Last night, I had bizarre dreams, the kind I generally describe as “Calvin dreams.” The description comes from an old “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip that offered a reasonable explanation for how strange dreams form.

Click image to enlarge.

I’m convinced those same dream creators exist in my mind as well.

I can’t remember all the details of my dreams, of course. That is the curse of traveling to Morpheus’ realm; you can visit any time, but just before waking you must consume a forgetting potion. If you’re lucky, it won’t take effect right away and you can remember a few snippets from your dreams. However, if you slowly ease back into consciousness, the adventures are erased like algebraic equations written in chalk on a blackboard.

I awoke abruptly today, and what I remember from the dream is this: I was going to lunch with my grandmother, mother, one of my brothers and a stranger. The timing of the dream was recent and I was my current age and position in life, yet the lunch was still scheduled to occur despite the fact that my grandmother is dead and I haven’t had much contact with the rest of my family in years.

We were planning to eat together at a bar, and just before I crossed the establishment’s threshold, I became distracted by the store next door. It was called Snowmen’s Warehouse, and it contained all types of snow men, women, children and fantastical creatures.

I left my group, walked into the store and looked around for a while. Then, a saleswoman asked if I wanted a haircut. I said yes, and she led me to the salon area. I sat in the chair, stared into the mirror and watched as the saleswoman, who was now a stylist, cut my hair. She was made of snow, and refused to use a blow dryer or curling iron.

Me thinks the dream creators mixed up the film strips in my brain again.

–Comic by Bill Watterson. As always, thanks for the entertainment and inspiration.