That's when the bad dreams started...

I've been away for a while, so what's the harm in two entries for today...?

I had a bad dream last night. Strange and bad.

The first part isn't really connected to the second, or I can't remember the connective tissue...

My step-mom was this strong black woman. She reminded me of a younger Pam Grier or maybe Angela Bassett. She was supposed to be my step-mother, but she wasn't really married to my father. (I realize that those of you who are familiar with my father are already laughing, but I'll continue anyway, thankyou.) In this dream, this woman had partially raised me, and I really thought of her as my mother. Anyway, this woman came to me -- as a mother would to a son -- and told me that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She was tough but slightly teary. She gave me a hug and told me that she thought of me as her son. It recall it having a big impact on me.

In the second part of the dream, I'm in an apartment that's supposed to belong to my family. Not my actual, real-world family, but some group of people who represented my family in the dream...

I was looking out the window. It was a bright, sunny day. Then, suddenly, the sky changed. Dark clouds blotted out the sun and it seemed to change to night within moments. It was some huge, volatile storm. But something worse, perhaps. I saw something streak across the sky in a plume of smoke, like a jet or an asteroid. I couldn't tell if it was something "natural" or something... else.

Then, watching through the window, I saw whatever it was affect the environment. Wind picked up. People began to scatter in terror. Whatever this was, it was an incredible force. Large trees began to crack. These massive buildings began to topple over each other, like dominoes...

And then I saw this huge building bending and falling toward the window... getting larger and larger... hearing the screams from everyone else who was in the apartment...

There is a break in what I remember, but I get separated from the building. I am elsewhere in the aftermath of this dream city. The world is in chaos and I'm at a museum. I run into a friend I don't see every day (Roger), and he wants to hang out, but all I want to do is try to get back home to see what's left.

I somehow manage to get back to the apartment. It's vacant and wrecked but intact. All our stuff is intact. But there's already a team of looters trying to get in through the window. They're throwing grappling hooks through the window, and I'm futilely trying to protect this apartment. Slashing their ropes. They are relentless and I am about to lose...

And then I realize that this can only be a dream, and I don't have to go through this, so I make myself wake up.