George Hahn

This is the Moth Radio Hour.

I'm your host, John Good.

Experts say that we all have several dreams over the course of a night's sleep.

Dreams that we may or may not remember, but what about the dreams that keep us up at night?

The ones we create while awake.

Dreams of hitting the game-winning shot, of landing that job you've wanted since you were 10, or of getting that DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour and going back to the future.

dreams realistic, far-fetched, and beyond our wildest imagination.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of a nation built on the dream of a better life, on the promise of taking the tired and dispossessed, yearning to be free, and showing them the path to a golden door, let's hear some stories about the dreams and the dreamers that make America what it is.

First up is a story from a Grand Slam in Birmingham.

where we partner with public radio station WBHM in Alabama.

Here's Alexis Barton, live at the mall.

That was Alexis Barton.

Alexis is an award-winning journalist and writer based in Birmingham, Alabama.

She is the Moth Birmingham's first StorySlam winner, and I know this because I was blessed to be hosting that night.

Alexis's work has appeared in the Washington Post magazine, Southern Living, and was cited in the Best American Essays 2023.

Early in her story, Alexis said that her dream of being Miss Alabama was delusional.

But I think it was the great philosopher and prophet, Seale, that once said, no, we're never going to survive unless we get a little crazy.

And we're definitely not going to get our hair done for free twice a month for a year without chasing our dreams.

That is for sure.

That is for sure, my friends.