A Letter to the Younger Me

Hear these words, hear the rhyme
Heed the hope within my mind
Send me back to where I’ll find
What I wish in place and time
~~~~

Dear Rick,

In your time it’s December 13, 1971.  I know it’s hard to believe and will come as a great surprise but I’m you!  Yep you, but exactly 40 years in your future.

I’ll help you here.  Remember that ghostly woman who would repeatedly terrorize you in nightmares as a five-year old?  We never knew her intentions, but we knew she was evil.  Then there’s that dream of a lakeside home and a boat parked in the back.  The huge antenna atop that sprawling ranch style home.  How about that last kiss and the words Dani said to you just five nights ago when you last saw her?  All those doubts and the terrible, nagging, lingering ache in your heart?  Who else but you could know these things?  Young love is always tough.  Give it time, your feelings will pass as they will for the others that will surely come.  Heart breakers, every one of them!  Prepare yourself… adult love can be even worse.

Reinstating My Man Card

Many of my readers may not know there’s an official Man Card a select group of us guys have.  No joke, the Man Card* is real!  I’m not talking about some lame credit card or a lamer yet library card but I mean an authentic Man Card. Customized and imprinted with my name and my own unique membership number.  I even have a Certificate of Authenticity!  Problem is, I got caught violating my manly duties and zippo, they revoked it!  Lost my manly pride along with my Man Card and gave in to my cravings for female companionship and worse yet, matrimony.  It all crashed down around me a few years ago and I think it’s time I get my card back!

Women and that four-letter word L-O-V-E are the main culprits.  Dogs are man’s best friend but I admit it, I’m weak when it comes to the opposite sex.  Women are great, but boundaries prevail.  Of course there are lots of ways we can lose our high-station, and the privileges that go along with our Man Cards, but in my case this is my Achilles heel of a lifetime.  The fact is Love (translated women) have ruined more of my manly bro-to-bro relationships than anything I can think of.  Now I know what you’re thinkin’:  Tragic! 

What the heck! This thing called Love?

Here’s a thought:

Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly, it flips over, pinning you underneath.  At night, the ice weasels come.

Could that picture in your mind’s eye be any less appealing?  Could there be any worse a thought, than lying trapped in wait for the arrival of “the ice weasels“?  I don’t think so, unless it were the gaping jaws of hell with it’s mouth wide open for you.  That could be worse!  I hope you get the point.  Life is hard, but love … love can be harder still.