You may have seen here in the past I'm writing a book.  Three to be exact.  One is Mantrap. It's autobiographical.   I've come to realize that I need to offer the reader in that story some background.  I've been writing the back story for some time.  I'd like to share an excerpt of it.  I may share more. 

There is a reason for this too.  If you are a reader of my blog.  I've always asked you to visit my sponsors.  Well in this case I don't request that at all.  I want you to PLEASE leave comments.  I want your feedback, I don't care what it is, just offer your thoughts. 

What is Mantrap about?  It's a story of a man whom for all his apparent street smarts is used by a foreigner for the soul purpose of having an baby and leaving him.  Due to possible legal concerns that could arise from this, Mantrap will most likely have all the names and locations changed.

So with that I offer you this small excerpt from the chapter, "Younger Days" chronicling a time in my life:

Yeah my list of hundreds of girlfriends was in fact mostly a list of girl friends.  I was famous for wasting my time talking to really beautiful girls that really only needed to talk to me about music and innocuous things but never to date.  What guy hasn’t gone through this experience?  I’d say half my list of girls were those that put me in the friend zone and I was too stupid to realize I was never breaking through.

In terms of male relationships, I had a few buddies.  I wasn’t blessed with wit and the lack of guy friends in my earlier youth meant I wasn’t entirely in the know of how to manage friendships.   For instance in my  Sophomore year of school I met Dana.  This guy was an oddball.  Everyone thought he was cool by his ability to make them laugh.  He had a charisma that made him excel at using people for his own gain. This took time to evolve so early on I was his sounding board.  So I thought I was lucky when we became a duo of sorts.  He latched onto my odd interests and I was glad to have a friend.  My kick was the spy lifestyle.  I was into spies and detectives.  Not  the hokey James Bond of the 70’s through 90’s but the throwback spy. 

For me spies and detectives were the ultimate in what men could be.  It required you to be utterly self-assured of whom you were because the world around you could never know who was on the inside. 

To say a spy is a man that lives a double life is too easy.  Sure a man such is this is a cool loner.  Sure he is alone too, but a spy lives an isolated life by choice; in order to be free of confusion.  Regardless of their setting they could be in a crowd but alone in their mind.  That isolated individuality allows them to focus on seeing the world around them on a deeper level.  They could be married and their wife wouldn’t even know them.  Every word uttered by a spy is meant to protect him, his double speak keeps him safe from harm while communicating.  The lexicon of a spy is fueled by shrewd  intellect.    

Hollywood rarely captures the true essence of a spy.  These men live the greatest life of sacrifice, they do what they do for money and their country and if they are caught behind enemy lines, they are lost in time because their own country will deny they exist.   Ultimately the cool loner lifestyle has little if any appeal outside of a movie or book.  The real men living these lives are stoic.  Somehow nature programmed them to be unfeeling and without the same need for human companionship they rest of us enjoy.  

While in my opinion the hardest job in the world is that of a spy, there is also the cold hearted view detectives take on the world.  Similarly to a spy, these men are no nonsense.  Of course they have seen it all; in fact they also see things everyone else overlooks.  Oh yes, they ‘see’ it all.  A detective won’t look at a woman, he’ll hear her words.  Not just the words she says but the force of those words.  He knows if she believes in her words.     Detectives will watch you cross the room and see the power in your step, your confidence or lack thereof. 

These are the men I admired at age 16 and Dana appreciated my perspective and began to share ...    more »

I had an argument once with a lover.  I have to tell you she was the first woman in years to provoke me into telling her what I thought of her.  Not how I viewed her on a whole but those little idiosyncrasies that if you mentioned, would hurt their feelings.   You know... those little things that annoy you about the person you are with, but you just don't say.  You find yourself just eating resentment for the sake of a safe relationship.   Well during what appeared a permanent break up  she broke me down or I just didn't care...  I let her have it.  Verbally.  I told her most every little thing that was wrong with her. Let also repeat, she provoked me.  Was I wrong to react? Absolutely but I should also be understood that I didn't draw first blood. It was her that said some ugly things meant to be cruel and inflict emotional pain.  One could argue that what is good enough for the goose is good enough for the gander.   (What's good for a girl is good for a boy).

In retrospect I think, why her?  We all have break ups.  Ninety-Nine Percent of mine are amicable.  Why then with the few others I've had unflattering break-ups with  had I chosen this one woman to insult?  To be dead honest, the reason I came to accept it,  is that in some of those break-ups I was the one being dumped.  I was the one that deserved better than to be insulted on the way out and instead of reacting, I responded without counter-attacking. I walked away without uttering a negative word.  But on the occasion I'm speaking of I lost some self-respect.   It was only so long that I could be a 'nice' guy before I finally cracked.  She was the unfortunate recipient of my ire.  Having said this, I could been more venomous with my words.  I  was restrained, but for all my restraint I'm left with this one fact.  I can't take those words back.  I believe I said them because I felt I wouldn't have to reconsider my words.   Still, I didn't need to worry in the past either yet I kept my trap shut.  

Of course in today's world, women don't fight fair either.  You can hold the winning hand of righteousness but proclaim it and they'll fight dirty for the sake of winning. It almost makes no sense.  I think that's another reason I'm motivated to just know what I know and leave unscathed.   Before I was married, I dated a girl that I caught cheating.  My friend called me from the restaurant telling me I should come see for myself.  When I did, I sat down and said, "Did I catch you at a bad time?"  Her reaction?  Days later she started calling the police accusing me of harassing her.   So even in the right you can find yourself being screwed over.  Better to just move on with the knowledge of being right. So if you women readers think men don't get their fair share of nut-jobs and stalkers... wrong.  I think another reason was I've seen men get run over by game playing and once again I let myself react as I felt like it was time a guy didn't just 'take it'.

I don't know how it is for all men.  I can only speak for myself but I'm not the type to argue.  If you piss me off, I'll   more »

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I tweeted my son was voted class representative and is running for student body Vice President.  He's in middle school.  He earned his votes for representative with platform ideas he thought of well in advance as he encountered them in his previous school year.  This is a new school, he'd have to learn the agenda of the new culture he is in to really be successful.

On the third of school he unwittingly came across a platform idea specific to the school. 

This new school is "really strict".  He enjoys the structure but like all kids, wants some wiggle room and opportunities to be responsible.  One of the strict rules which the kids have not embraced is that no one can go to the bathroom without an escort.  This of course keeps the halls clear of kids goofing off and getting into trouble. The kids object to this rule.  My son understands its purpose.

While driving home from school today we talk about this very funny protest that happened today in his class.  He inadvertently caused it.  Upon asking to go to the bathroom the teacher committed a mistake from frustration with a bad choice of words.  Wanting to eliminate rolling requests for bathroom breaks during class she hastily announced, "Anyone wanting to use the bathroom, go now."  The entire class of 30 students collectively walked out the door to the bathroom. 

I can only imagine the look on her face as the room emptied in front of her.

My son got a better understanding of platforms as the needs of constituents.  Some are on a local level, others affect broader numbers.  But ultimately he learned he must help the less fortunate fight for their right to pee!

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You may not realize this but I think Nancy Pelosi is an ass. This is how I see her with her double speak ...  "I was not briefed, I was just informed I was briefed.  Or was breifed that I was informed.  So really, I'm not responsible for knowing anything important that I can be accountable for."

 It's like a line from the film Head Office ... "I didn't make that decision, I approved some body else's decision, Don't you know the difference between decision and an approval? The difference is you go back and find the person that made the decision -- I just approved it!"

My ex wife was famous for this crap.  I remember asking her once, "When you coming home from work?" Her answer? "You'll know when I tell you."  Classic!  LOL
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Life Experiences: The Jumbo Slice of Pizza - Adams Morgan section of Washington DC

Some life experiences you learn about then decide to go do it.  Others your stumble upon.  This one I stumbled upon as a date took me to the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC.  I wouldn't say I was outside my comfort zone as I've been to DC many times, much of it to the surrounding areas of Georgetown, but I had not been to the Adams Morgan section before.   The Adams Morgan strip is a blip on the map, and just north of Georgetown.  We hung out on 18th street just off a square.  There was your Starbucks, your basement level biker heaven bar, eclectic cultural shops and a multitude of eating establishments.  There was even a wood fired brick oven pizza shop; but we opted for what the locals seem to worship, The Jumbo Pizza slice.  There were two shops.  We stopped at Jumbo Slice for our slices.  There is also a place two doors down called, Pizza Mart that has copied the jumbo slice.  My date told me the slices where 'big'.  It didn't register in my mind at all what she was speaking of. We walked into this hole in the wall pizza shop that had no pictures or actual pizza on display.  A small counter an not much more.   Innocently enough I ponied up to the counter and after she asked for slice of just cheese, I thought I'd do as the Roman's do and opted for a slice of cheese, no pepperoni.  We decided to split a bottle of water and pulled cash from my sack.  "That will be $10.50."   I was puzzled, but not surprised.  After all this is Washington D.C., "Why not overcharge?"    more »

In the world, there are places to be certain times of the year.  New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro bring to mind Mardi Gras.  Germany has Octoberfest, Black Rock City has Burning Man, Pamplona as Running of the Bulls, Wilmington Delaware has the Halloween Loop.

(Halloween Photos 2007 - Complete Gallery - Are you In It?)

(Halloween Photos 2008 - Complete Gallery - Are you In It?)

(Halloween Photos 2009 - Complete Gallery - Are you In It?)

Loop Night 2009 Review

Wilmington Delaware doesn't play second to any city on Halloween.   Each year downtown Wilmington becomes party central for the over 21 crowd.   Never to be missed, this is a life experience you can't just show up to, you must participate or experience the embarrassment of being the only person on the planet to show up without a costume.   What happens on Loop Night?  Starting at 8pm the conservative stuffy banking town of Wilmington is born again.   Buses drive in a loop around Wilmington's preeminent bars.  You pay for a wristband at any bar and from there you get all night access to the buses and bars they hit.

You could spend all night trying to hit every bar, but you better start early.  In fact, you should start before the buses begin at the bar you want to finish at; subsequently you start at it.  When you finish, you most likely will have reached closing time. 

This year was a big treat.  With the Phillies making it to the World Series and not only were people attending bars for great music and dance, they were rooting on the Phillies.  Roars could be heard when Ryan Howard finally hit his own World Series homerun.   I wore my Spider-Man costume but couldn't help but top it off with my Phillie's cap.  I ended up losing my mask and wearing my hat with the costume.  Also this year was the year of Sarah Palin, the Governer of Alaska asked to be the Vice Presidential running mate to John McCain.  I'm seen in photo at upper left  with the best Sara Palin I could find for the evening.  Amazing hair and endearing, she Like most loop-nighters talked in character.  

Over the years I've personally witnessed   more »