—MOSeptember 19, 1975GP—NO.387

—A Dream of a Girl—Or a Dream Girl?

1. I WAS TRYING TO INSTALL THIS AIR CONDITIONING UNIT IN A SYSTEMITE PREACHER'S CAR but it was so big and fancy I could hardly get it in his car! So I examined the unit carefully and found that it was mostly fancy container or housing unit. In other words, the big case was just for show, whereas the actual refrigerating unit itself was very small.

2. SO I THOUGHT, "WELL NOW‚ THERE'S NO NEED FOR THIS BIG FANCY—LOOKING CASE. Why don't I just take the little freezing unit out of the case and install it in the car‚ then there would be plenty of room." But by the time I got all this gear dismantled and got it all stripped down to nothing but the little refrigerator unit itself‚ it was beginning to get a little dark or late, twilight, and I couldn't see too well.

3. SO I SAID TO MYSELF, "IT'S TOO LATE TO TRY TO INSTALL THIS THING NOW anyway, I'll drive the preacher's car back over to him and worry about it tomorrow." So I pulled up in front of this store where he was and explained, "I'm sorry I couldn't finish the job today, I'll have to try to work on it tomorrow if I can."

4. JUST THEN I NOTICED A POSTER IN THE WINDOW of the store advertising some kind of a dinner meeting at this local hotel. There was to be a special speaker there who was going to speak on politics and the world economic situation and so on.

5. I REMEMBERED HEARING ABOUT HIM BEFORE. His name was vaguely familiar as he was someone fairly well known, a pretty notorious ultra-liberal, and I thought it would be interesting to hear him.

6. SO I SAID TO THE PREACHER, "I THINK I'LL GO OVER AND HEAR THIS FELLOW tonight—sounds interesting." But the preacher retorted, "Ha! He's just another one of those red radicals‚ he's nothing but another Commie as far as I'm concerned. You don't want to hear him! You shouldn't have anything to do with him!" I said, "Oh yes‚ I do want to hear him! I'd like to hear what he has to say!"

7. I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF THIS PREACHER anyway. He was a typical ultra-conservative narrow-minded fundamentalist type and I was already pretty disgusted with him and his fancy car and exasperating air conditioning. So I said, "Well, I'm going." He said, "Well, I'm not." I said, "Well that's okay. So long!"—and I went.

8. WHEN I GOT THERE THEY WERE EATING OUTSIDE in the yard of the hotel, having dinner or just beginning to eat‚ and this fellow was giving some kind of an impromptu dinner speech. It turned out to be a poem that he was ad-libbing off the cuff eulogising the lady who ran the little hotel and the good dinner which she had prepared for those attending the meeting, a small group of not more than about 50 people.

9. IT WAS VERY CLEVER POETRY TO BE SO SPONTANEOUS and I was admiring his skill and inspiration and thought, "He certainly is a very smart and clever man!" Everyone was laughing and enjoying it because it was kind of humorous. I can still hear the rhythm of his poem and I can almost recall the words as he complimented her cooking and her hospitality with his cute little humorous poem.

10. I THOUGHT THAT ANY GUY WHO IS THAT GOOD-HEARTED and appreciative and has such a good sense of humour couldn't be all that bad, and I sort of liked him. So then the dinner was ending and he got up in the front behind the counter and was announcing the winners of the dinner prizes.

11. HE APPARENTLY HAD SOME KIND OF LITTLE DOOR PRIZES and he was handing them out. And he said‚ "Now here is a very special prize for someone who can guess the name of the lady who made this dish. She's a very special lady who is a very dear friend of us all here, and an important member and leader of our club."

12. HE HANDED ME THIS DINNER PLATE of delicious pork and beans and other goodies, like an extra serving for the one who could guess this lady's name, and it made my mouth water it looked so delicious!

13. I WAS REALLY HUNGRY, BECAUSE APPARENTLY I'D COME TOO LATE to the meeting and had missed the dinner, and he must have known this because he whispered to me, "It's that lady over there and her name is Pat Price!" So I decided since I was so hungry and that delicious looking plate was worth it that I'd take his hint and play his little game. So I walked over toward the lady and announced triumphantly,

14. "THIS DISH WAS PREPARED BY NONE OTHER THAN PAT PRICE!"—and I bowed to her in admiring recognition. Everybody laughed and applauded and I very gratefully thanked her and walked over toward the rear of the group and sat down at a table‚ very thankful to eat because I was very hungry, while the famous speaker began his evening speech about world conditions‚ economics, politics, etc.

15. I THOUGHT AS I ATE AND LISTENED, "THIS FELLOW IS NOT SO BAD. He certainly is a goodhearted thoughtful guy. He must have known I was really hungry, making sure I won that plate.—And he sure has got the world situation sized up and what's wrong with it!"

16. HE SPOKE JUST ABOUT THE SAME AS WE BELIEVE about the economic situation and the rich selfish capitalistic system being to blame for a good deal of the world's ills and that there had to be a change with a greater, more equal distribution and sharing of the wealth and greater consideration for the poor.

17. I REALLY LIKED HIS IDEAS because they were about the same as ours, and he seemed to like me too. I was thinking to myself, "I think maybe I could hit it off with these people and we could be friends and get along pretty well together."

18. WELL‚ IT TURNED OUT THAT THIS LADY‚ PAT PRICE, WAS HIS WIFE! I don't know how I knew this, but I just seemed to know it and I really liked her. She was a charming hostess. She was the lady who had prepared the dinner and they evidently ran this small hotel, and I thought, "I really like these people!—I think I could get along with them really good!"

19. I CERTAINLY LIKED THEM A WHOLE LOT BETTER THAN THAT SNOOTY PREACHER and I didn't want to fix his old air conditioner anyway. So I figured I wouldn't go back and work for him anymore, that I'd rather stay here with these far nicer friendlier more sensible people that were so kind and hospitable and really trying to do something about the world situation, not just preaching the same old things as the church and riding along in air conditioned Cadillacs.

20. SOMETHING WOKE ME UP JUST THEN SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED after that, but I was quite obviously sold on the Price's style of sensible socialism and especially their friendly warm hospitable spirit. I was fed up with the cold refrigerated churchianity of the proud preacher who didn't want me to have anything to do with the radical Mr. Price.

21. WELL, I CAN HARDLY SEE HOW THIS DREAM COULD BE VERY LITERAL since I'm no longer a mechanic installing refrigeration systems in proud preacher's Cadillacs‚ but if you look at it symbolically that's about what I used to be doing. I was trapped in the cold refrigerated churchianity system helping them build their churches and extend their power over the poor.

22. I GOT TOTALLY DISGUSTED, FED UP AND LEFT THEM to join the ranks of those that espouse the radical socialism of today and who are demanding a change in the status quo and an abolition of the selfish system that demands the installation of fancy cool air conditioners in their pet preacher's limousines while their poor are starving for food and the truth. But this dinner meeting of these socialists was quite obviously supplying to its participants both good food and genuine truths.

23. I MYSELF SEEMED TO SYMBOLISE THE POOR HUNGRY LIBERAL who was to benefit from their generosity and be encouraged by their sympathy and won over by the truth of their views. For this is certainly what has happened in my one personal life history.

24. HOWEVER, WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME PAT PRICE being so distinct? I just don't yet know, unless that too is symbolic, that we have to stand pat on our convictions and pay the price for them, the stand-pat price of being a revolutionary!

25. OR MAYBE THERE REALLY IS A MR. AND MRS. PAT PRICE somewhere with whom we're going to make friends and work together and cooperate with as friends and coworkers in the cause of Christ and His Kingdom on Earth where there will be peace and plenty for all!

26. —ON THE OTHER HAND‚ THERE WAS A GIRL WHO USED TO LOVE ME and travel with me and whom I loved very much and who really loved the Lord and lived with me for some time years ago until someone else got jealous of her and made her leave—and I never heard of her again!—And her name was Pat Price!

27. MAYBE THIS DREAM MEANS I'LL FIND HER AGAIN after all these years—15 years!—And we'll work together again! God bless her! I still love you, Pat! Do you still love me?—Will the real Price please stand up?

28. (PAT, IF YOU GET THIS LETTER, PLEASE WRITE and send me your picture and tell me what you're doing now, OK? God bless you! I love you!)

29. —OR MAYBE YOU'RE THE REAL PAT PRICE because you've stood pat and paid the price of being a real revolutionary for Jesus all these years by my side because you love me and believe in Him and His Words!

30. —GOD BLESS YOU!—AND THANKS!—I love you too! Please keep standing pat and paying the price till Jesus comes!—Amen?—What a strange dream!—Maybe you can tell me what it means! God bless you! I love you! Your David