Dreaming Out Loud

If you haven't yet heard about a woman named Susan Boyle, you will. She is a 47-year-old woman from a town near Bathgate, Scotland who recently sang for a panel of judges on the British version of American Idol, Britain's Got Talent. The video of her performance has, at last count, over 12 million hits on YouTube.

Most popular reaction to seeing Susan Boyle has concentrated on what is perceived as a disconnect between her voice and her personal appearance; as if the plain brown wrapper conceals nothing more than other equally ordinary attributes. That is, to be fair, part of the astonishment. We are so used to living in a world where "to seem" is so much more important than it is "to be," we are suspicious of the very quality that brought Susan Boyle to stand up on stage in front of hundreds of strangers (and Simon Cowell) and take her life in her own hands - passion.

Boyle sings a song from the Broadway hit Les Misérables, "I Dreamed a Dream." In the play, it is sung by Fantine, who, after being abandoned by her lover, gives birth to her daughter, Cosette. Fantine is wrongly fired from her job and forced into prostitution in order to support herself and her daughter. Fantine sings about the wretchedness of her condition:

I Dreamed a Dream

There was a time when men were kind

When their voices were soft

And their words inviting

There was a time when love was blind

And the world was a song

And the song was exciting

There was a time

Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by

When hope was high

And life worth living

I dreamed that love would never die

I dreamed that God would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid

And dreams were made and used and wasted

There was no ransom to be paid

No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night

With their voices soft as thunder

As they tear your hope apart

And they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side

He filled my days with endless wonder

He took my childhood in his stride

But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me

That we will live the years together

But there are dreams that cannot be

And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

This song is important to Boyle. She also dreamed a dream in time gone by - she has wanted to be a professional singer since she was 12 years old. She is the youngest of nine children, and until recently lived with her mother, who died about a year ago. She is what used to be called a spinster, an old maid. Her sole companion these days is her cat.

When you watch the video, you will see the entrenched cynicism and skepticism of the audience and the judges literally melt away as soon as Boyle begins to sing. They cannot believe what they are seeing - and hearing. But they quickly begin to believe. They want to believe. Their belief turns to guarded hope - that Boyle will hit the high notes - and their hopes are rewarded. She does it! The crowd goes wild! Yes!

The judges are shocked, surprised, amazed! But Boyle knew she could do it. She knew she had the power within herself. She has kept her dream alive. She has decided that life will not kill it, that there is still time for her dream to come true. She took her dream out of her small town, and brought it to the world stage. Susan Boyle has the courage to dream her dream in the daylight, for all to witness.

And that is what is so inspiring.

Watch Susan Boyle.

And then decide. What is your dream? How will you live it?

The Sound of Joy

This is my kind of performance art:



Life imitates art:

Sunday in the Prairie with Wiley

John James Audubon, Meadowlark, 1832

Since we moved out here in the summer of 2007, and I first heard the sounds, I have been trying to record the call of the Western Meadowlark. It is one of the most beautiful bird songs I've ever heard. I got my opportunity a couple of weekends ago. I also encountered a wee bit more wildlife than I originally intended.

The Meadowlark's song travels a great distance over the open prairie, and at first I had difficulty locating the source. I finally narrowed it down to a bare tree about 100 feet from where I was standing; the bird was sitting, warbling away, on a dead branch. As I was zooming in on it, I heard a rustling in the dried cattails to my right. Knowing what might be making the noises, I stopped in my tracks. I turned slowly toward the sound, and saw this guy.


As you can see, it is running away from me. That's what any wiley wild creature should do. I was not afraid of it, but it was good to know that it was afraid of me.

This bit of open space is adjacent to a golf course, however. Guess what some golfers had been doing with the coyotes?

Feeding them.

This causes the coyote to lose its fear of humans. It also causes it to approach them, in hopes of obtaining a little morsel of something. It also causes them to bite the hand of the human when nothing is forthcoming. That has happened on this very spot. A coyote snapped at a young boy who was snowboarding in this area (he was not seriously injured).

I knew what to do should the coyote approach me, and was prepared to make myself as big and as loud as possible. Most everybody out here knows this, or learns it, as soon as they move here from somewhere else.

I have no idea where golfers are from...

Anyhow, cue the video, and enjoy the luscious sounds of the meadowlark.