What was the logic behind shooting a box in my dream?

[nottheone]

There is something that sometimes happens in some of my dreams that I have never heard reported. It has only happened a few times, maybe 10 or 15 that I can remember. Characters in my dreams do seemingly illogical things that later in the dream turn out to have a logical reason. I am going to relate the first one I had because it is most memorable, you know the other person in it. I am going to relate the dream but not give away the end to see if anyone can guess the logic. I am doing this not to be cute but to see how hard it is to come up with a logical reason for the action which my mind presumably did after the fact, or at least that's the way I remember it.

Many of my dreams are as real as reality to me when I have them, I seem to be fully conscious and aware. I have had some lucid dreams where I realize I am dreaming but this wasn't one of them. I have had dreams where it is so real I am wondering in the dream if I am dreaming and didn't know I was.

Here is the dream and don't laugh, this is really what happened, I have weird dreams but they are always fun. I never have nightmares except when I am sick. In this dream I was with someone else and we were both on horseback. We were being chased by indians and were riding on a dirt road. It was a western desert type setting. We were going as fast as we could towards town. For some reason I knew that the indians were catching up and were going to catch us before we got to town. As we were riding along we came to a shack on the side of the road. My partner stops his horse, there was no one there. He pulls out his pistol and shoots a wooden box in front of the shack. I remember wondering what the hell is wrong with him stopping when the indians are catching up, and wondering why he shot the box. He puts his pistol away and we continue riding towards town. We go a good ways further and the indians are not too far behind us now but we still have a few miles to go to town. I was thinking they are going to catch us. Then we run into a group of people riding fast towards us from town and we are saved. It is then that I find out why he shot the box. I had no idea until then why he did it.

So why did he do it? Try to come up with a logical answer before you read the spoiler. I find it hard to believe my subconscious can be this subtle without me being aware of it but that is the simplest explanation, but not the only one.

Spoiler

The answer is that the shack was the pump house for the towns water supply and the box was the electrical junction box. When we met up with the people from town they said that the water was shut off so they rode out to investigate. And the guy with me who shot the box was John Wayne.

 

[Evo]

Depends on how your dream ended.

 

[nottheone]

Just the way I said above except that I found out why he shot the box.

 

[Dadface]

He didn't like the box.I have never liked that particular box and whenever I am chased by indians I shoot it as well.Why can't someone put a bomb under it?

 

[Danger]

I have a logical supposition. Now I'll go check the spoiler and see if I'm right.

edit: I was mighty close, but not quite.

Spoiler

I thought of it being a telegraph junction. Never crossed my mind that they had electric pumps in the old west.

 

[Scuzzle]

The box said "Buffalo Meat", and your partner knew the Indians would have to stop and pay their respects, as everything is sacred to the Indian. Your partner new the Dance of Death takes at least 15 minutes, giving you enough time to escape.

Was I right?

Edit: Galdarnit!

 

[Loren Booda]

Well, speaking after the fact, in a guy's dream "shooting a pistol" is often associated with being "wooden" and penetrating a "box." The "Indians" might represent primitive urges, overcome near waking when the dreamer is "saved" from the id by the approach of consciousness.

 

[Scuzzle]

That's a pretty cleverly disguised sex joke. I award you 10 points.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Scrodinger's cat and Bell's monkey were in the box and he knew the Indians (which are the Jungian archetypes for Quantum physicists) would have to stop and puzzle out which had been shot without opening the box.

 

[Dadface]

Oh I have just got it,they were native American indians.I thought they were Indian Indians and chasing the two goshdarn bandits because they had done a runner(without paying)from the tandoori take away.

 

[macarino]

Dreams will never end! no matter how you feel or think daily even you could make up for your sins, you will always have dreams. I am telling the truth! I will always say it ALL OVER!

 

[Zdenka]

All I can say is that, even though you were dreaming strange events, your mind still worked at trying to come up with logical answers, even though you were consciously unaware of it.