TheCloudWalker's blog: "TheCloudWalker's Thoughts"

Why Are Automobile Batteries So Heavy? Why Can’t They Be Miniaturized? Good question; simple answer. When one shoves his mother-in-law’s car into the lake, (with her in it), one needs the weight to insure the car doesn’t float! Okay, okay. I’m just kidding. It would be nice to have some small, rechargeable, battery so you could carry two around in your glove box just in case the one under the hood decides to roll over and die… but it isn’t going to happen any time soon. First and foremost, as Stephen Bomer of the Automotive Battery Charger Manufacturers stated, high density lead plates are a major component of a battery: "No substitute for lead has been found that can do the job or generate the voltage required.” Some batteries have been reduced in size over the last 20 years but according to H. Dale Millay, (a staff engineer for Shell Oil); we have paid the price for the downsizing. The greater the surface area of lead in the battery, the easier it is to generate power. Although modern batteries are good at cold starts, they have low reserve capacities. As John J. Surrette, vice-president of Rolls Battery engineering, put it: “The thinner you make the plates in a battery, the lesser material inside… The heavier the material, the more rugged the battery and the longer they will last. When you use thinner plates… this lessens the amount of ampere-hour capacity. When heavier material is used, like we do in marine and industrial applications, it results in considerably longer life and less exposure, (to the elements), which reduces the chance of the plates buckling in hard service or the active material shedding from the positive grids. …Miniaturized batteries would probably be preferable but would stand little or no abuse or neglect.” I can’t say that I completely understood everything Mr. Surrette said, but it seems to make sense. But I still prefer the way David Feldman said it: “The car battery is one case where you don’t want to get the lead out.” (I will thank David Feldman, and his book, “Do Penguins Have Knees”, for the information on this subject.)

This Is The Week That Was for 06/17/07 “FORE! No, more like 20.” A golfer, in Reno, Nevada, shot his ball into the rough last week; I mean really rough. The area, beyond the course, was nothing but dirt and dry grass. So, in an effort to play his way back to the green, the duffer addressed the ball and made his best swing… struck something other than the ball, created a spark and started a fire in the dry grass that burned 20 acres of brush and tinder-dry grass before 50 firefighters could bring the blaze under control while other fire engines protected nearby homes. “Well, that’s par for the course I suppose.” ************************************************************************************ Colorado’s Undie Squad? Must be something about ladies undies in Colorado that drive men over the top. Recently a Denver man was charged with seven counts of second-degree burglary in three separate cases. Carlos Vigil, known as the “panty burglar”, would enter homes through open windows and doggie doors and steal women’s undergarments, photographs and other personal items. (Photographs? Did he want to see who else was wearing them?) That wouldn’t be so bad, (or good, depending on your point of view), but shortly before that a Colorado Springs man pleaded guilty to breaking into homes and stealing women’s under wear. And yet another man, in Fort Collins, faces charges for the theft of more than 1,300 women’s undergarments from apartment laundry rooms near Colorado State. “Did these guys know each other?” ************************************************************************************** Time To Pay The Pole Dancer Jason T. Parrott of, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, decided to spend Saturday night at the “Lumberyard II”, a Strip club, where he became totally intoxicated and ordered up eight rounds… of lap dances that is, at the cost of $25 per dance. At the end of the evening Mr. Parrott refused to pay, (he must’ve wanted a pole dance), police were summoned and good-old Jason was charged with fifth-degree theft and public intoxication. “Hmm, with some guys you just have to get in their face or they’re just not happy.” ************************************************************************************** And That Was The Week That Was for June 17, 2007. Slow week, but kinky. So, ‘til the next time… remember, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

Ocean's 13 It can be great fun when, on Saturday afternoon, you can live your life vicariously through a handful of rascals on the movie screen; and that’s just what I did last Saturday. Danny, (George Clooney), Rusty, (Brad Pitt), and the boys come together one more time to pull off the most bizarre stunt yet, in Ocean’s 13; and it wasn’t for the money. So, why you ask did they do it? Friendship. Without giving too much away I’ll try to explain it. A heartless casino mogul, Willy Banks, (an excellent performance by Al Pacino), double-crosses Rueben Tishkoff, (Elliott Gould), in a casino partnership and Rueben has a heat attack and is left in a near catatonic state. Well, that’s all it takes to pull the lads back together with the intent on “breaking the Bank”. Although, the nice guy he is, Danny did start out by asking Willy Bank to be nice and reinstate Rueben, to which Bank said, politely, up yours. For, about, the first 15 minutes I was totally confused on what the hell was going on, but after a bit, it cleared up for me; so don’t walk out if you feel a little overwhelmed in the beginning. “13” focuses mostly on the scam; there is no romantic interest in this on to distract the lads… unless you want to count Oprah. A little side fun, though, is the bad things that happen to the hotel reviewer from the “Five Diamond” review board, or what ever they called it, don’t let that part slip by you, it’s funny. You have to remember one thing in this one, there really is only eleven of them; they just practice the art of disguise here and there. Anyway, the plan, they are told, won’t work because of a high tech security system; it would take something like a natural disaster just to get this thing to blink. Somewhere in the move they are told their chances are about 13 to 1 to pull this off; hence, I understand, “Ocean’s 13”. I can’t verify that myself, I guess I missed that statement. No matter, the challenge was set and the scam was on. Willy Bank’s own ego would be one of the things they would depend on to cause his downfall. There are many layers to this scam so you gotta focus on what’s going on, but it is an enjoyable endeavor from beginning to end. Even on the middle when the boys run low on cash and hit up an old friend, (old friend?), Terry Benedict, (Andy Garcia), for a little help. You remember Terry don’t you? He’s the one they scammed in “Ocean’s 11”. Well, that made for an interesting partnership; did they scam against scam? You betcha. Okay, ‘nuff said. That’s all I am going to tell you… I think. I don’t want to ruin it for you… Although… I did wonder, how in the hell did they get that huge machine down there to start with. What machine? Go see the movie, and if you stop to think, you’ll wonder the same thing. It’s great fun and everybody, but Willy, comes out a winner; even Oprah, 200 kids and the hotel reviewer. I’ll give it 4 out of five clouds, just below “Ocean’s 11”, which is still the better of the three. On the other hand, they are all still a bit below the first one; after all, I am 60 and a bit partial to Frank, Dean and Sammy.

I have no excuse for my absence in the last few weeks… well, not really. I’m the type of guy that can take most insults and shrug them off without a thought; but when someone says something mean and nasty about my favorite hobby… it’ll cut right through to the bone. About a month ago a comment was made about one of the articles I wrote, I can’t remember exactly what was said, but he could lit me on fire and not hurt my feelings as badly. The comment went something like; why would I read anything you wrote? That little jab put me in a funk you wouldn’t believe! I’ve suffered a writer’s block ever since. I’ve written two or three things since, or tried to, and, later, went back and read them myself and I didn’t like what I wrote. I mean, I liked what I was trying to say but I didn’t say what I was trying to say… uhm, I mean, what I said wasn’t what I meant… whatever! I think you know what I mean. All in all, I think I learned a lesson with this; be very careful what you say to people. I’ve never asked this person what he actually meant by his comment, I’m afraid to know I guess. I still have a problem writing things because of that statement and I don’t even know why. I usually write letters to my Uncle Winnie, in Pennsylvania, once a month, last weekend I even had a hard time sitting down to do that! Maybe I’m a little too thin-skinned about my little hobby. It took me all morning just thinking about what to write about it. Okay, I feel a little better now… just don’t pick on me, I’m not sure I could handle it. On the other hand, go ahead and pick on me, you might just piss me off enough to crawl out of this dumb a**ed funk I’m in. More later… I hope, I think...maybe... what ever!

To Scratch A Dog’s Ass There has always been much controversy over evolution, even the heated arguments such as the Scope’s (Monkey) Trial around 1925. Reason being, of course, is most men, and women, do not want to be compared to a lowly animal, (religious differences aside that is). Now, I hate to rattle cages here, but as far as I can see mankind, uhm, womankind? Humankind… personkind… whatever. Let’s just say that people are a whole more like animals than they want to admit. Never fear, I’m not going to cover every which way man… uhhh… people are like various animals, (i.e. some people look like monkeys, some are stubborn as mules, etc.) I am just going to pick on one thing I’ve noticed over the years of my existence: If you scritch a dog’s ears, you’d better be ready to scratch his ass… or have a damned good reason why not. Most people I’ve met are pretty much the same way. Well, I don’t mean you have to scratch their hind side or anything like that. What I’ve noticed about people is, that if you do one thing for them… they expect more. And more, and more… I’ll give you a personal example of that. I was visiting New York City some years back and my wife and I were returning to our hotel when we decided to stop at a small convenience store just down the street; an indigent, homeless person, bum, whatever you want to call him, was standing near the door, he asked for my spare change, however much he didn’t care, he was hungry and needed food. (How many times have you heard that?). I reached in my pocket and pulled about $1.90 in loose change, (not a bad gimme), handed it over to him and then I went into the store. After Ma and I roamed around the store deciding what we wanted, we went to check out. Our favorite bum was already there with a bottle of wine on the counter, he was livid. “This bottle costs $2.30!” He screamed at me and, actually, the conversation was laced with profanity. “I need another 40 cents!” (Prices are guessed at, it was some time ago.) Well, the clerk came around and through the guy out and apologized to me for the outburst. Now I know that that is an extreme, (but it is true), example, but these things happen to all of us every day, just, hopefully, not to that extent. I work as a project manager for a sub-contractor in construction and, now and then, I will do a little favor for the contractor to make the project go a little smoother… at no charge. What happens next? He’ll call and ask for some other little favor, (free, of course)… okay, that’s cool. Then he wants a bigger favor; why sure, no problem. And then he has a cow when he receives the bill for that bigger favor; he just didn’t understand why I would do this and not that… for free. That’s just the way some people are though, they get presumptuous about freebies and favors. I mean, some of you ladies may, just may, remember some guy you dated a few times and gave him a little sex on the… oh, let’s say the third date. Lo and behold, he wanted to jump your bones every time he got near you after that; right? Maybe a little handy sex in the car, (while he’s driving), or some, uhhhhm, oral stimulation in the garden at a party; yuppers... give a man a good show and he’s gonna want encores. Men aren’t the only ones now so don’t get smug ladies, little kids and women can get greedy too. Mamma stops by with her kid and you give the kid an ice cream, and he’ll expect an ice cream every time he sees you after that. Feel generous one night and leave the waitress a big tip, better not go back if you’re a little short on cash the next time. I mean, if you just start out with a regular tip and do that time after time, that’s okay; but, you give a huge tip one time and a regular tip the next time, you’ll be a cheap skate in her eyes for ever after. I could go on and on but… well, let me conger up a few more… let me see. Never let a friend, (yes a friend), stay with you more than a night; you just might end up with a permanent guest… or a hostile enemy, mm hmm, there’s one. Oh, and what’s the old saying, “Neither a borrower or a lender be”, or something like that. Okay, I’ll stop. I know this probably sounds like I’m just sounding off, and maybe I am; but I warn you, if you scritch a dog’s ears…

America The Undecided! How can we, as a nation, be expected to pray for peace, or anything else for that matter, when our own government and the likes of the ACLU constantly remind us, and warn us, NOT to trust in God? In the 18th and 19th centuries immigrants poured in from other countries to escape the oppressions of dictate rulers; to escape theocracies that demanded a belief in their God… or die. Weary of living in fear and poverty the peoples packed what they could and headed for a promise land called the new world… now known as AMERICA! A nation that, over the centuries, became respected and feared… a nation of ingenuity and freedom… a nation of GOD! And now… And now a bit of a joke to the rest of the world, and it’s not because of political leaders that makes fools of them in the public arena or become overzealous in their pursuit of power. No, it’s not the politicos that have made the United States look like buffoons to the rest of the world, although they have greatly added to the circus known as our public persona, it’s the Nation itself, the populace, the people, whatever you want to call us, we are all responsible for what the world thinks of us. We are thought of as arrogant, buffoons, cowards and the list goes on... but most of all… the undecided. The root of this problem is America’s inability to make a decision; for the last forty years we’ve been a Nation divided, at odds against itself. Twice, in my memory, we’ve went to war to defend freedom and democracy, both times walked away looking like… oh, someone you wouldn’t want at your back, for lack of a better term. Want more? We’ve, (so it would seem), pulled together and elected presidents, senators, congressmen, and so on, and so on; only to turn around and attack these same people with venom. We’ve passed laws only to fight over those same laws for years. We went into combat, (Iraq), in response for 3,000 dead, just to start whining that it hurts, and, at the same time some insist we should send our armies into another, (Darfur). Our inability to make a decision, and stick to it, is going to destroy us as a world power, hell, we won’t even be looked upon as a friend if we continue this way. Americans are at each other’s throats constantly; we spend so much time bickering amongst ourselves we forget the world is watching. And their thoughts, and opinions, are not all that good… and I don’t blame them. Sure, we give out money to both, the deserving and the undeserving, but the world doesn’t care about that; they look at Uncle Sam like he’s a senile old benefactor, take his money and laugh at him. One of the most prominent items we have wavered on, as a country, is God. We started, (proudly I must say), as a Nation Of God, of the people, for the people and a people for God. Our trust in God was displayed in our buildings, on our money, on monuments… every place and everywhere, we were proud of our faith in God, proud of our religious freedom. And now… and now this freedom is being taken away from us. Once again we are becoming an oppressed people for our belief in God. We can’t just decide on God, can we? We fear the politically correct! It’s a bad thing to say a prayer in public… why, it’s just not right! We wouldn’t want others to think we are bad people because we believe in God and feel that it should be a public cry of faith. It seems to me that it has become more acceptable to say you follow Wicca than it is to say you believe in God… and that truly is a sad state of affairs. “In God We Trust” is slowly being omitted from our national currencies; the Pledge of Allegiance has been revised to say “…On Nation, Indivisible…’ omitting “Under God”. Some day I expect to the “America the Beautiful” rewritten to say, “America… America… we shall crown thy good with siblinghood…” Omitting “God Shed His Grace On Thee…” To make it more ridiculous we can’t even decide anything about God! We can’t decide if God has a gender, we can’t decide what color God is, all in the quest for public correctness, (I hate the term ‘politically correct. I’m not running for office.) I for one prefer the answer of something I read once, (and I really wish I could remember this lady’s name), that God is the color of water. I know that’s not what she was referring to, but it fits. If we don’t start making decisions as “One Nation… Under God” we will discover that, yes indeed; we will be “one Nation, divisible!” And it will happen soon if we keep turning our backs on God. Don’t get me wrong when I say this, I am a Christian, born and raised… evangelical. And I will always be a Christian. But, many Muslim countries have a faith-based government and it stays that way. Whether, or not, I agree with their particular faith isn’t important, what is important is that they are a nation under God. It is time that the United States of America remembers that this was a faith-based country in the beginning, a Christian-based Nation. Somewhere along the road a few people of this, once, great nation forgot its roots, and they are leading the rest of us around by the nose and because of this we’ve become a nation of… I don’t know. What have we become? Sometimes I feel as though I am alone when I want to say this, and I, honestly, hope I’m not. “In God I Trust!” No, that doesn’t sound right. That should be “In God We Trust!” Amen.

This Is The Week That Was 05/27/07 He Just Couldn’t Steal Her Heart. Okay, I’ll admit that some are pretty cheesy when it comes to asking a girl out, and this Milwaukee stud was definitely one of those guys. When he tried to steal the heart of a U-Haul employee by using such lines as, “Hey baby, you’re pretty fine.” And “Can I get your number and go out sometime?” Well, I guess it really wasn’t such a bad line; maybe it was because he, and a friend, just robbed the U-Haul store and forced the “Fine” young lady to the floor, with her associate, and emptied the cash register moments before asking for the date that made it seem such a bad thing. “Odd thing, she turned him down. I wonder why?” **************************************************************************************** The Napper Thief Lisa Siepert, of Wasilla, Alaska, called police to report that someone broke into her house and stole two handguns, some food and some spirits… booze that is. Well, Lisa must have been really impressed when the State Troopers caught him in a matter of minutes! Well, not really. You see, Gary Olson, the suspect, was found in her garage… sleeping in her friend’s car… wearing Lisa’s sweatshirt. “Lesson learned? Take a nap before you rob a house.” *************************************************************************************** Obscene Requests. Police in Guelph, Ontario, Canada are looking for a man that has been making, some sort of obscene requests of women in the area. Three women, who were not harmed in the incidents, have reported that a man on a bicycle would approach them and make an off colored request… he wanted them to kick him in the groin. Although this… request is not illegal, police are still concerned it could lead to something worse. “Well, ain’t that a kick in the head… well, when you think about it, it could be.” **************************************************************************************** And that Was The Week That Was For May 29th, 2007 So, 'til the next time remember, time can sneak up on you... just like a windshield on a bug.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At Worlds End? Okay, I’ll admit, using the question mark gave the illusion that I didn’t like the movie; that’s not the reason I put it after the word “End”, but you’ll have to see the movie to understand why I did that. Actually, yes, I did like “At Worlds End”, but I am the type of guy that is fascinated by these types of shows… you know, “Star Wars”, “Indiana Jones”, “Star Trek” and others that are the swashbuckling heroic type shows. Although, as in “Pirates”, the hero is not always clearly defined; I mean, think about it, Han Solo, of Star Wars, and Captain Jack Sparrow are actually scoundrels at best, but, somehow, become our heroes… of sorts. I suppose, like most men, I, in some ways, envy that spirit of reckless disposition and necessary savvy to survive in the underworld of life. Okay, back to the movie. To start with, let me put this in prospective; “The Curse of the Black Pearl” is, by far, the best of the three. “At World’s End” would rank second, and “Dead Man’s Chest” is last, remember, though, “Dead Man’s Chest”, as in many trilogies, was a bridge from the first to the third and generally the second one always leaves you hanging; wanting more. At Worlds End The plot of “World’s End” is simple and complicated at the same time. Lord Cutler Beckett now has control of Captain Davy Jones and his ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and he, Lord Beckett, is trying to bring piracy to an end; which, you’d think, would be a good thing, but it’s not, old Cutler has a greedy heart and he is holding Davy Jones’ heart hostage to feed his own greed. Got that? Well, neither did I, all I was sure of is that Beckett was the evil doer and Davy Jones was the bad guy. While the Flying Dutchman is at sea destroying all the pirate ships it can find, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and Captain Barbossa team up and head to the South China Sea, Singapore to be exact, in search of the Chinese pirate Captain, Sao Feng. It appears that Feng has charts, and a ship, that will help them to find the ends of the Earth, where, they hope; they will find Davy Jones’ Locker and rescue their friend, (their friend? I thought they tried to kill him), Captain Jack Sparrow. Well, there is a reason for this rescue. The Pirates, it seems, have to assemble the, duh da duht ta daaa, (I hope you got that), Pirates of the Round Table! Well, actually, they called them the Nine Lords of the Brethren Court… and the table was oval. Anyway, these nine Pirate Captains have to assemble and decide what to do about Beckett, Jones and the Flying Dutchman. But, one of the nine is missing; who you ask? Why it’s our lovable, touched in the head, Captain Jack. And the search is on. And the fun begins. At this point, ladies, the question arises; just how many Johnny Depps would you like? The biggest problem the Pirates have is that, they need one another but… they can’t trust each other. There is betrayal upon betrayal as the Pirate Captains quarrel amongst them selves, battling for position; who gets what and who’s in charge; especially between the two Captains of the Black Pearl, (Barbossa and Sparrow). The most surprising betrayal is between Will Turner and Captain Swann, (Captain Swann? Oh yeah, the beautiful Captain Elizabeth Swann. You’ll have to see the movie to see how that happens). During the meeting of the Lords the argument of whether to run and hide or face the Flying Dutchman, and the British fleet, head on; this is where the King of the Pirates, Captain Teague, is called upon to settle the dispute. Captain Teague, as it turns out, is Captain Jack’s daddy; even Jack’s mum makes a cameo appearance. Anyway, Captain Teague is ousted in favor of a new Pirate King, (by one vote); the new King, (or Queen as it were), is Captain Swann; and the decision is made, the fight is on. During this little discussion Captain Teague sits down and plays a guitar and, hey, he’s not half bad. Personal agendas are put aside and final alliances are made; the Pirate armada is formed and heads out to sea to face the Flying Dutchman and the British fleet. It’s a must; the freedom-loving way of the Pirate life is at stake. It is high noon and the face off is immanent… No wait that would be a western. The time has come for a final showdown; the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman circle each other as the skies turn stormy, (what else you ask?), and a whirlpool in the ocean threatens to suck them under, (that’s what else). Captain Jack takes on Davy Jones in a fierce and, (as always with Sparrow), acrobatic battle. The Pirate’s last hope disappears in a shower of crabs, (who the hell was Calypso anyway?). In the midst of battle, combatants are swinging from one ship to another and helmsmen struggle to keep their ships afloat, Will Turner proposes to Captain Swann and Captain Barbossa marries them, (HUNH?). The comic pair of British seamen, of course, adds humor throughout the stormy fight. As that battle ends, (and the storm ends), Davy Jones locker takes on a new identity, and the two ships come side to side and face off the British fleet, (with the other pirate ships behind them). Who wins that fight? Go see the movie. I did have some questions during all this excitement, and it was exciting… (To me that is; the wife wanted more tenderness and kissy-kissy, she didn’t care about all the battle scenes). During the final scene of “Dead Man’s Chest” Captain Jack Sparrow’s dental situation was disgusting, then, in “At World’s End”, except for a few gold crowns, he had pearly whites! Hmm, musta had some dental work in Davy Jones’ Locker. And who, exactly, was Calypso? Well, later, I looked her up. Calypso was a sea goddess imprisoned in human form; the Pirates, somehow, freed her in hopes that she would aid them in battle. Well, that did answer the question of where all the crabs came from at Davy Jones’ Locker! I did question the rating; my opinion is that small kids shouldn’t see the movie. A lot of battles, killing, nightmarish characters and… aw hell, they probably watch the news every day so… My opinion? Great fun, go see it. Oh, if you haven’t seen the other two yet, rent them first, it will make “At World’s End” all the better. I will rate 3½ clouds out of 5. I won’t tell you the finale except that Captain Jack Sparrow is left without a ship… again. And, so ends the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series… Or does it?

This Is The Week That Was For May 13th, 2007 Gimme Your Money Or I’ll Squirt Ya’” Two young Kansas boys, 11 and 14, walked into a Dollar General Store brandishing a weapon and demanded money. A skirmish between the clerk and the older boy ensued, (the older boy had the gun). While this was going on the 11 year-old grabbed the money from the cash register. The police nabbed the suspects within minutes and, later, found the deadly weapon… a squirt gun wrapped in black electrical tape. "It's very troubling that a kid that is 11 years old can formulate the thought in their mind to do something like this," police Maj. Pat Kitchens said. Police said that it doesn’t matter whether the weapon fired bullets or simply squirted water; a crime was committed. "The crime is dictated by the behavior of the suspects in this instance," Kitchens said. “Well, one thing is for sure; if you did not wet your pants, they could do it for you.” ********************************************* Another Robbery Gone Sour? Everyone knows how bad it could be to lose your wallet with everything in it; photo I.D., Social Security card, birth certificate… But to lose it while you are robbing a fast food restaurant? Well, Nathan McFarland, of Cincinnati, did just that thing. He is now accused of assaulting two KFC employees Saturday and fleeing with an undetermined amount of cash. But, he didn’t get away; the wallet he left behind made it easy to identify him. “Sigh and oh my. Good thieves are so hard to find these days… Thank God.” ********************************************** A Hot Police Standoff Police in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, were responding to a minor disturbance complaint when they came upon one Lawanda Diane Clay who was toting her weapon of choice, a can of pepper spray. The police demanded that M. Clay drop her weapon… she refused. Cpl. Carl Holland used his own pepper spray on her and a pepper spray fight broke out; Ms. Clay sprayed Cpl. Holland and, if that wasn’t enough to get your butt in trouble, she turned on the other officer, Patrick Langley, and sprayed him. Not a nice thing to do. Finally, Holland brought down the fastest sprayer in the west by hitting her twice in the leg with his nightstick. What would have been just a disorderly charge are now felony battery and drug charges... along with the misdemeanor charges. “Talk about getting in your face!” ************************************************ And That Was The Week That Was. So, ‘til the next time… remember, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.”

Sometimes, in your life, someone, somewhere, will light a fire inside you; an immoral itch, a forbidden lust if you will. It is difficult when this happens, you want them so bad you can taste them; you can smell their passion in your nostrils. Your dreams at night become heatedly disturbed, and pleasantly moved, by their presence there, and you awake in the morning with the flavor of them still on your tongue, the feel of them at your fingertips, a feeling so real that you turn to look for them only to see that they are not there, but the passion of the dream still moistens you, uncomfortable but pleasing just the same. This may be someone you know, or have just met, or haven’t met quite yet. But even if they offered, overtly or subtly, to make you illusionary dream a bit of reality, circumstances would force you to turn them down; no matter how difficult that decision would be. For the friendship of the imaginary lover, and/or the friendship of others, may be more important than fulfilling a dream of passion. Then, still, you would spend your nights longing for the taste, for the feel, for the smell of the one that sparks a fire in your very soul, a burning so intense you are not sure how long chaste feelings to this dream lover will last. I know this feeling, I feel this fire almost daily; and I weaken every passing hour.