BigBen

I only ever wear natural fibers, and in summer it's loose cotton or linen clothing that lets the air circulate. I have no qualms about going commando, since wet underpants in the butt crack are not a thrill (to me, anyway; how you get your jollies is your business, lol!). Since cutting out virtually all the carbohydrate from my diet, I stopped burning so easily, so I sometimes go shirtless, though the site of my naked torso is not a thrill (to other people, anyway; fortunately, I don't have to look at myself, lol!). I tend to prefer hot coffee even on hot days, but once I reach my caffeine limit, I switch to carbonated water for the rest of the day and drink to thirst.

You reminded me of a Web site called "Hairway to Steven," which was dedicated to the lovely Steve Kelso, a beautifully hirsute model for explicit gay photos. The site is gone, but there is still an abundance of photos of Mr. Kelso floating around, and looking at them might provide some visual solace for your auditory distress.

In hockey there is the regular hat trick of three goals in a game, but there is also the Gordie Howe hat trick, in which a player gets a goal, gets an assist, and gets into a fight, all in the same game.

Is Mrsgnomie related to CJames, by any chance?

I'm not sure I do, but "nekkid" does sound like more fun, lol! (As opposed to "nude," which is just naked with an art history degree.)

That was a funny scene! They should have seen it coming, you should excuse the puns. You inspired me to look up the phrase in flagrante delicto, and the result was interesting. I thought for years that delictum meant "passion," whereas it actually means "crime." So instead of meaning "in flaming passion," as I'd always assumed, the phrase actually means "in the heat of the crime." The things one learns! The phrase still fits, but strictly speaking, the real crime would have been if Matt and Seamus hadn't been trying to get it on, lol! Let's hope Aidan doesn't learn to pick locks any time soon!😁

It's great to see Matt and Aidan moving in with Seamus. All that paperwork reminded me of what it was like trying to be a couple, back in the days before marriage equality. Health-care proxies, powers of attorney, making sure both names were on the deeds, beneficiaries were correct—and still someone could throw a monkey wrench into the works. You go through a lot of the same legalities taking care of a parent's affairs, but people don't give you the same static, because that is normal, while trying to make a life with someone you love is deviant. . . . Good chapter. It's great to see the guys moving on as a family. It's bittersweet that the story is drawing to a close, but I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with these characters. We just need to get the boys married, Mike put in jail, and Jay and Loe together, and we're done!

This is a great story, as far as it goes. I suspect it will never be finished, judging by the date of the last update, but the extant chapters are well worth a read.

Ah, did this being back memories! Before I was fully comfortable being gay, I went through a promiscuous phase, which ended, fortunately, just as AIDS reached New York. Before the disease and the Internet killed them off, the City was full of X-rated bookstores and movie theaters, all of which had back rooms for anonymous sex. I had quite a few really good experiences and met several men whom I dated for a time. One of them even became my lover for ten years. But, like Rick, I was never any good at meeting people in a more social situation, such as at bars or clubs. I suspect that people like Rick and me must send out vibrations that tell people to keep away. Even to this day, I often find myself on the fringes of social gatherings. Perhaps it's the desire to connect that frightens people off. I notice that the name of Cedarcrest is always italicized in Rick's thoughts. The reason is not clear to me, but I'm beginning to believe it's intended to indicate that he thinks of the name as a swear word. Am I correct?

It's a real shame that Rick is too beaten down to be able to ask Rita to treat him as he deserves. Something simple, like, "Ms. McKee, I am a professional, and I wish you would treat me with respect, as one business person to another," would certainly meet with Miss Manners' approval. I was not happy with Jerry in that scene, either. His amusement seems rather heartless, for someone who claims to be a friend. On the other hand, I was glad to read about Rick's contact with Marshall. It must have been almost a lifeline. Too bad Marshall simply vanished like that. I hope Rick can find a replacement soon, since it's clearly not in the cards for him to be able make any kind of overture to the piano teacher, who in any case doesn't seem to have noticed Rick. It's truly a shame that Rick is the only gay man in town, because having other people to talk to would be helpful, even if he didn't dare have an affair. I guess it's just another indication of how beaten down Rick is, that he so grossly undercharges Mrs. Takács (I wonder if there's a connection with the Takács Quartet, there). I'd bet that Rick's father would have words with him about that! Just another criticism to hit him with.☹️

In this regard, the elder Ernst and Kohler men are much alike.

I'm sure that Mr. Kohler knew his son well enough, but Sinclair's remark applies: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." As for Rita, I think it'll be disappointing if she turns out to be a good friend in the end. I know it's almost a mandatory convention of this kind of fic for that to happen, but I'd rather see her get her comeuppance and have to slink back off to Chicago, or whatever rock she crawled out from under. Bless her heart.

Well, now we know why Rick didn't want to return to Cedarcrest! I hope he charges Rita a traumatic-memory surcharge. The rape is all the more ironic, in that Willy could have gotten Rick's willing cooperation, by the application of a little kindness. That Willy has a taste for coercion is clear. Interestingly, what makes me the angriest is not the physical violation, but the mental domination, as exemplified by the phrase, "new rule.” (Shades of The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd, eh?) The physical pain is much easier to recover from, compared with the mind games, which are insidiously damaging.

Had to revise this post, after reading something a couple of chapters on. Rita is a pushy woman from out of town; she comes across like a city slicker condescending to the yokels. But even an out-of-towner should be able to figure out that calling him "Ricky" is not the way to his heart. So either she's willfully ignorant, or she's malicious. Either way I don't like her. In fact, I intensely dislike people who violate others' boundaries, and it's clear this one is going to be trouble, bless her heart. Be interesting to see how Rick copes. I suspect it's going to take a while for him to grow a pair and tell Rita off, but I'd bet real money that everyone else in town will applaud, once he finally does.

Hands up if you agree that the story can't possibly end until Aidan is out of college!

In addition to the two last chapters, of course! Don't want to leave any loopholes, now do we? 🤣

I know that conspicuous consumption has warped everyone's thinking, but weddings don't need to be a big deal. A visit to the local parish, followed by cucumber and watercress sandwiches and Champagne in the parish hall is a very traditional, simple, and inexpensive way to do it. Or, since Seamus and Matt aren't churchgoers, a visit to City Hall and the Justice of the Peace, followed by a reception at one of Seamus's eating establishments would be just as easy on the boys, though possibly a bit more expensive. Flowers, photographers, videographers, disc jockeys, and meals that put everyone under the table are all extras. Sometimes they can be fun, but more often they simply add to everyone's stress without adding value to the ceremony or the party after. Seems to me that one of the great advantages of being gay is not being bound by the trappings demanded by heteronormative society.

If I were Seamus, I'd be getting on the next plane home. I remember the days when I used to know everyone's number by heart. Speed dial has really done a number on my memory! 😁 The one thing I don't get is how they could both be trying to track each other down and not connect. It's not as though Seamus doesn't know where Matt works, after all! 😀

I think checking out competitors is hard-wired into the male brain, lol! 🤣

We must have been undersexed when I was a kid. Why couldn't things like this have happened when I was that age? 🤣😄

Ah, this brought back memories of the YMCA day camp I went to in the early 1960's. I remember taking my lunch with me on the city bus downtown to this enormous building (or so I thought at age eight!). This was back in the days before polyester, so the swimming was all done naked, since the pool filters couldn't cope with the fibers shed by the woolen swimming suits of the day. Being all naked together made the nakedness no big deal. They showed us really cheesy movies in the afternoons, such as Old Yeller, but the one I remember best was a Japanese monster movie called Mothra. The effects were awful, but it was still a fun movie. I also remember being fascinated by the movie projector and how the film wound through a rather complicated path, so as to allow sight and sound to be synchronized. The rest of the day wasn't so memorable (though I vaguely remember painting some plaster dohicky to take home to to Mom) but was pretty much as described here. It may not have been the most thrilling of experiences, but it was certainly fun enough, and it gave Grandma a respite from my constant presence and me something to tell my parents about when they got home from work.

H.W. Fowler, in his masterwork, Modern English Usage, repeatedly makes the point that it is bad strategy to make the reader have to stop and puzzle out what you are trying to say. You want your reader to be focusing on your ideas and your story; to put the focus on careless punctuation and shoddy proofreading is counter-productive. Writers who think, "But my mening is kleer why to I have to get the speling write?" ignore this advice at their peril.

I notice that when editing my profile, my catchphrase "Too terrified to publish" appears in a box labeled "Member Title," whereas on my profile it appears in the "About BigBen" sidebar (to the left of the screen) labeled "Rank." When I post, it appears unlabeled just under my name. The "Community Reputation" sidebar to the left of the screen describes me as "Journeyman Scribe 2nd Class." At the top of my profile, under the name "BigBen," the word "Members" also appears. I assume that's the group to which I belong. I hope this helps resolve some of the confusion.

I've already read this story a few times, but I didn't remember this little twist. At least I knew not to worry too much—this time. The first time, though, I was in shock, and all because of someone's evil machinations, lol! 😮🤣

That moment of silence, as the audience absorbs the performance before starting to applaud, is a sign of something's having gone profoundly right. You can always jazz them up so they'll start applauding right away, but that little gap means you reached their hearts.