Dreaming Dreams

My dream looks like this.

Bobby Kennedy was the single most important mentor in my life. Additionally, his words, either written or spoken, have been guideposts for me. Bobby was able to put words to what was spinning around in my mind or to help me better understand various issues. I have benefited from his example in his life as I journeyed down the yellow brick road of my life.

Additionally, Bobby was a father to my generation. He motivated millions of whites during the civil rights movement in the 60s. He was able to see as a white person much of what blacks were facing. He could speak to blacks in America and in the South Africa during apartheid. Regardless of race and other differences, he listened, he instructed, and he helped millions of Americans and many millions more throughout the world.

The single sentence that spoke to me the most was what Bobby said about dreaming. “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.” That sentence focused me and my generation as we faced seemingly insurmountable problems like racism, poverty, and the war in Vietnam.

While dreaming dreams is critical, realizing one’s dreams needs more than merely dreaming. Dreams take work in addition to the dream. Dreaming isn’t a wasted effort. Nevertheless, effort to realize a dream is critical. Without effort, one is merely daydreaming.

In my twilight years, the picture of the lake with mountains in the background is the most important of all my dreams. Before I run out of anymore bricks on my yellow brick road of life, I want to create a small utopian experiment. I’m going to bring together all my family members together from various countries throughout the world. Some live in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America, but they all are family. Maybe the utopian experiment might motivate others to be more inclusive about who makes up their family.






A Follow-Up to Snow’s Email Another Teaching Moment 07/26/21
Happy Birthday, Snow Time To Remember 07/21/21
If They See the Goblin… They Might Also See Planet X. 06/23/21
More Apologies Expressed To My Physicians 06/21/21
Reincarnation of Ra-Ra… Reincarnation of Ra-Ra… 05/14/21
Learning from Collecting Written by a Collector of Treasures 04/16/21
My Quest to Find Meaning Life My Search for My Holy Grail 04/07/21
As Kierkegaard Said It Is Either/Or 04/05/21
I Live in Two WorldsI Have Benefited from One World 03/22/21
What’s It All About Aldie My Haunting Question 03/19/21
Teaching Moments TodayAnd Teaching Moments for the Future 03/15/21
Getting My Second COVID Shot… And Immortality 03/05/21
Who Is That Lady in Yellow?A 21st Century Eppie 02/01/21
Stopping in the WoodsWhile Dreaming Dreams 01/27/21
Purposeful LivesOn Steroids 01/13/21
A Secret About LifeHow To Be Successful 12/21/20
This Is a Teaching MomentAbout America 12/07/20
Remembering the PastSpring Follows Winter 12/02/20
Problems Are Catalysts for ChangeBut It Is Up to You 11/18/20
The Importance of the Sound of Music…According to Nietzsche and Me 10/26/20
Hear Ye, Hear Ye…Ti Ti Is Starting College Today! 10/16/20
"I Dream Things That Never Were…"And Say Way Not” 07/03/20


The Devil Made Me Do It. A Presidential Duet 10/09/20
This Is an AddendumTi Ti, the Bridge Builder 09/25/20
From Then to NowWhat a Difference Seven Years Has Made 09/23/20
Masks Matter…To Some 09/16/20
Two PoemsBy Two Ladies 09/14/20
A Present Day Parable for AmericaIt Is All About Sharing 09/11/20
There Is More to Dreaming…Than Just Dreaming 08/07/20
"Give Me a Place to Stand...And I Will Move the World.” 07/20/20
Regarding Dancing with CoronavirusCampbell’s Five Commandments 03/25/20
I Don’t Like FailingModus Operandi 03/13/20
How Playing Scrabble Changed My LifeWho Would Have Thought? 02/28/20
My Swan SongAnd My Family’s Swan Song 01/17/20
Perspective What You See Is What You Get. 09/20/19
I Get That Ibn Battuta Loved Travel… But Why? 09/09/19
Another Déjà Vu In the Arts and Philosophy 06/07/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Jacob Soboroff 04/15/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Contacting Clarence Page 04/12/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Contacting Rod Stewart 04/10/19
Dreaming…. About My Moment in Time 03/11/19
One Moment in Time Carpe Diem 03/04/19
Tintern Abbey Viewed by Wordsworth and Turner 02/18/19
Light at the End of the Tunnel However, the Tunnel is an Illusion 02/06/19
The Wall Issue The True Value of a Wall 01/14/19
Pa Pa Al’s Grandfatherly Advice To Ti Ti Who Doesn’t Need It. 01/11/19
A New Year’s Eve With a New Resolution for the Coming Year 12/31/18
It’s All About Family I Agree with John Lewis 12/17/18
Reflections on The Magnificent Seven… 12/12/18
The Magnificent Seven… My Dream Team 12/07/18
I Celebrate Two Thanksgiving Days… And This Is Why 11/22/18
On Making Your Mark And Leaving It 10/22/18
The Relevance of Religion In the World 10/15/18
Rhythm of My Heart Here and Abroad 10/03/18
Be a Dreamer.... And Never Quit Dreaming. 08/10/18
Dreaming The Drug for Realizing Your Hopes 11/07/18
Lack of Leadership In Turbulent Times 11/02/18
It Is In Giving That We Get Being Like Bobby 08/03/18
The Ripple Effect… “…Can Sweep Down the Mightiest Walls.” 07/23/18
Ti Ti And Family Ti Ti and Her Family My Assistants in Myanmar 05/28/18
Forrester and Jamal Forrester and Jamal You and I 05/11/18
Moh Moh Bobby And Me Moh Moh, Bobby, and Me…. All Dreamers 04/30/18
dear papa al Dear PaPa Al..... Dear Ti Ti 04/16/18
bobbys-suggestion thumbnail Bobby’s Suggestion About My Problems… A School in Taunggyi, Myanmar 04/06/18
question thumbnail The Question Is… How Will You Be Remembered? 02/26/18
attempt-to-do thumbnail What Would You Attempt To Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail? 02/21/18
age-revolution thumbnail An Age of Revolution If We But Know What To Do With It 02/16/18
water-horse thumbnail The Water Horse of Loch Ness And Our Water Horses of Life 02/07/18
moh-tin-me thumbnail Moh Moh, Tin Tin, and Me We Are the Incarnations of Bobby 01/31/18
lesson-dreaming thumbnail Lesson Learned About Dreaming I Learned from Bobby 01/22/18
bobby-runt thumbnail Bobby the Runt Turned into Bobby the Leader 01/17/18
meaning-of-life thumbnail My Thoughts about the Meaning of Life My Perspective from My Twilight Years 01/05/18
another-breakfast thumbnail Another Breakfast with My Shrink Dealing with Dreaming 01/01/18
America thumbnail America As Bobby, Moh Moh, and the Jazz Singer See It 12/25/17
Dreaming Dreams thumbnail Dreaming Dreams that Never Were... Asking Why Not. 12/15/17
Doing Dance thumbnail Doing the Dance... Fathoming the Unfathomable. 12/11/17
Lawrence of Arabia thumbnail Lawrence of Arabia One of My Mentors 10/06/17
Me and My Shrink thumbnail Me and My Shrink Dealing With What Drives Me 08/16/17
Ti Ti Poem thumbnail Ti Ti and I A Most Haunting Relationship 08/04/17
Benefit of Failed Dreams thumbnail The Benefit of Failed Dreams The Dalai Lama’s Oxymoron 06/19/17
Frobisher's Quests thumbnail Frobisher’s Quests The Northwest Passage and Gold 05/31/17
Shrimp Can Whistle thumbnail Shrimp Can Whistle "I dream things that never were and say, why not." 03/08/17
Kennedy Socks thumbnail Kennedy Socks Presidents and Camelot 02/20/17
I'm Hanging My Lantern thumbnail I'm Hanging My Lantern For All To See 12/23/16
Accomplishing Things in Life... thumbnail Accomplishing Things in Life... Even Long Shots 12/16/16
We Shall Overcome thumbnail We Shall Overcome A Belief Amid Darkness 07/18/16
I am Don Quixote thumbnail I am Don Quixote But I Am Not from La Mancha 04/15/16
Don Quixote and Albert Einstein thumbnail Don Quixote and Albert Einstein The Two Dreamers 04/04/16
Could I Have This Dance... thumbnail Could I Have This Dance... For the Rest of My Life? 03/11/16
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming About My List of Dulcineas 02/12/16
Do You Have Any Suggestions... thumbnail Do You Have Any Suggestions... On Planning My New Life? 05/18/13
Only Those Who Dare to Fail... thumbnail Only Those Who Dare to Fail... Can Achieve 12/05/16
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us. 07/29/16
Rewriting History thumbnail Rewriting History To Fit Our Notions 04/22/16
Bobby or the Donald thumbnail Bobby or the Donald Picking Mentors 03/14/16
Two Roads in the Wood thumbnail Two Roads in the Wood Choose Wisely 02/26/16
Revitalizing My Brain thumbnail Revitalizing My Brain After Winding Up in ICU 01/25/16
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True 10/19/15
It Is About How You Lead Your Life thumbnail It Is About How You Lead Your Life Start With Refining Words 05/11/15
Dare to Dream thumbnail Dare to Dream Even When Dreams are Delayed 01/09/15
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream thumbnail Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream The Disconnect Between Dreaming and Reality 12/26/14
Serendipity... thumbnail Serendipity... Finding Without Looking 12/12/14
Wolverton Mountain thumbnail Wolverton Mountain The Place Where Dreams Occur 09/26/14
Darkest Before Dawn thumbnail Darkest Before Dawn A Logical Disconnect that Is True 08/15/14
Hang a Lantern on Your Problems... thumbnail "Hang a Lantern on Your Problems..." So All Can See. 04/27/14
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming Instructions from My Cardiologist... 02/14/14
What Makes Me Tick thumbnail What Makes Me Tick Finally, an Explanation 07/12/15
Lawrence of Arabia thumbnail Lawrence of Arabia A Mentor of Mine 10/18/13
Bonhoeffer Crossing The Line thumbnail Bonhoeffer—Crossing the Line... Thank You: Dietrich, Bobby and Barack 11/20/12
Lean on Me thumbnail Lean on Me An Open Letter to My Grandson 11/11/11
Bobby and Barack thumbnail Bobby and Barack Election of Barack Obama 09/28/08