My inspiration for creating this site was my wife, Nichole. Below is a portrait of her by artist Apollo Okamura. His webpage is chock full of awesome.
As is custom in American society, my wife hounded me relentlessly to "shit or get off the pot" (my words, her sentiment), and actually commit to a project such as this. After seeing me engage countless people in discussions through social media, and being such a supportive and encouraging person, she persuaded me to create this repository for my thoughts. No doubt you can see that I definitely "married up." Hypergamy, folks! It's not just for women!
My wife and I met while we were serving together in the United States Navy. Unlike virtually every one of the hundreds of women aboard the aircraft carrier on which we served, she was intelligent, reserved, curious, and was adept at recognizing a jerk at first sight. I, of course, was one such man so identified. Nevertheless, I had a captive audience, and for the next nine months I focused whatever effort didn't go into my job on the ship into convincing her that there was more to me than a sailor with high standards and a low threshold for nonsense. That very long, chaste courtship was the best investment of nine months I have ever spent in my life.
I recognize quality when I see it, and the first time I saw her she had a book in the back pocket of her uniform--a positive indicator in my book! She was not just a reader, but downright bookish. Oh yes, I struck the jackpot! Girls in the military who are avid readers are about as rare as unicorns. So after some weeks of casual "getting to know you" chit-chat in the passageways of the ship, I lent her a novel I had just finished reading:
My wife and I met while we were serving together in the United States Navy. Unlike virtually every one of the hundreds of women aboard the aircraft carrier on which we served, she was intelligent, reserved, curious, and was adept at recognizing a jerk at first sight. I, of course, was one such man so identified. Nevertheless, I had a captive audience, and for the next nine months I focused whatever effort didn't go into my job on the ship into convincing her that there was more to me than a sailor with high standards and a low threshold for nonsense. That very long, chaste courtship was the best investment of nine months I have ever spent in my life.
I recognize quality when I see it, and the first time I saw her she had a book in the back pocket of her uniform--a positive indicator in my book! She was not just a reader, but downright bookish. Oh yes, I struck the jackpot! Girls in the military who are avid readers are about as rare as unicorns. So after some weeks of casual "getting to know you" chit-chat in the passageways of the ship, I lent her a novel I had just finished reading:
Not only is this a great book in its own right, but it facilitated a huge expansion in topics to discuss. So yeah, I parlayed our mutual passion for literature into a common bond and worked hard at identifying common values and mutual interests we shared. As it turns out, my wife-to-be was a blossoming nerd! This was a deal clincher; I had to marry this woman. Well, after a year or so after our initial courtship, we finally tied the knot, and spawned a miniature version of our blended selves. We've been married for ten years now, and despite life's many challenges, we have a stronger bond and relationship now than ever before. I've made countless bad decisions in my life, but this is one that I have never once regretted. My muse, my best friend, the calm to my storm, and the sweet to my sour, my wife is the best person I know, and the best thing to ever happen to me.