Lightning McQueen prologue: Playing baseball in New Mexico

In my post "There's a hole in my bucket-face! AND Harry Marsh and the Sorcerer's Stone", I recounted the 2nd half of a dream where I ended up being offered a blue helmet in the shape of Lightning McQueen (and that had been a plate or disc-type object before it transformed into a helmet).   I also concluded the post by suggesting that my dream might have been meant to be through the eyes of Thomas B. Marsh.

I didn't give the details of the first half of the dream, however, which was the baseball game itself that preceded the equipment manager offering a new helmet to wear.  But, I think a few of these details might be relevant to our ongoing discussion in relation to "Peter" and Faramir, so here is that first part, with some commentary afterward.

Baseball in New Mexico

I found myself playing baseball in New Mexico.  This was professional baseball, by the way, and I think I was vaguely aware at some point in the dream that New Mexico doesn't have an MLB team, but that didn't seem to matter.

The baseball field was fairly strange.  It was largely a desert - no grass anywhere to speak of.  Though a significant portion was also asphalt or blacktop, and resembled a parking lot.  There were also buildings and one tree that more or less one the baseline between home plate and first base, so you would have to run around those to get to the base.  Overall, everything felt extremely barren and run down.

I was on the visiting team, so we were in town to play New Mexico's team.  I also found out that I was the lead-off hitter.  Before stepping into the batter's box, I spent in inordinate amount of time choosing which bat I was going to use.  I remember being really indecisive on this point.  It turned out to be irrelevant and for naught anyway, because the pitcher walked me in 4 pitches that were way outside the strike zone.   I didn't even get to swing.

I took my walk to first base, going around the obstructions.  The first base umpire was out there, and I asked him how if he hated calling games at this ball park due to how horrible it was.  He just shrugged and said, "You get used to it."

My view to home play was partially obstructed, so I couldn't see what was going on there very clearly.  I heard a loud crack, though, and saw the ball flying extremely high into the sky over to left field.  It was at this point I realized the outfield fence was this giant wall that went up extremely high into the sky.  The hit was so high and far, however, that it turned out to be a home run.

As I rounded the bases, I became distracted and headed out to left field to check something out.  I don't remember what it was.  I lost some track of time.  At one point I turned back to the infield, and saw the batter from my team that had hit the home run about to round 3rd base and head for home.  I sprinted back to the infield and caught up to the batter.  I explained to him that I needed to go in front of him and cross home plate first, or we would both be out.  I specifically mentioned that these were 'the rules'.  I think the batter was surprised to see me there (I had literally just ran out of left field), but I believe he agreed that was the way to go.  I do not remember crossing home plate, though.

After we got into the dugout, I did leave for a little bit and go on a car-chase that felt like I was in a 007 or Mission Impossible movie, before then returning to the dugout, where I met up with the equipment manager and he showed me the Lightning McQueen helmet which I covered in that other post.

Isotopes, Starfleet, and Space Force

After waking up, I first looked up "New Mexico Baseball".  My first results were for the University of New Mexico baseball team.  I should have remembered this, because I played football against that university, but their mascot is the Lobo.  A lobo is a type of wolf, specifically a Timberwolf.  This was a little bit interesting to me because earlier timberwolves had come up over on William Tychonievich's blog.

I also just noticed that the first 3 letters of Timberwolf spell Tim.

Anyway, unbeknownst to me until earlier today is that New Mexico does indeed have a professional baseball team:  The Albuquerque Isotopes, which is a minor league team.  The name, apparently, is a shout out to the Simpsons (as in the TV show/ cartoon).  In one episode, Homer tries to stop the Springfield Isotopes from relocating to Albuquerque.  No joke.  Thus, Isotopes itself is a reference to nuclear power, originally the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant that Mr. Burns owns.

I am sure there are other potential ties to this whole theme, but my mind made a specific connection when I saw the logo for the Isotopes.  Here it is:

At the time I had the dream, Star Trek had not yet entered into the picture yet on this blog.  So, I am not sure that if I had found the Isotopes back then, this logo would have meant anything.  However, now after having written about Star Trek, and watched a few of the movies last week, the "A" reminded me of the Star Trek Federation insignia.  When I looked it up, it reminded me of it even more, and not only that, but also the logo for the United States Space Force (which appears to have mostly ripped off Star Trek).  Here they both are:

Both images have the A shape in the center, with a main orbiting body or star going horizontally around the middle, just as the Isotopes insignia has a baseball going around in pretty much the same fashion.

The Home Run

A few days later I was thinking a bit more on this home run that was hit by the batter following me.  I realized that this phrase 'home run' was along the lines of what I have been writing here, as in a run or walk home.  Just flip the words.

When I thought of this, I remembered a scene from the movie Hook.  Peter Pan has come up in this blog, and actually specifically in the context of Star Trek, where Captain Kirk quotes the Disney movie version of Peter's instructions on where to go at the end of "The Undiscovered Country". 

I am including that scene from Hook below.  At the 2:50 mark, approximately, the pirates in the stand are holding their sign incorrectly, so instead of saying "Home Run Jack", it says "Run Home Jack".  This gets Jack tapping into some forgotten memory, but Captain Hook corrects the pirates, they get their sign right, and everything is back to normal.

Also, at the 3:40 mark, you will see the home run, which appears to just go straight up into the sky and not come back down, like a rocket of some kind.

Anyway, this concept of "run home", as in the home run being symbolic or representing just that, got me thinking.

Consistent with other posts on this, I interpret that person who hit the home run to be Faramir.  His actions (which will include the Stones) seems to open up the way for people to go 'home'.  Thus, home run.

The Forerunner

But we have this character who is on first, and should be then running ahead of Faramir.  This is the person I now think of as Thomas B. Marsh, Peter, and potentially Radagast, among other roles.

The symbolism of this in the dream is actually pretty interesting, as I think about it, and is reminiscent of the role of John.  John (traditionally the Baptist, but who I think is both the Baptist and the Beloved as one person) was designated as the 'forerunner' for Jesus.  Nephi summarizes Lehi's teaching relative to John, in saying:

And he [Lehi] spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord—

Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.

And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water.

And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world.

According to Lehi, John would make 'paths straight' for Jesus, and prepare some things ahead for him.  I am not sure we have a good idea about everything that entails, but I think it is relevant to our discussion around Faramir and Marsh-Peter.

I have suggested or guessed that Faramir-Eonwe will come in the name of the Son, which is the same name or title as his father Jesus.  This authority would have been given to him by Jesus, and was part of why Jesus and Faramir (the Holy Ghost) would have appeared together to Joseph Smith.

As such, I think the pattern follows that he will also have a forerunner - one that has also been designated, perhaps, to make some straight paths, which potentially involves opening doors and/ or clearing a path.

This might be why in the dream he (Peter) was portrayed as the lead off hitter, and why it was so important for him to catch up and then step ahead and stay ahead of Faramir on the base path so that he could remain the forerunner as they head home.  I don't know - I am just thinking through potential symbolic elements given everything else I have written and thought through.  I could be way off on this, and even have the characters mixed up or completely wrong.  Just trying to fit things together.

Out of Left Field

It was also interesting to think of this dream element where whoever's eyes I was seeing this through spent some time out in left field.

To be 'out in left field' or 'out of left field', in American slang, means to have something unexpected, odd, or strange happen.  From the the first person perspective in the dream, to be out in left field may symbolize being involved in the odd or strange.  From Faramir's perspective, however, (or whoever the batter was meant to be), he would have seen someone coming out of left field, meaning both this person and their arrival was odd or unexpected.

It is the best I can come up with for that particular detail, but I think it probably makes sense.  It is a strange story we are dealing with anyway, so it makes sense that there are a few twists, turns, and unexpected people and events in the story.

An order to things

Lastly, this element of the 'rules' suggesting that Marsh-Peter needs to go before Faramir may not just be formality or because a forerunner is needed, but rather because that is the order that was set up, and it needs to be followed.

So, in this case, and as I have mentioned in my earlier post, it may be that Peter has the keys for this world (our Gentile world), and to leave it to go home, it would need to be in conjunction with Peter, or at least with him opening the door from this world to pass to another one.   He is the doorkeeper in that sense, holding keys to accessing 'heaven', so even though Faramir provides the means by which the journey can be made, Peter-Marsh must open the door from which the journey begins.

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade speak, the path over the chasm or void to the Grail starts at the "Lion's Head".  The movie had an actual physical lion's head carved into the rock, but 'heads' can mean other things, too.  An origin, start, or beginning, as in a trailhead, for example.  Or a leading position or front of a line or procession, is another, which is obviously relevant to both my dream and topics I have covered here.  The Lion here can then clearly represent Peter, and his 'Head' represents the opening or start of the path that has been opened for Faramir, perhaps.

The Lion's Head phrase from Indiana Jones is potentially relevant in some way, also, given this idea of a disc or helmet being offered for Peter to wear on his head, as portrayed on the statue of St. Peter I had posted earlier.

I don't know necessarily what I am trying to say, but it just seems that given this, there is something to this notion of Peter-Marsh preparing a way or facilitating some means for which Faramir to cross void on the initial journey back to Tirion, and thus create a path for others to also follow.  It isn't well formed in my mind though on the detail of how that works, but something about it makes sense to me, enough at least to write it out and let it sit for a bit.