The Life of a Southern Girl

When I started dating; I was really into "Bad Boys". Now, that's not to say that I liked guys that did bad things (Steal 6-packs, cars, what have you). I liked guys that LOOKED like they might could do bad things; but they didn't. In the late 70's; that meant that they had long hair (I LOVED long hair) and that I-don't-give-a-fuck swagger. And if he had a motorcycle? OMG! I once dated a guy in high school just because he looked like Tom Petty. Tom Petty wasn't all that cute, but; damn! Didn't he just look like he could knock over a Gas Station? Mark looked just like him. AND he didn't do bad things. Perfect for me.

Fortunately, it wasn't that hard to find a long-haired-swagger-having-motorcycle-riding-law-abiding-educated man in the late 70's/early 80's. For some reason, all that changed when I was about 26. I started dating an Air Force Pilot. Short hair, no swagger, no motorcycle; but he was a Thrill-Seeker. A "Bad Boy" on a different spectrum. Skydiving, BASE jumping, Rappeling; stuff like that. We lived together for a while. We may have stayed together had he not had to move when he left the Air Force & went with NorthWest. I actually was going to go with him; but that's a whole other story.

So, with my new-found likeness for short-haired professional men; I move on to Michael. A guy who had just finished the MIBS program at USC. Undergrad in Geology. He was working at Savannah River Plant. He had done his work-study in Cairo. Learned to speak Arabic in 6 weeks. Just plain fascinating. For about 3 months. After that; even his good looks could not get me pass the stories about rocks & soil contamination. It's all he ever talked about. Granted; he taught me how to play a good game of Chess. But even that has a time and a place.

I find myself in St. Croix about a year later & find myself back at Square One. I meet Bryan. Bryan was 6'3" with hair down to his waist. Brooding. Gorgeous hair. Girls: Don't you just hate it when a guy has nicer hair than you do? I would braid his hair for him before he went to work & just marvel at how beautiful it was. Anyway, he was the Landscape Manager at the resort I bartended for. Very smart guy. Lots of business savvy. The house he had bought for 37,000$ had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Hugo. He did all the re-construction himself finding every single loop-hole as far as importing materials. So, I'm back to a long-haired guy. And Brooding has replaced the Swagger. That lasted about a year.

Then I meet Chris. Short hair. Very quiet. Undergrad in English. Wants to be a lawyer to follow in his father's footsteps. The most unassuming guy in the world. And he plays Rugby! I love Rugby. The most violent legal sport. I immediately fall in love with him. I moved back to the States with him. Unfortunately, I couldn't see myself any farther north than DC when he decided to go to Law School in Boston. It's really cold in Boston.

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So, I've been on the same path ever since. Unassuming guys who have a little bit of a wild side. And that's been OK with me. I mark it up to being older & wiser now. Can I find one that can hold my interest for more than a couple/three years? I don't know. I've been engaged 4 times. My father once made a joke that I should have a T-shirt that reads, "Born to Be Engaged". I just could never take that final walk. I think I'm still looking for that "Bad Boy" that meets all my criteria. I don't even know what got me on this. There was that one guy that came into my bar today with LONG blonde hair. He's taking a sabbatical for a year & is looking for people to travel with to do some diving, kayaking, hiking, etc. Much like The Mighty Jimbo. (You should go check out his pics, by the way.)

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I send much love to everyone that's sent me nice thoughts these past few days. I'm doing great! Medical Technology IS a great thing. You take a pill for a few days & you're fine.

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St. Pat's is Thursday. Get your Green On! And if you sit at my bar; be kind. If you're not; well, I warned you.

peace