One Perfect Afternoon (and All Women)

One Perfect Afternoon (and All Women)
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

One Perfect Afternoon

New York City, March 24, 2007:


One perfect afternoon.

Sometimes this is all we get over a lifetime. I had mine on one cold afternoon-into-evening in the middle of this past January.

This is me drunk in a pub in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I am punch drunk on perfection.

Peering into, experiencing, loving and appreciating...perfection.

It was a great afternoon and a wonderful night, a powerful combination, the memory of which will certainly last a lifetime.

*

All Women

Meanwhile, regarding another matter entirely (well, not entirely)—I’ve decided.

I’ve decided that the rest of my life should be devoted to All Women.

From now on I will only love, learn about, learn from, laugh with and live for all women.

No more of this one-woman-only nonsense. Such singular endeavors only confuse me.

Adapting to and dealing with the idiosyncrasies of the female individual only make achieving ideals like loving continually, laughing freely, learning and discovering exuberantly, and living harmonioiusly to help one another fulfill each other’s greatest potentials—all the more futile.

Recently, I realized that my heart is merely a muscle—it tires, it palpitates, it often skips a beat, and most importantly, it is subject to being bro

ken.

Merely the size of a fist, if I open it, it comfortably accommodates one person—practically, affectionately, sometimes quite perfectly.

Alas, although I am inclined to enrapture one by closing that fist, I know that true love is free, and thus, it must be left often. Herein lies the dilemma, for she can jump out at any given time.

(Here comes the whine.)

Then comes the emptiness, the pining echoes of what may have been, the scratching attempts to understand what was, the petty assessments in retrospect, the long and heavy sighs, as well as the urgent desire to bring closure in order to forget.

My mind, by contrast, with more synaptic branches then there are stars in the known universe, is capable of making innumerable connections; and it is predisposed toward always exploring the unknown, experiencing the extraordinary and thereby extrapolating the universal from a million different special moments.

The mind also has the awesome potential to love, cherish, appreciate, understand, desire and communicate with—many.

Thus, unlike my heart which barely has room for one, the mind harbors a universe of space that can accommodate as many souls as a lifetime can offer.

An acute ability to compartmentalize will allow me to concentrate at any given moment on any one individual, so that each person will feel that my wiles, my smiles, my shameless gushes of oxytocin, and the unapologetic throes of insatiable desire are all true. For the mind harnesses an awesome power to focus, so that each time my eyes will see only you, and my spirit will be energized anew with the stealing beauty of each individual.

Hence, all women.

Much as I love life, I will henceforth love the stronger sex as a whole, as one, with unbridled enthusiasm; and I will even wholeheartedly accept all the altruistic penchants that are often antithetical to the male impulse to achieve and believe that life should be led according to the will of the ruthless individual, including:

* The desire to make the world a better place
* The pressing need to work toward the greater good, to strive for self-improvement and to find that perfect pair of shoes to match the newest outfit
* Color coordination in all things, not to mention merely the need for more color
* Talking and walking and eating, rarely, if ever, alone
* Making sure everyone is happy.

So, all women.

Therein lies empowerment,
peril lurks in the pursuit of one.


(Note: I don't take myself all-too seriously all-too often, so perhaps you shouldn't either. The mind can be fickle as it is human to have ever-changing wants and desires.

One minute you've given up on your heart's greatest desire because you've tried and you've tried and thus resigned to what you've concluded is a futile effort...

And then the next minute she's changed her mind and thus do you, and therefore you want her more than ever...)