Posted on 07.05.2024
Dreams: Four Years Gone - Soapbox Jr.
“A dream is a wish your heart makes” – Mac David, Al Hoffman & Jerry Livingston from Disney’s “Cinderella”
Dreams are funny things, we dream when we sleep, we dream of things we want to accomplish, or for something we really want, or relationships, success, etc.
But not all dreams are good, some are quite disturbing and startling, and July 6th, 2020, felt like one of those dreams, the “not good” kind.
It’s hard to believe that it will have been four years since Mom called me early that morning to tell me that something was wrong with Dad, and just a few short hours later, he went home to be with the Lord.
It seems like yesterday and it seems like decades ago, but things have never been the same since Dad left us. There was so much emotion, so much that felt unfinished and unsaid, and all this whirlwind of emotion and against the background of a pandemic which at the time seemed like something out of a horror movie.
For weeks and weeks, I had the feeling that this was all just some bad dream, and that soon I would wake up and things would be back as they should be instead of this twisted and warped version of life.
To say we were all shell-shocked was a gross understatement. Fans, friends and employees all felt the loss of Dad, but it goes without saying that Mom and I took the brunt of it.
Once it became obvious that no matter how many times I woke up, this was reality and it wasn’t changing, there was the inevitable thoughts of “What now?”
I lobbied hard to keep a CDB organization going, for one thing, once you form a music publishing company, it doesn’t go away, so someone would need to tend to CDB Music and associated publishing companies under its banner.
Then there was the CDB merchandise, there was still a demand for Dad’s merch, so we kept that going, but I really believed then - and still believe - that more was possible.
Because things were so uncertain and chaotic, I had to put grieving on the back burner, and I imagine I’ll get back to it someday, but it felt like that had to wait, because the future was too unclear. I did, however, find solace in my Soapbox writing which became my grief therapy.
One of my primary dreams has become to help Dad accomplish dreams that he wasn’t able to in his lifetime. I know it may sound odd to say that a man who was 83-years-old, won multiple ACM and CMA awards, a Grammy, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame when he left us had a lot “unfinished,” and I get that from the outside looking in, but Dad always had goals, but maybe some of these are actually dreams that I had for Dad.
I always felt that there was more to be accomplished with Dad’s writing and adapting his stories and story songs to other mediums. I also felt like placement of his music in TV and Film as well as advertising needed to be stepped up. Song placement was something that could have been improved on in Dad’s lifetime.
I’ve always felt that just the line “You never did think that it ever would happen again, In America, did you” and the music would be a great way to feature a product that is made in America, especially one that you wouldn’t normally think of as being an American product.
Advertising is a tricky thing – Dad rejected a substantial offer from Kia to use “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to sell their Soul vehicles - but there is still a lot of untapped potential.
But as far as Dad’s true unfulfilled dreams, I know of a couple of things that stand out. One is something he had been working on for several years, an original book of fiction, but it needs some work to organize it into a proper novel, but that’s a project for when I have more time on my hands.
This one seemed like it might come true at one point, a TV or film adaptation of his heartwarming story, “A Carolina Christmas Carol,” that he wrote back in 1984. He read it every year at our annual Christmas Eve party. A script floated around in the early 1990s, but nothing ever came from it. I have some ideas on how to do it properly for a screenplay, but only very basic ones, I’m hoping to get to that at some point.
The most obvious jewels in the crown of dreams would be big screen adaptations of “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” or “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
So, now many of my dreams build on Dad’s. He was the best man I ever knew, and one of my primary driving dreams is to keep his legacy going for future generations to enjoy, and get to know the man the way he truly was, a Child of God, a patriot, a father, a husband and an extremely talented individual.
In my dreams of keeping his legacy going, I would love to reestablish a Charlie Daniels Museum somewhere in Middle Tennessee – in addition to The Charlie Daniels Gallery in White Lake, NC - somewhere that makes sense without astronomical rent, but someplace that would bring in the fans and tell Dad’s story in a moving and entertaining way.
I also want to finally see a Charlie Daniels documentary film or series.
So, with all the dreams I’ve been talking about, now it’s time to talk about a dream – the sleeping kind - I had a few months ago.
It’s hard to explain, but the basics of it was that Dad came back to us in physical form.
No real explanation as to how, but there was nothing weird or scary about it, it could have been scientific, but I don’t know.
I do remember that we were all aware that he had been gone, but while the how was never really touched on, the reunion was a welcome one, we got to hug each other again, he was back on Twin Pines with Mom, and then got the band (or a version of the band) back together, and he went back to doing what he loved so much, performing and entertaining his fans. It felt like a “happily ever after” ending.
I know it was just a dream, and I know that Dad would not step down from the fullness of love and peace and being in the presence of the Almighty, nor would I ever ask him to.
So how did this dream make me feel? More frustrated that it felt like he was back only to have the rug pulled out from under me again?
No.
I felt a comfort that had been missing since he went home.
Yes, it was just a dream, but I felt more at peace than I had in quite a while, as if it was to let me know that he is still around in spirit, even if he’s not physically present, and that was extremely comforting.
The headaches and stress of life are still there, but sometimes when things get hard, I think back to that dream, and it warms my soul.
And here’s one more interesting aspect of this, I rarely remember my dreams when I wake up, but this one was as vivid as I can ever recall.
I know that was a gift to me, from him or – actually - from Him, but the memories of that wonderful dream is like a little slice of heaven that I will always treasure, until I see him again.
Rest in paradise, Dad. We love you always, and we miss you terribly, thank you for saying hi.
What do you think?
Let’s all make the day count!
Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.
God Bless America!
#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve
#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22
- Charlie Daniels Jr.
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