Marty

CLO ?

Hope all goes well, and Mark makes a swift recovery.

Oh! Hi there, Droopy Drew! You got back from wherever it was you went to, then? Short trip, that was.... Hopefully you're not back for too long.

Thanks for the kind words, Geron. Expect to see new chapters to this every week or two. I've quite a few chapters already written. But I don't want to release them all too quickly, just in case my creativity slows down as I get to new chapters. We'll find out just how good (or bad) the news is in the next chapter.

Oops! There I go again... Sowwie!

I think it's also important sometimes to know the difference between what you may want and what you actually deserve. I have been known sometimes to write something like "I hope you get what you want, and not what you deserve" on Christmas cards to some of my friends. 😃

Good evening, Gary.

Yes, please don't give anything away! It would only take away the anticipation I get from reading the chapters. And, as for wants and needs, I am often telling my younger friends and relatives how important it is for them to understand the difference between the two.

Yea, I feel the same way. Spirituality to me has nothing to do with religion.

And, sadly, that's really all you can do, Randy. I'm not a religious person, in fact I'm an atheist, so I don't think any prayers I might offer will be of any use. But do know that I am thinking good thoughts for you, and for Josh, and for your son, at this trying time.

Here's one of my all time favourite performers, Leonard Cohen, performing at Lissadell House in County Sligo in 2010; at a concert that left me gobsmacked when I attended it. He was still able to hold an audience spellbound; just the same as he had done when I had first seen him perform at the Isle of Wight festival way back in 1970.

So sorry to hear that, Randy. I hope everything works out for the best.

Good evening, Randy. Hope all's well with you.

A very realistic, if somewhat sad, first chapter. The sense of rejection was almost palpable. I can remember several times in my younger days when similar things happened to me. The one that probably really cut me to the bone was when I simply asked one guy if I could see him again, and his "God, no! I'm just looking for hookups. If you're looking for love, you'll need to look elsewhere," reply as he walked away from me, stays with me to this day. The "I couldn't remember his name" thought near the start of the chapter, when Chris found Shawn sharing his bed the next morning, also reminded me of similar occasions from my own dim and distant past. I'm reminiscing about things from around half a century ago here, but it seems from reading this chapter that some things haven't necessarily changed all that much in the interim. Fingers crossed that Chris does finally find what he's looking for. I hope he doesn't actually stop looking. To quote a line from one of Bette Midler's songs ("The Rose"): "It's the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance."

Good evening, young Albert.

I'm not for a moment disputing the origin of the above quote, but reading it made me think of this one...

Oh look at the page we're on!!! All the sevens! <does the happy dance>>

Good afternoon, Gary. Alles gut mit dir? (All good with you?)

I sat in the railway carriage, listening to the rhythmic sound from the wheels as they went over the joints between the tracks. My luggage, consisting of a rucksack and a somewhat battered old suitcase, was safely stowed on the luggage rack above my head. I wasn't sure if I had packed everything I needed. After all, I had never actually left home before. Sure, I'd been away from home quite a number of times during the previous four years or so - like holidays, either by myself or with one or mor

Hiding part of what makes you who you are may sometimes seem necessary. And sometimes you may hide a part of yourself so well that you don't even realise that it exists. Danny Murphy seems to be living a charmed life. But he has a secret; one that he tries to keep so well hidden that he doesn't even want to admit it to himself. However, if he is hiding part of his real self, not just from others but also from himself, is his life really as charmed as it may seem?

Good afternoon, clo G'day, dug Blue sky with lots of puffy white clouds here in the West of Ireland today. Temperature currently 15°C (59°F) with hardly any wind, so feeling warmer when the sun is not behind the clouds. Glad to hear the aunt seems to be doing well.

Oh? Just how do you know that much about him, clo? (And do we really want to know? )

Going somewhere, Drew? Okie-dokie. Hasta la vista, mi amigo! Chat you when you get back.

Drew's not a man! He's just a hobbledehoy.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" (Or Drew, in this case)