Feelin’ Alright?

Seems I've got to have a change of scene
Cause every night I have the strangest dream
*                      *                      *

Ya feelin' alright?
I'm not feelin' too good myself*

“Why do you have all those tabs open on your computer?” my wife asked, looking over my shoulder.

“I’m doing research.”

“Research?  On what?”

“Healthcare.  I want to write a blogpost on healthcare in America.”  I leaned back in my chair and stretched.

“Research sounds so serious.  Just say you’re looking into it.”

I swiveled in my chair to face her.  “Yeah, it’s not going well – too many distractions.  I blame it on the corona virus pandemic.”

“Why don’t you write about something else?” she suggested as she walked to the other side of the desk and sat on a chair facing me.

“Like what?”

“How about the weird dreams you’ve been having?”

“You’re right about that.  I have been having some strange dreams.”  I gazed out the window.  “Last night I dreamed that the world was ending.  At one point, I saw a bright light.  Someone said it was Jesus – the second coming.  I felt so agitated I got out of bed. I didn’t think I would fall back  to sleep.” 

“But you did?”

“Yeah, I did.”  I turned to face her.

“You’ve been dreaming a lot about work too.”

I ran my fingers through my hair.  “Yeah, it’s a recurring dream.  You’d think after being retired for eight years, those would stop.  I’m usually retired in those dreams, but still going to the office.  And I’m getting paid a lot less or nothing at all.  So, in the dream I’m wondering why I bothered to retire if I’m still working and not getting paid.  And, usually I’m thinking that as soon as I finish this project, whatever it is, I can really retire.”

“Do you ever finish the project?”

“No, inevitably I wake up.”  I picked up my mug of coffee and took a sip.  “I’ve also had the play dream within the past few days.”

“Well, play is better than work,”  she said, smiling.

“No, in this dream, I’m in a play and in a lead role.  We’re set to open in a matter of hours, and I haven’t begun to learn my lines.

“That could be embarrassing.”

“Yeah, there is always a series of distractions that occur in this dream that prevent me from studying my lines.  Fortunately, I wake up before the first performance.”  I took another sip of coffee.  

“Anyway, at least I haven’t had the school dream recently.” 

“The school dream?”

“Another of my recurring dreams.  The semester is mostly over when I remember that I’ve never attended or done any work for one of my classes.” 

“So, do you fail the class?”

“No, I mostly worry about what I need to do so I won’t fail the class, but I always wake up before grades are handed out.”

“I think I’m seeing a pattern.  Maybe you ought to see a doctor about getting some meds to reduce the anxiety that probably causes those dreams.”

“That takes me back to healthcare in America.”  I stared at my computer screen.

“You’d better get crackin’ on that research, honey.”

I sighed.  “Yeah, I’ll look into it.”

*  Feelin’ Alright, written by Dave Mason