| I'm Shawn Collins from Belleville, IL -15 miles East of St. Louis, MO- and I'm gay (as the "Bedtime Prayer" below will illustrate! LOL) I'm single and looking. I LOVE movies, cooking, karaoke, SCUBA, travel and cuddling! (I'm very romantic) |
| Does Evil Exist? Best Prayer Hangovers Perspective Plan Of The Master Weaver Don't Drink & Drive To All Parents Challenging Bible Thumpers |
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| Shawn Collins |
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| April 1, 2007 |
| Romance serves a purpose. It's a meditative state. It puts logic sleep so that people can come together. Othersise nobody would risk it. Eventually the illusion dies, but only so something much deeper can take place. Love is big! It's a bright light in the universe. A bright light casts a big shadow. Real love is hard work. You have to decide if you want it in your "story"...or if you'd rather just stay in the dream. |
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As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every 60 seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. -anonymous- |
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| MTV Campus Invasion at SIUC, April, 2006. Despite the fact that I have my arm around a girl, I'M STILL GAY! LOL Actually, I pointed a cute jock out to her I thought was cute and she replied: "That's my brother!" She promised not to tell him until after I left...crisis averted! ;) (Actually, SUIC seems to be rather liberal) |
| January 28, 2007 This fully-functional fire truck (weed truck) was on display at the St. Louis 2007 Auto Show. It certainly caught your eye. The designer/builder, a former volunteer firefighter like myself, started this as a pet project. He got one sponsor, then another, and it ballooned. It was built from the ground up and took 5 years to complete. With all the emergency lights activated, it resembles a Christmas tree on wheels! LOL Project Responder |
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| St. Louis Pridefest 25th anniversary |
| I'm in the blue shorts. My bud is in the yellow cap. I'm working security, which explains the mic clipped to my left shoulder. It was this year I found out from the captain of District 5 that Pridefest is historically THE most peaceful public demonstration in St. Louis. YAY FOR ST. LOUIS! Pride Saint Louis |
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| Diving in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Here I'm jumping off the dive boat to do a wreck dive in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a decommissioned Coast Guard cruiser -I can't remember the name- that was sunk as an artificial reef. Those not used to being on a dive boat in open waters often suffer the consequences, as you'll see below. ;) p.s. The white part in the bottom of the pic is the boat. I didn't crop this out for one of 2 reasons: Context or laziness LOL |
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| Seasick dive buddy |
| The picture to the left is Jason P. He was my dive buddy on this trip. He'd never been on vacation without his parents. He's newly SCUBA certified, young, never been to the ocean, never dove the ocean and thinks that anything goes. I tell him: "I've done this before! Slow down! Just follow my lead!" Poor, poor Jason. I TOLD him not to eat those 2 plates full of food from the breakfast buffet... |
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| Nassau, Bahamas |
| We were staying at the Holiday Inn Pirate's Cove. It's a beautiful place, although I think it's been sold and renamed. This picture was snapped the day before we flew back home. I don't remember the name of the hurricane. Fortunately, we got out before it hit. Despite the concern for our well-being, it was a great trip. It WAS on this trip that I took my first "booze cruise". ;) ($20 gets you a leisurely 2 hour cruise and all the rum punch you can drink. HOORAY FOR RUM PUNCH! Admittedly, neither of us remembers how we got back. I woke up in the hot tub and |
| my friend woke up face down on the floor of our room. I "came to" first, went up to the room and found him. The day of the "booze cruise" was the only day we partied. After all, I took him there for his 21st birthday (although in the Bahamas it wouldn't have mattered...the drinking age is 18). We HAD to get messed up ONE night. As for the other 6 days/nights, why get loaded and not be capable of doing everything you want to do? It's vacation, after all! Why spend the money to do something you can do at home? LOL |
| I'm not looking for the man I can live with, but the man I can't live without Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO!" No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is won't make you cryLife ain't about the moments you breathe, but the moments that take your breath away A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened Guys are like stars: So many to pick from, but only one can make your dreams come true It's funny how the only one that can stop you from crying is the one that made you cry in the first place The bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals and 326 to heterosexuals. God loves heterosexuals, he just thinks they need more supervision Life isn't about the moments you breathe, but the moments that take your breath away |
| Thoughts To Ponder |
| My father asked if I I am gay. I asked, "Does it matter?" He said "No, not really." I said, "Yes." He said, "Get out of my life!" I guess it mattered. My boss asked if I am gay. I asked, "Does it matter?" He said, "No, not really." I told him "Yes." He said "You're fired, faggot!" I guess it mattered. My best friend asked if I am gay. I asked, "Does it matter?" He said "No, not really." "Yes." He said, "Don't call me your friend." I guess it mattered. My lover asked, "Do you love me?" I asked, "Does it matter?" He said, "Yes." I told him "I love you."He said, "Let me hold you in my arms!" For the first time in MY life, something matters. My God asked me "Do you love yourself?" I said, "Does it matter?" He said, "YES." I said, "How can I love myself? I am gay!" He said, "That is the way I made you." Nothing will ever matter again. |
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| There's no story behind this pic. A friend just snapped it in front of my house on the Fourth of July, 2006. |
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| Does It Matter? |
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| I'm not intending to end this page on a down note. However, I came across this one day while shopping and unfortunately had the occasion to whisper it to someone a few months later. I didn't want to leave it off the page in memoriam of a friend... |
| "If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven, and bring you home again" |
| Favorite links: Gay.com Pride St. Louis Gay St Louis Guide Project Responder |
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| This is my old profile pic from April, 2005. |
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| 4/16/07 |
| Today, we are |
| aall Hokies |
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| Pridefest, 2007 (06/24/2007) I'm in the yellow shirt and RJ Helton from American Idol is next to me. He performed at Pridefest 2007 free-of-charge. He also sold his new CD with all proceeds going to Pride St. Louis to fund scholarships. He is such a sweet and genuine guy. I took something from there that nobody else could possibly have. In my left hand are his handwritten stage notes. I've scanned front and back with a few portions deleted. Unimportant portions, but it preserves the integrity of what I have. ;) |
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| Above are RJ's stage notes. He autographed them later. I asked for them before his last song. It gave me something to take away from Pridefest that noone else could. RJ is a really sweet and genuine guy and his b/f is lucky to have him! Note: I deleted a few portions of the stage notes to preserve the integrity of my original. The deleted portions are unimportant. |
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