Moderating Influences

Despite my start as a wild and unruly college kid, I have survived to become a boring, sometimes considerate monkey. Instrumental in that survival were my many friends. Ben was one of those helpful people who has humored me then, now and in the days to come.


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Ben, a cynical, harmless and eminently talkative fellow. Part-time devil's advocate, he is great at delivering inspired rants. He even laughs at my jokes, probably for the sake of good manners.

Just like Pete, he has an amazing range of characters. Next time you read on-line personals, remember that the pictures below all show the same mild-mannered artist. Folks posting "their" pictures could be equally creative...

Macho man that makes girls giddy
Macho man?		 Philosopher
Philosopher? Why, yes. Ben reads and thinks more than a normal prole ought to. The authorities have been notified.
Hermit
Shy, almost reclusive boy?		 How's that for Doppler effect?
An in-your-face take-charge dynamic nutcase?
Nah, that's my job description.

Hi-res 		One standard human accounted for
A perfect unassuming wage-earner? Yep, this cheery kitchen slave lives for brownie points from the boss. He couldn't possibly be thinking about his paintings or Shakespeare plays or his crazy friends.


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It's a way of life -- not just a bad hair day
"He was such a quiet fella", the neighbors would say. The badass side of Ben is completely imaginary, but you wouldn't know it from this photo. I wonder what TASS, AP and other fine information services are doing with their image editors...

Bearded primitive Don't take my picture!
So who is he, in the end? From where did he spring? This early picture of Ben shows his then-furry look. It proves conclusively that he evolved from a dignified bearded primitive to a normal, well-adjusted modern human via the college student stage.

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