Happy New Year my friends!

Usually I don’t make resolutions with each new year. I always found that they set a person up for a greater sense of failure if the proposed goals aren’t met.

But this year, I’ve decided to tackle and change the illusive and ethereal ghosts which I’ve always been plagued with: My Damn Repetitive Dream Themes.

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Of course I know I’m not alone in this and I would hazard a guess that some of you also take a nightly venture into echoing dream motifs.

My own repeating dream themes are usually so damn insane that I often thought they weren’t dreams at all but out-of body quantum leaps into alternate realities.

This theory was blown out of the water when I realized no sane God, or civilization, would allow a person to be trapped in an infinite maze of New York City Subway tunnels where the only escape was found by jumping on the Number 7 Train to Flushing.

Flushing.

I’d awake in a cold sweat and console myself that at least it wasn’t Newark.

In fact all my other repetitive dreams seem to evolve from New York City in one way or another:

Working as a typesetter in an ad agency; where my desk was located in a freight elevator and the ad copy was screamed to me by a parrot.

Trying to go nightclubbing in Manhattan, but being turned away at each venue by the doorman, who always happened to be my ex-mother-in-law.

Walking around the NY Library searching for a rare book by Gahan Wilson only to have librarians chase me out for barking and growling like a dog.
(I blame my dog sneaking into my bed for this one.)

Walking hand in hand with my wife along the waterfront of Jersey City. Actually this dream is fairly pleasant and I enjoy its rerun. At least up until the part where my wife starts barking and growling. (Again, the stupid dog.)

Anyhow the list goes on and on since my mind is a devil’s triangle of collected fears, desires, and experiences. But one thing for sure is that I need to change up my slumbering playlist. Now let’s hope my unconscious mind can rise to the challenge.

I also have repetitive dreams about the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately they’re sadly less memorable since each night they’re interrupted by either gunfire, fireworks, or street racers that break any sense of peace in suburban Vancouver, WA.

Now that I think about it. I got more restful sleep back in NYC and New Jersey.

By jove, I just figured out what my dreams are trying to tell me!

…Or maybe not.

Thankfully being half Irish, I’ll just accept dreams as the detritus of my waking world and let Sigmund Freud sum it all up:

“The Irish are the one race for which psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever... because they already live in a dream world.”

Thanks Siggy, you contemptuous weirdo.

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What are your repetitive dream themes? Where they trying to tell you something? Also, if you extricated them, how did you manage to do it?

Feel free to fill up my comments with your psychological baggage.

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Other Items of Interest:

Over the short holiday break I was working on some extended multi-page stories that will be appearing here. One is a story straight out of underground comics in its content. Another is a continuation of The Big Gig, the sci-fi Rock and Roll comedy, which if I ever finish it will probably be a 100+ page epic.

In between those I’ll squeeze in a variety of other gags, guffaws and other nonsense to hopefully keep you amused, so stay tuned.

Suggested Stacks to Check out:

I’ve been remiss in giving a nod to my fellow Substackers in the last couple of posts so please allow me to point out some folks that demand your eyeballs.

The American Bystander’s Viral Load- The Best Humor Magazine in the US. They’ve got their Substack Newsletter going strong now. Check them out.

Lower Black Pain - Jd Michaels gives you audio stories that will tickle your brain like Duke Ellington’s fingers on piano Ivory.

The Forgotten Files - Peter Pappas is a University of Portland-based educator who give you the history on lost treasures and ephemera like no other.

Weirdo Poetry - Love Hiakus? Then let Jason take you on a wonderful journey of them which are deeply inspired by life in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ll keep changing up this list to give everyone an equal chance to be discovered. But If you’d like to see more recommendations go here.

Until next time my friends, Que tus sueños sean nuevos e interesantes!

Cheers,
Ed

Escape from Clowntown | Comics of E.R. Flynn

My 2023 Repetitive Dream Themes