Dreams, Schemes, and Everythings

"Dreams, schemes, and everythings fill the dusty corners of your mind." -Paul Weller

During the recent Christmas holiday, my family and I were back in Virginia and I was reminded of the above song lyric while shopping for hockey equipment. The store I was in named, Total Hockey is the kind of place my friend, Chris Nystrom and I envisioned. We spent a lot of time discussing an establishment like Total Hockey while playing Sega Hockey in college or devouring countless chips and salsa at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Casa Grande in our hometown of Richmond, VA, where we would meet up for dinner every Thursday evening when we were just out of college. Total Hockey is what we had in mind, wall to wall hockey! TV's all over the store playing hockey. A mini rink in the store for people to take shots to sample sticks. A goalie technician to help people purchasing goalie equipment. Movies to buy, classics such as Slapshot and soon to be classics such as Red Army (A recent very good movie about former Soviet players trying to make it to the NHL and the draconian system and conditions under which they played in the Soviet Union). I would have stayed for hours, but El and the boys were waiting for me in the car. I perused, tried on, and sampled gear in the limited amount of time that I had. And, the more I walked the aisles, something unexpected happened, the more melancholy I became. I was thinking, "Total Hockey was a dream Chris and I had that never became reality."

I couldn't believe it, but I actually started feeling sad, really sad! Sad that we didn't realize our dream while I was shopping in a store and about to give money to proprietors who did! It can be demoralizing when you witness someone else living out your dream. It got me thinking of my dreams past and present. Then, I thought of a quote by former NFL coach, Herman Edwards, "A goal without a plan is a wish!" What are my current goals? They are ever changing. Here are some that immediately come to mind: Raising children who become adults that are productive members of society, visiting all 7 continents (I've visited 6), getting a book published, running another marathon. More importantly, what are my plans for achieving the above mentioned goals? What are your goals and what are your plans for achieving them? As I was leaving Total Hockey, I was reminded of one of Chris' favorite quotes by the musician, Taj Mahal, "Dream your life. Live your dreams!"