David M

My ex-girlfriend and I broke up just before Thanksgiving 2011. I think about her almost daily and feel that there's a lot unresolved in our relationship. At least ten times since then, I've had her deeply on my mind and she's shown up texting me or messaging me after weeks and even months of no contact. I haven't been able to remember any dreams for the past five years except ones about her.

In June I was at a concert of a band we'd seen together half a dozen times. It was somebody we loved seeing together and actually spoke about having them play at our our wedding... All of a sudden, while I'm at this show, she texted me to say we needed to talk, that she was sorry. We messaged back and forth for about a week. She mentioned that she could listen to another band we bonded over. I never thought about them that way. Two weeks later I was at show for the band she referenced and I had to walk out. I couldn't take it anymore. Later that night they were performing again and I rejoined my friends and had a great time. As soon as we left the festival and I could get phone signal, there were a ton of messages from her. This keeps happening. Even after she got engaged to her new boyfriend.

It creeped me out at first, but now I just laugh every time she shows up. Now she asks what I did to make her think of me. Are these just odd coincidences or something more? You tell me.

I need some random opinions here:

I have been with my girlfriend for over a year. I'm 36 and have a young son from a 13 year relationship that started in college. I'm constantly looking at where I am in life and I feel like it's time to move forward with her or move on without her. If this decision was a no-brainer, she'd have a ring on her finger. It's not that easy, so here I am:

I know it's not fair to compare her to those in my past, but we base a lot of what we do in life on experience. So share with me some of your experiences and what you think...

She's not my best friend. The ex-wife and the last woman I dated were. I don't know if that's really how it's supposed to be. I have a core group of friends from my younger days, from work, from my church community and from other activities in which I participate. I have family nearby and we see each other often. She mixes well with most of the people in my life. She says I'm her best friend. I can't say the same about her. It hurts her that I don't say the same thing. I'm not going to say it just to make her happy if it isn’t true.

My question and explanation could easily be pages long. I love her. There are many things to love about her. There are a handful of things she does and says that annoy the hell out of me (sounds like we're married already). Is it a matter of loving her, but not being "in love" with her? Possibly so. She doesn't drive me crazy. She doesn't consume me like others did in the past. I don't miss her when we're apart. I feel like a jerk for saying it, but it's true. There were certain traits I miss about those from my past. These are tastes and characteristics that my girlfriend seemingly will never cultivate. For each of those traits there is another that she displays that nobody from my past has shown.

Thinking like that makes me think the perfect person for me is a combination of her and my exes. If that's the case, would I be settling for less if I stayed with her? In reality I know I'm trying too hard to analyze things mentally, when this is a matter of the heart.

I’m done rambling. Should my significant other be my best friend? If so, I'm not in that situation. If I could put a ring on her finger today, I wouldn't. Should I just cut things off? What would you do?

Celebrate? Scream at your TV? Let your jaw drop? Are you gonna look back at your Answers to find out who was it that picked them to get into the second season during spring training?

If so, what musicians/songs helped bridge the generational gap?

I was going to move in with my girlfriend this past summer. I spent nearly all my time at her place. We decided to wait on me moving in. About a month later, she needed some furniture in her apartment. So I brought my recliner over and it fit perfectly in her living room. We have since broken up. She refuses to give me back the chair. It cost me nearly $1000 when I bought it over three years ago. I have a matching love seat and the store where I bought it does not carry the same product line anymore. I'm not quite interested in letting that type of an investment go. She insists I gave it to her and said she could have it no matter what. Ironically she refuses to return to me something else that was a Christmas present which she says she bought and therefore she has the right of possession to as well. Anyone have a similar experience and dealt with small claims court? What was the outcome. What should I expect?

Don't get me wrong, I love the classics, but I want something with a litle bite. Hit me with some good Christmas songs and artists I can download. Ska, funk, rock, punk. I want an alternative playlist to raise some eyebrows this season. Gonna build this one song at a time if I have to. Thanks for your help.

I'm separated from my wife after being together 13 years. She cheated. I caught her before she did anything physical with the guy and she denied it. While her emotional affair progressed, I kept bringing up what I was seeing and pointing out the absurdity of her lies. She kept denying it.

I finally found something a year ago and confronted her. She admitted what was going on. For a month, she did nothing to reconcile with me or end it with him. l caught her again, gave her a week and told her I wouldn't be ignored. I told her she had to move out. It's been 7 months of living apart now.

I've offered forgiveness and told her we can work things out. I have gone to counseling alone. She has gone alone to counseling, but less frequently. We tried one session two months back and she said nothing (by nothing I mean nothing). We have a son and have to talk to each other. She wants to chit-chat about work and friends but not address the issues. We haven't had a meaningful conversation in a year and a half. She just shuts down. I refuse to participate because I don't want her in my life. If she sincerely apologized, I could be open to a cordial relationship with her. I don't want her as a friend. I don't want her as a wife. Quite frankly, I hate her.

I know that for our son, we are going to have to either get along or fake it when we are all together. I can deal with that. In the meantime, am I right in cutting her off? If you have been divorced or are currently separated, please let me know of your experiences.

Looking either around the White House or Capitol Hill

Please let me know of your dining experience or what you've heard from others.

Thanks

Opening Day is my favorite holiday of the year. Over the past several years I have taken in at least one home opener each season. The Nats don't have their home opener until after everyone else. My other options to go to a game on April 5 are Philly and Baltimore, both of which will be sold out thanks to a World Series title at the Cit and the Yankees coming to Camden Yards.

So I'm thinking road trip to either Cincinatti or Toronto. I've never been to a game at either park. Cincy has the ballpark advantage, but Toronto is a great city to visit. I'll let you decide between the two...most votes with supporting details wins.

Jim Rice is now a Hall of Famer to be. Dwight Evans was just as revered a player for the Sox who played in the same era. The two had similar HR and hit totals. Rice had a better career average and had a slightly shorter career. Evans contributed more during his postseason appearances. Offense, defense, the clutch situations and the intangibles, why Jimbo and not Dewey?

Start your answer with weather or not you saw these Sox greats play. I think it makes a difference. If you're going with pure statistical comparison, be convincing for me.

See ya in Cooperstown

When I was seventeen, I broke a toe playing ping pong. My brother hit a ball that went towards the wall in our basement and I smashed my toe against a metal pipe. The toe next to my big toe was bent ninety degrees towards the outside part of my foot. I dislocated it three more times before my mom would take me to the doctor.

I don't know if any of you can beat that, but I know you've got some good stories!

Ryan Zimmerman gets his 3rd game winning RBI of the year.

The Nats are 3-0!

I know its early... Are you ready to give the Nationals some respect this year?

In November, Huff said in a radio interview that Baltimore was a horsesh*t town.

The fans haven't forgotten. He was booed mercilessly during opening day including when he ran out an infield single with two outs in the ninth. This was followed by chants of "horsesh*t hustle!"

Have you ever seen a player drilled so much by his own fans?

I'm a displaced Sox fan, so I follow Boston on satellite radio and when they are on national TV. As a Sox fan, I pay attention to the Yankees too. I just can't stand their announcers though.

My dad grew up a Senators fan. Nationals Park is 30 minutes from my house and we get all the games on TV. I know the Nats better than anyone should.

I still pay attention to the Orioles who also broadcast all their games here. My wife's family is from Baltimore and they all love to talk baseball.

Listed by when they happened in that particular series: games one through seven.

Off the top of my head, I can think of one for each except game two. Games six and seven have lots of choices, so give me a compelling argument.

In two less seasons, Belle hit almost twice as many homers as Puckett. He had fewer hits and doubles, but would have surpassed Puckett in another two years. Fielding wise, Belle only made about six errors a year, while Puckett made five.

Puckett will always be remembered for his role on two great World Series teams. Belle's legacy is a forearm shiver along the basebaths and the crippling effect his salary had on the Orioles as his contract expired.

How far did Puckett's smile take him? How much did Belle's scowl set him back? Is the Hall of Fame really interested in recognizing guys for what they did on the field?

It reminds me of the night they finished off the Cardinals in the '04 World Series. How did you celebrate that night?

Accidents and illness have cut short a lot of players careers. Give me a lineup by position of the best of these trajic figures.

Limit it to guys who started playing in the World Series era. Prior to that, most managers were player/managers.

I can think of a lot of great players who had average careers as managers and average players who had great careers as managers. Give me your best argument for someone who would have been voted in as a manager if he hadn't already been elceted to the hall as a player.

Are there really any true cross town or regional rivalries? Other than disliking the people on the other side of the tracks, what's the point?

Isn't it better for the sport and each team in your area if fans supported multiple teams? I'm not talking season tickets here, but a lot of fans could go to a home game practically any day of the regular season.

What about the teams with no real interleague rival: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, Braves, Tigers, Mariners, Pirates, D-Backs, Rockies, Brewers, Twins, and Padres. Isn't it a waste of their time?