Lucid Dreams

I had a very vivid dream last night.

I rarely remember my dreams. But this one occurred just before I woke up. The last scene dissipated as I sat up in my bed.

It concerned a friend I grew up with – Steve “The Greek” Athineos.

Steve was an infamous NYC street rider who turned his bicycle daring into a profession, first as a bike messenger, and later as an owner of a bike messenger company. He was a fire brand who fought back against then NYC Mayor Ed Koch’s attempts to restrict bike messengers from the more exclusive parts of Manhattan.

There was nothing in particular that triggered this dream. Steve was a main character in Finding Jimmy Moran but I wasn’t particularly thinking about the book, or any of the characters in it. Indeed, as most of you know, I’ve been pretty obsessed with the launch of Where The Ley Lines Meet, and Steve does not appear in that book.

In the dream, it was a summer afternoon. I was traveling in one direction on a two lane highway on what felt like Long Island. The car was being driven by my brother Eddie. Suddenly, we found ourselves sitting in full stop traffic. I climbed up on the car roof to get a better view of what was stopping the traffic. It was only then I noticed that the traffic in the oncoming lane had also drawn to a full stop in the opposite direction.

When I looked across the highway, I spotted the familiar face of Steve The Greek among a group of guys I didn’t know, sitting on the flat bed of a truck. He was older than I remembered him, but still wore the long hair, which now had streaks of grey woven through it.

I called over to him excitedly. At first he looked over with a semi annoyed expression and I knew he didn’t recognize me right away. That is when I realized I was older too.

So I did this thing he used to do. You open you mouth in a small circle and tighten your bottom jaw to keep your cheeks taught, then you flick your right cheek with your right middle finger while you slightly close the circle of your mouth. If you do it right, it makes this strange sound like a large drop of water falling into a puddle in a cavern. Steve had mastered that move as a child and you could hear him doing it across a crowded bar.

When Steve saw me do that trick a look of recognition appeared, and he hopped off the truck and crossed the median towards my car, calling out “Tommy.”

The next thing I knew we were all at some large outdoor barbeque kind of party.

There were a lot of Riverdalians from my childhood all standing around in clusters with drinks and finger food. These weren’t members of the close crew I hung around with, just faces of all the wonderful people I knew growing up from St. Maggie’s, RNH pool or the Courts. As I was walking through the crowd, I noticed a lot of them would glance in my direction nod or wave and then whisper something to the person standing closest to them. It’s the kind of thing that makes you check to make sure your fly isn’t open. I got the feeling it was unusual for me to be there. Then an empty beer bottle went sailing by me and shattered a few feet away. I looked over and saw Steve the Greek standing off by himself in the corner of this large outdoor space with his arms akimbo and a look that said “Yeah, I did that.”

Now I have had my scraps with Steve growing up. He was larger and naturally blessed with the muscled body of a Greek god but I was martially better skilled and trained, and could take a punch, so he rarely challenged me. Plus, he knew that if he ever did beat me, he’d have my brothers to deal with.

But, in the dream, I didn’t sense that this was a challenge. This was a different message sent in The Courts’ short-hand.

I crossed through the crowd and when I reached him said “What was that all about?”

He smiled and sat down on one of two folding chairs and tapped the other to invite me to sit next to him.

“I wouldn’t have missed if I was trying for you.” He responded. “That was just to get your attention.”

I sat down next to him and we both stared out at the crowd. I was drinking a beer. Funny that the taste was as clear in my memory as if I had my last one yesterday, and not 37 years ago. I’m not lying, it tasted great.

“Why has it been so long?” he asked without looking over. “We used to be tight.”

“I don’t know,” I responded. “Marriage, work, kids, life.”

“Yeah,” he responded. “I guess that’s true.”

I turned and looked at him. “But I’m here now.”

He turned back to me, looked me over and said, “You’re right.” He clinked the neck of the beer he was holding against my own. His eyes looked sad. “I just wish it wasn’t too late.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Tommy, I’m dead.”

Now we have all experienced that moment in our dream state where we realize we are in a dream and start to drag ourselves to consciousness. This is what makes it Lucid.

The scene began to become kaleidoscopic. The edges began to blur.

I found myself fighting to stay in the moment. To not wake up. I didn’t want to leave the experience.

I found my avatar handing Steve a copy of FJM. It just appeared in my right hand.

“You’re not dead.” I said.

He opened the cover and read the inscription.

Dear Steve The Greek: There’s No Cows In Riverdale. Best, Tommy

He smiled and suddenly he was the young carefree Steve from our childhood.

Then I felt something sharp pushing against my right angel bone. The next thing I knew, I awoke to Blue prodding me with her paw to wake up.

When I got to the computer this morning I went on line to see if I could find a photo of Steve.

http://www.messarchives.com/memorial/sathineos.html

That’s when I realized that he had died on December 17, 2015.

It was almost eight years to the date he crossed the veil.

https://www.wikihow.com/Visitations-in-Dreams#:~:text=Visitations%20in%20dreams%20are%20believed%20to%20be%20a,milestone%20in%20your%20life%20and%20wishing%20for%20guidance.

Who knows why I had that dream last night.

But the Celt in me will count that as a visitation.

Well, I’m awake now, and thank God it’s Friday.

I’ve got my kitties to cuddle and my rounds to make.

You fine, five readers get your socks on and hopefully duck out from work a little early for a holiday party or to do some Christmas shopping.

Be cheery.

And if you get a moment, reach out to that friend you have been meaning to call.

Life happens quickly.

Can’t always depend on Lucid dreams for a mulligan.

And whatever else we do today, let’s make it a great one.