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I’ve never been much of a dreamer. As a child I did what I felt was right at the time, whether that was sports, theatre or more often than not, girls. And it was probably only in the romantic sense that I ever had what might equate to a dream. From a young age, I wanted a girl friend—a true love. Maybe it was the movies that put the idyllic notion of romance in my head. But when it came to the rest of my life dreaming just wasn’t in my DNA. It’s a little sad to think back on. I would do something for as long as I felt I was good at it. When I no longer saw the joy in it, I bailed.
As a theatre kid (my father was an orchestra conductor so I grew up on the stage) I did follow a passion. First as an actor in high school and undergrad…then as a director in grad school. But after graduating I was burnt out…fried, I thought, on theatre. So I moved on. It wasn’t until 20 years later, looking back on my life that I realize I hadn’t burnt out at all. I had simply exhausted one passion and replaced it with another: a grown-up way of saying, I never pursued a DREAM.
One of my father’s favorite musicals, when I was growing up, was Man of La Mancha. When my pop dies (not to sound morbid, but we all will) one of his greatest disappointments will be that I never played the leading character, Don Quixote. So ironic, as the Don and I have about as much in common as The Donald, our current President and I do. Case in point: Don Quixote had a dream…a Quest. He sings of it in the iconic song, The Impossible Dream. It occurs as Don Quixote stands over his “armor”…a vigil of sorts. His words are in response to his fictional princes, Dulcinea’s question as to what the old man means by following his “Quest.” Don Quixote sings:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where
The brave dare not go…
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march,
March into hell
For that heavenly cause….
Don Quixote is famous for swinging at windmills he believes are his enemies, losing his mind it seems as he approaches 50 (that we do have in common – I, too will soon be 50) but I have never taken a swing at a windmill…let alone SEEN a windmill to swing at. Yet, in these extremely interesting times, we are seeing Impossible Dreams realized at a record pace. The Cubs winning the World Series? Impossible. Tesla’s breakthrough self-driving auto update? Impossible. The Donald becoming POTUS? All seemingly impossible…but now all realities.
In 1968, ironically the year I was born, Robert F. Kennedy‘s made a long shot run at the presidency. During a stump speech at the Corn Palace in Mitchel, SD, Senator George McGovern introduced the candidate, likening Kennedy’s run to Don Quixote’s song, The Impossible Dream. Afterwards Kennedy questioned McGovern, asking if he thought his run was, indeed, impossible. McGovern replied, “No, I don’t think it’s impossible. I just… wanted the audience to understand it’s worth making the effort…”
At 49-year-old, as I approach the age of the noble Don Quixote I think I have not only found my first dream, but I have encountered my first windmill. And impossibly…I’m winning the battle.
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Ever since my ex-wife decided to move with my young daughter to New Orleans I have felt a pull…a pull toward the south. But how to leave my job as a Television Producer in Los Angles so that I can watch my girl grow up in New Orleans? This has become my very first DREAM…my QUEST. I have been laughed at…I have been told that it will never work. And I have been driven like I have never been driven before to fulfill it. For the first time in my life, I feel I must make the “Effort,” win or lose. So, at 49 years old, as I approach the age of the noble Don Quixote I think I have not only found my first dream, but I have encountered my first windmill. And impossibly . . . I’m winning the battle.
I recently bought a home in New Orleans and I live here when I am not working. I left “the good life” in Los Angeles for an “amazing life” here in New Orleans watching my 8-year-old child grow, becoming a bigger part of her life. Some might call it a sacrifice. But I’ve come to realize that dreams are built on a foundation of sacrifice. One rarely exists without the other. And that “effort” that McGovern was talking about is all that is needed. Since making this move, work has come to me. And the scoffs have turned to envy (not that that was what I was looking for.) I will soon be working in New Orleans, returning to LA every summer to work a great producing job, and I have received consulting jobs that I can do right here as I help to raise my child. The effort has paid off. These first months in New Orleans have been crazy ones filled with homework, de-lousings, Dr.’s appointments and Girl Scout field trips, and I couldn’t have imagined how wonderful this simple, important life could be. Not only have I found a dream…I am living an impossible one.
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