Nightmare Terrifies Little Girl

World War 11 was something no one could really comprehend. It was a awful time and terrifying to all. Especially terrifying to a child.

I was a toddler and remember going with the older children to collect cans and even the foil from chewing gum for the "war effort."
I remember we had no sugar, no bananas, no telephone, no car...and of course it was before the age of television. We only had one radio. Tommy and I listed to our radio shows...can you name any of them?

I remember the neighborhood Store ...Crump's Store...
they would spread the word when they got in any of the rashioned items such as coffee, sugar, meat, bananas, etc... therefore everyone in the community had an opportunity to have a share.

Other things rationsed were gasoline, bicycles, footwear, fuel oil, stoves, shoes, lard, shortening and oils, cheese, butter, margarine, processed foods (canned, bottled and frozen), dried fruits, canned milk, firewood and coal, jams, jellies and fruit butter. Everyone had "Victory Gardens" for vegetables which was canned for wintertime. Everyone had "Ice Boxes" as refridgerators and freezers were still things in the future. An Ice Man came around and everyone bought ice for the boxes. Chickens were home grown as well.

So much for what we didn't have during the war...
The war was difficult in many other ways.
I remember my Aunt Dot, who lived with us writing to her special guy almost everyday. He was in Europe flying the dangerous sorties. I remember her grief when word came that his plane had been shot down.
She didn't write letters anymore. She didn't smile. The neighbor who had a phone...the only line for the entire community. Her son was lost in a battle at sea~
From sitting with the grown ups in the living room with a grieving mother, I knew war was a terrible thing.

We were put to bed before the grown ups would actually talk about the bombing and destruction. I stayed awake to listen. I didn't know anything about geography therefore, when I could overhear all these things, it could have been in the next city~ it was terrifying indeed.

One night I had a nightmare...one that I never, ever told....as "if you tell a dream before breakfast, it would come true." I never told and I never forgot.

The nightmare:

I was with my older brother Tommy, standing on the hilltop behind our house when a place flew into our sight. The plane had German crossed Z's which was the Swastika ...
the official emblem of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich; a cross with the arms bent at right angles in a clockwise direction is the official name. As a little girl, I already knew it and knew it was "the bad people."

My brother pointed to the plane and yelled, "It an enemy plane!"

In the dream, we ran. I rushed into our family home calling out, "Mama, Mama!"

She didn't answer, then I remember what we had been told. Go to the basement for safety from storms, so I knew she would be there waiting for us.

I ran back and around the house when the plane came back ...I could see it just above the trees. It flew very low and dropped a bomb.

How could I know what a real bomb looked like...therefore in the vision, it was a car sized football shaped object which floated down from the sky. It fell softly on the sidewalk in front of me. Then it slowing started cracking apart, as did the house...I could see all being destroyed...I fell to the ground screaming...and WOKE UP. I worried so about that coming true

~~~~~~~~~

The war was over and we grew up. It was now the Dawn of Space Age and Russia launched the first object to orbit the earth. That was big news.

I was home from College for the weekend, as was my brother. Tommy told me that at sunset we would be able to see "Sputnik" with naked eye.
This was something we really wanted to see.

We kept an eye on the time and walked up the hillside for the best view to Sputnik watch.

Soon, there in the twilight, was a little bright object moving high across the sky. "There it is!" Tommy told me and pointed into the sky. "Can you believe that is actually an enemy aircraft." We watch in awe. Then it dawned on me that Mama should see it...everyone should see it~

I ran down the same hill as in my nightmare years and years ago...
I rushed into the house and called "Mama! Mama!" She didn't answer and my nightmare flooded my mind.
Then Mama answered...she was there and all was OK.

I often wondered over the years what that dream/nightmare meant. We actually were standing in the same spot as in that dream...almost the same words were spoken...and my brother pointed just has he had in my dream. Mama didn't answer right away...
it was eerie.

Now, a lifetime has passed~ and I just now know the meaning of that nightmare~

It came to me as clear as anything ever has...

Only last week, Tommy and I were reminiscing and afterwards, thinking about just how long ago our thoughts went back and wondered just when was the last time our family, Daddy, Mama, Tommy, our little sister and I were together in the family home as a family unit.

A light came on...
IT WAS THE NIGHT SPUTNIK FLEW OVER.

The nightmare had elements of what would happen in the future.
The family/home broke apart and as a little girl, that was terrifying to me.