Saturday afternoon, after all of the stuntmen and stuntwomen had finished playing around at the Yerkes Circus / Gypsy Camp, I went out to lunch with ten of these individuals. Never before had I joined them for lunch, nor had I planned on it. In fact, I needed to get work done and this was a distraction.

The reason I was at lunch was made apparent, in my opinion, by the end of the meal. Some of the group had already left and we dwindled down to seven of us. Two were teenagers: a sixteen and seventeen year old.

I don’t remember what brought the conversation there, but we soon began talking about sex. Since the sixteen year old was still a virgin, this became a “sex education your father won’t teach you” opportunity for a couple of the guys and they began giving this young man pointers on how to please his girlfriend, once he finally popped his cherry.

I sat silent during most of the coversation. Not because I disapproved of the topic, but because I had nothing I could contribute and I was amused at how candid — and loud — the discussion had become.

Finally, I leaned toward our younger comrade and said, “I’m going to give you a different perspective… because I can.”

He leaned back toward me, interested in what I had to say. I’m not sure if that statement itself had roused him, or the fact that I hadn’t spoken yet and what I had to say must then be important, but I had his full attention.

“I’m 28 years old,” I continued, holding up my left hand with my purity ring resting on my middle finger. “And I’m still a virgin.”

A smile immediately appeared on his face and he gave me a high five. I had just become his hero.

“That’s awesome!” He remarked. “After a certain amount of time, it becomes cool again because you can say that you waited for something important.”

“That’s right,” I responded. “I’ll be honest, it’s been a long, hard road and I’ve gone through periods of not caring and wanting to give up the wait, but right now I am committed to saving myself for marriage. Am I perfect? No. I’ve done stuff with my ex-girlfriends, but as it stands, I will be able to tell my future children that I had sex with only one woman: their mother.”

So, that’s it. I was a role model to a young man that was surrounded by five others that had lost their virginity many years before. I was there to encourage him and to not make him feel as if he was alone in not having sex yet. I just hope that both of us will be able to stay strong until our wedding nights.

Blogged from my iPhone 3G.