After the match with Pup, I know I did a handful of repeat matches with friends. I met Larry in Nashville at some point between 2003 and 2005, and I wrestled Chris when I was in his city in October 2004 and April 2005. In July 2005, I went on a little wrestling tour and had three matches within the space of a few days.

The first was in a motel room in Lexington, Kentucky. I wrestled a man named C----. At roughly 270 pounds, he was difficult to move around, and I either strained or pinched something in my right shoulder. (As I write this, I have the same feeling in my left shoulder from a great match I had yesterday.) C---- really looked like an oldtime wrestler--broad shoulders chest, big belly, blue speedos. He was strong too, especially in his legs. But he wasn't very experienced or very creative in his wrestling, and I think I could have taken every fall from him if I'd wanted to. Although seemingly in trouble early on in the first two falls, I ended up winning both by submission. C---- wasn't in very good shape and became winded easily, so we spent a lot of time between falls just sitting on opposite sides of our "mat" and talking about wrestling, family, life in general. We traded some holds, and I showed him some head scissors variations I like. After a long talk-break, we did two more falls before he had to leave. In the first of these, I let him get me in a head scissors to see what he would do with it. He gave good squeeze, added an arm bar, stretched me out pretty well and got my submission. The final fall I won with a similar combination.

We are torn between flesh and spirit, between desires for dominance and submission, between fears of intimacy and fears of distance . . .

I recently learned something that might be a fun explanation of my obsession with the scissors hold. Apparently our Zodiac signs have bodily parts associated with them, just like they supposedly have certain personality characteristics attached. What's the bodily part associated with my sign? Thighs!