..brief, loose, but meaningful ..

     Men form unique bonds of friendship for many reasons.  It could be said that we relate to each other, to some degree .. as countries do.  We form alliances for various purposes.  The point is, our friendships may be fabrics woven completely from one thread.  It’s part of brotherhood.
 
     I’ve enjoyed this cloak of friendship with a handful of men.  It’s not a sexual framework, but it is a sharing one.  A man can go fishing, play a game of pool or bump into a guy beside him, sitting at the bar, and find a comrade before it’s time to go their separate ways. Some of the more common reasons for this bonding is loss (men hate to lose), the heartache of heartbreak or an opportunity to share, where both benefit.  As a gender, we’re raised to travel on our own .. strong, independent and self-sufficient. So, when we run across another guy that’s feeling like we do, the discussion unites us. We tend to want to ‘lend a hand’ or give the other a ‘boost’ that will ‘right’ his capsized boat, his situation. When it takes more than encouragement in the small picture .. a couple of drinks, another game of pool or some fishing secrets .. we set up another chance to hash things out and the bond tightens, an alliance is taking shape.
 
     I can remember a guy I admire still. His name was Ed Flynn. We were co-workers.  In fact, I got to know him, while I trained him for his job.  Our bond was made and broken a few years before I stumbled into dancing on a stage in an elaborate (and ridiculous, at times!) ‘get up’ that was stripped away to a tight, confining pair of revealing briefs, while the music blasted and the crowd was ferocious.   I would go so far as to say, my decision to go that route in the first place, had something to so with Ed, in spite of where that bond with him led us.
 
     Suffice to say, that in one adventurous year, we came, we saw and we conquered, but in the end he chewed me up and spit me out.  We never spoke again. These temporary connections between men, these bonds .. partnerships .. have a habit of being brief, loose but meaningful, like Old West stories of men riding the trail together for a time, than parting company; sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, but memorable ..  nonetheless.  
 
     Ed Flynn had been a third string Washington Redskins running back.  He was a lean, powerful specimen, standing 6’3 and he weighed 225 pounds.  He ran daily to stay in that condition, but during the season, he confided that his weight would swell to 260 pounds from the exercise and diet required to play professional football.  His origins were Massachusetts and a demanding well-to-do father, who wasn’t happy when his son was cut from football and didn’t pursue his college education or, at least, the minor leagues in the north.   For that time that I knew him, his father had all but disowned him, which disturbed Ed greatly. However, he didn’t mention that very often.  We spoke of girls, drinking and drugs.
 
    He had big soulful brown eyes, with dark eyebrows, but his hair was a light brown, cut short and very curly. He looked Italian to me.
I remember, he had long, slender fingers, which I found odd for an athlete and he kept his nails immaculate and trimmed.  He delighted females and often used one line to get in their graces, ‘Here I am, in the prime of my life (27) and I can’t even get your phone number’ or ‘your name’ or whatever he sought to sleep with her.  He would say it, before she saw him, with his puppy eyes, under upturned brows, and hands posed like a country parson, fingers spread, tip to tip. As she turned around, she surrendered her smile with whatever he wanted. This routine amazed me and only failed when the occasional ‘sharp cookie’ with baggage declined. Four out of five times, he won her over in overtime.  Persistence, I suppose.
 
     We were a pair!  Single and witty, fit and fun!  Two horn dogs, barking for females to leap from their tree limbs and give us a merry chase.  Ed bought one home every night.  My taste was more complex, not so simple.  So, I never envied him, unless she rocked my socks, but rather, marveled at his talent to ‘collect’.  I spent my time in one-on-one relationships .. more than a night .. more than one date.  However, in Orlando, a tourist mecca .. Ed was like one of the attractions!  A female would treasure her memory of the amazingly hot guy she did on one night on the town, because he wined and dined her, before he ate her.  Money, manners and manliness; that described Ed Flynn.