"¦this is the sum of our ambition" I dreamt. I was in the air looking down over the edge of a high mesa in an arid desert. I caught sight of a complex network of trails crisscrossing the sand in the dry wash bed far below. I became curious and wanted to see what had made these trails. I found myself down on the sand moving forward into the small shadowy canyons. It was late in the afternoon, nearing sunset. Then I saw what appeared to be royal blue swatches of cloth strewn and scattered everywhere in the sand. There were countless numbers of them piled everywhere. When I walked up to them I saw that pinned to the swatches were medals and ribbons of every size shape and color. Some where freshly polished and others were dark and tarnished. I walked further then saw single wall sections made of bare plywood. They looked like what you'd find in a movie studio's back lot storage area. Several were leaning against the canyon walls some were sliding downward. There were display frames attached to these walls. Behind the glass panels were more medals some of the frames were shattered others appeared to be at a slant and about to fall off. Many had glass panels that were turning green with age others crusted over with dust and smoke. Still more had their doors ajar or missing with many of the medals and pendants fallen to the sand. Still further up I saw what I thought was pirate treasure in the sand, stacks and stacks of coins. When I walked closer I saw they weren't coins but medallions and more medals. A few of the high stacks had fallen and the medals scattered and trod into the sand. I was aghast I couldn't believe my eyes. There were thousands upon thousands of them piled and scattered all over. I thought, "My God, soldiers have fought and died for these and someone's been amassing and collecting them hording them as if they were treasure. And here they are now, cast aside like rubbish and forgotten in this desolate place." I woke feeling saddened. Later I recalled a line I once heard, "What a life's work...what a desolation.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WGOY7Gvazc