Usually open to all challenges, mild to wild. I was looking forward to being more active after caring for my mom for 10 years. But one lesson I learned from wrestling most of my life, it's that it is best to admit defeat at the hands of a more powerful opponent.
Tap out before you pass out, as one of my BJJ instructors used to say. The past few months having been plagued with illness and fatigue, I think I better submit. It has been one thing after another, as if on cue after my mom passed away. My recent eye surgery, and the time it has taken to heal, have convinced me that things will never go back to what they used to be.
I have also reluctantly come to realize that I've turned into one of those wrestlers who talk more, with little intention of actually meeting anyone. It was my intention to buy an RV and travel cross country to meet all the guys I always wanted to meet but never did. Now, I have to admit even that will be difficult.
However, I will continue to live vicariously through this terrific website, and all the contributions made here. I might even go to watch some matches, if invited.
I'm grateful for all the friends I've made along the way. Well... those who stayed in touch. To anyone starting out, I can promise you that the friends you make among wrestlers will be true friends, unlike others in the "gay community." You might even fall in love, or find a partner so you don't spend the rest of your life alone. I wasn't so lucky, but I haven't given up on that. Why not? Stranger things have happened.
I have also begun to write a "memoir"... well, that's a bit dishonest. It's more like a fictionalized account of my wrestling experiences. It seems to be shaping into an erotic novel. I can still get my kicks that way.
So, all is not lost.