"The American Dream"

         My son, an artist, struggles daily to build his business. He spends his days in a blend of sharpening his skills using a variety of art programs while searching for potential clients. One of his oldest goals, designing art for clothing, started when he was twelve and custom-made t-shirts for friends. A few weeks ago, he stumbled upon a new local business that can meet his needs for placing larger pieces of art onto articles of clothing. Yesterday, he picked up the first order from this company: a t-shirt, two hoodies, and a pair of joggers that carry his logo plus some original art. Before he made it out of the store, he knew he will need to experiment with a wider variety of items see how his concepts will translate onto things like hats, totes and purses.

         With that new goal in mind, we ran to a Wal-Mart across the street from the mall in search of a black cross-shoulder tote that would be perfect for advertising the different patches my son wants to offer. We had no luck, and as we crossed the parking lot to our car, a young man stopped my husband and asked if he had a screwdriver. His battered, older model Ford van wouldn’t start. My husband pulled a small tool kit from the trunk of our car, and the two men began trying to fix the vehicle while my son and I chatted with the woman and her four-year-old daughter. Eventually, my husband pulled our car around to jump their battery, but the van never started. Another passerby suggested that the jumper cables (provided by the van owner) looked pretty old. He volunteered to purchase new cables while inside the store, saying he’d help the family if they were still stranded once he finished his shopping. The van’s owner suggested that we head on our way since we’d already been helping him for so long.

         As we drove out of the parking lot, an even younger man stood near the stop sign, holding a battered HOMELESS cardboard sign in his hands. As we rarely carry cash with us, we only had a few quarters to pass on to him. His eyes filled with gratitude.

         The juxtaposition of dreams and reality punched me in the gut as we sped down the highway. My son’s aspirations to own his own business and support himself through his creativity contrasted sharply to the stranded couple and homeless teen. I found myself wondering about the dreams these other people might have had before Life wore them down.

Copyright 2018 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman