“I like the English. They have the most rigid code of immorality in the world.“
~Malcolm Bradbury

I’m nut sure exactly when I became friends with Dave Fowler.  Truth is, I didn’t realize that he wasn’t Dave Wright (Blogger Dad) for the longest time.  One day, after a particularly long sequence of emails, I realized something was wrong.  “This guy used to be a reporter?”  I thought.  He can’t even spell.  At that moment I realized I’d been talking to a different Dave, one who lived on the other side of the pond where they don’t love the letter Z and, by all accounts, feast on some truly dreadful dishes.  It was an a-ha moment, a thousand cheerios! and blimeys! bloomed into clarity.

But not really.

Actually, Dave’s been here since the beginning.  He’s been reading Writer Dad since words were bouncing against the walls of a mostly empty blog.  My favorite thing about Dave is that, though he left the force to be a stay at home dad, he maintains the voice of an officer (even though he was an English bobby who preferred scones to donuts and wasn’t allowed to carry a gun like a real man).  Dave is always willing to step into a situation with articulate authority, and express what he feels is right.  Sometimes with humor, other times with carefully crafted words, but always with honor.  Dave Fowler is a jolly good man and, indubitably, a Blogger I Heart.

Here’s Jeeves:

Dare To Dream

I am a chronic daydreamer.

I’ve been a daydreamer all my life, and will remain so until I close my eyes forever.

As a child I was constantly criticised for my wandering mind.

Whilst my body was in the classroom, my mind was often absent; engaged in another, far more interesting world.

Without a doubt, daydreaming held me back; at least as far as my formal
education was concerned. I simply didn’t learn half of what was taught.  In fact, I never even heard it.

I sometimes wonder what I might have become had I not been so distracted by my wandering thoughts. I’ll never know for sure, but one thing I do know…. I was born to ponder.

I love to think, and I love the random thoughts that float about my mind. My favourite thoughts are those that pull me into a dreamlike state, then coalesce to tell a story.

It is never the sort of narrative that could become a novel, or even a children’s book, rather it is a simple story about my life; my future to be more precise.

It’s a beautiful moment; detached from reality, and immersed in a daydream.

It feels real. I see the sights, hear the sounds, smell the scents, and feel the emotions.

Once the dream has finished, it feels as though it’s actually happened, and my mind lingers with the aftertaste of a memory.

I used to fight my daydreams to stave off the constant bombardment of criticism, but I’ve come to realise the inherent power in these flights of fancy. I now believe my ability to daydream is a treasure in my life, rather than the curse it was at school.

I realise that nearly everything I’ve achieved in my life has been the product of a dream developed.

When I first met the woman who would later become my wife, I used to dream about what I would say the next time I saw her. I used to dream about how we’d fall in love, how I’d propose, and how we’d live happily ever after.

I’ve fostered daydreams about my cars, my career, my house, my interests, and pretty much everything else that make up the minutes of my days.

I’ve found this to be an incredibly powerful mechanism for achieving those things I long for most.

Prior to my revelation, I’d read much about goal setting and achieving success in life through identifying key steps, setting deadlines and then writing them down. I’m sure it works for a great many people, but I am not one of them.

My goals just ended up being another list of “things to do.”  Unfortunately for me, previous experience proved me a repeated offender of ignoring such lists.

But a story …. a story pulls me in and commands my attention; transports me from one reality to another.  A different atmosphere, where anything is possible.

I can be the hero of the story, or simply observe from a short distance away. Either way, I’m still involved.

The fable of my future – born of my daydreams – captivates and excites me like little else.  I am compelled to chase those dreams.

Within the last year, I’ve dreamt outrageous dreams of leaving my job and living a new, more rewarding life. I’ve also dreamt of earning a living by creating things of value, and then inserting them into my own agenda.

The first part of my dream has already come true.  I have absolutely no doubt that the rest of the dream will also come to be a reality.

In fact, it’s already starting to happen.

I urge you – dare to dream – about what’s possible.  Buy into the story you create for yourself, then fulfill it with happiness and success.

You can find Dave speaking Constapateze here.  It’s fun to read his blog while imagining the many funny faces that English people make while speaking.