Episode 2

Late August or early September 1965. We've known this day was coming from the beginning; and that it wouldn't be a happy one; but I'm surprised how hard it's hitting her.
I've spent part of each day and all of many nights here in this walkup apartment. It's in a converted private home, with a one-of-a-kind floor plan and furniture largely made up of the landlord's discards and stuff from second - hand shops; but she's put her own touches on it. All the more intimate and cozy for not being in a "real" apartment building. Only not right now. She looks at me with open hate.
Her college is about five miles away, mine about 1,500. We're both too far along to consider transfering; plus, hers does not have ROTC. No small consideration to me in these days of VietNam and the draft. Our summer has ended. Even when a couple of friends drop by she is silent, glowering.
One last time in the bedroom. On her vanity is a lovely jewel box, light tan, finely worked. I reach to touch it...
"That's mine. I'm taking it with me."
Her voice says "Do not touch." Her face says Freud was right.
Nothing to do but leave. I go out the sun porch door and down the steps to my car. Soon I'm on Huntoon Street in Topeka Kansas, about a mile away from my rented room, looking forward to the coming year.

Sorry for the misprint. It should have read "night time".

Wisconsin Avenue runs from Georgetown in Washington DC through Bethesda, where it becomes a numbered route extending well up into the State of Maryland. In 1965, Bethesda might have best been described as an essentially upper middle class near-suburb of DC with stores, restaurants, office buildings and drinking establishments similar to your pubs. A "U turn" is American-English for a 180 degree turn on a street or road to reverse the direction of travel, and is usually illegal on major thoroughfares. In this case, Paul and I are initially travelling north. By turning left off the avenue and left again onto the frontage road, (a road running parallel to a larger road, in this case, Wisconsin), Paul has legally gotten us headed south; and can turn back onto Wisconsin in a block or so.

Paul and I spent many evenings and nights riding around the streets of DC and Bethesda in the "real" 1965 and, since he was driving, he pretty much "called the shots". He might have wanted to go back to DC, he might have wanted to go to a nearby convenience store to buy beer. Things happen so fast in the dream that I really don't have any time to wonder why he turned.

Paul was my best friend at that time and until his death a few years ago. I don't know if you're familiar with the Neil Simon play "The Odd Couple" and the American TV show based on it, or with "Mutt and Jeff", but we brought different outlooks, personalities and mindsets together in a most complementary way and shared a certain sense of the ridiculous. In dreams, especially back in the 1980s, you'd describe him as an alter ego or positive Jungian Shadow.

A sidewalk is a paved walkway running parallel to the street.

I describe myself as "angry with relief". After all, we'd come within a foot or so of hitting her because she didn't even look. A cop is a police officer and, had I been one, she'd have at least gotten a severe talking-to. Maybe more. Her attire, including the V-neck, (a pretty shallow V), was actually pretty modest.

As the dream closes, I am not yet attracted to her. I think that would have come soon enough had it continued. As you'll see when we get to Episode 2, we obviously "form a relationship", and wouldn't I like to have had some dreams about that!

As you know, I share your distrust of dream dictionaries; but consider the one on this site an exception. Much dreamwork is similar to a conversation where one person speaks English and the other Mandarin (or, actually, sign language, mime and pictures). You need to intuit the meanings more than "logic them out." This is where dictionaries like Marcia and Jonathan's help. They give you ideas.

Thanks so much Bob,

You have given me a really detailed response to my questions on the elements of your Susan Story.

To be honest this is not going to work for me. Unfortunately the work that we have done so far on the board, would have taken maybe 5 minutes on skype, also i am unable to ask for clarifications or amplifications to avoid dead ends in the interview process.

I am afraid that interviewing this way is too time intensive and would take hours to cover just a short dream.

But thanks for your kind assistance. and good luck in working on your dreams.
Wildharvest