Clubbing, Mr. Wink, and The Joker

I went out with my parents last night. They’re fun people to hang out with. Hanging out with them gives the term ‘going clubbing’ a whole new meaning. On club nights, we usually start at The Orioles, then move on to The Eagles, then The Elks, and finish up at The NAUS Club. By the end of the night, my mother and I are the entertainment everywhere we go. My stepdad is kinda stuck chauffeuring us around, and we like to give him a little bit of a hard time. Repeated pleas of ‘Would you two quit’ and ‘Sit your ass down before you fall down’ are met with laughter from all. I’m the one up dancing, mom is the one singing. Actually, we both sing. Duets. We sound awful, but do it anyway. I was doing my Janis Joplin impression, substituting someone else’s name for Bobby McGee. Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose!

Mr. Wink was texting me which thrilled my mom. My stepdad, well not so much. Mom wanted to call Mr. Wink and see if he could tell us apart. I have been making an effort to restrict my drunk dialing/texting, and restrained myself from calling. A little blurb about Mr. Wink. If you haven’t ‘met’ him yet, you can find a little background info at my entry ‘Valentine’s Day Wasn’t So Bad After All’ (http://saladsandwich.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentines-day-wasnt-so-bad-after-all.html) Mr. Wink meets all my criteria in a man. I’m not picky.


1) He has a job. A very good job as a matter of fact.
2) He has a vehicle.
3) He has a license to drive said vehicle.
4) He has teeth.


Beyond that, he is nice, is a good conversationalist, and seems to really like me. It doesn’t hurt that he has a Harley, a boat, and likes to take vacations. He has also managed to keep himself out of any real trouble. Hard to believe considering his past. (Did I mention he played classic rock trivia with me? He likes classic rock, too!)

On the downside, he is a workaholic. He actually works out of town, and is living in Chicago right now for work. Not too terribly far, and he did allude to inviting me to come visit him sometime. He is 42, which doesn’t bother me too much. I would always be the younger woman! Having said that, he is mature and pretty settled. Good and bad. He has 2 kids and doesn’t want any more. You may be thinking to yourself, “I hope you’re not planning to run off and marry him tomorrow!” I’m not. Those are just things that I think about.

He appeared in my life and said and did all the right things. Unfortunately, that scares me a little right now. I’ve recently been put through the wringer with that situation. Some guy swoops in, makes you think he is superman, but you find out he’s really just a joker. I was really really upset about that particular situation in the beginning, but it was my fault for believing it all. I’m not too upset anymore, just hurt. He’s been out of the loop, to say the least, for the last nine years. I don’t think he knows how to deal with emotions or people any more. I am just one of the casualties.

That brings me to my big life question of the moment: How much damage can a person’s faith in humanity take before there is nothing left for the people who deserve that faith? It’s certainly not fair for someone who really is trustworthy and honest to be met with skepticism and mistrust from the beginning. They almost don’t have a fighting chance. I’ve heard that trust has to be earned, but I would like to think that trust is given and mistrust is earned. I don’t know which is harder. Trusting people or not trusting them.

I’ll stop the rambling now.