Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I Have a Dream


Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, I Have a Dream, speech is one of the most compelling pieces of writing I've ever read. His vision, strength and conviction drove our nation to change. Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Mr. King in the United States. Since then I have been thinking about dreams.

We all have them, right? Some are big. Some are small. I remember the Wonder Husband looking me straight in the eye a couple of years ago and telling me, "I have a dream. And that dream is to see you driving this car I am going to build just for you. A Grocery Getter. That's what I want to give you."





I almost laughed until I saw the passion in his eyes and heard the truth of his heart in his voice.

Now, you see, at the time I was driving my Mitsubishi 3000GT Twin Turbo Vr4. She's a racy, little, two-seater sports car. Mama likes to drive fast and slam gears. But the problem was that, even though I could lay her back seat down for cargo space, she wasn't really appropriate for a lot of the things I needed to do. Costco runs were a little tight because of the small area. And taking the dogs anywhere was touchy. Not to mention hauling bags of soil and plants home from the nursery.


So, he built me this sleeper of a Chevelle station wagon. No one would expect this old lady in a station wagon to beat them off the line. She has a big motor that satisfies my inner speed demon. Her Flowmaster mufflers growl like a big dog. She is also the perfect mate to the Wonder Husband's El Camino and Buick Skylark. And, I have to admit, that she wonderfully fills the bill for doing household errands. There is a part of me that knows that the Wonder Husband probably felt using the Mitsubishi for schlepping was an act of automotive desecration. Every thing unto heaven has a purpose, and that was not hers.

But the moment he told me his dream I thought, we are so different. My dream is for world peace and unity, food for the hungry, access to affordable health care, bringing love to humanity, the ability to travel at the speed of light and warp through dimensions of time and space. And he dreams of building cars for me.


Who am I to trample a man's dream. Life would be empty and uninspired without them. Build away, Wonder Hubby. Build away.

What are your dreams?

26 comments:

Brian Miller said...

i think his dream is sweet he is chasing his passion and i think it goes well beyond cars. smiles.

Dave King said...

I can understand both types of dream. I guess my major dream is that Doreen - my wife - will somehow find a way of being free from pain. Not very world-shattering, I'm afraid. I had those sorts of dreams in my youth. Not sure what happened to them.

JGH said...

Those cars are pretty dreamy, I'd say. My brother has an old Porsche that he's been working on for about 20 years. He finally got it running last month. It was probably one of the best days of his life!

Reya Mellicker said...

Oh man, what a husband! That car is SWEET and his dreams for you are beautiful.

You can work on world peace, while he gets you back and forth from Costco. What a partnership. You two are a great team. Wow.

Loved that line about mama driving fast and slamming gears, oh yeah!!

CiCi said...

Those are three sharp cars you and Wonder Husband own. Pretty awesome. Is the Chevelle a five speed? What a wonderful husband to look you in the eye and speak to you of something he was going to do for you out of love.

Unseen India Tours said...

Very nice post on Dreams !! Will be back !! Nice

Ronda Laveen said...

Brian: You little romantic! I hadn't thought about it that way. Now I really love the Wonder Hubby...and you!

Dave: I think your dream of having anyone, especially your beloved, be without pain IS world-shattering. That is a huge task and undertaking. I work with people in pain day in and day out. To live like that would be very, very hard. I will send Doreen a lot of healing energy.

JGH: I can understand your brother's joy. 20 years is a long time to work on a car. Sometimes it takes that long and more to get the money, the parts and the time to put it together. The Wonder Hubby has put some cars together in a year and some he's had for nearly 30 and is still puttering with them.

Dorraine said...

Well, no surprise you call him wonder hubby! That is one slick car. And I can see you in it, you little speed demon. I think it's really touching that he wanted to do that for you.

Dreams are dreams are dreams. Some may seem bigger than others but I would guess the universe doesn't discriminate.

And the hot car's color...ah, cha, cha!

Ronda Laveen said...

Reya: When you put it like that, is see that together we make a well rounded, grounded couple. Hmmm, sometimes outsiders points of view give a clearer picture than one gets when in the center of a relationship. Thank you, soul sistah!

TechnoBabe: The Chevelle is a 4-speed. I about fell over when the hubby looked me in the eye and spoke so passionately. You see, the Wonder Husband is a man of many cars and few words.

Unseen Raj: Welcome to the Wonderland. Please do come back for another visit. I'll stop by your blog and return the favor.

Ronda Laveen said...

Dorraine: It was touching wasn't it? Wow! You are right, the universe probably doesn't discriminate based on the size of the dream. Dreams are as infinte as the universe(s).

Yes, I love the color. Can you tell the Wonder Hubby likes blue?

Bill Lisleman said...

nice pictures - Those cars take me back to that younger time of my life - sweet.
If you are into racing check out a recent post
mr. sunday
thanks and don't miss any gears.

Kate Hanley said...

Great post. All dreams make the world go round because dreams make us happy especially when we are working on fufilling them and when we're happy, world peace seem achievable - one smile at a time. Dream on!

Baino said...

Awww that's so romantic in a practical kind of way. He has the thrill of restoring the old girl (the car, not you!) I'm sure there's room for a new blue car and world peace dreams there. I dream of a time when money is no obstacle and I can physically work to help someone rather than just pull in a paycheck.

Ronda Laveen said...

lisleman: Welcome to the Wonderland. Glad you enjoyed seeing a few of the Wonder Hubby's cars. I often think he still lives in back in those days. Mr. Sunday was a great post!

Kate: I really live what you wrote about achieving world peace one smile at a time.

Baino: You summed up the Wonder Hubby perfectly...practical...which makes him stable and reliable. I wish he could restore this old girl. Wait...I think I did see some Bondo out in the shop and that crease between my brows is getting quite deep.

Megan said...

Very Cool. I'm glad that when I come visit I won't have to worry about the amount of luggage!

Right now I'm dreaming about the arrival of my tax refund.

Ronda Laveen said...

Megan: ahh... you must be on your lunch hour. No, no worries about too much luggage when you come to visit. The Grocery Getter Limo has plenty of room. Tax refund? Your's is already coming? Wow!

DUTA said...

You and your husband seem to complement each other perfectly.

He dreams of practical things whereas you dream of things unattainable such as world peace. I'm more in the line of your hubby - my dreams are close to reality.

Mike said...

That is pure talent right there! He did a phenomenal job on that car! OMG that was beautiful.

Ronda Laveen said...

DUTA: We do seem to balance each other don't we? I like practical people:-)

Otin: I'm glad you enjoyed seeing some of the Wonder Husband's work. It seem like all he thinks about is cars...unless it is golf or that other thing you guys always think about.

Stacy Post said...

That is a rocking, wicked-cool vehicle Ronda! Talk about a grocery getter! Watch out ladies, Ronda's in the house...er, the car!

Sometimes we can't understand other people's dreams until we see the finished product. You are one lucky lady. Does the Wonder Husband restore old trucks?

Restoring an old truck is on my bucket list, believe it or not.

Dreams are fuel for the mind. I'd be lost without them.

Ronda Laveen said...

Stacy: When I do my grocery shopping I have to wipe the box boy/girl's drool off of G.G. I never thought a station wagon could be cool but it truly is a show stopper.

No, the Wonder Hubby hasn't done pickups yet for himself. He has, however done many custom restorations for his customers. Nice one for you bucket list. Dreams are fuel for the mind...I love that concept.

Anonymous said...

I think that is a pretty amazing dream for him to have... sure we all want the 'big' things but ut all starts at home right? i think you are a lucky woman.

Mrsupole said...

Wonder Husband really likes blue. Those are some cool cars. I think he knows that you like blue too. You two are a match made in hot car heaven and station wagons rock.

I love the wiping off of the drool when they see your blue wagon. And it is a good thing that I do not have a station wagon when I shop at Costco, just imagine I could load up two carts instead of just one. You are truly blessed that Wonder Husband loves you so much. Just be careful with the speeding thingy though, safety comes first.

God bless.

Ronda Laveen said...

Eternally Distracted: you are so right about everything starting from home and small things.

Sherry:You are very observant! I like blue as much as the Wonder Husband. I know how much you go to Costco and I'll bet you could gill up two carts.

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

What a good guy! I like him! I personally would NOT mind driving an El Camino! Always fond of them.

Honestly Ronda? I am with you on the world peace and being rid of world hunger...but for now, I just REALLY want to help in SOME WAY the Haitian people.

Ronda Laveen said...

Jill: I think helping the Haitian people is a beautiful dream and I'm there with you.