Dream On...

Do you have dreams? If you do, do you remember them in vivid Technicolor? My buddy, Ed, is one of those guys who does. He has such elaborate dreams with elements that usually don't belong together, it's always entertaining to hear his rendition of such dreams. He's a great story teller too. Occasionally, I have dreams and actually remember them. Most of the time they are just flashes, like watching a highlight reel after a big game.
Last night was different. I don't know if it was the leftovers from Red Lobster that I ate at 11pm or just the fact that I was really tired, but one dream I had last night was very clear. My dream was from a memory from a long time ago. When we were very young Dad would take us to Niddles Creek, {sp?} out near the county line. We would fish for catfish and bluegill. My dream was me, as a very young guy, somewhere around 6-8 years of age. We were sitting in our old folding chairs, you know, those ones with the nylon type straps that leave waffle marks on your backside if you sit in them too long. We were bobber fishing and being a little bored as kids get, I started fooling around in my chair. Dad had left us for a few minutes to retrieve something from his vehicle. I started to stand up in the chair to see where he was and one of my legs slipped between the "waffle butt" straps of the chair. As I went through the chair, the metal frame became unbalanced and started to tip over. I panicked and tried to regain balance by hopping on the one leg that went through the chair. My hopping caused the chair to begin folding up and pinched my leg in the metal frame. Down I went in a heap of flailing arms and leg, caught in the ninja death grip of a K-Mart 'waffle butt' folding chair. To a young child this is definitely a serious and traumatic situation. I was screaming in pain, somewhat embarrassed, and wondering why no one was trying to help me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dad running towards us with a traumatic look on his face, as if someone was letting out a death scream. That might have been me. When he got to my side he quickly assessed the situation, unfolded the chair and removed my leg from the waffle straps. Dad snatched me from what in my young mind seemed like certain death, and picked me up in his arms. After checking the marks on my leg from the chair frame and making sure I was okay, he wanted to know what happened. My siblings were quick to fill Dad in and let him know that I was standing up in the folding chair. I told him that I was looking for him but couldn't see him so I stood up. Next I was scolded for standing up in the unstable 'waffle butt' chair and I swore I would never do it again. Dad put me down and I went over to an empty 5 gallon bucket and turned it over to sit on that to fish. That's where my dream ended, or what I can remember of it.
The dream was crystal clear and so vivid as if this happened yesterday and not 40 years ago. Then I began to think, 'Why in the world would I have a dream like that in the first place?' My only reasoning for such a dream is that maybe I needed this reminder. My Dad wasn't a perfect Dad, but he showed a pretty great balance of compassion, discipline, silliness, common sense, and love of family and his life. Some people on the outside looking in might say that he was 'tough' on us boys. I'm sure I might have thought so when I was a kid, but as an adult, I'm incredibly thankful for my Dad. He taught me what a good work ethic is; he taught us there's a right and wrong to everything and you stay out of trouble more often if you're in the right; he taught us the importance of doing for others, especially those less fortunate than yourself; but I believe, most importantly, he modeled for us boys how to be a good husband and dad.
In many situations with our own kids I find myself asking this question, "What would Dad do?" Yes, we're dealing with a very different generation of kids from when we were growing up, but I believe if we stay true to some of the "old school' ways, more of the kids today would be more respectful of adults and those in authority. But that's a whole different blog post in itself. Dad's been gone for a long time, but to see him so vividly in a dream was pretty cool. Remembering him when he was in his prime; strong, handsome, smiling, was certainly better than remembering him in his last few months on earth. Thanks for the dream last night Dad. I hope some day that we get to sit together and you tell me that 'I made you proud as a husband and dad.' But until then, I'll just see you in my dreams.
I can't finish the story there because my fishing pals are going to want to know this. Ed, Bobby, Ralph, Ted, Jason...when we went fishing with Dad, we almost always brought back a 5 gallon bucket with fish in it, and that's no dream!
Thanks for reading, and that's the view from my stand!