I dreamed I was on a white boat, about a 30 long cabin cruiser, along with other people, that left the Redondo Beach Pier heading south, captained by an 8 or 9-year-old girl. When we got about 50 yards from the Pier, a wooden boat near us exploded with a tremendous force thrusting pieces of wood and other debris into the air and all around us.
In the ocean the occupants, none wearing life jackets, fought for their lives. The youngest one was a little boy about 2 years old, barely able to keep his head above the water, as his 4 or 5-year-old brother tried to help him stay afloat. Near them were as I recall two older brothers, one perhaps 9 or 10-years-old and a teenager or maybe their father.
They were about 10 yards from us and I quickly called out to our 8 or 9-year-old captain to get us closer to them so we can pull them out of the water. But instead, she panicked, presumably still stricken by the force of the explosion and she gunned our boat back to the Pier.
I was terribly upset and screamed to her to turn the boat around, the image of the two youngest boys racing through my mind. But for whatever reason, I was unable to leave my place on our boat to get to her and to grab the steering wheel.
As I looked over my left shoulder, several small boats were arriving on the scene. As we reached the Pier, I was hopeful everyone in the water would be rescued and I was furious at us for having run away from that desperate scene.
I called out to our boat's owner, who had come aboard but there was no response. So still unable to leave my position, I somehow grabbed wooden spikes on the Pier and was strong enough to pull myself forward on the boat to where the owner was.
"My name is Everett Cobb," he said shaking my hand, as I introduced myself, still agitated by what had happened. And as I began to explain the events to him the dream ended.
I'm not sure what to make of this dream. I wanted so desperately to help those people, especially the small children. But fate would not allow me to do so. My guess is I equated their lives to those of the many children who have been killed or are being killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places where the U.S. is waging war. Or perhaps I wanted to save the children in African nations where they are fighting civil wars, for I am deeply disturbed by all of the killing but especially the killing of those who are most vulnerable. And perhaps the 9-year-old captain represented the many boy soldiers forced to fight in these African civil wars.
Dick
Note, I recall the last name of the boat owner being "Cobb" but I'm not certain "Everett" was his first name.
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