means taking responsibility.You 're not interested in marriage now ,but Cary is right in pointing out that you need to start taking steps in a direction which nourish your mind and soul at the same time you contribute to the world.

For each person that may be different , but spending time alone in order to seperate your own voice from the animal house crowd is required to even start forming the shape of what that calling is.I think that may be one reason travel is suggested , it forces you to measue yourself against so many different challenges.. However ,if you travel with the same attitude of getting high, getting laid, staying up late and shirking effort you may as well stay in Cinncinati.. I never realized before your letter, the crucial role a relationship with a woman plays in helping a man seperate himself from the herd.

I guess going to school is a good reason to say why you're too busy to hang out...but your actual calling could be becoming a master carpenter or hiking and learning the local wilds just as well. Consider a vocational test if you feel clueless. Above all don't be afraid to make mistakes and start over again if your early choices aren't right on target.

If you happen to admire any "real" men ,think about what you like in them and then realize you couldn't see it ,if you didn't have it in you already.

but how does believing in UFO's effect anything.? Since if UFO's exist they would obviously be more scientifically advanced than us, I don't see much point in getting all agaitated - obviously they'll be the ones doing the initiating.

However it seems we can actually effect some things here on earth by getting people to vote and/or volunteer to change conditions that will improve the lives of others and our planet.

Maybe YOU should open abottle of wine yourself and ask your neighbors how they feel and see the world . It may be almost as interesting as aliens.

Despicable!

the Obama camp could remind people of Mccains "colliding with the North Vietnamese" by dropping his fathers name around to ensure better treatment than other pows,giving more info than POWS are supposed to reveal and blocking the return of MIA soldiers and their remains while in the Senate.

But of course Obama doesn't play that game .

Why not play her for all she's worth.? Go to mexico, smoke dope all day and play the guitar, maybe you can find some lonely housewife while your GF is at work who will teach you a few tricks. Maybe you will see people around you who are willing to do just about anything for a shitty job that pays 10 dollars a day.You could learn Spanish and how to dance with the devil.

. Maybe you will find GF in bed with someone and you can go get drunk in a pulqueria, then come home and make sure she never forgets your passionate lovemaking.Its life dude, don't hold on so hard.

By the time you're ready to come back to the states you'll be ready to go to school or get serious about your own life. Unfortunately sometimes the only way to find out what it is we really want is to eliminate a whole lot of things.

its kind of sad how we waste this resource. Especially reading about the situation in Africa, Why composting toilets can't be provided cheaply is hard to understand. How many tons of fertilizer are they sold by Monsanto? I was struck by a memeory of someone telling me in old China if you took a crap in someone's field they owed you for it.

When I travel I see many many Americans dressed in "baggy nylon gym shorts with a T-shirt tucked into them, a big white canvas hat, and white socks and gym shoes" while sightseeing. Okay , some of the t shirts aren't tucked in.

Filling a water bottle at home saves who knows how much plastic going to the landfill. You should do it too.He yells Aargh when you constantly offer your uninvited criticism of everything from how he swallows to how he holds his bowl. . Well, duh.

You seem to be lacking important social skills- you might want to get yourself diagnosed.You seem to try and live a life defined by the expectations and judgements of others and think those you're seen with are a reflection on you. Get over yourself.

And as for your parents if they are anything like you ,I certainly understand why he never goes home or calls.

Was that an insult or a cry of envy?

not only decent public transportation but high quality free childcare , free healthcare. with housecalls yet and low cost medicine.....

Patrick-thank you for the wonderful reporting and pictures. I'm glad you have the guts to go to a place like this - I certainly don't - I feel guilty enough as it is just having running water and food. I started to go into Juarez today , ( having moved to El Paso a year ago) but I saw a wounded butterfly grounded by a torn wing yet trying to limp it's way into the air and before I knew it my heart was in my throat- there was no way i could face any more desperation.

To the woman who' daughter is in Senegal- how wonderful that you didn't see it before she went- and please send her my thanks for being witness for those of us who can't look, and don't know how to help..