Red and Green: iii.

Gotta show some love
sometime:
not just when the need arises,
not just for special occasions
but always.

Even saying
how much the love
of my life is cherished
isn't that difficult to do.

Some duders "show their love"
but it's all a front,
a facade they put on
like some costume.
With me,
it's a whole other story.

I show my love not
solely in the words I speak
or in the words
which I commit to pen
& paper
but also in selfless action:
going out of my way
to wholeheartedly
lend my support
to the love of my life.

Red And Green: ii.

The message of love
is forever & always the same:
"I do what I do because I care,
because you are appreciated."

Time & time again this is my task:
carrying out the work
so many others leave unfinished.

No wonder then, some folks
have to ask, Who does this man
think he is?
why does he do what he does
so often?

My response is straightforward:
"I do what I do because I care."

Yet that's not all:
"I do what I do out of
the goodness of my heart,
because I believe in integrity,
loyalty, respect,
showing courtesy."

This isn't too much to ask.
For some, it might be.
But not me.

And why? there is no
greater feeling than to be
a steadfast supporter
of someone you love
with all your heart.

Red and Green: i.

Household name,
poster duder:
whatever labels
you try to pin
on the man of the hour
they just don't seem
to stick for long.
Sure, he's both
of the above
in one way or another
but there's so much
more about the man
you haven't heard about

just yet. He's one
of the sweetest persons
around as anyone
who has seen
or known him firsthand
is going to tell you.
He's one of the more
heartfelt duders
who can brighten the days
of one & all
anytime he steps into a room.
He truly means what he says.
Unlike most duders
who go halfway
in their support for the love
of their lives
his support is genuine:
it never falters,
never wavers, always endures.

Most of all, he's a honest-to-
goodness spokesperson,
always a champion
for a common cause.

Slow Dances: xiii.

The music has ended,
all dancing has been over & done with:

yet love still lives on,
enduring every trial
which comes up.

Love still lives on,
enduring change.

Love still lives on,
without wavering,
the slightest notion of
compromising.

Love still lives on,
not just in words
but in deeds as well.

Love still lives on,
never forgetting.

Love still lives on,
never losing sight
of its true aims.

Love still lives on,
never doubting,
always hopeful.

There is no question
about what love can do:
it lives on,
always keeping in mind
that it was meant to be.

Love always lives on,
always stays the course
no matter what.

Love lives on, finding a way
to touch countless lives,
brighten countless days.

Love lives on, holding
steadfast & true,
keeping honest & loyal.

Slow Dances: xii.

Keeping it real -
you know that's what he does
when it comes to showing
how strongly he stands
by the side of his lifelong love.

Keeping it humble -
he doesn't have to brag
up & down about how much
he values the love of his life.
To tell you the truth,
he knows how much his first love
is cherished without
having to spell it out
for everyone.

Just watch him walking
down the way in those letters
which have defined his life:
no introduction is needed
at this point...You just know
that he's for real.
Not only that, he deserves
the praises & all the love
which he's been getting.

That's the man of the hour
for you, our hero at work:
doing what he loves,
loving what he does.

Slow Dances: xi.

"This is not the last dance
but the
start of another."


The man of the hour
has been giving the love
of his life lots of thought
for who knows how long.
But unlike some duders
who had the audacity
to shove their first love aside
for somebody else,
he stayed the course,
kept believing in his love
no matter what changes
took place,
no matter what others said,
& no matter what others thought
about the whole thing.


He could never brush off
the love of his life
& never would either,
come to think of it.
It was not just wrong;
for him,
it was also an insult
to treat his first love
like a passing fad
or a style of the day
which easily gets old.
For our man of the hour,
the love of his life
would always endure,
through good times & bad,
through thick & thin.

This is why you see him
out on the floor as we speak,
arm in arm with someone
he can fully place his trust in,
not as fling, not as a one-time deal
but for life.
He knows full well that
when it comes to supporting
the love of his life
he never will go halfway
in his commitment.

So he takes each step
not just gracefully
but with special care: his life
up to now
has been a dance lesson,
something he's learned over time.
Now the last song of the night
is about to begin: he is ready
to make the most of this moment,
to confirm that the love
of his life is one love
he wouldn't leave for any other,
long after this dance
& long after the music has stopped
playing at the formal hall.

Slow Dances: x.

What does it take to be
the pride & joy of one chapter?
How must one go about
becoming that pride & joy,
the one man
whom most ladies have more
good lines for than any other?

It's not through how much
one can drink,
not through the clothes he wears
or through the connections
he has. And it is not
through how well known
he is in the eyes of many.
True, all of these things
are fine & dandy but -
what matters is this:
his quest to become
the chapter's pride & joy
begins from the heart,
from within.

Respect, courtesy:
these two always go hand in hand
& our hero has known this
ever since he began
supporting his favorite ladies.
Without either of the above,
how will one win their hearts,
make oneself stand out
to become the chapter's one & only
for a spell?
Without both one can do neither.

Personality is a plus.
Our hero may appear to be
soft-spoken but don't let
that veneer fool you for one moment:
when you ask him why he
loves Alpha O or Delta Z
unlike any other duder around
he's on hand
to provide not just that ready answer
you all are waiting for
but something more: all the reasons
why he loves them in the first place,
not just one or two reasons.

If that's not enough, he's got to be
willing to lend his support
(gotta love this word) unswervingly,
not reserving his love for
the chapter for special occasions.
Showing his dedication as best he can,
he values his ladies highly,
to let them know they are appreciated,
loved, respected greatly.
Our hero settles for nothing less
than this: that his fave ladies are
shown all the love he can give selflessly
out of the goodness of his heart.
Even saying congratulations to the
newly initiated isn't a difficult task
for him to take on.

These are / should be the defining marks
of a chapter sweetheart:
respect, courtesy, personality,
unswerving support & dedication.
These things alone make our hero
any chapter's pride & joy,
the undisputed man of the hour.

Slow Dances: ix.

Loyalty: either you
have it
or you don't.
Believe me;
that's what
any supporter of one
common cause learns
by heart / as he
goes along.

Those who have
loyalty to show,
a heart to give
some of their time
to lend their support,
confirm their love -

now these
are the folks
you will always have
good lines for,
no matter what.

Loyalty: it is
either in your heart
or it's not.
I speak this truth
once more
for those who will listen,
for those
who truly understand
what it takes to even be
decked out in
these letters.

Slow Dances: viii.

Now or never:

the hero of the day
gets in line for the main event,
knowing full well that he's got
something to prove:
Gotta lotta love he says
out of the goodness of
his heart.

Gotta lotta love:
there is no denying that he
is not paying lip service
to his favorite ladies
& there is no denying
that his heart is in the
right place: with those
he has loved the most.

He has much love
in his heart: nothing can
fail our man of the hour.
Truth is, nothing
ever did fail him
when it came down to
showing his loyalty,
his hearfelt support.

And here he is
right now, waiting to
make his statement:
that he is keeping
his love real.

Slow Dances: vii.

How many have stood
by your side
through both good times & bad?

how many have sworn
their wholehearted loyalty to you
without wavering, the slightest
swerving for one moment?

How many have truly kept
true to their word
when they said you were
& always are the love
of their lives?

how many more have lived up
to their promises of saying
how much their first love
is appreciated, treated
with respect?

How many have held to your
corner with a love that has
always been steadfast?

How many have shown
their courtesy & value you highly?

How many more have said
with heartfelt confidence
that you were always the one,
their whole heart?

just how many have believed
in you even when the going
got tough?

Only time will tell, only time
could say.
I can say with certainty

that I've done all of the above.

Slow Dances: vi.

"...To those whom my life may touch in slight measure, may I give graciously of what is mine; to my friends, understanding and appreciation; to those closer ones, love that is ever steadfast...to myself, faith that I may walk truly in the light of the flame." - Dorothy Mumford Williams

Selfless love & friendship
that remains steadfast
& lifelong: I have found it
right here.

Without question
I have found some of
the most precious memories
& most worthwhile moments

ever to grace my life.
If that's not enough
already, some of my
greatest joys in life

can be found right here.
I am thankful & blessed
to be supporting love this true,
steadfast & strong.

To this very day
I remain joyful & blessed
that I am still a heartfelt
supporter of my first love,

always have been & always will be.

Slow Dances: v.

If anyone wants to know
who the classiest ladies on campus are
look no further than here:

if they're wearing the letters
of Alpha O proudly on their sleeves
you just ran into them,

if they're proudly carrying around
their Alpha O totes
you just ran into them,

& if they're doing both of the above
you know who the classiest ladies are
without needing to ask who.

You don't have to say much
to know who the classiest ladies are:
just listen to their talk,

watch the way they walk,
their attitude, their smiles -
not much else needs to be

said that hasn't been said
already. The classiest ladies
on campus have always been

Alpha O's. Much love,
lots of roses,
plenty of respect shown.

Slow Dances: iv.

"If you're going to put the letters on put them on your heart." -Dave Stollman

These letters which I wear
on my sleeve & on my heart
are not decorations,
ornaments:
they're living symbols
of all that I am,
all that I am striving to become.

These letters which I am wearing
display my truthful colors,
part of a much larger picture
which is my life.

Never were they meant to be
thrown on/off at will,
discarded, dispensed: No.
These letters are for life,
not temporary.

So I guard them well, realizing
that the first impressions which
I make with these letters
are the ones plenty of folks
will remember me by.

These letters tell others
not just who I represent
but the ideals which I
have always stood for.

Just one more reason why
I wear these letters both
on my sleeve & on my heart.

Slow Dances: iii.

The man of the hour, our hero
& most beloved spokesperson
has always had a way
with clothes, namely the collection
of sorority T-shirts
which are overflowing in his closet.
His roomies, brothers,
closest friends can only wish
that they had the sorority spirit
which he always displays
like none other. (And of course,
one pair of letters is off limits
to virtually everyone
except - you guessed it,
our hero.)

Some, without surprise, are jealous
as if to say the man of the hour
is not who he says he is
or is just a honorary
so-rat member: "Well, he could
just as well be wearing his own letters
for once..." as if they harbor
some secret doubts or misgivings
about this duder's true colors.
Yet all they can do is stop, stare:
there isn't much room for them to speak
their minds about the sight
whom they're seeing all decked out
in cardinal, green & pink, etcetera.

And why? They don't have the blessing,
some kind of approval
which is needed to wear these letters
in the first place.

Yet they have to love the man
for showing his support like he does:
he does his life's work quite well,
displaying his true colors
at all times & not solely
when the occasion arises to do so.

The letters he is wearing are
a lifetime commitment he made a long
time ago, what he returns to
repeatedly for inspiration,
for love.

These letters are not / never were
a fashion statement, a fad of the day:
they were meant to be worn
for life.