John, slowly and painfully begins to pull the sword out

of his chest and get started. All I got is a character for yous guys to pick apart but its a start. If I'm too far behind, just let me know.

A disappointing realization I've stumbled over is that if "it's there", as in I've got something to say, well it just comes spewing out of me like projectile vomit. What I mean to say is, if I have an idea, there usually isn't even a caution sign posted by my vocal cords telling me to slow down, watch for falling ideas, nothing..... no interlocutor between my brain and my mouth. Being a slow keyboarder is my only hope.

On the other hand, me trying to coax an original idea out requires a very particular bait for each circumstance. Sometimes it takes a long-time to find the right lure and it seems the harder I look, the longer it takes.

With that said, I began with Willie T's idea for me, and realized I just couldn't identify with that guy (I'm speeding towards 60 this year ((I'm a square root baby if you want to guess the date)))so I changed him quite a bit and now seek your thumbs up, thumbs down or kick in the arse followed by the words "you made us wait all this time for this crap?!?.... get outa here.

Any similarities between my character and a real live boy are mere coincidences.

I'll get going on the scenes if you are ok with this.

Just so you know, none of you could possibly be more disappointed in my production than I am. I'm truly sorry. I've never allowed myself to be the last of the pack before.

Too little?, too much? too corny..... let me know if it can fit in with the rest. BTW... my character comes across much more assertive and opinionated when he joins in the daily discussions.

Here 'tis

Character: Roland Lake, is 52 and is has recently retired. He lives in a small town on the outskirts of Cleveland Ohio where he now spends his free time performing a variety of volunteer functions searching for anything that could refill the void that was created by leaving a job he loved so much. The corporation’s new strategic direction of outsourcing and focusing all its attention on the software side of the business was the writing on the wall that lead to his decision to retire early. It wasn’t that they gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. They gave his an offer he would be foolish not to accept. He followed his head and not his heart for once.

Roland, though never considered to be anybody’s “trip to Hollywood” has been engaged to a remarkably patient and gifted woman whom he met over fifteen years ago named Donna. He had been divorced eight years prior to meeting her and is still dealing with some trust and commitment issues as a result. Donna is a tried and true entrepreneur., She created a woman’s boutique/”chick shop” from scratch over twenty years ago and it still remains her true passion, her life’s artwork. Roland assists her in the business by becoming a stakeholder and utilizing his management abilities, his very limited mechanical skills to paint walls, restore old furniture, etc. and has recently evolved into the shops graphic designer which incorporates his new found interest in digital photography.

Because he had worked with many of the same people over his career, they had become his social network, his friends. He soon realized that once the large common bond they once shared was gone, they quickly drifted apart. Although he was outgoing and assertive at work, the confidential nature of tasks combined with the small size of the town meant it was never comfortable for him to socialize outside of his circle of peers.

With a lot of freedom to wander about and do things on his own during the daytime, Roland found himself spending more and more time on-line which not only lead him to increase his communications with his family, but also resulted in his spending more and more time checking out the J.Peterman, Orvis, Filson and other similar adventure clothing sites that appealed to his fantasies.

Donna, on the other hand would spend hours on-line developing the shops “Facebook” web site which has also evolved into her ever expanding social network. Although she encouraged Roland to just try it out to see if he would enjoy such a virtual social gathering, he was never enticed to do so until he received an invitation to join the folks at www.PetermansEye.com in an email.

Right from the onset he was “meeting” quite a few new and very interesting people at the “Eye”. What began as a circle of acquaintances whose only thing in common was an appreciation of the now famous Owner’s Manual, grew into a circle of friends and interesting people that shared their true thoughts ad feelings on an endless variety of topics. There was no ‘wasting time with polite conversation” with this group. It was straight talk seasoned with sensitivity and mutual respect that is so rare in the world today that got him hooked. Life had become a bit richer for this socially challenged lad. At least so it seemed.