on the American dream
I want you to think
About the good things …
A glass of bourbon
Rum
Vodka
White wine
Hard sole shoes
A good tie
An old type writer
The smell of books

That feeling you get when you are
Walking in a garden barefoot
When you pay off your first vehicle
Second vehicle
And even your third vehicle
Writing your first novel
Meeting a goal
Standing in a good thunderstorm
Letting it soak you to the bone
And how it’s even better
Sensual
When you share it with someone

Some things are good
In solitude
I’m a fan of solitude
Some things are better
With a co-pilot
I don’t understand
We talked a lot
About the
American dream
Growing up
I think it’s different things to
Each one of us
It’s reaching inside
And understanding
What that language
Your language is
And speaking it
It’s being best man
In your brothers wedding
It’s knowing that failure is not
Permanent
It’s human connection
It’s the high
Not living to check things off
Or to escape
It’s living to share
To give
To read each others story
Understanding
That
It becomes a chapter
In our own
The moment we share it
The moment we kiss
The moment we come over
The moment we leave
The American dream
Is being able to do these things
It’s being able to stumble
It’s being able to fail
It’s being able to correct
It’s that struggle
Personal struggle
But it’s ours

I hope
As you grow
You grow
To support
The arts
The expression
I hope you fight
For human connection
For that spirit
That’s strong
Like a blind man’s eyes
That cold fight
I hope you lean in
And are authentic
When it is easier
To be something else
When I was growing up
The world was vast
And mysterious
We stapled national geographic
To our walls
We spread out maps on the floor
Now it’s on our phone
A skype call
A video chat
A letter
Just remember
No matter what America looks like
Or any nation that you
Make your home
You are a piece of it
You represent it
So be good
Be kind
Be open
Be strong
Have courage
Be fearlessly authentic