I have a dream

LoHave you ever had a dream?

I did.  My dream was to become a best selling author.  I pictured huge crowds lining up the streets, just waiting hours to finally get my autograph and a short "good luck on the first page of my book.

I wrote my first story at the age of six. It was a ghost story and was so scary that my teacher read it to the class on Halloween.

Why am I telling you this?

I am about to walk into my parents house and crush their dreams.  I have to tell them that now that I have graduated from college, with a bachelors degree in business and finance, I don't want to work in the family business.  

Well I don't honestly know how they are going to receive this bad news, but I do know that being the head of the largesrt department store in the state of Texas is not my idea of happiness and fulfillment.  

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But please allow me to share my story with you; in my own words and you tell me what you think.

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It all started with my great grandfather, Robert Barnett,

Pop-pop, that was what everone called him back then, He was considered the best salesman on fifth avenue.  He had a push cart with every knick knack you could want for your house and would bargain with you until the right price was agreed upon.

If you needed something that he did not have on the cart, he would personally make it his business to find it for you and deliver it to you in record time.

Pop-pop had to work his fingers to the bone because he had three young daughters to feed and a devoted wife.  They had come from Poland and were convinced that they could do very well in America.

Soon after he started his push cart business he realized that his cart was too small to carry all his goods, so he shined his shoes, put on a crisp white shirt and walked into the small bank on the corner.

He walked right up to the manager of the bank and used his best sales pitch to borrow $500 to rent a shop on the avenue where people could come to him directly to buy their goods. He named the business Barnetts and put his daughters to work drawing flyers to invite the shoppers in the neighborhood,  And Pop-pop soon profited from his small store.

Pop-pop loved his three daughers with all the love a father could show, but he also hoped that he would have a son to carry on his name and eventually take over his business when he became too old to run it.  He convinced his wife to try once more to try and bear a son.

One year later, his wife gave birth to a strapping 8-pound baby boy.  He named his son Samuel and promised that when he was too old to run the store, Samuel would become the new owner of his business.

When Samuel grew up his father reminded him that he would become the rightful owner of the store but insisted that his son first go to business school and gain all the knowledge that he would need to run a successful business.

By the time Samuel had graduated business school the small store had grown and took up two floors on a bigger store on the avenue.  Samuel had learned that the store would have to hire more employees to increase the store's growth and so he hired the best sales people, cashiers, bookkeepers and buyers.

Samuel married and had two sons of his own; Mark and Michael (my father).  Samuel made the same offer to his sons and promised that they would take over the family business as well.  They too were sent to business school and were named the CEOs of Barnetts Department Store which was located in over ten major cities of the United States.  The store on the avenue is still open today.

So you see that is where I stand now.  i am the next in line to take over a store that I have no interest in.  So my readers...what would you do?

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I knock on the door of my parents home; a spacious home in Scarsdale, New York.  The home is on a private road, with an indoor/outdoor pool, tennis courts and a heated gazebo.

I can one day own property like this, but I know inside that I would not be happy because my dream is to be a writer.  That is what i plan to be.

My mother answers the door and greets me with the warmest smile.

"Come in, come in,  Dinner is almost ready.  I have prepared your favorite meal and the champagne is sitting on ice, the cork waiting to be popped.

Dad joins us in the dining room and slaps me on the back.

I stand there, silent for a moment,  I take a deep breath, and say "mom, dad…I have a dream….. i have decided not to go into the family business."

My father's face turned a deep red.  I could see the hurt and anger behind his dark blue eyes.

"You know the family history; you know that your great grand father built it up from nothing.  What could you possibly want to do that would make you ignore your wealth."

"I want to write.  I've wanted it since I was six years old.  Its in my heart."

"What makes you think that you would even be successful?

"I have been successful.  Don't you remember the Halloween when I wrote the ghost story?

"Sure I remember.  Your mother and I were very proud of you but we never thought any more of it after that." And you never talked about being a writer either?

"That's because you and mom were always busy.  When I started school I was just going through the motions of taking  classes that I was utterly bored with. Then, in my second year of school I registered for a writing class and knew right then and there that I was truly meant to be a writer."

Well son, I'm truly disappointed.  Your great grandfather would be disappointed.  What do I need to do to convince you to give up this foolishness?"

"Nothing dad,,,where living in a new world, where people can make personal choices.  We can do what we dream."

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I can't tell you that my parents understood why I chose to become a writer.  But I can tell you that I followed my dream and I wrote quite a number of best seller books and my name is well known.

I am a father myself now and encouraged my children to make their own choice when it comes to their decisions.  But sometime I wonder what would have come of my life if I stayed in the family business.