Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hurt

Did you know
the last time we spoke
on the phone that day

Would make me feel
as if the sun
had died and gone away

What you said
that cold morning
went and killed my soul

Why were you
the lying one
and left my heart in woe

I never wanted
to walk away
you left me no choice

Abandoned again
by your lies
the hatred in your voice

What did I do
to make you go
and pound me into dirt

The love you took
you stole my soul
you wanted to make me hurt

All the times
you promised me
you'd be always there

Now I'm left
wondering again
about that icy stare

Saturday, February 9, 2008

I Hate Midnight

I hate midnight
I hate the dark
I hate midnight
The silence is so stark

I hate midnight
I hate the sun when it's gone
I hate midnight
I hate what you've done

I hate midnight
I hate it so much
I hate midnight
I hate it's lonely touch

I hate midnight
I hate it like hell
I hate midnight
When it casts it's evil spell

I hate midnight
I hate that it stole my dreams
I hate midnight
And the broken promises it gleans

I hate midnight
I hate what you do
I hate midnight
Midnight, I hate YOU

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Amanda & I (Part 3)

In 1850, in his poem, In Memoriam: 27, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the following:


I hold it true, whate’er befall;

I feel it, when I sorrow most;

‘Tis better to have loved and lost;

Than never to have loved at all.

Tennyson knew what he was talking about all those years ago. Those words apply to the second act of this story. For everything that had transpired up to that point, my world was about to come crashing down in flames. Tennyson was very much in love. I look at the poem in its entirety, and think about everything that has happened to my life since that day in December. It will help explain to the reader beforehand at what point in time I now find myself, and my heart.

After not speaking to Amanda that afternoon, I happened to look at her website. All of a sudden an entry was posted. It was wrenching. Amanda was so confused about what had happened earlier that day between her mother and her. She was upset, because of the horrible relationship that she had with her mother over the course of her lifetime. Confused over going on with life as she knew it, or to turn back to help financially. A decision understandably had to be made for the sake of a woman’s mother. Amanda was unreachable by phone, text, email, and Instant messenger for days. I was in shock because just hours before we had professed our love for each other, and now this happened. How could I help? I tried to get hold of Amanda to offer support. She would not return my calls. She would not return my emails. The blog entry had sounded desperate and chaotic. I was extremely worried about Amanda. Worried to the point that I thought that maybe she had done something drastic. How was I to know, for she did not contact me? I was inconsolable. On the very same day that I was so happy, tragedy struck. I posted a blog on my website in hopes that Amanda would contact me, all to no avail.

I just could not understand why she could not take 2 minutes to call me to tell me she was alright. Regardless of what happened, this was not the action of somebody who had said they were in love such a short time ago. I realized that different people have different reactions to bad occurrences, however why she couldn’t just call me for two minutes to say she was safe, or an update on the situation did not make sense to me. It would not make sense to anyone. A person who is newly in love sometimes is blinded by their surroundings, but the silence still made no sense to me. As much contact as we had recently had, it was strange, to say the least. I had no news, no information. I offered in an email to come to her to help anyway I could.

8 days later I received a text from her. Although short, it relieved me somewhat. She had obviously read my email that I was giving up on contacting her because I didn’t understand why she couldn’t get hold of me. In the text she said that she loved me, that it was not anything to do with me, that she was attempting to sell her home, and that she had a lot going on. The message cut off (which this became a recurring theme with texts, in that her texts to me sometimes did not come through completely, hence it caused a communication breakdown that led to a host of problems between us) at that point. I figured that she would call me or something within the next day or so. Once again, a few days passed without any word on the condition of Amanda or her mother. I felt bad that she was attempting to sell her house. I tried to contact her again, because I wanted to give her some support. No response.

I admit that maybe I was wrong in trying to contact her, but just having what had transpired between us finally saying how we felt affected everything I did that week. I was despondent, depressed, and confused beyond words. Of all the holidays to occur, Christmas was fast approaching without any word from Amanda.

On Christmas Eve, I sent an e-card to Amanda, apologizing for trying to contact her. I began to feel that I was adding to her troubles. At this point, however, I began to become a little upset that she refused to send me any more contact. I tried calling her on Christmas Eve. No response. I had decided, because I was upset that I would spend Christmas away from my family, against their wishes. The loss of Amanda had affected me greatly. I had already been losing weight on purpose. I now refused to eat or sleep. I went at one stretch close to 60 hours without sleeping, because I was so upset. Then Christmas Day came.

I had not slept in days. I was upset over how things had turned out. I was upset over the fact that Amanda had not contacted me. I was upset that she was nowhere to be found. I was alone on Christmas, missing the woman that I loved. I felt heartbroken. I felt like she could have at least called me. Not knowing any information about what was going on, other than the cryptic text message of a week earlier, I finally broke with my senses, for I felt my world was coming down around me.

With what had now become anger, I fired off an email that was to say the least, vicious. In saying goodbye to Amanda that day, I railed upon her for not contacting me after all that time, saying in no uncertain terms that I felt like she had no “common decency” for at least not attempting to wish me a Merry Christmas. What I wrote that day I am not proud of in any sense. It was brutal. My only defense is that I had no idea what was going on. I could only go on the assumption that since Amanda had not contacted me that she did not wish to continue our relationship. It was probably the angriest Id felt in many years. Once again, not something I’m proud of. It was awful of me to do.

With that being done, I felt completely lost. I knew that it was akin to throwing down a gauntlet. I realized immediately after I sent it what a huge mistake it was. I began to cry. I was spending that day alone at my father’s house in northern Illinois. My father was upset that I demanded that he leave his own house for the Holiday. He did as I requested, but not without a tearful moment of questioning my sanity. After sending that email, and sending him away, I realized that I had indeed let my mind and insecurities get the best of me.

Another incident that happened that afternoon is something I am not proud of. I went to my car that afternoon, and retrieved a gun. I then went inside my father’s house, sat down in a chair, and put the gun in my mouth. In the course of two weeks, I had gone from the happiest man on Earth to the point of pulling a trigger and blowing my brains out. Hindsight being 20/20, I feel that the depression medication that I had been taking, along with the copious amounts of alcohol, and my resentments over my plight drove me to do it. I had never even considered it before. Now I was a broken man in all respects.

*************************

A day or so later, I went to Chicago. I wanted to be with some of my friends that I missed. I had not spoken to anyone about Amanda at all, for in my town, I had no one to speak to. I had kept everything inside until I hit a boiling point that only time could heal. The second night I was there, as I returned from a bar drowning my sorrows by myself (as I had yet to speak to my friends about what had happened) I received an email from Amanda. As you could expect, the tone was not one of consolation. It was rather a message basically taking me to task for acting in such a selfish and insulting manner. Amanda’s favorite phrase was also there…..”Fuck Off”. She had said that on Christmas Day she was in her mother’s Hospital room wondering if she would wake up from surgery. She said that she had to sell her house, her truck, and her ATV’s. Naturally, she said that she would like a response if I wasn’t so insulting and selfish. Otherwise, I could “fuck myself”.

I immediately got on the phone to her, although it was after 3 in the morning. I apologized profusely, but tried to explain that I would have never written that message in the first place HAD I KNOWN WHAT WAS GOING ON. I asked her to call me as soon as possible. She did the next evening. We talked. She asked me how I could do such a thing. I tried to explain to her my position. Although I wasn’t sure she understood I tried anyhow. When we hung up the phones, I was less than confident I’d ever hear from her again. As New Year’s Eve passed into New Year’s Day, I had sent her best wishes, without response. I had once again given up all hope.
Later that day, Amanda contacted me by IM. We talked for about 20minutes. I apologized for the email, and told her how much I loved her. She was very cordial, and told me not to worry about it, and that she still loved me. I asked her about her mother, and she did not have much to say. As a matter of fact, Amanda stated that she was pretty melancholy about the whole thing. She wondered aloud whether or not she would be able to handle it if her mother passed. Soon afterward, Amanda broke from the conversation without warning. I figured that I had said something wrong yet again, and sat at my friend’s house in silence. About two hours later, Amanda sent me an email that she loved me and that she hoped I understood that she had to leave the conversation because of the thought of her mother’s condition. Then later that day, she sent me another email with a poem that SHE had written for me. It was a wonderful poem. The nicest gift anyone had ever given me. It just goes to show that no matter what, Amanda can be that sweet, loving woman that I fell in love with, despite being under so much pressure. What a sweet, wonderful woman.

Armed with the knowledge that we had a chance to start over again, I left Chicago with a smile. I was going to begin to work on my book again. Maybe I could save Amanda and me. Maybe we could pick up where everything left off that sunny December morning. It was worth everything to me to try. Amanda is like no other woman I’ve ever known. Beyond each of our own character flaws lies true love. I returned home with the hope that we could be happy again and see each other, for it was, and still remains to this day the ONE thing I most want on this Earth. We began to talk on the phone again. However, the circumstances surrounding our communications gave me very skeptical feelings about where our relationship was going to go.

Amanda did begin to call me rather than send me emails. I became a little apprehensive about things, when the first week of January her calling patterns became different. She had mentioned to me before the end of the Year that she had quit her dancing job, however when I asked her what she was going to do for employment, she gave me no answer at all, which I thought was odd. During this first week of the New Year, she called me at the same time of day on almost every occasion. She was always on the way to a party at a “friends” house. I thought it odd that for someone who had so much going on, with selling the house, school coming up for the spring semester, and taking financial care of her mother’s treatment, Amanda was spending an awful lot of time going to parties. Pretty much every time I talked to her on the phone, she was either in a store, in a parking lot, or in her car on the way to a party. A red flag went up in my mind, but I did not pry. Amanda can be a woman of few words when she wants, and being 1000 miles away, I had no choice but to take her word for it.



Toward the end of that week she told me that she had an interview to do some modeling for auto shows. She told me that she would be getting a large sum of money for each show. Those shows would include things such as photo shoots. Granted, Amanda is quite a beautiful woman. Most exotic dancers are. But the amount of money she told me just did not sound right to me. All talk of when we were going to see each other had stopped. I picked up on that right away. On the subsequent conversation I had with her I began to ask some questions. I asked when she had closed on her house, since she had told me in response to the Christmas Day email that she had sold her property. She then told me that she had not as of yet sold her house. I asked her how her mother was doing. I got a one word response: Good. I inquired as to what she had been doing. The answer: I’m on my way to a party at a friend’s house. I then made an off handed remark about myself going to a party over the weekend and being in the company of less than desirable people. Amanda had always joked with me that one of the reasons she enjoyed me was that her friends were “toothless hicks”. I always thought that was cute. I made the mistake of saying that I was at the party with friends like she had.

Amanda became enraged at the comment, said “EXCUSE ME?” and promptly hung up on me. I tried to call her back to explain that I was making a joke. I called her many times. On one occasion she picked up the phone and said into it: “Stop calling me. I’m with my toothless friends!” She hung up. Pissed off as I was, I went to a bar and proceeded to get drunk. On my third drink I received a text from her. It said two words: “Sorry Yet?”

I was livid. I now felt that not only was she being less than honest with me about what she had been doing, but the message implied to me that she was now at the stage where she was taking my love for her for granted. I sent an email to her that I was not happy with the situation, and that I would hold back until she contacted me. Two days later, she did. Two days later I had at least some answers to my questions about where our relationship was going.

After missing a phone call from her, I decided to give her a ring. She answered, but from the moment she did, she was hesitant to say anything. She told me she was folding clothes at home. She said she wasn’t mad at me about the comment. However, she refused to say much else other than “yes….no….uh huh”. She sounded like she was in a closet talking to me, because her tone was hushed. Another red flag immediately sprung up. I could tell that she wanted to be anywhere on Earth but talking to me. I decided that I was going to at least try to find out what was going on. I asked her about her grades at school. She would only answer with a question. “How do you think I did?” She then said very quietly that she was at her parent’s house. Had she just not told me that she was at home? One thing that shot into my mind was this. Anytime I ever talked to Amanda and she was at her own home, her cell phone reception was crystal clear. That was the case that night.

Every time she was on the road near her parent’s house, her phone signal would go dead every time without fail. I remembered when she had told me that day we said we loved each other that when she was going to her parent’s house that she would jump on the IM, because she got no signal at that location. I asked her if she loved me. She said “you know I do” in an extremely hushed tone. I asked her to say it to me. She refused. I asked her what was wrong. She said nothing. Then the strangest and lamest attempt to get someone off the telephone in the history of relationships occurred. I had just lit up a cigarette and was sitting back enjoying it. She asked me if I was smoking. I responded in the affirmative. She said to me:
“Those things aren’t good for you, and you know that”.

She hung up the phone on me right then and there.
There was someone else with her in her house. There was someone else in her life. Maybe the whole time we were talking all those months, there was someone else.
I had my answers.

*************************

It was shortly after that that I decided that I had to write this article. During that time I also decided that I would never forget how it all was ending. I am so much in love and it was painful as hell to figure out that she had found somebody else. It was equally hurtful to me that Amanda couldn’t bring herself to be honest and just tell me she had someone else. I felt betrayed. I had cried my eyes out wondering where she was all through December. I almost killed myself because of it; my heart had been broken by her before. It was broken yet again. I decided that a trip across the pond to Europe was in order. I had to borrow money in order come here to Berlin, where I am currently at. I did not have any idea that I would be here this soon. I expected not to be here for at least another week. However I did what I thought was the right thing and contacted Amanda. I wanted to let her know that I was going to be undertaking this piece. My intent was to let her know beforehand that it was going to be published. Even though I was not obligated in any way to do so, my love for her dictated that I inform her.
It was only fair.




After Amanda hung up on me, I did virtually give up. I did let her know how much I still loved her. I informed her that I was going to Amsterdam. I did not think to let her know I was going to Germany first. Last Friday night I was out doing a good deed for my neighbor by bailing him out. When I returned I was stunned to see that Amanda had called me. She had left a text earlier in the day after I informed her about Europe. She simply had said “Have Fun”. I didn’t really think too much about the text, but I did think about the call. We text messaged each other on Saturday. Although I missed yet another call from her that evening, she sent me another text. This one was cut off also in mid transmission, so I only got part of it. We both knew that we had been thinking about each other, and how things had ended. The text was an apology of sorts from Amanda. She was sorry that she had confused me. She also said that she knew what we have is real. She hated the fact that we were so far apart, and it just got to her.

I really did not want to come here to Berlin. I half bought my ticket praying that Amanda would beg me to come to her. I wanted for her to ask me to cancel this business about coming thousands of miles away and just work it out. That is what I so much wanted. In spite of the fact at how everything fell apart, I still would give anything to be at her side and loving her the way she needs to be loved. She had such a shitty life. I so still want to be her knight in shining armor. I wanted to be with my angel with pink wings.

We did have another conversation on Sunday afternoon. It did not go well for either of us. I was still full of resentment at how things ended. She knew it from my voice. I became accusatory at her motives, feeling like I was toyed with in the end. Amanda left the conversation again, half out of anger and half out of sorrow. Again, she was gone. In my mind it was just another occurrence of what it’s like at the end of a relationship. I fired off an angry email to her about leaving me yet again. It was again something I’m not proud of. I shelled her with my anger and my feeling of betrayal. It was mean spirited and horrible. Later that evening I got my flight switched to come over here as soon as possible. I felt like I was driven off the continent by the last phone conversation I had with her. I let her know that.

So here I am, writing the last few words about everything. I when I started this I thought that I would feel better. I don’t. I feel worse. I feel like everything was never resolved. I made plenty of mistakes during the course of my short time knowing Amanda. Being honest however, is never a mistake, no matter what circumstances.




If you think that after what you have read that I hate Amanda, you would be dead wrong. I love her. I love her in ways that only she and I can imagine. She is still my princess, my angel. No matter what happened. No matter what the future holds for either of us, I could never hate her. Although I went as far as accusing her of NEVER loving me, in reality I know that even though we never touched each other, smelled each other’s hair, never even laid eyes on each other, that in her own Amanda way she does in fact love me. No one could ever go through what we both did and not be changed by each other.

Amanda showed me how to fall in love again after years of never thinking it possible. Amanda is still a very sweet, loving woman. To me even through all of this, she will remain the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known. My biggest wish for her is to be safe, well, and successful. She is smart, tough, and beautiful beyond words. I will never forget her, for Amanda is seared into my memory. I will love that woman for the rest of my life. No one could ever compare to her. The feelings of love that I have for her will never die, regardless of whether I see her or not. Amanda is that unforgettable.

I told Amanda that I would be sure to give her this before anyone else saw it. I am going to be true to my word, as I always have been with her, and send this to her from half way around the world. I also promised her that I would end this on a high note. On something that made me smile. I could only end this with the gift that she gave me on New Year’s Day. I want to end this with the best memory I can have of her, and how she loved me once upon a time. She said it was the best she could come up with at the time. I think it is the greatest poem ever written by anyone.

I love you, Amanda.


When I first talked to you,
I didn't know what to say,
But the more we talked,
The more my heart gave way

But now when I think of you,
And how you changed my life,
I can't imagine,
A day without your light

You light up my day
As if you were the sun
You are that sense of completion
When each day is done

I think of you all day
And dream of you all night
And every night I wish
That you could hold me tight

You are always on my mind
No matter what time or day
Even when I shouldn't
I think about you anyway

And when I think of you this much
The day seems so long
And all the time we spend apart
Just seems so wrong

You are my special gift
Sent from up above
Sent to me from heaven
Sent for me to love

Thank you for your smile
And your light that fills my dreams
You always make it brighter
No matter how dark it seems

Amanda & I (Part 2)

Amanda, as I’ve already stated had a penchant for boxing. In mid November, she went and participated in a match in Connecticut. Amanda won by knockout. Imagine that…a knockout delivering a knockout. The evenings before and following her match we had quite the game of text tag going. Between us that first night within the space of 3 hours some 48 messages were sent. I have kept each and every text I ever sent or received from Amanda. At this point we had moved in a very short period of time from mindless banter to serious flirting. These texts were some of the sweetest things I’d ever written, as were those on her part. Calling each other such things as beautiful, sweetheart, king, queen, and our most common term, HONEY. A lot of honeys have passed between us in a very short period of time.

I didn’t know what Amanda thought at that point, since with her lifestyle she always had more than a handful of men around her. I do admit that it bothered me. One incident in particular one afternoon in which she was attacked by one of her new “friends” in her home gave me pause. I never brought it up much after that, but the fact that she had only male friends(which many exotic dancers do, mainly because these young men tend to be hangers on in the hopes that they will be accorded some kind of sexual favors) did make me wonder at times about her sincerity. As I will describe at another point, this fact became a stumbling block in our friendship from an honesty standpoint. To her I’m sure it seemed benign. To me, it was malevolent.

That being said, during the Thanksgiving holiday was the first inkling I ever got that my feelings for Amanda were more than just friendly. My computer had broken, and directly after Thanksgiving, Amanda disappeared for the first time (it would not be the last by a long shot). I found myself yearning for her at this point. It almost seemed unnatural. Amanda and I had struck up quite a friendly relationship, and her absence, without any explanation began to at first concern, which spiraled into depression, due to lack of any news from her for 9 days. This was the first time I had received an explanation upon her return. At the time, I didn’t think much about it, but as time grew on, the more incredulous I became. Amanda had told me she was in the hospital for 3 days with pneumonia, and then after her release from the hospital, went on a hunting trip. Once again, when she reappeared, I was simply happy to hear from her and never questioned her story, as implausible as it seems in hindsight. The fact that we had a breakdown in communication at this point would lead to other breakdowns in communication that would mar the remainder of our relationship.

That day she returned we spoke at length on the phone. It was at that point when she told me she felt bad about not being in contact with me. At this point I asked her for a firm date for a meeting. I said to her that I would like to spend my birthday with her. She had a one word response: “Done”.


Finally I had pinned her down. She provided a description that I would later come to question. She told me she would have somebody come and get me on February 12th, two days before my Valentine’s Day birthday. On my birthday I would be arriving at her home, and we would have a chance to be together. I asked her if she was sure:

“I always get what I want, and I want YOU”.

It seemed that everything was going to fall into place. This angel with pink wings had finally swept me off my feet. She told me when she saw me that she was going to give me a kiss “as big as the sky”. It was also at this time when I knew for sure that I was falling in love with Amanda. I knew she could tell how I felt, but she was waiting for me to say it. I wasn’t sure at all if it was appropriate for me to tell her. As a matter of fact, I agonized that whole weekend whether I should tell her. I knew that if I did that things would change drastically for us. It was a double edged sword.

If I said something, what if it wasn’t returned? What if she just ran away? What if she told me never to speak to her again? I was nervous, as nervous as I’ve ever felt. I had not been in love since Amanda was a baby, and I knew that I was taking a huge risk. After thinking about her all that Saturday and Sunday, in which she called me both days, I could not get the words out of my mouth. I was petrified to be rejected. If I was rejected, it would have meant the end of our relationship. If she didn’t feel the same way, I knew I’d never see her, let alone hear from her again. This woman had single handedly been responsible for making me feel good about myself again. She understood me. She knew my desires, my dreams. My biggest dream to date was to be at her side, and love her, because she needed to be loved as much as I did.

The following Monday evening I was at home on the internet when Amanda signed in on her Instant Messenger. I was happy to see her beautiful face appear on my screen. I was also determined that If I didn’t tell her how I felt, that I may never get the chance. It was just a risk I was going to have to take. So as our conversation began, we made the usual small talk. She had gotten snow tires for her car and truck the previous weekend. So we danced around that subject for a little bit. Then it was time for me to drop the bomb. The following is the text of what was said between Amanda and me that evening:




Me: “I have something else I need to tell you. I don’t know how you are going to take this?”
Amanda: “Ok”
Me:“Ok, here it goes…..oh shit. In a nutshell, I find myself falling very hard for you”.
Amanda: “Ahh….Honey”.
Me: “Like you may be the ONE”.
Amanda: ” MMMM”.
Me: “Huh?”
Amanda: “Taking words out of my mouth again. You are good at that”.

And with that, Amanda signed off her computer without another word.

The next morning I was distraught. I did not sleep the whole night. I had sent a text to Amanda pleading for forgiveness for dropping the bomb on her. I felt that it was all over. I figured that her dropping out of the conversation was her way of telling me that indeed she had no feelings like that. I took it as a sign that our relationship was over. I cried that whole Tuesday afternoon, curling up into a ball, cursing myself for my stupidity. As far as I knew, I’d never hear from her again. I was shattered because I got nothing in return except cut off.

I spent that entire day with my phone shut off, my blinds drawn, and drinking as much beer as I could. I was once again going to drown my sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. That night, I gathered my faculties long enough to write an appeal of sorts to Amanda in the form of poetry. I had never written poetry in my life, but something inside me came out that I can only describe as romantic. I penned the following poem and sent it via email to her:

Since I haven't heard from you
I thought I'd take the time
to write a poem just for you
since you like things that rhyme

When we met some time ago
I was low in life and down
You said you'd give me quite a show
And make me lose my frown

So young you are, such tender age
Rebellious, full of strife
Behind your smile, you're quite a sage
From struggles in your life

You've told me things about yourself
Things about your past
Things that you would rather shelf
From living life so fast

The feelings you've brought out in me
Sometimes have left me scared
You took the time to make me see
Just how much that you've cared

I've wondered what you think about
Before you go to sleep
I've wondered if you think about
My passion running deep

The times that I don’t hear from you
I simply want to scream
The time I spend away from you
I'm forced to simply dream

I've dreamed about you, dressed in pink
You know I love your style
Your hair, your lips, but yes I think
You've known that for a while

I love your humor, yes I do
A quick and witty pun
I love the things that you can do
With 2 wheels and a gun

Many nights I only guess
As to where you are
Right now Hun, and this I stress
I'm Wishing on Our Star

I wish that you were in my arms
The things I need to say!
I wish that you were in my arms
and not so far away

I wish I wasn’t such an ass
To you the other night
The things I need to say, my lass
Would not make you take flight

I want to say to you, my Sweet
I want you to be sure
I want to say to you, my Sweet
I want things like they were

I have to say Amanda, Dear
I pray to God you see
I have to say Amanda, Dear
I want you back with me

You're Wonderful...Amanda, you are
And This I know is true
I love everything that you are
That's why I fell for you

I know I’m not exactly a poet, but it was from the heart, and the very first piece of poetry I’ve ever written in my 42 years on Earth. I sent it off with grave doubt in my mind on whether or not it would be read, let alone responded to. The only thing I could do now is wait. That became a cornerstone of our relationship……waiting.


*************************

The following morning my eyes were still stinging from the bouts of crying from the night before. I felt terrible. My stomach ached from the dry heaves I had developed. I had cried that hard. I had not felt this way about a woman in twenty years, and it seemed once again that I would be alone, without the love that had been brought out in me from the words of Amanda. As I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, I was lost in a world of depression. It had been nearly two days since I had revealed my feelings to Amanda. I had no idea if I would hear from her. Had my profession of love for Amanda driven her away? Had I blown what I felt was my last chance to be with someone who I wanted, who I needed, and who I felt like had become part of me? A part of me that had been craving to be loved by someone as wonderful as I knew Amanda could be?


All of sudden the phone rang. I looked at the ID on the phone. It was Amanda. I admit I was petrified to pick up the phone. I was petrified by what words would be spoken from 1000 miles away on the other line. I hesitantly picked up the phone. What I was about to experience was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Amanda, after asking me how I was, asked me if I had looked at her email she had sent me. I said I had not. She said “Get your ass up and look at your email!” I went to my computer, turned it on which seemed like forever as she held on the line. I could tell she was smiling, because she kept asking me if I was looking at it.

“It’s slow, Amanda. Why don’t you just tell me?”
“Read the email, Todd!”
The email came up on the screen. After explaining why she broke off the conversation, she had written the end of the message, words that jumped to life, and shot into my eyes as if fired from cannon:
“I want you to know you have my heart, my soul, and my love. I do not know what you will do with them, but it is yours”.
With one sentence, Amanda had made me the happiest man on the face of this Earth. Everything I hoped for. Everything I dreamed of. Every word I had written or spoken to her had given birth to a flood of ecstasy. Every emotion that I had felt, every sleepless night of the past 20 years, wondering when I would love again was gone. Amanda had told me the one thing I needed to hear. Amanda was in love with me, too. I began to cry tears of joy. Amanda, who is not much of the crying sort, laughed and giggled and told me it was alright. Then I was able to hear her for the first time in our short time knowing each other utter the words I’d been waiting for.
“I LOVE YOU”.
The next few minutes were spent exchanging that sentiment back and forth as if neither of us had ever heard it. Truly it was one of those moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. One of those moments a person has that they can tell you exactly where they were, what they were wearing, what the weather was like. I hugged my dog and told her I loved her. I hugged my cat, and told her I loved her. I kept saying it over and over to Amanda, and she returned with a smile in her voice each and every time. She was at the time driving home from class, and quipped about seeing the same homeless man walking down the road on the return trip as she had seen him on her way to school.

We talked about what our lives were going to be like. How we couldn’t wait for February, when I would be joining her at her home. How we were going to start our lives together and how wonderful it was all going to be. She rang off and I danced around my apartment in a victory dance. My dog howled and my cat cringed. I jumped up and down like a child saying over and over: She loves me….she loves me….SHE LOVES ME!

Amanda called back about 15 minutes later. She was ecstatic. An animal lover, she had rescued an injured raccoon in mid November, actually risking her own safety by wrapping the poor thing in a blanket and rushing it to the Department of Wildlife, under the promise that if they were able to fix up the little guy that he would be returned to her property. I’ve seen pictures of him. He is a woodland creature that loves Amanda as much as I do. She was happy because the raccoon was back. He had been returned to her and he came out when she whistled for him. Between saying how much she loved both me and that damn raccoon, it was the happiest I’d ever heard her sound. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day. We were in love, the raccoon was home, and we started talking about our plans. She said when I got to her she was going to tie me up and never let me go. I told her she could tie me up anytime she wanted, as long as she never left me. She said she would make good on her promise to be my birthday present dressed only in a pink ribbon. The thoughts I had at that moment. The thoughts of finally touching her, looking into her eyes, kissing her, holding her, making love to her. She was everything I could ask for. Amanda is so beautiful, so smart, and so wonderful. At that moment in time, the stars were aligned. At that moment in time, the heavens sang. At that moment in time, I was as happy as I’d ever been. At that moment in time, I could see us spending our lives together.

She had to go to her parent’s house that afternoon. She told me that we would IM as soon as she got there. About 25 minutes later, Amanda appeared on my Instant Messenger board. Once again, exchanges of I love you permeated the conversation. We talked about the raccoon, and how we could not wait for February. After a few moments of silence, she came back on and said that she had to go. Her mother, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, was not doing well. She told me she would speak to me later. Not thinking any more about it, I responded that it was ok, and that I would talk to her later that evening. She clicked off before I got a chance to say I loved her just one more time. But I was still riding a wave of happiness, and did so that entire afternoon.

I had no idea of knowing that day was the last time Amanda and I would ever be happy together.

Amanda & I (Part 1)

Imagine my surprise the last week of September of this past year. I had been writing my blog for my Live Space. On that space I had listed my interests (among other things) as Strippers, Sex, and Sex with Strippers. I opened up my email that morning, expecting the usual junk, phishing scams, and maybe some messages from one of my friends, who are scattered across the Globe. One message in particular caught my eye immediately. It came with a small thumbnail photo of a deliciously beautiful redhead, wearing a shining crucifix, and blazing good looks. “What was this? Who was this? More importantly, what was the message from this absolute beauty?”

Opening that original message was the beginning of an odyssey that culminated with the writing of this story.
The story that follows is a story that is true in its entirety. It’s a story of two people, who had a chance online meeting. It’s a story about falling in love without first setting eyes on someone. It’s a story about what it means to someone to find that they hope is THE ONE. It’s also the story about my journey from the depths of depression, to the highest mountain, only to be thrust back into the reality that comes with long distance and the perils (real and perceived) of an online relationship. I write this story because Amanda came into my life out of nowhere. She came as if she descended from Heaven. She made me feel things I have not felt for Years, and may never feel again. She left me a changed man. A changed man that has to tell this story, because for those who say you can’t fall in love without seeing the other person, they never met someone like Amanda.
That beautiful, angelic face and the message that followed was simply this:
“I’d strip for you any time. LOL.
You have an awesome sense of humor.
Just thought I’d let you know.”
I really was taken aback by this message. I had never really expected anyone to contact me out of the blue, let alone a beautiful redhead with such a forward introduction! Of course I had been under the impression that my sense of humor was offensive and raunchy at best. At worst, it had always caused people to accuse me of all sorts of mental problems. I have a sense of humor that comedians don’t dare use on stage, lest they fall into the dustbin of comedic history, such as a Michael Richards, or more accurately, Andrew “Dice” Clay.


Of course, my surprise was surpassed almost instantaneously by practically any carnal thought that could pass at the moment through the mind of a middle aged man. As those eyes bore fire into my brain from across that screen, the only option after this initial shock was, as any red blooded American male with one ounce of common sense would understand, to respond as soon as humanly possible.
I admit that morning I broke into a sweat as I tried to write some witty response. As rare an occurrence as this was, it is even rarer that I have ever found myself at a loss for words.
In this moment in time…..at this very moment…..I found myself in exactly that predicament.
I tried to think of anything…ANYTHING that would not sound callous or stupid. I smartly visited her site to see what this young damsel was about. After looking at her space profile it almost seemed like the classic canned rundown: 19 years of age, Student by day, Stripper by night. Her interests included in large block letters: SNOWBOARDING.
The interests in lower case (I came to realize very quickly that Amanda’s writing style includes a very peculiar feature in that most of her writing is in lower case) included Boxing (interesting) Driving aimlessly (not a surprise from a young lady) Swimming (I thought about what she must look like in a thong, and once again I began to sweat) planting flowers, and decorating her house. Strangely enough from that first moment I never looked at her because she was a dancer. I was enthralled because of that hair and those beautiful eyes.
I didn’t think I could say anything about boxing, since I’ve never been in the ring. I’ve never snowboarded, I don’t plant flowers, and I sure as hell don’t spend much time decorating my house. Swimming and strippers was about all we had in common at the initial contact stage, and since I didn’t want to talk about my freestyle swimming stroke, by process of elimination it was going to have to be something about the exotic dancing profession. So off to the keyboard I went.
The plunking I gave that computer that morning was like slow motion. What to say? WHAT THE HELL TO SAY?
My only response was this:

“Thank You. Yes I love strippers….they have some of the best stories to tell because they see people at their worst. Only you can imagine the cheesy pickup lines they have to endure. I like your site as well. Is it ok if I add you to my friends list?”

Amanda responded in the affirmative. It was the beginning of some of the greatest moments of my life, as well as some of the worst.

I quickly learned that Amanda had quite a wit, and an awesome eye for photography. Something however always remained a constant. And that was her intelligence. She wasn’t a pre-law student for nothing.

Amanda had what I can only describe as a horrific upbringing. She never really had the love of a mother that she so desperately wanted. Forced to leave her home at the tender age of 14, she lived with her best friend for a period of time, working on cars to make money. Amanda is a grease monkey with angel eyes. She always told me that no one ever believed how good she was under the hood until they watched her. She also witnessed the horror of watching her friend be killed by a stray bullet. She told me that the crucifix that is around her neck is something she has never taken off, as it was given to her when her friend was dying. Milling around aimlessly for a number of years, earning a hardscrabble existence, she went through a series of relationships, culminating in her winning a trip to Las Vegas, where she joined an amateur show, made enough money to come back east and buying the home where she now resides. All this life had been lived by the age of 19.

My interaction with Amanda increased little by little. I admit I was very interested in her looks, but I also began to converse with her through weekly emails about run of the mill experiences. I always found her warm, and pleasant. That was what really attracted me to her, was that she had been through so much pain in her life, but yet had come out of it a grounded woman. She was currently at an East Coast University studying criminal law, but her plans were to get into juvenile law at some point.

It looked like a very bright future for a very bright young woman.


I had joked with her on more than one occasion that I had had my run in with the law as a younger man, and I would be very proud to have someone as beautiful and smart as her defending me.

I had gone out of town for a week to take some time from my research and give myself a break. This was around the middle of October. I had only met Amanda two weeks earlier, but the entire time I was gone, I could not stop thinking about her. I hit her site from where I was in Chicago, and noticed she had posted some pictures of herself hiking on top of Mt. Chocurua in New England. She looked radiant on top of that mountain, at peace with the world. She was looking out at the range beyond her fixed in time. One of the most beautiful pictures I’d ever seen.
That whole time I was gone, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Something about her made me feel young again. I had no designs that I could ever tell her. I mean I am 23 years her senior, old enough to be her father. Something about her made me want to begin living again.

I myself am no stranger to love or heartache. I had dated a dancer who I almost married. She eventually cheated on me and I ended it. Ironically it was two days after Amanda was born. I had gone through a series of broken relationships with women that for one reason or another eventually ran their course and fizzled out. It had been a long time since I was even really interested in a female for anything than casual encounters. I had been hurt so much in my life by failed relationships I really just had no idea how to fall in love. And entering my early Forties was not looking forward to the prospect of getting into another relationship.

*************************

After returning home I had decided to move into a new apartment. Strangely that move into new surroundings signaled the beginning of my latest bout of depression. I thought that I needed a change, but that change was done spur of the moment without any real thought. The last week of October right after I moved into my new apartment, I was informed that my research contract would not be renewed on November 1.
So here I was…..New apartment and my career in jeopardy.
Although I picked up and still maintain a small gig for doing research on John Wilkes Booth (I live in the Land of Lincoln, where that name is a very sore subject) my goal has always been to write a book on Hitler. My degree in German History has not accorded me the accolades of more prestigious scholars. In fact, most of my career has been doing research for very famous Historians and letting my work get their name under it. I am haunted by that fact every day of my life. Luckily I have been able to live on my savings for the last 3 or 4 months until I have the opportunity for my ship to come in.

So, as depressed as I was, I spent most of my time between the Booth studies and staring at the walls. Booth became boring to me, and like Booth, I began to drink heavily. Nothing it seemed was working at all until I received a message from Amanda the first week of November. We had not spoken via email for a week or two, and she actually wondered what had happened to me. The last sentence was a question posed to me. A question that Amanda asked me that would change my life forever:

“Do you IM”?

Early November was very cold in Illinois, but my heart began to warm the following Monday, as I finally got my IM installed and by chance not only added Amanda, but saw that she was online. She said that day that she was in the Library studying. We talked about everyday things, which included what she wanted to do with her education, and a little background about each other. Nothing was said more than small talk. The conversation continued well into that afternoon, culminating with Amanda finally signing off shortly before 5 in the afternoon. That first day we had almost conversed for 5 hours. I ended the conversation by telling her what a pleasure it had been to finally meet her, and that I was becoming a “big fan”. We talked the next day, and the next day. This was fast becoming a great conversation. Amanda had a lot on her plate. She seemed eager to talk with someone just in a friendly manner. It is my firm belief that Amanda at this initial stage was as attracted to my words as I was to hers. She began to open up little by little. Amanda is quite an intelligent woman. She really can converse on a variety of subjects for such a young age. In fact, I commented to her more than once that she was “wise beyond her years”.

Over the course of that week we spoke every day for at least 4 to five hours. I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know as much as possible about her. Amanda began to feel more comfortable opening up, because in her own words I was a “gentleman”. I always was toward her. She had always accorded me respect, as did I toward her. We shared the same opinions on many subjects and shared a like sense of humor. She told me that during one of her classes that she had hit my site and one of my more humorous blogs had gotten her laughing to the point that she was asked to leave the class. That is a compliment like no other. My sense of humor is what has always sustained me. My irreverence in my writing has always been done for effect. That was just the reaction I was looking for, although not from Amanda in particular. She really seemed to enjoy talking to me. She would have to cut out around the same time for work every night. At any rate, the conversations were becoming more and more intricate, as we began to not only talk about a wide variety of subjects, but also more and more compliments shot back on the screen between the both of us.

In just that short period of time we had already begun to develop a certain rapport.

Her blogs became funnier and funnier with each passing day. She began to relate her experiences more and more often on her site. She had some rather interesting stories to tell about beating a fat lady up at the strip club, of getting her new snake, aptly named Sinner, and of being crazy enough to let her friends borrow her bike.

One day as we were chatting, she mentioned to me that she was getting some annoying messages from a potential suitor online, whom she was in the process of telling to “fuck off”(this phrase is Amanda’s favorite of all phrases; it suits her well in most capacities, as will be shown later). Upon her telling me this, I mentioned to her that her phone number was on her contact card. She immediately was stunned:

“What, are you fucking kidding me? I must have been drunk. You know though, I guess that I wouldn’t mind it if you have my phone number”.
I asked her if she had one of the “sexy New England accents”. She responded in the affirmative.

I made the excuse that I had something to do and I was going to sign off. I did have an ulterior motive, however. Now was my chance to actually put a voice to that beautiful face. I thought about it for a moment. I thought this may come back to bite me, but I had to take a chance on hearing what she sounded like. So about two minutes later I did what I would not normally do……I rang her up.

“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry, but I just HAD TO KNOW WHAT YOU SOUNDED LIKE. I JUST HAD TO!”
There was a moment of silence on the line. She later told me she was caught off guard, because she thought the voice was familiar. The voice was PERFECT. It was one of the thickest accents I’d ever heard out of New England. It was also sexy as hell, what I could understand of it. It consisted of a few moments of embarrassed giggling on both ends. Then after that I quickly hung up. I quickly sent an email apologizing for my transgression, simply stating I “just had to do it”. I got a response almost as quickly: “You loved it and you know it. Haha”!

Amanda had already begun to get into my blood that quickly. Amanda was in my blood and there was little I could do to stop it. She was already there. I just didn’t know it yet.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Rain

Once again I see Rain
Rain upon life
Rain upon all
Tears for all the strife

Never knowing where you stand
Never knowing what she planned
Never knowing why she's gone
Never knowing how to move on

Why did this happen to me
Why couldn't she just see
What the lies have done to me
They've made me cry
They made me flee

Lost inside myself
No good to others
No good at all
No good to others
Dying like the fall

When will the rain go away?
When will my heart again play
When will I be able to say
That I have moved on today?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Where Did You Run To?

Where did you run to
Where did you go
Why don't you think that I'd follow

Tried to escape
But remembered today
Is only yesterday's tommorow

The promise of fall
Turned into a lie
And brought to life only sorrow

Over the water
On silver bird flew
Pain was sold but not borrowed

Out of respect
Came only torment
Because you turned tail and fled

Crushed dreams and heart
Your goal from the start?
Destroy me and leave me for dead

Driven away
I'll return someday
It's only a matter of time

To take my soul back
That you shattered and broke
A price must be paid for this crime

I AM YOU

I AM YOU

Dont you see?

Everytime you look into yourself
You are me
Everywhere you go
Everything you do
I'm there with you
When you look in the mirror
I am the one who looks back at you
When no one else cares
I'm still the one who waits for you
When everyone lets you down
I am the one who cares for you
I am your shadow
Who trails behind you
I am that voice
Deep inside you
I am the one
Who knows everything about you
What you do
And to who
I know what is true
How do you do
Hello from me
From Me to you
We are both the same
Me
You