Jackson Jambalaya

I woke up in the middle of night to the sound of tinkling bells. Still somewhat groggy, I thought perhaps my usual night of dreams was more real than usual, until I saw him.

He was dressed as a devil holding a red pitchfork. I swear he looked like Frank Melton, which is scary enough on its own. Anyway, this devilish guy did not speak, but reached over and took my hand and “poof” I was back in high school, which was never my favorite place. I found myself looking at ME in the hallway, and this guy Danny whom I had a crush on at that time, walked right by me without speaking. You know, that guy never spoke a word to me the whole time I had the hots for him. Devil Man pointed to the right and I saw an image of Danny working in a grocery store. He was older, with gray hair and dang he looked bad.

In a flash, Devil Guy and I were in The Grove at Ole Miss back in the late 70’s. We were standing in the middle of a big party before a football game. My old friends and I are drinking beer out of cups by a table of fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and cupcakes. This really cute guy Tom is there with us. Tom was 6 years younger than me and we’d been seeing each other. Oh my goodness how adorable he was then. He reached over to kiss me and “poof” I see a floating image of a much older Tom, short, fat and bald driving a minivan full of teenagers. Oh Tom, what happened to you?

Fast forward to Jackson, mid-80’s and I see my roommate and I at Bennigan’s with two guys who bought us drinks. We leave and go with them to some club to dance and drink some more. “Purple Haze” by Prince is playing and I’m slow dancing with “Mike”, whom I later marry and later divorce. He is tall and thin and was rather attractive. This strikes me really weird, as last time I saw him, he was almost totally gray, going bald, and was still trying to pretend he played college football and was a star. GEESH.

Then Devil Dude touches my arm and we are in a strange place where visions of many faces are flying by, faces of guys I dated, had one-nighters with or thought I loved at the time. I feel rather dizzy watching all this mainly because I cannot believe the losers I wasted my time with. Devil Ghost points to the left and I see someone walking towards me, someone I do not recognize. As they get closer, I see a man bringing me a package of some sorts. He hands it to me and turns and walks off. I look at the package, then look at the Ghost. The Ghost nods his head and points to the box, indicating that I open it. I do just that, and inside is a music box. I open the top and the sound of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” is playing. I see a ladder in the distance and walk towards it. Devil Man points to me, then points to the ladder and takes the music box out of my hand. I begin climbing the ladder which seems endless, and encounter clouds and light wind. I reach the top and see a beautiful mansion surrounded by flowers and trees. I feel someone touch my back and I jump around. What I see is the most unbelievable face in the world. It is Dale, my boyfriend from 11th grade killed in a car accident back in high school. He still looks the same as he did then, with brown hair down to his collar, a baby face and his adorable grin from ear to ear. He reaches over to kiss me and I feel faint.

The next thing I remember is waking up in my bed with the alarm going off. It must have all been a dream. I go about my routine, getting dressed and heading to the office. It’s Valentine’s Day, but it’s just another day to me. No plans, no date, just an ordinary day.

Around lunchtime, UPS delivers a package to me at the office. I’m thinking it’s my new business cards or something, so I just rip it open. Inside is the music box from my dream! I open it and it begins playing “Stairway to Heaven”.

Dale, you sure know how to get a girl all teary-eyed on Valentine’s Day.