I've held off on doing this, for a while... Why...? Perhaps, insecurities... Indifference... Too busy... *L* But, this also gives me a venue for my own introspection, and my give others, and especially myself a glimpse into my mind and what makes it tick or clunk...
I guess I should start with my screen name... Why Mr. Dead...? Why not...? But here goes... In my line of work (nurse) there's the unpleasantness of dealing with the deceased... Most people I work with and have worked with are a bit squeamish when it comes to that... And, part of that is making sure that the body is clean and presentable (Either for the family to come say goodbye, before they're taken to the morgue, or for the mortician to pick up...) I feel that even though there is only the lifeless husk that remains, it still should be treated with the respect and dignity it had in life... So... When it came time to deal with this issue... Many people grabbed me to take care of it... There was a Charge Nurse that remembered a line from Mel Gibson's Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, "I'm the one that keeps Mr. Dead in his pocket..." And, she started calling me Mr. Dead... (She also remembered my fondness for horror movies... *L*) The name stuck, and there it is...
A bit about my past... (For anybody that cares...) I was born in Wichita, Kansas... Parents split when I was 5... I lived with my Dad, and my mother had me for visits on occasion... Went to Catholic school from grade school to high school graduation... Yes, I was an altar boy, and no, I wasn't touched by the priests... *L* I played the usual sports... I wrestled, played football, basketball, baseball... Joined the Army 3 days after graduating high school... I got out after 5 years, as I was not adapting to the new "Kinder/Gentler" Army... But during high school and my time in the service, was when I found a passion... The iron... It always called to me... And, this was during the '80s and the heyday of the action flicks that had muscles everywhere... I watched the A-Team and the Incredible Hulk on TV... (Yes, I have a huge selection of comic books... *L*) But the iron was always there... After I got out of the service, I learned quickly and harshly, that I had no skills of living in the outside world... Either my parents or the Army always made sure I had food and a roof over my head... I'd always had a job, since the age of 13... That wasn't the problem... The problem was these things called bills... And I would rather spend my money on booze and fun... Within 2 years I was homeless... Living under an abandoned semi-trailer... I'd been evicted from my apartment... I was dating the woman that became my wife, over time... And, I moved heaven and earth to keep her from finding out... My pride got in the way of getting back on my feet sooner... But she did indeed find out... After learning this harsh lesson, I decided it was time to get my act together... Within 2 years of that, I was married to dd2inxs (Best life choice I ever made...) owned a double-wide, and got a gym membership... But the booze was still there... We eventually got the chance to buy our "dream home", (where we currently reside...) And I started getting my head completely straight... I found a site called bodybuilding.com... Through that site I met a great group of people that led me here to the FORVM... From here, I finally found my passion, again... I feel like I've truly found a home, and a family...