I had a dream last night about my big, fat American dream. Major parts of the dream came true. Some of it took a long time and other parts happened rather quickly.
Of course, some parts did not come true. In 1964 I saw the Beatles and decided I wanted to become a rock star.
In 1965 I dreamed of owning an XKE (it's a Jaguar and yes, I admit it's a very shallow dream considering it's a mechanically unreliable car) and I saw myself driving to California with a blond. I didn't get the XKE but I scored bigtime on the blond, and instead of California, we headed south to Puerto Penasco in my new Ford Flex. And, yes, I'm happy to report, we slept together, more than once!
BBB's Blond Ambition
In 1989 I read "The Saga of Billy the Kid" by Walter Noble Burns and suddenly, rather dramatically, I saw myself doing something Western (prior to this I was still in rock star mode). I didn't know what exactly, but in a superstitious, baseball-player-kind-of-way, every time I saw a penny on the ground I would pick it up and say the word, "Western," as I squeezed it. Three years later I published "The Illustrated Life & Times of Billy the Kid," followed by similar books on Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. More books followed (13 so far), and then in 1999 we bought True West magazine.
Thanks to an old book I bought in 1974, I fell in love with Santa Fe style adobe houses. I dreamed of some day owning one, preferably on an historic site.
Adobe Dreams
From the book, "Adobe Architecture"
by Myrtle & Wilfred Stedman, 1973
The Sunstone Press
Now I live in one on the site where Al Sieber shot it out with Apaches in 1874.
BBB's dream house on Sieber site
So, I'm a big proponent of the American dream and I feel lucky I live in a country where all of this is possible. If it all falls apart tomorrow you will not hear me complain. I had a shot, I took it and I have an embarrassment of riches. My goal now is to help others realize their dreams and if this example inspires you to reach your dreams, then it was worth the telling. If it irritates you, well, that gives me pleasure as well. I enjoy snotting people off. Call it my wet dream.
"Nothing happens unless first a dream."
—Carl Sandburg
That was one of the most honest and inspiring messages I have heard in a long while. All heart, no bullshit.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was going to be a comic book artist. I turned down the Kubert School to get married and raise kids, because that was the sensible thing to do. I started my own business and made more money then I thought I would ever make; and then I lost more money than I thought I would ever make. Last year I wrote a western novel and this year I'm working on illustrating it (pulp style). I don't know where the road is going, but the road roles on.
Ahh, anonymous smonimous. Brad Ireland, True West Maniac #590 (I'm a lifer, I believed in your dream from the get go and have reaped the rewards every since. Thanks, Bob!).
DeleteBob, Bob, Bob...
ReplyDeleteJuxtapositioning "Your big fat American dream" and a pic of Miss Kathy is prolly not a good idea. Just sayin".8^)