The Wrong Side Of The Road

This was a strange one .....

In my dream, I was a passenger in an Australian version of a Land Rover. This is to say I was sitting on the left side of the vehicle with the driver on the right side. The Land Rover was brand new, clean as can be and shiny-black with a black interior. It smelled new, it felt new, it drove new. I was comfortable as all get out sitting in the passenger side.

In my dream, President-Elect Barack Obama was the driver. There was no one else in the vehicle, just he and I.

In my dream, we were driving on a cliff face, heading west. I didn’t know where we were, but we were driving along on the left side of the road - which makes sense with a the type of vehicle configuration. To my left, out my window, was ocean. And there was no protective railing between the road and the cliff on my side, nothing but a sheer drop off that went straight down into the water below. On President-Elect Obama’s side of the vehicle, there was the other side of the road and a rock wall, nothing but mountain.

In my dream, President-Elect Obama suddenly veered toward the left and half the vehicle road off the cliff face, yet did not fall over the side. I remember hearing the scratch of the underside of the car as it skirted the edge of the cliff, but, amazingly, we weren’t going over the side and plunging into the ocean. I was wide-eyed in amazement and told him in no uncertain terms to get over on the other side of the road. He complied.

In my dream, we drove another few hundred feet and I shook my head trying to understand if what had happened just happened when President-Elect Obama drove to the left edge of the road again. And this time I raised my voice, telling him we were going to fall off the cliff face. Again, I heard the Land Rover sheer the cliff edge and I heard debris on the underside of the car, but it road smoothly still. Why weren’t we going over the side?

In my dream, we finally did. The car smoothly drove off the edge of the cliff and into the air and began falling. The rear of the vehicle tilted toward the ocean as we fell. I could feel ourselves in free fall, but I wasn’t frightened; I just sat back, made certain my seatbelt was secure and waited for the impact of us hitting the water. It was a long drop. Long enough for me to look over in wonder at President-Elect Obama. He returned my look and smiled at me, never saying a word.

In my dream, we hit the water with a jolt. It was a hard hit, but it didn’t knock the wind out of me. The car began sinking into the ocean. Water began seeping into the car. Calmly, I undid my seatbelt, forced open the door and was able to swim to the surface without incident. I don’t know what became of President-Elect Obama.

In my dream, it was the next day. I had my old faithful digital camera at my side, the one with the 3½" floppy drive. I had to get pictures of the cliff face from where we fell. I knew no one would believe we had taken such a plunge without recorded evidence of the Land Rover having sheered swaths of damage into the cliff face.

In my dream, I have no idea where President-Elect Obama was that next day. I don’t remember him getting out of the sinking car, I don’t know how I survived, I don’t remember anything but breaking the surface of the water after escaping. I just know I had my camera with me and it was the next day.

In my dream, I approached something that looked like a grand state manor - a landmark or government residence. It had been turned into a museum of some sort. I knew I had to get into this building and get to the back of the property as this is where the best vantage point for my photos of the cliff wall we’d fallen off could be taken. I knew the views from the back of this residence would afford me the chance to get the evidence I needed.

In my dream, the manor was indeed a museum showcasing the history of the place. Documents under glass and antiques and clear Lucite boxes housed things that showed the history of the building and the site. It was a maze and I couldn’t find a means to get to the back of the property. Finally, I found an exit, but it was not accessible to the public. I looked around to make certain no one was watching me and I slipped through a door.

In my dream, the back of the property opened up into a wide vista. The ocean was there and the cliff face was opposite the back of the manor in the distance. But something was wrong. There was no sign I saw of chunks of cliff lopped off by the speeding Land Rover the day before.

In my dream, I decided I was at the wrong view of the cliff and that I needed to hike across the expanse of the property; where we fell must have been a way off in the distance and I just couldn’t see it yet. I began hiking through beautiful waves of scrub.

In my dream, I hiked miles and miles. Nothing but unobscured land opened up before me. I trudged what seemed like forever, but the cliff face I saw showed no sign of any damage. Looking through my camera and zooming in on part of the cliff, I recognized mile markers we had passed when driving the previous day. I scanned past the mile markers, knowing approximately where the area was we first skirted the edge of the cliff and the second where we finally fell off the edge.

In my dream, my hunt was in vain. There were no scars from the Land Rover at the edge of the cliff. I put down my camera and shook my head in wonder. I came to the conclusion there had been a cover up of the incident by President-Elect Obama.

In my dream, I wondered why .....

......................... Ruprecht ( STOP )