Space Monkey aka Terrence (space__monkey) wrote, @ 2002-10-05 10:15:00

Teacher of my dreams
I had a rather unusual dream last night (even for me). I'll try to hit as many plot points as I can remember. First I was in some sort of paramilitary boot camp or school whose idea of discipline was to hold ice on my balls. Then I escaped that hellhole and fled to Bora-Bora, which in my otherworldly version of geography was a city controlled by monkeys. Then I was magically transported to my old high school. I was just walking around when I noticed the classroom of my all-time favorite teacher Mr. McMenamin. So I walked in and there he was looking at me. I tried to speak but nothing came out, I was choking up. But he recognized me from three years ago and what I call a compressed conversation. That is where, in my dreams, a large amount of information is exchanged without any actual talking happening. It just occurs. Then his class was about to start and he had me fill out a form. It was mostly standard fare: name, email address, graduating class. But there was an odd place for Social Security Number, which I meant to fill out correctly (he is my favorite teacher and I trust him) but now that I remember it I screwed up the last four digits. As I was trying to complete his form it kept getting longer and harder to read. It went from black ink on white paper to red ink on black. I could only read it at an angle. The information got stranger and more personal, like favorite band, song, TV show. I was screwing it up and then I woke up.

Mr. McMenamin was the greatest teacher I ever had. I can't even imagine how a teacher could be better. He taught Government and Sociology at WSHS and did both very well. He was the master of lecture. Once he explained something it stayed in my head, even to this day. Even more important than giving us knowledge he helped to spark thought and debate in our minds. He only taught the "regular" classes, not the gifted ones; so many of his students didn't quite fit that student mold. But once they finished his class, we all knew more and thought more.

He would often abandon any lesson plan and just read an article out of the paper and then have a discussion about it for the entire period. He had a great sense of humor, and was never happier than when a student disagreed with him on an issue. The only negatives about him were that he didn't like new technology (he was pretty old) and the administrators hated him (which only endeared him to the 'troublemakers')

The last time I had any contact with him was after September 11th last year. I emailed him this wonderfully pro-American editorial from 1973. He said that he read it to all his classes. I miss him.

	gosc 2002-10-05 10:55 (link)
	That experience you had in your dream, of the writing on the form changing every time you 'look' at it, is an excellent cue to initiate a lucid dream if you are so inclined. The problem is realizing you're dreaming without it causing you to awaken. :) (Reply to this) (Thread)