Dan O’Connor: Musings

If I could rewind and redo this lifetime I would make a few changes. I would stretch out and prolong my childhood. The winter months would need to be warmed up some. The summer days I would savor as long as possible. While I’m creating this fantasy, I would just stay young, free and in love forever!

If I were to have an imaginary friend I would probably call him “Joe.” He would keep me company as we drove around. He would look out my van window and watch the world go by. That would be like my old pal used to do — my Irish Setter, so many years ago. Joe and I could hang out and be good friends through the days, months and years. He would listen to my rambling thoughts and musings and mostly agree. He would not say much at all, just an occasional, “Right you are, Dan.”

Why not have a female imaginary friend, you might ask? Well, it’s very simple. They just yak and argue way too much!

It was 1961 when I came to America. There were two popular TV shows being aired here at that time. There was “Adventures in Paradise” and “Route 66.” Talk about travel, adventure and romance. Boy, was I impressed. Right away I was hooked!

If I had a million dollars, chances are it would change my life some. I might want to live in Tahiti and enjoy the peaceful Polynesian lifestyle. I would watch the pretty girls do the Tahitian hula for the tourists. I would walk the beach in the early morning leaving my footprints in the cool moist sand. I would listen to the seagulls cry, and to the steady beat of the waves slapping the shore. In the evening I would watch the sun set in the far-off horizon as the world turned golden. I would enjoy my golden years.

Maybe I would learn some French. Just enough to get along. I could order my food in the cafes and chat with the locals. I would tell them of the world as I know it beyond their shores. I would mention that they are not missing very much by living in paradise.

For a bit of activity, I would collect beautiful seashells. All the walls of my little cabin would be decorated with them. At night I would sleep peacefully, lulled by the soft sounds of the sea.

If I could rewind and redo this lifetime I would make a few changes. I would stretch out and prolong my childhood. The winter months would need to be warmed up some. The summer days I would savor as long as possible. While I’m creating this fantasy, I would just stay young, free and in love forever!

Sadly though, a lifetime is not like a movie you can cut, splice and edit. You can not recast roles and add in beautiful background music. You can not go back and make it all more dramatic and exciting, except maybe in your imagination.

However, your future is still an unwritten script. There is a fair chance that you and I can break out of fixed ideas and patterns. The future is not all a preordained blueprint of destiny set in concrete — that is, unless you see it as such.

So maybe I’ll go to Singapore or maybe I’ll go to Spain. Perhaps I could explore the Scottish Highlands and listen to the bagpipes play. Then again, the Bahamas are lovely this time of year.

So all right then. I’m the producer. I’m the director of this show. Get ready for lights-camera-action. Just let me touch up this script a bit first. After all, you know I want everything to be really beautiful.

Ain’t that right, Joe?

Dan O’Connor can be reached at danhughoconnor@gmail.com.