16 Things

1.  I grew up thinking I was the dumb one in my family.  My older brother was considered the gifted one.  A lot of people were afraid I had consumed too many paint chips or something to that effect.

2.  I’m a screw up.  I seem to only really learn the lessons taught at the school of hard knocks.

3.  I have many acquaintances yet very few friends.  I grew up as a military brat, changing friends every year.  I learned that people come and go.

4.  I feel guilty for everything.  So I apologize a lot.

5.  I don’t lie.  Not because I am a good person, rather  because I am bad at it and always get caught.

6.  I like people.  You have to work hard for me to not like you.

7.  I still consider myself Roman Catholic.  You can take the boy out of the church…

8.  Deep down, I really want to be a writer.  I want to be thought of as someone who can tell a clever story.

9.  I still feel a pang of guilt whenever I think about my ex-wife.  We were dumb kids.  We got married too young and stayed married too long.

10.  It was my lifelong dream to become an Army officer like my dad.  That career was a nightmare and I am so glad it is over!

11.  I used to follow the path of least resistance.  Which made me a passive observer to my life.

12.  I didn’t grow up around other black people.  I was always the only black kid to do this or that.

13.  British Columbia is heaven; Leesville, Louisiana is hell.  If I have to explain why, we won’t get along.

14.  For all my elite eastern education, I still am a sucker for a corny parade.

15.  I will always be politically moderate, but wish I was a rabid liberal.

16.  The past year has been the best year in my life.  Last January I finally mentally acknowledged that I am gay.  I stopped making excuses and stopped hoping it was just a phase.  I gave myself permission to be who I am.  My life has become less complex and more fulfilling now that I no longer deny the existence of a large part of my identity.