Rock Star and The World’s Greatest Lover

Not to be read as, ” Energy drinks and better sex”, although that might be a topic for another blog. (lightbulb).

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the eighties. We all thought Reagan was going to nuke the ruskies and Hair bands were our escape from thinking about Armageddon. “Party now for tomorrow we die” was a legitimate and pervasive lifestyle. Yes I was one to grow my hair really long carry a bottle of booze in one hand and a guitar in the other, but before the glory of actually talent and fame, anyone with a broom and prerequisite long hair could be a rock star in their mind. Talent was not required. Confidence and having a good time is attractive. We all want to be around those people at parties. There are the cloths, motions, party activities that are WAY OVER THE TOP. There is energy in that…you can feel the power. By the time Glam rock took the scene, we were talking some REAL CHEESE ! What a time to live!

The World’s greatest Lover

There is a cheesy movie called Don Juan DeMarko starring Johnny Depp. He lives, dresses, and acts as “The world’s greatest lover”. Complete with Spanish outfit, sword, and zorro-like mask. (Major Cheese Alert). As you would have guessed, he is arrested and put on a 10 day psych hold, during which time, Marlon Brando (playing a retiring psychiatrist with lack of spark in his life and marriage to Faye Dunaway) has to decide whether to put Depp on meds and commit him, or the alternative to accept the young man’s story as eccentric but harmless. As we here Johnny’s story we see that it is Brando who has lost who he is and that life is INDEED more romantic and fun believing in the power of this cheesy story. And so the story ends with Depp set free to live a romantic life and Brando and Dunaway dancing the tango happy to have the romantic spark back in their lives …just by allowing in a little cheese.

The Power of cheese

Under my “Manchego” logo there is a subtitle “Power in Cheesy Dreams”. Cheesy is commonly described as “being unnecessary, over the top, to the point of maybe not being genuine. There is always a doubt though as to whether the person is being genuine, and most times we never know. Exaggeration to make a point is how I usually see it. And there is benefit in being cheesy. Let me tell you some true personal stories of the Power of Cheese.

Besides rubbing the gynormous wedge of yellow foam on my head as the Green Bay Packers, down by 2, kick a 54 yard field goal with 2 seconds left…(You will never convince me that that doesnt help)…But besides that, here are REAL examples of benefits of cheese.

I swear I know an old married couple that says gooey things and P.D.A. every 20 minutes . “Sooo Cheesy” some would say, but the cumulative affect is so positive and , given the alternatives, WHY NOT, right? It is over the top, maybe unnecessary, but can we judge the genuineness of the result?

Here’s another true story. A coworker was typing in her passwork at work and said outloud as she typed “this job sucks”. Yes, that was her password which had to be retyped like every 20 minutes. So… I swear to God, I changed my password to “HAPPINESS”. Knowing that every 20 minutes I had to retype “h.a.p.p.i.n.e.s.s”. A positive reminder to be happy. Cheesy right?! But which way was better to go through the day?

Another true story, and I am not kidding at all:

I arrived in Montana at age 27 and never had a dog. I got a black lab runt no one wanted and its name previously given was “kitty”. Gun shy and small, this dog wasn’t wanted by most bird hunters in Montana. She was Fabulous! Best dog I ever had, but I DID change her name. I seriously named her “Joy”. So that every morning when I opened the back door to let her in from doing her business, I would yell, for all neighbors to hear, “Joy! Joy! Joy!” Cheesy to the max I know. I stopped short of getting personal license plates reading “I.N.JOY”. But that would have been the king cheese move.

The Birth of Manchego

Yes I love this cheese and will resupply with regular drops of it while on the A.T. , but that is not the story of why it is my trail name. Here is that story that very few people know. A lady hiking friend had introduced me to healthier eating when I met her at the Timberline trail around Mt. Hood in Oregon. Allergic to cow milk, she could tolerate sheep cheese and so I was introduced to the buttery, nutty magnificence of Manchego cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain. With all the romance of Don Juan, this cheese and I were soul mates. I love this cheese.

Now, my name is really Tony. I ,for real, analyze poop and pee in a hospital lab. Boring right, but I joked with people at work that after midnight they should call me “Antonio”. I dont know, it sounds more sexy and mysterious , right? I suppose it was kind of like the old country song that says , “…all the girls get prettier at closing time.” (Night shift people have to entertain themselves.) So now, in the kitchen of this hiking friend, a much younger and pretty lady, I had a moment of playfulness when a good song came on the radio. I grabbed her to dance and like a sexy Spaniard with a rose in his mouth during the tango, I took a hunk of Manchego cheese between my teeth, and in my sexiest latin voice said, ” My name is Antonio Manchego”. I am sure there was laughter…but I also felt younger and sexier, and pretty darn happy in that moment. We hike a few more times after that, (no more to tell there) but the “idea” of “Antonio Manchego” lived on in my head. It was cheesy, unnecessary, and over the top, but it WAS genuine. Antonio Manchego wasnt a mask that was put on, instead he was in me. it was a persona that was released and allowed to surface free of worry, if only in that moment. I have chosen to live more like that.

Why go to Nepal? Some would say it is unnecessary and over the top. Why hike 2200 miles?…

These goals release the bigger me, open the sexier world, revitalize the youth of living. I believe there is “power in cheesy dreams”.

Now SAY OUTLOUD with me, in a sexy Spanish accent…

” My name is ANTONIO MANCHEGO “

(These initial blog posts are meant for you to get to know me more, interlaced with my life commentary from real experiences before we begin our journey together on the Appalachian Trail in June and soon to happen Himalayan Trek this April 2021. I hope you enjoy. Please comment below and subscribe for update notification. Thank You.) – Manchego