I was getting out of an elevator at Chateau Marmont & there in front of me was Denise Gainer.  because in reality I hadn't seen her in decades she was as young & fresh & beautiful as I rememberd her. but strangely in the dream I knew she was dead.  & it was the shock of seeing someone you know is dead that shook me so I woke immediately.

& as I lingerd there wondering if I shd try to go back to sleep I rememberd she was the first girl I ever kissd.  & I even rememberd the taste of her kiss. so I got out of bed. I saw that full moon out the window.  I grabbd my camera & went outside to get a few shots,

it's 5 pm & I'm sitting at a cocktail table at a train station. I walk to the counter.  the clerk has bleachd-blond hair but the stubble on his chin is dark.  I ask him if the 5:45 westbound is on time.  he says it's ahead of schedule. so ahead of schedule that there no longer is time for my complimentary mini-massage. as I walk back to my table I see my cousin Regina in front of a mirror.  she's removing makeup & crying.  when I return to the table I spread out newspaper clippings my mother sent me.  hidden in the clippings is a twenty dollar bill.

the sound of a real train wakes me.

on my last night at Coral Sands in Hollywood I dreamt I was a guest at a tribute to Jean-Claude van Itallie. my entrance was announced by a spotlight. my smile was that of a star. after arriving I began an intense conversation with Linda Hunt. I awoke in mid-sentence. it was 6:30 & hummingbirds were busy in the courtyard.

I woke in awe.

I'd been dreaming abt creating a piece out of my daily activities. I'd gatherd together a group of friends who were going to cross a bridge. we met so that I cd instruct them how to document the journey across the bridge & where we wd meet so that I cd collect that documentation for the work.

I woke glowing.

I was on a charterd bus from Kent to Washington DC. we were going to a rally & march advocating trying Bush/Cheney for war crimes. also on the bus were friends from my university days & Elizabeth Taylor. I askd the actress if she'd ever been on a bus before. she sd "once. at an airport."

became a crossroads between the living & the dead.

in my waking dream Gerald Mast -- who in life was a great scholar of film -- was a glass artist. I went to his studio & pickd out a wall piece which also was a working clock. I gave it to Regina as a present. Regina -- a child psychologist -- told me it was a clock for children & didn't work at all in her house.

then I had Gerald himself -- along with an assistant (much like the "assistant" he brought on his final overnite visit to my house years ago) -- come to Elyria to install the piece at my parents' home. (when Gerald taught at Oberlin he sometimes came to Elyria to dine at the Paradise). Mother immediately disliked the piece much to Gerald's displeasure. he left & I woke before negotiating the fate of the glass clock.

DREAM ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

woke to a dream in which I was at a party with Sophia Loren. as she was abt to leave she came over to give me a pink carnation. I quite despise carnations but I knew in the dream that I'd be taking it home to press because it was from her.

Marilyn was shooting a movie in Kent. she had a small role. she kept to herself but it was obvious I knew her. & strangely I seemd to be living with my friend Cynthia. she & I saw Marilyn walking down the street & when we stoppd to chat I invitd Marilyn to lunch. this causd Cynthia to raise her eyebrows.



flash forward to our house & a ring of the doorbell. I opend the door & there was Marilyn – on time & wearing the dress she wore to her wedding to Arthur Miller. then I woke up.



when I got online this ayem I saw that Marilyn was in the news. home movies of her during the filming of “The Misfits” were auctiond.

one of the recent recurring images in my dreams is a coffee pot. a big batterd coffee pot. the kind Gabby Hayes stood watch over in dozens of cheap westerns. the pot remains a prop but a familiar one a comfortable one. but without warning the dents of that pot have turnd into the abrasions on a beloved book cover.

when I awoke this morning I was dreaming abt Eudora Welty. I don't recall that she actually appeard in it but I was insistent in my demands to some woman I didn't know that a certain book be deliverd to Miss Welty.

that I woke dreaming of Marilyn Monroe shd be no surprise. one of the last things I did before hitting the pillows last nite was to finish proofing a 1985 article I wrote abt the Marilyn paperdoll for a new manuscript I'm putting together.