Geron Kees

A wonderful taste of verse. Or a verse of wonderful taste. Both ways, it makes me want ta head fer the kitchen, lad!

I liked it. Many moments in life have no real order to them, no purpose other than to dance playfully around things we'd like to talk about with friends of all kinds. Friends can have conversations that make no sense to an outside listener, and friends can say one thing and convey something else, entirely. Friends understand. But I do agree completely with Mikiesboy that this is just a beginning, and definitely needs more. You've got the ball rolling - now let's see where it goes!

We have some of the same things going on here, and I think most progressive states do. Utilities don't want NO change, they just want to be major players in the changes that come. It's rough going from being the big dog to one of several, especially when the new dogs don't want to share their bones.

I remember, as a boy, my mom telling me that, "There is nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the light was on". It was very good advice, and I have learned it well. That does not mean that the dark holds no fears - but now I know what they are, because they are the same ones that were there when the light was on. Thanks for sharing another fine work, Gary.

Nice to see Eric standing his ground with nosey-poke. AND her dog. He's definitely blooming, if at his own pace. Also pleased to see the love between Andy and Adam showcased a little. That's what it's about, right?

Nice to visit with these guys again. Eric and his first taste of the Internet. Change is tough, the older you get. He seems to have the support he needs, though! Had to smile when Eric went looking for where he had 'safely' stored the router. My own dad occasionally laughs about where he and my mom have 'stored' things. "It's stored so well, we can't even find it!"

There are many practical solutions for efficient power management and non-fossil-fuel energy production. All of them require an investment, something that many already tight-on-profits energy companies are unwilling to do. Change, in any established industry, is expensive. Old ways die hard, especially when they are still making money. I have noticed a huge increase in that last few years in the number of solar panels I see on roofs around my county. You need an unobstructed southern exposure for that, and it would not be feasible where I live, due the forest. But burning fossil fuels needs to be controlled. We are already seeing the effects of climate change in long-term weather patterns, and to keep pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is stupid. Both hemispheres have had extreme weather last year and this year. It's only going to get worse. There has been a steady rise in the efficiency of solar panel technology, and it is feasible that home-systems will develop to a point where reliance on utility-generated electricity will become minimized. Those interests fight the things they cannot control and profit from, so it isn't going to go quickly. Some people in high places really need to change their thinking, or we are all going to be out in the cold. And...I'm wondering now if we should be discussing these things as story comments?

Gremlins? I know they have Gremlins in California, because Steve Spielberg had some at a party he had once. I have UPS on all my computers, too, as it takes 30 seconds for the generator to kick in. The UPS keeps my computers, monitors, and routers up until it gets going. As a kid growing up here, I remember days without power at a time during the winter, when the ice brought down trees and power lines. We'd toss wood in the fireplace, and sleep in the one room. I was already off at college when my dad bought his first home generator. When I came home many years later and built my house, I installed one as a matter of course. Everyone had them by that time. It's a necessity where I live.

There is a town named Hell in Michigan. They said on the news today that it had officially frozen over.

Hah! Shows what you know! Snow people simply change state, and become water people. They ooze away into the ground, until the next snow, and then reemerge. Nothing like a continuous cycle of rebirth to cheer a guy on a cold winter day!

No avalanches here. I had a snowman fall on me once when I was ten. It was hell!

Haha. We get power outages every time the squirrels party in the trees. I have had a home generator since day one, and we just ignore them now. If you live here, you cannot count on utilities. I like it!

Yep. We do. But they don't usually knock your house down, incinerate it, or blow it away. I'll take a little snow and cold, any day of the week.

You win!

I have seen The War Game, and have a copy in my video collection. I remember the opening sequence, where military bases and cities in Britain are displayed on a map, and the narrator declares that the Russians have allocated this number of thermonuclear bombs to each one. It's kind of frightening to see dots on a map as targets, and consider that each dot represents thousands or even millions of people. That we once considered doing this to each other is frightening. That we still can do this to each other, but that the idea has receded from the public mind, is perhaps even more frightening. The danger is just as real, whether we worry about it daily or not. We are no smarter now than we were in 1955. We've just convinced ourselves that the danger has passed.

Oh, I'm aware of the holiday, I just don't celebrate it. I don't expect people on the other side of the planet to celebrate July 4th - why should they? It's a meaningless day for them. I don't think I am ready to have to write a story for yet a second calendar! And we don't have a single casino in my entire county, unless it's hidden in a dead tree or something.

Thank you for the compliment. You're not half bad, yourself!

Thanks. Christmas brings out the warm fuzzies in me.

May I ask why? I mean, there are higher places to aim in life than reading all my stories. I certainly don't object, of course. All I can say is that I hope you feel it's worth your time.

The county I live in is entirely within the Adirondack State Park. I don't recall ever having a hurricane here. Nor a tornado, nor an earthquake. I had an angry raccoon chase me once, but that doesn't count. Money is a pleasure to have, but it's not the source of happiness, not at all. Griff made a decision about their future, more than about money. He felt it was a selfish move, and worried about how Benny would take it. But Benny had been with him all along. Happiness was what wound up being paramount in this instance. Luckily, it worked.

Hmm. I actually do not recall ever celebrating the (East) Asian Lunar New Year in Hamilton County, New York. Dang! Someone forgot to tell us!

I have a friend who is a psychologist, who says that 25% of the male population are unswervingly straight, 25% are unswervingly gay, and the remaining 50% are bisexual. There are so many people denying and hiding that it makes it hard to count. But the truth is obvious to me that there are more guys out there willing to play, and then go off and get married and have a family, than most people would believe. Society has a pretty powerful influence on how people think and react. Until we all learn to place less importance on what others think of us, there are going to be a lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people out there.

Actually, Gary only listed three out of hundreds of students. I think that if you walk into any given school, and had the ability to see who was who, you'd be surprised. I'm not the matchmaker sort, myself. But I do like to see people get together, and I admit to having helped that happen once or twice in my life. Successfully, too.

Thanks. I do think there must be humor in a relationship. Once that is established, hurt feelings are less easy to come by.

Thank you for the kind words!