Last night I had a really weird dream in which… wait, where are you going? Why are you leaving? Oh no, no this isn’t one of those boring recountings of a dream that is only interesting to the dreamer. No, this is the story of a strange coincidence that I truly hope doesn’t turn out to be prophetic.

It was actually this morning between snoozes. I had a really quick but vivid dream that Brad, me and my best friend boarded a plane to some unknown destination. Not so odd, except the plane was extremely old and rusty. I was made of the same cheap metal as an old fishing boat, and dented just as badly. It had no roof, the seats were metal humps that we straddled, and the seat belts were worn and broken. Plus we were flying directly above city streets, narrowly missing street lamps, buildings and tree branches.

I kept telling Brad that this plane just didn’t seem right, but he assured me it was fine. Suddenly we were out of control, spinning wildly. I realized I didn’t have my seat belt on, and I fumbled for a terribly long time trying to buckle myself in. Just when I got it hooked, we started spiraling toward the ground, tail first. We heard the captain say, “Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time to buckle up. We’re heading for a crash landing.” Just before we hit, he managed to right the plane and we came to a crashing halt parallel to the ground. Nobody died, and then some other things happened after that, but those details don’t matter.

The important thing here is that my dream involved me flying in a very old plane and crashing to the ground.

Since the dream occurred just before my last alarm, it was fresh in my mind when I got up. Moments later I turned the tv on to the Today show, and what’s on the screen? Video of various aircraft and a tagline at the bottom of the screen that read, “Aging Airplanes: Too Old to Fly?”

It was all about airlines that still employ old aircraft, which are at a much higher risk for malfunction. Now I’m not suggesting that these airlines put passengers in planes made of rusted aluminum and strap them in with no roof overhead. But it all seems a little too coincidental, no?

I’m just glad we’re not flying to Florida tomorrow. Eighteen hours in a rental car? Yes please, I’ll take it.