As proud as a peacock, I wanted to celebrate my upset victory over the gallant, almost invincible Sir Lancelot. I journeyed back to the future and landed outside a bar in New York City. The bar had an unusual name—Cocktails & Dreams. The year was 1988.

I strutted into the classy lounge and looked for a seat at the L-shaped bar. The room was crowded. One swivel stool was vacant at the far-left end of the bar. I hustled over to stake my claim to the plush, dark-burgundy, velour-covered highchair. Then I tugged at the top of the tufted-back stool, swung it around, and promptly plunked my tired butt down.

About thirty seconds ticked off the pink neon Budweiser® clock, which hung on the far wall. A handsome young bartender (Tom Cruise) was busy serving other customers. He didn’t see me come into the bar and sit down.

“Hey, barkeep! What’s a guy have to do to get a drink around here?” I sternly asked.

The bartender sat a partially filled glass of beer down and leaped toward me as if he’d just been shot out of a cannon. “Welcome to my bar, Cocktails & Dreams! What’ll it be for you today, Sir?”

“My dreams aren’t that big. How about a shrimp cocktail?”

“Coming right up! . . . Here you are, Sir. As you can see by looking around, everybody here is having a good time and feels right at home. This is the bar where your dreams can come true. Dressed in that suit of armor, it appears that your dream may be that of becoming the legendary Sir Lancelot.”

“Young man, bite your tongue before I reach up and whack it off with my sharp-bladed ax! Lancelot should dream about being me!”

“I’m sorry, Sir! I was just trying to make light of your unusual attire. Enjoy yourself and simply nod when you want another drink, okay?”

“Thanks, I’ll do just that!” My shrimp cocktail had a black umbrella-shaped stir-stick floating in it. A moment later, I began daydreaming. I said to myself, “I thought that my dream was to feel and act like a king, but . . .?”

Scenes from One Million Years B.C., my favorite movie, rapidly fast-forwarded through my mind. I tried to visualize myself playing a part in the film. I said to myself, “I dream of dueling with a gigantic dinosaur and other prehistoric reptiles with Excalibur at my side. Those big bad creatures wouldn’t stand a fighting chance!”

Furthermore, I couldn’t forget about the sexy cave woman Loana, played by Raquel Welch. “I dream of swinging from trees with the beautiful Lady Raquel.” I also dreamed of enjoying other recreational activities in the company of the wild, sensual, cave woman!

The late Ted Knight, who played Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, was sitting next to me at the bar. Almost anyone in America would remember that “Ted” was the anchor for “W.J.M. NEWS” in Mary’s popular sitcom. “I’ve always dreamed of being Walter Cronkite,” Ted said, daydreaming.

“I have a dream!” shouted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was sitting to Ted’s right at the bar, “in spirit.” One of Dr. King’s lifelong dreams was to personally witness two black children and two white children walking toward him—all with their arms around one another’s shoulders and true friends, regardless of their respective races.

Homer Simpson was on a stool next to Dr. King. Unable to think of anything specific to dream about, Homer simply sat there with his hands over his eyes. He “wondered” and saw nothing but “blue sky” in his dream.

Off to Homer’s right, Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher) sat back, relaxed, on her bar stool. She was also daydreaming. Lois envisioned herself at the alter with Superman (Dean Cain). “I hope that Superman is going to be as ‘physical’ with me as he has been with everyone else that he’s ever put his hands on,” Lois thought to herself.

Seated beside Lois Lane was Peggy Bundy (actress Katey Sagal from Married . . . With Children). Peggy envisioned herself lying seductively on a bed in a negligee with her husband Al Bundy anxiously looking on. She imagined that he was standing at the foot of the bed and wearing his tight under-shorts. But Al’s head would be attached to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s muscular body. She daydreamed that her husband was beating his chest with his fists and hollering, “Me, Tarzan—you, Jane!”

Al Bundy (actor Ed O’Neill) sat next to Peggy. Al’s dream was similar to Peggy’s, with these exceptions: He envisioned himself lying on the bed in his body, not Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. In his dream, Heather Locklear was seductively standing at the foot of the bed and wearing a scanty negligee. Al imagined Heather saying, “Me, Jane—you, Tarzan!”

At the far end of the bar, Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock in Star Trek) simply said, “This isn’t logical!”

Unable to get Lady Raquel off of my mind, I asked, “Lord, can I really make my dreams come true?”

When God appeared, She immediately said, “Wantsalittle, indeed you can make your dreams come true! And you’re well down the road to realizing your dreams, right now.”

“You’re right, Lord! Sometimes, I forget just how far I’ve come toward achieving my fondest dream, which is to feel and act like a king!”

“That’s okay, Wantsalittle. I realize that you’re mentally caught up, right now, in your long journey and with your dreams—particularly your dream that features the lovely Raquel Welch.”

“There’s just no keeping any secrets from You, is there, God?”

The Lord just winked and giggled and said, “Henry David Thoreau wrote, ‘If you have built your castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. . . . If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endures to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.’ Wantsalittle, whatever are your personal goals and dreams, try to be patient yet persistent. Never give up! Be as determined as a Redbone coonhound in pursuit of your specific goals and dreams. And try to visualize your goals and dreams as if you have already achieved them.”

“How can I achieve my dreams by ‘imaging’?”

“Here’s an old adage: Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Imaging is a powerful method for actualizing your dreams. If you can visualize something hard enough and long enough, you will surely receive it. The more intense the picture—constantly visualizing every detail of what it is that you want most—the faster your subconscious mind will show your conscious mind how to act, enabling you to make the right decisions as you actively pursue your goals and dreams.”

“God, I’m visualizing every splendid curve—e-r-r, I mean every little detail of my dream, right now!”

“Yeah, Wantsalittle, I’ll bet that you are! But be sure to image dreams that relate to your talents and abilities. Otherwise, you may end up chasing dreams that just weren’t meant to come true. In the incredibly moving, inspirational movie Field of Dreams, Dr. Archibald Graham’s childhood dream was to be a major league baseball player. He became a doctor instead, after finally realizing that he was most suited to a medical career. The point: Plan your dreams not just according to your personal interests, but also in harmony with your natural and better abilities.” (Author’s note: The late Burt Lancaster played the part of Dr. Archibald Graham in Field of Dreams.)

“God, I was afraid that you would say something like that. You really know how to take the fun out of dreaming!”

“In her fine book, Inspired By Angels, Sinda Jordan reminded people, ‘The journey that leads to the dream is more important to the growth of the soul than the actual achieving of the goal.’ And James Allen wrote, ‘The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. . . . Dreams are the seedlings of realities.’ Henry Ford was dreaming before he originated the assembly line that led to more affordable automobiles. The Wright brothers were dreaming before they piloted the first airplanes. If you never have a dream, how can your dreams come true?”

“Yeah, God. But so many others, throughout my life, have tried to discourage me from achieving my dreams. Are these people just negative-minded, or are they jealous to some extent?”

“Wantsalittle, they are probably a little bit of both. Always remember that there are two types of people in the world—dream-seekers and dream-stealers. The very best advice that I can give you on the subject of ‘achieving your dreams,’ for now and in the future, is to simply ignore dream-stealers, and allow dream-seekers to encourage you with respect to achieving your personal goals and precious personal dreams.”

God paused momentarily. Then She said, “As you think with the goal of vividly visualizing your dreams, you will assuredly make your dreams come true. Be sure to use imaging. Try to picture your dreams as if you’ve already achieved them.”

“Thanks, Lord! I’ll give it my best shot!” Then God disappeared.

I wanted to travel to prehistoric times—surroundings similar to that which I saw in the film One Million Years B.C. I intended to fulfill my dream of using Excalibur to fight dinosaurs and other monstrous reptiles. Naturally, I also looked forward to meeting up with the likes of Raquel Welch, the alluring cave woman in that movie.

I programmed the time-travel module and pushed the magic green Go button. Suddenly, I landed in what I thought was a prehistoric setting. I glanced around and saw plenty of huge, towering reptiles. And there was the legendary sword! Excalibur was leaning up against a nearby pine tree. I was elated. I danced and I pranced around the Vette in exuberant celebration of my dream come true!

“Thank you, Lord!” I shouted. “With Excalibur at my side, I will go to battle and defeat these mighty beasts. . . . But where’s my Lady Raquel? Something’s afoul! Perhaps, I should concentrate on my primary dream—to feel and act like a king!”

What I did NOT see was a sign posted on a blue-spruce tree, just off to my right. The sign read “Welcome to Jurassic Park / NO HUNTING!” The time and place controls in the Vette had failed me. I had transported myself to Jurassic Park, by mistake. The “sword” turned out to be a movie “prop,” left lying against the pine tree by some forgetful Hollywood stage-worker. So much for my dream about hunting prehistoric creatures and being in the company of the gorgeous Lady Raquel!

(The moral of this episode: Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. “Imaging” can be a powerful tool to help you reach your dreams!)

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