I can’t believe we’re already at two years since my first post.

Status Report: Living in KY is great, though I have been on the road a lot. I’m really looking forward to more time at home, though it has been good fun doing my job for U.S. Labor Against the War.

On the ever-so-difficult emotional health front, I am constantly reminded that when I’m playing my cards right I can get anything done and still be able to manage how I am feeling. But I need to respect my physical health too and take a break (like I am today, for the most part.) Exercise can be harder to pull off but I’m recognizing the need to get off my ass and move. Sometimes it can even be fun!

I spent a lot of time in union halls in the early 2000s, at first with union memberships and later with leadership as my role (and experience level) changed. I got to know a lot of people and learned a lot. More often than not, I would find myself alone with a group of men and we, once my supervisor left the room, would inevitably let the situation turn bawdy. Stories would be told, lies or truths, and we would reminisce.

I have been in two or three situations similar to the one depicted in the Donald Trump audio that is now everywhere. As a young guy, I often played the role of a Billy Bush. I would chuckle and go along for the ride. I would laugh as the alpha demonized a conquest or hinted at a situation like the one Trump described. I played along.