Geron Kees

Well written story, certainly. I liked the idea of it, the Welsh setting with Christmas looming, and the sense of frustrated glee that Andy had at finding that something he'd thought out of reach was actually close at hand. I hope they'll be very happy together. Now you can write a follow up!

Why, indeed! There are more why questions in the universe than there will ever be answers. I liked this small foray into asking some of them!

Uh huh, yes. You fooled me! You're an author! A good one, too. I can feel some years in this poem, some ups and downs, and a sort of acceptance of the way it has all been. I hope there will be more to add to it at some point. I love happy endings! Back for more after dinner!

I agree. It's not the norm for two people to meet so young and stay together for life. But it does happen, and so the story of one possible meeting of this kind is worth writing. My parents also met young, and have stayed together for 54 years. I have been with a certain someone for most of my life, too. It does happen.

Thanks for the kind comments. LeGuin is worth reading, I would say. I read most of her stuff when I was young, and I probably should dig it out and reread it, too. There are some very wonderful writers out there!

Thanks, Boo. see you then!

Great. My doubts have been laid to rest! Thanks for visiting!

Amen, brother. And you're not even in the city city. Living in a row of skyscrapers just plain sucks. I felt like I was living at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There were regularly placed trees in little squares of soil along the streets, but they looked sad to me, like they'd rather be elsewhere, too. If you are born in the city, it's one thing. It's all you know, until you leave. But if you are born in the country, you have to be a certain type of personality to want to leave it for the city. In all the old-fashioned boy-makes-good tales, the rube from the country came to the big city, was at first used and abused by the urbanites, and then, through sheer fortitude and a good heart, takes the place over and wins the admiration of his city neighbors. Might have actually happened that way, once upon a time. Nowadays, those urbanites will simply eat you alive!

The original story was written for a prompt on another site. So there was a limited amount of time in which to complete it. It could have been a lot longer. But...this is the way it worked out, and I like it well enough not to change it!

Russell was a British author of science fiction. He had a great sense of humor, and incorporated it into most of his tales. His story Wasp is another favorite of mine, and a classic of its kind.. It concerns a war between a small human league of worlds and a gigantic empire of aliens. The humans have an edge in technology, but the aliens have the weight of numbers. Using the comparison of how a wasp flew into the window of a car and buzzed around the driver's head, causing him to lose control and wreck the car, killing himself and two occupants, the human authorities see that the very small can conquer the very large under certain circumstances. They recruit people under a strict set of guidelines for a somewhat offbeat personality, and drop them on enemy-held worlds to be wasps. They are essentially fifth columnists, disguised to look like the aliens, and who use a variety of nefarious tricks to soon have the enemy chasing himself. It's a fun book. Russell used the same sort of tactics in Next of Kin. Both stories are from the nineteen-fifties, and a little dated by modern standards, but still very fun, if you have a sense of humor. Well..an offbeat sense of humor.

Bravo! You are the first to ferret out this one. I often incorporate things like this into my stories, and most just sail right on by readers, unnoticed. Heinlein is a favorite of mine, at least up until The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Now - can you figure out the Eric Frank Russell references in the last Charlie Boone story?

I agree. Not just a gay thing, but perhaps a minority thing, which in this case is the same thing. The awareness that the better part of the world does not agree with you tends to make you protective of those around you that do. Too bad this attitude cannot be a majority thing, huh?

In most of my stories, I let the characters speak in common usage. Get language too stiff and proper, and it just doesn't sound like the way real people speak. I doubt I could ever write for Masterpiece Theater. But if the Three Stooges ever make a comeback, I'm there!

I am well aware of the usage for lay, laid, lain as used for people and objects, but we have always said, "we laid in the grass and looked at the moon", and even though it is not technically correct, it's common usage here in my part of the country. I try not to use vernacular unless it is part of the story, but 'we lay in the grass' bugs me. I changed it to read, "We got down on our backs in the leaf-strewn grass..." Now we can both be happy!

Haha. I am constantly at war with colloquialisms in my upstate New York speech, my Nederlander-English upbringing, the Chicago Manual of Style, and the OED. I'll have to go back and look and see how the sentence is constructed to see if it needs reconstructing. Thanks!

I 'followed' you, so that I'll know when it's posted.

The word clientele covers a lot of ground. There are more kinds of commercial writing than just advertising. The Internet is deep in sites that cover stars and planets, and everything astronomical. There are museums out there, space groups, magazines, planetariums - the diversity is amazing, actually. Someone who likes to write about stars and planets and can do so knowledgeably can make money doing it, as all those sources need writers. I'm sure someone like Griffin would want to keep his hand in the advertising world, as there is where his best income would derive from; but he could also have fun doing what he likes best, too!

Most people can be likable, if you give them a chance! Thank you!

Characters briefly are alive for me when I write about them. I enjoy their company for as long as it takes to put them through the story. I have always found that, the more you care about your characters, the more readers will, too. I guess I am collecting characters, although the themes of two in love, and loyal friends, are pretty much hallmarks of my stories. There are enough people out there writing depressing gay fiction. I don't wish to be another of them.

Really?? I always found city rents to be higher than rural mortgages. At least for the most part. Just admit that you're a city boy, and leave it at that!

Thank you back. Humor very much needs to go along with love. It makes both of those things better!

Thank you. I don't think Griffin ever lost his love of the stars. I think he managed to channel his love for writing into writing about stars and planets, at least some of the time. Or, so I've been told!

When I lived in NYC, I did not own a car. Owning a car in the city is a nightmare unless you live in a building with a parking garage and security (I did, but I still didn't want to own a car). Even then, finding a safe place to leave it when you got where you were going was just nuts. We had bicycles to get places too far to comfortably walk, and public transport to get everywhere else. But...I still love my woods better. I can go out now and ride my bike ten miles, and not see another person.That's not the norm, but it does happen. But if you like city life, your situation sounds great!

Firstly, I'll share a little thought I had not that long ago, that GA does not require a gay component to any of the work posted here. This is a site where everyone can post their views on life, so long as it is done reasonably and tastefully (or, mostly with good taste, let's say!). There are people here of all leanings, both from the LGBTQ community, and the straight world. It's a place to share thoughts and ideas, not strictly a forum for the LBGTQ community. So I would think your poem would be welcome here, certainly. Along the same lines of your biology teacher's observation so long ago, isn't it wonderful that the human species can share the art and thoughts of others, and be inspired to wonder? Looking forward to seeing your poem!

This is why I like the woods. No Wild Turkey imbibers staggering about here. I was washing the car one summer day, though, and left a door open when I ran inside to get a drink. I came back out, and there was a raccoon in the back seat. Had a heck of a time getting him to leave. I did find out that raccoons like Doritos that day, though!