Sun,
Feb 2, 2014
Dreamscapes
Often
times we talk about dreams coming true. But what if I told you of a
dream that came true in fifteen minutes? Here's my story: Picture it,
the Bronx, 2013. I was having a dream that I was on an old train
platform, the kind that they had in the old West, the kind the Wells
Fargo Wagon would have pulled up to delivering goods for the town
folk. There were two young children who greeted me with an embrace, when suddenly out of nowhere, a
third child tried to sneak in for a hug. She was much bigger than the
other two and she attempted to muscle her way in knocking
the other children out of her way. She happened to be black with a
head full of dreads.
“You
knock those kids again and I'll take you by your stringy hair and
hang you from that tree!”, I said reprimanding her.
Then
I awoke in my studio apartment. Now it's important to tell you that
I've always considered myself an Orangemen, I attended Syracuse
University and that's what we call ourselves. Additionally, orange is
my favorite color.
I
was hungry so I decided to walk to the neighborhood deli for a
sandwich. I made it to the corner when I noticed a strange art
installation, a sculpture that a homeless person had made around a
small tree on the sidewalk. I couldn't believe my eyes. There it was,
a black winter glove tied to a branch of the tree. Around the base of
the tree was a small brick-shaped rock with an orange peeled into
quarters set on top. Around the base of the brick were two additional
gloves, one blue and one yellow, reaching up to the orange peels as
if to embrace the orange.
Was
this a coincidence? I certainly didn't interpret it as such and I had
just been on that block and never noticed the sculpture there
before. This wasn't a case of me seeing this and then interpreting it
in a dream. This was the reverse: my dream had been interpreted AFTER
I dreamt it.
I
had seen other sculptures like this around the neighborhood since I
moved in. I always noticed the same homeless man working on his
“garbage sculptures” and they had always intrigued me. What a
wonderful way to express oneself, I had thought every time he had a
new installation. But this one took the cake. I was fortunate enough
to run into the artist a few days later.
“I
just want to tell you how much I enjoy your work, your sculptures.
They are fascinating and you express yourself so beautifully. I especially
like the one with the orange peels you did over there.” I said
pointing to the tree.
“Thank
you. They are exactly what you think they are”.
