Sunday, February 9, 2003

Let's rally

Fred and I are watching videotape on a TV set into a wall. Fred tells me about a guy with his own TV show that rents video cameras. The guy includes a copy of this show in each camera. The TV screen comes on and it is a video of me dancing on a high school football field during what looks like half time or pep rally. It is from a trip or the night before. I tell Fred I don’t remember doing that. It shows me dancing up and down the field, in and out of and around other people on the field, but I am the center of the action, the crowd in the stands is cheering for me. I do the moonwalk for over twenty yard down the field. As we are watching this, the picture on the screen becomes smaller and moves into a corner kinda like a picture in picture view.
Then I am there, walking off the field or into the school building. It is not my high school, but feels like it because I keep seeing people I know. I see Todd, he looks like he did in high school. I am in a cafeteria, the principal, a woman, is giving what feels like a campaign speech. She uses a slogan that involves M&Ms and plays a huge picture of the candy’s cartoons mascots on the wall. Some how the slogan plays off her name. I walk into a classroom, but it is huge. Row after row of desks (over 20?) and the rows are all at least 20 desks deep. It feels more like a gymnasium. A big cooler of beer sits next to the first row. It is me beer. I worry about the students stealing it. I open the lid and reach in for a beer. I talk to the black guy sitting near the cooler as I do this. I pull out a coke. As I reach back in to fish for a beer. I look over my shoulder and see the teacher, a cool, youngish looking guy with a crew cut staring at me with a bemused smile. I say something about not knowing he was ready to start and retreat/slink down the row. I see Geller, a fraternity brother. I try to sit by him and unknowingly try sitting in the same desk he is. I realize this and slide into the desk in front of his. The principal enters the room and addresses the class. Everyone says in unison, Hello Mrs. So and So. I can’t believe everyone does it. It feels like a bad movie not high school. She holds up a big coffee table book sized book with a picture of a round metal tin with the M&M characters on it. She starts what sounds like a bragging promotional pitch, something like, “if you can’t find my free copy, go out and buy one.” Then the room becomes a pep rally. I am sitting in the crowd and then on the edge of the stage with Stacy. The speaker stand at a podium behind us and talk. A Mexican guy in the crowd motions to someone behind us that he has to go and gets up to leave. When he does, he takes his entire row of chairs with him. They are attached like links. More guys start breaking down equipment, cables, scaffolding and speakers. The entire room clears out. A woman behind us on stage continues singing and I think how rude of everyone to leave early. Stacy and I walk out and see Angie coming towards us, she is wearing a gaudy 80s style cocktail dress, but looks great. She is talking to someone else from my graduating class about the dance. I say that I am going and she says, “you can’t, you’ve graduated.” I reply that I’m going with Stacy. Whoever else is standing there can’t go. Throughout all of this, I see tons of people I know even some not from high school. It’s like a recognize everyone even though I remember only a few of them upon waking.

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