I Had a Dream...'yawn'...

Night before last, I had a dream. It was about three people I (knew) from when I was a student at Modesto Junior College in 1970. I was going on the GI Bill.

In the dream I saw a fellow (I can't remember the names of any of the people) I had been in a class with studying English Lit or something. I was walking by a raised platform of some sort(it's vague, you know how dreams are) and he was well dressed and had a flashlight with which he was directing people to somewhere.

He looked down and saw me and was embarrassed. I recognized him and said, "I remember you from MJC when you were an usher at the rec hall!"
He didn't want to look at me. I said, "I can't believe you are doing the same thing now as you were in 1970!"

Then I noticed two more people I recognized from MJC. I Said, "You two were at MJC, too, and you're doing the same thing!"
I could hardly believe these three people hadn't progressed at all in 37 years!

Then a thought came to me: "I'm dreaming about three people I really did know when I was going to MJC!" The realization was so strong that it woke me. I had been asleep in my reclining chair. It was six thirty in the morning and I had enjoyed a cofftee and a graham cracker with peanut butter at 0230 while watching the Shepherd's Chapel on tv before drifting off to sleep.

When Mi Espousa, La'Donna d'el Nebraska (a little Mex lingo there)finally awoke, I told her about the dream and axed her if she remembered the three folks I dreamed about from MJC. I was sure she would.
She thought intensely for four or five seconds (about her limit for heavy thinking) and assured me that, not only did she not remember them but they, in fact, had not existed. I was sure they had existed, I was adamant about the expressions, mine of yes and hers of no.

Then a funny thing happened. My fertile and imaginative mind had tricked me. After thinking it over and doing some heavy duty remembering, I realized that I had not only dreamed about people I had known at Modesto Junior College in 1970 but had, also, dreamed (very realistically) they were really real and had really been real people that I had really known at Modesto Junior College in Modesto in 1970.

I have to admit; there were no real people like those in my dream at Modesto Junior College in 1970. The seeming fact of the people in my dream being real people I had really known was itself a dream.

That's my story. Now you'll have to excuse me. I really need to go and take a nap.

Later...

A Flash From the Past...

While perusing my life story, "Jim's Journal," I came across this little bit of my history that I think some of you may enjoy. It should be rated, "R," because of it's somewhat graphic content but I'll post it anyhoo.

This is a true story of an incident that happened in Odessa, Texas when I was married to my first wife. I may have posted this at sometime in the past on another blog but here goes anyhow.

"...my brother-in-law, Lloyd Sebolt. He was a tall, raw-boned man who was quiet and friendly.

*I remember a story about Lloyd. At one time Maggie and I lived in a house at the rear of Bertha and Lloyd’s house, on the same lot. Needless to say, we spent some time at each other’s house visiting.

One day Maggie and I were in Bertha’s house talking with her when Lloyd came in from work. He was holding his left hand in his right hand and was evidently in pain. Bertha asked him what was wrong and he told her he had smashed his left thumb. He held it up and it was black and swollen. She told him to drill a hole in it to relieve the pressure and he said he had already done that but it still ached. She put ice on it but that didn’t ease the ache.

It was really smashed badly and he groaned with the throbbing pain. He finally sat on the sofa and asked for a towel. Bertha brought it and Lloyd said,” Berthie, I cain’t stand this. Get me the pliers!” She got the pliers and asked him what he was going to do. He said he would yank his thumbnail off. She told him that would hurt terribly and he answered, yes, but only for a minute and then it would be over.

He put the towel in his lap and told Bertha to watch and not let him fall forward off the couch if he passed out. Then he gripped his left thumbnail firmly with the pliers and yanked as hard as he could. The thumbnail came off cleanly and he sighed and fell backward, passing out.

I felt sick and sat down. Bertha held the towel around his hand to keep the blood from getting on the couch. She told Maggie to wet a wash cloth and put it on his forehead and Maggie did it. They put the wet cloth on his forehead and, in a minute, he woke up.

He was cold and sweaty. In another minute he sat up and asked for the thumbnail. Bertha gave it to him and we looked at it and his left thumb. The nail had come off cleanly and the thumb looked all right. I asked him if it still hurt and he said it did but not as much as it had before and he could always grow another one. Then Bertha put Merthiolate on it and wrapped it in a bandage and I never heard him mention it again.

That's the way it happened.

Later...

Thompson-Gingrich...How's That For A Team?...

I usually reserve this blog for light stuff but decided to use it this one time to run this by you. Any comments about the team of Fred Thompson-President-
Newt Gingrich-Vice President?

I Like it! I'd like it either way; Thompson/Gingrich or Gingrich/Thompson.

Either way would just about guarantee a Republican President for another 16 years! Whatta ya think?

Later...

Two More Quatrains Of Omar's Rubaiyat...

Edward Fitzgerald's Second Edition-Quatrains 27 and 28
27

Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare,

And those that after some TO-MORROW stare,

A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries,"

Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!"

28

Another Voice, when I am sleeping, cries,

"The Flower should open with the Morning skies."

And a retreating Whisper, as I wake--

"The Flower that once has blown for ever dies."

Later…

I Finally Did It...

...and it was great! OK, OK,-great fun!

"What in the hell are you talking about?" you ax. "We want to know; the whole world wants to know!"..yeah, right..

All right, I'll tell you! Now stop twisting my arm!

As some of you already know, Mi Espousa,-La Donna e'Lee (a little Mex lingo there) i.e., my wife, for those of you who don't as yet understand our future national language, Amerexican.(Hmm..or will it be'Can-amer-exican, or Ameri-can-exican?)

Now, where was I..--right; Donna and I occasionally attend and perform in musical jam sessions around the area. Donna sings and I sing and play rhythm guitar. (or bass guitar if a certain fellow who owns a bass guitar but is rude and won't learn to properly play it and so, screws up the music by plucking wrong notes; I bought one to play just to keep him from hitting wrong notes and making the session a bummer for the rest of us)

Anyhoo, a while back our lead guitar picker, in a moment of weakness, married and moved to Missouri. Since then, the rest of us have tried our almost best to fill in the gaps in our now non-existent lead guitar parts.

Well, I said, I'll just buy a lead guitar and practice a whole bunch and get really (?) good and play lead. I bought the guitar and practiced a really bunch and finally got only very bad instead of awful like I had been before. (Donna says I now only get her a little bit nauseous with my lead guitar playing instead of really retchy like at first)

Anyhow, yesterday I took only my lead guitar to the jam session and I played lead for just about every song and, guess what?! a lady looked at me with eyes of extreme admiration and told me I was so good, she couldn't hardly believe it! She couldn't say enough about my newly acquired lead guitar picking skill! I thought she was going to give me a big old hug, or at least, a gold medal or blue ribbon or something! Oh, and by the way, another person also said I was a little better than I had been, too.(note: one of those double things-'also' and 'too' in that sentence) Hold on...

OK, I'm back. I had to go out to the shop and put my head into the vise and try to get it back down to a manageable size.It didn't work, but at least I tried.

Well, (I say that a lot-got the habit from Pres Reagan)that's the gist of it. Now I have to go and practice some more and get really sort of a little bit good!

Tomorrow Mi Espousa (a little more mex lingo there) and I entertain at an assisted living place for some old folks. We get paid for this gig and, of course, that makes it more fun! Only thing is, I won't get to play my lead guitar since our lap-top computerized Band in a Box application furnishes all the music for tomorrow's gig.(and I'm not sure those old folks could appreciate my lead guitar picking,-you know how old folks with nothing to lose are)
Hmmm... Oh well...

Later...

Thanks, Atsypay...

16 THINGS THAT TOOK ME OVER 50 YEARS TO LEARN:

Attributed to Dave Barry, Nationally Syndicated Columnist

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

13. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to a waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16. Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something good.

Later...

7-7-07...

On July 7, 1977 my angel, Rebecca, was married to Robert LaPalme, in Monterey, California.

On January 1, 2001, she went to be with God. I know she sees this post.

Happy Thirtieth Wedding Anniversary, Baby! We love you! Dad and Donna, your Mom!

Later...