GET BACK HERE, YOU GOONIE!

This post was originally written in June of 2008 on old blog of mine I've since deleted. Although it's much longer than other posts on this blog, I felt I couldn't leave it out. Enjoy...
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Have you ever woken up from a dream and thought, "that was genius?" About a month ago, I woke up laughing hysterically--tears in my eyes at 5:00 AM! It's happened to me before, but I usually go back to sleep and forget 99% of the dream so I can't do it justice when I explain it to my friends later.

On this particular night, I thought about that forgetting process. And the material I had dreamed was so good, I forced myself out of bed. I frantically wrote down all the good stuff I could remember--a race against my quickly-fading subconscious memory.

I remember thinking, "oh yeah, that was a good line...got it!" and other thoughts like, "this is a crucial detail--write it down now!" After I had unloaded my mind onto a small paper scrap, I was relieved to go back to sleep--no need to remember it any more. I had it written down.

I left the paper on my desk and for 2.5 days I had no opportunities to sit down and review my genius imaginations--my break-through material as a comedic writer--that great dream I would turn into my best work yet. When I finally sat down and read my scratchy script, I found myself howling once again. Only this time I wasn't laughing at the comedy of the dream, I was laughing at what I once thought was my big hit. I've never done drugs, but after this account, I can say I've been in that state of mind where the ridiculous is hilarious.

Below is a line-for-line disclosure of what I wrote at 5 AM about this wonderfully-funny dream:

- 4 characters who can't accomplish evil missions
- they destroy a hotel by stepping on a dragon's tail
- wrestling ring
- "Get back here you Goonie" - He calls the giant lizard a Goonie
- "You changed colors"
- One guy is a struggling wrestler (fat), his mgr. is gay (short and femmie), "You changed colors
- Most the building was floored, but their portion wasn't--just a few bottle rockets instead of huge explosions

I realize this is hard evidence that I'm straight nutty.

Some of it actually did spark some memories as to what was going on in the dream. I do remember the two most hilarious lines were the two I wrote in quotes--I remember laughing out loud as I wrote them! I also remember the bottle rockets being ROFL* funny.

Here's an image of the actual piece of paper:


I guess the moral of this story is this: ideas that come in the middle of the night are not always as genius as you may think at the moment. Remember, our minds are in an altered state at 5 AM. But the second moral is this: write it down anyway! If it's good, you're golden. If it's insane, embrace the absurdity.

*ROFL = Roll-On-Floor w/ Laughter