Austin is a pretty cool town. When I asked a large and lively crowd at Book People, a fine independent store, to give me a definition of the word “dream”, I might have known that they’d talk about something less dozy than sleep.

The first four volunteers offered these statements:

1. A dream is a beginning.
2. A dream is an adventure.
3. A dream is a message from spirit.
4. A dream is a mission.