My very own mid summer’s night dream

BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
I bet you thought I was going to regale you with an Old Spanish Days story since this is the week when zillions of “Viva la’s” will be shouted across our land during the festive days of Fiesta. Nope. I decided to tackle dreams, since I’ve been having some odd ones lately.

I was invited last week to a very lovely, annual ladies luncheon hosted by former Santa Barbara resident Rebecca Rutledge, who returns to Santa Barbara, just like the swallows flock to Capistrano, every summer from her digs in the hot-as-heck Coachella Valley. Rebecca always has a thoughtful theme and gift for her guests, and this year was no exception. Last year, it was the tome “Gifts from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, which sits near my bed. This year, the theme was dreams. Our party gift was the perfect companion for my bedside reading, “A Fortune-Telling Book of Dreams”.
“I had a dream about horses and bears a couple of nights ago,” I said to one of the other guests, Anne Kerry Ford, who dutifully looked up the meanings for me, as we dug into the delicious duck spring rolls appetizers on the lovely outdoor patio of the Biltmore Hotel.
“If you see horses in your dreams, you will experience a period of comfort and satisfaction,” Anne told me.
“Wow, that’s weird. I dreamt I was driving to Ventura and harnesses suspended the horses over the 101. The only satisfaction I had was waking up from the dream. What about bears?”
“A bear,” Anne read, “is a sign of rising competition in your business ventures.”
That was interesting. I had some unusual events at my shop this week. Maybe this fortune telling stuff is for real?
This past weekend I had a dream about realtors and foreclosures. Emilie McMinn (who I have not seen for the longest time, perhaps she came to me in my dream because of The Greek Festival, which she is involved in?) told me; “A realtor cannot tell you about a foreclosure, you have to ask them.” Then she suggested I talk to my good friend, realtor Ewy Axelsson, at Prudential, in Montecito. I suspected there might be some deeper meaning, so I looked up foreclosures and real estate in the little blue dream book.
Didn’t find anything on foreclosures (just turn on the news for that), but to dream of buying or selling real estate augurs a financial gain, it read. Hmm, things may be looking up. Maybe the book should be re-titled: The See-Saw Life of Your Dreams.
The Fortune Telling Book of Dreams, in case you want to check out your own nocturnal wanderings, can be purchased Upstairs at Pierre La Fond in Montecito’s upper village.

More Than Ducky
Speaking of the Four Seasons Biltmore, I had a doubly lucky week, as I was also invited to dine there by art and antique appraiser Elizabeth Stewart to celebrate her son Lock’s 21rst birthday. Elizabeth ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate (a dream of drinking champagne at a party, by the way, foretells financial debt. One should use their resources wisely, the book warns). Lock and his girlfriend, Meredith, who both attend Duke University, were both carded by the very nice, yet apologetic waiter, who informed us that if he served liquor to a minor, he would be required to pay a $1,000 fine out of his own paycheck.
So if anyone feels insulted by being asked for his or her i.d., be nice to your server. By the way, I had the sea bass entrée, which was out of this world. We also spotted opera star Marilyn Horne at a nearby table, which was an added bonus to our spectacular evening that ended with dancing in Ty’s Lounge to super, live salsa music.
And what if you dream of true friends? You have true friends, says the dream book, and there are social and good times ahead. Gosh, I didn’t even have to dream this and it came true!

Your Brain
Of special note: I happened to hear parts of a fascinating interview with UCSB professor Dr. Michael Gazzaniga on NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” regarding his new book “Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique.”
Dr. Gazzaniga will be signing his latest book on Thursday evening at Chaucer’s at 7 p.m. The neuroscientist, who studies how the mind emerges from the brain, has spent the past 45 years studying the functions of the left and right brain. He is the director of the University of California–Santa Barbara's SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind. A neuroethics expert (the intersection of ethics and neuroscience), Gazzaniga serves on the President's Council on Bioethics and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Can’t wait to read this book and learn more about his fascinating discoveries. Wonder if he’s had any interesting dreams lately?
!Viva La! There, I did it. Have a dreamy, brainy Fiesta, amigos.