I had the strangest dream last night and again early this morning. In the dream, I ate a steak dinner at one of my favorite places in Lubbock with a group of friends, whom I have longed to see for decades. I knew all of these individuals in high school and some of them in junior high. The dream was very odd. There were friends from the east coast and others from the west coast. Former speech team comrades from various points in Texas were there as well. What a nice dream.  But I know that it would be virtually impossible to get friends from that many years back under one roof in Lubbock of all places.

Thankfully it was not a nightmare. The above mentioned individuals were among the best of the best in my graduating class. These are people who epitomize the very word “class.” In my dream, they were as classy as ever… Each of them is doing great things with their lives. Their career paths are varied and interesting. The dream reflected that reality.

In real life, people are full of themselves. Egos as big as Texas infiltrate conversations like poison gas. In dreamland, that was not the case. The conversations were not “me centered.” Interchanges took place that was characterized by good listening and mutual interest in one another.

I woke up from this fantastic dream feeling good. I could literally feel the positive emotional energy being exchanged among my friends. In that good feeling, I could sense the mutual respect and love these long lost peers felt for each other.  That is a very good feeling! But too bad it is not real life.

This evening I went on a walk at a park in the Melanie Park South development in Southwest Lubbock. The walking path was just a few yards from familiar streets like Knoxville and Lynnhaven… The dream I had last night was so odd that I felt the need to process it, as I walked. Images of good friends popped back in my mind. And I thought through the various conversations and interchanges depicted in it.

By the time I made my final lap, I came to the stunning realization that the experience was not a dream. It was very real. I actually spent my weekend with lifelong friends. I have not seen some of these wonderful people in over 30 years. The beauty of it all was so surreal that I concluded that it must have been a dream… After my walk I drove down a few streets in Melanie Park South and quietly smiled to myself. I was in 1979 again…

I am thankful today for those rare surreal experiences that God brings to our lives. I am appreciative for classy people. I am sure glad that there is a strategically placed walking path, where good thoughts can come together. And most of all I am grateful for every person who made the dream come true.