The Commercial

In the dream, I watched a commercial. A medium height white woman of average build wearing a purplish blue track warm-up suit with a white stripe down the side, athletic but not too thin, medium length straight long hair in a low pony tail. She was running with long strides and talking about defending herself. The camera view was from the side showing her whole body.

“Come after me if you want…but I’ll be ready... Bring it on.”

“Oh, honey,” I thought, “Don’t say that on television.”

She kept running and talking. I thought, “Well, maybe, she can outrun them.”

She still ran almost casually and talked. It was clear she could run a considerable distance without tiring. Suddenly, she stopped and faced the camera walking toward it.

“If you think you can take me, give it your best shot.” At that moment, her right fist shot out with power in perfect boxing form straight at the camera. The screen went black.

Then, white letters on the black background read, “Teach Your Daughter Self-Defense.”

The dream was generated by several things. My friend Sue, while pregnant, ran from her assailant husband toward the hospital but he caught her. She lived as did her son. An ex-boxer detective series I’m reading. He’s Leonid McGill, like the Spenser series, except Leonid is African American. Spenser is a white ex-boxer. Both workout hard to burn off their anger and moderate their tendency toward violence.  

And the Ukraine invasion, where civilian women are making Molotov cocktails. I’m hoping the women are trained to throw them properly to avoid self-injury. This too is a skill. These tools are better learned in advance. Teach your daughter self-defense.

Joceile

3.3.22

[Picture: Me, third from left in back row. Sue in front of me with long braids. High school track team. 1974.]