In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

T H E D R E A M S O F C H I L D R E N My office is lost in a jungle of potted plants at the end of the hall. Parents bring their sons and daughters when something has gone woefully wrong. After the drugs. The stringent diets. The prayers they refuse to repeat. I’m their final hope. Mothers sit in the waiting room with the green parrot. The aquarium of turtles. Hoping this bald man who walks with a waddle can drive the evil away. Last week for a nine-year-old girl with red hair I prescribed a dream about a whale who gets trapped in an old lady’s swimming pool. Already the girl’s showing signs of improvement. For a boy with sadistic tendencies I suggested a dream involving clouds and apples and a city of giants. Next day his mother barged in on a session and knelt to kiss my feet. But I’m no saint. Truth is I feel guilty taking their money. Sooner or later they’d figure out what the ancients knew all along. How even a single dream can get this ugly world off your back. 26 ...

Share