no black and white apocalypse for me

While I was out West the world apparently survived another close call. June 6th, 2006 went by without ushering in the apocalypse, no word was heard from either the beast or the whore of Babylon, and the clouds remained unparted.

I woke on the morning of June 6th oblivious to the significance of the date. I was on vacation, dates are irrelevant--even if they are sort of the sign of the beast.

I stretched on my brother's sunporch and said sleepily, "I had the craziest dream last night. About the end of the world..." My brother chuckled and said, "Well that's interesting. I've been listening to NPR this morning and they're discussing the end of the world. It's today's date, you know, 6-6-6."

Not to digress, but I want suggest that if anything is "the sign of the beast" today, it's global warming. In this scenario the beast is us. But back to my dream.

So it was The End Of The World.

The predicament was manifesting itself in America by the physical "ends" of the world bending up like a brascule drawbridge. As if the globe itself was turning inside-out. All good and concerned Americans gathered to watch. At the pivot, where the ground bent up, sat a kind-looking black woman. She wore a flowing linen suit, her hair in short dreds, and resembled Tracey Chapman. She was leading an apocalypse focus group.

Apparently Americans need to be walked through the apocalypse. We need to have a say--or feel that we do--we want the apocalypse to be interactive and user-friendly. At least we did in my dream.

People around me were airing their concerns and suggestions. And although no one was particularly happy, they didn't seem hysterical either. We had someone to turn to, she here to help us. I raised my hand, I had an opinion as well.

"I feel like this ending is too obvious," I said. "It's too black and white. The world bending up like this is so literal. I'd like to see more mystery, some nuance. I want to appreciate the apocalypse on numerous levels."

That was that. I don't remember anything more about the dream.

But I think I'm going to see Inconvenient Truth this weekend, if only to discover whether global warming as apocalypse is gray enough for me.