SEXTROPOLIS:S1/CH3/"THE WALK OF SHAME"

Season1/ Chapter3 (No editing/written on the fly)
"The Walk Of Shame"

I woke up the next morning with the biggest, baddest hangover the world has ever known. I thought my forehead was going to cave into my chest. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then it started to come to me. I need some aspirins or something stronger. Good Lord, I have to stop drinking. I look around and there I was, in my room. Then I notice something. I was alone. I'm pretty sure I came home with someone. Oh yes, Indigo, I came home with Indigo. Where was she? I think I'm still drunk. I say that because, in my drunken stupor, I start to look for her everywhere in my room. She wasn't under the sheets. She wasn't under the bed. And no, she wasn't in the closet. Where could she be?

My bedroom door opens and there she was. She was wearing one of my old Nike t-shirts. It's to big for her but she still looks good in it. Wow, what a babe. She said, "Hey sleepy head. You alive?" I'm starting to sober up. I said, "Alive and kicking. What about you?" "I'm good," she said. And she looked good also. "So what happened last night?" She smiled and said, "You don't remember?" I said, "Fuzzy." She shook her head and said, "I'm not surprised." I got up and I noticed I still had my outfit from last night on. I said, "Where were you?" She said, "In the living room, on the couch." "Got up early?" She cocked her head and said, "NO, I slept there."

Slowly the words sunk in. I said, "You slept there, all night?" "Yep." "So what exactly happened?" I went to the dresser took off my shirt and got a t-shirt. I put it on. I said, "Did we, did we, well you know, sleep together?" She look like she was about to burst out laughing and then caught it." That's not a good sign. She said, "Don't you remember anything at all?" I didn't answer. I was embarrassed at this point. She said, "We got to your apartment and things were heating up. We were practically on top of each other." As she spoke, she went to the corner of the room and sat down. I sat back down on the bed. She said, "We headed straight for your bedroom and then I told you to give me a minute. I needed to go to the bathroom." She was looking at me the way a detective looks at a guilty man. She said, "I was about five minutes. And when I got back, you were fast asleep. I mean dead asleep. If the end of the world came, you would've ask for another five minutes." With that, she let out a little laugh. I did my uncomfortable laugh to save face. She smiled some more and came over to the bed. She sat next to me. She said, "I slept on the couch because you started to snore. Oh my God! The snoring was loud. You sounded like a hump-back whale giving birth, too triplets. It was that loud." She laughed.

After her story, I felt embarrassed, sad and humiliated. All self inflicted. Now what? I asked her if she was hungry. She said, "yes." I said, "Let's go to IHOP." She seemed lively and exuberant. I didn't know why. She said, "O.K. But first we need to get my car." I gave her the puzzled look. She said, "We left our cars in the parking garage. Also, I have a change of clothes in my trunk." I said, "O.K. Sounds good." She looked at me with her beautiful eyes and said, "You don't want me doing the walk of shame at IHOP, Do you?" At that statement, I laughed. "No, we don't want that." 

SEXTROPOLIS: S1/CH2/"BLUE ISLAND"

Season1/Chapter2 (No editing/written on the fly)
"Blue Island"

The crowd was starting to thin out. Indigo and I were having a blast. The would be suitors had all faded away. I was on my third patron margarita and she was on her second vodka martini. We had just finished off a couple of Jose Cuervo tequila shots. I felt great and she looked great. I was having the time of my life. Thank you Meetup. She looked around and said, "Do you want to get out of here?" I said, "Yeah, sure, why not." I asked her what did she have in mind? She smiled and said, "Let's go to Vibe." I wasn't sure what Vibe was so I asked. "It's a club on Las Olas," she said. "Club," I said. "Sounds good, Let's go."

She jumped in her car. I jumped in mine. I followed her to a parking garage just off of Las Olas Boulevard. We parked and headed for this club called Vibe. We were upright and could pass a roadside test. I was amazed at her stamina. The cover was reasonable and the place looked packed. The music was bangin' and it seemed non-stop. I scanned for the age group and I saw my kind. The 40 plus crowd had migrated over here also. Nice! She headed straight for the bar. A woman after my own heart. Smiley face. She was about to buy us a drink and it brought a smile to my face, again. I gave her the pause signal and I motioned the bartender over. I opened a tab and I said, "What's your pleasure, dear lady?" She smiled and said, "Blue Island Ice-Tea."

With those words, I quite literally fell in love. Blue island ice-tea was my all time favorite drink. I stopped drinking it. Because, after three, I couldn't remember a thing from the night before. What can I say? I"m a lush. I told the bar keep, "Two blue islands, please." The man was an artist. They came fast and strong. Nice! We got our drinks and danced by the bar. To say our dance was provocative would be understating the fact. It was the closest thing I've had to sex in 6 month. Did I just admit to that? Please disregard. Smiley face! I asked her what she did and she said, "I deal in import/export." I didn't want to pry so I didn't press. She asked me about my writing. I gave her the footnotes version. She took it in stride. It was approaching 2:30 AM and the club closes at 3. We had gone through three rounds of blue islands, most of which I drank. I had no shots this time around though. I wanted to keep my sushi. We were not drunk but we weren't sober either. Time to call an Uber.

We were sitting on a bench outside the lounge area of the club. I asked her how she was feeling. She said, "Fine." I asked her, "Can you make it home?" She smiled and said, "Nope." I asked her where she lived. She did not reply. She just smiled. She said, "Where do you live?" I said, "Less than three minutes from here." Now, I smiled. She shook her head and said, "Is that so?" I said, "Yes, that is so." We sat in silence for a while and watched as people began filing out of the club. I waited, waited, waited and then it came. She said, "O.K. loverboy, let's go to your place." The words were music to my ears. "God bless blue island and God bless Uber! WE OUT!"

THE WALL

So you are upset with your neighbor.  You tell your neighbor that you are going to build a new fence, in this case a wall. The wall is going to be all encompassing and taller than before. You feel that this wall is needed. The thing of interest here is; you tell your neighbor that he is going to pay for your wall. Does that make sense? It's your wall.


The truth of the matter is, that which concerns you about the wall has diminished. The problems you are obsessing about are decade(s) old. The danger you are foreseeing has been lessened by you and your neighbor. So now, you want to build the wall anyway and have your neighbor pay for it. Your neighbor tells you no. They basically tell you to go jump off a wall.


You tell your neighbor they will pay for it one way or another. You use to let your neighbor allow guest at their parties to park in your yard. You now say no. You use to keep an eye on your neighbors property when they were out of town. You now say no. Your neighbor use to lend you their tools, lawnmower and also keep an eye on your property when you were out of town. They now say no. You are both now at a stand-off. The cost for everyone goes up. The end result is, nobody wins. Where to now?

SEXTROPOLIS: S1/CH1/"Indigo Ballard"

Season1/Chapter1 (No editing/written on the fly)
"Indigo Ballard"

My name is Francis Bourdeaux and I'm a weekend alcoholic. I'm also over 40 years old, never been married, no kids and oh yes, no dog. Depressing isn't it? I live in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida or as I like to call it, Sextropolis. And no, I don't live on the beach. I wish. I earn a living writing indie novels. That's a novel written by an author who self-publish. No need to make a face. It's all the new rage. I had some success here and there. I wrote one novel that sold enough to cover my bills for a number of years. That was a good novel, one of my best. I have others, under different pen names, they bring in a few bucks here and a few bucks there. In any regards, I stay fed, housed and liquor is not a problem. What a life!

Socially, I get my fair share of activity. A few months back, a friend told me about meetup.com. Oh yes, meetup.com, that's how I met her. Well, let me first tell you what Meetup is. It's a site that brings groups together from all facets of life. I found and joined a group called Fortunaeto Events. It checked all the boxes. To join, you had to be 30 or older, interested in nightlife, a professional and a free spirit. I got one out of four, not bad. But what the hell, it was free so I joined.

The first event I went to was held at an Asian fusion sushi restaurant. Interestingly enough, the restaurant had a back room. In that back room was a bar, lounge area, a dance floor and a d.j. I was impressed. Looking in from the outside, you would have never guessed this was here. I walked in alone. I headed straight for the bar. The organizers were nice and made me feel right at home. The people were all friendly. The sushi was half price, so I ordered some at the bar. What the hell, it was a sushi restaurant. I listened to music and took in the scenery. It was then that I noticed her.

She appeared tall and slim but not sickly. She wore an outfit that accentuated her physique. Her facial features were striking and I could not stop looking at her. Little did I know, this woman would bring my life to a screeching halt. I finished my sushi. What did you expect? I was hungry. I gulped down half of my Patron margarita and headed in her direction. She was being mauled by several would be suitors. I heard the words, "net worth," "beach condo" and "Have you ever been to Paris?" She smiled and was being polite. I waited patiently. These guys were dead in the water or so I hoped.

She broke away and came over to where I was standing. I immediately said hi. She reciprocated. I said to her, "Your kung fu is pretty good." She gave me a puzzled look. I said, "The way you fought off those guys, you must be an expert." "Would you consider teaching me?" She laughed. We began talking and found we had nothing in common. She said her name was Indigo Ballard. We danced and had some more drinks. How could someone so beautiful be so dangerous. If I only knew, I would have done the same exact thing. She was just that HOT! What can I say, I'm a guy. 

PRO-DEMOCRAT

I will admit, I have been consumed by the person occupying the oval office. Like much of the U.S. and the world, there is no getting around it. I want to be informed but I don't want to be consumed. Great philosophers have theorized that the focus of your attention to a particular person, place or thing will bring about its materialization. The energy you spend focusing on a subject gives that subject power. Sometimes, it gives that subject power over you.

It is time to turn my focus elsewhere. I will not obsess with what I cannot control. I will support what I can. I will focus on that which serves to better the environment that I exist in. I will turn my interest towards other things that concern me. It's a big beautiful world out there and it needs to be explored. I will stay informed but I won't continue to focus solely on one subject. If I did, it would be the start of a long four years.

Let's turn our attention to entertainment, travel, sports and other topics. I believe that this will bring me peace and tranquility in these turbulent times. I will not turn a blind eye to ongoing events. I will however not be so focused on them. Wish me well my friends. I embark on new opportunities,
experiences and consciousness.

THE POPULIST

This new president says he is all about the ordinary people. His name is Donald Trump and he won the presidency through a populist movement. That may well be true but his actions goes against his rhetoric. He says that he will bring back manufacturing jobs. He says that he will make life better for middle class Americans. He says a lot of things. We are waiting to see if any of it comes to fruition.

Speaking of making life better for the ordinary man, Trump has brought a stop to two programs that would have helped the ordinary man and woman. The "overtime rule" and the FHA mortgage premium rate cut. One would have provided a pay increase for a projected four million workers. The other would have help everyone buying a home priced under $650,000. Now I ask you, how is that helping the ordinary man or woman? These programs were aimed at the middle class. They should have been one of the first things he made sure were made available to the American people. He should have made it clear that he wants these programs to exist and that he would put his administration behind them to see that they do.

Please note, these programs are being stopped. There is no replace for something similar or better. They were just stopped. These are things that would have helped. Now, they will not exist and therefore help no one. While it's true that President Donald Trump is not directly responsible for one of these actions, His new appointees to oversee the department that would fight for the "overtime rule" are not likely to do so. If they did, it would come as a pleasant surprise but don't hold your breath.

IS THIS WHAT'S MEANT BY "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN?"


Please read these articles for further information:
Rate Cut Squashed
Overtime Rule Blocked

APEX PREDATOR

WELCOME TO THE AGE OF "TRUMPONOMICS." You now have to be an Apex Predator. What is an Apex Predator you ask? Well, that's a predator residing at the top of the food chain where no other creature prey. You feel me!

Were you looking forward to government aid, social security, medicaid-medicare, and multitudes of socialist type programs to help you in this life. As my Italian friends are so fond of saying, "Fuhgeddaboutit!" You have to count on yourself for survival. And if you want to do more than survive, you have to become an Apex Predator. You must feast on the weakness of others, dine on the mistakes of the masses, and devour potential competitors.

President Donald Trump and his squad are believers in self-made. They do not like those who want a hand out. They do not like those who would take from the rich to help the poor. They do not like socialism to put it plainly. They are hard-core capitalist. And, they believe it should be lassez-faire. If you can't do on your own don't bother asking for help. You won't get it. Put on your big boy/girl undies and get to it, daylight is burning.

TRUMP "THE HERO"

If President-elect, Donald Trump, wants to be an instantaneous hero to over 90% of the American population, he should make this proposal. He should propose that medicare and medicaid be made available to all Americans. He should put together a committee of the persons involved in areas of medicare and medicaid to study how to make this proposal work. Once it is figured out, he should use his influence to pass it through congress.

What would happen if this proposal was enacted? It would do away with businesses having to provide insurance for their employees. This would free up a massive amount of time, money and effort that goes into providing medical insurance. The amount currently collected for medicare and medicaid would go up but most of the cost would be passed on to businesses. So now, small businesses would have their employees covered and would not have to worry about supplying medical insurance. Could this work? It does work in other countries (List of Countries with Universal Healthcare).

This is something that both Democrats, Republicans and Independents could agree upon. They would all want this because it serves the greater good. This would help control the sky-rocketing healthcare cost that appears to be out of control. It would help treat everyone and in the end, make life better for all of us. There are some negatives to this proposal (long lines, inadequate service, lack of choice, etc.). In the end, the positives (preventive treatment, pre-existing illness coverage, lower cost for medical service, etc.) out-way the negatives. This has been done. It's just a matter of America finding the best version of this and implementing it. If the President-elect, Donald Trump, were to pass such a plan, he would be a hero to many if not all Americans. 

BASIC UNIVERSAL INCOME

Basic Universal Income (BUI) is a form of social security in which all citizens or residents regularly receive an unconditional sum of money from the government or other form of public institution, in addition to any other income received elsewhere.

Yes, I know what you are thinking. I must be a socialist bastard to promote such a thing. But you should know this is not a new idea. It has been around a very long time. President Richard Nixon was trying to get this done when he was president of these United States. This is how it works. Every man, woman and child would receive a monthly check. The funds would cover basic housing needs, food, etc. It would not be based on how much you earn. It would be the same for everyone.

It has been tested and it has had some good results. People receiving this BUI use the money to take care of their basic needs. They still want to work to make more because they will not be penalized. In the current systems, you are penalize if you earn more or over a certain threshold. People are less stigmatized because in effect, everyone gets this. People become more financially responsible, especially women. People are not going into debt because they have to borrow less because they have money now (see: pay day loans). There are many more benefits to this.

If we had the BUI, we could get rid of many of the welfare programs that exist now. These programs serve us well but they limit, stigmatize and for lack of a better word, hold down, those they serve. It would improve our society as a whole. It would help raise millions out of poverty. It would place more money in the hands of the people who in turn would put it back into the economy. There are countries such as Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands and France experimenting with Basic Universal Income. The results have been promising. 

THE TRUMPIAN CONFLICT

The President-Elect, Donald Trump held a news conference outlining how he would navigate his potential conflicts. His conflicts involves his business and whether or not, he would separate from them. His solutions did little to sway the concerns most pundits have of those conflicts.

Mr. Trump plans to turn over control of his business to his two eldest sons and a trusted executive. This too many does not provide adequate separation between him and his business. He plans to form a trust, not a blind trust. Many have begun to argue the constitutional pitfalls his plan will set in play. He will, according to them, be under attack from democrats as well as fellow republicans. He will face lawsuits from the private sector. There are those who say he will be violating the constitution on his first day of holding office.

But let's look at the opposing side, should a man who has spent a lifetime building a business be force to give that business up? He could put it in a blind trust but that still means that a stranger would have to be the one running said business. Jimmy Carter placed his business in a blind trust. At the end of his term, his business was at the brink of bankruptcy. Could the same happen to Donald Trump? Whose to say? It is obvious that he does not want to give the control of his business to anyone who is not named Trump. Given Mr. Trumps personality, is it a surprise he refuses to relinquish control of his business?

In the end, America is in for a real life reality television show. Mr. Trump will be waging war from all sides it seems. There will be no end to lawsuits, investigations and whatever else may arise from perceived conflicts of interest. We were worried that if Hilary Clinton won, her presidency would be a quagmire of hearings, investigations and lawsuits. Now, it seems the shoe is on the other foot.