Prologue

It's Wednesday night. I am at home. Shannon and Tara just started the drive to Pennsylvania with the three babies. It's oddly quiet in the house.

I have never enjoyed being alone for extended periods, especially at home. There is a differnce with business travel I can't explain. The Sig Tau creed begins with the line "Believing that all men are social creatures..." I believe that is true. When I was living at the Sig Tau house, the coveted room was the single in the basement of the annex. By having the highest GPA, I earned the right to that room my last semester. I eagerly moved, but after a couple days I never spent any time there except to sleep. The room was too quiet and isolated. In short, I was lonely.

After everyone departed, I distracted myself by watching some TV and then working on the computer for a few hours.

Thursday I worked late and then took Raven with me to run some errands. Simple enough. I get home around 9 PM and I fall into bed exhausted. Raven is going to the kennel Friday. I love Raz and Tweedle, but they don't fufill the comforting presence I need. I need a plan for Friday night.

Raven was not very happy to be kenneled. I'm sure she'll be fine, but she did give me that "look." The "Hey, I go everywhere with the family; what am I doing here?" 'look'. I can sympathize, Raven. I don't like being apart from my family either.

After talking with our neighbor Ms. Shirley for a few minutes, I go inside to feed the cats and prepare for my trip to Los Angeles. This weekend is my 20th reunion for the Palos Verdes High class of 1988. I'm staying in California for the remainder of the week to attend a conference. Once finished packing, it takes less than 5 minutes for me to decide I need to be with people. I want to watch the Hurricanes season opener, so I head over to Federals. It's not until after I order a beer (Stone Brewery Porter...not as good as their Arrogant Bastard) that I realize the bar is full of Red Sox fans watching the game against the Rays. No hope of watching the hockey game here. To pass time until my glass is empty, I call Mom & Dad. While on the phone, Amy calls. Isn't it funny how those coincidences occur? I return Amy's call. Amy and Mark are my salvation for the evening. They invite me over for soup and drinks. I happily accept (I can read about the hockey game). My final night alone at home will be manageable.