2022/11/03: Cars, cars, cars....

[Richard Silk]

There have been a few car-related dreams of late, sometimes involving a character similar to myself although usually involving other characters, such as the character of one of my former employers, B.I., from the business Automotive Service— Like one a few nights back wherein the dreamer walked into an open bay (where a customer pulls in a car for service, oil change, tire rotation, shocks, brakes, etc.) and returned a pair of (small) brown shoes. They were smaller than I (personally) wear in waking life, around maybe size 7 to 8? 9 *maybe*? Whereas IRL I typically wear a size 10½ (US) although back in my youth I once wore size 12, but that was at the peak of my mid-teens, and was mostly size 11 until my older age when I began to shrink in size, slightly, down from nearly 6'2" to just over 6', I suspect.

So even as the dreamer was "returning" the shoes (as if [Someone left these outside and I thought I'd return them to where they belong]) the thought was in the dreamer's mind that [I wear a larger shoe size / they appear small] there was also a thought of [Who left the bay door wide open? That's a bit careless. I wonder if Bobby (the shop owner) is around?] but the dream ended right there. Clarity 8+? (I *seem* to recall having seen a character *similar* to myself yet looking *like* Bobby at the start of the dream, before the dreamer walks into the open bay. Sort of like how Rod Serling (imdb.com/name/nm0785245/mediaviewer/rm2066334208) introduces an episode of "The Twilight Zone" (imdb.com/title/tt0052520) then the show changes to the storyline.)

I only bring this up because there have been a *few* car-related dreams that have gone by that I've not posted, merely because to do so would get a bit repetitive without some "difference with a distinction" to point out.

Well, last night, there was a slightly different distinction to write about.

At one point, there was the dreamer and something akin to a gray, 1984 Volvo 240 DL (with the twin rectangular pair of headlights ("4 eyes") rather than the singular pair of "dual beams.") At one time, I actually had a vehicle similar to this, then also owned a yellow Volvo of the same year, make and model (for a brief period) then the gray went away (I seem to recall having given it away to Sheryl Miller) and I just drove the yellow (sorry, didn't want to start digging up my used car history. The *point* is that the dream involves an old-model, gray vehicle, similar to an '84 Volvo.) The car was "in for repair" / examination / estimates of some kind, as there appeared to be some type of rust-related damage. Only when we (people today) think of rust damage (IRL) it's typically like something you can press your thumb or finger into and bend it. Guys in the biz sometimes refer to *serious* or significant rust damage as "crunchy."

The body of the vehicle in the dream was "brittle." One press dislodged a chunk of a lower side or possibly door panel such that it simply "broke off" away from the rest of the body, and it was apparent that any pressure to any other part of the body could result in the same consequence. The dreamer was considering a new(er) vehicle in comparison to the cost of fixing the existing one (which appeared financially unsound) when the dream ended. In hindsight, I can see how those with resources to preserve and maintain a vehicle can also maintain the ambiance ("ambience" is British English) that accompanies the driving of that vehicle.

This part of last night's dreams brings to mind another car-related dream from the past week or two, in which the dreamer was holding a type of "smart key" that has a few functions associated with it. IRL, a "smart key" may have a "fob" built into it so that the holder may press a button to [lock/unlock, trigger a panic alarm] or (regardless of the fob) manually unlock the door using the key hole (some modern cars no longer have key holes!) Some keys (Buicks / GMs) used to be made with a kind of resistor chip in the metal shaft of the key that had to match something electrically internal to the ignition lock, or else the car wouldn't start. (Sometimes those resistors would wear out and cause all kinds of anger from the car owners. You just don't see many of those left these days.)

At any rate, in this "older dream," the dreamer was holding a "smart key" when the structure of the metal shaft of the key (that was easily ½" wide to 1"?) began to *mush apart* (for lack of a better term.) It was as if the structure of the key had been comprised of finely inter-locking puzzle pieces, sort of like a Chinese wood block puzzle, and that by pressing the metal between the (right) thumb and forefinger, the pieces all *smushed apart.* (End of dream, clarity 8±? No idea of what it was about, other than perhaps some "keys" depend upon usage. Reality Conforms to Thought.)

So now we catch up (finally?) to last night's dreams about cars... the *brittle* gray Volvo was being "left behind" as the dreamer was contemplating a "newer" vehicle. (I've never bought a "new car" (as of this writing) as that really has 0 financial benefits, especially when some "used" cars still maintain the original warranty. Perhaps if I were to win the lottery...?)

So the dreamer is in a very brief segment, perhaps only a fraction of a second in dream time, of driving something very similar to a '74 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, but with more of "cosmetic" appearance of a Pontiac Le Mans, also of the '70s era. The dreamer was enjoying the surge of horsepower during acceleration, when that dream snip ended. (A "snip" being *much shorter* than a "clip.") NOTE: IRL, I used to drive my mother's '74 Olds Cutlass Supreme with a 455 cu" (cubic inch) "Rocket" engine with a dbl bbl (double barrel) carburetor and that sucker had HORSE POWER! Still, the vehicle in the dream had a smoother "feel" to it, *possibly* as a consequence of it being in a dream environment.

But the car-related dreams don't end there, oh no! This next dream has a "guest appearance" if you will, of a character from the TV series, "Blue Bloods" (imdb.com/title/tt1595859) that of the character "Jamie Reagan" (imdb.com/name/nm0261678 , Will Estes, imdb.com/name/nm0261678/mediaviewer/rm732286464) (and no, I have no idea why he was in the dream, other than perhaps as the traffic cop archetype coming to the aid of a driver in need of assistance, which seems rather logical, considering the development of the rest of the dream.)

The *perspective* of the dreamer (that of the camera, actually) was that of someone (facing the camera) with a typical coat hanger wire straight-section (around 12" in length) with the intention of being used to unlock a car, presumably through the weatherstripping of the window. (That has become increasingly difficult in modern cars, but used to be a routine matter IRL.) Although the dream is a shade evaporated, I *think* it may have been the cop figure holding the wire, although IRL, cops typically carry along a "Slim Jim" flat strip of metal about an inch wide (and maybe an eighth of an inch thick, if that much) and about 2' in length. IRL, a cop typically slides the Slim Jim down the outside of the driver's window and "lifts" the physical locking mechanism (thus unlocking the car. A real pro once showed me how he could *not only* "pop the lock" *but **also ***open the door*** ** * using the Slim Jim without ever touching the car door's handle!) I have little-to-no idea as to how or if cops / patrol officers even still carry these, or even then, if they still function on today's vehicles! Apparently it's an "optional" personal item that an officer may choose to carry in the "shop" (patrol car)— typically slid between the fold of the rear seat, believe it or not.

The dream picks up with the (traditional) wire of the (average) coat hanger being held with two hands, such as the left hand further away and above, with the right hand lower down, closer to the camera / dreamer's perspective.

Then another guy (similar in appearance to the character of "Sean Reagan" (of "Blue Bloods", imdb.com/name/nm4098180) of the "heftier" / heavier appearance (imdb.com/name/nm4098180/mediaviewer/rm3156646913)) presents a slimmer wire of the same coppery color, as if someone had created a coat hanger of a thinner gauge (of half the diameter) of the traditional coat hanger.

Clarity 9, but was overall very short: just the one guy with the regular wire, then the second (younger) guy with the thinner wire. The dream-mind was actually more interested in the wires than in anything else. It has just occurred to me (as I type this) that wires (strings, lines, bands, etc.) in dreams may be analogous to astral cords, that which connects the dream body (living spirit) to the physical body (as well as the soul.)

The author Richard Bach once made a reference in one of his books to how he sees his connection(s) in terms of heavy chains, whereas his (then) wife (Leslie Parish, imdb.com/name/nm0663562 ) was more like a gossamer web. I wonder about how I tend to see things in terms of light and darkness. Meanwhile, my mind is spinning now to some extent at this thought, and I need to copy/paste/edit this text from offline composition into the html of the dream page.