Done

�This just in . . . as of 11:15 p.m. Monday, December 1, 2003 . . . I was

officially dropped into the fetid, festering ranks of the single man . . .

feeling blue, very blue . . . hurting, yup.

Not sure how I'm going to feel this week, or how I'm going to deal with my

newfound status as "extraneous to requirements" and all. Self-destructive,

petulant, pissed . . . sad, morose, morbid . . .

May take a couple of days away from here. Don't know yet.

Angry.

Agitated.

Alone.

Me.�

My heart ached as I read today of the demise of one of my best friend�s 5-year relationship. Truth be told, I never liked his partner and feel in my bones he could do better. I wish there was some way I could apply some healing salve to his injuries, cure his despair and make the world and the women in it easier to bear.

Relationships are funny things. They have the power to render us speechless with passion, with raw emotion and that burning need we all remember to simply be in the same room as the object of our affection. This same power can turn on a dime to rip out our hearts, offering us up to the world with our wounds exposed, naked. It�s a risk, and the odds are fairly even as to which way our world will turn. You�ve gotta be a player to be a winner, my Dad always said.

In this case, I�m just not so sure.

Posted at 4:00 p.m.