Cia

Actually I had to take weightlifting for 45 minutes a day for the last year and a half of school since that was the only half-period class before my chorus class that was available that I hadn't already taken 4 times. There was one other girl. We could both bench 140. In home ec they usually let the guys sew stuffed animal kits for their girlfriends instead of making clothes like some of the girls did. I objected to both and ended up making the teacher's sewing machine covers she wanted done. You should have seen most of those guys in the kitchen though, boy were they enthused (it helped they got to eat their creations, well, when the creations were edible!) LOL The basic thing to learn from that? We're all different. We all have different preferences, and what gender we are attracted to has very little to do with that. Does being gay mean a man automatically knows what colors go together and how to do interior decorating? No. Does being gay mean a man will swish when he walks or talks or like to get mani/pedi's and say girlfriend all the time? No Hell, not all gay men are even interested in the same types of sex as other gay men, just like not all women are into the same types of sex either. To some extent our preferences will always define us. Some people come out because they feel they are hiding it but not 'sharing', even if they shouldn't have to. Some people come out because they want to be with someone openly, like their 'straight' friends are. Some people just know who they are and don't care who knows. No matter what, it is always impressive when a person is willing to be who they are, even if that means they might not be accepted by others.

Seriously, you guys stereotype like mad! Would you say those things about the kid if he were a member of GA that just did that? He was in drama class 'so it's not as impressive as if he played sports' or 'some people should have known' as if only gay men like drama? So any guy who takes home ec should be suspect too? My high school didn't have a lot of options so guys did 'girl' classes like home ec and art and girls did 'guy' classes like weight lifting and shop. In retrospect, that might have been one of the best benefits of a small school-I learned not to make assumptions about a person based on their likes or dislikes in academia or elsewhere! I don't care who you are, standing up in front of hundreds of your peers (and their parents) and revealing a personal side to your life because you feel it is the right thing to do, would be scary as hell! What he did took serious guts, even if every damn person there suspected it revealing that was brave. Who among us would be willing to cold sell our sexuality as a positive attribute in the midst of an award ceremony during a big company event, or a family reunion, or anywhere else for that matter? Now his story has gone nationwide and I'm sure that's even scarier-with thousands of positive and negative comments being made.

Thank you! Those are great, well thought out comments for this story! I can't wait to hear what other people thought of this month's selection. Don't forget, you can suggest next month's story via a comment here too!

awww, mommy's need to pout sometimes. cause that sounds sucky!

Happy Birthday Kewljim!!!!

Well, Robert's off freezing his bits at the capital and internet gremlins have struck at Renee's, so you get a weekly prompt blog from yours truly! As always, our very own inspiring prompt guru, Comicfan has 2 interesting scenarios to intrigue you. Don't forget, if you decide to try one of these out, share it with the rest of us in the Writing Prompt Forum!! Prompt 204 – Creative Tag – The Monster Hunter You always thought you were the only one. You hunted down the dark and the evil, until they showed up. Their skills nearly matched your own, but where your stuff cobbled together theirs is the best money can buy. Who is this Monster Hunter, and are they there to help you or to replace you? Prompt 205 – Challenge Tag – The Best Day Ever Take the opposite sort of character from what you usually write and now create the perfect day for them. Example: You write about sex crazed teenagers, now write about the perfect day for an eighty year old nun, or your specialty is creating kickass zombie slayers, so maybe you have a male nurse who works in a hospital natal ward. Last week we shared a prompt by Joann414 with you that incorporated 2 prompts. Dolores must have taken some inspiration of sorts from that when she came up with the impressive piece we chose to feature this week. TBC in Dolores' GA Writing Prompt collection, with not just these 2 prompts incorporated, but 7 in total! Follow this link to read all of The Magic of Fire.

The content of a review is a hot button subject for many. I do, however, want to comment on your input regarding the ways to review/rate. We did want to provide many ways for readers to interact with authors and vice versa. We want, and strive to provide, an environment where we can all come together. It is a valuable resource as authors, to be able to be so connected with those that read our work. As we designed, and continued to improve GA Stories, getting feedback on the usefulness of those features and suggestions for improvement is vital. The comment regarding the rating system being so removed from the review button-and that you rate after you read a chapter with it at the top-is something we never really thought about. I'll put it on my list of suggestions for improvement. If anyone has comments like this, insights, suggestions ... we want to hear them! PM me, or find me in chat, or leave a comment in the Admin forums.

Bear's sick of picking the wrong man. He works in a friend's bar, though, so the offers to hop into bed, or the nearest surface, come nightly. Kameron doesn't ask him to go to bed though.

Definitely! Great job Joann!

Her column is still going. Her daughter took it over some time ago. It is always sad to see positive icons in nationwide media pass though.

Good start Labrador. I can see that this story has a lot of angst and drama. Hugh seems like a multi-layered character; I look forward to learning more about him. The mystery surrounding the young man found in the snow is gripping as well. Your story was very well paced, giving us just enough info to get to know who the characters are without info dumping their relationships or descriptions. Well done, I look forward to reading more.

See, it was done in the short amount of time. on purpose.. I guess the simplicity of the solutuion made it seem like a climactic let down, when I wanted it to be a moment of realization. Big confrontations aren't always my thing. I'm really glad you enjoyed the story anyway though, thanks for all the reviews!

I'm glad you liked this chapter.

Reading, photography, writing, creating graphics, baking... but large portions of my day are taken up with being a mom and housewife, along with site work and special projects. I almost always have things to do that I fail to get done in favor of curling up with a great story though.

Well keep reading! I think I explain it all really well in the next 2 chapters. Thanks for all the reviews Sid!

Nitpick away! I'll fix it! I think is cute in his own gruff way too.

aww *blushes*

Thanks for picking my story.

Awww, that's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. I really liked these guys too.

That's just what you get with a Nephy story! She's been one of my fav authors since I joined the site.

Sorry, I can read that in about 1-2 hours. I didn't mean to pick one that's hard for people to read. It's only about 50k and you have roughly 20 days. Just read 2.5k a day and you'll finish with time to spare! (Bet you can't just read 2.5k a day though, not with this story!)

Thanks MJ I do so hate this month of the year; so hard to remember! I hope everyone enjoys this. It's not something that takes a lot of effort on anyone's part, but could be great fun. I hope that it works out and we can continue the CSR Book Club! If it really takes off beyond the blog interactions, who knows?

Maybe sometime. This was posted as a flash story for my blog Wednesday Briefs group, though, so I have no set plans to further the story. I'm sorry for the super long delays, but I am working on Adverse Effects. Thank you for reading!

Matt didn't mention all the running and exercising he did in a ROTC program that wasn't nearly as much fun as skiing and chasing Cam, lol. I've enjoyed being friends with Matt over the years; this was a great insight into him that not everyone gets to see. Too bad his fink of a boyfriend abandoned us (and his unfinished story, ahem) for all the fun of college life.