Rambo Smiles

The dream this morning is a visit from Rambo. I see Sylvester Stallone in his prime as his John Rambo character. Behind him is a tall grassy hill. Rambo smiles. Rambo flashes a huge toothy smile. He turns and walks away. I see him slowly disappear beyond the hill. Then I wake up.

I read Stallone's Wikipedia page before sitting down to write this. An interesting fact about Stallone is his mother had a difficult birth for him. The doctor apparently used forceps on his head which caused nerve damage and partially paralyzed his face. This is what led to Stallone's famous trademark sneer.

The smile I see in the dream is one I am sure he wishes he could do and that he must genuinely feel inside but his face will not allow him to do it. Suddenly I feel an intense amount of sympathy for the man.

Sadly my own teeth are in now sad state of disrepair now. I have become very self conscious of my own smile. I can identify with Rambo.

Rambo, the movie character, is a man beaten down by a war with a life and a world that has long tried to kill him. Yet, Rambo perseveres. Everyone he loved and everything he loved has been killed.

I get the feeling the movie hero of my youth has come to say goodbye, but he wants me to know that he is now happy. He has defeated his enemies and has looked death in the eye, and now he can smile, the smile he always wanted to let free, but never could in life. Death is just the door to another journey.