Sometimes it seems to me that when I am not feeling well, I have the weirdest dreams.  And there is no rhyme or reason to them. Such was the case last night.

I woke up somewhere after midnight with the words to several songs floating around in my head, songs that Stoney used to sing with the band in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  I haven’t thought about those songs in decades.  The dream stuck to me to the point that I had to look them up on line to read the words and sing along in my head.  Even though that part of my life is tucked far back in my memory’s file cabinets, it was nice for just a little while to think about those times.  I pictured setting on the steps in the house where I grew up, listening to him play his shiny red Gretsch guitar and singing songs like ‘Spanish Eyes’, ‘Twilight Time’, ‘No, Not Much’, and ‘Crazy’.  Ahhh, those were the days.

But after I had cleared away that little journey back half a century, I fell back to sleep.  This is were the dream got a little crazy.  I dreamed about my friend, Roger – (I haven’t talked to him in about a year) but he was wearing a pink gingham dress with ruffles! Talk about crazy! But after a quick dream hug, I found myself sitting on the floor at his house, leaning back against the couch, watching the Karaoke screen scroll past with the words to some of our favorite songs.  He would sing – and he was good! – and when I knew the song, I would join in.  We laughed a lot, because Karaoke is not my best venture.  We did the 60’s music mostly (‘Unchained Melody’ or ‘Last Kiss’), and then songs like ‘Why me, Lord?’ and ‘One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus.’ What great memories!

I realized when I thought about both of those dreamy visits that it was the music that made it so fun and it was so much a part of what we did.  What a joy it was to share together, listening to ourselves and to each other.  I really miss that.

I can’t go back there, even if it was an option, but I have come to the realization that it’s ok to look back on your life and to get great pleasure from the memories I find there.  Even if those people stepped away from my life – and maybe not too gently! – I can recall and relive those moments with smiles and fondness, and realize that those times have helped bring me to who I am today.  So I’m going to hum ‘Twilight Time’ and maybe ‘It’s my Party’ as I go through my week, and take comfort in happy days gone by.  So grab your dream song, and start singing; I recommend it!