Former Member

The Big Kahuna seems like someone who would stand in the restroom to watch you pee! ;–)

I believe that Happy Shakers is a toxic environment. It sounds like they know they need to use certain key phrases and code words to remain compliant with legal regulations. But Penguin Pants is an example of how they really feel about LGBTQ issues. Penguin Pants is neither smart enough nor experienced enough to disguise his true feelings. It wouldn’t surprise me to discover that the majority of the Healthy Shaker employees are members of the same cultish religion. Maybe one of the annoying ones that knock on your door, attempting to recruit you. Or maybe one of the ones that doesn’t believe in using doctors. But probably not the ‘monotheistic’ one that prays to an ever growing cast of saintly demigods. I think the Big Kahuna has been through enough lawsuits that he talks the talk, but doesn’t believe a word he’s saying. I think he has lost so many cases that he tries to disguise his true beliefs. Yet they bleed through anyway. I am cynical of his actual beliefs.

Be a plant growing through concrete. ;–)

I believe we were promised new books in both of @northie’s series to begin next year. The break will allow our author to write a few anthology entries. This will also allow our author to build up a bank of new chapters before they start posting. ;–)

Eric is clueless about the effect he has on his friends! Brian gave him the frame because he knew Eric could use it and he enjoys talking with him. I’m guessing that even his nosy neighbor sees Eric as a friend (even if it’s not mutual). ;–) I hope Andy thinks to take Eric to Croome Park, separately from the wedding, to see what the National Trust has been able to accomplish. Do they collect histories from previous workers? If they do, Eric probably knows more about the less recorded groundskeeping details then they’re likely to be aware of. (Now I’m imagining Eric as a less-adventurous version of Alec Scudder.) ;–)

When I first started working, we got paid time-and-a-half on Sundays to compensate employees for having to work on the sabbath. In the mid-Eighties, they took away that little benefit where I worked, claiming that Sunday had become just another business day. It was a unilateral move and we were told that we would not be allowed to change our availability due to that change even though most of us only agreed to work on Sundays because of the extra cash. We were not given any compensation for that loss. They couldn’t figure out why morale was so low. If we had been unionized, we would have had some protection from this type of predatory behavior. Retail workers usually only get paid minimum wage or slightly above. Retail and fast food workers are among the most lowly paid workers. They would be some of the workers most affected by an increase in the national minimum wage. Another effect of not being organized. Most office workers would not stand for the conditions endured daily by retail and fast food workers. They are disrespected by management as well as the public. Most of those workers don’t have a lot of alternatives available either because they need the flexible schedules or because they lack the necessary skills. And yet they’re usually cheerful and helpful! ;–)

You could do what everybody else does on a day celebrating your friendly neighborhood Unions: go shopping at stores that are run by chains that are hostile to the Labor movement. (While most people have weekends off thanks to Unions, retail workers don’t even get paid time-and-a-half on Sundays. Many employees are restricted to part-time except during the holidays in order to avoid giving them healthcare benefits.)

— B Dave Walters

I know my role here: readers read, we don’t write poetry… ;–)

So when can we expect the sequel where Jer picks up the shiny sliver item that caught his eye? ;–)

I could ask the one question that frustrates both you and @Timothy M.… ;–)

On the West Coast, our building codes are designed to prevent most earthquake damage in newer buildings. But faultlines are not restricted to the western third of the country. The New Madrid Seismic Zone, near St Louis, is capable of additional quakes similar to the four 1811-1812 earthquakes which were as large as 7.0 or greater. The first one of the four rang bells in Richmond, VA! There are faultlines further east too. We are prepared, you’re not.

or ? ;–)

I was reading about some of the interesting ways dolphins have (same-sex) sex. I know they aren’t fish and that they’re mammals. But Jer and Gil are/were mammals… ;–)

Mackerel was one of the fish that my parents’ friends used to bring us after they went sports fishing. I remember barracuda too. One regular christmas gift was a case of Albacore Tuna – which meant tuna sandwiches for lunch! Having had too much fish as a child is why I refuse to eat seafood now. ;–)

Another slightly disturbing story. What would drive Gil to want to become a mackerel? This is like the reverse of the Little Mermaid. I wonder what the story would have been like if you’d thought of I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls from 1982? ;–)

Ooooooo! I know! One or more of the gardening students who helped remodel his garden! ;–) Maybe his postal carrier, the shop assistant at his favorite grocery store, one of the healthcare workers from the hospital, or one of the EMTs who treated him when he fell? ;–) We’ve actually ‘met’ quite a few of Eric’s neighbors… ;–)

Well, it’s unlikely to be the three homophobic kids who terrorized him at the beginning of the story! ;–)

Dan Savage is a sex advice columnist who originally began writing a column distributed in free alternative newspapers in the US. He now also has a podcast on the same topic. He and his husband started the non-profit, It Gets Better Project, to help let kids know that things really do improve after they gain independence. The project hosts videos with individuals and groups discussing how their lives are better than when they were in school. It’s intended as encouragement for those who are being harassed or bullied at a manageable level (as opposed to young people who feel suicidal and should contact The Trevor Project). There are now offshoots of It Gets Better in countries around the world. There are videos from LGBTQ+s who have survived high school and gone on to be successful. There are videos from LGBTQ+ personalities and celebrities who talk about their personal experiences. There are videos from police departments and other government agencies. There are videos from the casts of Broadway shows and TV programs. There are even videos from major sports teams. The point is to make it clear to young people that the things that are valued in high school are not always the things that are important later in life. ;–)

You mean like a pendulum? ;–) I meant that the slightest nudge gets Robbie swinging wildly back and forth… ;–)

...Gloryhole, California... (yes, it's real. Up in the gold country)

Rick Deckard seemed world-weary in 1982. But why Calista!!!!!!!!!!!

Dan Savage points out that couples don’t feel a difference when a condom breaks. This indicates (to him at least) that we can’t really feel a difference between using a condom or not. He believes it’s all psychological. It wouldn’t be the first time people died because of psychology…