Kitt

Maybe I am old fashioned but I think you can't truly love someone you don't really like. That being said I feel that all relationships should start off as friendships and allowed to grow into what nature meant it to be, Starting at sex and then letting it evolve to love or devolve to whatever seems to be starting in the middle of things to me, Like a fine recipe in the kitchen - gotta start at the beginning.

Sad movies just never seem to hit my radar. Occasionally I may trip on one but I don't seem to have any interest in intentionally sitting down to a movie I know is sad. Make me laugh - that't what i prefer.

No, i say sorry because i am sorry for having said or done something that hurt another. Not because i am afraid if i don't say it there would be other consequences. If i am not sorry then there is no point in an insincere apology.

Remorse should always be expressed. Not doing so could chew you up inside. Worst case is they do not accept the apology. If you do not offer it then it can never be accepted. Both have the same result on the relationship, but the former gives everyone the chance to heal.

Ok who was that in the chair and what did he do with that ass Zupan that we have all come to know? Talk about an unexpected twist in a scene we all expected!

GA may be a great place, but its people like you and Cia and Neph and the rest that make it so.

Any information gathered can be used for either good or ill, dependent on the intentions of the holder of such information. Frightening thought that someone you don't even know exists could be in a position to alter your entire life.

Start of the school term might get very very interesting when Tony and Will are back into close proximity again, provided the big event of the year sees them both safe. Will also be interesting to see how this jet set family deals with the no fly period immediately after the tragedy. But then - six weeks left of summer can be a very long time - especially in the crazy life of a 15 yr old emancipated dude with money. As we have come to expect, this was a fantastic chapter. I am loving the slow historical summer of 2001 since it is giving you the chance to really give us insight into the heads of the guys.

Although I hate the idea of being under "Big Brother's" watchful eye as much as the next person, how can I reasonably expect to never be looked at when so many terrorists are home grown now? People who have been born and raised here bombing federal buildings in Oklahoma, immigrants that have been raised here since earliest childhood bombing marathons, and the like? Do we want the government to watch and keep us safe as so many of my neighbors demand or don't we? When is enough surveillance too much?

Interesting insight into Bay's head. Like the others said, it explains a lot. I sort of thought Isaac was going to be the one to work past the hangups Bay has but I am not so sure he even wants to after the last chapter. Daithi is right - time for Bay to man up and figure out just what the hell he wants and then face trying to obtain it.

Gordon's "Miracle"

Oh boy, looks like Bay has gone and done it now. Wasn't the context I thought those fateful words would slip out in this time, but this had sooooo much more impact. Somehow tho get the feeling that no matter how calmly the subject had been approached, or how tactfully Bay could have said it, I think his lack of desire to bottom would have become an issue with Isaac. I can't say why, just an impression i get. Looks like the ball is in Zupan's court now. He has threatened Bay on more than one occasion, and now Bay has gone exactly where Zu told him not to go. I can't wait to see where the pieces fall from here.

I smell trouble brewing in paradise. Granted Bay over reacted a bit to the situation, but Isaac never asked Bay what it was all about. Fair is fair and there are three sides to every argument. Zu ...... now there is an interesting twist. Not many straight men will refer to a friend - no matter how close - as "his boy". Hmmmmmmm........... Waiting not so patiently for the next chapter.

Thank you Trebs. I don't particularly fancy myself a writer. I had just seen the prompt the other day and my imagination took off. I am not even sure i want to post the 1100 or so words I wrote except that my daughter thought they were great and is now pushing me to post it. We shall see.

Have you considered tuning out what you cant influence and focusing on what you can? Sort of a twist on Sherlock Holmes' favorite saying. "If you eliminate the impossible, what ever is left regardless of how improbable must be the truth." Sometimes life doesn't bother signalling its turns.

LOL what I found weird wasn't the care he put into choosing the condom but the two he had to choose between. Purple or yellow? Really, I would think regular or latex free, with or without spermicide,std or magnums, these could be real issues, But color???

Thank you. Now for my next question ( I'm full of them) Where and how do I send what i wrote in response to a prompt?

Is there a set of guidelines about prompt responses? Minimum word content? Do you have to be able to bring the story to some cohesive conclusion? I got a pretty good start when I started playing with one of this weeks prompts but I am getting the impression the story wants to run and I am not sure how far or how fast it wants to go, or that I have the sort of commitment to follow it! Fill the newbie in please!

Important point there! And as you go don't let anyone pull you down and tell you that you have to do better. There has been nothing i found in my efforts to lose weight that is more discouraging than to go into a doctors office for a regular checkup having lost a goodly amount in my quest, just to have him ignore the 30 lbs I had lost since my last visit and lecture me that i need to lose.

The day came for Isaac, but has it come yet for Zupan? Frighteningly deep emotions. Will be fascinating to watch how the younger Bay deals with them. Fantastic love.

Somehow I can't help but wonder why people can't just think things thru logically and then act accordingly. Scouting is supposed to help young men and women learn to be the best they can be. How can that come to pass if some are unfairly excluded simply because they have feelings for someone of the same sex? How can it happen if leaders are forced to lie and hide their own sexuality to even be involved in the program? Do we really want to teach our youth to lie, hide who they really are, and generally go against a lot of the precepts of the scouting community just to be a part of it? I was raised catholic, so I have a pretty good insight into the closed mindedness of that group. I think the fact that they are not opposing the lifting of the ban is a pretty major step for them. The fact is that hard core Catholics feel any sex outside of marriage is unacceptable. ( Yes I know that is a whole other can of worms we could dump out ). Even tho a majority of the world has finally figured out that a gay leader is not going to cause young men or women to "become gay", I can't see them openly supporting the lift until such time as gay marriage becomes universally accepted. I suppose the short of what I am saying is grow up people! It's time we start thinking and not reacting based on antiquated opinions. We need take who we love out of the equation and start treating each other as respected individuals.

I am wondering just how long it will take the boys to realize that Tony is going thru what my gram would have called his "slut phase", that period of time when most are figuring out just what they want in a partner and in the process screw every person who catches their interest. Granted Tony is going about it a bit more like a gal would than most guys, but that is what I see happening here. Tony is taking the long route, and a bit later than most. The big question is can Will manage to stay friends with Tony till the twit figures himself out. Will is light years ahead of him in this, and there is a real possibility he could meet someone that would shove Tony right out of the picture long before he gets his act together. I am still watching the pressure build waiting for Will's loss of control. The dinner before the festival was bad yes - but not really a blow up like we all know Will is capable of. When it comes it's gonna be a doosie! This float trip is promising to get much more interesting very quickly. Most of the people on the trip don't seem too particularly mature to me, which leaves the possibility of problems on the river not being handled well should they arise. Any thing could happen from words between any of the "couples" that seem to have a whole lot of fidelity issues to accidents and injuries, over turned canoes, the list goes on. I wonder if any of them will have the presence of mind to deal with a real emergency? I feel that tick tick tick of the roller coaster climbing again Mark. Can't wait to see what plunge you toss us into next!

I know I am prejudiced, but I love it!

Sounded like a perfectly natural reaction to me! Logic telling him Isaac was no different for having the prosthesis but emotion making him just a bit on edge about the whole thing. Actually he handled it much better than a lot of people I know would have! I am getting to like both Bay and Isaac more and more with each chapter. Keep writing babe.

No - you can't say he died of aids because of Jake. It was Sam's responsibility to protect himself. He may have contracted AIDS from Jake, but condoms did exist back then, Aids had been identified by then, or if he had stayed faithful to his partner - either when he was with JP or later when he married Maria, he would have been around as Tony and Julia grew up. Seems like a great stroke of luck to me that Maria didn't contract the disease as well. And unless I missed some tryst along the way - Will DOES have a father that is gay, and the Crampton/Shulter/Hayes family seems pretty tight knit to me - or did up till Isadore, Claire and Marie fell off the support the family wagon.