I read in the Indianapolis Star this week an article about a survey of 13 to 18 year olds describing what the American Dream means to them. Their responses were: having a house, car and a good job (38%), being able to provide for their family (30%), having the career of their dreams (27%), being rich and or famous (20%), owning their own business (7%), being the boss (5%). The math doesn't add up but the responses do. The poll described how the kids felt they could achieve the dream and concluded on an optimistic note that today's teens seem happy and think their future is bright.

It made me sit back and think of the American Dream in my own world today. Certainly Greg Ballard just pulled it off. Wow! What a ride. He is a former lieutenant colonel in the US Marine Corps and comes to the job of Indianapolis Mayor with no political experience. He is an American who helped us protect the American Dream as he went to war.

On a personal note, I just pulled it off as well and again I can say, what a ride! We just celebrated our one year anniversary ( November 4, 2007 ) of the opening of our own business, City Dogs Grocery. In opening this store, I was concerned about the area at 49th and College. It seemed so neglected and tired. All the vitality was going North. 52nd and 54th at College were having a rebirth. I was confident (and still am) that the revitalization will move south. There is much on the drawing board but many delays have occurred. Perhaps our new mayor and his staff will be an asset in getting things rolling in this wonderful neighborhood.

I had dreamed of opening this business two and a half years before finding the right location. I had been a customer of the Dog Food Shop at 56th and Illinois Street since I was a teenager. It had been in business since 1935. I tried to buy that business, but for many reasons, it didn't come together, one being a lost lease. I was heart-broken. I wanted it so bad. But things happen for a reason and I found my place off of College on 49th Street. Then, low and behold, the Paw Patch Animal Hospital moves in, and then the Barking Dog Cafe just down the street. Not to mention Bud's Dog House, the groomer nextdoor to us, who had been there already. It is a canine corridor. The dream came true.

But what I can't forget when I think of the American Dream is the dedicated souls who protect us every day, the ones we call the "real" heroes. These are our police, firefighters, soldiers and their dogs. When we were preparing our store to open, there was a man who was doing some painting. We talked as he painted and I opened boxes of incoming inventory. I learned that his roommate had a search and rescue dog that had worked the 9/11 attack in New York. I wanted so much to meet them. I sent home dog treats. I invited them to attend our grand opening but never heard back. The dog had aged and wasn't doing too well. I think of them often. As a matter of fact, I think of all the dogs that worked that tragic time and I think of all the fabulous handlers that took them on that mission. Those wonderful teams were there to protect our American Dream. Many of those great dogs are no longer living as time has passed and dogs lives are short.

I have discovered an absolutely wonderful book that would make a fabulous gift. I gave it to my husband for his birthday three weeks ago. I ordered it online, sight unseen and just for its title, from Doubleday Book Club. It is called "Dog Heroes of September 11th - A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs. It is by Nona Kilgore Bauer. When it arrived, it took my breath away. It is absolutely beautiful! It is a full-color "coffee table book" with photo after photo that will bring tears to every American's eyes. It shows the dogs working through that terrible rubble and, once again, brings home the intensity of that disaster in Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York. Each dog is shown in a stunning photo with their handler and a biography of each is given. Two from Indiana are featured. I don't know if my painter's dog friend is one of them because we never met.

Thank you to those dogs and those handlers. Thank you also for making my business become a reality of my American Dream.