Dream - The hill and the long, long stairs
On November 29, 2008, sometime early in the morning, I had a dream about a long stairway that led from a building out onto the land, eventually going up a hill.
In the dream, I was at a small place, not really a town, more like a business complex largely by itself out in the country, a somewhat sprawling, large, one story building with some smaller buildings or extensions at the edges. The surrounding area wasn't really a desert, it had some drier sections but was mostly covered with green grass with occasional groups or lines of trees. Some more was happening earlier, I think I was driving back and forth in Nevada, maybe from Fallon to Reno and back, or something similar if not to exactly those places.
Now at this place out by itself, I was taking classes but also working there. A road led away from the place, a road that was two lanes and may have been dirt. Beside the road, a hill rose up with a long, mostly gentle grassy slope upward, though the slope increased sharply toward the end, and the top of the hill was far above the land below. A line of steps went straight up the hill, mostly following the contours of the land, though at the top a small area was cut off to make the summit a little more rounded. Even so, the last part of the stairs was very steep. After the summit the stairs continued, going back down the other side a little way. Then there was a cleared area, not paved, just dirt, where something was going on, something was set up. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it was something fairly small.
I went up there a couple of times I think, though I may have driven instead of walking, maybe going by a different route than the stairs took, at least earlier in the dream. Later I did take the stairs, at least part of the way.
Whatever was going on at the top, it seems like it was almost a spiritual retreat, like simply making the trip was a big reason for going there, though it was more than that. There were some scattered stone pillars in the area, roughly rectangular in shape but crudely carved, basically just standing stones, perhaps eight to ten feet high. Some huge boulders were also there, and some bushes and small trees, mostly at the edges of the cleared area. I think there may have been some picnic tables set up, too. The light was dim, like very early morning, before dawn, though it was a bit brighter in the cleared area, where some lights must have been set up. It felt like a very peaceful place, and I wandered around the area a bit.
A few other people were around, though I didn't interact with them. Two or three seemed to be leaders, and it felt like they had mystical qualities, almost like shamans. They had probably all come up the stairs, from the building. It was a long hard trip up the stairs, there were miles and miles of them, and the going got a lot harder toward the end. Even so, people kept making the trip and seemed happy to do so, generally going in groups I think.
After being at the cleared area near the top for a while, it was time for me to go back down. I headed back toward the summit, going up the relatively short section of stairs leading to it, to the cleared off cut-out area at the top, a place with sloping walls of pale loose dirt on either side. The cut-out wasn't very deep, and there was a comfortably broad area to go through, though it narrowed quite a bit as it started back down, to where it came close to the path.
The next group coming up was almost here. A special leader, Tom Brokaw, was making the trip with them. Some people reached the top, puffing. It was a long trip and the last bit was very steep. I could hear Tom Brokaw talking and puffing, though he was still out of sight, beyond the curve of the top of the hill. He finally came up and we talked for a bit.
After a while, still talking, we turned and looked out at the long way up here. It was lighter now, perhaps close to dawn. The building at the bottom, at the end of the long gentle slope, looked far away. The long line of stairs came straight out of it, and up the steep slope of the hill toward us. Immediately below us, on either side of the stairs, was the hill with its green grass. At the bottom, to the left of the stairs, the narrow road came out from the area of the buildings. After an initial slight outward curve, the road went fairly straight, almost parallel to the stairs. It passed to the left of us, close beside the hill, which was much steeper on that side.
Then we went back down the hill. It was a long, disturbingly long journey. The last third or so of the way the slope suddenly turned slightly more gentle, and a ways off to the right a gully, paralleling the stairs, had cut into the land, with largely bare dirt around it, not grass like the rest of the hill.
The stairs ended inside the building, in a large, very open area of it. A few people were in the area, some walking around, some studying or doing various things. A few seemed to have jobs they were doing.
I had been promised a book when I got back down. It was one of the things Tom Brokaw talked about, it was a reward for having completed the journey. The book wasn't given to me, though. The same thing happened before, too. I knew, though, that other people had gotten the book.
I saw a nearby table with small piles of a technical book, with science and equations and maybe some programming, with thick, colored, shiny cardboard pages with lots of pictures and simple language. Some of the pages had clear cut-out areas with plastic over them. The pages also had round irregular edges, though I think the covers were straight.
Was this the book I was supposed to be given? I wasn't sure, and nobody said anything to me about it. I think I finally even asked a person or two, but their responses were vague, and tended to not really address the question.
Some people from Fallon were there, including some managers from the place I used to work. One of them was an older manager, who I talked to briefly.
The book was supposed to be helpful, if not for school, which was almost over, then for the jobs people would have after school ended. I was never able to determine, though, whether the book I found was it.
In the dream, I was at a small place, not really a town, more like a business complex largely by itself out in the country, a somewhat sprawling, large, one story building with some smaller buildings or extensions at the edges. The surrounding area wasn't really a desert, it had some drier sections but was mostly covered with green grass with occasional groups or lines of trees. Some more was happening earlier, I think I was driving back and forth in Nevada, maybe from Fallon to Reno and back, or something similar if not to exactly those places.
Now at this place out by itself, I was taking classes but also working there. A road led away from the place, a road that was two lanes and may have been dirt. Beside the road, a hill rose up with a long, mostly gentle grassy slope upward, though the slope increased sharply toward the end, and the top of the hill was far above the land below. A line of steps went straight up the hill, mostly following the contours of the land, though at the top a small area was cut off to make the summit a little more rounded. Even so, the last part of the stairs was very steep. After the summit the stairs continued, going back down the other side a little way. Then there was a cleared area, not paved, just dirt, where something was going on, something was set up. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it was something fairly small.
I went up there a couple of times I think, though I may have driven instead of walking, maybe going by a different route than the stairs took, at least earlier in the dream. Later I did take the stairs, at least part of the way.
Whatever was going on at the top, it seems like it was almost a spiritual retreat, like simply making the trip was a big reason for going there, though it was more than that. There were some scattered stone pillars in the area, roughly rectangular in shape but crudely carved, basically just standing stones, perhaps eight to ten feet high. Some huge boulders were also there, and some bushes and small trees, mostly at the edges of the cleared area. I think there may have been some picnic tables set up, too. The light was dim, like very early morning, before dawn, though it was a bit brighter in the cleared area, where some lights must have been set up. It felt like a very peaceful place, and I wandered around the area a bit.
A few other people were around, though I didn't interact with them. Two or three seemed to be leaders, and it felt like they had mystical qualities, almost like shamans. They had probably all come up the stairs, from the building. It was a long hard trip up the stairs, there were miles and miles of them, and the going got a lot harder toward the end. Even so, people kept making the trip and seemed happy to do so, generally going in groups I think.
After being at the cleared area near the top for a while, it was time for me to go back down. I headed back toward the summit, going up the relatively short section of stairs leading to it, to the cleared off cut-out area at the top, a place with sloping walls of pale loose dirt on either side. The cut-out wasn't very deep, and there was a comfortably broad area to go through, though it narrowed quite a bit as it started back down, to where it came close to the path.
The next group coming up was almost here. A special leader, Tom Brokaw, was making the trip with them. Some people reached the top, puffing. It was a long trip and the last bit was very steep. I could hear Tom Brokaw talking and puffing, though he was still out of sight, beyond the curve of the top of the hill. He finally came up and we talked for a bit.
After a while, still talking, we turned and looked out at the long way up here. It was lighter now, perhaps close to dawn. The building at the bottom, at the end of the long gentle slope, looked far away. The long line of stairs came straight out of it, and up the steep slope of the hill toward us. Immediately below us, on either side of the stairs, was the hill with its green grass. At the bottom, to the left of the stairs, the narrow road came out from the area of the buildings. After an initial slight outward curve, the road went fairly straight, almost parallel to the stairs. It passed to the left of us, close beside the hill, which was much steeper on that side.
Then we went back down the hill. It was a long, disturbingly long journey. The last third or so of the way the slope suddenly turned slightly more gentle, and a ways off to the right a gully, paralleling the stairs, had cut into the land, with largely bare dirt around it, not grass like the rest of the hill.
The stairs ended inside the building, in a large, very open area of it. A few people were in the area, some walking around, some studying or doing various things. A few seemed to have jobs they were doing.
I had been promised a book when I got back down. It was one of the things Tom Brokaw talked about, it was a reward for having completed the journey. The book wasn't given to me, though. The same thing happened before, too. I knew, though, that other people had gotten the book.
I saw a nearby table with small piles of a technical book, with science and equations and maybe some programming, with thick, colored, shiny cardboard pages with lots of pictures and simple language. Some of the pages had clear cut-out areas with plastic over them. The pages also had round irregular edges, though I think the covers were straight.
Was this the book I was supposed to be given? I wasn't sure, and nobody said anything to me about it. I think I finally even asked a person or two, but their responses were vague, and tended to not really address the question.
Some people from Fallon were there, including some managers from the place I used to work. One of them was an older manager, who I talked to briefly.
The book was supposed to be helpful, if not for school, which was almost over, then for the jobs people would have after school ended. I was never able to determine, though, whether the book I found was it.
posted by Stephen at 6/10/2009 06:27:00 AM
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