It all started with this two-story Dutch Colonial, which, for my entire life, has st
ood on the corner across the street from Leeds First United Methodist Church, right in the middle of my hometown.As a child, I had never been inside the house and knew it only from the exterior, but I loved it. I would dream (night dreams and day dreams) of what it looked like inside. I dreamed of hidden staircases and secret rooms, of wonderful furnishings and treasures around every corner. (Yeah, I was born a hopeless romantic and a lover of mystery.)
My curiosity about this house only grew when, in the summer of 1956, Elvis spent the night there. No, really! He was just beginning to gain popularity then. The house faces what, before the interstate system, was the main highway from Birmingham to Atlanta, Highway 78. Elvis was on his way to Atlanta when he decided to stop at the old Power's Cafe in Leeds and grab a bite. Word spread just up the street where the son-in-law of the owner of this house happened to be a Birmingham disc jockey. Long story short: the dj convinced Elvis to come on up to the house and sit for an interview.
There are other stories about this house, but I don't know how many of them are as true as the Elvis story. One centers around how Uncle J. acquired the house from a local doctor in a poker game. As I say, I have no proof as to the veracity of this one; but that's what my ex-husband's side of the family claimed.
When I grew up and married the nephew of the home's owners, I finally got to see the interior. I've since enjoyed many family reunions, Christmas dinners, and just plain visits in that house. My ex-husband and his uncle and aunt have passed on. Aunt Ima was the last to go, at which time the house was sold to the city to house our Chamber of Commerce.
All during my life, I have continued to have my house dream, complete with secret rooms, hidden stairways, and wonderful treasures. But after I had finally seen the inside of Aunt Ima's house, the houses in my dreams varied. Sometimes it's a house I know, sometimes one I've never seen, sometimes it's Aunt Ima's house again and it's different from what it really looks like.
A few days ago, Andrea posted a photo of the Redman House in Watsonville, California (pictured in photo at left). I had not had my house dream for several months until last night, so I think this photo triggered it. The house in last night's dream was huge, much larger than my dream houses usually are. And it was tall, at least three stories. And dark inside. There were countless rooms and staircases. One staircase was like a ladder, but painted with bright colors. The kitchen, which was just wonderful, seemed to be located in one of the bays that you see in the photo. But instead of being in the open, there were trees all around. Being in the kitchen was like being in a wonderful tree house.In the dream, my sister (who was carrying with her four baby kittens) and I were being shown the house by a real estate woman and the owner of the house (also a woman). I knew I had to have the house. Although it was in bad need of repair, I could see what it could become with some work. But I knew I couldn't afford the price, which seems like was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. I devised a plan to buy the house and turn it into a B&B so to generate income to pay for it.
My income alone would not swing the deal, however. "Well, I have a husband," I told the real estate woman. "That is, if I can get him to come back home." You see Vann had run off with a skinny (I mean SKINNY) blonde yuppy girl. Also, he had turned into a young Charlie Sheen.
The dream gets even weirder. I called Vann, at the skinny blonde yuppy girl's apartment, to tell him he had to come back home now. My daughter Andy answered the phone. I asked to talk to Vann and she went to get him. While she was gone I could hear her talking in the phone. And I kept yelling, "Hello! Hello!" Andy came back and told me that Vann wanted to talk to me but I would have to wait till Saturday (I don't know what day the dream was taking place in). I screamed, "Are you out of your mind?"
Weirder still: at that moment, the phone really rang on the bedside table beside my real bed. I grabbed the receiver and screamed, "HELLO!" Back here in the nondream world, Andy said, "Are you awake?" I said, "I am now."l
This is Vann explanation as to how a phone call in the present can trigger an event in a dream that appears to happen before the actual real phone call takes place: He says that the electrical impulses in our brain that carry the realizations of all of the events (the dream ones and the real ones) get jumbled up in our brains, so that the real timeline of the events doesn't coincide with what we perceive to be the timeline? Get it? He also wanted to know if the skinny blonde yuppy girl could make pies.
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On 05/23/2008, Jed said ...
Okay, that was an entertaining dream. And I've often had something happen in a dream that is immediately followed by the same thing in real life -- Vann's explanation makes sense to me!
On 05/23/2008, Beverly said ...
Oh my gosh, Susan. That was one busy dream. I think you should take a nap so that you will now own the house. Maybe in the next house dream you will be running the B&B in the house.
Too fun.
On 05/24/2008, Debbie said ...
Spooky...but the Charlie Sheen thing is cool!
It's weird, I have a house dream, too. Have had all my life, but it's a house I've never seen, as far as I know.
On 05/24/2008, PHyl said ...
I absolutely LOVE the old house photos!And hearing about your busy nights dreaming of old houses...that one in CA.COULD be gorgeous!I always dreamed of having an artist's studio in a round room like that w/lots of windows!
Oh, and go smack Vann for asking about that pie-making gal!!!Heh, heh......
On 05/28/2008, Patti Koosed said ...
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful house!
That was a wonderful and so detailed dream.
I love Elvis so the picture of that house has my attention. I visited Graceland a few years ago and got to tour the house and the grounds and see the graves of Elvis, his twin brother Aaron, Grace his Mother and Vernon his Father. It was wonderful. The house and grounds are just amazing!
Good dream, hope you can continue it and tell us about it!
Hugs
Patti
On 05/28/2008, Patti Koosed said ...
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful house!
That was a wonderful and so detailed dream.
I love Elvis so the picture of that house has my attention. I visited Graceland a few years ago and got to tour the house and the grounds and see the graves of Elvis, his twin brother Aaron, Grace his Mother and Vernon his Father. It was wonderful. The house and grounds are just amazing!
Good dream, hope you can continue it and tell us about it!
Hugs
Patti
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