The Dream

I probably dream more often than I think I do, but upon waking, I rarely remember more than just a few fragments of what I have dreamed the night before, not enough to think about or to try to figure out the meaning of what I do remember. This habit is probably just as psychologically significant as it would be to remember the dream fully and to offer it up for interpretation.

Recently, however, I had a dream that I remember in what (I think) is its entirety. Here I share it with you...I am certain that it is open to a number of interpretations. Feel free to attach your own meaning to it.

The dream...

I am in a jumbo jet, a 747. I do not know where I am going on this airplane. When the dream begins (or when what I remember of it begins) I am just on board along with a multitude of other passengers.

The flight seems normal. Looking out the window, I can see the mountains below. They are mountains that are akin to those in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, mountains that are old, worn away to but a portion of their former selves, mountains very similar to those through which I recently drove on my way to Boone, NC. The roads wind around the edges, ascending and descending, serpentine fashion.

The day is lovely. The sun is shining.

As I watch the scene below the plane unfold, I begin to wonder why such a large aircraft is so near the earth below. I should be seeing only clouds and sky from on high.

A voice (male) comes over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Please fasten your seat belts. We are going to have to make an emergency landing." His voice is calm. Assured.

The passengers are also calm. We watch as the plane descends to a curving mountain road. Just before touching down, we gain altitude, ascend to a height from which the road appears to be but a ribbon.

This descent we do three times. Each time, the landing is aborted.

The voice returns to the passenger cabin and informs us that the next attempt will be our last. The airplane must be landed, but the landing will involve passing through a mountain tunnel. Again, we are encouraged to remain calm.

The plane descends again. It nears the road, but before it touches down, it is hurtling through the tunnel at an extremely high rate of speed. I am curious, not afraid. I see the walls of the tunnel only as a blurred surface. Occasionally, the tip of a wing makes slight contact with the wall. Sparks and stars shoot in all directions. The feeling is that of being in the ending scene of "2001."

As suddenly as we entered the tunnel, we exit the far end. Sunlight returns. The plane slows. It is on a mountain road, a gravel road. Tall trees stand on either side. On one side of the road, there is a rushing creek. On the other side, a sign pointing the way into the forest to "10 Mile Falls."

Slowly, the plane taxis into a small village, where between the school and a chalet, it stops to properly observe a stop sign. This village is familiar to me. It is the exact replica of a place I have stayed on many occasions.

The plane moves forward again. With its wings nearly touching the buildings on either side, it stops at a loading dock. A crew of strong and boisterous young men form a human chain and begin to offload the cargo. I watch them from my window.

A stewardess appears at my seat. "Will you be going on with us to our next stop?"

I am startled by her question as I thought this was an emergency landing. "How will this plane take off?" I ask.

"Oh, the Captain says we will just go up the road a bit, turn around, and then take off from there. We will be going downhill so that should help us gain enough speed to take off."

"I think I will just get off here," I tell her.