Chapter One: Where Wise Men Dare Not Go:

The welcoming wooden doors of Friday's with their pewter lined glass panels were in front of him as he strode towards another unknown adventure. His jacket was swung over his left shoulder with hat askance and brim tilted just a little over his brow. It wasn't quite four o'clock and the air conditioning inside was going to make it cool enough to put his jacket on. As he went to the area near the old antique gas pump in the corner he put his jacket on, but left it open enough for the suspenders to show occasionally. Whoever marketed the male appearance or vanity issue to the point that made looks so important had done people a big disservice, he chuckled in the knowing he was at least making an impression as he paid close attention to all the people in their fancy clothes exuding a casual but decidedly appropriate style. Even the colorful Hawaiian or California grunge look was calculated. A smile crossed his face as he noticed people commenting or looking at him. The strains of You're So Vain by Carly Simon seemed appropriate and he laughed at himself for enjoying it.
It was early and there were many open stools in the corner he liked to sit. He chose a seat with open stools on either side so that people could sit near him when the rush of 'happy hour' people came for the free hors d'oeuvres after work. The barmaid with the red and white big Dr. Seuss hat came to ask him what he was drinking. He smiled at her as he noticed her eyes had a glint of recognition. "What’ll it be? Guy."
"Peaches and Cream please!" Bob replied.
"That's a ladies drink!"
"I like the taste. You make great ice cream drinks."
It was almost five o'clock when a woman of about forty-five sat on his right and began munching on her celery and carrots with a ranch dressing dip.
"You seem engrossed in your thoughts. What are you thinking about?" She offered.
"That is hard to say. My thoughts are covering a lot of topics. What is your name?"
"Melanie." She smiled as he turned to look into her smiling eyes and get a deeper look at her overall 'effect'.
"That is a good name, mine is much less exotic. I'm Bob."
"Pleased to meet you Bob! So what are these deep thoughts you were contemplating?" Melanie asked with the air of a confident professional who also knew her looks were exceptional for her age. The short dark hair and teal colored jacket with a white blouse seemed most appropriate and her bracelet seemed a little on the expensive side.
"I was wondering if the ancient Druids and shamans’ use of the 'Lost Chord' could project mind-fogging visions such as 'phantom armies' upon their enemies as well as focus sonic or harmonic force sufficient to bring down the walls of Jericho."
"Did I hear you RIGHT?!"
"Would you rather that I say I was wondering whether you were married or involved and how we might find a way to get to know each other?"
"Actually, I like the first one better. My ancestry is Celtic and I know a little bit about the Druids. The answer to the second one is, I'm recently divorced. My husband got into the young women who throw themselves at successful older men all around this city."
"Keltic is the way the word was spelt before they bowed to the inroads of Roman dominion and Christianity. Don't worry about the young girls you will be able to offer more to a man who knows what is important."
"Thank you!... Are you an historian? You don't look like one!"
"Quite a 'get-up' isn't it. The hat makes me look like a pimp some people say."
"Well, let me get a look at the whole effect." Bob stood and acted like a model turning and opening his jacket.
Melanie reached to hold the suspenders in her hand and look closely at the designs. "Mozart and music! White shirt and gray pants. It is all very ordinary and yet it does seem the hat makes it all a little 'over the top'! No, I think you are just an interesting person." Her hand went up the suspenders with her knuckles touching his pecs or breast. She noticed the hair sticking out at the open shirt top and pulled the suspenders lightly as she moved-her hand away.
Bob sat down and smiled. "Did you enjoy playing with the suspenders and giving them a little tug to tease my nipples?"
"You don't enjoy a playful woman?"
"I do! Very much so… I just wanted you to know that I was aware of your interest and teasing motions. But before we go too far down THAT road I would like to know more about you and what you think about this life so FULL of potentials to Grow!"
"I am a top administrator for the Clark County Education System. I specialize in curriculum design and teacher competency. It can be a frustrating thing to try to get results from illiterate teachers and parents who think they know what is best for their kids, to say the least!"
"My 'ex' is a teacher activist and NEA representative as well as a member of the World Congress of Teachers. She went to Costa Rica for their convention last year. I know some of the problems you face. We disagreed on the 'chit system' and her fellow teachers eventually asked her not to bring me to parties, because I challenged them to prove they were doing any good teaching linear logical 'dumping' or regurgitation of lies; rather than supporting the 'Joy of Learning' across all the different learning styles."
"Who ARE you?! You 'blow me away' almost! I am a major supporter of co-operative learning and the learning styles modalities that the Wisconsin School of Psychology and Howard Gardner have developed!"
"From logotherapy and Viktor E. Frankl?"
"Do you read minds? You can't be so knowledgeable in all these different things?"
"I can read minds sometimes when the 'vibe' is right. I lost empirical knowledge when I went to high school in Canada. I'm from Toronto. I read about 1500 books before the age of twelve and my father was a very learned man."
"What degree did you get?"
"None. As I just intimated school had little to teach me. I did test out of my B.A. a few years ago and got into a top M.B.A. program by getting 85%-ile in the GMAT and having ten years successful business experience after a couple of years of public accounting which is now a post-graduate thing. I had never taken Calculus and thus got a lower %-ile than I would have."
"Is that the Princeton administered GMAT that engineers and masters grads of law and other disciplines write?"
"Yes Melanie. I am not just the 'pretty boy' that you thought you could amaze with your own prodigious expertise and style, am I?" Bob looked her straight in the eye; as he sensed her fear of a relationship with him grow.
"No, you are definitely a 'horse of a different color' or something. I just can't get a handle on what it is. You read minds as well as 'blow them'." She smiled and paused while regaining her composure. "You are some kind of Keltic and ancient history scholar as well as having been a successful businessman for at least a decade. You are a prodigy of intellect yet you dress like a gigolo and look almost like a body-builder."
"I write poetry and books, and sell artistic and positive impressions of cities. And I am a psychic with experiences that most people think would only be possible for a sorcerer or some kind of 'freak'." Bob was pretty sure Melanie had originally thought she might want to see if he was a gigolo or could have a brief one night stand. Now she was faced with something she wasn't sure she was ready for.
"A Renaissance Man?"
"I like to think I am that but I am not all that good at writing. I wrote a book about the Father’s of the Age of Enlightenment called Bacon and the Bard a year or so ago; a couple of people who have read it are enthralled though. By the way my last name is BAIRD; it is Gaelic for Bard and poet."
"I learned to love Shakespeare after I got out of school. Cedar Creek, Utah has a replica of the Globe Theatre that I love to go to every summer, when they put the plays on there."
"Stratford Ontario has an excellent Shakespearean Company that made me more aware of him as well. He was a hermeticist or low-level alchemist just like Bacon, who tried to rip him off and lay claim to his work through a coded anagram when he published his first five plays. That was the first time the church allowed him to put his name on his work."
"I know the church owned all creative works in art and every field of human endeavour during the dark ages. You know, I wasn't expecting this kind of opportunity when I sat down?"
"Yes, Melanie. You aren't sure you can handle a real relationship yet. In addition you are a little afraid of me, which makes you feel a lack of control that excites and scares you at the same time. And you would be wise to stay clear of me if you are not seeking for reality."
"Damn… Excuse me; I don't usually use that word. It does seem appropriate though. So what is it YOU are looking for?"
"Truth! Life…which I think is all involved in change and growth. I don't want to get involved in any 'status quo' or 'normal' kind of maintaining false routines and avoiding the potential of all that life has to offer. That means I expect someone I get involved with to have an 'open' mind and the ability to express their ego while laughing at it. I guess, that is one way of putting it anyway."
"You are what our generation called a 'trip' to be sure. Do you find many people able to share your interests?"
"Most often there is something I say that people find interest in. However, I spend a lot of time going through the usual 'kissing of frogs', I guess. So are you ready to see if we 'kiss' well enough to go catch a movie or something?"
"I am interested. Can I give you my number?"
"If you think I will call when you aren't even sure you want to see me after this amount of truthful sharing; I think you are kidding yourself or just 'putting me off'."
"I'm not 'putting you off'. I really am interested."
"But you have never been in such a situation and aren't sure you can handle it. You know I threaten a lot of your established ways of looking at things and you aren't sure I can 'fit' into your society of friends who just as my last wife had to deal with, might not want to hear what I have to say."
"Can't you control yourself in such situations?"
"Sure I CAN, but why should I act like I think they are doing a good job when I know they are programming children into something society will never be able to free them from. Why should I let myself be co-opted by hypocrisy and denial of the soul and the truth of a history of empire-building power brokers whose bureaucratic lackeys make suppression an obsession?"
"I can see why she had difficulty making you behave." Melanie smiled as if to make a joke of what Bob had said.
"I think it is pretty funny at times too. Educators who say they are teaching people to THINK, can't even listen to the other side without becoming defensive or threatened. If you see me again please don't hesitate to say hello, Melanie."
"Are you leaving? It's only six o'clock!"
"Yes, I think I'll go catch a flick and escape the superficial world of what 'seems to be' for a while. It was nice meeting you. Remember you are better than those who would tell you that you can't make a REAL difference or change this system."
"Can I pay for your tab? Bob. I think you helped me see myself and a few things. I'd like to return the favor."
"No, But remember it is your duty to pass LOVE on to others. I like the phrase 'Practice random acts of kindness and LOVE.'"
"I think I saw something like that on a bumper sticker."
"Yes. I see a lot of them in California where I work."
After paying his tab, Bob went to a movie and then headed for the 'Shark Club'. Melanie was very much the kind of person he might have pursued a few years ago when he was impressed by the kind of success that the rest of society thought important. Now he valued honesty and 'openness' almost more than everything else put together. He wondered to himself if he wasn't setting himself up for a truly lonely life, but he also 'felt' he would be given a chance to find a lot of good people if he did the RIGHT thing and stuck to his guns. It would sure be interesting to try to maintain this kind of standard rather than trying to make someone who had a great life already give up on the 'norm' that had given them so much. Maybe he would even find someone who had it all together. What then? He wasn't really sure he could handle that either, he always tried to look at an issue from all sides and here he was back at the 'Shark Club' saying hi and ordering Perrier from Mike the bartender, again.

Rick wonders to himself as he reads this, "just how autobiographical is this?" Then he wonders "how much of this really happened and how much is complete fabrication?" And after finishing the story, Rick wonders, "did Baird ever get any sex that night?"

Not that night. It is an actual account.

It's not a bad story. A little rough in places. I had trouble telling who was talking sometimes. You might consider writing a story for the short stories section under miscellany.

It is ths start of a chapter of a book. SO far I have only done a brief stint on article writing and none on short stories really. Don't know if I ever will - too fictional.

Sounds like its from a Harlequin Romance novel.

....and then he tapped that ass.

I have done the Harlequin approach - from real life experience - this book deals with the Manna Machine and Time Travel and has personal experience included - but no sex.

She does sound like she would have been a good go round though.

I was watching a TV show from Las Vegas the other night - a wedding. The people (men) all wore my hat. Yes, I made a simple black hat into something really different by adding the white band to it. I remember seeing old codgers imitating it while I was there.

I was a HIT - had movie stars hitting on me and was offerred money many times - did not need to play any games.