Curing Male Mental Pause (standard:non fiction, 1297 words)
Author: Eutychus	Added: Feb 03 2003	Views/Reads: 3571/2266	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Some of the best reading I've ever done have been letters. I have received some that I save like pieces of written artwork. This is one I wrote to a friend during a decisive time in his life. I think it helped.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

I'll not get into the “what if” scenarios because I don't need to. I
know the “what ifs”. I know that the affair, motorcycle, or the 
parachuting (yes, I've considered the latter two) will not change who I 
am in a positive way. The motorcycle would result in someone in town 
wondering when I was going to decide to grow up. I know this because I 
said the same of Chris Johnston when I saw him on the Harley Davidson 
he bought, owned, and rode for a total of six months until the dentist 
showed him the remainder of gnat wings on a piece of dental floss. The 
parachuting would provide a sense of youthfulness that would last only 
as long as the training and the jump. The regret of being as old as I 
am and doing something as crazy as jumping out of a perfectly good 
airplane would last much longer than the thrill. 

As to the thought of an affair, have you ever been to an auction? I
don't mean those sanitized things you find on Ebay. I mean an auction 
where you look someone else in the eye that wants that bucksaw just as 
bad as you do who may be a bit more willing to part with his cash. 
Those can be intense, but for all the effort, posturing, and passion I 
have put into winning an auction, I don't think I could tell you what 
half the things I bought over the years are, much less what has become 
of them since. Is that a fair analogy? Is infidelity like an auction, 
affections sold to the highest bidder? What happens when I'm old and 
worn out and there is no one willing to respond to the auctioneer's 
call for bids? Or worse yet, what if the bids are low and the 
auctioneer can't goose them up above the level of profound 
embarrassment? Has my rating slipped beyond recovery, and could I live 
with the knowledge? 

And what about the effect on those closest to me? Can I honestly expect
understanding for infidelity from someone who has not been unfaithful? 
Would my son view it as acceptable behavior should he ever find himself 
tempted that direction? Can I really do that to a girl he has not yet 
met? And I don't think this is an instance of a butterfly flapping its 
wings in Beijing affecting the weather in New York. There are very real 
connections between the lives we live and the lives we touch. 

Pardon me if I come off as being preachy, but I needed to say that. You
will do what you are going to do, but I think I know you well enough to 
know that this step is a difficult one for you to take. I hope I've 
made it a little more difficult. Give my best to your lovely wife. 

Bill 


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