I posted this on Multiply 12/3/07 to show what kind of person I am

     What kind of man is Vinster?  Well I’m a complicated but simple man.  On the surface I’m light hearted, while underneath I’m a really deep thinker.  I’m usually either silly or serious.

     I grew up in near poverty in a home that was a battlefield.  My parents argued what seemed to me to be constantly and sometimes it got really violent.  I have literally thousands of hairline fractures in my skull that I got stepping in between them to protect my mother.  A doctor once asked me after viewing an x-ray of my head what kind of accident I had been in to get all the fractures there.

     The violence stopped on September 16, 1963 when my father went to work and never came back…nor was heard from again for the next 26 years.  He left my mom with all her kin in England and five kids to rear by herself here in America…with me as the oldest, 16 at the time, to grow up faster and help her.  This I did as best as I could.  And so without a choice I entered the school of hard knocks.  And as it’s been said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!”

    I was a shy kid, very shy and had a very small circle of friends…usually the outcasts that nobody wanted…you know the type…they were always picked last when games were played.

     It was these friends that taught me the value of friendship.  They were the “Don’t judge a book by its cover” friends.  I learned it doesn’t matter what people look like, or how they talk, or how they thought…or the color of their skin, or their religious beliefs.  What mattered most was we needed each other…for as I’ve always said without friends you’re friendless.

     I love to dance…I LOVE TO DANCE…there’s just something about it that makes me happy in my soul.   I love to sing too; but I’ve got an ability with my voice to change it so that I can sing baritone, or bass, or falsetto at will with various accents…and sometimes I’ll change without meaning to, and I’ll have a cacophony of sound.

I can also talk like Donald Duck through my cheek when my dentures are secure.  I’ve I used to do it before I had them.  You should see the looks I get especially when I do it when first meeting someone.

     I had a doctor at the hospital have me called whenever he had a child that was unsettled or afraid.  I’d come in and give the boy or girl the duck voice and they’d forget about where they were and let the doc do his stuff.  You’d be surprised to hear how many times I got called to the ER.

     I can also sound like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings; someone Irish; someone English, and a few assorted other varied voices from old men to goony sounding idiots.  I love to entertain my grandchildren with them.  The looks they give me just melt my heart.

     What I love the most however is friends and family.  My two daughters have been a challenge to rear…especially when they got to their teens.  But they came out just fine and each one has given me a grandson and granddaughter, whom I dote over.  Yes, I’m a spoiler.  Since my stroke they are taxing however…but I do my best to do my best by them.

     As for my wife…it has been 38 years now and I love her more today than the day I married her.  I treat her like a Queen and lavish love, affection, and an occasional “it’s not your birthday gift” on her.

     She goes crazy when I stare at her, and will ask, “What are you looking at?”

     I will calmly reply, “You!”

     And I’ll get a “What for?” from her.

     To which I’ll add, “You…because you’re a good woman and I love you…you’re my honey…and you’re beautiful!”

     She’ll come back with, “You’re nuts!”

     To which I reply, “Nuts about you babe!” and then I’ll add, “And you’re beautiful to me!”

     So ladies you see where my heart is…I’d sooner die than cheat on her.  Just the thought of it is abhorrent to me!  But I am guilty of window-shopping.  I look, but don’t go in the store to make a purchase…or try it on for size.  Never did…never will!

     Sure I flirt.  But it’s to make you ladies feel good about yourselves, and not to make a move on you.  Please know that if I give you a compliment or a flirty remark…that it’s harmless, and only said for you to appreciate…never as a come on or to be rude or forward.

     As you can see I’ve lost my shyness…that happened when I married my wife…she brought me out of my shell.

     I love humor…to get a laugh or comment from a friend is precious to me.  I live for a smiling face or a giggle or comment after I’ve said or wrote something.  It energies me like nothing else I know. Telling groaners is my favorite…the looks I get after I deliver the punch line is a real hoot!

     I also enjoy puns…I’ve been told I have a sharp mind with cutting wit?

     As for my beliefs…I know in God…I don’t believe in him…I know in him!

     For example, I don’t need, whether I can see her or not, to believe my wife loves me or will be there for me whenever I might need her.  It’s the same with how I feel towards God.

     If you don’t share this belief that’s okay by me…I won’t try to change you…nor will I ever.

     There is an enigma when it comes to God about me though…you see I don’t want to live forever. I just want to be remembered.

     As my friend you believe what you want.  I’m not going to preach at you…or to you.  You have free will and God never wants free will manipulated…or coerced! It might come up in conversation, but I’m not going to dwell upon it.  You’re a grown person you decide what you believe.

     You have your beliefs and I’ll have mine.  I asked God for wisdom and it would be wrong of me not to share it if you ask…but you must ask…I’ll not offer it!

     Pain!  Yep, I’ve had plenty in my life.  I’ve lost three sons.  My Dad once he reappeared shot and killed himself.  I lost a kidney in a fall.  I’ve had an acute stroke in the Pons region of my brain. I am doomed now to be fatigued no matter how much rest I get because of it.

     There is no amount of rest I can get and feel refreshed, there are no drugs that will ever remove my fatigue, nor is there any surgical procedure that will correct it.  I am what I am, as Popeye would say.

     But there has been silver linings to all these calamities…her name is Betty…my wife!  She’s my American express card…I don’t want to go anywhere without her.  Without her my life has no center…no meaning…no future!

     And here are some odd facts about me: I’m left handed, but bat, golf, and mouse right handed.  I’m not as bright as you might think...my IQ has only been tested at 129.  I’m 6 feet three and ½ inches tall and weigh 235 pounds on most days.  Before my stroke I visited people in a nursing home everyday without fail for nine years.  I love to share my knowledge and do so willingly and help or teach at the drop of a hat.  And I’m a sucker for flattery.

     Here’s what I hate…Bigotry on any level...to paraphrase Ray Stevens, “Everyone is beautiful in their own way!” I hate injustice…I believe all evil should be punished and not be allowed to win out.  I hate sloth…in this world you aren’t owed a thing…you have to work for it.  I don’t mind helping you help yourself…but don’t expect a handout if you are afraid to roll up your sleeves…and I hate to shave.

     On a less than serious note I’ve had three goals in my life…

     My first is to get my name on the 25-year plaque at work for recognition of the time I worked there. THIS ONE I DID!  I managed 33 years before my stroke…I’d still be working if not for it.  I had wanted to retire in 2017, on my 70th birthday.

     My Second is to get paid for something I wrote, I’ve sold most of the paintings I’ve done. But as for my writing this one I haven’t got done yet! Yet being the key word here. I’ve had several of my short stories rejected.  Because of this I had the courage to not send the book I wrote (You Can’t Kill The Dead!) in for rejection as well.

     You might say that doesn’t make much sense! Well neither does the book…. it’s an attempt by me at redundant humor twenty years ago.  For those who can stomach it…I’ll do a future blog entry!  I illustrated it after having a dream that I would.  It has 58 drawings of mine.

     And my Third goal is to stay at a Motel 6 and turn the lights out!

     Again you might be puzzled, especially my foreign friends. Well Motel 6 is a place to stay the night while on vacation.

     There is a radio commercial that plays and advertises it. A character in the commercial that calls himself Tom Burdette says at the end of the commercial, “You all come over now, we’ll keep the lights on for you!”

     Well if I ever have enough money to take a vacation from home…I want to stay there and turn the lights out for the night.  This goal I can do whenever I get the time and money. Okay maybe this is the toughest one!

     Okay about now you’re saying this guy is too good.  So I’ll tell you some of my faults.  According to my wife I snore something awful.  I’m a scrooge and hate wasting money on anything especially Xmas lights…I do it but only to make my wife happy.  I have a temper with a long slow fuse…but once I get mad I’m very very mad…stand back and hear me roar.

     I’m exceedingly stubborn.  I procrastinate and forget things.  I’m a bit of an organizational freak.  I speak my mind much to my wife’s chagrin, and my former boss.  I tend to be cynical about life and have often said, “No good deed goes unpunished! That and, “Life sucks and then you die!”

     There’s probably lots more wrong about me…I’m definitely not perfect.

     Now we come to the heart of the matter…YOU!  I want you for my friend.  Ladies I’m someone you can trust for humor, comfort in a crisis, and platonic company only.  Guys, you can look to me as a pal who would gladly share a beer, a jigger of Jack, or a coffee while talking about sports or whatever.

     The bottom line is I will treat you exactly as I want you to treat me…as someone worthwhile and that’s fun to share time with!

     So what kind of man is Vinster?  Why he’s your friend of course…

Tags: blogging, my bio 1

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