-A Lie
I decided to focus on family, choosing to believe and have faith that everything else would fall into place. I wasn't comfortable-or good-at lying to her.
So, when Samantha surprised me one day by swallowing her pride and asking directly if a...
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On the pages that follow, I've attempted to describe events, some dated back as far as 25 years ago, that led to failed relationships, my broken marriage, and a temporary collapse of what had been a productive life. With what I'd describe as unrefined writing skills, I went about many hours of writing, rewriting, and honing the details. Memories were clear, yet it was still a formidable challenge to recreate the past on paper. This project started as therapy to bring order to the chaos of rambling thoughts that filled my head. The therapy continues as a hobby of sorts, a labor of love, and a seemingly never-completed work in progress.
I enjoy watching films. Movies are a favorite form of entertainment for me because they reflect life, allowing you inside the intimate details of someone else's for 120 minutes, give or take. In my early twenties, I attended a 2-day script-writing seminar, and although nothing came of it, something the instructor said still bothers me these many years later. He liked saying that most movies amount to: Boy meets girl; boy gets girl; boy loses girl; and boy gets girl back. Although meant as a rule of thumb for outlining a script, his repeated reference left me uninspired. The use of this reference might be misleading if I hadn't already labeled past relationships as failed; instead, its use is meant to illustrate the inadequacy of over-generalization. In other words, it's all in the detail. With that as context, I give fair warning to all who may read: At times, no details were spared.
However, for those that require a summary of my ordeal, this is the best I can offer: After the failure of my 20-year marriage and the 3-year relationship that followed, I wanted nothing more than to live a simplified existence defined by two functions: caring for my boys and walking.
