Late Nights With Lance

The First Episode in the 'Three Weddings and a Funeral' Series.

A familiar journey leads to an uncharted destination, as I pick up my heart in Delaware and drop it off in New Jersey. The Holy Trinity reunites for the wedding of the year, while new friends and lovers connect over fine wine and good spirits. And, I look for love in all of the wrong places, only for the next woman of my dreams to leave me looking just a little longer.

Dedicated to Colonel Albert B. Blanton, my favorite York County Prosecutor, and a beautiful brunette in glasses.

Special thanks to The Delaware Law School, Metro Diner, and Dave Matthews.

Please consider a charitable donation to The Muscular Dystrophy Association: https://www.mda.org/

"MDA is dedicated to advocating for national policies and programs that support families with neuromuscular diseases by accelerating the development of therapies and cures, facilitating early diagnosis and treatment from day one, ensuring access to critical support, and promoting policies that safeguard independence for people living with disabilities."

"It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was the season of light. It was the season of darkness. It was the Spring of hope. It was the Winter of despair."

Old friends share the details of their lives that were once unknown to one another. Only through discovery, rather than assumption, can they truly begin to understand their own motivations. Only through transparency and vulnerability can one realize their true self.

Dedicated to the ones that we've lost along the way, including ourselves.

Special thanks to Shenandoah University, mental health professionals everywhere, and Dave Matthews.

Please consider a charitable donation to To Write Love On Her Arms: https://twloha.com/donate/

"To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

"We had everything before us. We had nothing before us. We were all going direct to Heaven. We were all going direct to Hell."

Old friends reconnect over a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that brought them together at a formative age. A decade later, they begin to piece together memories and insight, in order to complete an imperfectly beautiful picture.

Dedicated to the ones that we've lost along the way, including ourselves.

Special thanks to Shenandoah University, guidance counselors everywhere, and Dave Matthews.

Please consider a charitable donation to To Write Love On Her Arms: https://twloha.com/donate/

"To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

Old friends reconnect over pints of good karma. I share the uncensored version of the Poison Dream live for a female perspective. Finally, I use IRAC to conclude that it's about time for me to tell her how I feel.

Please consider a charitable donation to the ACLU Foundation of South Carolina: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-south-carolina

"The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina is a non-partisan organization that has worked for more than fifty years to protect the civil liberties guaranteed to all South Carolinians by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. We remain steadfastly committed to building on this legacy through our work in the legislature, courts, and communities across our state."

A trip to Winchester Pride leads to a chance encounter with a familiar face. Running into a high school classmate and ally turns into thoughtful reflection of my place in the Universe. Finally, I ponder the Poison Dream and my relentless love for another high school best friend.

Please consider a charitable donation to the ACLU Foundation of Georgia: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-georgia-foundation

"The ACLU of Georgia enhances and defends the civil liberties and rights of all Georgians through legal action, legislative and community advocacy, and civic education and engagement. We are an inclusive, nonpartisan, and statewide organization powered by our members, donors and active volunteers."

I just wanna know if you're gonna stay. I just gotta know. I can't have it any other way.

Something about the head and the heart.

Please consider a charitable donation to the Outer Banks Community Foundation: https://obcf.org/donate-now/

"The Outer Banks Community Foundation helps meet local needs across Dare County and the entire Outer Banks. We manage charitable funds for individuals and agencies, and we target grants and scholarships toward our community’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities."

Dear Diary, I believe that we call them spirits, because their consumption brings us to life. The world is filled with the undead. They love not with their whole hearts, think not with their whole brains, and feel not with their whole beings. The spirits merely pour from one empty vessel to the next. In wine, there is truth.

The fourth volume of The Rum Diary. Including one handsome mother-shucker, a real-life shipwreck, another time heist, and a little bit of chicken fried, April 16, 2022.

Businesses, in order of appearance: Carolina Hemp Supply, Eric "The Fish Man" Cunningham, Warren "BBQ Man" Cressel, and Cousins' Oysters.

Dedicated to Brian Lipscomb and Hunter S. Thompson, author of, "The Rum Diary."

Special thanks to Outer Banks Distilling, Tortuga's Lie, and the National Park Service. Additional thanks to rum, for rum is the reason.

Please consider a charitable donation to the Outer Banks Community Foundation: https://obcf.org/donate-now/

"The Outer Banks Community Foundation helps meet local needs across Dare County and the entire Outer Banks. We manage charitable funds for individuals and agencies, and we target grants and scholarships toward our community’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities."

Dear Diary, Oh, what great lengths we go to for that which kills us. Why must I circumnavigate the globe for your poison? Why must I weather your storms for your fruits? Why must I beg at your feet for a taste of your juices? Come Hell or high water, I sink deep into you.

The third volume of The Rum Diary. Including a dive into my greatest weakness, an audible tour of Virginia, a hotel room taking flight, and a welcome back for Season 3, April 15, 2022.

Dedicated to Brian Lipscomb and Hunter S. Thompson, author of, "The Rum Diary."

Special thanks to Outer Banks Distilling, Tortuga's Lie, and the National Park Service. Additional thanks to rum, for rum is the reason.

Please consider a charitable donation to the Outer Banks Community Foundation: https://obcf.org/donate-now/

"The Outer Banks Community Foundation helps meet local needs across Dare County and the entire Outer Banks. We manage charitable funds for individuals and agencies, and we target grants and scholarships toward our community’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities."

Taken straight out of Dave's, "What Would You Say." 

The story of black Labradors, black sand, and a black magic woman. I dissect how a week with my best friend's canine helped to give me perspective on an evening that has haunted me for dog years. Then, I introduce fans of The Pittsburgh Special to our doppelgängers, in a sequence reminiscent of, "The Bizarro Jerry," episode of Seinfeld (S.8 E.3). Finally, I discuss how my love may be tailor-made, but my heart ultimately belongs to me again.

Consider a charitable donation to Dakota's Dream Animal Rescue: https://dakotasdream.org/donate-now/

"Dakota’s Dream is a small, volunteer run, no-kill, non-for profit animal rescue group. Our volunteers are hard working and dedicated in assisting animals in need of finding a forever home. We pride ourselves on being a no kill rescue group. We believe that every animal deserves a second chance and sometimes even a third chance."

All of my love, LGW.

"Romance and poetry, ivy, lichens, and wallflowers need ruin to make them grow." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Beautiful women of my past, present, and future take me on an ethereal journey in an evening reminiscent of Charles Dickens. I apply the ground-breaking work of leading heartbreak psychologist Guy Winch to my recent journey of personal deconstruction and reconstruction. And, I challenge your notions of love in the modern world.

Consider a charitable donation to Dakota's Dream Animal Rescue: https://dakotasdream.org/donate-now/

"Dakota’s Dream is a small, volunteer run, no-kill, non-for profit animal rescue group. Our volunteers are hard working and dedicated in assisting animals in need of finding a forever home. We pride ourselves on being a no kill rescue group. We believe that every animal deserves a second chance and sometimes even a third chance."

All of my love, LGW.