Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining

I had a dream last night that I was on my way to a hotel in the town that I grew up in.

While I was walking along a crowded street, a small person with an elaborate clown face blocked my way and looked menacingly at me. I was able to go around her but shortly after I was on my way again, a rough and tumble blonde haired man stopped me and was shouting at me that I’d been rude to his friend and all she wanted was a cigarette. I fished in my pockets and pulled out a single cigarette and gave it to him and he let me continue on.

I got to the hotel which seemed to be a boarding house. I checked in at the front desk and walked up some stairs to my room. I let myself in and found the bed unmade, a lot of clothes strewn around the room and an open suitcase with more clothes spilling out of it. I called down to the front desk and they had a ‘so what?’ attitude.

The guy who’d made me give him the cigarette came in and it was his room. I was trying to explain there’d been a mix-up and he just sat there smoking and looking at me. I heard voices out in the hall and several young people who I understood to work at the hotel were out there laughing and talking. I called over a young blonde girl and explained the situation and the attitude at the front desk. She was very apologetic and told me she’d make sure it was cleared up.

She then told me that if I gave her a --- and she used some sort of slang I wasn’t familiar with. She explained that if I showed her I had a 20 dollar bill, she’d get me a deluxe room in another hotel down the street called The Princess of Wales hotel. I showed her the 20 and she told me to go there and they would know to give me a good room.

I woke up.

So, this is what I know:

I watched the Amazing Race and there’s a little person on it.

I read Bubs’ interview of Melinda June and she mentioned her dislike for clowns.

I’ve had smoking on my mind a lot since being in England where it’s practically law that you smoke like a chimney.

There is a Princess of Wales theatre here but no hotel by that name.

The only place you can buy satisfaction for a paltry 20 bucks is in my dreams.