As I am slowly weaning myself from all the anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, etc., medications I’ve been taking the last several years, I have been suddenly having terrible and very realistic nightmares. I’m sure this is caused by the withdrawal of these very powerful medications. However, it is worth it since I am slowly getting me life back and don’t believe I need all this medication now that I’m retired. For example, the other night I dreamed someone (it was Queeg, REALLY), threw a knife at me and I quickly dove behind a concrete pillar (I think I must have been in a parking garage) I suddenly woke up at the sound of a “THUD”! I was wrapped in my quilt laying flat on the floor and had an acute pain behind my left ear. I figured on the way down my head ricocheted off the bedside table! After the initial shock and surprise, I checked to make sure I didn’t squash any of the cats! The left side of my head is still very sore and tender, but I figure it sure beats being dead from a knife wound! The odd thing is that throughout my life I have rarely suffered from successive very vivid nightmares or “walked in my sleep”. This is the direct antithesis of Tim who has suffered from nightmares and “walking in his sleep” his whole live.  One time when he was around 12 or 13 he was staying overnight at our maternal grandmother’s house in Norwalk, he started walking in his sleep and fell onto a bedside table and cut his face just under his right eye. My grandmother took him to Fisher-Titus Hospital emergency “in the middle of the night”. One of my famous “sidetracks”… If you noticed I didn’t say they “rushed” him to the hospital. I have always thought this was the pinnacle of redundancy by stating “So and so was rushed to the hospital”! I mean, good grief, does that mean that a person isn’t “rushed” to the hospital in all emergencies???? As if in some cases the person would say, “Yes, Hector was bleeding profusely from his totally severed leg and I casually drug him to the car, after I finished the “As the Stomach Turns” soap opera I was watching and slowly drove him to the hospital, stopping on the way at IGA to see if kumquats and Captain Crunch were still on sale”.  Or another phrase that really bugs me. For example when someone gives their age:  “I’m 55 years old.”  Is this opposed to months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, or seconds (well, I suppose the possible acceptation would be a fruit fly)! Why not just say, “I’m 55” (Or whatever)!  Oh well, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If it’s one thing I detest, can’t stand, abhor, loath, oppose, despise, deride, spurn, reject, snub, slight, don’t like, dislike, can’t stand, have an aversion to, it’s redundancy!!!!!!  Tim received several stitches under his eye and as a result, he still sports a lengthy scar under his eye.  Now this scar would probably not be as pronounced as it is today if a certain incident hadn’t happened. When we were going through our “marble phase” in school, on several occasions verbal and sometimes physical altercations would break out when we would “play for keeps”.  (For a description of our “marble days”, click here for “The Day Tim Lost His Marbles”)  Right after Tim still had the stitches under his eye and was at school, he and Gary H. were “playing for keeps” for one of Tim’s big “Steelies” (which was the epitome of coveted marble possessions in those days). There was some difference of opinion as to who actually won and Gary insisted HE had won the midday marble match and demanded Tim fork over the coveted “Steelie”. Tim refused and a “fight” quickly ensued. Gary had a rather unorthodox way of fighting by using an up and down scratching method. Needless to say, Gary ripped out all Tim’s stitches and reopened the gapping face wound! Someone from the school took him to Doc Blackann’s office and he restitched the wound. As a result of the reopening and restitching, a very pronounced permanent scar ensued. Look for it the next time you run into Tim. During the excitement, Gary grabbed the steely. Since Gary NEVER throws ANYTHING away, Tim and I am sure he STILL has the “Steelie” till this day! When we talk about this incident even now some 40 years later, I tell Tim just to let Gary keep the “Steelie” since it’s not worth another trip to the ER to have the wound restitched the 3^rd time!