Tonight’s Dream Was Off the Rails

OK. I think I’ve been seeing too many medieval memes (knights dressed in armor saying they’re girding their loins to go grocery shopping) and the Doctor McCoy meme that has been altered to read “Corona Virus? What is this–the Dark Ages?”

 

I’ve just awakened from a dream in which I seemed to be spending the better part of an hour looking up a receipt (the old-fashioned way–rifling through files) to “prove” I received a free calendar from a company so I could ask them to please send me one that isn’t for the year 1000…

 

In the dream, as I’m looking for the freaking receipt (which I saw just a minute ago in some file, but can’t find again now when I need it) I’m thinking of clever ways to request a current calendar:

 

• “Um…this free calendar you sent me is a little out of date… like, even before the printing press was invented by some 1500 years…”
• “The days seem all right, but the year is way off… it’s messing mightily with my OCD. Can you send me something more … recent, please?”
• “The year 1000. Nice. Well, it fits right in with global pandemics, all right! But I’d prefer something more current, even if it’s not free!”

 

You get my drift.

 

I’m telling myself in the dream, “Don’t get mad and nasty just because you can’t easily find the receipt again. Give them a smile when you request a replacement. Don’t be a jerk.”

 

I’m moderating my response… telling myself not to over react just because I’m locked down and feeling a little bit like a caged animal.

 

I’m not feeling too caged when I’m awake. I’m an introvert: I’m usually home anyway.

 

But it is disconcerting to want to go get a hamburger or a sub sandwich (a formerly semi-common activity) and realize I can’t just do that as in days of yore.  I’m locked down except for grocery shopping and medical appointments by order of the Governor, and I respect that. There’s an invisible scourge out there that could kill me or someone I love if I inadvertently cross paths with a  sick, underpaid “essential personnel” cashier or cook who has to work or starve…

 

So, it feels medieval to have to hide away from an unseen enemy who is worlds worse than a pillager you can see in advance and “gird your loins” against.

 

That’s probably why the dreams of “flashbacks” to days of files and millennia…

 

In Other News:

 

I was getting down to the bottom of a big jar of peanut butter (fortunately, there’s a new one in the cupboard which I got on my last foray out) so instead of washing it out before putting it into the recycle bin, I decided to throw it into the back yard and let the crows peck at it.  (Crows are our friends. They raise a huge ruckus when a bald eagle lands in our trees, so Jackie knows not to let Kiki out to potty. The crows drove the eagle off when Jackie brought Kiki out a few days ago; gave it the bums rush. And I’ve seen them drive a wily coyote out of the back yard, too.)

 

I looked out a little later to see how the peanut butter pilfering was going and spotted the fuzzy butt and tail of a squirrel sticking out of it while the critter licked the bottom of the jar.

 

The jar, formerly opaque with peanut butter residue, looked pristine down to about the last inch or so. I was able to see the squirrel’s face plainly, and it could see me. (I don’t know if it was a boy or a girl, so that’s the only reason I’m calling  it an it. Forgive me!)

 

It kept coming out of the jar and looking at me (I stood looking out my kitchen window) to make sure I wasn’t going to try to pull a fast one and hurt or capture it. Nope. Not my intention. I just enjoyed watching it enjoy the feast!

 

I haven’t landed a new writing or editing client since the corona virus edict came down. My regular client has been using me for corona virus-related stuff, but even that stopped as of Monday (so far).  It’s going to be a long dry spell, it looks like. Thank God for Social Security and my small pension and annuity. I’d be up the proverbial creek without  a paddle without those.  And know a lot of other people who are in a lot worse shape than I am. I have a little (darned little) in savings.

 

I wish Bernie were POTUS right now. We’d all be taken care of, if he was. He would have done stuff earlier to mitigate against it and made sure we didn’t get utterly knee-capped by the fallout.

 

But that’s all water under the bridge. We have a chance to get it right in November again. Here’s hoping we do!