Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
Last year I went on a camping trip from Florida out to Texas and Oklahoma (check recaps here). Part of my adventures included catching a band in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a great show by Judah and the Lion and later this year they’re touring again, this time with one of my all-time favorite bands, Needtobreathe.
I don’t have a ticket yet but I can definitely foresee a camping trip in whatever city is close by and the dates work out. Judah and the Lion was a great show in Oklahoma, I was thoroughly entertained. I’ve seen Needtobreathe before in a very stripped down performance many moons ago when they were promoting a new album or something. But to see them perform a full concert would just be amazing. They have so many songs I like!
Have you seen either of these bands yet? If so, comment below with your experience. I’ll update if or when I get a ticket!
After a disastrous swim during my first ever sprint triathlon, I thought I’d never embarrass myself that way again. Y’all, my swimming was so bad I can’t even accurately describe it with words. Here’s how I thought I’d do and how I really did…
There were bystanders (friends, family of athletes) watching from the lakeshore and I can’t shake the thought that they must’ve been laughing their heads off at the guy swimming in all the directions. I was fine with the biking and the running. Even if I wasn’t fast, at least I was going in the right direction! Plus, my bike has a bell so I mean, yeah, that’s awesome.
Unfortunately, my competitive side has struck again. There’s another sprint triathlon coming up in about a month and my brother-in-law and I decided to sign up. He also did the last one with me, but he didn’t draw attention to himself the way I did with the embarrassing swimming. Did I mention I’m a bad swimmer yet?
So here we go again! Will I have another bad swim or have things changed? Can I improve my speed on my awesome 1970s bicycle? Can I run a little faster this time? So many questions and I’ll have answers 4 weeks from now. Wish me luck and if you happen to be watching or participating in a sprint triathlon anytime soon and you see a guy swimming haphazardly, won’t you be a kind person and point me in the right direction?
Summer is in full swing and it’s never more apparent than when I spend time on the near water. Whether it’s oceans, lakes, or rivers, aquatic life and birds are out and about in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from wet areas in the southeast…
This is the kind of question that might simply not have an answer. But if I had to make an educated guess, I’d conclude from the 44 years I’ve been on this earth that I’m an extroverted introvert. There are always moments I need to get away and be alone. Call it recharging, decompressing, centering, whatever it’s called I need it. That’s probably why I enjoy having my little space, aka my camper. It’s just me and the pups and in this camper I can write, nap, watch a movie, wash dishes, make meals, read. Of course, there are times I need to be around people. We probably all have those moments where being amongst family and/or friends is just as fulfilling as being alone.
I can’t envision myself as an extrovert, though. Public speaking, for instance, is not something I’m good at. Persuasion, also not something I excel in. Having people’s attention gives me anxiety 7 times out of 10. As an example, I barely even can make it through a prayer without fumbling my words when I pray in front of people. When it comes to persuasion, I once was a private video editing instructor just for a brief time and the whole process gave me such anxiety. I couldn’t even sleep at night because of the discomfort. It was bad. Once that particular job ended, I had such sweet relief.
How about you? Would you consider yourself an extroverted introvert or the other way around? Share any examples in the comments!
June is the month when corporations all over the world United States celebrate people’s sexuality, so I thought it would be the perfect day to reveal my true self. I could use the attention and I really want Target to put me in one of their commercials. If I’m really lucky, I’ll get my face printed on a can of A&W root beer (like my hero Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light). Ok here it goes… I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body.
Don’t read too much into this and definitely don’t use your white, or brown, or American, or Asian, or European, or human, privilege to decipher that being a lesbian man really just means I’m a straight dude who likes women. Only God can judge me!
For too long lesbians like me have been getting the shaft (pardon the irony). It’s happening again with the acronym we all know: LGBTQ. It’s always started with L but now 2S has been added to the front. 2SLGBTQ+. Women are always getting overlooked, huh? If you don’t know, 2S stands for two-spirit, the perfect personality for the pronouns they/them. And don’t even get me started on the straight people appropriating the word queer. 😤
Actually, I feel bad for gay people. They’ve been around forever and now they’re just kind of boring compared to their courageous peers. Like, dude, your guy over there is a non-binary, agender, asexual, two-spirit, assigned female at birth but identifies as a they/them, shaves his head but not his pits. He has a girlfriend and a boyfriend and lives with a group of polyamorous cat-lovers… and all you are is gay?
Boring.
Get with the times, my man! You’re the true OG! Original Gay. I’m really starting to miss the good ol’ days when there were just women and men, and they were either straight or gay. Now the possibilities are limitless but as for me, I’ll just keep on being a male lesbian who likes non-lesbian females.
Out of the Wilderness 