I had a bit of a silly dream last night.
I write, silly because, unlike the dream, I usually get to the airport three hours ahead of time for a domestic flight. I am already fretting about the upcoming 6:30 AM flight on June 19 when I head back to Toronto for more creative community engagement projects.
In the dream, I arrive at the gate (the plane is boarding in 45 minutes) to get on a British Airways flight with son and his girlfriend. I look down and I have NO luggage, no ticket, no passport, no boarding pass, no wallet, nothing. I left them all at home. I panic knowing there is not enough time- I will miss the plane. I hitchhike back “home” with an elderly couple who drive me to some kind of cabin retreat place in the woods and are slowing me down by stopping at places I am not connected to, writing down names I don’t recognize into hotel ledgers and putting the notes into the car glove compartment. I feel a bit helpless and frantic as I sit in the back seat, in the middle, leaning forward.
Having had a few hours to digest it… I wonder if the dream isn’t related to my research on my passion project, Molly- a true crime analysis. I don’t have enough clout, ID, info, documents quite yet to get through that gate! No boarding pass yet!
I feel closer than ever this week though. There have been some exciting developments regarding DNA. And though I won’t share details here, let’s just say, the case I write about all comes down to identity and the answers will only be proven through DNA analysis. Stay tuned!!!
—
“DNA is God’s signature… never a forgery, and his checks don’t bounce.” Eddy Joe Lloyd, exonoree, After Innocence (2005)
I do love DNA! The very STUFF of LIFE! Some of my fondest memories at UBC in Biological Sciences was mapping a fruit fly’s genome. I recall the beautiful starfish like chromosome.
The cold case I am researching centres around the unidentified children found in Stanley Park in 1953. Their DNA profiles were completed in 1998 by Dr. David Sweet, forensic odontologist. The goal is to identify their mother through DNA comparisons.
And through some wonderful unfoldings this week, I am a few steps closer, but no boarding pass yet!
[source]
A DNA molecule consists of two strands that wind around each other like a twisted ladder. Ah, the DOUBLE HELIX!
The term double helix refers to the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its secondary structure, and is a fundamental component in determining its tertiary structure. [source]
“Her soul shall be bound in the bundle of life.” – Inscription on Rosalind Franklin’s tombstone
My imagery of late- embroidered drawings- tries to recreate that binding, that layering, the bundling, the need to look closer and closer, to pry away and lift and investigate to get closer to the answer. Closer to the boarding pass.
