Dreaming about the police, and 3 items from my bucket list.

I went last night and saw the movie "The Kingdom", don't worry I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it, not that it matters, because if you really cared you would have seen it by now, right? I saw it in the second run theatre...

Anyway, I had a friend growing up who had lived in one of those American compounds in Saudi Arabia for, I believe, most of his elementary school years. His father was, if I remember correctly, a security investigator for OPEC. I remember my friend telling me his dad mostly investigated things like stolen trucks and equipment. Anyway, it made the movie just that much more intense for me, having had a close friend who had lived there.

After the movie I came home and went to sleep. I had a dream that two police officers arrested two young men in the alley behind my house. After they loaded the suspects into the police car, I came out and talked to the police.

When I was talking to them they saw the feet of a third suspect sticking out from under something just a couple feet from where I stood. They grabbed his feet a pulled him out, but he wasn't going to come easy like the others had. The police officers wrestled him, and he was lying on his back, kicking and flailing around wildly.

He suddenly stopped flailing around, and pulled out a small handgun and started shooting at the policemen. He fired four shots but was unable to hit them because they were down by his feet and something was under his arm preventing him from pointing the gun that way, he pointed the gun at me and fired a shot at my head.

In my dream I felt the wind from the bullet blow my hair as the bullet screamed past, probably millimeters from my head. I didn't panic. I grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed it downward, He fired one more shot, that went into the ground, and then I got the gun out of his hand and knocked it to the ground away from the shooter. At the same time, the cops finally were on top of him and quickly had him subdued.

One of the officers told me immediately that I should not have done that, but he didn't say it in a commanding voice, he seemed genuinely concerned for my safety.

It had all happened so fast, they had pulled him out, he fought for only seconds before drawing the gun, he fired all six shots in quick succession, and then he was disarmed before the cops fired a single shot. One of the officers had drawn his weapon as soon as the shooter had, but flinched when he started firing, and when the shooter turned his gun on me, The other cop was on top of him instantly, blocking any shot he could have taken.

While they were handcuffing him, still wrestling them, I looked at the gun Laying on the ground in front of me. No one was looking, and without thinking, I picked up the gun and slipped it into my pants front pocket.

They got the man shackled, wrists to ankles, and he was lying on his face, breathing heavy, but no longer trying to fight. They called for another car to come, because they weren't about to put this man in with the other two they had in their car. One of the cops stayed out to watch the man on the ground, while the other got into the car and started doing paperwork.

I stayed and talked with him for a couple minutes, but then made some excuse about my leg hurting and walked into the house.

As soon as I closed the door behind me I realized I couldn't keep the gun, the cops would look for it and eventually find it, So the sooner I came clean the better, I opened the door and walked right back out to the cop, I took the gun out and handed it to him.

He kind of smiled, and said "I didn't think your leg was really hurting you..." I didn't really understand what he meant, I knew he was trying to make some kind of joke, but I couldn't understand the connotation... Did he think that I had the gun in the house? and I had just made an excuse to go get it? how would that have made sense? That was the first time I had gone inside since the shooting.

I then said "No, my leg is hurting." and then I went inside.

And then it hit me, how close I had come to being killed. And I (still dreaming) remembered a line from the movie, where the head of the FBI is talking to some politician who is on some kind of committee. He says, basically, that he lives every moment of his life knowing that it could be his last, and because he knows that someday he will die, all that matters is "how will he go out? on his feet, or on his knees?".

When I woke up, I thought about it for a long time. I want to develop that kind of mentality, always doing the right thing, for the right reason, consciously knowing that it could be the last thing I do.

I also decided to make a list of things I want to do before I die. Usually this is an exercise people who are dying do, but since we're all going to die sometime, why not make a list?

In no particular order, here are the first three things that came to my mind to put on my list: To save somebody's life, To run for public office, and to go into space. I'm going to make a much longer list than that, but I think that's a good start...

Setting some ground rules...

I have, for some reason unknown even to myself, decided to start a blog, which you are currently reading. I will endeavor not to use such pretentious a tone as this for all my postings, but today it amuses me so to do.

O.k. o.k, I'm bored of trying to talk like that already... Anyway, this is what 'Multiplied Objects' will be about; this is what you can expect to read here: random stuff, maybe stuff about my personal life, maybe about books, t.v., movies, whatever I think of, or feel like talking about, especially in the form of lists.

I promise to try my hardest to be thought provoking and to discuss things that warrant discussion in a way that requires some brain activity... That is my promise to you the reader. I ask, in return, only that if you read this at all, you comment, even if only to say: "I read your blog, and it sucks." I still prefer that to no comment at all. If you like my stuff subscribe, and I won't spam you.

Now a little about me, I like to read, though I don't read as much as I would like; I like to watch t.v., though I don't do it as much as I would like; I like to watch movies, listen to music, etc. etc. and I like to work, though I do it more than I would like. I am self employed, and I work alone, doing a job that requires the full attention of my senses, but doesn't challenge my mental abilities at all, but pays well. I enjoy the work, but come home tired and bored at night.

Anyway, I'm not promising regular posts, but when I do post something, it will have had thought put into it. Deal?