My husband has this dream of winning the Powerball, buying a yacht and living on the Med. That way it would be easy to travel the world, pickup and move, and give him access to authentic Turkish foods on a daily basis. I’m all for this dream, after all, if we were able to afford to own a yacht and live like this, then think of how much shopping I would be able to do. We understand that the potential for this dream to go unfulfilled is great, especially since we keep forgetting to pickup Powerball tickets.
His other dream, the one where he has a harem will probably go unfulfilled also. One, because he knows his limitations and two, because I’m less supportive of this one, unless of course I get to have my bevy of cabana boys.
I have a dream myself, a little less ambitious then his, but probably will be as unrealized, at least in full, as his also. Mine involves a business. I see myself having this quaint little plaza where there are a few shops (all of which we own and operate).
In the center is a little café that serves freshly baked muffins, scones and danishes, as well as deli items. But the real draw would be the exotic and gourmet coffees and teas. The layout wouldn’t be a normal café seating but wicker chairs and couches with coffee and end tables for seating. It would open out onto a shaded courtyard surrounded by wisteria and gardenia plants and would have more seating, this time with wrought iron furniture.
Off to one side of the café would be an art gallery where local artists could show and sell their paintings and sculptures. Off to the other, another store which would specialize in the goods of local crafters. Off to the back of the courtyard, a flower shop and greenhouse, which would sell, not only unique floral arrangements but also have exotic orchids and tropical flowers, as well as the standards.
There are reasons that this dream will remain unfulfilled, at least for now. Capital, the economy, Starbucks will never go under so that will cut into my customer base and I’m not in the right locale. For this to work and be profitable it needs to be in a town that is high in tourism. This city just isn’t known for it’s tourism. Oh, yeah, and the homegrown flowers, well, my thumb isn’t exactly green right now. At least I can try to build on the little cottage business I do have now and perhaps one day, I can see at least a portion of that dream fulfilled. So I start putting in more energy to revitalize what I do have now. (Does this answer the question where I’ve been the last week?).
A few weeks ago, we got to see hundreds of young men get the opportunity to at least have a chance to experience their dreams of playing in the NFL. For the top draft picks, we know that their dreams will be realized sooner then later. For the other ones who heard their name called late in the draft, patience and perseverance could get them a starting job one day. For those who didn’t hear their name called at Radio City Music Hall, well, that dreams not dead for them yet, since most were picked up via undrafted free agency.
This past week, teams have begun having their mini-camps, getting the rookies acclimated to life as a professional football player. And as we watch and chatter about how effective Darren McFadden will be for the Raiders, how Matt Ryan will do under center for the Atlanta Falcons, or how deadly the Steelers running game has become with the addition of Rashard Mendenhall, we don’t tend to notice those later round picks or even the ones who came in undrafted. But they have their opportunities too.
Could Dominick Dixon come out to be like Tom Brady, a late round pick QB who matured into an excellent quarterback. We’ve seen Hines Ward and Joey Porter, both second day picks, become leaders of their respective squads. Remember how Ward was too small to play in the NFL?
Then you have the hidden gems. Which ones will take our breath away? They’re there. I remember watching the last game of the 05-06 season, Steelers vs the Buffalo Bills. A no name kid on the backup squad, broke free and ran fast towards the endzone. We asked “Willie who?”. The undrafted free agent from North Carolina, who rode the bench through college would end up leading the league in rushing until his injury, during the 07-08 NFL season.
Now mini-camps will turn to training camps to turn to pre-season to turn to regular season football. Many will see their dreams come true, many will only have a portion of that dream realized. Unfortunately, there are still others who have had those dreams unrealized. For them, hopefully other dreams will take their place and be realized.
For me, I’ll continue to work on that small portion of my dream with patience and perseverance, and maybe even help my husband at least have a little portion of his dream fulfilled (time to google belly dancing costumes).
