the countdown begins

just two months and twenty days before his thirty-eighth birthday, he put it into words:  he could not follow the (cliched) well-traveled road that was laid out in order to give the average joe love, happiness...success.  he's not the average joe.  he's extraordinary, whether he's believed it up until now or not.  he's an extremely liberal elementary school teacher in a public school setting, a public school setting which happens to be a very small-town rural barely noticeable dot on a map of the midwest.  any way you could turn, you'd find yourself at the heart of the belt of the bible.  he's gay, in a town where marriage, a career that puts you atop the list of incomes, two kids, a home, and golf outings with the buds speak of ultimate success.  he's atheist, where everyone's christianity is their badge of valor, badge of goodness, proof that they're fighting the good fight. 

and he doesn't want to, wouldn't, wouldn't want to change his persona for all the acceptance from all the big fish in a very small, artificial pond...in all the world.  maybe, just maybe, probably maybe, probably he's who he is to break the monotony, to be an example, to be proof that there's more, there's unknown, there's still real estate to be explored. 

that day, two months and twenty days before his thirty-eighth birthday, is the day he first became determined to face in the direction of HIS destiny, his happiness, his brand of success.   

and maybe, maybe, just maybe, it doesn't automatically mean a lonely journey throughout the rest of his days. 

because, surely there are some other extraordinary souls (with penises) out and about seeking other like-minded souls (with penises). 

and he'll have no more of the kind who're in desperate love with their mommy.