Nightmares of the End of the World
Dec 19, 2006
How's that for a warm and welcoming blog post title?
I'm sorry, but I've been having bad dreams, terrible dreams, and wonder if I'm the only one. The worst dream, two nights ago: I'm in downtown San Francisco, where I used to live, standing on the street with thousands of other people. All of us are 
dazed.
We've just heard the news on CNN that the U.S. has dropped an atomic bomb on one city in Iraq, wiping it out. We know in our bones that we are next, that Iraq is revving up its planes to drop a bomb on us, too. People in the street are crying, and I am cursing myself for having no cell phone to call my husband and say one last "I love you."
Next scene: I am in a high rise, at a festive Christmas party, even though everyone is anxious about the bombs on their way. I wander into a dark bedroom to look out the wall-sized windows at the city lights. I hear a very big noise and then a huge WHOOSH and I hear people in the other room scream, and the building begins to tilt and everything starts to slide and I fall into space and say, "This is it, the end of the world," and that's when I wake up.
Most dreams I shake in an hour. This one has been with me for days, powerful for the sense of impotence and alone-ness I felt in it. Funny, I sometimes feel the same way lately in my waking hours.
Comment by Yooper Rick | Dec 19, 2006 5:46:51 PM
I am not a proponent of nuclear bombs, but I know that the U.S. is going to use them and soon. Iran and N. Korea. These country's have good people living in them and we are going to kill innocent people to keep them from selling Nuclear bombs to Terrorists. N. Korea had sold most of the missile that Hezzb'allah used against Israel.
For over 30 years the U.S. has developed small tactical nukes, some are designed not to destroy infrastructure , only people, And there made to shoot out a cannon or a cruise missile. low yield battlefield nukes.
The saddest thing is that the U.N. could have made a difference, and maybe still can. Now that Annan is gone.
Comment by Sue | Dec 19, 2006 6:41:49 PM
Hi Susan.. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that has nuclear holocaust dreams. I have three recurring dreams, that's one of them. (One other is where I show up naked somewhere and no one notices, but that's another story and interpretation.. the other is that I'm flying in a plane that crashes, but miraculously no one is hurt.. Yeah, I fly a lot). My nuke dream is usually that I'm standing outside somewhere (it's never clear where I am), and all of a sudden I'll see the trail of smoke from a launched nuclear warhead going up into the sky. I'll stand there, unbelieving, saying "I can't believe that they finally did it..", and wait for the one that I know will be incoming. Luckily, it never seems to come, since I manage to wake myself up before it gets there, my heart pounding harder than it ever does otherwise. Hopefully it'll always be just a bad dream, but I fear that you're right: it's just a matter of time. I don't know when the dream started, if it dates back to the so very real threat of nuclear war with Russia or what.. but it is quite unsettling. One time it was so real that I had to get up and turn on the TV to make sure that CNN wasn't broadcasting news of a nuclear strike. Don't you wish that you could clear out the subconscience of these snippets so that they would no longer rear their ugly heads during what's supposed to be a restorative period of our day?
Comment by Rox | Dec 19, 2006 7:11:32 PM
It's (nuclear war) too horrible to even comtemplate . . . but those subconscious dreams are troubling. WE are supposed to be the "good" guys! How did the world turn so topsy-turvy anyway? My biggest fear is the world will end and I won't know where my kids are . . . to tell them how much I love them. Myabe that's why I especially crave being close to them (and all of our family members) this holiday season!
Comment by Rich | Dec 19, 2006 7:55:22 PM
It is a horrible dream, but I don't think it is the end of the world, only the end as we know it. It will likely happen because people are in denial. Just 5 years removed from 9/11 we are already moaning about personal rights being invaded by our government. Soon the real bad guys will sneak one in in the name of Mohammad and Alah and will set one off in a major city, and we will not recover like we did after 9/11, instead millions will be killed, injured, and exposed, and our fragile economy will fold as everyone panics, the stock market plumits, people lose every dollar they have and become desperate. If we all went up in smoke, we would not know it, but if we lose everything we hold dear or as security, but live, then you have hell on earth. People need to wake up and stop believing that we can all sit around holding hands singin kumbaya and everything will be fine. We have people that will not stop trying to kill us as a basic tenant of their religion, and we keep buying the lie that they are a people of peace. Wake up America. Wake up world. I am sorry to sound so pessimistic, but things aren't looking good. Crooked politicians are more concerned about grabbing power than being truthful about our enemy, and our media is either naive or twisted.
Comment by Ann | Dec 19, 2006 10:44:16 PM
And I just told my husband the other day, on the heals of Taco Bell's E Coli, Toco John's E Coli and the Olive Garden in Indiana's 300 sick patrons - this is how they are going to do it - we are going to die by our gluttony. You are not the only one Susan. Unfortunately we have children that worry too.
Comment by Yooper Rick | Dec 20, 2006 1:10:54 AM
Ann
I really am not a conspiracy nut but has anyone noticed the rise of E-Coli poisonings since the Immigration issue has been on there front burner.
This isn't from pickers not washing there hands in the fields, some people have to be deliberately adding e-coli to the food products
Comment by JoniGolden | Dec 20, 2006 1:43:57 AM
Count me in on the bomb dreams. In October 2001, I went into therapy for a few months because of a recurring nightmare. I'd be standing at my back door, watching children playing in the backyard, and suddenly bombs were streaking across the sky, landing closer and closer to the children. I lost sight of them as the earth blew up into the sky.
Once I started talking about my fears after 9/11, the bomb dreams eventually faded away. I think we are so inundated with news about outbreaks of disease, cancer and other health risks, accidents and news of war, we can't help but feel afraid, even in our dreams.
I don't know whether we'll ever have peace on earth, but I still pray for it. What I pray for most, though, is peace in my soul.
Comment by Jodee | Dec 20, 2006 5:36:20 AM
Oh man! These are TERRIFYING dreams! How do you get back to sleep? I will take waking up in the middle of the night and worrying about inane crap any day of the week over dreams like that.
Comment by bernie | Dec 20, 2006 9:19:13 AM
Yeah, uh, Merry Christmas Happy Channukah Happy Kwanza and Peaceful Ramadan everyone! Great Spirit rules!
Comment by Denise | Dec 20, 2006 9:24:12 AM
I'm with Jodee...I didn't have the dreams before, but I won't be surprised if they start now!
Comment by Sue | Dec 20, 2006 9:32:27 AM
Jodee, it's not very easy going back to sleep. Sometimes the only thing that I can do is to get up and walk around the house for a while, get something to drink, find a cat and hug her 'til she purrs. As long as my girls are purring, I know that all is ok with the world. The sad truth is that the world is getting so bad that it's getting harder to go to sleep in the first place to even have the dreams.. And now thanks, guys, for introducing the E coli conspiracy theory.. lol.. For as much as I eat out every week with all the traveling that I do, I'm sure that I'm going to think twice about every bite I take now! Geez..
Comment by Ann | Dec 20, 2006 9:58:59 AM
Yooper Rick
I have noticed there has been a significant rise in E Coli - especially in lettuces and other leafy greens. You're right - it's more than someone not washing their hands. And like you, I'm not a conspiracy nut either. It just makes you think - exactly what is happening?
Comment by Rox | Dec 20, 2006 10:28:57 AM
Well, Who was it that said the world will go out with a whimper, not a bang??
Anyway, PEACE to all. Peace . . .
Comment by Dave | Dec 20, 2006 11:43:54 AM
You all sound crazy, but God bless you for some entertaining reading!!!
;-)
Comment by JGolden | Dec 20, 2006 12:03:42 PM
Dave, remember this:
Paranoia only has to pay off ONCE. :)
Comment by Rachael | Dec 20, 2006 1:42:36 PM
Rich,
I could not have said it any better. We just can't sit back and watch it happen. But, people have become so complacent (sp?) when it comes to letting every other country walk all over us. What happened to the generation like my grandparents? They would protect this wonderful (and regardless of what anyone says, it IS wonderful) country.
I think we (the USA) have become a little too wipmy. Afraid to offend anyone (and everyone). It is nothing personal, but if you want to bomb, attack, or terrorize our country, regardless of your race, religion, etc. you should be prepared for what we will dole out. No one wants to see anyone die. But, it is war. It is so very unfortunate, but it is reality.
I guess if there was a way everyone from every country could get along, life would be great. But, I do not ever see that happening.
On another note, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday :) Be safe and have fun!
Comment by Gary | Dec 20, 2006 2:55:45 PM
Just take it easy, everyone. We must remember that dreams aren't real. I've had some beauties lately involving large, confusing office buildingns and weird scenarios. In on, an elevator door opened and the car appeared to have urine on the floor and it was occupied by a rather seedy-looking guy. I hesitated to get on, but then I decided to get over my prejudice and step into the car like a true open-minded guy. Within seconds the seedy guy grabbed me by the arm and peed on my leg. I was furious that my reluctant trust of a fellow human was betrayed. So, take my advice; never get on an occupied elevator that has urine on the floor. It wasn't an atomic blast, but that didn't make it fun.
Comment by Sigmund Fraud | Dec 20, 2006 3:51:01 PM
You must look at the bigger picture, dreams need to be interpreted, analyzed and broken down to have any true meaning. Maybe you were scared as a child or maybe 24/7 news channels and a lack of true belief that you ultimately aren't steering the train. Try turning off the news and watching My name is Earl for true enlightenment or at least a few laughs. Think happy thoughts, watch or read something funny or spiritual before bedtime and don't believe everything you don't know. Merry Solstice to all and to all a good night
Comment by greg king | Dec 20, 2006 3:54:34 PM
Hey Susan,
If I were you I would try and stay awake all of the time until you fall over from complete exhaustion into a deep sleep.
This way you can be free from these terrible deams and maybe too tired to even dream, or better yet "remember any of them".
Another idea, try on some of my dreams. For example here's one "Ohio State Buckeye''s football and basketball being ranked No. 1 in the same year.Now you can substitute any team that meets your fancy in this dream.
I do caution you to go out of the State of Michigan for your school to dream about,or this would simply be a pipe dream and one would certainly not want that.
Oh, that's right, you wrote an earlier article on how fans get carried away over sports and take it too personal/serious; and suggested alternate activities to occupy their time.
Anyway, my dreams are certainly alot more comfortable to awake from then the ones you are having.
Just kidding and all in fun, I hope you and your husband have a great Xmas and New Year.
See you around Northport.
G.L. King
Comment by Sonya Chloe | Dec 20, 2006 4:44:30 PM
Tsunami Big as a Mountain Dream
I guess it’s the image of Mt. Hood blending with the 2004 tsunami – they say that playing too many video games is bad for developing brains – perhaps seeing too many disasters (even fleetingly as one flips through channels) does something to adult brains. There was a little macabre humor in my “Mount Tsunami” dream – after racing up an apartment stairwell to the roof (with my mother on my back), we were met by two leasing agents, all excited by the prospect of leasing out the apartments below, apparently unaware of the gigantic tsunami on the way.
I’ve had nuclear war dreams in the past – but lately, the locale of my bad dreams are full of sand (hmm, I wonder why that is).
I am not too concerned about an intentional E. coli conspiracy. It’s not fatal enough – from what I understand about terrorists, they want to kill us – not just give us diarrhea. I think the latter would be a terrorist with a sense of humor. Newscasters would have to give them a new name – perhaps “diarrheaists.” “Diarrheaists struck today in Westland, Michigan. The National Guard airlifted in 400 gallons of ADA (AntiDiarrheal Agent, aka Pepto-Bismol).” Oh yeah, all the National Guard are over in Iraq, we’d have to defend ourselves best we could...
I feel disquiet about the future, sometimes despair. I’m the one who posted about the global warming holiday character the other day, on Susan’s blog about Winter – sometimes I think of making a three-part sign: “Cool It! / Stop the War / Save the Polar Bears,” and going down to 9 Mile and Woodward in Ferndale. I had read there were protesters there every week. I was in a UK airport before the Iraq war started – one of the newspapers I saw had a big photo of George Bush, with the caption: “Cool it Cowboy!”
Oh, for the magic wand you could point at insurgents, polluters, corrupters, manipulators, arms dealers, invaders, etc., and with the words “Cool it Cowboy!,” they sulked harmlessly and silently away...
Comment by Yooper Rick | Dec 20, 2006 6:05:21 PM
You are to funny
Thanks for the laugh :)
Imagine "Diarrheaists struck today" at all salad bars, Spinach, Mad Cow disease, and bird flue from Chickens, Makes living in a very small town in the U.P. so much more inviting, where we get our meat from deer, and partridge and rabbits and grow our own veggies.
Now for the gross stuff.
I have know people in my life ( in college) that worked a cereal companies or in restaurant and either spit in food, spit gum in the bran flakes or dipped hamburger patties in mop water for a policeman's hamburger. So do I think Migrant workers are defecating in bins of produce? Yes I do. and I think they do it a lot. I the past three years there have been health advisory's for Strawberries, lettuce, spinach. so what's next?
Up here I think I'll grow my own, and maybe eat piping plover for Christmas dinner. ( just Kidding)
Comment by Mary | Dec 20, 2006 6:32:30 PM
Does anyone ever stop to think that the migrant workers that pick our produce are very dependent on their jobs and probably the last thing that they would do is to put their lively hoods in jeapordy ON PURPOSE. I'm not sure about the availability of latrines in the fields, does anyone know this answer? Not to mention the development encroaching so near our farmlands and the possibilty of runoff from sewer drains. Look at Lake St. Clair as an example. Also, to the xenaphobic readers, I don't seem to see a lot of people lining up for these very same jobs. And it does look like there are a lot of unemployed people that had farmers as ancestors who worked very hard to become part of this country. Unless of course, you are Native American, then you can say anything that you want. As for the "bird flu", does anyone remember the flu of 1918, Bubonic Flu?.... These are scary times, yes, but we need to look at the big picture and remember history so that paranoia doesn't get out of hand and we repeat the history of say, WWII. Internment camps in California, the ovens in Poland. I feel for your dreams Susan and this diatribe is not about you, maybe less newscasts before bedtime and more poetry and prayer.
Comment by Sue | Dec 20, 2006 7:10:14 PM
Mary, I don't think that anyone is pointing fingers at the migrant workers for a conspiracy. :) Besides, the particular strain of E coli that they're finding in these cases is not your regular human-contrived garden variety. And Dave.. we're all crazy like a fox. Don't judge anyone until you know something about them. I'm glad that you have such peaceful dreams that other people's nightmares are so entertaining. Think we're making this stuff up?
Comment by Kelly | Dec 20, 2006 9:08:03 PM
Wow, those are some mighty scary dreams. But in an age where CNN reigns supreme, I don't find it very surprising. Am I the only one that has the classic dreams of falling, of being back in college and totally unprepared, or being chased? I feel boring!
I was just telling my son today that I was getting tired of all the bad news on CNN, etc. It's just too much to read day after day, but that's the world we live in. Sometimes I read happynews.com or goodnewsnow.com just for something less depressiong!
Comment by Sue | Dec 20, 2006 9:33:53 PM
Kelly, I do the "unprepared for a test" thing every once in a while too.. usually it includes the showing up nekkid thing too.. lol.. The chase thing rears its head every once in a while, do you feel like you're running in water?
Comment by JGolden | Dec 20, 2006 10:21:48 PM
Oooh...I had the school dreams, but I was always late for class and unable to get my locker open. Then I'd wander around the school building (always junior high) looking for the office so I could get the combination from the school secretary. Who I never found. Most of my house or building dreams involved wandering, which probably has something to do with the fact that I've made 34 completely non-military moves in 48 years.
What I really enjoy about this blog and how IT wanders - from dreams to nuclear powers to speculation about migrant workers taking a dump in a lettuce field. Free speech - what a concept!
Comment by Kelly | Dec 21, 2006 7:34:26 AM
YES! Running in water! Like I can't move fast enough but whoever is chasing me (sometimes my ex-husband) is gaining and I can't get away quickly enough no matter HOW hard I try. And the school dreams, it's ALWAYS collge and I'm ALWAYS unprepared. But on some level I know I shouldn't be there, yet I am. It's some wacky stuff!
Comment by Ian | Dec 21, 2006 9:37:03 AM
I thought all you liberals said there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... eh, Susan? No need to worry.
Comment by Becky | Dec 21, 2006 1:13:50 PM
Susan,
I started having those stupid dreams after watching "Jericho." I haven't had one in a few weeks, thanks for the friendly reminder, it could happen tonight now....lol.
Comment by Misha | Dec 26, 2006 8:25:35 PM
I too had a very scary dream which has left me dazzled, clouds become black in the dream and faces appear in the sky the the earth feels as if it is caving in? any good interpretors??
Comment by Misha | Dec 26, 2006 8:25:38 PM
I too had a very scary dream which has left me dazzled, clouds become black in the dream and faces appear in the sky the the earth feels as if it is caving in? any good interpretors??
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