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My Dream Job Journal 02/12/08
Sending my essay to AARP for the Dream Job Contest was like sending a message in a bottle. Though I had great expectations of what might happen, I prepared myself for a more realistic outcome. Then, a few weeks later, I came home from work, and there was a message on the answering machine from AARP. My wife and I stared at each other in disbelief. I was a semi-finalist; someone had found my bottle.
This was good news, and good news is something the people who live in our small Gulf Coast town hadn’t heard for awhile. Marci, from AARP, told me an hour-long conference call would bring together me in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, her in Washington D.C., and Bob, a career and business consultant, in Boston. I’m a low-tech person, just saying "conference call" makes me nervous, but these were the rules of engagement and there was no way I was turning back now.
They called on a Saturday at noon. I’d been up for hours taking notes, responding to possible questions, pacing back and forth. My wife abandoned ship about 10:30, one too many "what time is its" I guess. When the phone rang, I thought of those Turner classic films where the condemned man watches as the sheriff gets the call from the governer. The sheriff hangs up, assumes a grim expression, and shakes his head. The condemned man shifts his feet, his eyes once again grow dark and empty.
But my phone call was anything but daunting; instead, it reminded me of Dorothy’s colorful transition from Kansas to Oz. Marci and Bob and I talked for an hour, but it seemed like ten minutes. They were upbeat and supportive, and, most important, they got it. I could feel the excitement in their voices, and sense the time they’d spent considering my dream job by their suggestions and comments. They had more calls to make, and twelve semi-finalists would have to be narrowed down to six, so the governor might stil be calling. Yet, even so, my spirits were lifted. Not only had my bottle been found, two people had taken the time to reach in and take out the message, read it carefully, and immerse themselves in what it said. That was exciting.
All of this happened weeks ago. Since then I have learned that I am indeed one of the winners, and I can only feel gratitude for my good fortune. Also, I again endured and enjoyed a conference call; this one with the other six winners. It’s an amazing group, each one with a dream and a plan and a commitment to help others. I know my quest to achieve my dream job--creating a community-oriented movie theater in a small town battered by Hurricane Katrina--will be bolstered by Marci and Bob, my fellow finalists, and AARP. By this time next year, with their advice and support, Bay St. Louis will have a movie theater it can call its own.
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