John1963

More about me:

For nearly three years, I've been working on my latest literary novel about an emasculated son coping with his overbearing father as he dies from dementia. Now, before you presume I'm the heavy-hearted, slow-working type, in three months, I knocked out a novella about a woodpecker with a hiccup, a rabbit with four ears, and a Dutchman juggling squirrels.

So I'm varied.

My perfect woman wants and even craves my empathetic nature, and I thrive on complimenting her, caring for her, and loving her. We can read together a thousand-page book of the history of humankind and see some glimpse of ourselves on every page. Nothing is off-limits, and respect is a promise. Understanding is always there.

But be forewarned. I've been a newspaper reporter, copyeditor, and English professor. So if you write to me, YOUR GRAMMAR IS BEING GRADED.

As a student of human nature, I just finished a year-long course in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that teaches us amid the push and pull, the shove and yank of this laugh-and-cry life, how to stand balanced atop the seesaw of reason and emotion, in high heels if you are a woman and also in high heels if you are a man. Steel-toed boots and bare feet are also encouraged.

Before the pandemic, my cats and I volunteered at a nursing home, visiting patients. I talked warmly with older folks about their fears, regrets, joyful memories, and future wishes, while Gus and Chandler did an end-around and ate all their fish sticks.

If you're looking for a rich man, try across town. But if you want a loving and passionate man who's charged into this world with daring and determination, searching for my life's purpose as a nurse's aide and gravestone maker in Orlando to an associate literary agent in Manhattan, well, have a seat. You've found your page-turner.

By the way, last weekend, I found myself in Charlottesville, VA, in The Fralin Museum of Art, weirded out by an exhibit of vivid yet stark cityscapes by Emilio Sanchez. In his cites, he did not include any people.

We all need people. We all need someone special. I do.