Dreams

Sometimes dreams can come true, even if only in a dream.

 I always wished I could have an elephant as a pet.  I admire them, their intelligence, their family spirit, their loyalty, their powerful appearance. But they have not been on my mind lately.  So I was totally stunned when I dreamed of a female elephant with her calf.
I found myself driving to some gathering somewhere, and had this Momma and baby elephant in my station wagon's rear platform.  Have no idea how they got in there. During the drive I did wonder how I would get them out and maybe back in again once we got to the destination.  They were good passengers, lying quietly on their sides. I was worried though about the time it would take for the drive, because elephants do not do well lying down for too long, because of their enormous weight pressing on their inner organs. 
We finally arrived, I got out of car, opened back and somehow both got out happily loping down an embankment to a large meadow area and an adjacent lake/river.  I attended to my meeting, and wondered if they might not just run off before I got back.

But they did not.  When I called them -and they responded to my talk just like my dogs do, understanding everything I said to them - the Momma "told" me (maybe telepathically) that they would be right with me, they just wanted to do one more run around meadow and a swim. The calf in fact rolled in a big mud puddle after its swim, so did the Mom, but she went back into the water and rinsed herself off. They calf did not. But by then I did not worry about car getting dirty, I just wanted them back in the car.  While I pondered, how I could lift them into the station wagon, they already had managed to get in (I did not see how) and laid back down for the ride back home.  And they let me know they were real happy about the outing.

Before I could wonder about the accommodations at home, I awoke.  But I was left with this awesome feeling of having experienced something wonderful - a connection with an animal that I never thought I would have.

When I told my neighbor about it, she laughed out loud. She thought that was the oddest thing one would dream.

I, too, could not figure out why I had this dream at this time, as I had not thought about elephants lately.  But then some time later I did remember a newspaper article I read about Africa and the annihilation of the Black Rhinos and scarcely any White Rhinos left, and the slaughtering of hundreds of elephants, all for their tusks/ivory, which sells as aphrodisiac in Asia and is an enormous black market.  At the time when I read that article, I felt so frustrated and wished there were a way I could help this creatures.  But even the National Wildlife organization, which works with those countries' personnel to preserve the animals in the animal sanctuaries, has no way to do much, because even the local officials are in on the money making deal. How selfish and uncaring this world has become. 

This is why I like the Tennessee Elephant Sanctuary so much.  One place some elephants can find a true sanctuary.

College Admissions

In a recent news article it was mentioned that colleges often have innovative ways for essay type material required for admission applications.  They found the questions lightened the burdensome task of writing essays. But others are intimidated.  Colleges came up with this novel idea because they realized most of the biographical essays contained not really the information they could use to evaluate the prospective student, and may have also been exaggerated.  And giving students free range in choosing a subject left many bewildered.

So here are some of the ideas.  Try them and maybe put them on your own blogs.  I find the ideas really invigorating.

"Think of things that fascinated you when you were 10 years old - what endured?"

"Please describe an unusual way in which you have fund."

"A package arrives at your door. After seeing the contents you know it is going to be the best day of your life.  What's inside and how do you spend your day?"