My Rakia*-Inspired Dream
Did new Granddaughter inspire dream?
I dreamed I was on a cruise ship with friends. We were griping about the fact that we were sharing our ship with Sarah Palin and what sarcastic things we would say to her if we met her. We were heading down to watch one of the shows in the main theater when, in a side hallway, all along, sat Sarah. She was dressed nicely as one would on a cruise and she was alone. And, she looked really unhappy.
The writer in me could not resist this, so I went and sat next to her and introduced myself and asked why, on a beautiful ship on such a beautiful day, she looked so sad. She looked up at me (her head had been in her hands) and, with her lower lip quivering mama-grizzly style, she told me she was terribly worried about Bristol, who just could not cope with all the fame and the media pressure and, in spite of her age, was starting to act out. I told her about my daughter who is a wonderful woman and friend today but who had sometimes driven me crazy when she was younger. And the next thing you know, we were both standing and she is hugging me and sobbing on my shoulder and I am wiping away tears, too. I would guess that my friends were a bit put out by my absence, particularly if they turned around and saw me hugging her, but it felt like a wonderful moment to me, that notion that parenthood and human-hood transcends politics.
Maybe it was the Rakia I drank the night before or the new granddaughter (Madeline Elaine, born St. Patrick’s day) or that brilliant full moon or hearing how the Japanese are sharing what they have with each other instead of looting and violence that made me have such a hopeful dream of how, in spite of our differences, Sarah and I could meet at our human level.
Then, of course, things got more dreamlike and somewhat calculating. I decided to give Sarah my card with my e-mail address thinking maybe we could keep in touch or she could put in a nice word about my books but I could not find a card or a pen that would write on the scrap of paper I’d dug out of my purse. I tried a long time and when I turned to say something apologetic to Sarah, she was gone and the moment had passed and life went back to normal.
*Homemade fruit brandy from Slovakia with a white lightning kick to it. Warms you everywhere.
