David Theus

After speaking at great length with my wife over the last several weeks, months, ok, last few years of our marriage about what exactly I want to do for my second career – it has finally become crystal clear. I want to write. Write what she says? Write, damn it, write, I said. Mind you the last thing a wife wishes to hear from her husband of almost 25 years is that he wants to be a writer. This could rank only second to getting the guys from the old band back together to start looking for gigs.

For the longest time I didn’t know. Of course this is not a reality worth sharing with your wife right away either. Like it wasn’t enough that I informed her of my desire to be a writer, but adding the “I don’t know what” factor is definitely not a good thing either. She will be the first one to tell you, I’m a little slow sometimes. Well as it turns out, I have decided to write about a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Starting over, not in marriage, at least not yet, but starting over with the second career.

Now the question is what style will I perform this task? Will I continue to try to be funny and opinionated? YES! Will I offer others insight into solving problems at home and the workplace during this transition part of your life? YES! Will I share first hand antidotes regarding this sometimes troubling and confusing time for us men who often are who we are because of what we do? YES! That’s a big one, was for me anyway. I’ve left what I’ve done for fifteen years, and I was damn good at it, now what do I do? I bought that T-shirt.

Now, here is where the rubber meets the road. After several years of bouncing around, one new start up to another, odd jobs here and there, and even playing Mr. Mom – I am making this proclamation live and on the world wide web for all to see. This is my formal New Year’s Resolution if you will? My wife has been on my case longer than you can imagine for me to get focused, and here I am. A goal she asked me for, “I need to see one that is well thought out and written down” she said.

Here it goes. By this time next year, the end of 2008, or prior mind you – I expect to be writing, and getting paid to do so for a major news source under this topic of “Starting Over”. Now a couple sources do come to mind, in case any one who might be reading this has any pull in the right places – Yahoo preferably, but a syndication gig with fifty or more major market newspapers will suffice too, better yet as well. Someone once said to me: “Aim high and land softly” I like the way that sounds. I think that I will take ownership of that from now on.