11:57 p.m. - 2003-09-21
Autumn
Well, after two days of snow and cold the grass is a brilliant emerald green and the berries are a ripe lucious red. Forecast is for alternating summer and autumn temperatures - 60's and 70's F/mid teens to mid-20's C for the next while. We usually have another snowfall around Thanksgiving mid-October and then have an Indian summer break again until Hallowe'en. Made me think of traveling.
I remember taking the train with my family to visit my grandparents in Winnipeg, Manitoba when I was small. I loved the rhythm and music of the train - especially at night when we got to sleep in those bunks. Regular rail travel is not the norm in this country any more, but there are cross country packages that are still available. I think autumn would be a beautiful time to see the country. My Dad took a bus trip through eastern Canada and New England a couple of years ago at this time and found the fall colours exquisite wherever he went. What else prompted the itchy feet? A travel brochure in the mailbox and the websites Viarail and travel which was sponsoring a contest with a choice of packages as prizes. The most interesting feature in the magazine was the profile of several tours specifically to haunted locales across Canada - that might be a trip in itself. Another really cool trip would be to travel around the world just using the trains in every country. One needs to be at ground level to really get a feel for the country - flying just doesn't do that. Well I can dream anyway.
Finished my exercises close to 3 am last night - had to wait for my turn to play on the stairs you see. It takes some time to settle enough after that so that sleep is possible, so I decided to watch PBS. The program on was a discussion centered around "dirty bombs". Small detonations of bombs filled with radioactive material. Descriptions of various scenarios that could easily occur in North America and even where and how the material for such a device could be procured almost with ease inside our countries. Couldn't understand the rationale of putting that kind of specific information on television for the first while. It wasn't until mid-way through the program that the purpose emerged. Apparently, there was such an incident already in a subway in South America. Although the risk to any individual's health was minimal, the panic that ensued over people's fear of radiation damage caused severe economic chaos. The point of the program was how to deal with the public panic that ensued in the next few days. How to ensure the population gets accurate information while also minimizing the intended effect of the action - destabilizing a community by inducing chaos through fear. Clogging up public services, shutting down economic engines, and snarling communication networks to the point of gridlock. Hmmmmm, I just read a novel describing such tactics.
Didn't affect my dreams though. I dreamt that I was given a gift of fruit. Masses of it from all over the world. Fresh and succulent. The anonymous benefactor also sent a number of cacti and masses of flowers as well. The cacti were beautiful - blooming as only desert plants can. I found myself rushing around my home - not one I recognize, a ranch style bungalow beautifully decorated - arranging the flowers for the guests that I had invited to come and share in the bounty.
Suddenly, I found myself on an old fashioned paddle wheeler travelling down a big old river. There was a group of women on board. They seemed to be partying on the upper decks while I was working away with the preparation of the fruit and flowers for the expected guests. I couldn't understand why everything had been transferred to the boat and why I wasn't allowed to just stay in my home where the party was going to be held anyway. One of the women said something about keeping it a surprise, but none of them offered to help me. I felt frustrated with the lack of help, but didn't really want the women on board involved anyway. They weren't the type of people I would usually associate with anyway. I was happy when the river trip ended and I could leave them behind when I returned home with the results of my preparations. Then I woke up.
�
�
