One of the dreams began with rather low clarity, having something to do with general housing with nondescript people, quite possibly in a type of communal / familial type arrangement, but it was of low clarity, and as such I really can't remember much of it past waking up.

There was *one* segment, however, that "stood out" as it involved two other guys and the dreamer:

One of the two guys was *like* a "powerful politician" (or someone who perhaps was pretending to be one) while the *other* of the two guys was like an agent of the FBI, or possibly a member of the Secret Service (of the Treasury Department) but felt and acted like a fascist thug. (***Far*** too familiar during the Biden installation!)

The thug was approaching the dreamer in something akin to a threatening, bullying (*exceptionally jihad-like*) type manner, whereas the closer the first other person came to the dreamer, the more the guard/thug approached the dreamer, to which the dreamer ***at least twice*** rebuffed the thug with a simple distancing of the dreamer's outstretched (right) arm / hand.

What happened next was rather curious, as the dreamer had to say something THREE times to [get it right]: The first two were *slightly* in error, yet as the dreamer focused on saying it correctly, the dream began to move very much into the focus of clarity 9 or 10, as "I" was as if editing the thought in my mind in order to say it correctly, something *like*: "If I have to keep my distance from him, then you have to keep your distance from me."

Now for those who may someday be reading this and possibly trying to "map this out in your head" so to speak, the dreamer was trying to maintain the *equilateral* balance of the 3 points of a triangle.

Let's assume the politician type were the "President" of the USA, and for the purposes of this dream in today's time frame, the person *pretending* to be President (representing the Executive Branch) would be Joe Biden, which would explain why the other guy (who NORMALLY would be a member of the Secret Service) seemed to be of the FBI, a member of the Executive Branch as well, but acting as if in a judicial (enforcement) role, which would be a violation of the "Separation of Powers" structured into the U.S. Constitution..

Thus the dreamer, in this case, would be representative of the legislative power, verbally issuing the rule that the executive thug keep his distance equal to the distance between the President figure and the dreamer, whereas the use of the "long arm of the law" (for enforcement of the maintaining of distance) would represent the physical enactment of actual "justice." (Think of "justice" as in "justification," as in how text in a document may be left or right justified, or centered.) Clarity started at around 5 or 6, then moved right up to 9, *bordering* upon lucid, as I (the dreamer) had to "think" in order to explain to the thug the separate-but-equal nature of the 3 points.

"The Queen Takes a Spin" was a semi-wakeful, semi-dream state moment where the dreamer was halfway awake, thinking, "I coulda sworn I just saw (or must have imagined seeing) the late Queen Elizabeth II zipping eastward down Greenland Drive (as seen from Scottland, looking south) in a car, as it passed the Greenland / Scottland intersection, similar in size and shape to a small, *dark* Rolls, which could only be interpreted in any "sensible" fashion as traveling toward the direction of the sunrise, the widely held symbol of the Resurrection. Clarity 7+ / 8-, again, just *barely* bordering upon lucidity, as the moment *immediately* after it happened, *almost* simultaneously, the *sleeper* thought something akin to: "I must've been dreaming."

In what may be something of two firsts for me, I had a dream involving Richard Gere, someone of whom I've *never* before (that I'm aware of) had any dream whatsoever. Sure, he's a relatively decent actor with a relatively handsome appearance, but other than having seen him in one or two scenes, I have no clue about the guy. For whatever reason, maybe personal? who knows? the more "handsome" a guy may be, the less interest I seem to have in him. (Personally, I *was* exceptionally handsome back in my 20s, but always thought I looked a bit "geeky" or "nerdy." Nowadays, I'm lucky to pass for "distinguished.")

+++
At any rate, the dreamer is *as if* seated at a round table with a white tablecloth at a restaurant, also something of a very rare thing in my life, as I'm partial to booths and have a relatively strong aversion to restaurants in general, as the prices they charge run from exorbitant to *obscene* compared to what I can whip (or whisk) up at home.

Regardless, the dreamer is at this table and stands up (or is standing) for some introductions. IF I recall correctly, the dreamer introduced Richard Gere to someone else around the table, as it certainly seemed to be as if introducing person A to group C. So far, nothing remarkable, but why "I" would be at a swanky restaurant and introducing RG to a group is totally outside my present-day comprehension, as such simply is NOT in my circle of likely activity. (Sure, I got a lifetime Thespian qualification in high school, but so what?)

The kicker is what happened next: RG introduced me *by name* to someone as well, "... this is Richard Silk," at which point I'd like to say the dream ended, but somewhere during last night there is a segment where the dreamer was shaking hands with someone. Whether it was at this point in the RG dream appears unclear, but what I *do* recall of whomever's hand I was shaking, is that there was a general comment that the dreamer try not to crush the hand of the older gentleman, at which point, the dreamer suddenly became aware of what was thought to be just a "firm" handshake, but realized the other guy's hand / bone structure was getting <squished> so the dreamer *lightened up* and that segment ended.

IF the handshake was NOT a part of the prior RG section, then the RG section ended right after he mentioned my name, which brought me "back to body" as they say in the astral projection community. In plain language, it made me mindful of myself, and I awoke. I *suspect* the handshake segment may have been an element that *preceded* the RG scene at the restaurant.

Handshake squish / "return to body" was around clarity 8- /but ended as the dreamer "let up"/ on the handshake, which was taking a rapid, positive asymptotic curve as "I" *mindfully* "let up" on the grip.

The restaurant dream with RG introducing me *by name* (which seems, to me, to be of *far* more interest, that someone would call me *by my name* in a dream!) was around clarity 9+ yet went to waking consciousness afterward.

+++
The "Fishing through Nissan" dream was rather odd, as the dreamer was puzzling over it even during the dream itself:

The dreamer was in a setting *much like* the front half-acre of my old property on Asbury Lane, which has a creek running west-to-east along the northern border of the property (IRL.) From that front-of-yard perspective, there appeared to be a fishing line running from the creek area to the south, which *should* have led across Medical Center Parkway and (at a southeasterly angle) eventually somewhere along the western side of the old, Murfreesboro Courthouse. Instead, the dreamer starts to follow the line (because, as some fishermen often do, they try to rescue a lure whenever possible) and finds the line has led (roughly Southeast) across Asbury lane into the northern end of the Nissan factory.

Now, anybody familiar with the geography of the area will spot the fact that, in real life (IRL) Nissan is actually NORTHeast of Asbury Lane, so apparently this may have had something to do with the line that travels through one's lifetime, rather than "just" a fishing line in a dream.

At any rate, the dreamer touched upon the line (which was straight *as well as* taught) at or above shoulder level, certainly *within the dreamer's grasp* so to speak, somewhere inside the building that seemed like Nissan (located in real life in Smyrna, TN— I've worked there IRL as a subcontractor on 3 separate occasions in 3 different areas) and as the dreamer followed the line, there arose a question in the dreamer's mind (or someone in the dream may have asked it aloud) as to "HOW did someone cast a fishing line all the way through the (Nissan) building?" (which, if thought of as simply a fishing line, would be impossible. The longest someone would be able to cast a fishing line IRL would be from outside the gates to somewhere in one of the parking lots. Even if casting indoors along a main aisle, it would not have stretched *through* the building, but simply fallen flat to the ground.) And yet, this line was going straight through the building, as if it were possibly "caught" somewhere further south (which, from the northern hemisphere, is traditionally "toward the light" of the sun) which is where the dreamer wanted to follow in order to free and recover the lure.

However, the dreamer came upon something of a *tangle* or *snarl* of line, very much akin to what a length of fishing line stretched out would look like if, for some reason, an area of slack had been introduced, and the line was a *mess.* However, the line appeared to continue traveling *past* the snarl, on out through the (southern) wall of the building (as if through one of the exit gates designed for vehicles to leave the factory.)

Now, personally, I have a "first instinct" to untangle a snarled line if at all possible. I've often done this successfully, yet at times had to "splice" the line in order to remove the tangle and preserve the majority of the string, cord, whatever. Splicing preserves the line, sure, but "weakens" the overall integrity of the line.

And although you may never see this in an instruction manual, but when splicing any kind of electrical cord, it greatly behooves the individual to splice both lines of the cord at significantly different places, like this...
--*-------
-------*--
....so as to help prevent short circuiting / electrical shock / severe damage if ANY of the insulated area around the splice of either part of the cord should happen to wear thin.

While the dreamer was seriously contemplating splicing out the snarl in order to continue searching for the lure, the dream ended.

While this seemed like an overall clarity 9, that line itself was of *absolute* clarity 10 (it had the tactile sensation of being *taught* within the dream!) I feel this whole dream is like a symbolic synopsis (or even parable!) of my life (clarity 7) and that fishing line is akin to what may be considered my "astral cord" or "lifeline." It is far better to simply "forgive" the snarled zone and continue following the line to find the lure. The snarled / tangled line could *certainly* be analogous to a period in my (past) life during which I was *seriously* "messed up."

And although the directions listed in the text of this writing indicate the direction of the line would end up roughly to the west of the courthouse, still headed southeast, I have a *very* strong suspicion that it actually leads "through" a scene from real life of myself with Gina in her dorm room, or in general at MTSU (*east* of the courthouse, but then again, the Nissan plant is NORTH of Asbury Lane) or possibly even to the home of her youth in Pulaski, Tennessee.

IF one could think of "south" as "in the past," then it begins to make *perfect* sense. Any scene from *any* point in the past (such as my trip in 1995 to Canada) would be seen as "south" of this location today (very near the exact center of the State of Tennessee.) In the infinite, present moment of "NOW," there would be no "direction," akin to a rapidly spinning compass needle.

But hey, that's all "speculation" at this point, and was not visually a part of the dream scene in this journal entry. I'm just VERY curious to know what might be the "lure" and where might it be "caught" if the dreamer had continued (literally!) "along that line."

+++
PILE of checks!:

I have a hunch this dream was actually before or possibly between the other two dreams, but here goes:

The dream begins in what *may* have been an auto-repair shop, with what *may* have been a few of the mechanics who worked there, which is akin to something from my past (real life) work history, wherein I was akin to an "office manager" / "bookkeeper" but with a very meagerly paycheck (only $10.oo/hr, but that was "above minimum wage" in those days, which was between $5 to $7 something an hour.)

The thing is, the dreamer *and* at least one other guy (possibly two others) ended up on (or the scene migrated to) a type of wooden platform, as if built at a significant height above ground, somewhere high enough, say, to bungee jump or possibly base jump with a parachute, seemingly in a wooded area (as if trees could grow to such a height.) To be clear, the dreamer did not actually "check" to see how high above ground the platform was, but was merely content that it seemed stable enough that it could be stood upon, reasonably. (IF this had been a "real life" platform, one would have been naturally cautious around the edges(!) which, in the dream, seemed to have a barrister of sorts, similar in shape and appearance to the ropes around a boxing ring, but with an appearance similar to wood. The platform *seemed* as if located in the eastern (front) half acre of the property I owned back on Asbury Lane, just like the fishing line through Nissan dream.)

On Friday, September 16, 2022 at 1:16:59 PM UTC-6, dick...@gmail.com wrote:
> In what may be something of two firsts for me, I had a dream involving Richard Gere, someone of whom I've *never* before (that I'm aware of) had any dream whatsoever. Sure, he's a relatively decent actor with a relatively handsome appearance, but other than having seen him in one or two scenes, I have no clue about the guy. For whatever reason, maybe personal? who knows? the more "handsome" a guy may be, the less interest I seem to have in him. (Personally, I *was* exceptionally handsome back in my 20s, but always thought I looked a bit "geeky" or "nerdy." Nowadays, I'm lucky to pass for "distinguished.")
>
> +++
> At any rate, the dreamer is *as if* seated at a round table with a white tablecloth at a restaurant, also something of a very rare thing in my life, as I'm partial to booths and have a relatively strong aversion to restaurants in general, as the prices they charge run from exorbitant to *obscene* compared to what I can whip (or whisk) up at home.
>
> Regardless, the dreamer is at this table and stands up (or is standing) for some introductions. IF I recall correctly, the dreamer introduced Richard Gere to someone else around the table, as it certainly seemed to be as if introducing person A to group C. So far, nothing remarkable, but why "I" would be at a swanky restaurant and introducing RG to a group is totally outside my present-day comprehension, as such simply is NOT in my circle of likely activity. (Sure, I got a lifetime Thespian qualification in high school, but so what?)
>
> The kicker is what happened next: RG introduced me *by name* to someone as well, "... this is Richard Silk," at which point I'd like to say the dream ended, but somewhere during last night there is a segment where the dreamer was shaking hands with someone. Whether it was at this point in the RG dream appears unclear, but what I *do* recall of whomever's hand I was shaking, is that there was a general comment that the dreamer try not to crush the hand of the older gentleman, at which point, the dreamer suddenly became aware of what was thought to be just a "firm" handshake, but realized the other guy's hand / bone structure was getting <squished> so the dreamer *lightened up* and that segment ended.
>
> IF the handshake was NOT a part of the prior RG section, then the RG section ended right after he mentioned my name, which brought me "back to body" as they say in the astral projection community. In plain language, it made me mindful of myself, and I awoke. I *suspect* the handshake segment may have been an element that *preceded* the RG scene at the restaurant.
>
> Handshake squish / "return to body" was around clarity 8- /but ended as the dreamer "let up"/ on the handshake, which was taking a rapid, positive asymptotic curve as "I" *mindfully* "let up" on the grip.
>
> The restaurant dream with RG introducing me *by name* (which seems, to me, to be of *far* more interest, that someone would call me *by my name* in a dream!) was around clarity 9+ yet went to waking consciousness afterward.
>
> +++
> The "Fishing through Nissan" dream was rather odd, as the dreamer was puzzling over it even during the dream itself:
>
> The dreamer was in a setting *much like* the front half-acre of my old property on Asbury Lane, which has a creek running west-to-east along the northern border of the property (IRL.) From that front-of-yard perspective, there appeared to be a fishing line running from the creek area to the south, which *should* have led across Medical Center Parkway and (at a southeasterly angle) eventually somewhere along the western side of the old, Murfreesboro Courthouse. Instead, the dreamer starts to follow the line (because, as some fishermen often do, they try to rescue a lure whenever possible) and finds the line has led (roughly Southeast) across Asbury lane into the northern end of the Nissan factory.
>
> Now, anybody familiar with the geography of the area will spot the fact that, in real life (IRL) Nissan is actually NORTHeast of Asbury Lane, so apparently this may have had something to do with the line that travels through one's lifetime, rather than "just" a fishing line in a dream.
>
> At any rate, the dreamer touched upon the line (which was straight *as well as* taught) at or above shoulder level, certainly *within the dreamer's grasp* so to speak, somewhere inside the building that seemed like Nissan (located in real life in Smyrna, TN— I've worked there IRL as a subcontractor on 3 separate occasions in 3 different areas) and as the dreamer followed the line, there arose a question in the dreamer's mind (or someone in the dream may have asked it aloud) as to "HOW did someone cast a fishing line all the way through the (Nissan) building?" (which, if thought of as simply a fishing line, would be impossible. The longest someone would be able to cast a fishing line IRL would be from outside the gates to somewhere in one of the parking lots. Even if casting indoors along a main aisle, it would not have stretched *through* the building, but simply fallen flat to the ground.) And yet, this line was going straight through the building, as if it were possibly "caught" somewhere further south (which, from the northern hemisphere, is traditionally "toward the light" of the sun) which is where the dreamer wanted to follow in order to free and recover the lure.
>
> However, the dreamer came upon something of a *tangle* or *snarl* of line, very much akin to what a length of fishing line stretched out would look like if, for some reason, an area of slack had been introduced, and the line was a *mess.* However, the line appeared to continue traveling *past* the snarl, on out through the (southern) wall of the building (as if through one of the exit gates designed for vehicles to leave the factory.)
>
> Now, personally, I have a "first instinct" to untangle a snarled line if at all possible. I've often done this successfully, yet at times had to "splice" the line in order to remove the tangle and preserve the majority of the string, cord, whatever. Splicing preserves the line, sure, but "weakens" the overall integrity of the line.
>
> And although you may never see this in an instruction manual, but when splicing any kind of electrical cord, it greatly behooves the individual to splice both lines of the cord at significantly different places, like this....
> --*-------
> -------*--
> ...so as to help prevent short circuiting / electrical shock / severe damage if ANY of the insulated area around the splice of either part of the cord should happen to wear thin.
>
> While the dreamer was seriously contemplating splicing out the snarl in order to continue searching for the lure, the dream ended.
>
> While this seemed like an overall clarity 9, that line itself was of *absolute* clarity 10 (it had the tactile sensation of being *taught* within the dream!) I feel this whole dream is like a symbolic synopsis (or even parable!) of my life (clarity 7) and that fishing line is akin to what may be considered my "astral cord" or "lifeline." It is far better to simply "forgive" the snarled zone and continue following the line to find the lure. The snarled / tangled line could *certainly* be analogous to a period in my (past) life during which I was *seriously* "messed up."
>
> And although the directions listed in the text of this writing indicate the direction of the line would end up roughly to the west of the courthouse, still headed southeast, I have a *very* strong suspicion that it actually leads "through" a scene from real life of myself with Gina in her dorm room, or in general at MTSU (*east* of the courthouse, but then again, the Nissan plant is NORTH of Asbury Lane) or possibly even to the home of her youth in Pulaski, Tennessee.
>
> IF one could think of "south" as "in the past," then it begins to make *perfect* sense. Any scene from *any* point in the past (such as my trip in 1995 to Canada) would be seen as "south" of this location today (very near the exact center of the State of Tennessee.) In the infinite, present moment of "NOW," there would be no "direction," akin to a rapidly spinning compass needle.
>
> But hey, that's all "speculation" at this point, and was not visually a part of the dream scene in this journal entry. I'm just VERY curious to know what might be the "lure" and where might it be "caught" if the dreamer had continued (literally!) "along that line."
>
> +++
> PILE of checks!:
>
> I have a hunch this dream was actually before or possibly between the other two dreams, but here goes:
>
> The dream begins in what *may* have been an auto-repair shop, with what *may* have been a few of the mechanics who worked there, which is akin to something from my past (real life) work history, wherein I was akin to an "office manager" / "bookkeeper" but with a very meagerly paycheck (only $10.oo/hr, but that was "above minimum wage" in those days, which was between $5 to $7 something an hour.)
>
> The thing is, the dreamer *and* at least one other guy (possibly two others) ended up on (or the scene migrated to) a type of wooden platform, as if built at a significant height above ground, somewhere high enough, say, to bungee jump or possibly base jump with a parachute, seemingly in a wooded area (as if trees could grow to such a height.) To be clear, the dreamer did not actually "check" to see how high above ground the platform was, but was merely content that it seemed stable enough that it could be stood upon, reasonably. (IF this had been a "real life" platform, one would have been naturally cautious around the edges(!) which, in the dream, seemed to have a barrister of sorts, similar in shape and appearance to the ropes around a boxing ring, but with an appearance similar to wood. The platform *seemed* as if located in the eastern (front) half acre of the property I owned back on Asbury Lane, just like the fishing line through Nissan dream.)
>
> One (if not both) of the other guys "took a dive" off the support structure into the (apparent) "jungle" below. Left behind, on a (NE) corner of the platform, perhaps a foot or two south of the corner, along the eastern edge, was a *stack* of checks, maybe three stacks wide, mostly of the size of personal checks, which are roughly the size of a dollar bill.
>
> The "sense" felt by this stack of checks is that they represented (assumed valid) payments for services rendered, *likely* for the automotive repair from the half-remembered fog of a dream that preceded the platform scene.
>
> The dreamer had a natural curiosity as to how much all those checks came to, and actually began adding a few of them up, starting from the top of one of the stacks, when perhaps 2 checks "fluttered" off the platform, down below, as if by a wind gust, and the dreamer was suddenly mindful of the necessity of preventing further flutters, and actually felt a sense of responsibility in recovering those two wind-blown checks.
>
> Someone returned to the platform, and the dreamer remarked on those two checks that had fluttered down and the need to recover/retrieve them. The dreamer also wanted to be sure to present the "air" of responsibility for the assets, *rather* than that of a thief, who would've absconded with the stacks of checks for personal gain.
>
> The preceding section of the repair shop was around clarity 3 or 4, as it was *barely* rememberable as the following platform scene significantly "upstaged" the preceding content.
>
> The platform scene was more of a clarity 7 (symbolic of the past) to 8+ or 9- (overall. Good, full color, texture of background and foreground, plot device being the stack of checks, moral quandary, etc.)
**********************************************************************************************************
Hello Richard,
Do you think your dream about Richard Gere would of been different if the actor had been a beautiful woman?
Sandy$

On Monday, September 19, 2022 at 8:47:55 AM UTC-5, sandy$ wrote:
<snip>
> Do you think your dream about Richard Gere would [have] been different if the actor had been a beautiful woman?
> Sandy$

Yes, clearly. Female differs from male.

There was an astral-journey-type dream (back some decades ago, I'm *fairly* certain I posted it in alt.dreams, probably back during the AOL era!— somewhere between 1985 and 1990, between ages 24 and 29) wherein the directional "pull" of the line of travel had the dreamer as if on a broomstick as if traveling at a low rate of speed, perhaps at or -barely faster- than walking speed, very possibly slower than normal walking speed, yet perfectly straight, perfectly smooth, through the inside (VERY large hall) of a castle.

The travel had begun at a faster rate of speed, wherein the dreamer was as if a gargoyle of some sort, with another gargoyle-like character riding behind, as in the style of two people on a motorcycle (or two witches on a broomstick, duh!) The front character had a greenish "skin" tone, while the rear character was somewhat more yellowish-brownish in color.

(May as well completely retell what I can remember of it—)

This whole sequence began when a rather dark hand was seen (in a dream) coming up from the ground, as if to offer help. The dreamer said, "Take me to the home of..." (Gina's first husband's first nickname and last surname.)

The dreamer then took the dark hand (that was *thinly* outlined in light, by the way) *literally* "by the hand" and the hand began a "pull" which led the mind of the dreamer through a number of scenes which we'll skip here for the sake of brevity (as they figuratively depicted a *number* of scenes of the life that was to come for myself, with one scene regarding my (then future) son Charles, and my (even further then-future) 3 children from Joyce..)

Eventually, the *same pull* led into the scene with the two characters on a broomstick:

The outside setting was as if at night (rather bluish-dark but the silhouette of a castle much like Hogwarts, only with a creepy feeling, was darker than the nighttime sky surrounding the castle) and the two characters were flying as if over a rampart / battlement / wall, into an outer courtyard, then right into the main (entrance?) hall, at which the broom was flying slow and straight, whereas back outside, it had been in something of an arc curve or possibly a descending angle (hard to remember all the details that far back.) The inside of the large hall seemed lit as if by candle flame / lamps at various locations about the hallway, with a grand fireplace along a wall, off to the right, up ahead.

The reason I'm repeating this story is because of the parallel of having heard someone speak my name within a dream....

At any rate, the two characters are on the broomstick, low and slow (as if the feet were maybe 2' or 3' above the stone-paved floor?) when spotted off to the right (at about 1 or 2 o'clock, as the angle was reducing toward 3 o'clock, as the broom was traveling toward 12 o'clock) at about 15 to 20 yards away was a dingy (not shiny, not rusty) full suit of armor, facing the 6 o'clock direction, standing as if against a wall, where the room expanded out a bit wider than the main hall.

There was a moment of activity when the suit of armor became animated, and the visor went up (or was no longer visible) and the guy *inside* the armor was clearly identified as myself, back when I wore glasses (pre-LASIK in 2001) which became obvious as the guy in the suit of armor took at least one, maybe two steps forward, then executed as fast a right turn as someone could, wearing a suit like that, and there was a look of recognition and surprise / delight / (friendship/love?) on his face.

What happened next is a bit awkward to write about, but the focus of the dreamer became very "first person" in the mind of the character in the front position on the broomstick. As the two characters continued to move forward, the broomstick became like the phallus of the character in the rear, and also became an immediately annoying presence in the "rear" of the front character.

In an annoyed voice, the front character said (as the "dreamer" said) in a nearly muted volume, "Get your dick out of my a$$hole."

The response from behind was as a question, as if from a position of ignorance, possibly from simply not having heard the dreamer clearly, "What did you say?"

"I said, 'GET your *dick* OUT of my A$$HOLE'!" — at which point the dreamer / front character made a *rapid* counter-clockwise 180° turn (an "about face," turning to the left) with the right arm extended, though aimed downward, at about ~35° below level, at which point the dreamer's hand came into contact with the phallic presence of the character to the rear, at which at that *exact* moment was heard only one name: "Richard"—

In the hearing of that name, there was only the sound present within the darkness, as all dream scenery was gone. Just the sound of the name, in the mind of the sleeper-dreamer as the scene ended, as I returned to the waking state.

That entire scene had a unique clarity, clearly 7 symbolically, yet absolutely clear as a 10, as if the two characters on the broomstick were "real" within their own realm / setting / "dream-verse" of the "multiverse" of "Reality."

Just as a follow-up to that dream event, Charles was born in 1992, and the divorce from Helen was *finally* final in March of '95, whereupon I immediately set out with Charles to find Gina in Canada to propose to her.

That in itself is an *interesting* story, but the relevance to the dream is that after I actually proposed to her, *in front of witnesses* AND *in front of her husband,* the "battle in my mind" of hearing his name all the time finally ended. The name "Richard" was then (and is) foremost in my own mind. I consider this a distinguishing feature of "sanity" / mental health.

That Gina eventually divorced "Guido" (my nickname for him) at some point later became a *major* "victory" in the annals of my lifetime.

Now all she need do now is divorce "Ray," her 2nd Canadian husband (if she hasn't done so already) so that she can marry me. But that's a future that has yet to come to full fruition.

(Time of typing: 10:40 AM CDT, as the funeral service of QEII is going on live at the moment.)