Last Night

       Had a dream last night.  It's been similar to others I have had this past year.  Involving people who are no longer with us.  This one was a bit different though, involving my late uncle, although younger and at an earlier age than what he was when he actually died.  He was accompanied by a number of other people who for the life of me, though I could still see a face or two in my minds eye upon waking, I had no idea who they were.
    
    To qualify this, I have no particular belief, or didn't before that dreams meant anything more than random nocturnal activities of the brain.  

     Kenny was the closest to me in age of all my uncles and aunts and consequently the one who I share a lot of childhood memories.  Just before he died several years ago, I had a last, very emotional, talk with him that left me in tears after hanging up.  I knew he was close to death when I was talking with him because he told me as much, and if memory serves me he passed that night. I carried a lot of guilt because I'd really made no attempts to contact him for several years.  Kenny had called my house a few times trying to get a hold of me and had talked with my wife instead.  I'd just written my being an asshole and not calling him back off to being too busy.  Trust me.  My kids fully believe the asshole thing about me back then.

      My wife and I unable to attend the funeral traveled through Missouri a few years back and attempted unsuccessfully to locate his grave in the small Amish town he was living in.  We'd driven a hundred and fifty miles from our camp. out of our way. and were due at another location the far end of the state the next day.  So basically we had until dark to try and locate that grave somewhere in an old untended and overgrown Cemetery. We tried our best walking up and down the rows until dark.  I left strangely not disappointed, but satisfied making it to that small town he'd lived.  At least I'd gotten that close I was thinking making that long drive back that night.

      So to my dream.  Solid 1080p.  Kenny, myself and a number of people, maybe twenty five or so in the old style living room. Some old house somewhere. Like I said, I remembered some faces but recognized none. Men, women, all dressed in 60's style formal.  Kenny wearing brown slacks, white shirt and tie underneath a V neck beige colored sweater.  Later  I vaguely wondered if he'd really  owned those clothes or they'd been manufactured by my mind.   We talked for a few minutes.   I remember none of the words, and then Ken hugged me.  A long tight brotherly type of hug and said goodbye.  He then went on to hug the other people in the room who surrounded him and blocking my sight of him.  (mind's eye anyway).  

       So yeah, my wife snuggles and hugs me in my sleep. Can't discount that.  I tell her about my dreams, those mornings I remember.  We think alike.  There's no particular discussion involved afterwards.  It just is what it is.    

        Now I tend to scoff at radio and televangelists. I've just seen more than my share of hypocrisy displayed by these people over the years.  And when some  "vision" is related by any of these types, well, then I tend to discount them.  Like I said, too much water under the bridge over the years to warrant any kind of respect.  

       But then I think and feel quite strongly here, that the emotions I felt after waking, of being moved in a manner lacking words to describe, were quite real, to me anyway. That in a sense, I genuinely got to meet Kenny one last time and say goodbye in person. And that experience was as real as anything else in my life. And for that, I just don't have an explanation, just appreciation.