(I wish I had a peach colored background to indicate dream sequence)
I woke up in an ambulance.
I had some recollection of being an intern or assistant at the 'American Red Cross
Emergency Heart and Cardiovascular Care'. I was sitting upright in a doctor's chair, facing a nurse who seemed to not notice me. There was beeping in the background from a medical machine. My body felt a little weird - like the cramping feeling you get in your arm when you donate blood - except all over. I looked down at my legs and noticed a large lump beneath the calf of my right pant leg. I pulled up my pant to discover a large pumping device strapped around my leg. I panicked and struggled in vain to pull it off, but the nurse continued to ignore me.
After accepting that the situation was beyond my control, I took a closer look at the pump and realized that I was sharing it with someone else, sitting directly behind me. By the looks of it, the pump was taking the strangers blood and using a filtering device to
pump my fresh blood back into their body. I wondered whether or not I would ever be able to donate blood again. Then the beeping stopped.
Complete silence.
After a few seconds, from behind me, an authoritative voice declares: "There is a risk of contamination and a likelihood that the donor has contracted the Pennsylvania Virus - which will most likely lead to death".
My heart sinks. Panicked again, I looked to the nurse who had ignored me before. Noticing my glance, she finally looks at me and asks: "Well, did you have something to eat today?" Not remembering what I had for breakfast, I thought back to the large dinner I had before I went to bed that night and replied "yes". Looking down again, the nurse sighs, raises her eyebrows and gives me a look as if to say 'Well, that may help...but we can only hope for the best now'.
I wondered to myself - if I had contracted this mysterious virus - whether my death would be short and fast, or long and painful.
Then I really woke up.
Now, I'm not a big believer in dream interpretation (I think dreams have different meanings depending on whom dreamt them. For instance, mine probably means I'm going to die), but I do believe that there are certain things you can do to intensify your dreams.
Like going out to an early Thanksgiving dinner with your roommates family - which is exactly what I did before I went to bed the night I had that dream.
This reminds me of one of my favorite comic strips called 'Dream of the Rarebit Fiend' (1904). For reference, welsh rarebit (or 'rabbit') was a sort of cheese stew popular at the turn of the century and it was common folklore at the time, that anyone who ate too much rarebit for dinner would have intense, often frightening dreams - which is exactly what Windsor McCay capitalized on.
Here are a few examples:
Ah yes, the classic 'I really need to get somewhere but seem to be running in place' dream...
I'm surprised Nike didn't get sued for copyright infringement for this one. Although I suppose it has been almost 100 years...
And at the end, the 'rarebit fiend' always wakes up to realize he/she was dreaming. This is actually how I imagine I looked when I jolted myself awake at 6:00am to jot down my dream - minus the hair ribbons and ruffled nightgown.
And by 'rarebits' of course I am referring to shrimp cocktail, lampchop, new york strip, prime-rib, crab stuffed portabella, tiramisu, apple tart, raspberry cheesecake and two glasses of pinot noir.
In conclusion:
best dinner ever = worst dream ever
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