These Got Me Punched: A Book of 50 Kisses

This is a book about kisses. Actually, it’s about learning and growing and adapting and submitting, but the unifying feature is a kiss. Initially, it contained 49 stories—some accounts of the kiss, some where the kiss is an ancillary detail to a bigger story, some comprised of dialog, a poem, a song, some haikus, and even a single piece of fiction. Nicholas posed a challenge to his co-workers during one of their daily mundane tasks: remember the names of everyone they had ever kissed on the mouth. His co-workers were stumped, but Nicholas remembered them all. Good, bad, or other, they all meant something, and potential, intimacy, and the potential for intimacy created lasting impressions on an incurable (and hormonal) young romantic. Nicholas wrote the first 49 chapters as a homage to the 50th (and presumably last) woman he would ever kiss: his wife. The original plan was to write only 49 stories of kisses because the 50th story was theirs and theirs alone. It was a story that he thought had no ending. But the 50th story is included here, and it’s also the namesake of the collection

Things I have done: hosted a game show, been a Central Staff member of the Mentor Program at the University of Pittsburgh, hosted the pilot of a talk show (it was one of the ones that became nothin’), founded and ran a baking business*, won best Cookie in Portland, competed in and completed an Olympic-distance triathlon*, played the title role in an independent movie (I was Jesus and Dracula)*, wrote and published a book (Ministry of Love)*, wrote and finished the book you are currently reading, participated in and excelled at improvisational theatre*, assisted in running a Play Group*, skipped a grade, worked as a promotional model, worked as a nude model (for drawing classes)*, managed a variety of food service establishment (including: a coffee shop, independent restaurants, franchises, multi-unit operations [with a total staff of ~150 people], a pizza house, a world famous lobster house, and a microbrewery), painted faces at fairs, refereed children’s soccer games, worked at a day shelter for homeless teens*, worked at an overnight shelter for homeless teens*, worked at a residential shelter for homeless and battered women*, endured 18 months of chemotherapy*, been roommates with a movie star, performed stand-up comedy (as my fictitious twin brother)*, had multiple articles published in a music magazine, rode in the MS150 twice (before I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis), and spoke to Physical Therapy students about loss and living with a handicap*. I have an admirable wit, a great sense of humor, a positive outlook on life, and a respectable pinball presence. I love pinball, cookies, and love. *after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

Things I have done: hosted a game show, been a Central Staff member of the Mentor Program at the University of Pittsburgh, hosted the pilot of a talk show (it was one of the ones that became nothin’), founded and ran a baking business*, won best Cookie in Portland, competed in and completed an Olympic-distance triathlon*, played the title role in an independent movie (I was Jesus and Dracula)*, wrote and published a book (Ministry of Love)*, wrote and finished the book you are currently reading, participated in and excelled at improvisational theatre*, assisted in running a Play Group*, skipped a grade, worked as a promotional model, worked as a nude model (for drawing classes)*, managed a variety of food service establishment (including: a coffee shop, independent restaurants, franchises, multi-unit operations [with a total staff of ~150 people], a pizza house, a world famous lobster house, and a microbrewery), painted faces at fairs, refereed children’s soccer games, worked at a day shelter for homeless teens*, worked at an overnight shelter for homeless teens*, worked at a residential shelter for homeless and battered women*, endured 18 months of chemotherapy*, been roommates with a movie star, performed stand-up comedy (as my fictitious twin brother)*, had multiple articles published in a music magazine, rode in the MS150 twice (before I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis), and spoke to Physical Therapy students about loss and living with a handicap*. I have an admirable wit, a great sense of humor, a positive outlook on life, and a respectable pinball presence. I love pinball, cookies, and love. *after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis