Imagine riding a bicycle from town to town and city to city with all you own to your name within your grasp.
That's right - all your worldly possessions, packed in a cart, including food and drink.
I recently spoke to such a man, as he took a rest in a shady area of a parking lot off the Augusta Highway in Thomson.
Extending my right hand to him and introducing myself as a newspaper reporter, I asked him if he'd mind my asking a couple of questions. The first one, obviously, was whether he was traveling very far.
He said his name was Sherwood Hunter and that he'd been across the country once and headed back a second time around.
Mr. Hunter was both friendly and intelligent.
Something about him was so down to earth.
His reason for riding his bicycle across country was because he wants to fulfill a dream - a dream of someday participating in the Tour De France and winning it.
Nothing wrong, I suppose with his dream - even if it is a long shot or next to impossible.
Most of us have dreams. And sometimes those dreams aren't very realistic either. Some of us dream of winning the lottery, for example and what we'd do with all the money we won.
So for those of us who have that particular dream, it too, is a long shot, if not impossible.
There are many other dreams that we tuck in the back of our minds. Some we share. Some we don't.
The reasons why are varied. Not because they are bad. But because we don't want anyone thinking of us as weird or nutty.
All of us are strange sometimes - some more than others, though.
Nothing is wrong with Mr. Hunter's dream - the same as nothing is wrong about winning the lottery. It's just that we have to know how to put those dreams into perspective.
In other words, how will we handle the situation if our dreams don't come true?
Readily I admit, mine may not come true. But I still can dream it. For my dream is mine - something that belongs to me and nobody else.
I've heard people say, countless times, through the years that their dreams are what keeps them going from day to day.
So, in the case of Mr. Hunter, such is certainly true.
That's why he peddles a bicycle everyday. He has to build his stamina to a level never before reached, if he is to be prepared physically for the challenges that possibly await him.
Again, there's nothing wrong with dreams.
My biggest dream is to see the world a better place tomorrow than it was today.
