Paperback Writer

Dream 2/11/2017

     The town I am in is nearly empty. Dead. Nobody is here except for the ferry operators. The ferry is a hover ship. It hovers twenty feet above the ground. I take the ferry and tour the ghost city.

     In South Africa, I visit a library. Whenever I visit a bookstore or library, especially one in another part of the world, I like to check if they have any of my published books. I move down the last names of each book on the shelf until I get to "Laverty." Wow, they have one. All the way in South Africa. I grab it. It's my guitar tutorial book. It teaches beginning guitar students how to play chords and then songs with those chords. This particular book seems to have been used a lot. The pages are frazzled and there are papers left inside, probably from the last user.

     The clerk asks if I want to check that one out. I mention that I'm just looking at it because I wrote it. He is pleasantly surprised and tells me that I can just have it if I want. I tell him, "no, it looks like it's getting good use here." I put it back on the shelf. Dream ends.

I WAKE UP. 

Coward

Dream 2/4/2017

     I am in a small, western town, similar to the towns you would find in the 1800's wild west. My dad is here as well.

     A band of bad men storm our little town and start terrorizing the people here. I run to a shed far away from these evil men. I hide outside the shed, in between the shed wall and a barbed wire fence. I grab four or five blue and red milk crates and cover myself with them. I am hiding although I should be fighting for the safety of my townspeople. My dad comes and discovers my cowardice. Dream ends.

I WAKE UP

Redding, California

Dream 7/28/2015

My mom gets remarried to Bill Johnson, the pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.

      I move to Redding. They live in a nice house and he treats her well. I go to a night service at the church. I see Bill. His hair has grown very long so now he keeps it in a pony tail. It hits me that he is my stepdad. I have a seat about three rows back on the right side of the auditorium. I sit next to a few jokesters.

     The worship service begins. Suddenly, I am holding a Fender Telecaster. I start to play it and notice the sound coming through the church speakers. The guys next to me take the guitar and start messing with the band on stage. I move a row back and sit next to a guy named Robert Graff.

     When the service ends, I need a ride back to my stepdads office. Robert offers to give me a ride. As I sit in his car, I notice that he looks like a blind man. He tells me that he is. How is he driving a car? We're going the wrong way. I ask him where he's taking me. He thought I wanted to go to London Town. I correct him and he takes me back to Bill Johnson's house.

I mention to a lady in the house that Robert Graff gave me a ride home. She looks confused.

"Robert Graff is dead," she says. "He's been dead for years."
"Are you sure?"
"I can show you where he's buried."

I am in shock.

     I am asked to help some of the churchgoers build a deck and some diving boards for the lake. On the way to the lake, I am met by a young, black boy. Their is something familiar about him. He tells me that his name is Robert Graff. Maybe he's just a ghost who needs a friend, like Casper.

     We make it to the lake. Much of the work is already done. We relax and have fun under the summer sun. I climb to the high dive where everyone is hanging out. It's really just a wooden dock ten feet in the air. One by one people take turns jumping into the lake. I love living in this town. Dream ends.

I wake up