Chapter Thirty Five
pussy puppy
“As a boy, I believed that manhood was a sort of fraternity and that membership could be earned when the rites of passage were complete. Grown men seemed so competent and sure, so easy in each other’s company. I thought that I would become one when certain milestones had been achieved, my first shave, a driver’s license, high school graduation, the loss of my virginity, my first job.
But just paying my dues wasn’t enough to buy my membership. I still felt like an imposter, a boy wearing a false beard. I was awkward and shy in their company. The hearty greetings of strangers faded as I somehow exposed myself in their midst. We shared no common ground. Part of it was my disinterest in the manly pursuits. Athletic skill eluded me, and I had no desire to be a
