Yarrr!

I had possibly the most mental dream of my life last night. I mean, I've had some weird ones in the past, but the thing about this one is that it felt SO real. Everything that happened in it was something that could conceivably have happened in real life, and at no point did I get any clues to the fact that I might be in a dream. I was completely lost in the character. 'Fully immersed in the role', as the acting fraternity might put it.
I was on a pirate ship, back in the days of piracy. I mean the real old days of piracy - buccaneers on the high seas; English blackguards stealing gold from Spanish ships; privateers hoarding treasure; planks being walked and mainbraces being spliced. I was a pretty lowly member of the crew, having little more than a hammock to my name and being constantly told to scrub some part or other of the deck. At some point, we encountered a terrible storm, and half of my fellows were lost overboard, or killed by flying debris. Then, as the storm settled, we were boarded by a group of American soldiers, all armed with Vietnam War-era weapons, and abseiling onto our vessel from a large aircraft carrier alongside us; all of which made perfect sense to me within the confines of the dream. I managed to fight off a couple of the invaders with a sharpened soup ladle, and then I realised that our Captain (who looked almost identically like Idris Elba, only taller) was about to cast a spell that would burn them all to cinders, so I covered my ears with my hands, because I knew that would keep me safe. As the dust of the vanquished Americans blew from the deck, and the sun began to shine brightly onto our damaged ship, the Captain turned to me and said, "Well, Spunky Jim, we've lost half the crew. I need you to step up and be surgeon, navigator and mascot, all in one. And I'll need you to lance my bunions." He patted me patronisingly on the shoulder and I felt an overwhelming surge of pride and optimism, because I had finally, finally made something of myself.
Good luck interpreting that mess. 

RC 9-6-22