Bill W

Tim, thank you for the feedback and your wonderful comments. I was wondering how many might agree with me about the stories on Nifty, because I'm not sure if the situation had improved over the years, since I haven't read anything there is quite a while. At the time it was difficult to find decent stories on Nifty, and there were a few, but then I found Comicality's stories and built a friendship with him over the years. I sincerely appreciate your observations and thoughts, and I'm glad you've joined the GA ranks as well.

Thank you for your feedback and observations, my doggy friend, and believe it or not, I did consider a dachshund for the kids, but I wasn't sure if it could keep up with a rambunctious Connor. I hope Cooper and Paul form a very close friendship, and maybe more, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

A tender and moving tribute to a close friend, Comicality, who is no longer with us. Myr has beautifully described his relationship with Comsie, or Comet, whichever nickname you prefer for Comicality, and shared his continuing connection with him throughout the years. He also tenderly described his feelings of loss over Comicality's leaving us far too young, and his hope that Comet has now found peace in the great beyond.

Beautifully written, Myr, and a very touching tribute to a dear friend who's no longer with us. Some, like you and I, had known him for a long time, and others may have only know him for a few years, months, or even just found his writings, but he touched a lot of our lives along the way. May he find happiness in the great beyond and continue telling stories that will touch others. Like you, I will also miss him dearly.

Yes, drs, it took a while, but it seems that Cooper is overcoming his anger about having to move. I'm also glad you enjoy the dynamics between the two boys, and I also hope Paul's family is as open minded as Cooper's family. Thank you for the feedback.

Thank you, Ticklishboy, and I'm glad I was able to portray the families well enough that you've fallen in love with them. Thank you for the feedback.

You're right, Tony, and hopefully the friendship will blossom. Whether or not I continue this story will depend on the type of feedback I get, and this is a good start.

Thank you, scrubber, and because moving is never easy for a younger person, the hope of finding new friends is often the only consolation.

Thank you, drs, and moving can be very difficult, and seem catastrophic, for a young person. I don't know how some military children seem to survive as they follow their father or mother from one assignment to the next, and sometimes to different countries where they don't know the language. At least in Cooper's case, he was just moving from a northern to a southern state, so language wasn't an issue, although some southern sayings might seem foreign to him. I'm glad you made out as well as you did.

Thank you, drs, and I hope those memories included Comet's earlies stories, as well as about what it was like trying to navigate the new cyber reality and how difficult it was to find good stories by gay authors (no pun intended).

Thank you, Jeff, both for your kind words about this tribute to Comicality, but also for your kind words about my story "A Tragic Love". Yes, our time on earth is fleeting, and I realize mine is slowly running out, so I hope I leave some good behind that others can benefit from.

Thank you so much for your kind words and for relating the story about having met Judy Shepard. Although my story wasn't directly related to Matthew's death, it did address the bigotry, hatred, and meaningless violence caused by homophobia. I hope in some way it passed that message along.

Encumber (also as incumber): is from Old French encombre "block up", from en 'in' + combre 'river barrage'. The adjective "encumbered" was first recorded in English in the late 1700s, specifically 1785, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The earliest evidence is from the writing of William Cowper. The word "encumber" itself, as a verb, has a slightly earlier history, with the meaning "hinder, hamper" appearing in English from the late 14th century. Examples of using encumbered in a sentence: "That's not a good reason to encumber taxpayers with another two decades of debt." "A husband could not sell or encumber the homestead without the wife's signature." "Heavy cloud cover that could encumber ground forces was expected to lift today." "First, these objects encumber what should be an unencumbered architectural space." "They would encumber the decks, and rather add to the danger than detract from it." "The casket would encumber you." "I don't want to encumber myself with unnecessary luggage." "Lead weights and air cylinders encumbered the divers as they walked to the shore." "Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage when they take short trips." "In the neighborhood, the spaces beneath the portes cocheres were encumbered with wounded."

Looking for gay stories in the late 1990s, I ran across an author named Comicality and his stories stood out from all of the other stories I could find at that time. I explain how a simple email turned into me getting to know one of the nicest and most encouraging people I’d ever known.

Cooper Harmon is getting ready to start his freshman (1st) year of high school when his father notifies the family that he’s taking a new job and they’ll be moving. Cooper is not happy about leaving all his friends in Montclair, New Jersey and moving to Decatur, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) where he doesn’t know anyone. How is this going to work out?

It's believed that askew was formed simply by attaching the prefix "a-" (meaning, among other things, "in (such) a state of condition) to the word "skew" (meaningto be out of alignment or at an angle). Theword skew, which derives via Middle English from Anglo-French eschiver, meaning "to escape or avoid," can be a verb, adjective, or noun. The word "askew" was first used in English in the mid-16th centruy, around 1565. It is believed to have originated from the Old Norse phrase "á ská," meaning "on a skew". Examples of askew used in a sentence: "He askew them what was the matter." "Her works are noted for their slightly askew plots and exploration of the human psyche." "The first one went a bit askew." "Are the plates for light switches and outlets square or slightly askew?" "My eyes stuck on the bow tie, because it was slightly askew." "He still wore his suit, his tie only slightly askew." "It was then that he noticed the slightly askew vent cover."

This is Ocho. Ocho lives in my bathroom and hangs out on my orchid plant. Every day I soak a Q-Tip in water and put it down for him wherever he is (on the plant or behind the toilet or on the vanity) and he comes running over and gets a drink. Was my first reaction to smash him? Nope. To flush him down the toilet? Nope. To “burn it to the ground”? Nope. He’s literally a fraction of my size. I could easily k**l him, but I choose to be kind. He deserves to be on this earth as much as I do. In fact, he contributes way more to the natural order of life on earth than I do. It’s so easy to choose kindness. I encourage everyone to take a moment and make sure the language you use when it comes to spiders, insects, rodents, etc. is kind and not fearful or disgusted. None of these beings are pests or threatening. Let them be. Help them if you can. Be kind. It’s so simple

You're going to discover that these two young men are quite atypical.

The next chapter will tell you whether you're right or wrong.

Cognizant first showed up in the early 19th century: probably directly from cognizance. The origin of cognizant is first documented use of the word "cognizant" in English dates back to the 1820s. It was formed from the noun "cognizance" and the suffix "-ant", according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The noun "cognizance" itself has an earlier history, appearing around 1394 in Middle English, says the OED (Oxford English Dictionary. The earliest known use of the noun cognizant is in the Middle English period (1150-1500). OED's earliest evidence for cognizant is from around 1394, in Pierce Ploughman's Crede. cognizant is apparently a borrowing from French. Etymons: French conoisant. The words "cognizant" and "cognisant" are both correct, but "cognizant" is the preferred spelling in American English, while "cognisant" is the preferred spelling in British English. Both words mean "having knowledge or awareness of something". Examples using cognizant in a sentence: "So we are very cognizant of the fact that they need rest and respite care." "You don't think that they're not cognizant of the impact on the campaign?" "People should be cognizant and aware of what's going on around them." "A statesmen must be cognizant of the political boundaries within which they work." "Not necessarily, although we should be cognizant of their limitations." "Today's declarer was not fully cognizant of this inference and so failed in his game." "Yet he remains underwhelmed, almost as if he is not cognizant of what he has achieved." "The game is growing and we have to be cognizant of that."

Thank you, Anton, and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. I look at Clint as a 12-year-old, since he is only a few weeks away from his twelfth birthdaym, but I agree with your appraisal that he's curious and possibly hesitant to check out boys in his own age group. Mac and Devin are good with kids, and that's why the do the Christmas visit to the children in the hospital. I'm sure that they'll be good role models for Clint.

Thanks, gmc, and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter as well. I think you're right about Clint and he is looking for a gay role model, maybe even a teacher, and Michael and Devin would make fine examples for him. I'm also glad that the white water rafting brough back good memories for you, because that really is a blast.

Thank you, gmc, and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. I agree that music is co longer confined to a single generation. I remember when my older kids were teenagers in the 1980s, they used to like to listen to my Beatles tapes from the 1960s, as well as my Crosby, Still, and Nash tapes, including those with Neil Young, from the late 60s and early 70s. And that's hilarious that your daughter's friend wanted to know if Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings.

Yes, you're right, but I don't think he would have done anything like that with Mac if he hadn't received positive feedback from Mac while they were on the raft, along with discovering that he and Devin were gay. He's uninhibited, though, that's for sure!

Your right, rafting is always fun, and sometimes scary too. And Clint is precocious and it looks as if he's not only fixating on Mac as his hero, he also might be indicating a sexual interest in him. I guess we'll see how this turns out.