Strange Dream

Of course, all dreams are strange.  But there's something about the dream I had this morning.  Many details are already forgotten, but the main parts remain clear.

 

I dreamt that I had to drive to a destination located off Wilshire Boulevard.  I parked (in the dream I was driving my old pickup truck) in what seemed to be a small loading dock in a narrow alley off the main road (the setting seemed to be an echo of the alley behind the apartment building where I lived many years ago).  Once I got out of the truck though, it started to roll forward; I realized there was a slope, quickly jumped back in and re-parked in a more stable position.

Next thing I remember, there was a big to-do over this big spiderweb hanging in midair -- there was a bat caught in it.  At first I thought it was dead, but then it started to struggle, trying to free itself.  I grabbed my camera and took aim, but I was shooting through the cab's side window and this annoying idiot (a frat-rat type individual, that is) on the other side of the truck was inserting himself into the frame, posing mischievously in the window and spoiling the shot.  He was quickly joined by some of his buddies and I became impatient.  I finally lost my temper and yelled something like "Get outta there, you assholes!" -- and rather to my pleasant surprise, they all sheepishly obeyed me instantly.

Then I was playing with my cat *Blood (it's worth noting that over the years since Blood died his image in my dreams has been steadily eroding, becoming more and more of a generic-cat with each appearance;  however, in this dream he looked exactly as he did in life -- what a welcome development).  I put him in the truck and closed the door while I had to do something else.  When I came back I was concerned that he might run out when I opened the door, but to my relief he stayed put.  Once I got in and sat down though, I realized **Blood had climbed up under the dash (he actually did this sometimes) and I became concerned that he might chew on a wire or something in there, so I reached in and pulled him out.  When I did, his face had become thin and he looked just as he did when he was sick, just before I had to have him euthanized.

I began the return drive home, but in the meantime some people had been moving house and the alley had become clogged with all kinds of furniture and assorted debris.  Grumbling impatiently, I got out of the truck and began to clear the road.  Some of the people began to help, and a young woman heard me complaining and smilingly said "What, you thought this was an ordinary lane?".

Blood Comes Back For A Visit

This morning I dreamt of picking up a big, plump tabby cat and hugging him to my face. He responded with a long solemn kiss on my mouth.

Funny that I didn't think of it in the dream, but once I woke up I realized that cat looked a lot like Blood (Sept. 11th and 12th entries). Maybe his ghost really did come back to see me.

EDIT: OMG! I just realized it's Halloween! Now I KNOW it was the ghost of Blood, allowed for one day to walk the earth among the living -- and he chose to come to me.

Thank you, Blood -- I love you, too.

More Blood!

All of these were taken pre-digital, hence the scratchy paper prints.

My Beautiful Blood

I had him from when he was probably a couple of months old to when he was about 8 and a half, when he became so sick I had to have him euthanized. He would have lingered on a little longer with extraordinary treatment, but it would have been very expensive and I simply could not afford it at the time. I'm so sorry, Blood.

Believe it or not, he was named after a dog. A 'talking' dog in a movie, called 'A Boy and His Dog', starring a very young Don Johnson as a horny little wiseass wandering a postapocalyptic America, accompanied by a wise old telepathic dog named Blood.

I was teaching a drawing class at the time, and when one of my students learned I was looking to get myself a dog, he suggested I adopt the kitten he and his girlfriend had been caring for the last several days. They'd found him and brought him home, but their landlord wouldn't allow a pet, so they were looking for a home for him.

Well, I went to their house to check out the kitten, and I guess I just fell in love with the little furry ball of energy. Either that, or the little claws digging into me as he climbed all over me were tipped with some addictive substance.

I still miss him so much.