when i had my injury, i lost consciousness on the way to the hospital, and regained consciousness 10 days later. during that period of time i was apparently conscious and responding to commands, but i don’t remember any of it. instead
opening my skull and performing surgery is like opening the hood and performing maintenance. the surgeon and the auto mechanic perform the same services, only on a different level.
a big show-piece with a large chorus of men and women dressed in 50’s-style, white uniforms. this also features a young, eager person of indetermite sex, all in a white 50’s-syle uniform, although different from the rest of them, buying an alchohol-powered tow-truck from a somewhat-sleazy car dealer in a white, pin-striped suit.
open with the imression that it’s going to be a musical about cars, then morph into psychedelic brain-surgery with oversized, flashing backgroud of angiogram graphics, then finish with explanation of how brain surgery and auto mechanics are the same thing.
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introduction: about cars and trucks, how they are used every day, how they break down and who the people are who fix them. music is ragtime/dixieland/marching band style.
the chorus is in white tuxedos with hats and canes and are doing complicated dance steps in a grid pattern, on multiple levels
introduction of the young, eager, idealistic person of indeterminate sex: how s/he wants to be one of these people.
the person should be clean-shaven, with a blonde pageboy bob, and slightly chubby, in a white uniform with a tie, and a floppy uniform hat with a bill. throughout the performance, it should not be made obvious whether the person is male or female.
the song of the somewhat-sleazy used-truck salesman.
the somewhat-sleazy used-truck salesman should be a short, skinny person with a pencil-thin moustache and greased back hair in a grey pinstriped suit that’s slightly too big, and shoes that would match if they weren’t clown-sized.
duet between the person of indeterminate sex and the somewhat-sleazy used-truck salesman: combining his/her interest with becoming a tow-truck driver, lack of skill and desire to learn with the somewhat-sleazy used-truck salesman’s desire to sell something, anything to anyone at all.
an alcohol-powered truck appears: alcohol versus gasoline – the differences and similarities, whether gas or alcohol has more power.
the truck is sold, much to the amazement of everyone. the person of indeterminate sex is seen driving down a dirt road lined with trees.
we are left with an image of the truck lumbering off into rolling hills in the distance, on a dirt farm road, lined with trees, with the person of indeterminate sex waving their uniform hat out the window.
we need some repair: the truck is put to use, much to the amazement and delight of everyone… or could it be that the tow-truck itself needs repair? we may never know, because:
psychedelic morph: the music changes, the uniform and tuxedos change from white to red and everything is overlayed with movies of angiograms.
the music changes gradually from ragtime/dixieland/marching band style music to heavy rock with screaming guitars
introduction of the two repair men: one is a doctor, with bag, mask, occulus and stethescope, the other is a car mechanic in a grease stained, pin-striped coverall (the return of the somewhat-sleazy used truck salesman?) and cap, with a wrench and hand rag, but for the most part they move and act as one person.
the repair: the hood goes up and we tinker with the engine. the skull opens up and we tinker with the brain. the movies change to stills of angiograms but there is still an overall red cast to everything.
the repairmen: auto-mechanics and brain-surgeons are the same thing; both make things go.
the repairmen part 2: auto-mechanics perform brain-surgery on a car while brain-surgeons perform engine maintenance on a human. complex, indian-style pas-de-deux with repairmen.
finale: has this performance been about auto maintenance or brain surgery?
what astounds me is that all of this imagery, and more, because it was really a very detailed hallucination, was in my mind, cued up and ready to “play” – so to speak – as soon as the correct buttons were pushed. just what i have written down is only part of it… there’s also all the songs and dances which i haven’t written down yet, but are all there. it’s the kind of production that would literally have taken me years to write if i were to do it in normal consciousness. i’m looking forward to reading your post… i find it fascinating to read about peoples’ near death experiences.
Interesting that you had that experience through your care in hospital, almost like you were sensing things yet you couldn’t focus on the reality but instead were having a long psychotic episode where you were truly insane until you were helped back to health and sanity by the operation and care.
I’m about to make a very similar post myself in my own journal. I’m not sure who’s is scarier or more surreal.