I just woke up from a dream. I was walking across a suspension bridge that spanned a body of dark water. It was foggy, the bridge looked somewhat like the Golden Gate bridge, but the color was a grey more like the Bay Bridge. I saw someone jump from a level above me, and land in the water where a few others were swimming. The boy sprung up to the surface with a laughing roar, his only injury was the sting from the water slapping the bottom of his feet. From my height on the bridge, the jump didn't look too far so I hopped over the side, and landed in between the leaper and his friend.

Once in the water I asked how he got so far up the bridge, since it didn't look like there was an easy access. He told me that I just have to look hard enough as he splashed playfully about the dark water. My gaze followed the support beams from the surface of the water, I saw that there was a series of guide wires and metal bars that could act like a ladder. I turned to him, and said that it probably wouldn't hurt as much if one wore socks. I swam over to a support beam, and started climbing.

The people down below were shouting encouragement by the time I reached the top. To my surprise, I saw a pair of working boots when I grasped the last rung of the ladder. I looked up and saw Clint Eastwood's face. It spooked me, but I tossed myself onto the top of the platform. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, and was eating his lunch as if he were a steel worker. I determined that this must be his private getaway. He greeted me with a hoot and a hello. In my mind I thought his greeting was so friendly because were related somehow, as if only by last name, but not really.

I noticed when I looked over the edge that I was much higher up than I expected. (After reflecting on this height after I woke up, there's no way I would have survived this kind of jump). Eastwood asked me what was the name of the place I was planning to land, as if every spot that was deep enough and free of debris had a name. I got the sensation that he had done this before. I gestured to the spot where the boy had landed (again way too far down). He nodded, and told me to take a load off and forget about this for a minute, as if he knew that I wanted to get this done as soon as possible to avoid the fear and doubt that would creep into my mind. He wanted to draw it all out for me.

He wanted to ask me a question about his last movie, and he fumbled with the title. I guessed Gran Torino, and he acknowledged. He asked what I thought about a paradox, and I can't be clear quite on what it was, except for I seemed to know what he was talking. I said, "About how, at some, point people can't be friends and lovers?" This doesn't make sense, since this was definitely not a topic in Gran Torino, but Eastwood wanted my opinion on it. He was worried about some paradox on love and sacrifice (and that sounds closer to outcome of the movie) I told him that I don't think it works that way, and that friendship and love are bound up together, you can't be friends without expressing real love, and you can't be lovers without real friendship. He seemed to be satisfied with the answer, and he nodded his head again.

He tried to stall me again with more questions, but I was set on jumping off the edge. I realized that it might be harder getting over because I was wearing socks, and I might slip off the rounded guardrail that now looked like it was made of smooth wood, a dark mahogany. I started for the railing, and when he saw that I was making a break for it he shouted, "Hold on a bit! Wait till I get to the bottom!" This made me proud, he really believed I was going to do it, and wanted to greet my success. He opened a door that apparently led to some service stairs that I hadn't noticed. I heard a crash and some struggling. He was trying to fend off some workers that were scrambling to keep me from jumping. He cried, "It's Pojman!" and I turned and rushed towards the railing. As soon as I looked down at the water, my dream ended.

I won't go too far into what I think about the dream, except for when I woke up I was immediately making connections about finding work in a creative industry like writing or more currently video game design. This seems like a leap since I won't have any real measure of security like I would if I just went to Law school. Pojman was the editor of my textbook for Environmental Philosophy, and was also a professor at West Point. I got the sense that he symbolized my previous work and ambitions.