Dr. Sordo's Dreaming Lizard

Dr. Sordo peered over his bifocals, with a genuine, caring tone in his voice that told Janet she could trust him. "Tell me about this recurring dream, Janet." The leather couch on which Janet was lying was deceptively uncomfortable. However, because of the embarrassing sound it made whenever she shifted, she tried to move as little as possible. Janet closed her eyes to describe as best she could her dream. The faint rumpling of the couch distracted her only for a second.

"I'm curled up in bed against the screaming blizzard outside, I tap the remote control and the television casts a pale light against the dark room. As the screen warms into focus, I sit upright and scream. There he is! On television! But he's been dead for 10 years!"

Dr. Sordo quickly jotted down Janet's description of her dream with his elegant fountain pen. “Thank you for the tremendous detail, Janet. I don’t recall another patient remembering so much detail from a dream. Now, Janet, do you like reptiles?”

The random change of subject confused Janet. Dr. Sordo came highly recommended by a friend; she was now wondering why. He didn’t seem to be listening to her. “What? Do I like reptiles? I’m sorry, Dr. Sordo, but what does this have to do with…?”

“-Please, you promised to cooperate. Only you can help you. So, do you like them, Janet?” His soothing tone reassured Janet that he knew what he was doing.

“No, Doctor Sordo, I don’t. I’m afraid of snakes” Janet said looking down at her folded hands in her lap.


Before she could communicate the thoughts running through her mind, Dr. Sordo began another train of thought. Clearing his throat and sitting up in his chair, Dr. Sordo gently stroked his salt and pepper beard. “Can I ask you a few more questions, Janet? Would that be ok?”

“Sure, Dr. Sordo, that would be fine.”

“Well I don’t know if I need to ask nine questions. Do you like the number nine for some reason?”

“No, I said that would be fine, not nine,” Janet answered smiling nervously.

“Ahh, yes, of course" answered Dr. Sordo scratching out what he had just written on the page. "Tell me, Janet, what do you enjoy doing? What makes you happy?"

“Well, I like watching game shows. I have the game show network. Three generations on my mother’s side have been on game shows.” Janet felt better already. Dr. Sordo now understood why Janet had entered the room waving to an invisible audience and introducing herself as “Janet Janarko from San Bernadino, California and I enjoy making quilts.” Dr. Sordo had thought nothing of it at first, but now thought it worthwhile to probe deeper into her response.

“Umm hmm.” Dr. Sordo made a few quick notes on his notepad. “Do you like being in control, Janet? In situations? In your interpersonal relationships?”

“Well, yes I guess so. I like to be the first one to buzz in, you know?”

“Buzz in? What do you mean by that, Janet?” as his large, hairy hand moved quickly across the page. Dr. Sordo was extremely pleased with the progress they were making.

“Like...on the game shows...whoever buzzes in first...everyone else has to listen to what they’re going to say.”

“Mmm. Interesting analogy, Janet, thank you. Now, tell me, how do you feel about your parents, Janet?” Dr. Sordo thought he had changed the subject. Janet was unaware he had attempted to do so.

“Well, my mother was very good at all the game shows on TV. She was such a wonderful person. My dad didn’t like game shows and would always make her turn them off when he got off work. He worked at a zoo. Sometimes he would come home very angry after drinking a few beers and not let me or momma have the remote control. He would make us watch the animal channel. He was a mean man.”

Dr. Sordo looked up from his notes smiling. “Well, Janet. I must say with what you have just told me that your dream has a tremendously significant and simple meaning. Oftentimes the most complex, subconscious secrets reveal themselves in the most uncomplicated ways. Janet, will you allow me to interpret what you described from your dream without interruption?

“Of course, Dr. Sordo.” Janet was eager to hear his professional opinion. His questions seemed a bit bizarre, but his soothing tone and confidence assured her of his qualifications.

Dr. Sordo smiled warmly. He was aware of the relaxing capabilities of his own voice and enjoyed revealing to his patients their most profound secrets locked away in the labyrinth of their subconscious mind. “You see, the dreaming lizard represents two things that are one and the same. The lizard represents your father and your fears. The fact that the lizard is on top of the television tells me you are afraid your fears will prevent you from having what you enjoy, your game shows. Now, the fact that the lizard drinks ten beers and turns red
represents your father’s anger. You are afraid the lizard will wake up with the remote control and watch the animal channel or some other nature programming, represented by the bee, instead of allowing you to watch your beloved game shows. In essence, you fear losing control. What do you think, Janet?”

Janet was speechless. Not sure how to react, she remembered Dr. Sordo wrote down what she described from her dream. “Um, Dr. Sordo, could you read back what I described to you? I’m a little confused about a few things.”

“Of course, Janet,” Dr. Sordo answered in his compassionate, yet professional voice. Most of his patients were unable to fathom how simple the human mind could be in the hands of a trained therapist. “Let’s see, here,” he said turning over a few pages of his notebook. “Ah, here we are. ‘Curled up on my bed, a dreaming lizard taps the remote control and the television casts a pale light against the dark room. As the bee swarmed into focus you sit uptight and scream, 'He’s on top the television, red from ten beers!’

Janet was embarrassed and struggled to convert an escaping snicker into a cough. “Dr. Sordo, I, I don’t think you heard me. You see, I said a screaming blizzard, not a dreaming lizard, and I said he had been dead for...”

“-Oooh! I’m sorry, Janet; looks like we are out of time for today. We’ll have to pick this up next week, ok?”

His kind eyes peering over his glasses, made it impossible to argue. “Ah, yeah, sure, ok.” She paused for a second doubting whether she should ask or not. “Just one quick question, Dr. Sordo. Do you think it’s weird that I like game shows so much? I mean, do you think it’s normal? Should I be concerned about that?”

“No, certainly not. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Janet. Besides, I find the name tag rather quaint. Shall I make the appointment for next week?”