Dream:

“WHAT did you say?” I repeated while staring down the sassy airline attendant behind the customer service desk. Pretending to be partially deaf, I leaned in closer to her crimson blazer as if it were a microphone. My hearing wasn’t the issue. I heard her clearly the first two times and didn’t care for her tone, so I dared her to repeat it one more time.

“WHAAT?” The hairs stood up on the back of my neck as I prepared myself for an all out verbal assault.

“The International Hotel!” she snapped and her devilish brown eyes bulged out of her head like a goldfish.

Several less-than-amused passengers from my flight impatiently tapped their feet and checked their watches, waiting in line for their turn to receive the same abuse.  Apparently, all of our luggage was not only missing, but somehow transported to an International Hotel some unknown distance away from the airport. At least I think that’s what she said.

(Waking life note: I find it interesting that, at this point in the dream, I realized that I could not recall what she said, because there was no memory of it in the dream. It seemed as though the past did not exist – there was only the present. Upon waking, I could only recall that the last two words she spoke which were “International Hotel.” This could be an ongoing lucid dreaming experiment. Stay tuned!)

After seeing this woman nearly self destruct behind the counter, I decided not to cause any more of a scene. I picked up my carry-on which contained something well worth the attention. My beloved dog, Bear. He had traveled with me on the flight, and was the only comfort I had in this overcrowded airport. I reached into my bag and pulled Bear to my heart, then cradled him in my arms. “Oh Bear, how are we going to get out of this mess?” His calm temperament and soft, mink like fur kept me from losing my cool. Luckily for us, there was a shuttle outside waiting to hustle us along to the International Hotel. The only choice we had was to catch that bus on time.