New York City, as in waking life so in dreams, remains a place of washed out blues and unavoidable grays. Each storefront I visited was dark and cavernous. The one stop which mattered was a casino. With only a dollar to my name, I gambled it on a high rolling slot machine and by sheer force of will won five million dollars. The barkeep had to fill out a large blue form which folded like a road map so I could make off with my winnings. Later rather than sooner, I was back on the street and heading back home to Colorado. Folks were shadowing me, hoping to jump me and abscond with the cash but a hard stare was enough to keep them away.

Back in Colorado, I went to a school. It was one of those boxy structures from the fifties that feel more like a hospital than a place for learning with vomit yellow walls and urine green linoleum tiles. The one room where I spent most of my time was in the science class and I knew it was the science classroom because there was an aquarium. Inside were water-breathing mice and an infestation of small black beetles which were no bigger than my pinky fingernail. The latter were a source of unreasonable horror because I didn't directly see these arthropods but I witnessed the bulging mounds of earth raised by their burrowing through the wood shavings at the bottom of the tank.

A bunch of punk kids were raising hell in the hallways. They were a gang with a hockey motif. Each one wore dark red hockey pads, gloves and helmets. Since I'm far more clever and intelligent in my dreams, I was able to trick them into going outside leaving a great opportunity to run through the school and lock each and every door. When I reached the final door, just as the latch was about to catch, there was a speckled gray mutt wagging his tail at me. Knowing those fucking kids they'd probably do something awful to the pooch but time was of the essence because they weren't as stupid as one would suspect. Once the door was re-opened, the pooch just sat there and stared at me while I was urging him to come in. Short story much too long, the dog was safe in the building and the door was locked much to the gang's consternation.

raddidge was standing in front of a window and I joined her to see what caught her attention. From behind some foothills there was a column of smoke rising high into the air.
"That's a nuclear missle" said raddidge.
I shook my head, "No, it's a space rocket."
"Ooookay. It's a nuke. Look it just blew up!" she pointed higher.
Yes, it did blow up but there weren't any blinding flashes or shockwaves. In fact it was dead silent. "I told you it's just a space rocket."
"No, it's a nuclear bomb" she insisted.

Within minutes the sky was full of thick clouds which stretched from horizon to horizon. The clouds began floating lower and lower to the surface of the earth. Large pieces of molten rock began falling noisily from the sky which raddidge found to be hilarious. Each time one struck the ground and kicked up a black plume of soil she'd laugh even harder than the last time. About this time I realized that I was dreaming because my brain told me, "If you stay inside, you won't get hit and you'll be safe."

I just couldn't get over raddidge finding so much amusement in the end of the world.