1971 had me as a freshman in college a couple thousand miles away from home. I was often lonely, homesick and not very cautious when it came to looking for affection. Fortunately for me I lived a very charmed life and was very lucky, so most of my "indiscretions" had happy endings.
Ben Carson was one of the wonderful gentlemen I had the pleasure to meet that year, and although to me he looked like he probably did to everybody else, a very distinguished looking silver haired gentleman in his early sixties with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye, I was to find out that there was more behind the facade than one would think.
Not bad mind you, just different. Very different.
***
I was headed back to my dorm room, trudging along with my books in my backpack after working out in the gym as had been my custom that fall. My somewhat long dirty blonde hair was still damp from the shower, something that I usually enjoyed as much or more than the workout itself, and as it turned out when a red Corvette convertible pulled off to the side of the street next to me I was thinking about that very same person behind the wheel.
"Care for a ride son?" was what he asked, and although I did a double take when I saw the slender senior behind the wheel of the hot car I was able to recognize him after a few seconds.
You see, it was my custom to look at other parts of the men who showered at the gym, usually just glancing up occasionally to make sure my attempts at subtly observing wasn't being noticed.
I think it was more the very prominent gold band on this gentleman's very long fingers that finally got me to connect the face with the ... other parts of him, and when I did I was more than happy to squeeze into the little bomber alongside my shower mate.
"My name's Carson - Ben Carson," he said in voice that sounded deeper than I would have expected to come from his reed-thin body, and as I awkwardly shook that big bony hand and started to introduce myself I discovered he already knew my moniker by saying, "Do you go by Tim, Timothy or Timmy?"
"Uh - Tim is fine," I mumbled in surprise, and just before I was about to ask how he knew my name he answered my unasked question.
"I happened to follow you at the sign-in desk one day Tim," Mr. Carson explained.
"Oh."
"I said to myself, Ben - this is a young man to keep an eye on," he said with bravado as he roared down the road, the breeze drying my hair for me. "It didn't occur to be until today in the shower room that you were keeping an eye on me as well - and if I'm wrong please forgive me and chalk it up to me being a silly old-timer with a vivid imagination. Am I mistaken about your interest?"
"No," I said after swallowing hard.
"Good, although with all the muscular young bucks in there like you, I have no idea why a withered old coot like me would catch your eye."
"I like - mature men," I said after choosing my words carefully. "My Mom says I was born too late because I like old music - old TV shows - old movies..."
"And old men?" Ben said with a chuckle as he pulled up to the stop light, and after I smiled and shrugged he said, "That's lucky for me then I guess. Now what I would love to do is take you home with me some time and show you that while there's snow on the rooftop there's plenty of fire in the furnace. You interested in spending some time with me some night that you're free?"
"I don't have classes until afternoon tomorrow," I managed to get out before Ben stomped on the gas, cranked out the Steppenwolf on the 8-track and set sail for his home out in the suburbs.
It wasn't a short ride but it didn't take long because Ben drove like kids my age did. The Corvette was something he bought as a retirement present to himself, he yelled over to me as he whipped around the winding curves like a seasoned race car driver, and although I was hanging on for dear life at first I figured out he knew what he was doing so I relaxed and thought about my shower buddy.
Ben Carson was a couple of inches taller than my 5'9" or so but he was very slender, although not in a grotesque bony way. Just very slim and toned like a long distance runner, and if it wasn't for his shiny silver hair that still looked full I wouldn't have guessed he was 63.
I told Mr. Carson that I was about to turn 19 next week, and after he told me he had socks that had been around longer than me we shared a laugh as he pulled into his driveway and the end of a quiet dead end street. Ben turned off the car and turned a bit to face me, patting my knee and smiling.
"I have to admit that the times I was in the shower room with you - and I confess to timing my visits in there to coincide with yours lately - I must tell you that my thoughts were anything but pure. Does that bother you?"
"No sir," I said.
"You have without question the cutest ass I've ever seen," Ben said after admonishing me about calling him sir for at least the second time. "Since you usually try to hide your front goodies for some reason when you shower, that gave me plenty of opportunities to check out that sweet dimpled rump."
"If you saw what I was hiding you'd understand the reason," I said in my usual self-depreciating way, but the squeeze of the hand on my leg and Mr. Carson's rather stern look cut me off.
"You aren't as good at hiding yourself as you think," he informed me. "I think I've memorized every bit of you, and I think your penis is beautiful. The only reason I seem more interested in your back side is - well to be frank I'm an ass man. Always have been and I suspect I always will be, so when I tell you that yours is gorgeous I speak from experience.
"I lost a lot of weight over the last couple years, but not quite as much back there as much I guess."
"Good thing too," Ben said. "There's a couple of things I'd love to do to that sweet rump, although I understand if it's not something that you..."
"No, as a matter of fact," I said in answering the question that was about to be asked. "I kind of like it."
"Hopefully I don't have a stroke on the way up the steps," Ben said before we got out of the car. "Because so far this is going even better than I dreamed."
Ben made it up the steps just fine, even better than I did, and just before we entered the very nice ranch he stopped before turning the knob.
"Now Tim, when we go in you might be a bit confused and not understand," Ben cautioned me, which made me nervous. "Trust me that everything is all right and I'm very normal - well - maybe not normal but it all works for me. Okay?"
"Uh - yeah," I mumbled and nodded while not knowing what in the world I was replying to, but then the door was opening and I was being ushered inside.
