All Along The Watchtower

Dream 2.16.2018

I am working as a wrestler and writer for the WWE. A match in which I am appearing is about to begin. As I am cutting a promo with Triple H, I forget my lines. I run to the sheet of paper and nervously shuffle through the pages to find what I am supposed to say. It is obvious to the crowd that I've messed up. The match is about to begin. It's a three on three tag team match. Someone takes my place. I'm not upset about this. I need a break. I leave the show with Stephanie McMahon. We drive to a nearby grocery store. Later on, I think to pitch an idea to the company for a match. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shane McMahon. In my mind, this could be the biggest match in history.

The WWE is also The Honor Academy. The two are one and the same. All the interns climb a tower. I follow. It is many steps to the top. When I arrive, I see Vince McMahon in his office. He yells at me for not being in the right place. I walk to the center of the tower where dozens of interns are eating lunch. I grab a seat by my friend Derek. The table is a large, round table in a circular room. One couldn't easily talk to the person directly in front of them without talking loudly. Harrison Ford is in the opposite seat on the other side of the table. He is angry and yelling at the interns. I feel an air of status from him as if he is tired of these low life interns taking up his oxygen. He yells at the interns to be quiet as he walks into an office with big, open windows. I overhear his conversation as he picks up the phone. He says to the person on the other line, "yes, let me read what it says in this magazine and you see if it matches." I have a feeling that he is working on WWE business.

Derek and I finish our lunch. As he walks down the tower steps, I walk over to where Harrison is sitting. He along with many interns is watching the World Series on a TV mounted on the wall. I sit there as well, two seats away from the celebrity. He yells at the interns again. I notice that the interns are all wearing backward hats while I am wearing mine forward.

I walk down the steps of the tower and realize that the trip down was faster than the one up. I meet a girl who was an intern at the HA but I cannot remember her name. She has blonde hair and is shorter than me. She and I walk and talk. We mosey over to a rollercoaster that isn't supposed to be running but some interns have turned it on. As we watch the rollercoaster and some other rides, I tell her about a dream I once had (Chills and Thrills). I start to like this girl. As we walk in a parking garage, I notice someone taking my cat, Tandy, away. I take him back. I have to send him home to Indiana because he is no longer allowed here. I lose the blonde girl. We become disconnected. I don't know her name. I remember, however, that she returned a book with a yellow cover. I walk to the top of the tower where she returned it. I find it and look. Her name is inscribed on the first page.

I wake up.

Sad Ale

Dream 2/11/2018

My mom and I are driving down a country road. I want to show her a song that I found called "Ridin' On" by the band Little Caesar. I start to play it. My mom gets angry and tells me to turn it off. I'm baffled at her reaction. I tell her that the song is about a Los Angeles DJ named Lee who was killed in a hit and run motorcycle crash. She is adamant that the song is terrible.

We arrive at a birthday party for my cousin. When I step out of the car, I am immediately greeted by an old friend of mine, Troy, from the Honor Academy. At the HA, we were best friends. I run and hug him and give my best Cory Matthews impression, "Shawny!" I yell.

I sit in the living room with cousins, aunts, and uncles playing a party game. Don't tell anyone but I hate party games. The point of this game is to go around and tell your first name and then you must read a line on a card that has been given to you. My turn comes around, "my name is Keith..." I read the paper, "..S A D ALE..." The card is gibberish. I don't even know how to read it. The group ends up skipping my turn when I forget to finish and instead stare off into the distance.

At another area of the party, Troy and some others are playing a video game, a first-person shooter online multiplayer. The strange thing is that the game is not on the screen, but it's real life. I find myself underground with Troy. We are wearing battle gear. When I see someone come down the stairs, I pull out a bow and arrow and start releasing a barrage of arrows his way. I take him down. I run to the other entrance to the basement and see two others. I start shooting. Troy is crouched behind a wall, protecting himself as he battles on.

At the end of the round, I walk to a bathtub and clean myself. My naked body is on display to all party guests. For the most part, I am not embarrassed. When finished, I grab a basket of clothes and start to walk to my Jeep, which is parked up the street a bit. Troy follows me and tries to convince me to play another round. I tell him that I will as soon as I put the clothes in my car. He begs for me to play now. I say to him that I need to put my clothes in the Jeep. He relents.

I run to my Jeep, aware that others are watching me. It's strange, but I am more embarrassed now than I was in the bathtub. I make it to my Jeep and shove the basket inside. As I walk back toward the party, I see a friend from high school named Doug. He is standing by his blue pickup truck. A squirrel has somehow managed its way inside and is running like mad all around the vehicle. Doug is trying his best to get it out. I walk by and pretend that I don't see the situation. If I see and Doug knows that I know, he will expect me to help. I walk on by, my eyes looking to the ground.

I'm standing around an eating area with Troy and a few others from the Honor Academy. We're talking about college. One of the former interns tells Troy that he needs to quit many of his classes, including the TRI class. I force myself into the conversation to say that I did go to college for one semester and then dropped out because I hated it. Another person standing nearby says that he hated college as well. Dream ends.

I wake up

Start Your Engines

Dream 11/10/2017

I'm attending an internship in Texas called The Honor Academy. My mom has come to visit me. We sleep in the same bunk in a room full of bunk beds. It is early in the morning, still dark outside. On the wall is a poster. On one part of the poster it reads four Jamaicans. My mom, in the quiet room, asks what the poster means by "four Jamaicans." She then stands up and walks toward the bathroom. I stand up too but notice several other female interns walking toward the bathroom. I jump back in bed.

In the internship, we have been split into teams. Every week, someone from the team races in a NASCAR or quarter midget race. This week, one of my friends on the team is racing. At a weigh-in, the drivers cannot be over a certain weight. My friend is too heavy. It is then thought that I should drive instead. I do.

The final lap comes down to me and a girl named Katherine. I am first to cross the finish line. Cheers ring out from the stands. They hand me a trophy which looks like a wooden bowl. I run over to the stands where my team is sitting and hand them the trophy. The celebrating goes on. I ask a teammate if he thinks I am too old to try to become a professional race car driver.

My mom is sad. She also doesn't feel well. She pulls me aside and tells me that she is going to travel for a few days. No direction in mind. Just drive. I feel bad for her. A sick feeling manifests in my stomach as I watch her leave.

The internship has convened to a recreational building. I walk through the place. In one room, several people are messing around with instruments. My sister, Kristen, is here. Although my mom's leaving left me sad, I feel comforted seeing my sister. Someone asks me if I know how to play a certain song. I sit down at the drums. We mess around a bit. Dream ends.

I wake up

Fart Bottles

Dream 10/11/2017

I'm attending an internship in Texas called The Honor Academy. The director tells us that we have to get jobs. My friend informs me that there is an opening for an architects assistant. It's a job that everyone is going to want. The interns sit on the floor as the director speaks. He describes several jobs options that we can get, most notably, one that involves assisting in clearing mysterious wood chips that have appeared on Lakeland Avenue. Everyone wants this job.

The meeting ends. Those interested in the mysterious wood chip job, need to follow the director of that job. We walk through winding hallways with obstacles. Those who finish the obstacle course will be considered for the job. Many follow, few arrive. I stand at the end of the course with one other follower, my friend Sam. The director tells us that he will now choose. He tells me to go sit in a small open room next to the hallway. "The person that will be working with me is..." the director walks toward me and then quickly turns around, "...Sam!" What a bummer. I give Sam an unenthusiastic slow clap. Why would the director trick me like that? This is a major letdown. I feel sick in my stomach. All my life, I've never gotten the coveted prize. This is no exception.

The director walks with me. He tells me it was a hard decision but my resume was too good for the job. "What?" I interrupt, "my resume isn't good. I'm a college dropout who has mainly worked in fast food."

I walk to the lunchroom where a hundred interns are eating. I sit down at a busy table. The others ask what happened. I tell them that it came down to two of us and Sam was chosen. I walk out of the lunchroom for a second. On the way, I pass Wayne Knight carrying a pizza. I am a big fan of Seinfeld so I try to think of a line from the show to impress Wayne with. "Farkus!" I say. Wayne gives me a smile. Wait. In Seinfeld, Waynes name was Newman not Farkus. I try to think of something else to say. Ah! I will say "That is one magic loogie." He will love this line. Standing in the hallway outside of the cafeteria, I hear the voice of a boy say, "that is one magic loogie." What the heck. He stole my line.

I return to my table. Sam is now sitting here as well. Sam goes on talking about "Fart bottles." The table has become quiet. I turn to Sam and say, "what the hell are you talking about?" People look at me with disgust but Sam is the one talking about Fart bottles. I look at my wallet and find that my debit card and gift cards have been torn in two. I only have a few dollars. I will need to send for more money from my parents. Dream ends.

I wake up.

Barbecue

Dream 2/12/2016

I've returned to the Honor Academy.

I walk through the campus and see friends who I haven't seen for seven years. I meet new people as well. I start questioning the decision to return. Maybe I should've gone to Bethel instead.

My family comes to pick me up. We stop near a hospital and start grilling out on the grass. I go for a walk for a moment of solitude. I look back at the barbecue site and see black smoke billowing up. I run to where my brother-in-law was grilling and find my mom's Prius destroyed by fire.

We drive away. The fire has spread from the barbecue site to the hospital.

We pass oncoming fire trucks as we go. We see lines of people evacuating from the building. Hundreds of people watch from the street as the hospital goes up in flames. Dream ends.

I wake up

Prom Night

Dream 10/31/2014

It's prom night.

     This prom night is dedicated to my friends parents because they are dying of cancer.

     The way it works tonight is the guy stands by the right side of the entrance and a girl who wants to be with him for the night goes and stands by the left side. The guy then takes the girls arm and they walk inside.

     It's my turn to see what girl I end up with. My fear is that nobody will choose me. I stand by the right side of the entrance and wait. Silence. Eventually a girl named Katy comes and stands by the left side. I take her arm and we walk inside to prom.

     Now inside, we're walking around aimlessly. We find where couples are getting their pictures taken. We step in front of the camera. I pull Katy to me and hold her tight. Some of the other couples hoot and holler. As we walk away, my friend James says, "what happened to the guy I knew at the Honor Academy?" (an internship I attended from 2008-2009) I respond to him, "I think he's still back at the HA."

     Katy and I trek to the front of the auditorium. It's the size of four football fields. It takes us forever but we finally get there. At the front of the auditorium, a Broadway play is being performed. I guess Katy gets bored because now she wants to walk to the back of the auditorium. She walks ahead of me. 

I lay down on the floor, get up and walk to the back.

     I find Katy in a little open room with graffiti covering the walls. I notice one of the sayings on the wall has my name in it. I sit down with her. She looks upset. I try to hold her but she pulls away. She says, " I'm mad at you because I graffiti'd this wall for you and you didn't even notice." I'm dumbfounded. Where did she get the spray paint. I respond, "I didn't even know that this was you who did this." She's not satisfied with my response so she gets up and walks away. I only have one lingering thought running through my head, women are crazy. Dream ends

I wake up