Five O'Clock Somewhere

Welcome to Five O'Clock Somewhere, where it doesn't matter what time zone you're in; it's five o'clock somewhere. We'll look at rural life, especially as it happens in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, cats, sailing (particularly Etchells racing yachts), and bits of grammar and Victorian poetry.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

On Wisconsin?

Yeah, it’s literally a life-long dream. But why?

Every once in a while I run into some life-management something-or-other or otherwise supposedly positive motivational exercise that, for whatever reason, I can’t avoid. These are often silly optimism-boosting, feel-good-about-yourself activities or assessments that are supposed to make me a better, and therefore more productive, person by making me feel good about myself. Like “Don’t worry, be happy” is going to make all of my troubles disappear. Give me a break.

Often on these tests, there is a question about where I’ve always dreamed of traveling, and why. The thing is, I’m sure the quizzes are interested in daydreams, places I’ve consciously wished to visit. The hitch is that I have literally been dreaming of visiting a place, but it’s not a conscious choice – it’s not a daydream, but something that has been recurring in my night dreams since I was a child. If I answer the actual question on the quiz, I have to say I have been dreaming of going to Wisconsin.

It started when I was about 12. I had a dream that I piled everything I owned, including the family cat, into the family’s small car, and I took off driving for Wisconsin. I haven’t the foggiest notion why. I didn’t know anything at all about Wisconsin at the time, and I still don’t know all that much, except that I like the Packers, and I have a friend who has vacationed there and showed me some beautiful photos.

Since that first time, I have had the same dream over and over again, every few months. It updates itself, in that it always reflects the car and cat (or cats) I have at the time, but otherwise, it’s unchanged. I take off driving to Wisconsin, but I never get there. Usually I’m somewhere in the vicinity of Omaha when I wake up.

I just can’t figure it out – why Wisconsin? I don’t have any family ties there; my dad’s family came from Ireland and Germany by way of Ohio, and my mom’s parents were from Arkansas and New Orleans. But still, I keep dreaming of going to Wisconsin.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are probably one of the very few people who can actually say you have been dreaming of going to Wisconsin since you were a child. I bet most 12 year-olds in Wisconsin dream regularly about leaving.

Sat Jan 06, 04:58:00 AM MST  

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