A Man Wrapped in Mystery and Hot Dogs As I sit here trying to recollect my memories of the man that has been a large part of the younger half of my adult life, I can't help but laugh at all the predicaments we have put ourselves through to get where we are today. Many people wonder about the story behind the one we know as "WillyTheDeuce". Questions flood our minds like "Where did he come from?" or "How does he have such a creative mind?". Well, I don't have all the answers to those questions since I can barely understand the man himself. Knowing him for as long as I have has only brought up more questions than answers. However, maybe I can give a better insight through discussing the experiences we shared that lead him to stand as the man he is today. When I first met "The Deuce" we were both college students at a large state school (obviously one of those talked about "party schools"). I walked into our dorm struggling to carrying my overstuffed luggage of clothing when I first caught a glance of him. He had a Nirvana concert tee on, a pair of cargo shorts,high rise boots with a thickly pronounced heel and headphones that was blaring music so loud it could be heard from accross the room. I walked over and offered my hand as a friendly gesture while stumbling upon the pronunciation of my name. He glanced up at me with a look that indicated his blatant lack of interest in shaking my hand and I quickly retracted myself to return to unpacking the rest of my belongings. For the first two weeks as roommates, we rarely spoke to each other. Only echanging small head nods or slight hand waves to acknowledge each other's presence. Then, one night after watching him struggle with a Probability and Statistics question for a few hours I finally decided to explain to him how Standard Deviation worked. He offered me a beer and the start of a long lasting friendship began. I worked as a busboy at a local restaurant/bar while Willy did odd jobs to get himself by. Every Thursday night was Dollar Dog Night at the restaurant and Willy would always make a trip each week to stuff himself with as many hot dogs that his husky body would allow. At some point our bar area decided to host an open mic for aspiring bands, comedians, magicians, etc.to strut their stuff. Willy was a funny guy but he had bigger aspirations and wanted to try his hand at stand-up. Unfortunately, his very first experience ended up being a complete disaster. He was shakimg nervously, sweat dripping heavily until his shirt was soaked, every single word was stumbled upon and he gave a blank expression accompanied with his long awkward pauses throughout his entire routine. At some point an audience member grew restless of his routine and decided to throw his remaining dollar dog at the stage which caused the rest to follow his lead. Despite the night being an almost complete disaster a small silver lining came at the end that would forever inspire the comedic side of the Deuce.A lone hot dog precisely aimed at the Deuce's face hit him so hard that he fell over and let out a squeal that would put babe to shame. The crowd instantly exploded in an uproar of laughter. While many would have been devastated if placed in the same situation, Willy saw something else. He saw the kind of laughter and joy in everyone's faces that he would seek to recreate for years to come. (Of course, don't ever mention "Dollar Dog Night" while Willy is present or else he will crawl into the fetal position as the traumatic flashbacks of hot dogs coming towards him floods the every recess of his mind) Afterwords he spent countless nights listening to stand up comedy, watching Saturday Night Live, rented ever classic comedy in existence from the Stooges to Sandler in a devoted effort to understand the complete failure that occurred at his first stand-up routine. The rest of our college lives were relatively normal. We occasionally browsed the college party scene in our free time but every party we went to always ended up with us being kicked out by the host. It was always the same story of some guy not able to handle the vibrant excitement we brought to those parties. One guy kicked us out after we tried to perform a duet of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" while streaking throughout the apartment. Another time we got kicked out for bringing three ducks we had captured from a nearby pond since the RA didn't see the humor in our antics. When I turned 21, Willy took me out on a night at the bars for what I thought would be a small get together with friends. Three days later I woke up in the next town over with recollection of any events that occurred. I had no pants, a pool of what I assumed was my own vommit had a strong stench waffing about, and I had a ten digit number on my wrist (Later on Ifound out was to a 38 year old guy named Steve that lived in his parents basement). The unspeakable horrors I had to perform to get a ride back home almost made me believe that I would never be able to forgive him. Of course, when I got home he gave me one of his signature clever quips that made me unable to remain upset over his actions. We shared a laugh and now forever have a story to tell our children for years to come. After we graduated we continued to live as roommates by sharing rent in a one bedroom apartment. I slept in the living after loosing a deciding coin toss that I later found out was rigged. The coin he used was a doubled headed trick prop that came in one of those inexpensive magic kits sold at a local mom and pop shop. We hit up the local bars on weekends getting drunk at hitting on any women that just so happened to be at the bar. Willy would always try and charm them with his wit and humor. I on the other hand aimed towards having intellectual conversations in the hopes of find an equal that shared the same philosophical ideas and beliefs about life that I carried (I couldn't stand any women who lacked the understanding as to why KISS was the ultimate rock band of all time) After a year of working our menial jobs Willy got a visit from his old pal skinny who had just come back for a brief visit after finishing up boot camp. Willy had a revelation and decided that he wanted a change from our mundane daily ritual and made the major life-changing choice to walk amongst the ranks of the army. I respected his decision and organized a large going away bash in his honor. It would be years before I would see the man you know know as WillyTheDeuce in person again. By the time I ran into the good old Deuce, he had a wife, kids, and had found KaW as a a creative outlet to display the witty and hilariously charming side that I've grown to be found of. I decided to download the app for myself and now find myself here today in the Forums of Kingdoms at War telling the story of a man that few can recreate and even fewer could possibly understand.