Love always,
Town

“And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins…”
- Rudyard Kipling, The Gods of the Copybook Headings

1. Acquire profitable employment that could evolve into a career
2. Move out of Yellville, AR
3. Spend inordinate amounts of time with my girlfriend
4. Pay off my credit card and student loan debt
5. Become more health conscious
6. Write more fiction
7. Work toward another degree (optional)

• realizing the pursuits of your peers are useless
• confronting your own mortality
• watching time slowly take its toll on your parents, only to realize you are next
• insecurity regarding the fact that your actions are meaningless
• insecurity concerning ability to love yourself, let alone another person
• insecurity regarding present accomplishments
• re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
• lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
• disappointment with your job
• nostalgia for university, college, high school, or elementary school life
• tendency to hold stronger opinions
• boredom with social interactions
• loss of closeness to high school and college friends
• financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
• loneliness, depression, and suicide
• desire to have children
• a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you
• frustration with social skills

Granted, almost anyone would experience several of these things by the time he/she was my age, but nonetheless, it’s damn depressing to acknowledge it.

It’s not all bad though. Looks like I can cross “lack of romantic relationships” off the list. Happy early birthday, Town. For other gift ideas, check out my Christmas List.

‘Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

‘Cuz the cat had pounced on him
and tore him apart -
Ate his mousey intestines
and chewed up his heart.

Kitty thought he heard sleigh bells,
which made him take pause -
He stopped daintily licking
the blood from his claws.

“Must be Santa” thought Kitty,
(that quite clever cat)
“‘Cause nobody else climbs down
the chimney like that.”

Indeed it was ol’ Santa,
so jolly and fat,
with a load of presents
and all for the cat!

“Wow, the best Christmas ever!”
Kitty thought with a purr.
Then he coughed up a hairball
and shed some more fur.

Now to the poetry. I’ve uploaded several old poems dating back as far as 1998. Don’t look for them in recent posts, as I retro-dated them with their appropriate date (or an approximation). Very soon I shall create a Wondrous Page that lists and links to ALL MY WRITING. This page will likely take the place of the current Portfolio and Projects pages. I shall inform you when it is ready.

Until then, remember these timeless words from Arthur Fonzarelli: “Live fast, love hard, and don’t let anybody else use your comb!”

drove to harrison on a [date].
i no longer know how to behave on dates; after all, it had been almost a year since my last one.
progressed from awkward to 2012 to “musical parking spots” after dark.

today i met a man who called a man who wants me to accelerate my life.

i should have become an artist or a musician or a writer.
i am a writer? a paperback writer.
nothing is what it was intended to be.

i’m sad to see the 00’s go.

If you’re happy, I’m …

1. Futurama: The Complete Collection
   
2. M-Audio PROKEYS 88SX 88-Key Lightweight Stage Piano with Semi-Weighted Action
   
3. Star Trek: The Original Series
   
4. Chasing Amy (Manga) by Kenichi Eguchi
   
5. Employment in a book-related industry