Hello,

Do you remember that Don Williams song that has a line in it, “I love sleep without dreams?” Or wait; maybe it was Tom T. Hall. I’m not much into remembering songs or musicians. But I did play the trumpet for a number of years. Was pretty good, except for the high notes; I wasn’t a Louie Armstrong.

What made me think of this were dreams. And stories. I’ve always been kind of a storyteller. When Will was growing up, at bedtime I would tell him and Alfred bedtime stories. They usually were stories about my war heroics. I would tell about how I parachuted into Germany during WWII behind enemy lines. Armed only with a rifle and bayonet. I would tell how I captured a company of German soldiers and marched them into France. Or how I was dropped into North Vietnam, armed only with a knife. Alfred would listen intently, and ask, “Really, Uncle Dean?”

As those boys grew and had their own boys, I became the Grandpa that tells the bedtime stories. It would be Will and Carms’ families. We would lie in bed and I would tell scary stories. They would usually be about three boys, with their names. I remember one time lying in bed, and telling about three boys descending into the Medicine Hole (on the Killdeer Mountains) armed with only knives. It was scary. There was a terrible howl coming from deep in the earth. Gage, Evan and RJ were listening intently. Then, Gage corrected me, “I didn’t go. I stayed home.” That made it much safer to listen to.

The other night, I was telling a bedtime story to five-year-old Slate. He always demanded “scary” stories. So I began telling him about this werewolf. A werewolf can really be a scary story. He stopped me right away. “Tell me a happy story. Not a scary one. I left my dreamcatcher at home. If I don’t have my dreamcatcher, I have bad dreams.”

I’ve seen lots of dreamcatchers. Many of my Indian friends will carry one in their car or pickup. Many friends believe they will protect you or your loved ones. I like to believe they are right. The authentic ones are made with a willow hoop and some type of netting.

I dream a lot. Usually about cows or hay. I guess dreams pretty much emulate your daytime. I used to dream about girls. That was really scary! Glad I got over that.

Sometimes I dream I can fly. I really like that dream. I’ve found that if you start to crash, take a deep breath and relax, and you can begin soaring again! Try it.

But this morning, I dreamt I was driving a tractor and went over the edge of this washout. I must have been texting. I didn’t quite go over, but was teetering on the edge. It was straight down! And it would flip over if I went over the edge! But I was too far-gone to back up.

Luckily, I had to go to the bathroom and woke up! I need a dreamcatcher.

Later, Dean