OK, THIS CHAPTER really isn’t about sex or liquor, but if I told you
this was the introduction, you’d skip it (I usually do). I want you to read this, so I tempted you with sex and liquor. Don’t look at me. You fell for it. “You should write a book!” How often have you heard that line, or even said it, when you heard a good story? I have heard it enough times that I did. This is that book, or at least part of it. I’m watching my son choose to step on the gerbil’s wheel. He is going to get a job. He will start to climb the organizational ladder. He will trade time for money and make choices that will exchange who he is for what he wants. I know all of this because I have done it myself. He is fantastically well equipped to do it all better than me and to stay better grounded, but he will do some of it just like me all the same. During that period of my life, I did those things and I learned. I learned some balances, changes, and choices I want to pass on. Of course, I want to write all of this down for my son and my daughters, my family, friends, and anyone else who wants to read about it. That’s because I have so few stories about my dad, mom, and their parents. I have bits and pieces of events and impressions, but not front-to-back stories about what taught them to be who they are. A lot of interest has emerged about genealogy. The family tree, where we came from, the whos and wheres. Some of the branches on the tree
have more to them, like careers, awards, letters, and documents. Rarely do you get the stories. My dad and mom are two of my best friends, and I know almost nothing of any interest about their history. I can tell you a lot about their lives after my brother, sister, and I were born, but not much before that. Stories give three dimensions to people you only know a bit about. Some reveal vulnerability, stupidity, selfishness, and sadness. Other stories show great qualities and moral struggles. Others are just stories. I hope that this book encourages you to just write your book. A few warnings to the reader: 1 This is not an autobiography, so the stories are not in time sequence or even in order of priority. They are a collection. Think of them as the types of stories told by two friends driving across the country with no electronic devices or radio and nothing to distract them but conversation and swapped stories. 2 I tell the stories as close to the language that was used as I can. I am not politically correct, so expect the language of the street when I am in a street story. 3 Some stories have a bit of poetic license to them. That is for your benefit, I assure you. Well, mostly. Sometimes it is for my benefit, but let’s not split hairs. 4 They are stories. Some have lessons I learned. Some have lessons I think my children should learn. Some have no discernible lessons. You are smart people. Make your own decisions when the lessons are not pointed out.
Nin e Sto r i e s o f S e x & L i q u o r