The father wiped the tears from his eyes. Turning the page, he read from the last paragraph of the worn book.

"He ran back to what he had known. What he had tried to change. But he did not find it. What he found was a broken woman. A mere greyscale silhouette of the vibrant beauty that once was."

The father grimaced, trying to gather words, but only tears came out. Finally, he looked down to his son. "Son, if there is one thing you have to learn in life, it is this: people are all the same, son." His voice shook uncontrollably. "None of them are special. Not even you. You will not believe this until it is proven to you by the one person you thought was different. That betrayal will kill the child in you, leaving only a cynic behind. That is the feeling that welcomes you to adulthood."

Trois

-Subtlety is an artform. Sheer bluntness leaves no doubt, but cannot convey emotion as a subtle tone shift or a quick, somewhat ambiguous remark can.

-On the same day that Barry Bonds, both single season and all-time home run king, and a childhood hero of mine, was indicted by a grand jury for lying about steroid use, Ricky Williams, who has failed 5 drug tests and quit the Dolphins to focus on smoking weed, was reinstated as a Miami Dolphin, and will probably start next week. Different strokes, indeed.

-Speaking of, the veil of innocence that a child's eyes are behind is the sweetest state of all. My childhood heroes were all baseball players. Ken Caminiti, Gary Sheffield, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds. All are now somehow tangled up in the BALCO mess. I still have a hard time realizing that Batman isn't real...

-I hate to blatantly steal someone's thoughts, but, boy, was Billy Corgan right. Today IS the greatest day I've ever known. My greatest flaw is that I lack the hindsight to see it that way. "Oh, I believe in yesterday."

-Day 11

-It's hot in Topeka. But, it's getting colder in Hialeah.