Grey Matter Cinema's Grand Opening
I have decided to name my dream journal the 'Grey Matter Cinema'. A name blended from years of LD's, hence 'Grey Matter', and I produce video's for various reasons and clients, thusly 'Cinema'.
I began keeping dream journals when I realized the value of awakening into a LD. My notes go back over 20 years, written on an assortment of notepads, diaries, and 3-ring binders, I have accumulated many descriptions of my LD adventures, trials and victories.
There several LD's that I continue to have on a recurring theme. Two or three times each year, I get to continue these dramas, some are re-runs, most are continuations of the previous 'episode'.
This is one of my earliest LD recollections, around age 9 or 10.
As a child, I was also caught up in those nightmares fabricated from hours and hours of 50's 'B' movie marathons. Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Werewolf, the Blob, the Fly, the dead witch from Black Sabbath, on and on. Couple that with frozen pizza and Pepsi...
I had discovered a formula for Ld'ing!
I didn’t fight back, I just ran and hid. Waking up was not an option, I just had to get away! Coming home from Cub Scouts one evening, as I did for many years, I opened the iron gate into our yard. My German Shepherd 'Sarge' is not there to greet me as I walk up the driveway.
Its unusually dark, the yard light isn’t on, the air feels thick and sinister, I slow down, someone is standing at the back door...
Its the Mummy! I'm in that dream again! He steps off the porch and stumbles towards me. I run back down the driveway, remembering to close the gate because the Mummy cant work the latch too well. My neighbor Pete is on his front porch, asks me if its that Mummy again. I say yeah.
Now I'm safe, I cant go home, but I'm in control. I somehow know that my body is sleeping very soundly, its almost like a feeling I have, I can judge how deeply asleep I am. An ability that I continue to use.
The street lights are on, that’s good, the maple trees are there also, better. This is my street at night. I crouch down and touch the sidewalk, feeling the texture of the concrete, the sandiness, its firmness, it feels warm. (reality checking?)
Now I remembered what I wanted to try, I began to run across my neighbor’s lawn, I went into a belly slide, and simply glided across several lawns three feet above the ground. I concentrated hard, and 'pulled up' over the roof of the pink house down the street!
I was flying! Not falling, sliding or waking up, I finally flew. I knew nothing of the term Lucid Dreaming, no one did. This was 1968, the middle of the Cold War. I was playing sandlot ball, riding my Stingray, watching Gilligan’s Island, Ed Sullivan, Superman...yeah...Superman.
Just hold my arms out like he does, legs back. My body snags a few shingles as I begin loosing altitude. I can see the Mummy in my yard still trying to get out as I pass over my house. I'm waking up, just when I was getting the idea!
I learned early on that I could re-direct my nightmares in a different direction, I was always a good problem solver, and fear is a good motivator.
When the Gillman was terrorizing my street, I broke out the garden hose and began wetting him down. All he wanted was a drink. My DC friends were amazed at my quick thinking, We stood there taking turns filling his mouth up from the garden hose and watching him gurgle it up. We had to be careful though, he still bites.
Moonscape
A Grey Matter Cinema' Production
2007
Conversations With My Dog
Sarge was our family German Shepherd, always hungry, he had bitten every kid on the block at least once, (the Rodriquez brothers at least two times each).
It was kind of like the neighborhood initiation, come play with us, Sarge gets a piece of you.
He was acting rather unusual that day, walking slow, then circling around me, it was one of those classic San Gabriel valley summer days, hot and smoggy.
I went to the backyard for some reason and stood there looking around, Sarge was there next to me.
I began to wonder where everyone else is at, then I realized I dont live here anymore, and Sarge was put down over 30 years ago, I suddenly became very lucid.
I also was aware of my dog sitting there next to me, as if he was waiting for me to LD, he looked at me...I said, "Hey boy! how have you been?" as I touched his head...
Sarge answered, "Fine, they treat us good."
Me: "I'm sorry that I wasnt there when they got rid of you", (I was away at
school when he was put to sleep.)
Sarge: "Thats okay, but I did miss you". His long tonque moved in and out as
he panted.
Me: "Why did you bite so many people back then?"
Sarge: "I dont know, I just didnt like everyone."
Me: "So where did you go after I left?"
Sarge: "Somewhere."
Me: "Are you alright where you are at?"
Sarge: "Yes, I get to rest a lot."
Me: "Are you hungry?"
Sarge: "No, but thanks for always feeding me."
Me: "I wish we could have gone to more places."
Sarge: "Thats okay."
(At this point I knew that this dream was going to end, so I hurried.)
Me: "Where are you going?" He had started to walk away.
Sarge: "I have to go home."
Me: "Will you be okay now?"
Sarge: "Yes...bye..."
I didnt know what else to say to him as he walked away.
The dream faded, I still reflect on that meeting with Sarge, I feel good that I got to see him again, and now I know that he's okay.
Marooned on Beaver Planet
“Everyone! brace for impact!” was the commanders order as I held on to the armrests of my seat. Our spacecraft was about the size of a small airliner, there were about 25 passengers, 4 seats across with a center aisle.
Everyone wore similar jumpsuits, almost light blue in color. I was seated about halfway from the front. I could see the two pilots as they struggled to maintain level flight, we were obviously going in for an emergency landing.
I looked outside of the porthole, we were gliding in at a safe angle, but too fast. The terrain on this planet appeared similar to the Earth, oceans, continents, forests, deserts, but for now, I just wanted to land and get away from the spaceship.
We came in over a green valley, the craft leveled off as it struck the ground and skidded along a grassy field. The pilots were frantically attempting to stop the sliding craft. I could see everything shaking and bouncing inside of the cabin as we held on. The ship slowed and came to a gentle stop. Everyone immediately unbuckled and headed for the exit hatch on the left. I remember seeing a mix of men and women astronauts, from various races, and about 30 to 40 years old.
The shiny hatch lowered and everyone evacuated the ship. We stood around and looked out over the land, which was all grassy rolling hills, trees, and no signs of civilization.
Our spaceship was only slightly damaged, both short wings were intact. The shiny skin showed a few dents, but nothing serious. Everyone understood that we were going to be on this unknown planet for the rest of our lives.
Someone noticed a group of individuals approaching, still too far to identify. We watched as they came closer. To our collective amazement, we were being visited by a group of upright walking beaver people.
The leader of the group approached us, he spoke, “Is everyone alright? We saw your ship coming in and we came out to see if we can be of any help.”
One of the pilots explained that everyone came through okay, the only problem is that we have no way of ever returning to our home planet Earth.
The leader again spoke, “I am Dr. Ott, the leader of the Clan of Beaver of the village of Nor.” He was obviously the oldest of the group, he wore no clothes, with the exception of a pair of glasses, he was all beaver.
The other beavers proceeded to move amongst us and introduce themselves. None of them approached me. We all then began to follow our beaver rescuers back to their village, where we will stay.
(I don’t fully recall the actual walk, there was a dirt trail that we all followed)
We arrived on a hillside overlooking the beaver village Nor. Dr. Ott explained that each one of us would be welcomed into every-ones homes.
The village was just that…a small village, complete with a population of beavers of all sizes going about their daily business.
As we entered the main street of the village, the residents came out to greet us. I remember the little beaver children coming up to us, smiling and chattering their excitement at out arrival.
We were first going to Dr. Ott’s home, where everything will be explained to us and we would be assigned to our adoptive homes.
Dr. Ott’s home was constructed of logs, of all sizes. Everything was built as any intelligent beaver would, the logs were obviously chewed, and they were joined with expert precision. All of the wood surfaces were sealed with clear lacquer.
We entered his home, everything was of solid wood… floors, walls, doors, cabinets, furniture, tables, chairs. He gave us a tour and explained that everything was similar to the workings of our former home planet.
The kitchen was carved and polished thick wood counters, cabinets and a sink. Mrs. Ott smiled as she was busy at work preparing a meal for her new guests.
The rest of the expansive home was similar to our homes, the only exception was the pool in the middle of the living room. I looked down and at the bottom, in about 12 feet of water, his children were watching a TV set! They were also working on their homework.
Dr. Ott explained that they spend a lot of time under the water, especially in the summer months. He opened a cabinet and produced an underwater breathing apparatus for us in the event that we wished to join them. The gear consisted of a simple mouthpiece fed by a thin air line.
A few of the crewmembers took up the offer, put on the breathing gear and jumped in. I could see them sitting on the recliners deep at the bottom. They were watching TV.
Mrs. Ott was serving food and drinks. We were soon standing around mingling with other beaver people that were opening their homes and adopting us. I never did find out where I was going to stay. I was talking to another crew member about getting back to Earth, we agreed that unless we could come up with a Space Shuttle type of launch vehicle, we will have no way of returning home.
Dr. Ott then walked up and spoke, “I have the necessary money and technology to get your spaceship back into orbit. It will take a tremendous amount of work, but I believe it can be accomplished.”
I responded, “ Doctor, don’t you understand that it took a huge amount of engineering, money and resources to get our ship into space, and I don’t see how you and your people will be able to help us get back home.”
He responded, “Yes, I understand your doubt, but I am the richest member of the Beaver Clan, I possess enough money to purchase the necessary equipment from NASA.”
I then asked Mr. Ott if he had been in touch with NASA, and was aware that Earth was far away and getting all of that equipment here was not possible.
“Just let me worry about that problem, I think I have enough pull to get us the necessary material. In the meantime, enjoy your stay with us. “
He waddled away, I turned to the other crew member and asked him, “Do you believe that he will be able to buy a launch complex from NASA?”
He responded with something about lets just see what happens.
I went outside, there were several small beaver kids playing. They squealed as I approached and ran off. They were all smiling as they returned. I tried to get closer to them, they seemed friendly, but they were very shy.
I could see the entire village of Nor below us, Dr. Ott’s home was up on a low rise at the end of the main street through town. I wondered to myself about my family back home, knowing that I will never see them again. My family, home, friends, job, car, dogs… I am never going to see them again.
My Date with Jennifer Connely part 1
I walked along the wooden floor of the base cafe, the click of my heels echoed through the empty room. There were no patrons, only empty tables and no one sitting at the bar.
Everything had a sepia tinge to it, like in an old movie. By the look and feel of the scene, it was obviously during WW-II, and I was in uniform, a person of somewhat high ranking, it was possibly an Army uniform.
The air was warm and dusty, The Glen Miller Orchestra played ‘String of Pearls’ from the jukebox. The lone bartender paid me no attention as I passed by, he was wiping the bar.
I saw her sitting there at a small table to my left, she smiled as I approached. I said hi as she rose to her feet. She smiled and extended her hand. I took it and gave a gentle shake. I asked her if she had been waiting long, she said no as she smiled again.
I sat across from her, the small round table only had 2 chairs, so we were close to each other. A waiter came over and set a plate of sandwiches and 2 glasses of beer down.
“I already ordered for us.” She smiled again as she lifted the glass to her lips. I raised my glass and sipped the ice cold beer. She wasn’t shy at all about eating, she picked up one of the sandwiches and bit into it, I watched her closely as she chewed carefully.
I had realized that I was LD’ing when I first entered the cafe. Everything was real down to the last detail. Rather than go off on my own direction, I had decided to see how this LD would play out.
“What are you looking at?” she said as I continued to watch her every move. I could hardly believe that I was sitting at a table, in an Army base cafe, in a uniform, having lunch with Jennifer Connely.
“I just wish that we could stay here forever, I’ve wanted to meet you for so long, you know that I’m only dreaming, and I will eventually have to leave.” I took a bite of the sandwich, a Club Sandwich I believe.
She set her glass down, “Its okay, I just want to make the most of the time that we have together.”
I was amazed at the continual clarity and realism of this LD. I was getting absolutely no indication that I would be waking up soon, everything was 100% real. I didn’t need to RC at all. Every move that I made was like RC’ing continually.
She appeared as she did in The Rocketeer, likely due to the WW-II setting of that movie. Her attire and manner reflected her character in that film. She wore a white 2-piece outfit, trimmed with black, padded shoulders, the skirt was narrow at the bottom just like in those days. She wore matching white pumps.
The juke box played another familiar dance tune, I asked her if she wanted to dance as I stood.
“Certainly I will.” was her response as she rose and walked towards me. I took her hand and led her a few steps away from our table. I put my left arm around her waist and pulled her in close. She was a few inches shorter than me. Our right hands were joined as we moved slowly to the music.
I held her as we moved back and forth, the horns from the Glen Miller record in perfect harmony. I looked out the windows at the airfield, a few scattered planes, several cars and jeeps basked in the sun.
“You know Jennifer, I really like that movie you did with Don Johnson, The Hot Spot.” She smiled and giggled a little, she held me tighter as we moved together.
“Oh that one…yeah, it was a fun project, it was a warm time of the year, but I guess that’s what they wanted.”
She was slightly embarrassed I think because in that movie she did her only nude scene. It was tastefully done with no overboard shots. I was sure that’s was why she smiled and rested her chin on my shoulder.
I kept waiting for this dream to end abruptly, but I was still firmly in this LD with no signs of fading away. We continued to dance.
I could feel and smell her long dark hair across my arms as I held her. She lifted her head and looked at me, her face only inches from mine.
‘You are a really nice guy, I’m glad that we have this time, I get so busy some times.” She looked into my eyes as I kissed her gently, our lips touching slightly. We embraced and kissed as we danced. Everything about her and I was real. There was no foggy areas or shaky recollections. Our lips pressed together, our tongues teased and explored.
After a few minutes of our slow dancing and kissing, the music stopped and I led her back to our table. I sat, took a drink, and then I knew that this LD was approaching its end. I knew that no amount of RC’s or hand rubbing would keep me here, as bad as I wanted to.
“You know that I have to go now, I’ve had the most wonderful time with you, I wish we could do this again and for a longer time.”
She smiled, “That’s okay Larry, I knew that you would be leaving, but I will be here when you return, I had such a good time with you. But you have to go now, I’ll see you soon, okay?”
I didn’t have time to respond, as I awoke, the last scene I remember was her sitting there looking at me, as if she was watching me fade away.