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Photograph taken by yours truly in eastern Washington state at sunrise, 2004

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bad Dream: The Tractor-Trailer

It's not that often that I remember my dreams, but as my sleep was interrupted around 1:00am in the morning, I vividly recall in detail this particular bad dream.  It was one of those dreams that feels very real, as I was experiencing a great deal of anxiety in the dream and even upon waking up.  I figured I would post it here on this blog while I still remember it in such detail (then hopefully, I can go back to sleep in peace!):

I was at my parents' house and was just saying goodbye to my dad.  I had rented a tractor-trailer, though no one I personally know seemed to be aware that I was doing this, including my dad.  As I'm driving the tractor-trailer alone, I come to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (if you're not familiar with it, it's an expansive bridge/tunnel connecting Hampton Roads to the Eastern Shore of Virginia).  Except in this dream, there were apparently a series of stairs on the roadway of the bridge-tunnel that you have to carefully drive your vehicle down.  Fearful of the potential dangers of driving a large tractor-trailer down a series of stairs on a bay bridge-tunnel, I slowed down and cautiously moved downward.  But apparently, I wasn't cautious enough, and the tractor-trailer overturned to its side, crushing other cars in the process.  I'm physically fine, but I see someone trapped in the car immediately next to me but can do nothing for them.  I call 911, my voice shaking, to let them know I've caused an accident.  They keep on telling me to calm down.  The dream skips here, whereupon my father enters the scene to pick me up at the bridge-tunnel.  He tells me he assumes it's a mechanical problem with the tractor-trailer and that it'll be okay.  Then he nonchalantly asks: why don't we go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and relax for a vacation?  I agree to do that, but I can't shake the lingering feeling that I'm the direct and sole cause of that massive accident.

That's when I woke up.  What a silly dream!  It's nonsensical, but it's funny how we can imagine it to be so vividly real as we experience it and even for a minute or two after we wake up.  I'm not really sure what the dream means, if anything. 

On that note, I'm going to try to go back to sleep!  Feel free to laugh, process, or wish you had done something other than read about a dream! ;-)

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