One of the values of the family where I grew up was a belief that people should follow their dreams. If there was something that you wanted to do, you received support from our family to pursue it. We learned that following one’s dreams was not a guarantee of success. Some dreams are more realistic than others. We all have limits and sometimes we come face to face with them. I grew up knowing a story about my parents’ search for a place to establish a flying business after my father was discharged from the army air corps following the Second World War. After serving in California during the war, where my parents were married, he used his GI benefits to go to school in Oklahoma and obtained his airframe and engine mechanics licenses to go with his commercial and instrument pilot’s ratings. Equipped with that training the couple set out to find a place to establish a business. They briefly considered buying an existing operation in Oklahoma, but when they could not obtain financing for such a large move, they decided to find a small town with an airport, but without an established fixed base operator. Since both had family in Montana, they focused their search on Montana and Wyoming, and through a series of trials and errors ended up selecting Big Timber, where they established their business, raised their family, and lived until after my father had passed away.

Although some of my brothers and sisters lived in Big Timber for some of the years of their adult lives, we have all drifted away from that town, most of us out of state. Only one brother remains in Montana and he lives nearly 300 miles from our home town. We were encouraged to discover our own dreams and follow them. One of my sisters moved to Minnesota, back to Montana, then to Missouri, from there to Oregon, from Oregon to Arizona, then back to Oregon, back to Montana and now lives in Oregon once again. Along the way she completed her undergraduate degree, earned a law degree, and has worked as an engineer, a corporate lawyer, a patent attorney a sheep rancher and a bus driver.

I was supported in my desire to attend theological seminary and have followed my passion for serving the church with the full support of my family.

One of my brothers pursued the dream of becoming a rock drummer and although he is an accomplished percussionist, the music business has never been a source of sustenance for him. However, he continues to drum as a hobby and plays with a big band as well as a symphony orchestra on a professional level.

Each of our stories is quite different from the other and none of us took over the family business, although that would have been an option for at least some of us. Looking back, I doubt that it would have been a good choice for any of us, given our particular interests and talents.

Life, however, has not turned out the way I once dreamed it would. When we moved to Chicago to attend theological seminary, I believed that I would return to Montana and serve a congregation there upon graduation. Over the span of more than four decades, I applied to congregations in Montana multiple times and each time was not called to serve that particular church. I served in four other states and enjoyed a wonderful career, but we have only lived in Montana for one of the 51 years we have been married. I wouldn’t describe it as a dream that was shattered, but rather as a life that took different twists and turns than anticipated. I have been happy and fulfilled in my work and we feel very fortunate to be able to live near our son and his family at this phase of our life.

There are other dreams that I once held that I have released in pursuit of different interests. I became a pilot as a teenager and pursued aviation as a hobby off an on during my life. I rented airplanes and we owned an airplane in partnership with others for a while. I flew my family on trips to Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota as well as several destinations in Idaho during those years. However, flying never became high enough of a financial priority for me to safely continue flying and I have found other hobbies and interests that have given my life meaning. I continue to enjoy being around pilots and occasionally flying with others, but have no intention of becoming an active pilot at this stage of my life.

If you had asked me more than 5 years ago, I would have said that driving to Alaska was one of my life goals. I still may make that trip, but I am getting older and have allowed some opportunities to make that trip slip by. We had already decided that this summer was not the right time for us because we have an opportunity to host our daughter and grandson in our home for an extended visit this summer as her husband is deployed overseas. That has turned out to be a wise decision for us for other reasons as well. Right now the alcan highway we would be following is closed due to the Parker Lake fire near Fort Nelson, BC. Even when the roads were open last summer there were large areas where visibility was greatly reduced due to wildfire smoke and the flare up of fires from 2023 in the past week promise an intense wildfire season along the route to Alaska.

Our trip to Alaska may involve a very different route than I originally envisioned. We may end up traveling by ferry or flying up there. There are other ways to see some of the places I want to visit. It is still possible that my life will take me to other destinations. Right now, I am happy to wait and dream and think of new possibilities.

I am learning that not every dream has to come true in order for life to be rich and meaningful. We have made wonderful friends and have had a wonderful life without living in Montana. We will continue to be happy and fulfilled regardless of the places we visit in the years to come. I have no intention of ceasing to follow my dreams, I’m just learning that dreams can change and that change can be rewarding.