Chasing Dreams Sometimes Isn't What We Expect

I just finished watching “The Rookie,” the story of Jim Morris who got a chance to live his dream of being a major league baseball pitcher long after he had given up on that dream.

It is one of my favorite movies and chokes me up every time I see it.

It got me to thinking about my dreams.

I talked about some of that regarding my journalism career in a previous blog.

While I had dreams and aspirations in journalism that may not have been fulfilled as I had envisioned in college, nonetheless I don’t feel that my aspirations were truly unfulfilled. Those dreams were just fulfilled differently than I had perceived as a young man.

I’ve learned that life’s dreams also are not narrow, at least for me.

There have been two constants in my life since I was a child: music and photography.

My love of music started because of my father and my paternal grandmother. I listened to music with both of them and as a result my musical tastes have never been narrow.

Once I learned to play my first instrument I had aspirations to become a first class musician. Those aspirations were put on hold a number of times over the years for various reasons. Still, I never stopped playing, even when it was just in my living room for myself or a few friends.

At the age of 40 an opportunity presented itself that left me with a huge choice. At the time I attended graduate school at American University, pursuing a masters in journalism with the aim of moving into broadcast journalism.

My part-time job was working with a band.

We played primarily on weekends in small clubs and dives. We also played occasionally at festivals.

Richard, the band leader, held greater ambitions for the band.

Before long we played three, four and sometimes five nights a week – the usual 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. gigs typical of bar bands. We began to notice a woman regularly in our audiences. Turns out she was a representative for one of the major talent agencies in our area.

It didn’t take too long and suddenly we had both the major agencies in the area in a bidding war to represent us. And they were already offering us bookings that most bands would kills to get.

Of course, all of this took a toll on me as a student. I remember heading to campus after gigs, working on some of my radio assignments, and spending the rest of the night sleeping on the floor of the production studio.

I’d clean myself up the best I could in the morning in a restroom and then head off to my classes. Between, I’d hit the library for study and research.

It was killing me.

One agency booked a tour for us to play at colleges and in college towns up and down the Atlantic Seaboard.

A decision loomed – stay in graduate school or go on the road with the band. It was not easy.

Yet, earlier ambitions took over and I decided to stay with the band. It certainly was something I wanted to do as a younger man and such an opportunity just might not come along again.

We put out a couple of CDs issued by a small independent label and played five, six, and sometimes seven nights a week.

The band lasted for two years like this until Richard broke his back – he slipped on some icy steps one night while we unloaded equipment and cracked two discs in his lower back. He played like this for awhile but eventually faced the need for real medical attention.

I came back to my home state of California, where I began my computer support career but also continued my musical aspirations. Those aspirations were a bit more tempered by this time. I wasn’t looking for a big time career as a musician. I was happy to be a weekend warrior playing bar gigs up and down the San Francisco Peninsula.

Eventually, I started my own band that performed successfully and regularly for 5 years.

My wife also performed in my band. Eventually both of us grew tired of the late hours of playing in bars. We agreed that the time had come to break up and band.

I have no regrets about breaking up the band – except that I do miss playing with some very good musicians who also became good friends.

What I do believe about it all is that I got to live my dream of becoming a professional musician, no matter how brief. And I also have the satisfaction of having formed one of the best and most popular bar bands on the Peninsula.

Now I’m turning my sights on my photography and developing that art. Last year I won more than a few awards for my photography at the Los Angeles and San Mateo county fairs. This year I’ve entered my work in the California State Fair.

What I have learned over the years is that it is never too late to follow your dreams. You never know where they will lead you.

It is just a matter of embracing them even if they are not what you expected.