a dream: how crazy is it out there?

i finished reading margaret barker' remarkable book temple spirituality this morning at about 5:30 because i had wakened at 3:30. i had wakened at 3:30, t seems, because of a bizarre dream. in my dream, i was living in washington, d.c., the capital of these disunited states, in a rambly old apartment building across a park from an archives of some sort. i was wandering across the park to visit the archives when an older man dressed as if he were introducing some techy device--a suit fancier than necessary but no tie--started waving a nickel-plated .45 automatic at people from the far end of the park. there was a policeman at the other end of the park, who raised his gun, but then disappeared. (it's a dream, remember.) i had crossed the park and sneaked back to the end where the policeman had disappeared by hiding behind columns, and i thought i would be able  turn to my apartment, where i would lock the door--something i never do. but the gun-waver was running quickly through the crowd, herding them to my end and telling everyone that he was tired of tourists and wanted to protect the wildlife. that's when he dream started turning surreal. people began arguing with him in the random manner of facebook conversation 'threads'. some pointed out that the were locals, not tourists. others argued that here was nothing  about the life in a national park. i was thinking of commenting to ask him if tourists had less right to live than locals when i turned to find he was about five feet from me with the gun aimed at my leg. i was thinking 'o shit' and pondering lunging at him to knock the gun down when i woke, made some coffee, and started reading.

what i find so remarkable is that i, who can't remember another unpleasant dream for years, would have such a dream now. i didn't feel particularly frightened in the dream. i just thought 'me, too' and 'here, too'. but i do find it remarkable that such images would come up in my dreams.