THE DREAM

It's been a year since our reunion. Soon after that, I started to have this dream from time to time. I'd like to share it with you.

Remember years ago, taking the old Brighton Beach Line and got off at Kings Highway to change for the local, to get off at Avenue U or Neck Road. Sometimes there were long delays. You'd be standing there for a while, and finally an announcement was made, there will be a twenty-five to forty-five minute wait. "They are working on the tracks," sorry for the inconvenience.

While waiting on the Kings Highway platform, the people started to look very familiar to me. As time went on it was getting really crowded, I noticed that all these people were my classmates from Sheepshead Bay High School. Everyone started to talk to one another sharing stories, telling jokes, and thinking about the future and what it would be like forty or more years from now. As the delay went on, I not only saw classmates but teachers, and administrators started to appear also. At this point the station was packed, and everyone couldn't care less that there was a delay.

More than an hour went by, and in the distance appeared a little white light. As the white light got closer you heard over the loudspeaker "The Brighton Beach Local is here." As the train was coming in to our station, I noticed that the number of the train was sixty-one, the year we graduate. As the people piled on to the train, you heard lots of laughter, loud talking and young happy faces looking at each other face to face in that crushed crowded car holding on to one another till the doors closed.

For some strange reason, I did not get on that train. I watched the doors close and waited to see the train leave till it was completely out of sight. There I was on Kings Highway station all by myself, not a sound and a slight chill in the air. Sure enough the next local pulled in. When I got on the train, I noticed it was completely empty and had no number.

Finally I got off at Neck Road. Again I watched the train leave till it disappeared, only this time there wasn't a sound, no young faces, no laughter, no nothing. I quickly ran down the steps and into the street. I ran about a block. Sweaty and out of breath, I slowed down to a walk. Walking for about another block, I stopped for a second and for no reason turned around and found myself in the Coney Island Aquarium. A woman came up to me and said "Who are you, and what year did you graduate?"

- Richard Baratz
SBHS Class of '61