrong side out, as usual. I noticed that the fatigue pants did not look
quite like the old, too-small pair I had with me but I figured this was
the Army’s new fatigues.

Next, I unpacked the Army shirt and noticed that it had a reddish hue
to it which struck me as rather odd. I had my boots on so all I needed
to do now was blouse my pants and I was ready to go.

Just then the Colonel, who was already decked out in his fatigues
yelled out to me, “You are in the wrong uniform, soldier!” Evidently,
the quartermaster had issued me winter-weight fatigues. Now, what
was I going to do?

Open, Eyes! – 2018-05-08

I was heading for a meeting and was crossing a field in which a large
swimming pool with a white tarp over it was located. Evidently, this
was where the meeting was to be held. There was a bench most of the
way around the pool with a very narrow table in front of it on which
you could set your stuff. I chose a seat almost next to where the
bench abruptly ended. Another person came and asked to sit next to
me so I scooted over so that there would be enough room for them
to sit. Two others came and wanted to sit there as well so we all
scooted over some more. We were packed in like sardines.

On the way to the pool, someone had handed me an agenda item that
seemed to concern itself with the fact that we had too many students
enrolled. I tried, to no avail, to have someone explain the issue to me.
Someone else handed me another agenda item that deals with student
complaints about courses that were not being taught correctly. By this
time I was having great difficulty seeing as my eyes were tightly shut.
Try as I might, I could not open them! I used both hands and forced
one corner of my left eye open enough that I could read the courses

65

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

that were in question. I could see that both courses that I had been
teaching were listed. One was a course I had taken on at the last
moment and had never taught before and which I knew nothing
about. I had forgotten to go teach the course so many times that I
had no idea what topic we were discussing. The other course was
something I did know about but it also was a class that I kept
forgetting to go to because I simply did not remember where it was
located nor which day of the week I was supposed to teach it.

I heard my mother’s voice saying that the president and the deans
would be a few minutes late. I recalled that my mother was the
secretary to the dean. The person that had muscled in next to me was
asking me questions about the agenda which I could not answer and I
could not open my eyes to see the agenda. I tried and I tried to open
my eyes but could not. I got so frustrated!

Kids – 2018-05-10

Our daughter was still very young and we had been invited by our
neighbors to a sleepover at their house so that she could play with
their children and the two kids (baby goats) that they had just
received.

Late that evening we were preparing for bed and the three of us made
our bed on the floor with covers and quilts. The large window air
conditioner was situated so it blew right down on us and it was very
cold. We burrowed into our mound of quilts trying to keep warm
while the kids snaked their way in and amongst us.

Daddy’s Sick – 2018-05-18

I was visiting my father at his farm in the rural Midwest. When I
prepared to leave for home I noticed that my father did not look well.
My traveling companion told me not to worry about it, that he would
be OK.

After getting into my car and starting it I decided to check on him
one more time. He was in bed curled up into a fetal position and

66

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

visibly trembling. My suspicions were well founded; he was badly ill. I
dashed out to the car and drove it around the back of the house and
to the side so that the backseat door would be adjacent to the front
door of the house.

Asking my companion to help me we went inside and carried my
father to the car where we laid him in the back seat and headed for
the nearest hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital we carried him into the waiting room
and propped him up on a chair and looked for someone to look at
him. The first medical person we saw asked if we were members of
the hospital. He would only take a look at him if he were a member.

The next medical person we turned to also asked the same question
and would not look at him. On the third medical person we
encountered we changed tactics and assured them that my father was
a member of the hospital. The doctor immediately dropped what he
was doing and went over to my father. He examined him and called
for a gurney and oxygen.

We last saw my father being wheeled away on a gurney with an
oxygen mask over his mouth and an IV drip attached to his arm. We
felt that he would be treated well.

Paralysis – 2018-05-20

It was my birthday and the other employees at work were going to
host a small birthday party for me. I had gone home earlier in the day
and now returned to work to be there in time for the party. When I
arrived at the parking lot I realized I had come in some rags I had
worn to do some work at home. A glance at my watch showed that I
would have just enough time to go back home and get some better
clothes.

When I returned to work, I went directly to the room we were going
to use for the party. It had been a motel room with an attached
enclosed screened-in porch. I laid my clothes on the bed and decided

67

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

that I would have time for a quick shower before people started
arriving. I went into the adjacent bathroom and instantly recognized
that something was different. I could not find any controls and no
faucets. I did finally detect some small holes in the ceiling and once
you stood under them in the pink bathtub the water would shower
down on you.

It was then I noticed that the top portion of the opposite wall had
been removed and you could look right into a kitchen area. Some
cooks were in there but they seemed to not notice me. A friend of
mine came into the kitchen with a female employee who was not
wearing any clothes. She kept looking my way even though my friend
warned her not to look at me. She sauntered right over to the half-
wall separating the two rooms and looked me over. I was under the
shower all lathered up so there was not much I could do.

My friend finally got the naked lady to leave the room. I heard her ask
him as he guided her out of the room, “What is that big bump down
there?” I assumed she meant my privates. My friend remained in the
room while I finished rinsing off and managed to keep others from
entering the kitchen but he soon left me alone as he had to get back
to his work.

It was at this point that I began to suffer from paralysis. Others began
entering the kitchen so I knew I had to get out of the bathtub and
back into the bedroom to get my clothes on. However, I could not
climb out of the bathtub; my muscles just would not work. I would
try to move my leg in order to step out and nothing would happen.
Since I was facing the kitchen it was quite revealing to anyone that
happened to enter.

I do not recall how I managed to make it out of the bathtub but I
staggered into the bedroom only to find that people had already
started to arrive. Evidently, the decorating committee came early to
rearrange the room for the birthday party. I do not know what they
did to the screened-in porch but it was no longer there. The female-

68

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

only decorating committee seemed to ignore me and went about their
decorating. Unfortunately, they had moved the bed with my clothes
clear across the room. I managed to get there and to collapse on the
bed. However, when I tried to put my pants on my muscles would
not work. I was paralyzed again!

I tried to roll around so that my legs were at the end of the bed but
could not get any part of my body to work properly. Finally, a male
friend came into the room and I asked him if he could lend me a
hand so that I could stand upright and get my pants on. He, however,
could not help as he himself had prosthetic arms and could not exert
the type of force needed.

I continued to try to move and every now and then I could get some
part of my body to work. I remember thinking that I had to be in a
dream since this type of behavior just was not normal. I finally
managed to leverage myself up on one shoulder and it was then that I
woke up and found myself struggling to get out of my bed.

Horse Story – 2018-05-22

I was enrolled in a college English class and had been assigned the
project of writing a short story. I put it off until I could procrastinate
no more and then quickly wrote a story about riding a horse on the
farm. I turned the story in to my English professor and promptly
forgot all about it.

Imagine my surprise when several months later I was notified that my
short story had been named one of the top five short stories in the
nation! I had been invited to a ceremony honoring the top writers at a
prestigious university.

A second person where I worked was also to be honored so the two
of us, accompanied by our boss, traveled to the university. When we
arrived, a beautiful horse was brought to me which I gathered I was
to ride while at the university. Now, mind you, even though I had
written about riding a horse I really had very little experience riding

69

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

horses. But, I decided to act as if riding was as natural to me as
walking. I began by stroking the horse’s head and neck as if I knew
what I was doing. The horse kept trying to bite me so I had to
discontinue that strategy. I finally managed to mount the horse.

While our host and my boss walked I trailed along on my horse. We
walked all over campus, even up and down stairs. My horse objected
to my riding on his neck rather than on his back. I did that because
the neck was more slender than his back and it did not stretch my legs
as much.

We walked by an open-air classroom where the other person from my
workplace was being asked questions about his short story by a
throng of students. He was expertly answering questions about the
meaning of passages.

We finally arrived at another open-air classroom where hundreds of
students had gathered to interview me about my short story. They
asked me very insightful questions as to what I meant by certain
passages. I could not even remember what I had written let alone why
I had chosen those particular words! I wished I had taken the time to
reread my short story before coming to the university.

By this time the saddle on my horse had come undone and I had to
dismount and try to cinch the saddle back on the correct place on the
horse. Well, my horse was having none of it and simply would not
cooperate. My boss finally had to step in and help me saddle the
horse!

Rags – 2018-05-25

I found myself dressed in dirty rags and living with a group that made
their home in a large culvert that was part of a wet weather creek in
some woods just below a large mansion. It appeared that I had been
shanghaied by a group of homeless brigands and was assigned the
most menial of chores by the leader of the clan, a large, oaf of a man
who made up with brawn what he lacked in brains.

70

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

I was put to boiling some water so that we would have water to drink
later in the day. We were using a slight indentation in the culvert over
which we have laid a grate. The indentation held our burning wood
and the grate our tin of water.

At the end of the day, the leader took the water and simply told the
rest of us that we would have to wait until the next day to drink any
of it. In other words, he kept the drinking water for himself.
Consequently, the rest of us went to sleep with our thirst.

The next day we were planning a raid of some nearby houses to see if
we could score some food. A couple of us were standing right in the
swollen creek washing ourselves when some people came tumbling
down the creek on their inner tubes. Of course, they were shocked
and alarmed at the sight of us in our wet, dirty, malodorous rags and
screamed to high heaven.

People streamed out of the mansion on the hill above us to see what
was happening and when they realized what was what they began to
run after us. It was everyone for himself. I rushed to close off some
doors in the culvert with the idea in mind that it might delay the
pursuers and then threw myself down the hillside. I tumbled sideways
and end for end but made great headway as those chasing me were
not willing to risk life and limb to catch me.

As I was in the act of scurrying away as fast as I could, it struck me as
odd that I should be doing that. After all, just a day or so ago I had
hoped I would be found!

Fair Is Fair – 2018-05-28

We were stationed on an island that was contested by the enemy.
Although fighting was fierce on the island when we had rest and
relaxation time we took to the beach where there was a small cove
with the whitest sand imaginable. We played water polo and other
games and rejuvenated our spirits.

71

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

When some of our units captured a band of enemy soldiers, they were
placed in a barbed-wire enclosure not far from the cove and they
were allotted a small portion of the cove for their rest and relaxation.
We swam and played on our side and the enemy soldiers on their
side.

Before long, however, more and more of our soldiers joined in the
swimming and we began to encroach on the enemy’s side of the cove.
They were not very happy with the situation but there was nothing
that they could do about it.

Several months later, the tides of war changed and the enemy had
overwhelmed us. Now we were prisoners in the barbed-wire
enclosure. Consequently, the enemy enjoyed the larger side of the
cove while we were allotted the small side. Before long, however, the
enemy began encroaching on our side and soon had almost
eliminated us from the cove.

French Horn Quintet – 2018-05-29

Donna and I were vacationing in San Juan and visited a restaurant
that had been highly recommended. We soon understood why. They
had a French Horn Quintet that made the most fantastic music! We
decided that we must have this quintet play at our modest restaurant
in San Germán. We approached the quintet but they declined our
very generous offer of employment, countering by agreeing to sell us
their instruments instead.

Right then and there we agreed to purchase all five French horns. To
ensure that they were not pulling a fast one on us, they agreed to
dismantle the horns down to the last nut and bolt so that we could
verify that they were all there. After we reviewed them, they put them
back together and turned them over to us.

Someone in the crowd that had seen the transaction and knew we
were from the other end of the island suggested that we should
immediately have the horns registered because we would not be

72

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

allowed to play them until they were registered. Fortuitously, the only
place to get that done was just down the street. To get them
registered right then would preclude having to return to San Juan at a
later time, a three hour’s drive one way.

We took the five French French horns to the end of the street and,
sure enough, we found the Horn Registration office. Unfortunately,
someone was ahead of us and the person’s horn was disassembled
and spread out on the table. The Horn Registrar was carefully
inspecting each component part of the horn. We recognized that it
might be a very long wait before our registration was initiated, let
alone, completed. It was almost evening, but we knew we couldn't get
back to San Juan in some months, so we waited.

Experiment – 2018-06-07

I found out I had to fly to the Caribbean island where my family lived
to handle a financial problem and packed a small bag as I did not
intend to stay long. While getting ready, I received a call from my
work site that my boss needed me there right away. I put on my Army
uniform and dashed to work only to find that the meeting had already
started.

The topic being discussed, for which they needed my expertise, had
to do with a complicated mathematical algorithm which, if properly
applied, would indicate the most likely answer among a group of
almost similar options. I had studied this in a recent mathematics
class, although I did not really understand it the way the others in the
class did. In a previous dream, we had been assigned a problem that
necessitated the use of this algorithm and the others in the class had
easily solved it while I was left completely confused.

I thought it best to explain the algorithm by use of physical props so I
brought in a cage with a bunny rabbit and a smaller one with several
mice. Only one of the mice had been impregnated with a deadly
disease. I opened the door leading from the cage of mice to that of
the rabbit and let things run their course. Soon the bunny was

73

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

exhibiting the telltale symptoms of the disease. Somehow, this
outcome proved my point about the algorithm.

After conducting the experiment while the entire boardroom
watched, I carried the cages out of the room and stabbed the mice
and rabbit until they were all dead. I then returned to the boardroom
to answer questions. I did not want anyone to be bitten by the mice
or rabbit that now carried the disease. I wondered if I had been
careful enough when I handled the animals.

Mystery On My Last Day – 2018-06-09

I had been working in my office on my laptop computer when a VIP
from the local community dropped in to say hello. We visited for a
while and, as the person was about to leave, I mentioned a mystery
that had always baffled me about the local geography.

I ushered the VIP outside the building in order that I could explain
the mystery by pointing out the baffling geography of which I spoke.
In the near distance, there were two hills. The leftmost hill was where
the local community was located but the rightmost hill was an enigma
to me. The hill was round in shape and you could readily see houses
built along the lower third. The top two-thirds seemed to be covered
in trees.

The VIP remarked that he did not know what was on that hill. I told
him that now and then I used a shortcut to drive to my house in the
local community and that, on occasion, I would see a side road that
seemed to lead to this hill. I asked him if he would accompany me to
investigate where that side road led.

We agreed to walk but were concerned about the weather as we could
see storm clouds nearing the hill. I still had my laptop with me so I
suggested we search the Internet for the local weather. To access the
Internet I needed to be back in my office where there was a port for
my laptop, so I excused myself for a moment and went back inside
the building and went to my office.

74

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

When I reached my office, I was shocked to see that almost
everything had been removed and some workmen were busy loading
my filing cabinet and desk onto a dolly to carry them out. It then hit
me, this was my last day on the job and all my stuff had to be cleared
out for the next occupant to move in!

I begged the workmen to allow me the privilege of buying the desk
and filing cabinets from the company to save me the hassle of having
to sort things out. I also pointed out a fancy piece of furniture that
belonged to me. My wife had brought in to enhance the décor of the
office.

The VIP had observed all of this so I explained that, no matter who it
was, the company’s policy stated quite clearly that no one could serve
past the age of seventy and I had just reached that age!

Snake Oil – 2018-06-17

I received an urgent telephone call from a cousin asking to meet my
wife and me at our hometown the next day. He said that he had a
very important matter to discuss with us.

My wife and I threw some things together and drove the two hours to
our hometown and the house my father-in-law owned near the center
of town. It was a large house and very comfortable for all of us as
each group had separate suites.

When we arrived we were met by my cousin who introduced us to a
young couple who he said, “Had an incredible story to share with us!”
We listened politely as the young lady talked. She talked and talked
and soon we began to piece together that what they had in mind was
an opportunity to invest in a spectacular venture which would make
us incredibly rich.

We were non-committal and said very little but asked a question here
and there to be polite. The spiel went on and on for several hours and
we, finally, had heard enough to determine that we were simply not
interested. We communicated that to the couple who seemed rather

75

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

taken aback by our response. “Did we not want to get very rich?”
they asked incredulously.

The next morning we prepared ourselves to return home when we
were again approached by my cousin and the couple. They demanded
to know why we would not join them in the proposed endeavor. I
saw no harm in leveling with them that we simply did not trust them
and thought they were just selling some snake-oil.

My cousin and the couple were infuriated by my response and
became very angry, agitated, and yelled at us for impugning their
honesty. We hightailed it out of there as fast as we could go.

Daddy’s Tricycle – 2018-06-19

My wife and I were staying at my mother-in-law’s house which was a
combination of her house on Cherry and the one on Elm. Living in
the house with her were several generations of her own family.
Someone had vacated their own room in order that the two of us
would have a room to ourselves.

We were getting ready to go out and were using the en-suite
bathroom to prepare ourselves. However, the bathroom was a real
mess. The stool was stopped up and you could not get the water to
stop flowing in the sink. I tried everything I could think of to do to
get the water stopped but nothing seemed to work.

I went down to the kitchen that resembled the one on Cherry and
related to those there that the water would not shut off. They
immediately scurried about trying to remedy the situation. I let them
know that before we had moved out of the house I had replaced all
of the upstairs faucets. I thought about telling them about the water
shut-off valve down in the basement just above the underground well
but thought better of it.

I had chosen a camel-colored coat and a baseball cap to wear since it
was cold outside. When I was told that my father was outside waiting
for us I couldn’t find either my coat or my cap. I went up to our

76

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

room and grabbed another coat, a plaid one, and a cap with Mickey
Mouse on it. I also stuffed all of my clothes into a canvas bag
thinking that we probably would not return to the house.

When I finally left the house I found my father on a tricycle, one of
those that children use. He told me that he had spoken to General
Clements about being the keynote speaker at a conference my father
was trying to organize for his latest pet cause. General Clements had
turned him down. I suggested that maybe I could speak with General
Clements myself since the two of us had played football together in
high school. But, my father already had his sights set on someone else
on the Atomic Energy Commission and that was where we were
going to go that day. There was an Atomic Energy site on the way
home and he felt that if he stopped there he could get in touch with
someone to be the keynote speaker.

We set off on our trip home, my father on his tricycle and my wife
and I following in a jeep. I tried to get my father to ride with us in the
jeep but he had come this far on his tricycle and seemed determined
to continue using it on his journey. I mentioned to him that I had just
recently made this particular trip on a bicycle and that it would take us
most of the day at the slow speed of his tricycle. He was not to be
dissuaded so we journeyed on.

Dracula – 2018-06-24

The workweek was over and I relaxed at home with some visitors. I
rose early, put on some sweatpants and tee shirt and went out to the
local community college where I was teaching a course. I had given
my class a test and wanted to pick the test papers up so that I could
grade them over the weekend and return them to the students the
next Monday.

On the way home I stopped off at my sister’s house to say hello. I
decided that I would jog home from there, even though I was
barefoot. I had never jogged with bare feet before but thought it

77

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

would not be too hard. Initially, the pebbles bothered my feet but
soon I was running along as though I had been doing this for ages.

At an intersection in the road, I ran into my visitors who were taking
a bike ride in the morning air. I jogged along beside them for a while
but they soon left me behind.

The next thing I remember was that I found myself in a building,
riding my bike. I rounded a corner in the hallway and saw a bat, I
immediately recognized that it was Dracula and tried to dash away.
No matter how fast I was the bat was faster and would repeatedly
attack me.

The bat would continually shape-shift and would appear in different
guises. Once, it morphed into a pair of yappy dogs that nipped at my
heels. Another time it appeared as a beautiful woman that beckoned
me to enter her room. But, I did not yield and biked on.

At the end of the hallway, I came upon an elevator door and decided
to make my escape by taking the elevator down. The elevator door
was open but the elevator itself was nowhere to be seen. I pushed the
elevator button and saw the cables moving and when the elevator
appeared it stopped with only the top half visible. I pushed the button
again and the elevator moved up but this time stopped with only the
bottom half of the elevator visible. I pushed the button again and this
time the elevator came to rest with the entire elevator visible.
However, I was loath to enter as I suspected the entire thing was a
figment of my imagination conjured by Dracula.

Felled Tree – 2018-06-25

I was driving to a meeting at a nearby town out in the country and my
assistant was following in a second car. Halfway there, I decided to
take a shortcut. I speculated that if I switched to using the gravel
roads that led up and over the hills I would save some time.

At first, everything went well. I sped along the deserted country roads
spraying gravel and billowing dust as I went. The gravel roads

78

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

meandered through the hills and would often fork which caused me
to stop and choose left or right.

I calculated that I must be getting close to the town of my meeting
when I went around a curve in the road and came to a screeching
stop as a very large tree had fallen across the narrow roadway. As I
stepped out to figure out how to go around the tree I noticed a young
woman lying in the grass next to the tree. As I approached her, she
got up and indicated that she had been as surprised as I was about the
felled tree but that she had swerved and had run off the road into the
brush. She indicated that she thought she was OK but needed help to
extricate her car from the brush and small trees.

I told the young lady that I should take her to the nearest hospital
first so that she could be checked over for a concussion or internal
injuries. She agreed and we both hopped on my riding lawnmower. (I
really do not know what had happened to my car.)

Now on the lawnmower, I was able to inch by the tree only to find
the roadway just ahead blocked by a barbed-wire gate. I got off the
mower, opened the gate, and drove on through. I was closing the gate
when a farmer came up through the woods and apologized for the
felled tree. He insisted that I take a bushel of sweet corn with me for
any trouble I might have undergone.

From the vantage point of the other side of the felled tree, I could see
that the farmer had created a narrow roadway through the woods that
skirted the felled tree. The farmer explained how to get to the hospital
and the girl and I headed off to find it on the riding lawnmower. I
wish I could tell you that I found the hospital but after innumerable
forks-in-the-road, with their forced left or right decisions, I found
myself completely lost in the woods.

Ike – 2018-06-26

I left work early one afternoon and as I walked past the Library
Seminar Room I saw that a small crowd was gathered to hear a

79

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

speaker. I poked my head into the room to say hello to the employees
there when, to my amazement, I discovered that the speaker was to
be none other than ex-President Dwight Eisenhower, commonly
known as Ike.

Of course, I remained to hear his talk and after he stepped off the
podium I approached him and thanked him profusely for agreeing to
speak on our campus. He smiled his famous smile and simply replied,
“I did not see a post-speech self-evaluation form. At all my other
venues I filled out a self-evaluation of the speech.” I hastened to
apologize and told him that I would rectify the omission immediately.

I dashed back to the campus offices and went directly to the office of
the Dean in charge of campus affairs. She was not in but I searched
her desk for the self-evaluation form. Not finding one there, I looked
for a file-cabinet where she might keep blank forms. There was no
such cabinet.

In a panic now, I rushed down the hall and asked all the secretaries to
search their files for the missing set of self-evaluation forms. None of
them had. However, one of the secretaries had the brilliant idea to
seek out the print-shop and ask them if they had any. They did not
but they had a print-master from which they had printed the forms.
They immediately swung into action and printed out a few of the self-
evaluation forms.

I thanked all the secretaries and the print shop, grabbed one of the
forms, and dashed down the hill to the Library where Ike patiently
waited for my return. He thanked me for the form and proceeded to
evaluate his perceived performance of the recent speech.

Unique Uniform – 2018-07-06

I received a request to escort a young lady to an important dance. It
came with a rather unique stipulation: that I wear a dress uniform to
the dance. I went straight to my tailor and he designed a light tan

80

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

uniform with solid orange stitching that was visually arresting and
really made the uniform stand out.

I picked up the girl I was escorting to the dance and we soon arrived
at the ballroom. I saw immediately why I was asked to wear a
uniform. Right by the front door was a station at which you were
posed in front of a martial background and a photograph was taken.
Knowing now that this was important to the girl I was escorting I
asked the photographer to develop the photograph right away and
bring it to our table.

Not long thereafter the photographer returned and handed me the
photograph. I could not believe my eyes. The two of us were so tiny
that you could not make out our features! I demanded that the
photographer get his camera and take a close-up of us right then and
there.

While we waited for our second photograph to be developed the girl I
was escorting revealed to me that she was from El Salvador and had
not yet completely mastered English. I shared with her that I was
from a small island in the Caribbean and so we switched to speaking
in Spanish.

The rest of the evening was uneventful other than we danced a lot. I
do remember that I told her about the lake that we could see through
the large windows at one side of the ballroom. I confided in her that
near the lake’s dam there was a large pipe through which excess water
could be allowed to flow downstream. I explained that some time
back I had explored this underground pipe and had discovered that it
spilled out its contents onto a boulder-strewn creek that eventually
led to a river. (This was true, but it had happened in a previous
dream.)

It Feels Like Home – 2018-07-09

My wife and I had traveled to the Caribbean island where I was born
and where I spent the first twelve years of my life. We were on the far

81

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

western end of the island and as we drove along with the top down
on our rented convertible I allowed the essence of the island to engulf
me. The valley we were driving through was beautiful and lush. I truly
felt that I was home.

As we drove from the major city on the west end of the island to the
small fishing village where we were staying, I remarked to my wife
that I had read that a brand new bypass had been built that would
whisk us away directly to the village. I took the correct turn and soon
we were sailing along enjoying the scenery.

Deteriorating – 2018-07-13

In previous dreams, I had set as my goal that of repeating all my
college courses to learn all that I missed the first time through. I was
doing exceedingly well and had completed all of my courses for a
degree save but three. I was currently enrolled in an English class and
we had been assigned the task of writing a short story based on a set
of parameters. I had completed my short story and handed it in and
today the professor was critiquing each short story so that the entire
class could learn from each other’s efforts. Each short story was
projected on the classroom wall so that we could all read that
student’s efforts. I could see for myself how my efforts simply did not
measure up to those of my classmates. I suddenly realized that I no
longer had the ability to excel. In fact, I could see that I might not
even have the requisite abilities to complete my remaining courses. I
was fading fast!

Car Thefts – 2018-07-16

An ex-girlfriend came to my house and said she needed a car
desperately for just a day. She had to take her very ill mother to the
hospital in a nearby town. I lived out on a farm at that time and had
several old cars that still ran just lying about the yard so I let her
borrow one.

82

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Several days went by and no ex-girlfriend. Not only had she not
returned with my car but three more cars had vanished from my yard.
I suspected she and her good-for-nothing boyfriend had taken them.
I called the sheriff and told him what had happened and filled out a
formal, legal complaint.

Not long after seeing the sheriff and while still in town I noticed one
of my missing cars driving around the square. I zoomed after the car
in my own vehicle and managed to cut him off. I ran out of the car
and leveled my shotgun at the driver. It turned out that the person
who was driving my stolen car was a family member of my ex. He
told me that there was another car at their house which his wife was
driving. We gathered that one up also.

He also told me that the third car was being driven by the ex’s
boyfriend. We found him at his house and put him under arrest also.
He told us where to find my ex and when we went there we found
her and my missing car. She maintained that she had not stolen the
cars, she had just borrowed them and, since I had not given her a
deadline to return them, she was still using them. I was so angry at
her that it woke me up!

Give Me a Coat – 2018-07-18

I had taken a job at a small town and had fallen ill with a bad cold and
found myself in the local hospital. The doctor came in to see me in
my hospital room and I shared with him that I merely had a bad cold
and nothing more. He told me that he would like to keep me a couple
of days for observation. He was very friendly and seemed to have all
the time in the world to visit with me.

After he left, a young man entered my room and told me he was the
physical therapist and that he had been sent to take me to the physical
therapy workout room. I followed him down the hall but when he
indicated that we would have to leave the building and cross the
quadrangle to the physical therapy wing I objected since it was
wintertime and was quite cold outside.

83

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

He insisted that I follow him but I held back knowing that going out
in the cold weather with only my pajamas on would lead to a serious
sinus problem. The physical therapist became quite agitated and went
off in a huff. He soon returned with my friendly doctor. The doctor
repeated the need to follow the man to the physical therapy wing and
I, of course, explained why I was objecting. He also became quite
agitated and stormed off.

Soon, I saw both of them return, this time with the hospital
administrator. The administrator explained that all hospital
procedures had to be followed and that I simply had to go to my
physical therapy. I tried to explain that I could walk up and down the
hall and do pushups right there in the building I was in.

Now, all three of them became very insistent and they called for
reinforcements to physically manhandle me across the quadrangle and
to the physical therapy room. As they hauled me away, I yelled out,
“At least give me a coat!”

Running Commute – 2018-07-19

A friend boasted that he had plotted out a shortcut from his house to
our place of work that could be done on foot without incurring the
cost of a driving commute and which he could run in about the same
time as a car could negotiate the distance. Intrigued, I leaped at the
chance to make the trip myself the very next day.

After completing his chores for the morning at his place, he led me
out the back door of his house and we plunged into the woods that
isolated his house from the freeway. We jogged through the woods
along a well-worn path that I assumed he had made and that led to a
wide culvert that tunneled beneath the freeway to the other side.
From there we climbed up a ridgeline that afforded a spectacular view
of the river valley below. We also overlooked a small airport and we
could easily see small airplanes and helicopters taking off and roaring
right over our heads. At times we could run flat-out while on the
ridge, at others we had to slowly pick our way across boulders.

84

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Eventually, we broke through the thicket and onto a cliff that
overlooked the ocean. The path there ran perilously close to the cliff-
face and, in fact, at times the cliff was only wide enough for the path
itself. I could only imagine what would happen to you if you stumbled
or tripped on the rocky surface.

The path gradually descended and began to run parallel to the
highway. At one point, the path was the shoulder of the highway and
you ran with large semis roaring alongside you.

When we arrived at our work site, I checked our stopwatch and we
had, indeed, made the trip in less time than a car would have.

Sometime later that week, I was at my friend’s house and immersed in
what we were doing, I let night creep up on us. Having come on foot,
I set out in the darkness to return to our work site. Now, it was a
completely different experience. There was very little moonlight
available that night and I could only see vague shadows. I made my
way slowly trying to recall where to turn and where to go straight. I
knew that somewhere along the route I would have to negotiate that
cliff and I kept my ears open for the sound of the breaking waves.

Somewhere along the ridge, I lost my way and nothing seemed to
match my memory of the shortcut. I plunged ahead anyway hoping
that I would intersect the pathway and get back on course. I never
found the path but I did, eventually, reach my destination.

Shipwrecked – 2018-07-20

I had a dream that centered on the sinking of a large cruise ship. Not
long afterward, my wife, daughter and I found ourselves in just such a
cruise ship sailing on the Caribbean. We were enjoying the cruise
when the ship’s loudspeaker system came to life advising us to grab
our life vests and gather on the ship’s open top deck where chairs had
been set up for us and where the captain would be speaking to us. I
knew that something had happened as the ship’s engines had stopped
and I feared that my dream was coming true.

85

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

The three of us grabbed our life vests and proceeded to the top deck
where we were handed a seating chart and directed to our assigned
seats. Since we had booked the cheapest possible rooms we were
assigned to seating at the far end of the ship near the stern. For some
unexplained reason, the seats were not all together but considerably
spread apart.

We found our seats and patiently waited for the captain’s instructions.
We saw and felt the ship lazily floating wherever the current took it.
At one point we were very close to a rocky shore and the bow hit a
rock outcrop and bounced off. We eventually drifted into a rock-
ringed bay where we approached the rocky shore so closely that it
seemed as if we could simply step ashore.

We continued in this fashion for some time and when the captain
failed to speak after a full hour of waiting in the hot sun, I set off to
find a restroom. I walked through the many corridors of the ship
looking for a restroom but only saw signs for women’s restrooms.
Eventually, I saw what looked like a restroom doorway with men
entering so I assumed that was the men’s room. However, once inside
I discovered that not only were there men in the restroom but also
women. There were no private stalls simply toilets lined up along one
wall facing what looked like café seating.

Since the urge was very strong, I sat down on a toilet stool facing two
women eating at a café booth. I had finished doing my business but
had not yet stood up when two women came and sat in the stools
next to me. The one just adjacent to me looked me over with an
appraising eye and asked, “Would you like some fruit?” That was a
perplexing situation for which I did not have a ready answer. She then
swiveled around so that she was facing me and repeated the question,
“Do you want some of my fruit?”

I do not know what happened next for I awoke with a start.

86

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Back In The Saddle – 2018-07-22

I had been president of a large company but political maneuvering
had forced me to step down. I was now employed part-time by the
company when I received a summons to report to the new president’s
office. I had no idea what was going on but acceded to the request.

When I arrived at the president’s office I was informed that the top
administrators were meeting so I had to wait. When the meeting was
over I noticed that it had involved only three persons. It appeared as
if the president had narrowed the top echelon to just himself, an
administrative assistant and one other person.

I was ushered into the president’s office and was offered the job as
the president’s administrative assistant. I would be handling all of his
meetings, determining who would meet with him, what reports to
present to him and that sort of thing. I would be located right in his
private office and have access to his computer, telephone, etc. I
accepted the offer and began my duties right away.

As I began to take stock of the situation I noticed that he had
completely cleaned house and had appointed his own people to the
various administrative positions. However, I knew the people he
appointed and observed that they had limited capacities. I casually
visited with them and discovered that things were not going well.
They had only limited funding, were shorthanded, and had inferior
equipment.

I quickly came to the realization that the new president had no idea
how to lead and had chosen inferior people to assist him. I realized
that my job would be to somehow pull this disparate group of people
into a working unit and move the company forward.

Rewarding Good Work – 2018-07-23

I was a shift supervisor at a large company that did computer-related
work and was in charge of a large room full of employees that worked

87

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

at computer stations. It was my job to walk about and lend a helping
hand wherever it was needed.

As I walked about I overheard a young lady at the back confiding to
the person next to her that she felt that she was not highly valued by
the company. She felt that she did more than others yet she had never
been recognized and had not been granted her very own television set
for her work area.

Later on that very same day a young man burst into the room and
began berating one of my male employees. It seemed as if he felt that
the employee had interfered with his ongoing relationship with a
young woman and she had left him.

I immediately swung into action and accosted the young man. I let
him have it and dressed him down for interrupting the workplace. I
noticed the crestfallen look on the young man’s face so I put my arm
around him and commiserated with him about losing the affections
of someone he cared for. I told him that with his most engaging
personality he would soon find the perfect girl for him.

It was at this point that the female employee that I had overheard
earlier stood up an approached the young man. With a twinkle in her
eye and a flirtatious look, she beckoned him over to her workstation
to ask his advice. In no time at all the young man had forgotten all
about his previous anger and was beaming from ear to ear. He soon
left the room with a smile on his face and a sprightly skip to his step.

The next very next day when the female employee reported to work
she was escorted to her new workstation at the very front of the
room and which contained a huge television set with a mahogany
cabinet. Over the television set, a banner read, “For our stellar
employee of the year!”

(The female employee, it turned out, had been a classmate of mine in
high school and the prime reason I had lobbied to move to this part

88

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

of the Midwest. Of course, in my dream, she appeared the same age
as when she was in high school.)

Simple Soccer – 2018-07-26

My wife and I had had been both sick with the flu and unable to
attend our classes at the nearby college. I recovered quickly but she
was still bedridden. I left for my classes on foot carrying a notebook
and a book. As I sauntered across the quadrangle I saw a group of
young men playing a game of Simple Soccer right on the quadrangle’s
green space. The game seemed simple enough. One side would kick
the ball on the ground and then try to keep kicking it forward until
they reached the goal while the other team tried to stop them or steal
the ball with only their feet and get it across their goal.

As I watched, the ball came tantalizingly close to where I was
standing so I kicked it and made a run for the goal with the soccer
ball just ahead of me. On the next play, the opposing team’s ball came
close to me and I stole it and began kicking it towards the other
team’s goal. I was successful on that one as well. The captain of the
team for whom I had scored the goals came up to me and asked me if
I wanted to join their team. I begged off since my class was about to
start.

As I headed for the building where my class was held I felt the urge
to relieve myself so I headed instead for a building which had a
bathroom handy. However, when I got to the building there was a
line of men waiting at the entrance to the Men’s Room. I stood
around waiting and finally, there were only two of us left in the line. I
became a bit agitated for I knew that my class must have started by
then. When two men came out of the Men’s Room my linemate and I
went into the room. To my surprise, it opened up to a large, indoor
swimming pool for both sexes. I did not know what to do! It was
then that I remembered that I also had a second class that day that
met before the class to which I was headed. I had missed that class
completely!

89

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

LBJ – 2018-07-28

I had been invited to a meeting at a local college and arrived a bit
early since I was not sure of the parking situation. When I was
ushered into the conference room only one other person was there, a
tall, lanky man who spoke in a Texas drawl. We made some small talk
and when no one arrived he asked me if I played cards. I said that I
did. He mentioned a card game which I did not recognize but he said
that he would teach me how to play. He asked if I would like to bet
on the game and I told him I had no money to place wagers. He just
pulled out a blank piece of paper and began writing denomination on
them and then shared them with me saying, “We can wager with this
script.” He patiently explained how to play the game and when I had
mastered the basics we began to play. Of course, I lost all the hands
to him.

After some time, another person arrived. I knew this person but the
tall, lanky Texan did not so I tried my best to introduce them. I really
garbled the introductions since I couldn’t remember the name of the
new arrival and I did not know the name of the card player. The
Texan realized the pickle I was in and saved the day by leaning across
the table, sticking out his hand and saying, “Hi! Just call me LBJ!”

Officers’ Retreat – 2018-07-29

The officers of a large company were holding a retreat to plan out the
next year’s goals and they had rented a rustic lodge out of town so
that there would be no interruptions. One of the new officers did not
know the way so I suggested that he follow me in his vehicle and I
would show him a shortcut using the back roads. I had been to this
retreat site before and was confident that I would recognize which
way to turn at all of the many key intersections and would get us there
in short order.

I set off with the other officer following me. At the first intersection,
I made the correct turn and the second and third as well. By that time
the roads had changed from blacktop to gravel then to dirt. By the

90

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

fourth key intersection, I began to wish that I had brought a map with
me as we found ourselves on what was a dirt roadway that was the
base for a future road and had not yet received the gravel and
blacktop that would transform it into a highway.

It was shortly thereafter that my car sputtered and died as I pulled
over to the shoulder. I was out of gasoline! I had been so intent on
leading this excursion that I had neglected to check my gasoline
gauge.

We were already late so I left the car there on the shoulder and we
continued in the other officer’s car with me driving since I knew the
way (kinda). At times we drove on a concrete strip that was only as
wide as the car’s footprint; any deviation and we would have ended
down the cliff. At other times we drove through mountainous, curvy
roads with trees growing right at the edge of the road and forming a
tunnel-like canopy overhead. At other times we had to ford low-water
crossings with small creeks running through them. On the ridges that
were devoid of trees, however, you had tremendous views.

We finally reached our destination but the retreat site did not
resemble the one that I had visited in past dreams. We poked around
from rustic cabin to rustic cabin until we found our crew. At the end
of the day, I retrieved my car and vowed to use the main roads from
then on.

Police Academy – 2018-07-31

I was born into a law enforcement family, with my grandfather,
father, uncle, brother, and cousin all policemen. It was natural then
that I would attend the Police Academy to prepare myself for a law
enforcement career and follow in their footsteps.

I had just graduated from the Academy and my wife and I journeyed
to a Caribbean island to vacation and celebrate. We had such a good
time that we let time get away from us and we returned home a few
days later than planned. I tried to catch up on the news by reading the

91

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

news that had been saved for me on a ticker-tape-type contraption.
You could read the news by unspooling the paper and reading as if on
a television news ticker or crawler.

I seemed to be confused as to what date it was and whether I was
supposed to have been at work but could not get my mind to sort it
out properly. I was wrestling with that question when three angry
men burst into our house. It was my uncle, brother, and cousin and I
could tell by their actions that they were not there to welcome me
home. Evidently, I was supposed to report to the local police precinct
to begin my law enforcement career some three days before!

I did my best to mitigate my faux pas by explaining that I had
extended my visit with our family there since we were separated by
more than 4,000 miles and I seldom had a chance to visit with them.
They were not dissuaded by my feeble explanations and pointed out
that it reflected very poorly on the entire family. The level of anger
and frustration prevalent caused me to wake up!

Seeding – 2018-08-01

I was working for my father at his farm in the rural Midwest. I was
young and just learning the ropes hoping to follow in my father’s
footsteps and become a good farmer. He was showing me how to
prepare the land to plant a successful garden that would earn us much
needed income. We did not have a large farm, no more than forty
acres, so we had to make wise use of our land to produce products
that would bring in the most income for the family. My father was
getting up in years and I was but a teenager but I was keen to learn all
I could since I knew that the family might soon have to rely on me as
the income producer.

Today’s lesson was the proper seeding of the garden. Using our small
tractor I had plowed, disked and harrowed the field to where the soil
was very loose and easy to manage. Now, I was to take a long,
wooden staff and I was to walk along and use the staff to create long
furrows in the recently prepared field so that the seeds would lie

92

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

beneath the surface of the ground when the furrows were tamped
down.

While I was doing that, my cousin, who had volunteered to help,
followed me and propagated the seeds by hand. We had done maybe
a fourth of the field when a neighbor, a grizzled old veteran farmer,
ambled up and offered us some advice. He said that if he was doing it
he would use the tractor with the cultivator attachment to dig the
furrows and my cousin could sit on the back of the tractor and scatter
the seeds right into the furrows created by the cultivator attachment.
He said the seeds were more likely to end up in the deeper furrows,
would germinate slower at the deeper depth, and produce a much
larger and healthier product. I could picture myself at the weekly
farm-to-market sale at the nearby county seat with my huge
cantaloupes, squash, pumpkins, and watermelons displayed in front of
my portable stand!

Antenna Array – 2018-08-02

My wife, three-year-old daughter and I were visiting my in-laws in the
nearby town where they lived in a stately, multi-story, turn-of-the-
century home. My wife and I had accompanied her father to one of
his farms outside of town to do some work and had left our daughter
in the care of my wife’s mother.

After a half-day of hard, hot work we returned to the house eager to
take a shower and put on clean clothes. While her father was cleaning
up in his suite, my wife bathed in the bathroom adjacent to our room.
Meanwhile, I searched for a vase to put the fresh flowers we had
brought back from the farm. I set the flowers down on the kitchen
counter and darted into a nearby closet where I knew there were
vases. When I returned to the kitchen the flowers were gone! I looked
all over the kitchen (it was rather a large one) and could not see it.
However, I noticed some water pooled on the floor by the kitchen
sink with a trail of water leading to the formal living room.

93

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

There in the living room, on top of the television cabinet, were the
flowers, in a vase. Strewn about on the floor were the intricate array
of rods and wires that had been on top of the television console and
which ensured that the television set could receive the digital signals
that emanated from the array of satellites that encircled the earth.
Standing there beside the flower arrangement was our beaming
daughter who was delighted and proud that she had displayed the
flowers on her own!

I gave my daughter a big hug and thanked her for being of so much
help then got busy gathering up the rods and wires. I knew that my
father-in-law would soon come downstairs and would want to watch
the evening news on the television but without the antenna array, he
would not be able to access the cable stations.

I took off my shirt and tee-shirt and began mopping up the pools of
water my daughter had created both in the living room and kitchen.
Then, I turned my attention to the antenna array. I had no idea how
they all went together but I tried my best to reconstruct it. When I
attached it back onto the television console only the local channels
could be received. But, it was the best that I could do.

My father-in-law also owned the set of apartments adjacent to the
main house and he had hired one of the tenants to manage them. As I
went on up to the bedroom to clean up I could hear the apartment
manager speaking to her husband in a foreign language which I
happened to understand. I leaned out of the bedroom window and
spoke to her in her own language and asked her how she had
happened to end up in this town. She responded that this town and
her hometown were sister-cities and, therefore, it was quite natural
that they would migrate to this town.

Humanities – 2018-08-03

I was part of the Business Department faculty at a small liberal arts
college and once each month the faculty, on a rotation basis,
presented an assembly for the students in which faculty entertained

94

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

the students with their hidden talents, whatever they might be. Some
played an instrument, some sang, and some danced.

This month, it was my turn again but, as usual, I had not prepared for
the assembly. I sat on the stage along with the other faculty members
whose turn on the rotation had come up. The person sitting next to
me was the Dramatics and Speech professor, who was the spitting
image of the lead actor on the perennial television favorite, “The Big
Bang Theory”. He got up and surprised the audience, who were
expecting a comedic routine, by playing a marvelous tune on the flute.
He received a standing ovation and after an encore, equally well
received, sat down. Now it was my turn!

I approached the front of the stage, unsure as to what to do, but
mindful that in a few seconds I had to do something! There was a
podium to the side of the stage which I slowly dragged to the center
front and looked out at the assembled students eager to hear what
their Business Professor had to say.

The students were quite surprised when I began an impassioned
argument for the teaching of the Humanities. I found that I could
only speak in a whisper since at night, while I sleep, I use a CPAP
machine with a piece that fits over my nose and forces air down my
nose. When I open my mouth to speak the pressurized air rushes out
and makes my voice unintelligible. I had discovered, through many
dreams that if I spoke slowly, and in a whisper, I could make myself
understood. Slowly, with deliberate, timely, pauses I delivered my
thoughts. The students must have been impressed by my topic and by
my breathless delivery for they stood up en-masse and applauded!

Gold Squabble – 2018-08-04

My father had as a sideline a livery business and would often
transport groups to various sites. I would tag along as his helper. We
were returning from the funeral of an elderly gentleman in our horse-
drawn wagon. It was a large wagon with three rows of seats where
our customers all sat in the open air followed by an enclosed cabin. I

95

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

was perched in the very back where I could help apply the large
wooden brakes if needed. Our party consisted of three brothers, sons
of the deceased and their wives.

After the funeral was over the executor of the estate had read the will
and handed out the inheritances right then and there. The elderly
farmer had been very successful and before his death, he had
liquidated all of his assets and converted them into gold coins to
make the distribution of his assets much easier. This the executor had
done and each one of his sons had received a certain number of gold
coins. And that is where the troubles began.

On the long, slow trek home, each of the three sons argued for a
redistribution of the gold coins. Of course, each allotted himself more
of the coins and went to quite some lengths to explain why he
thought he should get the majority of the coins. Of course, the other
siblings argued just as vehemently that they should receive the lion’s
share of the gold coins.

I was but an observer of all of this squabbling but I noticed that while
they argued one of the sons had surreptitiously removed some of his
sibling’s coins and placed them in his coin purse. Then, I saw out of
the corner of my eye that another brother had done the same to the
first. This last act did not go unnoticed and soon the brothers began
getting physical with much pushing and shoving.

The wives to this point had remained silent but now as the bickering
had morphed into actual physical violence they called a halt and
forced their husbands into the enclosed cabin in the back and locked
the door. They told the surprised husbands that they could come out
once they had worked out their differences.

I could hear the men shouting and scuffling in the cabin while the
women very quietly discussed the situation and reallocated the cold
coins in the manner that they had just agreed to between themselves.
My father and I just looked at each other and smiled.

96

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Army Reserves Training With Wife – 2018-08-12

I had attended an Army Reserves two-week training camp and the
first week was over. We had been given the weekend off and I had
used the leave to visit my wife at our home. In a departure from
previous years, I returned to the Army Camp with my wife. I knew
where my barracks were located on the Army Post since I had found
them in a previous dream by reporting to the central information
station and asking where it was located. A master sergeant there had
told me at that time what unit I was assigned to and where the
barracks for that unit would be located. Therefore, I returned directly
to the barracks I had occupied during the first week.

Upon entering my room in the barracks I found the two cots
unoccupied and all my gear in the closet where I had left it. My
officer roommate had not returned yet. The cots were very narrow so
I assumed that my wife and I each would have a cot. However, I
became concerned that my roommate from the first week would not
have a place to sleep when he returned. I began to wonder if there
were rooms for married officers who had their families with them.

I went out in the hall and began looking into the various rooms and,
indeed, I found that at the end of each hall was a large suite large
enough for a family. In fact, one suite was already occupied by an
officer, his wife, and two children. I asked him what he had done to
be assigned a suite and he told me that at the central information
center a master sergeant assigned the suites once he knew your unit of
assignment. Not knowing the telephone number of the information
center I decided to drive there instead. However, I could not
remember how to get there and, to compound my consternation, it
was already twilight and it would be rather difficult to find the right
building in the darkness by just driving around. Even if I could find
the central information center I would not be able to tell the master
sergeant what my unit was. Eventually, I gave up and drove into the
nearby town to find us a motel room that we could utilize during the
remaining week of training.

97

Eclectic Dreams Vol. 2

Thumb Print – 2018-08-19

My sister and I were both enrolled in a college English course in
which we had been assigned a writing project and were to receive a
new piece of software that would help us immeasurably in writing.
My sister was not feeling well so I went on to the class by myself. On
the way, I stopped by the college newspaper office and collected a
supply of the newly printed newspapers to take for my fraternity
house.

When I reached the class the professor had us all board a small
school bus and took us downtown where she parked in front of the
computer store where we were to receive our copies of the writing
software. In order to not overwhelm the store she had us enter the
store by bus rows. The first row on the bus went in the store and
when they returned the next row went in and so forth.

I kept waiting for the row in front of mine to return so that my
seatmate and I could go into the store but I never saw them return.
Finally, my seatmate just got up and went into the store. I debated a
moment or two and then followed him in even though the previous
bus row had never returned. I went into the store and the first thing I
noticed was the long line to reach the counter. I thought to myself,
“Now this will take me forever!” But my seatmate that had gone in
just ahead of me skipped the long line and went right up to the
counter so I followed and no one seemed to mind. The other
customers must have been told that the store had to process this
busload of students first.

As the line at the counter slowly moved to the right I could see that at
the far right the proprietor was asking each student to place their
thumb on an ink pad and then he would press the thumb onto an
application. Following that the student and their application would be
sent to another room where I guessed they were given their piece of
writing software. I made a mental note to ask the proprietor to issue a
second application for my sister.

98