I've had several particular recurring dream environments which have frequently crept upon me and entered my mind as I slept. This morning I awoke cracking up in laughter and love as my son entered one of these environments with me. The environment was Tennessee with a little bit of overlay of our new home in Austin, TX. We had some quest stars as well in the form of a cameo from Lauryn Hill, a starring role by up and coming media mogul Maxie Collier. Taiya Collier as lead supporting actress and Tasha Collier as co-conspirator, co-creator and co-producer.
In this particular episode, my son happened to be enjoying a series of singing lessons in the background (this background is one of my primary recurring dream components). As children, we would take summer trips to my fathers home in Tennessee. These trips left great imprints on our young minds. These were trips that set the foundation of much of our character. These were the trips in which we would walk miles in the hot sun with our great-grandmother. Not dry heat either mind you - but 98% with 100% humidity down hills and over train tracks. Through the Hollow, the hole in the ground reserved for black people in times before us. Literally. Like a valley, but less. You think of valley and you think of green slopes between the peaks of snow-capped mountains. Think of the Hollow, and thing of a hole between two hills. Thats what the intention was at least (in my opinion). But thats not what it was to us. The hollow was home and was where all of our kinfolk were and where we learned who we were.
Well, it turns out that we had a home at one edged of the hollow on the top of one of the previously mentioned bounding hills. By what odds we came to have that particular home at that particular location I cannot say I truly know, but suffice to say it was not easy in the getting or the keeping, but it was our home and it was special. This house had a large flat plain which we used as the driveway, laundry room and playing area, before the ground turned upon itself into the steep slope that led to the Hollow (even then we were in an environment which taught us that we could reach new heights and that we were given gifts that would separate us from others on occasion..interesting). We would frequently play on this hill, rolling down it (dangerously) hoping that we woud be able to stop ourselves before we reached the sharper dropoff that lead to the street right at the base of the Hollow.
It was this place that was the context for my dream of Jaiden. It was much bigger now in my mind..a huge wide plain that went on beyond the horizon, yet still had boundaries, and of course the steep slopes leading off to another place. In this dream the slopes were at each end of the plain and they were covered by stairs leading down into ?.
This rich space became the background of my side-splitting dream. My soon to be comedic dreamscape. In my dream it turned out that my son was taking singing lessons in a class held upon one of these steps.
Why singing lessons? Suffice to say that my children are reflections of their mother and father but distinctly individual in their character. Their genetic traits shine through strongly, yet they are people whom we never would have been able to imagine before we met them. Back to my main point though, my son has an affinity and passion for music and rhythm that can be truly fun to watch. My daughter shares this interest though it is expressed much differently for her. My son expresses his inheritance through singing. Everyday. Songs of all types. He finds and hears harmony all around him. My daughter expresses it through dance. She moves to a wild rhythm which captures her spirit and body together into a moving whirlwind of orchestration.
This particular dream seemed to be focused upon my son, as the singing class upon the steps of the slope is one of the strong visages that remains in my minds eye even as the rest of the dream attempts to fade into oblivion. His singing class was led by a teacher. The identity of that teacher was not clear but eventually, as frequently happens in dreams, the unknown character became associated with a real identity in the form of Lauryn Hill, a person whose deeply emotional, rich and powerful singing has struck my heart time before. As an aside I wonder if Lauryn Hill was the one of the first of our times to do the equivalent of a musical blog. In her production of the MTV Uplugged Episodes, she captured her live, still under development musical conceptions. She unveiled herself and offered her works mostly unedited and raw and in doing so captured something that I believe few artists have captured before. Hmm, something to think about. Continuing on with this dream of Jaiden with which I woke to a smile this morning.
I was thus aware of Jaiden being involved in this singing class upon the steps of the hills of Tennessee before the boundaries of the Hollow (really pronounced Holler, I skipped that point earlier). The context changes and we are in one of Jaidens favorite places. H-E-B. Here Everything Is Better. A good description of how we feel about Austin, TX as a new home after our relocation from California. Genuine people doing their best to live honest lives and just enjoying the real riches of life..family time, community, nature, education. Quite an interesting place. I digress.
So here we are in H-E-B together. The characters are starting to be defined. Tasha, Jaiden, Dayrron and Zay. Mommy, Son, Brother / Uncle and Daddy. We enter H-E-B and immediately experience something which we have not experienced in Austin, TX quite this way, but we have experienced in Austin, TX - San Francisco, CA - Washington, D.C. and nearly every other place in which the word minority is clearly understood.
The cashiers at H-E-B were two gregarious and foul rednecks. As we walked by they clearly indicated their distaste in our presence.
The scene that ensued has now faded to a jumble in my mind but allow me to capture as best I could. The rednecks refused to allow us to purchase our grocery items, one of which I am sure was Ice Cream. Being raised with a deep awareness of racism, we could not let this infraction simply pass by. My brother and I contested with Tasha providing the color for our dissent to this poor treatment. We collectively amassed the support of the bystanders (that natural Collier leadership shining through) who turned against the villanous racists (who apparently are also family to one anither and who grow in number to roughly six people, as a number which stands out clearly in my mind). They are not very pleased with this turn of events. We leave H-E-B and in a flash time warps our location and circumstances to a car chase, in which we are being pursued by the corrupted police who are in league with this family of racists, who are now determined to punish us for our crime of refusing to allow their bigotry to define our reality.
The sheriff is hot as a hound out of hell as my grandmother would say. He races after us in a cloud of dust..we are in an unidentified vehicle, and we are in the lead.
A once clear sequence of events ensue...the pursuit is terminated with efficacy and the scene changes to the set of a film. Taiya has captured the lead role and is conveying drama that should be inexpressible to a two-year old child, yet she conveys it like a professional. The cast and crew watch in awe at the impromptu performance which she provides. Then scene switches back to the plain. There is a brief intermission in which we thank Lauryn Hill for her help in fighting the powers that be (for she too was in the car chase or at least in the parkng lot outside of H-E-B before the car chase ensued). She fades from the scene after gifting us with a song. Which one, evades my memory, but it was a damn good one I know. Scene transitions again. Jaiden is running and playing with his Daddy on the plain. He has moved from the steps of his singing lesson to the other side of the field. The steps on this side lead down deeply as well and I have fear for his caution in descending them as he approaches near to them.
Man...dreams are a bitch..
This one has lost me at 7:27 in the morning. PDT. There was a gunshot fired effortlessly from the hand of a child too young to touch must less fire gun. I think it was Miyozaiday. The gun shot perfectly hit its target, a truck leaving the scene of the crime. The bandits are captured, this happens after the chase and before the re-introduction of the plain.
Dammit..it's gone...
All I remember was this...at the end of this dream, my son sang his heart out so powerfully that he transformed the entire environment arround him. He walked up these distant steps singing proudly and passionatley. And that moment made me love him even more and it made me wake up cracking up in laughter at the image of my 3-year old boy walking towards me singing with the passion of an artist 20-times his age and actually achieving his ambition with such earnestness.
Man I love these kids of mine.
All for now.
Zay
