In a dream from last night, an affluent, attractive middle-aged couple bring me along to look at a property they might buy: a two-story Spanish stucco house standing alone in a desolate urban area. Both floors are gutted with no walls between rooms. I suggest the wide-open spaces might be good for a restaurant. I pardon myself as I need to leave. At home, I receive a call from the woman. In the background I hear the man say, “We can tell him when we get to . . .” (name of place I don’t remember). I ask the woman, “Is there some bad news?” She replies “Yes.” I ask if it involves me. She reluctantly says “Yes.” I awake. This pending bad news filled me with dread until I realized the dream seemed to follow the template of the DABL network TV show Escape to the Country, in which British couples are shown three country properties they might buy. Most of the couples are older or retired people looking for large, upscale homes with a big yard. To me, the senior citizens seemed unwise to buy large properties requiring substantial maintenance and having to climb stairs to get to the bedrooms. Thus, in the dream, I was the show “host” showing the property to a prosperous couple who represent the American “Establishment.” The bad news, which they were reluctant to share, is that they were not buying the “property”: my portrayal in books and on internet forums of a gloomy, austere future that will require a lot of work.
I'd love to escape to Springfield, Oregon for a week or so, next to Eugene. I'm from South London, a world a way, saddens me it's a world away.