Former Member

I was once given a button that said, ‘Why B normal?’ My mother hated it and wanted to ban me from wearing it… ;–)

@Wayne Gray, was this your inspiration? ;–)

Gabe seems to understand a whole lot more of what is going on than Richie wants to acknowledge. I think he’s realized that Richie is Gay even if he didn’t really want to believe it. His test of Freddy was the phone call with the girls. When Freddy wasn’t interested in talking to Cindi, his lack of interest in the Playboy, and based on how Freddy has interacted with Richie, he put two and two together. ;–) It was cute how Harley was jealous of the attention Andrew got when they were dropped off at Richie’s old house. The two boys really do see each other as brothers already. And Harley needed to say goodbye to his new older brothers! ;–)

I was forced to wear a tie for decades while working in retail in the late seventies through the nineties. When you have to wear them every day, you learn how to tie them (even if it’s not exactly one of the standard methods). It never made sense to me to have to dress up to work in a discount store, especially considering that women had much greater freedom in their dress code. And there were few male customers who wore ties when they shopped in those stores. Still, it was better than the IBM-inspired dress code of white shirts and ties with black slacks for engineers in the pre-Silicon Valley high tech industries. Eventually I changed employers and no longer needed to wear the tie. My location in the Bay Area and changing standards meant that we generally wore company-supplied polo shirts with our employer’s logo on them in one job – and red shirts with khaki pants at another (guess who?). These days, I only wear ties to weddings and funerals. And the last wedding I attended was in the early nineties. My brothers have been informed that when I die, no ties or dark, sombre clothing is to be allowed at my memorial service. It cannot be a religious service and no hymns may be played (even though my father was a Protestant minister and my brothers and their families are very religious). ;–)

What? You don’t like my prompt for the next chapter? ;–)

There are many booksellers out there who would love to sell you a copy! ;–)

I’d cook more if I didn’t have to clean up afterwards. Old studio apartments don’t have dishwashers installed (no room or connections for the machine). I don’t have a housekeeper to clean up after me either. :–(

My mother made sure that all three of her sons learned how to do at least basic cooking. She was the eldest of five sisters and no brothers who ended up with no daughters. She was a kind of feminist even though she would have rejected the term since she was a religious conservative Republican (she grew up as a Free Methodist). I’m no gourmet chef, but I keep myself fed without relying on microwaved frozen dinners and takeout. ;–)

A devastated Jordan turns to Rob for consolation after Jazz and Caleb fall in love with each other. Jazz, of course, keeps the girlfriend, and enjoys being the meat in the sandwich! Rob begins to explore those latent feelings… ;–)

You could have used Carlos as a consultant for the chapter… ;–)

We got one answer in The Kids Are All Right with Julianne Moore and Annette Benning. The director, Lisa Cholodenko, worked with San Francisco's Colt Studios to select the clips of Gay porn used in the movie. But I guess the demographic isn’t perceived to be large enough (or distinct enough?) to create porn movies specifically for the market. ;–)

That helps me to understand one of your characters better… ;–)

This restored version of the original hit is amazing. Annette Hanshaw sounds like she's in the room with us Tip Toe Thru the Tuplips with me, 1929

The app I use offers several different pages to use when checking arrival times. One is location-based and tells you about all the buses in the area. This means both directions show up, plus other irrelevant lines as well. Another lets you check just your favorites, so this means you get to see a bunch of stops besides the one you’re at. (There’s also one that lets you search to find a route to your destination.) They all rely on the GPS on the bus functioning, something that isn’t always true. And the predictions will often increase when the bus is delayed for whatever reason. Supposedly they use the same info as the transit agency’s own electronic arrivals sign, but there’s one line that’s consistently ‘Departing’ a minute or two before it arrives at the stop! But the last time I took a bus, the electronic signs were off and there was a paper sign saying the power was out. That made me wonder who forgot to pay the utility bill – and also seemed to match their maintenance on the buses themselves. ;–)

Corbin is a man with a mysterious past who moves from the big city to a very small town in rural Idaho. He buys a house, paying all cash. These two things alone make him a figure of much speculation by the townsfolk. Throughout the story Corbin meets other residents and begins to establish roots. But his secret history catches up with him with frightening and potentially deadly results. Corbin is unsure who his friends and allies are. A wonderful blend of love and suspense that will, at times, make you reach for the tissues, and at other times, keep you on the edge of your seat! ;–)

When you contemplate a sequel, just remember that Lou Grant transitioned from comic foil on The Mary Tyler Moore Show to seasoned editor on the eponymous serious drama, Lou Grant. (Trapper John is another example with not quite as drastic shift from dramedy (M*A*S*H) to serious hospital drama (Trapper John, MD). The sequel doesn’t necessarily need to be a mystery, but I personally would prefer that it not delve into the supernatural. ;–)

I have to question your priorities, ‘Tyrone’ – it seems that Robbie isn’t the only one making poor decisions. ;–)

I can’t learn a second language. I’ve taken two years each of Spanish and Japanese, plus a year of French, but while I can remember a few words in each of those languages (including counting from 1 to 10), I cannot carry on a conversation in anything but English. I feel pathetic when I communicate in English with people here who speak two or more languages fluently! On the other hand, people are always surprised that I can (and have) changed a tire on a car. Of course, it’s a useless skill since I haven’t owned a car in a decade (I’d love to, but cannot afford the costs). I don’t know why I look so helpless… ;–)

You took your name from the book? ;–)

I’m a fan of Jamie Bell! ;–)

If you like that book, try the much better erotica that inspired it: Anne Rice’s The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty and its three sequels. ;–)

Reading just the Comments and Reactions, it’s amusing to see how right we were and how wildly off target we were at the very same time – and that’s ignoring the wild tangents I intentionally tossed out there! ;–)

@Geemeedee is ghostwriting this story? ;–)

Jimmy’s future church: the Church of the New Pharasees. The first member will be Jack’s mother. They will be notorious for their ‘interpretations’ of their bible.

They’d never let anyone call them Gay! They just keep their love within their family. Nothing wrong with loving your brother. ‘Love your brother as yourself’ – it’s even in the bible! ;–)