Dream a Little Dream

This is one of my favorite songs - Louis Armstrong, Dream A Little Dream (although I think I've only heard Mel Torme sing it).

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singin' in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longin' to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

(instrumental break)

Stars shining up above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singin' in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Yes, dream a little dream of me

Okay, did anyone ever see Dream A Little Dream? It was kind of a weird movie but I really enjoyed it. Of course, I did have quite the crush on the Coreys. A fact that scares me very much to admit it now but that's what I do, people of the internet. I dig into the inner reaches of my soul and share it with you. Feel the love and oddity that takes place.

So the reason for the lyrics and the question about the movie is because one thing about sleep apnea that I have discovered is that when it's left untreated, you rarely ever hit REM sleep. Sunday morning I had one of the most vivid dreams that I have had in awhile. The last time I had one like this was the Rock and Lola dream.

Anyway, because it's completely weird and who knows, maybe you can help figure out what my psyche is trying to tell me, I'm going to share it with you. I am a sharing and caring Dana.

Our dream opens with Beth, Keem and myself on a bus. There are a lot of other people with us, no one that I recognize but I know that we are on our way to someplace through NABABNA (our employer, National American Bank of America, Baby, National Association (Why yes, that is a false name. How did you guess?). We were being punished for some reason but I have no idea what we had done.

We end up in this field in the middle of nowhere. As we exit the bus, I can see two things. One is this weird "Survivor" maze - balance beams, Tarzan-like ropes or vines hanging over massive mud puddles, all of these different obstacles. The other is this drill sergeant guy who has Bobby's body (including his hands, thank God) but had the face of this fairly cute black jack dealer I met over the weekend.

The drill sergeant is barking out orders to all of us as we get off the bus. We are supposed to form into teams and put on these rain slickers. The slickers are more than just rain coats, they are actually fashioned into this jumpsuit sort of outfit. We (Beth, Keem and I) are all on the same team, the red team. The other team is the orange team. Beth is able to find a slicker without any problem. Keem finds one. So I start looking for one that will fit me through this weird closet thing that is in the middle of the field.

I can't find one. I find black and orange and green slickers, the colors were vivid and beautiful but not the color I needed! So I start crying. Heartwrenching sobs because I cannot participate in this obstacle. The drill sergeant comes over and I start yelling at him through my tears about how I could find a black slicker with a red lining but not a red slicker. Damn him and his cruel torture! He puts his arms around me and is consoling me by patting my back with those beautiful, beautiful hands and God, he smells so good, like fresh cut grass and rain and Drakkar Noir all rolled into one.

And then not being content to see where this beautiful moment might take us, my stupid, stupid brain decides to change the dream on me. And now Beth, Keem and I are in a bar, in Las Vegas, one of those bars that has all of the knick knacks hanging on the walls and a huge mirror behind the bar so you're looking at yourself. We are sitting at the bar and all of the executives from NABABNA were giving us prizes for something. The CEO of NABABNA was the bartender. And the hot drill sergeant was there but our moment had passed and he was ignoring me. Damn him.

Beth and Keem tell me they are leaving and I start gathering my prizes together but the box they are in is extremely heavy and I can't carry it. So I start asking the bartender for bags and he gives them to me until I am trying to shove all of my prizes into these bags and they are falling all over the place. I look up and Beth and Keem are gone and I am suddenly surrounded by old people. Who keep calling me honey and dear and asking if I'm okay.

Then there are these two 15 year old hispanic boys sitting next to me and one of them sees the pictures I had received as a prize, these antique, sepia photos of Spanish women with lace mantillas. One of them starts yelling at me that I can't have these photos because I don't respect his culture and I'm a bitch and I snap. I tell him to not mess with me because I have plenty of respect for his culture and if he doesn't watch it, I'll kick his ass because I am 23 years older than him. His friend apologizes to me and the drill sergeant comes over and wants to console me again but I have to go find my friends (stupid brain! Do you not understand how hot he is?) and I start heading out the door.

The bartender calls my name. "Dana! Don't you want a drink before you go?"

Now, I don't drink alcohol and haven't for at least 2 years but I say yes. He turns and goes to this fountain like contraption in the wall and all of this liquid chocolate is flowing out of it. He fills a glass halfway with the chocolate and then dumps a ton of Bailey's into it. I slam this drink and then feel the burning of the alcohol as it enters my system. I start feeling all fuzzy and warm and am just about to grab the drill sergeant and have my way with him because I am filled with alcoholic courage...

When, of course, I am outside of the bar, walking down the steps with my prizes. There is an old woman standing on the steps and I ask her if she can call me a cab. She says no. Apparently, and she acts as if I am so stupid for not knowing this, there are no cabs in Las Vegas this weekend. They are all in Arizona for a cab conference or convention. WTF? I start stumbling down the steps because the alcohol really affected me (I was a total lightweight before I quit drinking and hey, two years without booze? That's totally going to knock me on my ass) and I remember the drill sergeant had followed me out of the bar, checking to see if I was okay.

Suddenly I see a cab down the street and start running down the steps, prizes bouncing out of the bags all around me. The drill sergeant is chasing me and is just about to catch me (ooh, yeah, please!) when a car pulls up. It is Beth and Keem.

Beth rolls down the window and yells "Dana, get in the car! We have to be in Alaska in the morning!"

And I woke up.

Now, the question that I ask you is merely this. What the hell does this all mean? And why were we going to Alaska?

Previous Comments:

At 6:24 AM, Weary Hag said...
Dana, I don't know about Alaska but your dream cracked me up. Possibly you dreamed about travel because of your upcoming trip and knowing you had to get passports, etc. Hey, that song? It's one of my favorites too. Try finding a copy of it online by Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas. What a version she did! I still love the Louis Armstrong version as well. Good song choice! :)