Former Member

Wouldn’t it be a huge blow to Heath’s ego if his Junior was junior to Aiden’s Senior! ;–)

There are actual restaurants near me that have signs that say ‘Chinese and American Food’ and ‘Mexican and American Food’ – they look like they’ve been around since the forties. It makes me wonder if they offer you the choice of Uncle Ben’s imitation rice or Rice-A-Roni in the former and I guess they offer Ketchup as one of their ‘salsas’ in the latter. Of course, self-respecting capos don’t want to know what they’re doing to pizza in Berkeley! ;–)

Even I know that not all Italians are Mafioso. But it’s likely that residents of little Hailey are going to soon be tasting their first bites of real authentic Italian food. No more chopped up hot dogs in Spaghetti-Os! ;–) Every time we hear about Harris, he’s alone and remembering happier times with a memento of his family. Did he lose them to Stefano too? Or did his wife leave him with their children because he wasn’t around enough because he was taking care of Corbin?

If you haven’t yet, when you read @Dodger’s The Tradesman and the Church, please remember to replace all references to the musician’s origins in the US with his actual birthplace of Canada! Here’s the page with all of Dodger’s other stories. You’ll see he only has two incomplete stories, this one and the one with the annoyingly talentless Canadian popstar. ;–)

Having been homeless as an adult, I’d say that Robbie’s current situation is still better than living on the streets! If I remember correctly, Tom’s family might have allowed him to stay with them. Robbie’s mother’s will was the reason he was forced to move back to his birthplace and live with her brother. And Robbie stupidly allowed them to adopt him. I can use translation software too! ;–)

I’m not a fan of horses or anything, but I’d even read a story from their horse’s point of view if you wrote it! ;–)

I was surprised to see this chapter show up! I thought you’d still be busy with your work project. I hope things are working out smoothly on that front. ;–) I wasn’t surprised that the paparazzi invited themselves to the party. But it was amusing to have Aidan pretend to be security and begin to throw them out! Of course, he’s not intimidating enough on his own so it was a good thing Heath backed him up. ;–) But I was very surprised that Aiden gave into temptation and gave Heath the hand job out in the yard. If the paparazzi were as persistent as they seemed to be, they’d have stuck around outside the property to try to get some telephoto shots after everyone else left. Especially since the sun was rising, they’d have had a good chance of getting the shot they were hoping for! ;–)

So will the second sequel be told from Max’s point of view? ;–)

I think that helps to explain why he’s latched onto Robbie. Robbie is probably the only person in Alex’s life who has accepted him as he is. Alex confused that with love because he’s never really had any love in his life (except for Luke). He’s a dangerously damaged person, but most of it is due to his upbringing and lack of positive role models.

On the other hand, warning labels and movie rating restrictions can often make the content even more enticing than they would have been otherwise! ;–)

Alex is clearly somewhere in the middle of the Kinsey Scale, considering his past history. Identifying as Gay (or straight) does not necessarily correspond to actual sexual behavior. Many people identify their sexual orientation long before they ever have sex! Others identify one way while participating in behaviors that don’t match their identity. All those Gay-for-pay performers and other MSMs identify as straight while apparently enjoying the sex they’re having. Many Gay men have sex with women, especially as teenagers, either to confirm or to disguise their actual orientation. Now you’re imitating my Intentional Misinterpretation strategy! ;–) Sports wasn’t the reason that popped up in my mind and crossing our northern border has a lot to do with it! ;–)

We’ve all seen the scandals on the news where a supposedly well-vetted person (often a teacher, coach, politician, police officer, or religious leader) who gets exposed as not being the upstanding citizen they were thought to be. You’d think that people in those sorts of professions would be less likely to do bad things than those of us who are less visible, but I keep seeing the stories. There was a major sports team owner who was caught on video (physically!) fighting with his wife in a public park just the other day! You can never be too careful when it comes to children, but the strategy used by the pair in the story could easily have been counterproductive.

I’m sure that he’d be welcomed into the US even though he’s a Gay drug dealer with no marketable skills or money… ;–)

Comment deleted.

This sort of fits here and I don’t want to search any further (or start yet another short-lived Topic): “He’s Ken’s buddy” and they even share a wardrobe! How deep in the Closet is Allan if we’ve never heard about him before? (Are Allan’s feet shaped for him to wear heels? Why has Allan left his jeans button unsnapped to ‘advertise’ his anatomically incorrect crotch? There’s nothing to show off!) But it explains why Barbie went after GI Joe and Ken never put up a fight – Ken is Barbie’s Gay best friend! ;–)

Is Don having an affair with Symmonds? ;–) There’s also the Retired Social Worker™! ;–)

It doesn’t matter if Robbie has a strategy or not, everything always seems to him to end in disaster! ;–) Was Alex forcing himself to have sex with girls to ‘prove’ that he was straight just like Robbie did with Fran? They have a lot more in common than I thought. But I’m still on Team Tom! ;–)

At least I wasn’t the only one who didn’t get a Notification that this was posted two days ago! :–( I think Corbin’s going to need to pick up a few more shifts after he dropped $4k on Paul’s driveway! ;–) But the poor road might have made things more difficult for Stefano… They’re going to need to find a tower somewhere with a window reserved for the finale with Stefano. If they start now, maybe Corbin & Paul can complete it before he gets to Hailey. ;–)

Bureaucracy. At some point, someone forgot to check for a hazard and the child was injured or killed. So some middle manager wrote up a checklist that has to be turned in – or worse, a politician legislated a list! Another 15-year-old in a wheelchair might not have the cognitive abilities that Max has and could be in danger of those very hazards. In the US, it would have been out of a very real fear of a lawsuit. The fact that they could produce a signed off checklist might prevent a judgement against them. Logic and common sense don’t always seem to matter in a court when balanced against laws and regulations. There are lawyers who specialize in suing small businesses for being slightly out of compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates accommodations for the disabled including nonsensical braille signs seemingly randomly placed on walls). Companies have been forced out of business because doorways were fractions of an inch too narrow – and these were in very old buildings built decades before the legislation was ever thought of. A brand new fire station kitchen had to be rebuilt before it could be occupied because it was out of compliance even though job requirements would preclude disabled candidates from being hired. The original intent was good, but the execution sometimes leaves something to be desired. ;–)

Not at all. I think that pair was really out of line. If they had given the excuse that something came up that prevented their visit the following day, it might have ameliorated the imposition slightly. Based on my experiences with social workers (in the only tangentially related homeless services), I’d say that there’s a mix of good and bad. But the good one have to create a hard shell to prevent themselves from being taken advantage of (a doctor I met seemed very gruff and prickly – until she got to know that you weren’t going to abuse her kindness).

I was so proud that I recognized the name as commemorating the city in BC! ;–) I need a Don. One who has extraordinary patience and a sense of humor (to deal with my ‘quirks’). Someone who can figure out a way to tell me what to do without making me feeling like I’m being manipulated or pressured. And that’s why I’m single! ;–) I think it must be a nearly no-win type job. On the one hand, you’re expected to protect the children at all cost, yet you’re often prevented from keeping the kids away from their parents who may have been abusive (even if you can’t prove it). You start to expect everyone to lie to you because bad parents will do that to keep their kids and abused kids will do that due to pressure from their parents or undeserved loyalty to their family – or even because they fear change will be worse than their current situation. Some foster families have financial motivations rather than goodwill and empathy. A social worker has to build a strong shell to protect themselves from being hurt by what they have to deal with. Too much empathy would lead to too much heartache. Being too soft could lead to even more damage to the child. And social workers might seem god-like in their power to take a child away from where they are, but they’re stuck under an overwhelming weight of bureaucracy, regulations, and public opinion (in high profile cases) with few resources or options. At least in the US, all social services are grossly under-funded in a misguided attempt to trim the fat and force efficiency. While it might seem like all social workers are terrible people, I think that many of the good ones leave because they can’t deal with the conditions. This becomes a death spiral where the least qualified remain and the agencies become even less efficient with everyone involved left feeling worse off.

Because of the Sourdough? ;–)

I’ve only read three graphic novels in my life. Maus I & II and A Game of Thrones. The Maus books were especially difficult to read because of the subject matter. A Game of Thrones was different from both the A Song of Ice and Fire novels as well as the HBO TV series.

I think Brian’s wife will be an enlightening voice in his ear if he’s wavering in his friendship with Eric. ;–)