Wow! Talk about hittin home. I’m not sure who Buddy Mondlock was thinkin about when he wrote that song but I do know this; it could very well have been me.
Fact is just yesterday I was headin down the interstate staring out over the hood of my 379 Peterbilt daydreamin about somethin or another. And although it sometimes seems like just yesterday it’s been over 40 years since I was dispatched to the dreaded red bench for aimlessly gazin out one of the double hung windows of Mrs. Lupton’s third grade class during a spelling bee.
So ya see I was…er…am that kid who has a habit of dreaming. And sure it’s got me in a bit of trouble a time or two. But quite frankly, that’s not what’s troubling me.
Like any seasoned dreamatologist I tend to think about things…a lot! And I’ve often wondered which of these is the lesser of two evils, 1) being an avid dreamer like myself, or 2) being someone who, for whatever reason, rarely if ever dreams at all.
Allow me to explain.
First, let me quickly point out that of the two options the last-mentioned is definitely not for me. Be it in peaceful slumber or in the midst of another trying day I could never imagine what it would be like to never imagine what it could be like. Then again, pragmatism apparently has its advantages, because I know lots of people whose feet rarely if ever leave the ground and they seem perfectly happy and content.
Nonetheless, it’s not for me. I was born to dream. Dreamin is a vital and vibrant part of my genetic code. In fact, of all my indispensable talents dreamin is definitely what I do best. And while I’m pleased to report that it hasn’t got me into any real trouble over the years I must candidly confess that it has caused me a considerable amount of undue pain and suffering. Why? Because for the better part of half a century now I’ve had a helluva time makin them dreams come true.
But hey, I ain’t belly achin, I’m not here lookin for no pity party. FYI, not a $^@% day goes by that I don’t wish things were different. But I am where I am today for a reason; I’m here…because I haven’t been watering the elephants.
In the opening verse of The Kid, Artie takes us on the journey of a young boy who runs off with the circus to pursue his dream of walkin atop the high wire. But instead finds himself knee deep in a foul-scented mishmash of sawdust and elephant manure.
Now at first this might sound like a bad dream—a stinkin nightmare if you will, and maybe so, after all the kid’s obviously got bigger dreams. Yet when ya think about it even though this provisional romp through the potty pen wasn’t part of the original plan it did manage to get our junior stargazer one step closer to his piece of the pie in the sky. And that I’m sure you’d have to agree is a good thing.
“Art is never finished,” said Leonardo Da Vinci, “only abandoned.” And the same I think could oftentimes be said about dreams. Because as a whole (myself included) I think we as creative creatures share an inescapable tendency to paint the perfect picture; to formulate in our minds eye that idealistic vision or idea of what we see possible. And of course once we conceive it we can’t help but be infatuated by it. Yet when it comes time to break ground we indubitably begin to question it, and when the answer doesn’t instantly appear, or as is much more often the case, turns out not to be the one we’re looking for, then that idealistic vision starts to fade, that “big” idea loses it’s luster, and before ya know it, the dream gets ditched.
Personally I’ve never dreamed of runnin away with the circus, let alone of walkin on a high wire. But I can’t tell ya how many times I’ve had the pleasure of bein on stage behind the drum kit playin to a sold out crowd. Or how often I’ve gone bar to bar over the finish line jump with one of my motocross heroes. Those are a few of my dreams, a couple of the biggies that I let slip away. But I can still dream. And believe me...I do. And I for one would never encourage anyone to do otherwise. However, if you’d like to save yourself years of needless pain and suffering I strongly suggest that you support your idealistic dreams and visions with an honest to goodness down to earth realistic mission. Go ahead, set your sights, and by all means set em high, but then do what any hopeful (and/or successful) tightrope artist would do; take it one small step at a time. Honestly, ya ever seen it done any other way? Okay, but even on a bike or a unicycle they’re like movin reeally reeally slow.
Just remember, it was Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, who said, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” And the simple truth is…dreams aren’t doable.
Fortunately, actions are. Still, keep in mind that no matter how well plotted or planned those actions might be they’re bound to land you in some unfamiliar territory, out of the blue places that you probably never would've dreamed of, or much less bargained for for that matter. But then that’s just the reality of it. I mean who’d a thought runnin off with the circus with the illustrious dream of performing a death-defying walk across the high wire hundreds of feet above a spellbound audience would land our boy flat footed in a pile of, well, ya know? But then who knows, one day that so called stinkin nightmare could very well turn out to be the answer to all his dreams.
In the end I guess the moral of this story is that compared to a high wire, which generally tends to gravitate toward the straight and narrow (no pun intended), the road which ambles up to it will much more likely be a long and winding one littered with any number of unforeseeable twists and turns, dips and detours, and of course, the occasional pie patch. But fret not, because with a little sweat on your brow, a slight ache in your back, and a moderate dusting of shit on your sneakers, you can negotiate it. You can and will finally begin to make some of those illusive pipe dreams come true.
Oh and one last thing; that gawd awful odor lingering underfoot, get used to it. That my former castle-building friend, is the sweet smell of success.
See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.
See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.
…yea I’m the kid who has a habit of dreaming, and over the years I’ve paid a pretty hefty price. But the truth is, I could never stop dreaming, nor could I ever make them all come true. But I’m tryin dammit, because one would sure be nice.
