Tris

Oh, my! What tangled webs we weave. I will keep reading because of Ant+Pete. My personal point of preference would be to leave Cathy and her brother in the rearview mirror, though. Still, this is not a story that I am writing. So I will defer to the Author, whom I definitely enjoy - he's too good. I'm glad I gave this story a Go.

I, for one, also like your stories, Mr. Wilson - though I've just become acquainted with you, and with them. And, I'm with Dan South: I've got a Thang for Ant already *blush* ... I'm rootin' forya, Ant! Go get 'im, tiger! I suspect you and our Fearless Hero need each other ;-)

I have never been homeless, and wouldn't even begin to equate any of my experiences to such a situation. But the opening paragraphs describing the guests coming in to avail themselves of the services provided at The Boot caused my mind to drift back several decades to when I was a "guest" at a men's dormitory created in a closed CofE building in London (I want to say it was St. Anne's, but it was so long ago, and I don't known enough about London except to recall it was near St. James' Park). Guests were limited to a stay of three nights before having to move on. Of course, that was not enough time for me to get to know anyone at "St. Anne's" even though, through a series of odd circumstances, I ended up staying there for seven days. I was grateful for being allowed to crash there for the extra time, moving through a constantly changing cloud of guests. Reflecting on my stay at the time, I realized that if the church of "St. Anne" had not closed down, people like me - and others who were much worse off than I would ever be - had shelter provided to us not unlike manna from heaven. I was vaguely aware that it was more than a building, however, that came to my rescue. Someone in charge had to approve that I could stay more than the maximum three days. There had to be people to clean the toilets, wash out the lavatories, prepare and serve the oatmeal, secure the building 24/7, change the bedding linens, and so on. As a 26-year-old at the time, my consciousness was only marginal regarding such things. I guess one could say I took many such things for granted, except for knowing that The Church was somehow behind a lot of what was made possible. This story helped create a context for me concerning a situation I was only dimly aware of at the time. And while I am no longer as clueless as I was decades ago, I'm still somewhat naive about, well, just about everything - not just homelessness.

Umm ... I still think they are both ghosts. Beautiful tale.

f*ckin' A!

Touchingly beautiful - reminds me of what-could-have-been *sigh*

So different from some of your other writings. At first, I wasn't sure that this tale would be my cup of tea. But I was so wrong. This was an amazing read - I am in AWE of your talents and insights. My profound thanks. Kudos!

Breathtaking! Thank you!

It has been quite a while since I wrote to you. And it's the first time that I've done so on GA. I used to seek out your stories (usually under No Sex) because I had no idea how like minded guys came to meet each other "successfully." Well, that boat (for me) sailed a long time ago. But the topic still fascinates me - as do your stories. You are a Master story-teller. And what you write is so true-to-life. This story here has encapsulated, in one place, a number of episodes from my own life, especially one from a dance floor encounter (no, it was not my birthday) at a gay club - and I have no idea how I summoned the courage to walk in there! I never found out the guy's name, unless he whispered it to me and I forgot it long, long ago. But you brought back beautiful memories of a handsome guy who looked at me and (against the odds - I'm no hottie) liked what he saw. Thanks for helping me retrieve something I had lost of my past.

Bellissimo!