The Night(mare) of the Iguana

Friday, 2 a.m. I bolted up in bed and looked to my open closet door, expecting to see several large lime-green iguanas crawling among my sheets, towels, and shoes.

In my “dream,” I was in an animal park of some sort, strolling along a walkway. The iguanas were in trenches nearby. I’d been warned not to get too close to the trench, as my presence would cause some sort of electromagnetic breach and let the reptiles loose. Obviously, I got too close.

2:30 a.m.: Said a rosary in hopes of falling back to sleep.

3:00 a.m.: Rosary complete, threw in a load of laundry that wouldn’t suffer from sitting in the washer wet. Wondered what had made the iguanas lime green in the dream.

3:35 a.m.: Put the laundry in the dryer, started another load in the washer, then sat in my easy chair and read for a while. Wondered why I’ve never seen The Night of the Iguana, either on stage or on screen.

4:15 a.m.: Folded the dry clothes, reloaded the dryer, and started cleaning the bathroom. Wondered if iguanas bite and whether they actually could climb out of a trench.

4:45 a.m.: Tried going back to bed again. Tried to remember who else besides Richard Burton was in The Night of the Iguana.

5:15 a.m.: Gave up sleeping. Was surprised and gratified to learn my gym two blocks away was already open. On the elliptical, wondered how big iguanas are in real life.

When I got home from the gym, I went on with my day and other than an hour nap, powered on through till about 10 p.m. I’m still wondering, though, what was up with the iguanas. A friend said maybe it was about people in my life I consider lizards. Still, I’m happy I got the bathroom cleaned.