Cheating

For some reason this morning on my hour and a half drive to work, I started thinking about cheating. Not OF cheating, as I can honestly say I have never done that. But about cheating on one's spouse or significant other and whether or not the crime is the same in all instances. I think that if you have pledged fidelity to someone, and you betray that pledge on either a consistent basis or continuing basis, that is without a doubt cheating. But here is what I wonder. Let me give you two examples (and I will use the masculine here, though I guess this could apply to both sexes):

You have been in a relationship for awhile now and though you are still affectionate and loving, the spark has  gone out of you sex life. In fact, some of the things you particularly enjoyed your partner is no longer willing to do. You are out one night at a bar, encounter a prostitute, arrange a business deal, and you have no emotional connection to her.

You look up an old romance on the internet and start emailing. Though she is 750 miles away, you have no intention of seeing her, and the emails are innocent with no sexual or romantic innuendo. You remain in contact with her for several months, and keep the correspondence a secret from your partner. Finally, you end the correspondence out of guilt.

It is my belief that emotional cheating is the greater sin here. While I don't condone either, a physical encounter with no emotional involvement seems like it isn't as bad.

As usual, I have too much time on my mind while I drive. I wonder if anybody else thinks of crap like this, especially if they aren't cheating?

Shoes

Several years ago I started a blog and for some reason I stopped. I've been meaning to start again but like a lot of things in my life I've procrastinated it off for a couple of years. I actually find it therapeutic to write and it allows me to post longer pieces than what I would on facebook. I reserve the right to say anything that comes to mind and if it offends you I apologize in advance. For some reason I was thinking about a pair of shoes tonight. Shoes aren't what I usually think about on a Saturday night, but these aren't a usual pair of shoes. My dad married my mom in 1941 or 1942, I can never remember which, and he wore a pair of what at the time were very fashionable two toned shoes. When my parents were retired and moving to Florida in 1972 I was helping them pack up. My dad and I stumbled upon the shoes he had wore 30 years ago in his closet. I told him that I was going to keep them and wear them when I got married. He seemed touched, if a bit skeptical, but sure enough when I married Kathie in 1975 I wore those shoes. I then put them in my closet. I hoped one day my son would wear them for his marriage. Son Dan was the first of my two boys to marry, but his feet are bigger than mine, and mine were bigger than my father's, so he couldn't wear them. Son Jeff however managed to squeeze his feet into them, at least for the ceremony, and he got married in them. He then put them in his closet. It is my hope that someday his son Ben will wear them when he walks down the aisle. Four generations of Solomon men wearing those shoes for their weddings seems like a very cool thing to me. I have no idea what will come to mind next but I look forward to sharing it with you.