To sleep, perchance to dream

"To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub!" Borrowing line from Shakespeare's “Hamlet,” I also awoke from a poignant dream. Maybe you know what the symbolism might mean.

I dreamt that I was part of a small community. A place where the natural beauty would rival the beauty of any earthly place. A community where people lived and worked at a more leisurely pace. Everyone seemed truly happy to be part of this community and people would look one another in the eye and say something like, "hello" or “good morning" and smile … whether you knew them or not. People held the door open for one another without thought to gender or station in life. People waved to one another as they passed on the road. It made no difference if you knew one another, or not. It is just how things were done in this beautiful community. You see, this tiny, beautiful community was known as "The Friendliest Town in Idaho."

The citizens here were involved and devoted to this lifestyle. People gave freely of their time helping with organizations like 4-H, Scouting, FFA, the Restorium, or Friends of the Library. Our youth were being guided by caring, unselfish adults willing to share their time and knowledge. Their library had been honored by being named “The Best Small-Town Library in America.” Citizens who volunteered their time or ran for civic office, did it as a service to this special community, not to promote some personal-political agenda.

Citizens of this community considered careers in elementary education, or as a first responder, to be positions of honor. Other people appreciated the fact that some of its citizens were willing to devote their lives to the safety or betterment of the lives of its most vulnerable … they were not viewed as agents of some "deep state" conspiracy.

People there consistently showed up to support their schools. They felt it was their duty to ensure these institutions were able to provide a well-rounded education that not only taught reading and math but included sports, art, ag education, robotics, and other curricular studies. These same folks would never consider allowing their babies attend a school that would be condemned as unsafe or hazardous. If this meant spending a little money to benefit the next generation, well, this is part of being a member in a civilized community. Isn't it?

The inhabitants lived with the "Golden Rule" as their guiding principle. It mattered not if you understood where this philosophy came from, just be good to others and expect that they will respond in kind. Funny, you didn't have to attend any one special Saturday or Sunday meeting to understand this was the way life was supposed to be lived.

It seemed that, in my dream, people were happy to live amidst such beauty, and respect for one another was granted, not contrived, bought or bullied. What a dream. Suppose such a place truly exists?

J.R. SANDERS

Bonners Ferry