It Was in a Dream

Right after Thanksgiving, a friend asked my brother Carl, if he would help him move some equipment. He agreed to assist him. While the two men carried a huge, bulky piece down the stairs, his friend’s end slipped from his hands and the heavy machinery fell on Carl. My brother was a strong man, but the machine crashed into his body, crushed a lung and his pelvis, and broke three of his ribs. In and out of a coma, Carl fought for nearly three months. Around eight weeks after the accident, there was visible improvement. The doctors at the hospital moved him from the critical care unit into a regular private room. On Friday, about two weeks after that, a rehabilitation facility received my brother by ambulance. The next day, I met the staff. They were all friendly. It was a great place for Carl’s recovery. That Monday, the calls started coming in from the hospital around 11 p.m. Apparently, my brother’s health took a turn for the worst and the rehab center called the hospital to take him back for treatment. By 3:15 Tuesday morning, he had expired.

The other night, I dreamed about Carl. I had been missing him, badly. You know how dreams are; all of a sudden and for reasons unknown to me, I was at the hospital where the surgeons and doctors ministered to my brother. I walked down the hall and looked inside his hospital room. He was there, lying on the bed. I went into the room and kissed him hello. He smiled back at me. Why, I wondered, had I not visited him until then. We had a pleasant visitation and when I woke, I was refreshed. Here it is, days later and I must say, it was so good to see my brother, even if it was in a dream.

Dreams

One does not have to sleep to dream. In fact, the best dreams occur while we are awake. We must control our dreams and direct them where we desire them to go. As needed we can perform a “do-over” and make things right. When we are confident, we allow dreams to set our life's course. I like the personal statement of bestselling author and screenwriter, Steven Barnes: "If there is any single thing I believe most strongly, it is that we all have the capacity to bring our most cherished dreams to life. What are required are motivating goals, discipline, honesty, and sufficient personal power to act. Life is a wonderful, complex demanding game. The way to win is to decide what you want, focus on that goal, surround yourself with people who will support your dream, and nurture the ability to laugh at yourself." He ends his proclamation by quoting Benjamin Franklin: Up, sluggard, and waste not life--there'll be rest enough in the grave.

My Long Lost Friend

For years, I searched off and on for a friend on the internet, but today I finally found him. His face was among the faces of bustedmugshots.com. I had not seen any image of him since the mid-eighties, but it was he, for sure. He had aged, appropriately though. His expression was sad, also appropriate, considering the circumstances. Understandably, he needed a shave. Other than all of this, my friend looked well. The two of us, obviously, have gone on with our lives. Clearly and especially because so much time has passed since I have seen or even heard anything about him. It has been decades. If ever there was a practical and down to earth guy, it was he. So very intelligent and self-sufficient, he was like this even when we were teenagers. A telecommunications company hired him when he got out of high school and that was the start of his career. I took one road; he took another. That is how life goes. I hope he has someone in his life to care for him the way he deserves. I do.