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“…PERCHANCE TO DREAM…”

Do you have any idea what this means?

In a dream, I was getting settled in an interstate bus that was preparing to depart. All of a sudden, a committee entered the bus with flowers, etc., and headed directly to the back of the bus. The intercom announced that Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross was a passenger.

I was amazed at the scene, and appalled that the other, disinterested passengers were not aware 1) of such an illustrative person and, 2) why she would be traveling in such a humble conveyance. I, myself, wondered at her presence, thinking, “…she is still alive?”

The committee was fussing formally, and thos accompanying her seemed pleased with the attention. After the committee left, I went back, made the appropriate noises about her fame and service to humanity, and shook her hand. She smiled graciously from a face framed by a granny-type bonnet. I returned to my seat, still dumbfounded by the ignorance of my fellow passengers and the incongruity of Clara Barton’s presence.

Once awake, I found it odd that, while I knew the name, I was not previously consciously aware of her connection with the Red Cross. Oh, I am sure it registered some time or other, but it was not on the surface. As a matter of fact, I went directly to “Ask” for confirmation.

She was born on Christmas Day, 1821 and died on the same date
as FDR, April 12, but in 1912. She was born the youngest of five children in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was home schooled and began teaching at fifteen. In Washington, D.C., she was working at the U.S. Patent Office when the Civil War began, and with only the experience of having nursed an invalid sibling, she was prompted by the Baltimore riot to do something for the soldiers in the field. An appeal to New England residents for funds helped her to overcome official push-back and gain access to the battlefield via ambulance. The organizations she helped establish after the war, eventually fused into the American Red Cross.

Now, are there any among you who can divine this comedy?

The only serious dream I have but keeps repeating is my time in the navy. I can't remember the dream, I only know I don't like it. The rest of the dreams I have are usually dumb. Probably because of the meds I take.

You're lucky to have had had this.