Dream LXXXIV

I was visiting my younger brother during a very hot July. It was decided that we would all give presents to each other, as if it were Christmas. I wasn't really prepared as I hadn't brought any presents, so I hoped that they would "forget" about me, but my niece gave me a small enameled box which contained a word game.

I looked over the game, which was a series of hint words written on small ceramic titles. A player was supposed to assemble the answer to a question using these tiles. My niece suggested we play. So she shouted out, "Uncle Iraq!"

I looked through the tiles frantically seeing if I could somehow make "Saddam Hussein" out of them, but I couldn't, and the timer ran out. I felt rather frustrated and mentioned this to my niece, adding quickly that I thought the game might be quite fun if it was complete, and I promised her that I would try to find all the parts.

I had to leave, then, to go to some of the other houses along the gift routes. Outside, it was snowing furiously and the streets were already icy. I got into my car and drove along the road, but the ice was so slippery I skidded over to the wrong lane and quickly stopped and parked.

A lady in a small station wagon was driving along without her headlights on. She stopped and wagged a finger at me to admonish me for my driving on ice, and I wagged a finger back about her driving without headlights. She nodded in agreement, turned on her lights, and drove on.

I managed to get back on the road and in the correct lane, and drove to the next house on the list. This was on a hill, reachable by winding roads. It was a long, difficult journey but I finally managed to get there. The celebration was still going on when I entered, with gift-giving uppermost on everyone's mind.

All the gifts opened so far were the same word-puzzle tile sets. I hoped I wasn't going to get another one.