Jake was the dude who had it all back when having it all amounted to long curly hair gathered at the nape of the neck with rawhide. His hair was so black it shimmered blue in the sun and the women melted at his glance. The fellas gave it up to him, in the form of more Frisbee tosses, free rounds and road trips. To Jake this was the norm. He never knew otherwise. Even as a kid he emitted a certain kind of magnetism that held others in his sway without breaking a sweat. Now you’re thinking “and then one day he got his comeuppance”. He went bald. He grew a paunch. His eyes lost a bit of their sparkle. All true. But still as the town’s Tree Guy, Jake gets the best gigs. He has a wife who loves him and two boys whose star shines brighter than the rest in Little League.  Maybe it is the confidence he exudes like an extension of his birthright. Or it could be the way the wood chips cling to the remaining curls, now gray, that rim his exposed pate. He does however suffer with gum disease so all is not rosy.