An expanse of cleared ground where an involuntary vision occurs to a person when awake

Close your eyes with me for a moment. Wait, that won’t work, then how are you going to read? Alright, relax and clear you mind. Imagine you are a novice farmer who becomes convinced by a mysterious voice that you are supposed to construct a baseball diamond in your corn field. You live in rural Iowa with your significant other and our young daughter. Your deceased father loved baseball, the Chicago White Sox, and Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned from baseball for his part in throwing the 1919 World Series. From what you can remember, your father always seemed "worn down" by life. And sometimes, though your upbeat hippie attitude convinces you otherwise, you feel a little “worn down” too.

While walking through the cornfield one day, you hear a voice whisper, "If you build it, he will come." You imagine a baseball field in our cornfield as if seeing a miraculous vision. Your significant other is skeptical but their free spirit motivates them to tell you to follow our vision. You work on the field for the next couple of days, hoping to find out what will happen. Neighbors stop along the road to watch and heckle as you plow under the corn, the life-blood of your farm. You wait all year to see whatever happens, but nothing happens, leaving you a little dejected. One night the next summer, several deceased ballplayers from the 1919 White Sox team begin practicing and playing on the field. They appear to come from the corn edging the outfield and leave the same way. Soon after, you are told by your brother-in-law that unless you get rid of the baseball field and return it to farmland, you will go bankrupt.

You hear the voice again, which prompts you to contact 1960s author Terence Mann, who had once written about the golden days of baseball. He wrote that as a child he dreamed of playing for the Dodgers on Ebbets Field. You go to Boston to find Terence and bring him to a Red Sox game, which you envisioned in a dream one night. At the game, you see a message on the scoreboard telling you to find a 1920s ballplayer named Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. While taking Terrence home, you come to release that he saw the same message and is prompted to join you on your voyage. All the while you are fielding calls from your significant other about when you will return.

You and Terence travel to Chisholm, Minnesota, Moonlight's hometown, to find him. The first place you check is the office of the local paper, but one of the researchers there tells you he's been dead since 1972. A confused Terence and you return to our motel room, wondering how to find Moonlight. You decide to go out for a walk. During the walk, you discover that you have somehow been transported back in time to 1972. You quickly find Moonlight, who has been working as a doctor since his brief time in the major leagues. When you ask why he left baseball for medicine, Graham answers that he'd rather save lives as a medical doctor than scrounge through the minor leagues again.

When you come back to the real world, you and Terence return to Iowa. On your way, you pick up a young hitchhiker. After a brief discussion of how the man is trying to find a way to play professional baseball, the young man introduces himself as Archie Graham - the young Moonlight. The three of you return to the farm, where Moonlight begins to play with the other ghosts. More baseball players have appeared in your absence, and Moonlight is having a great time playing, while also being razzed by the veteran players about his youth and enthusiasm.

During an argument between you and your brother-in-law, who is forcing you to lease the property before it's too late, your daughter falls off the bleachers. Your daughter appears to be not breathing. Moonlight quickly runs to help, but hesitates to leave the baseball field. He does step off the field, instantly becoming the old doctor you met in Chisholm. Graham recognizes that your daughter is choking, and holding her steady and pounding her on the upper back, caused her to cough up the piece of hot dog that had blocked her airway. You realize that Graham's decision means he cannot return to the field as his younger self, and apologize to the doctor. Moonlight assures you that it's alright, and thanks you for his chance. He walks out into the ball field toward the cornfield, the players now addressing Graham with subdued, respectful voices. Terence and your daughter persuade your brother-in-law that tourists will pay admission to see the magic of this field to bring back memories of the game.

At the end of the day, the players head for the cornstalks in the outfield. Just before vanishing, Shoeless Joe asks Terence if he will come with them. You angrily demand to know why you can't go. Terence persuades you that you have to stay behind to take care of your family. After saying goodbye, Terence walks into the cornstalks and disappears.

Shoeless Joe then tells you, "If you build it, HE will come", and glances toward a player near home plate in catcher's equipment. The player removes his mask, and you recognize your father as a young man. At your significant other’s urging, you introduce your father to his granddaughter, catching yourself before telling her who he is. As your father is heading toward the outfield, to leave with the rest of the players, you ask your father to play catch, finally calling him "Dad", as father and son choke back tears. As you play catch, a long line of cars begin approaching the baseball field - people coming to watch the game.

Most of you should have caught on by now, but if you didn’t…this is the story of the movie “Field of Dreams”. That movie is one of my top five sports movies. I was reading the news online as I usually do and came across something that shocked and surprised me. The property that the movie was filmed on, a farm in Dyersville, Iowa, is up for sale. The 193-acre farm where Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones filmed 1989's "Field of Dreams" has been listed for sale by its owners after over a century of family ownership and the Des Moines Register reports that the asking price for the whole lot is $5.4 million. Real estate agents can often get hyperbolic when talking about a "one-of-a-kind" property, but I don't think anyone will dispute that label on this listing. Sure, it would make for a good-sized mortgage, but it'd also get you the big farmhouse, the baseball diamond that Universal cut out of the corn, a few more farm buildings and about 65,000 tourists a year willing to buy your T-shirts and postcards. Head on over to SellFieldofDreamsMovieSite.com if you want to see all the real particulars (square footage, barn amenities, etc.) and put an offer together before I do.

If there’s ever been a “dream house” in my life, this would be it (no pun intended). I have already solicited funds from my brother and a friend, as well as drawing out plans for my new office…the Global Headquarters of The Elder Statesman. Feel free to email me with donations to the cause and I will be sure to set aside an overnight for you and a guest. Meals will not be included, but the unparalleled Country Junction restaurant is nearby. Entertainment includes sports, baseball mostly, and a vague yet suggestive voice in the sky. US dollars only please.