You don
’t hear the term “the American Dream” much anymore. I used to hear it a lot. I looked it up on Wikipedia the other day, and found this:
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family a
nd children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.
The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
There is a medical alert bracelet on my left wrist. Medical alert bracelets are there to notify others of some special condition in the event that the wearer cannot speak for himself. Things like diabetes, allergies, heart conditions, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Mine says:
A cool evening breeze greets me when I step out on to the small balcony. I have taken my wig off so the wind can caress my poor bald head. The horizon is painted in swaths of reds and oranges and yellows, floating above a darkening ocean, the sun almost gone. The only thing standing between me and the dying sun is a narrow stretch of gray sand and an endless sea. I breath in deeply and memories rush in.
