On the train back to New Jersey that day I met Peter, a science teacher in a New Jersey school. He sat next to me and took out an e-book reader. I told him about my book and asked him what he thought of my proposed title. Would he pick up a book with the title “Heart’s Desire: A Journey to Find the New American Dream”?
He thought he might look at the flap or back cover to learn more about what the book covered.
“Is ‘Heart’s Desire’ too feminine? Would men shy away from it?”
“Could be. How about ‘New Horizons’ or ‘Quest’? But I’m a teacher, I let students come up with it, I’ll leave it to you, the writer.”
I asked him how he defined the American dream. “To raise a happy and healthy family, with enough money to enjoy life.” I asked if his definition had changed.
“Growing up, we think it’s a given, that we’ll make all our dreams come true. But very few people actually do. What’s changed for me is learning how much hard work is involved in trying to procure your own American dream.”
He said investment bankers were most likely to make their American dream come true in today’s economy; but if you watch them, many of them seem to be squandering their money.
“Some of them are living the dream and don’t recognize it – they don’t appreciate what they have,” Peter said.
And then there are others, like the teacher in “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” who feel they are a failure simply because they don’t realize the influence they’ve had. “Maybe the dream is closer than we think,” Peter said.
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