Dream – Nov. 29, 2008
Two airplanes that I get the feeling are not of this world come swooping down from the sky. They are totally black and they are demonstrating some maneuvers. They swoop, make loops, dive into the water and come back out. It is an impressive performance. Eventually, they turn into women in black diving suits. One swims next to a dolphin and does a dolphin kick. They are showing that they can mimic their surroundings.
Dream — Dec. 20, 2008
Many people, including myself, are walking down an alley or street that feels like an alley. Somebody tells us that there is going to be a huge flood that will practically cover the city. For some reason, I believe him, as I have a feeling that I know this has happened in the past.
This makes me wonder if I am going back in the past to experience this or if this is a new experience that is just happens to be the same as a previous experience that I knew about but did not directly experience for myself.
It is very scary and dangerous. Many people do not believe him. But I know I need to take cover. I need to get up the mountain that overlooks the city, so I don’t get swallowed up in the flood. Many others come with me.
Those of us who know we need to take cover start walking faster and some run down the street past a very large, red wood structure. It is an old arena. There’s something ominous about the building, but I don’t know what or why.
Many people climb up the mountain. Instead of going up the mountain, where I know it is safe, I go into an office building at the base of the mountain. I go up to one of the top floors, hoping I am safe but at the same time be able to witness this catastrophic event.
The office building is glass, so you can see out of all sides of the building. I am looking away from the city and toward the mountain, watching people scurry up it. I begin to hear heavy torrents of water above me. I turn toward the city and I see a huge circular fountain of water emanating from the old arena. The water is splashing upon the city, drenching it, and drenching the office building, too. It’s coming in waves.
After a few seconds, I see a much more powerful stream of water shooting straight up out of the arena. There are lights inside the jet, like a rainbow. This jet of water is much more powerful than the fountain I saw before. And that fountain was pretty strong. This water shoots very high into the sky and is the water that is flooding the city.
It is both fascinating and scary at the same time. I am fixated on the rainbow colors in the geyser.
I hope we are safe.
Suddenly, the water gets so powerful that it blasts our floor of the building toward the mountain. I hope it does not smash us. But we land on the mountain side and are safe there from the flooding below.
What a relief.
Dream: Jan. 26, 2008
I am driving in a fancy neighborhood with a female co-worker trying to get to my parents’ house. We drive one block past the street the house is on and then turn left into a campground that features many small cottages. We go to a gray wooden yurt.
She takes toys from my van and gives them to the people at the house next door. They must have children.
A squirrel eats an acorn and stares at me from the ground. I am inside the yurt, looking out a window at him. Then another squirrel comes into view, and a third. They are all staring at me.
We cook and clean dishes and pots and pans inside the yurt (there is only one room). Squirrels come into the yurt through the open door and stare at us. More and more come in and they start to sit on a ledge about eye level that rings the inside of the yurt.
I get the feeling they are not happy with us. They do not attack, but they stare in a threatening manner. Finally, there are 25 of them encircling us. I fear they are about to attack, so I leave the yurt, while the woman stays inside.
I get a wrench from the ground and hurl it at the outside of the yurt, hitting it and making a loud noise. This scares the squirrels and they scatter.
There is no longer anything to fear.
Dream: Dec. 11, 2007, 4:40 a.m.
I’m going from room to room in a house. I look in the bathroom and see someone cleaning pots and pans in the shower. I go to the kitchen, and the stove/oven has been left on. There are flames on the stove top and the oven door is open. I think this is dangerous and turn it off.
Dad (but not looking like my dad) sits in a chair in the next room. I tell him someone left the stove on and it was dangerous and I turned it off. He thanked me, but told me it would not hurt anyone.
I walk out the garage door (attached garage and the driveway heads straight toward the street) and down the driveway.
I get a phone call on my cell phone from someone inside the house. It is Raymond, who can be a challenge to deal with at times. He starts telling me how wonderful I am, how I am a good father and then concludes by saying, “I don’t know anyone who has a more tender spirit toward God than you.”
There’s a lot of junk out there in the world.
It can be difficult to stay positive when the economy is poor or gas prices are high. It can be difficult to remain upbeat when your kids continually misbehave or your boss treats you unfairly.
There are all sorts of other things out in the world that can cause us to lose our focus and derail us.
In the Bible, the apostle Paul gives us some ideas on how to remain positive. He wrote his letter to the church of Philippi from a Roman prison. Even though he was being held as a prisoner, Paul fills his letter with hope and joy. His is able to remain joyous despite the fact that he’s in prison because he has hope in God.
In Chapter 4, Verse 8 of the letter, Paul explains how we, too, can experience God’s peace.
I have been studying the Amplified Bible recently because it tries to get back to original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that the original scriptures were written in, and I believe, gives a slightly better interpretation of some of the concepts and ideas and words.
This verse is one that many Christians are familiar with. I have heard it quoted often. But I’m also going to go on to the next verse, which is much less quoted, but I think gives a fuller explanation of the concept Paul is trying to get across.
Philippians 4:8 (Amplified Bible)
“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”
I deal with words quite extensively in my job, yet I still needed to look “winsome” up in the dictionary. It means “generally pleasing and engaging, often because of a childlike charm and innocence.”
So, what Paul is saying here is that we are to focus on all the good and noble things in life. We know there is other junk in the world, and we are to ignore it on a day-to-day basis, not even to speak of it as things are not to do.
What’s the first thing that happens when you tell a child not to do something? They go and do it.
So, Paul is saying not to pay that junk any mind. And when we think about all the pure things in life, we are to do so with a childlike innocence.
In this verse, we’re told what to do. In the next verse, we’re told what benefit we’re going to get out of acting this way.
Philippians 4:9 (Amplified Bible)
“Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.”
You’ve heard the phrase, “practice makes perfect.” Well, we may never achieve perfection here on Earth. We leave perfection up to God. But, through practice, we can sometimes get awful close.
So, Paul tells us to practice focusing on the pure and holy and lovely things in the world in which we live.
He said that if we need a model to show us how it’s done, he’s happy to provide the leadership. Just follow me as I follow Christ, he says.
And, if we do these things, then the God of peace will dwell within us.
Paul doesn’t say that God will provide us with riches or good health or anything else if we choose this path. But we will find peace.
I actually came up with a slightly altered version of this at church a while back, using the name of a fellow attendee as my home builder. His wife enjoyed it. Incidentally, I don’t think he’s shady in the least. It did get some laughs, though, when I said the moral of the story is that we are all to learn from this home builder’s mistakes.
Three Little Pigs and the Shady Home Builder
The first little pig went to his local home builder and said, “Hey, I’m kind of tired of living in this pig sty with my brothers. It’s open air and ever time it rains, I get all wet and muddy. Plus, those guys are slobs. Can you help me out?”
The home builder asks the little pig what kind of budget he was looking at, and the pig said he didn’t have a lot of money.
So, the home builder said to the little pig, “Look, I think I know something that might fit into your price range. I’ve got this straw here that I can let you have cheap. It’s not top of the line building material, but it fits into your price range. Plus, it will keep you dry when it rains … well, pretty dry anyway. It’s not bad for the price.”
The little pig thinks a while and says, “Well, it’s better than what I have now, so I’ll take it.”
Half an hour later, the pig has a house of straw. It’s nice and comfy for the most part.
However, the pig lives in a nasty neighborhood with nasty neighbors. That Wolf family down the street is always making noise in the middle of the night and they really terrorize the neighborhood.
One day, the Big Bad Wolf came knocking at the little pig’s door. The little pig opens the door, and the wolf clears his throat (loudly, of course), and the pig’s straw house trembles and comes crashing down around him.
The second little pig decides he wants to build a house, too. He’s tired of this sty thing and seeks out the house builder.
“Hey, dude. I really need a house,” he said to the house builder. “But I saw how that straw worked out for my brother, and I want something that will hold up a little better than that. I’ve saved up some money, and I can afford something better. What have you got?”
“I can see you’re a smart man,” the home builder said to the pig. “You don’t want any of that flimsy straw. Look, just for you, I can cut you a break on these sticks over here. They’re the finest sticks, imported straight from Granny’s Woods, and they are guaranteed to stand up to Big Bad Wolf breath. Not only that, but it’s a good bargain, too.”
The second little pig thinks a while, knowing that he could afford the granite counter tops if he went with straw. But no, he’d sacrifice the luxurious interior amenities if he can have a stronger building material.
So, a few weeks later, the second little pig moves into his house made of sticks down the street from his brother’s pile of straw.
That Wolf family is still at it, inviting all their friends over for loud parties and carrying on until all hours of the night. Eventually, the Big Bad Wolf wanders down the street and knocks on the second little pig’s door.
The second little pig wasn’t in the mood to answer the door as he was getting a pedicure and watching “Green Acres” on reruns.
All that yelling at the party had made the wolf’s throat a little hoarse, so he cleared his throat and coughed into the house made of sticks, hoping to get the pig’s attention.
No luck.
“Aha!” the pig thought. “Sticks are indeed better than straw. I have one-upped my dear sweet brother.”
But Wolfie was intent on getting the second little pig’s attention, so he yelled, “Hey there, Mr. Piggie! Come out and play!”
The vibrations from the wolf’s yelling started the stick house to shaking, and it collapsed to the ground.
The third little pig, who had been toiling in the sty all this time, racking up a nice little nest egg, wanted to join his brothers in town. So, he collected his belongings and traveled down the railroad tracks a piece until he got the outskirts of town.
There, he saw a pile of sticks, a pile of straw and a Wolf house with dancing, yelling, obnoxious wolves inside.
He had a little chat with his disappointed brothers, who suggested he try a different house builder. But, the third little pig had been buddies with this house builder since they were both little porkers.
So, he went to the house builder’s office and inquired as to what his money might bring.
“Now, I don’t want that cheap building material you pawned off on my brothers,” he said. “I want something that’s going to stand up to those unruly wolves. I want top of the line. And it better come with a lifetime guarantee.
“And your workers are union, right?”
“Oh yes, Mr. Third Little Pig,” the home builder said. “My workers are all union. And I know exactly what you mean. You certainly are the smartest little piggie in the family, aren’t you? You know quality when you see it.
“Well, let me introduce you to something that just came in. This brick is unbelievable. We use mortar to hold this sturdy building material together and no wolf could possibly blow down a house made from it.”
“Throw in the granite counter tops and you’ve got yourself a deal,” the shrewd pig said.
The home builder knew that he had to make this sale, even if he did feel like he was giving up a lot. He needed a satisfied customer to refer future clients to. So, he reluctantly agreed to throw in the granite counter tops.
A couple months later, the third little pig moved into the brick, ranch style home with two-corn bin garage and hot and cold running mud in the tub.
He was a very happy pig in his new home. And despite the noisy neighbors, he didn’t have any complaints.
Of course, you just knew that the wolves would eventually make their way down to the new neighbor to welcome him in a way that only wolves would approve of.
So, the Big Bad Wolf sauntered past the pile of straw and the pile of sticks, arriving at the brick house. He looked it up and down and found himself somewhat impressed by the structure. But still he was determined to turn this housewarming into a house falling.
He knew he’d have to have an improved effort with this house, so he knocked on the door, and yelled with all his might, “Hey, Mr. Piggie! Come out and play … if you’re not chicken!”
The silly wolf started making motions with his arms as if he had chicken wings, flapping them about as he bobbed his head and pecked at the air with his lips.
“Cluck, cluck, cluck, Mr. Piggie! Are ya chicken?! Well, are ya?!!”
Hmmm, the wolf thought, this house hasn’t budged a millimeter. I need some of my friends to help out. So, he called to his buddies and they came running, eager to ruin the day for the third little piggie.
They whipped themselves up into a frenzy, howling and yelling and carrying on all over the front yard of the pig who built with brick.
And just as the home builder promised, the brick house withstood the wolves.
This story illustrates how easy it is to destroy relationships that do not have strong foundations.
If we don’t invest a lot into a relationship with a co-worker, a family member or a friend, or if it is built with weak materials, it doesn’t take much to knock it down.
But if we build our relationships with strong materials and invest a lot into them, they can’t be destroyed by even the worst of conditions.
As we peruse the desk calendars that I found in a junk drawer, we finish up 1982, when I was in my third (and last) semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
I see I had a statistics exam on Nov. 16. This is the class where I was a little out of my league, and the professor told us that we should have had one more class as a prerequisite as most of us didn’t know what we were doing in it. He was right. I was in a fog most of the time. At least I could understand him. I had one math class at Madison where the teaching assistant could barely speak English and every other sentence out of his mouth was “Do you understand?” And every other time, the answer out of my mouth was “No.” So, I only went to that part of the class twice and just went to the lectures thereafter.
On Nov. 3, I had an Economics exam. This professor was funny. He was a Colonel Sanders clone who liked to talk about beanie weenies and the fact that the stock market should have been way, way higher than it was. I think everyone was excited about the Dow Jones topping 1,000 back then. He said because of the strength of the economy at the time, it should have been 10,000, which not so many years later, it was.
At the beginning of December, I’ve got “job for next semester” written down. By this time, I must have decided I wanted to leave the big UW with Bucky Badger and everything. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, I had no money, I was getting fairly poor grades and I wasn’t comfortable in my environment. Oh, it was fun. But I felt like I was treading water and not really getting anywhere.
So, I made the decision to bite the bullet and move back home. I really didn’t want to do this, but it was my only choice. I was going to get a job for a semester, make some money and get back to school later. My father dissuaded me from quitting school. He said if I took a semester off, I might never get back. So he co-signed a loan to help pay for tuition to UW-Milwaukee, the 25,000-student, mostly commuter school that was mired in Division III and NAIA athletics. At least it was at the time.
So, I went about finding myself a job, and in fact, found two. My aunt and cousin worked at Marine Bank in downtown Milwaukee, and the mailroom had need of a messenger and mail processing agent (a guy to put the mail through a postage meter). I think Marine eventually got bought out by Bank One. Anyway, I also got a work/study position in UWM’s sports information department, which turned out to be one of the most fun jobs I ever had.
I also found a direction for my schooling. A friend of mine was in the midst of a broadcasting major at Marquette University, and he said it was a lot of fun, and it was something I’d be good at. I figured I could do the Mass Communications thing at UWM. So, I took my imagination, my determination to get rid of my glasses and braces, my personality and confidence just starting to rise from the depths of a formerly bottomless pit, and moved back to Wauwatosa.
