Perchance to Dream

I am alive, forum! By the power of fried chicken and an In 'n' Out burger, I finally have the energy to blog again. I was sick for the past week. I delivered a speech to my public speech class, which quickly turned it into a public humiliation class. After a humble ride home, I crawled into bed and slept for 12 hours straight. I awoke to read some manga and Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" for 5 hours and passed out for another 12 hours. With the sleep, I've had plenty of opportunity to dream of blog topics to talk about.

"To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream." Now, for the well-read, perhaps you may recognize the Shakespeare quote. It comes from the "To be or not to be" soliloquy by Hamlet. (Stop being a Hamlet, Andrew! Sorry, it was too good to pass up.) The phrase "Perchance to Dream" has been used as a title for a Twilight Zone episode, and even a Batman: The Animated Series episode. Both episodes challenged my perceptions of dreaming.

I watched the Batman: The Animated Series episode when I was about 10 years old. Bruce Wayne discovers himself in a life where he isn't Batman. His parents are alive. He's getting married to the love of his life Selina Kyle, who you probably know as Catwoman. In fact, there is another Batman protecting the city. He has a hard time relinquishing the drive to protect people, but he finally starts to settle into his peaceful life. He sits down to read the newspaper, but he can't. The text is all gibberish. In a frenzy, he flees his house and goes to the cemetery to confront Batman because Bruce knows Batman knows what is going on. I don't want to give away the ending, but needless to say, the ending for this episode blew my 10-year-old mind. I found the episode in parts on YouTube: part 1 and part 2. I think this a must-see for the Batman fan.

The Twilight Zone episode appeared more than 30 years earlier, and it contains another thought-provoking message about dreaming. A man goes to a psychiatrist to help him with a problem. The man has a weak heart, so he can't do anything too stressful. In his dreams, he is visited by a woman who makes him take thrilling rides, which make his heart want to burst. He knows the next time he falls asleep, it will be his last. Another incredible ending which will make you think. If you ever have the opportunity, I suggest you watch it. Sorry, I couldn't find the episode on YouTube for you.

Now, I've talked about two television series and their mischievous dealings with dreams. How does this concern me? Whenever I get sick, I have a perchance to dream.

In the 7th grade, we were required to read a book called "The Hero and the Crown". I was running a fever, so I was lying in bed trying to keep up with school work. I was reading the book, but I kept fading in and out of reality. The forest and shrubbery became more than words, I had become one with the book. I will never forget the description of the man's skin as "milky-white". It was all so vivid. Think Avatar 3-D, and kick it up a couple of notches. Unbeknownst to me, my fever had run up to 106 degrees. My mom rushed me to the emergency room, and I was fine.

Ever since, when I'm sick, I have a tendency to dream. Unlike "The Hero and the Crown" incident where I was forced into the book, I tend to have the capability to experiment with my dream. I was reading "The Naked and the Dead" which takes place in World War II in the Pacific campaign. I dreamt of the Pacific beaches that had to be stormed, how a life is held so precariously by Chance as a soldier creeps through the jungle growth, and attitudes of the men. I erase the story as I go, making it my own. It's a weird experience I cannot describe.

My manga chapters led my dream to wander in metropolises overrun by demons and their hunters. It was very reminiscent of Blade Runner. Santa Claus was on the corner trying to give Christmas cheer to the neo-tropolis. The style of dress was terse like the people who wore them. Action scenes unfolded in my mind. Each thrust and parry of the hunter's sword were performed to perfection. Vapor trails of bullets laced the scenery making into a grim artistic display of death. All of this played out in my mind while I rested. In fact, my dreaming is part of the reason for my long hours of sleeping. I want to see the ending. So, I sleep, perchance to dream of the next story.

Author's Note:
I did some reviewing of the forum, and would you believe I was wrong about the 100th post. We had written a 100 posts, but we hadn't published all of them. So, I guess you can say, I screwed up.

If you are interested in the endings for the Twilight Zone and Batman episodes, I can publish them in the comments section. Let me know if you want to hear more.

So, do you guys dream often? Stephanie told me she doesn't.