—A Dream!FranceDFO 123327/10/79

—By Father David

1. IT WOULD BE SO NICE TO GO BACK TO SLEEP. (Maria: Just tell the dream to me & then you'll go back to sleep, OK?) OK. (Maria: Tell it to me right now, OK?)

2. WE CLIMBED INTO THIS SMALL BOAT, it was almost like a kayak, only it had three holes, three cockpits, one right after the other. It was like one of the old amphibious planes, only it wasn't old, it was kind of new & it was very small.

3. I GOT IN THE FRONT SEAT & LUCY WAS IN THE NEXT SEAT‚ only she was older & more mature & sweeter, & it seemed like she was a little more mellow & sort of understanding. You don't suppose she's dead?—I hope not. (Maria: I don't think so, we would have heard about it.)

4. TECHI WAS IN THE LAST SEAT, & SHE WAS ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD, or maybe one-and–a-half. She could walk & crawl & she was such a pretty little girl with sort of dark blonde curls‚ not necessarily very curly, but she had quite a bit of hair, isn't that something? (Maria: Yes!)

5. IT WAS REALLY LIKE A LITTLE BOAT WITH WINGS, what we used to call a duck, a small amphibious plane, like that one in the pictures last night, only smaller. They used to have a lot of them, but they don't seem to have much anymore. This one was quite a small one‚ with a big hole with me in the front cockpit, & Juicy Lucy in the next one. Lucy was a little bigger & fatter, but she was so sweet. She just seemed to be understanding.

6. SO WE SHOVED OFF & WE STARTED TO PADDLE AWAY down this stream, & she said, "Would you like to fly?" I said‚ "Yes‚" and she said, "OK!" In the meantime, Techi was sitting in the back cockpit all by herself drinking her bottle. She was where she could reach me‚ though. We began to take off, sort of skimming along the surface.

7. IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY MOTOR, there weren't any controls, we just sort of willed it. And you just tilted this way or that way, you didn't maneuver wings or anything, but just went the way you sort of felt. So we were just sort of skimming along the surface & we were what they call hedge–hopping, we were flying real low, just above the surface of the ground, under trees & under power lines. It was so easy, just lean this way or lean that way, & we were going the way we sort of felt or tilted. We were just skimming around.

8. AND IT WAS SO AMAZING HOW WE GOT THROUGH ALL THESE TIGHT PLACES SO EASILY!—Just sailing along, sort of feeling our way! It was sort of funny!—If you wanted to go to the right you leaned that way, if you wanted to go to the left, you leaned to the left, & we sort of pulled it up & down.

9. I WAS A LITTLE BIT WORRIED ABOUT FLYING THROUGH ALL THESE TIGHT PLACES, under tree limbs & under power lines. We'd be sure to duck our heads whenever a power line came close. I said, "Lucy‚ aren't you afraid we're going to hit some of those thing?" She said, "No, we're going to hit some of those things?" She said, "No, we're alright, don't worry! Just duck your head & just fly the way you feel."

10. IT WAS ALMOST LIKE THE PLANE HAD BECOME PART OF US, almost like we were flying ourselves, you know? No, how could you know. (Maria: Well, on a bicycle, you sort of turn a corner like that.) Yes‚ I used to do that without any hands. That's sort of the way it was, sort of like flying without hands, like you do with a bicycle. That's a good illustration, Honey, GBY! If I wanted to go right I'd just lean that way, if I wanted to go left, I'd lean that way. If you wanted to duck down, you'd just sort of dip forward & up.

11. BUT BY AND BY I ASKED LUCY, "DO WE HAVE TO FLY THIS WAY?—So low & through all these tight squeezes & everything? Can't we go up higher where we're up & clear of all thing?" She said‚ "Sure!—Just lean back & up we go!"

12. IT WAS LIKE SHE WAS CONTROLLING THINGS A LITTLE BIT from the rear seat like she knew how to control it, but she was letting me fly it. She was like the instructor at the controls, while you're flying they sort of keep things under control. It's a funny thing—I don't understand dreams. It's like you were Techi. You were back there. I was a little worried about you, & Lucy said, "No, no, she's alright, she's fine!"

13. BUT NOW WE WERE FLYING HIGH & we were flying to some city. I've been trying & trying to think of the name of that town.—It seemed like it was in Texas. I was starting to worry about you, I mean Techi, & she said, "She's fine! OK!" I looked back & she seemed to be enjoying it, really flying along, her curls flying in the wind. So we flew up higher above things then, above the power lines & the trees & way up. We flew more or less straight across then‚ flying towards that town.

14. THEN WHEN WE GOT THERE, WE CAME DOWN & LANDED ON A LITTLE LAKE, a sort of pond. There was some construction around, they were building a building. A real nice handsome fellow, like a foreman of the construction crew, met us, & he greeted us & he was real nice.

15. ABOUT THIS TIME TECHI WAS CRYING BECAUSE SHE WAS HUNGRY. Oh! Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, toward the end of the flight we were getting ready to land‚ & Techi began fussing because she was hungry, she didn't have much bottle left. I said, "Lucy, could you take care of Techi?" Lucy just motioned for her to come, & I said‚ "Isn't that dangerous for her to crawl to you from the other cockpit?" "No," she said, "don't worry!" So Techi just crawled out from her little cockpit & got in the cockpit with Lucy.

16. IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYTHING WAS SO NATURAL & SAFE. I was a little bit worried, but Lucy wasn't worried at all. She seemed almost like an angel, sort of a heavenly creature or something. It was like she was dead, she understood it all, & she was sort of a guardian angel!

17. WE GOT OUT & THIS MAN GREETED US. By this time Techi was crying & crying for her bottle because we gave her the last few drops that were in the bottle & she was sucking away. We asked him where we could get some milk & he said that right up on the hill over the other side, there was a store. It seemed like it was about 5 or 6 o'clock, not too long before the stores closed, & there were some reasons we had to hurry.

18. I HADN'T REALLY PLANNED TO GO SO FAR! And I was cold because I had forgotten my sweater. (Maria: Oh dear!) I didn't even have a sweater with me, & I thought, "Well, isn't that stupid of me not to think about bringing a sweater!"—& I was cold! I thought, "If we hurry fast & get there quick, we can not only get Techi some milk, but we can also buy me a sweater." I hadn't planned to fly a long ways to another city, I was just taking a little boat ride. (Maria: Yes‚ that's like you!)

19. SO WE STARTED ROMPING UP THE HILL, & boy, Techi was scrambling over stuff, & we were helping her walk up behind us. Lucy was walking with me & Techi was coming along as we walked up the hill heading towards the stores.

20. WE LEFT OUR LITTLE AIRPLANE BEHIND ON THE LITTLE POND, & I was thinking how cold I was & how I should have thought to bring my sweater. I should never go anywhere without my sweater, & without an extra bottle for Techi. It was really stupid of us not to think of that, to always be prepared. And I woke up!

21. (MARIA: AT LEAST THAT WAS A GOOD MORAL.) Yes, always have an extra bottle & a sweater, because you never know where you're going to land!

22. I WONDER WHY LUCY WAS THERE?—She was soooo serene & relaxed, & wasn't the least bit worried about anything‚ just like she knew everything was under control. She kept telling me, "Don't worry! Everything's fine! Techi's fine, the plane's fine. Everything is OK, we won't hit anything." (Maria: Well, maybe that's for you. You said Techi was older, about one-and-a-half, maybe that's what's going to happen when Lucy's gone. If Lucy could do anything she wanted to in the spirit...) Yes, it was just like she was taking care of Techi & me!

23. (P.S. 1982: HI, LUCY!—ARE YOU STILL HERE? GBY! ILY!—And you were right! Everything's OK! Techi's fine!—And a big girl now!—Even though we've been through lotsa tight places! Thanks for all your help! ILY!—And will never forget our "Days of Heaven on Earth!"—And off of it! Ha!—Yours forever!—Love,—Dad.—MAYBE you're still here in your prayers?—Thanks! GBY!)