Superb stuff, Nate. Stress, angst, failure, disappointment (we’re not talking about your poor wife here) are all grist for the writing mill. Don’t ever put the keyboard down. And be thankful no one can ever make you.

Nate, I hate to tell you, that loneliness, that isolation doesn’t get better with age. It gets worse. Football or no, men don’t make many friends after their twenties, especially if they don’t have a workplace. Sometimes, like yesterday, I just sit in my office, not even able to check my email. I wish I could say it…

Gasket-blowing Veteran here.

Imagine Andy Reid strutting around the sidelines looking like this:

Ok, I’m calling shenanigans on the “naming teams” list.

The answer is and always has been for absolute decades now:

Don’t live in LA.  This will blow some people’s minds but there are places, actual urban areas, where people treat each other slightly better.  I love the West coast and spent decades in Portland OR and Vancouver BC and I get it.  There can be a standoffishness and weirdness but not in the Keep Portland Weird sort of…

I can’t think of a bigger shock to one’s system and self-esteem than going from the pinnacle of one’s profession, the NFL, where you were treated as a star and celebrity, to being a freelance writer in LA, where constant rejection is a way of life.

A childhood and family friend played for about 5 years in the NFL and his transition out seems like it has been hard. His time in the NFL didn’t live up to the expectations that he or is family had and this is really helpful in trying to understand his mindset, so thank you for writing.

I appreciated you when you played, Nate (Denver guy here), and appreciate you even more now. Your writing is outstanding, and I always look forward to your next post/article/book.

Why would you ever want a non-functional helmet?

And just like modern BMWs, they are stuck in the shop with broken sensors that are waiting to be fixed by the manufacturer after being forced to admit they fucked up.

BMW drivers dream to have this level of asshat parking job

I read Into Thin Air 20 years ago and to this day it is still one of the most chilling (both physically and emotionally) books I’ve read. I think you have to possess a bit of insanity to be a serious climber willing to risk the death zone.

Sounds like when this horse started talking, they changed his name to...

I bet the tour manager pretty much hates that little machine.

oh, good grief. i’m not conditioned this way or that just because i don’t like my particular complexion, and that’s not the default truth for anyone else who just happens to not like their complexion either. what a bizarre take.

Sure it is.  Remember?  We talked about it last week.  You’ve just been so forgetful lately.  You should lay down.  

EXCUSE ME, who do you think gave birth to Doc?? A man???

Is it possible to re-grey someone?