Former Member

In the US, a therapist is legally required to report illegal activity including abuse. This is to protect both the patient and the therapist. This is the major exception to doctor/patient confidentiality. This requirement not restricted to adult patients.

Why haven’t any of the ‘professionals’ (aside from Mr Andrews) realized that Robbie is clinically depressed and desperately needs therapy? He’s showing signs of cognitive dissonance too. There are all sorts of reasons why anti-depressants aren’t a good idea for teens, but the advantages for Robbie certainly appear to outweigh the disadvantages.

The Epitaph of Seikilos contains the oldest musical notations and lyrics still readable to us today. A young man sings it in a very nice version here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ο_Επιτάφιος_του_Σεῖκιλου_-_Epitaph_of_Seikilos.ogg Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου hóson zêis, phaínou While you live, shine μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ mēdèn hólōs sù lupoû have no grief at all πρὸς ὀλίγον ἔστι[2] τὸ ζῆν pròs olígon ésti tò zên life exists only for a short while τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ. tò télos ho khrónos apaiteî. and Time demands his due https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph

I was expecting a more familiar setting. A happier story in a building that recently endured a tragedy. The site of a just untangled mystery. ;–) But there’s a thread of a connection with the dusty smock of an artist and her selections for her collection. But ‘lake at midnight’ doesn’t sound like the typical title for pottery! Maybe she's an artist who works with chalk or charcoal? Or maybe one that make collages from found materials? Probably not a digital artist whose work is done on a computer, nor a filmmaker. ;–) I do hope that one side-effect for the ring wearer is easing of the headaches. ;–)

Not everyone is as thrilled with what I have to say. I don’t think I’ve ever had to say anything negative about any of your stories, Ron. I love your stories! ;–) Most of the ones who want to silence me don’t like my political opinions. ;–) Besides, self-denigration is important for keeping my head from swelling when I get compliments like that! ;–)

Most of us send a PM to suggest edits. And when you paste in text that’s been stylized or is a different font size, the software is supposed to offer you the choice to remove the formatting. Alternatively, you can highlight the text you want to adjust and click on the symbol that looks like a capital ’T’ that’s bolded, italicized, and underlined next to a lowercase ‘X’ that’s subscripted. But I’m not trying to discourage you from posting in the future, just trying to provide information. ;–) I’m sure you have interesting insights that we’d all love to hear. Besides, I think lots of people are tired of hearing what I have to say! Having another person contributing will dilute the effects of my inane thoughts. ;–)

Okay @Talo Segura wrote a blog about looking for some of these stories. I checked out the two authors he mentioned. One story didn't look like my kind of genre, but I looked into the other author. I read Steven Keith's stories on Awesome Dude and emailed him after I read his flash fiction and short stories. He said he no longer posts here and doesn't even remember his password here. After completing all the stories not posted here, I started reading One Moonlit Night here on GA. I encourage everyone to at least take a look at the first chapter. I really enjoyed the story and posted my Comments for each chapter as I read them and a review when I completed the whole story. Certainly the plot is not unique, but this genre is common because it's very popular. ;–)

There are numerous examples of that phenomenon right here on GA. There are all sorts of reasons why an LGBTQ might marry someone of the opposite sex. Cultural stigma and familial pressure is common all over the world. Just because we don't want to admit it still happens even in the so-called Advanced Countries doesn't mean that there aren't valid reasons why people make that choice. We are not privy to the thought process and agony that person has gone through to reach that decision. It could very well be a life or death situation for one or both of the people involved. And just because someone has had same-sex experiences doesn't automatically make them Gay! There's a whole category called 'bisexual' that many people want to ignore or dismiss. Not everybody is like me and knows that they are LGBTQ when they are 12. There are people who only discover their true sexual orientation late in life. From early on we are all taught what society thinks we should be like with certain colors and clothing assigned by gender and certain toys designated for one gender or the other. Some classes and profession are unofficially designated by gender. Those who break the barriers face stiff opposition or fierce suspicion and scrutiny. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

A lot of what we think is Mother’s Intuition is mostly just spending so much time with us and getting to know all of our little quirks and tastes. They spend thousands of hours observing us in every mood and condition. So when something doesn’t match up with what they are expecting, it stands out and often forms a pattern. My own mother was educated in the ‘30s and ‘40s. She had a college degree, but LGBTQ people weren’t discussed back then. She didn’t know to wonder if I was ‘one of them.’ And even after figuring out that I’m Gay (in the ‘80s), never seemed to put the pieces together about her Lesbian(?) sister and ‘roommate.’ ;–)

And someday, you’ll be an amazing m parent too! ;–)

When we were young (I was probably 9 or 10), my parents asked us where we would want to live if they both died. I suppose they were doing a living will or something – it didn’t seem morbid at the time and felt more like a game. When we all said we’d want to live with my favorite Aunt & Uncle and two cousins, they seemed very surprised and told us that all three of us might be too much for them to handle. They thought one or two of us might want stay with my Lesbian(?) Aunt because we’d basically grown up with her around and she’d done so much for us. They didn’t seem surprised that none of us wanted to live with my father’s younger brother and his strict wife & our two other cousins. Our less frequently visited relatives were not considered either even though some of them had kids around our age too. My older nephew (and to a lesser extent his sister) was very spoiled when he visited my Lesbian(?) Aunt and her ‘roommate’ when he was young. But visiting is not the same as living with them long-term. Especially since the two women took vacation time when my nephew visited. ;–)

They’ll flip-flop… when spooning? ;–)

Posting this for Richard Rodger's beautiful setting of the Vespers in Latin, and for the following number. Start at min. 1:25:25, and listen until 1:31:02. The rest is pretty good too

Aidan might be a Transman? ;–)

Similar themes have sold colognes/perfumes, bathroom ceramics, and thousands of (respected mainstream) magazine issues. ;–)

So… the protein shakes people want it family friendly yet sexy at the same time, huh? ;–) I’m surprised they haven’t thought about a moody, dimly lit, black and white, nude photoshoot where the goodies are discreetly hidden in the shadows. With the light cleverly focused to make it clear that no clothing was being worn. Or maybe the goodies could be hidden behind a large glass of the protein shake brightly lit in the foreground! ;–)

Why does that make me think of this song? ;–) Big Time 🎶 I'm on my way I'm making it, huh! I've got to make it show yeah, hey! So much larger than life I'm gonna watch it growing Hey hey hey heyyyyyyy The place where I come from is a small town They think so small, they use small words But not me, I'm smarter than that, I worked it out I'll be stretching my mouth to let those big words come right out I've had enough, I'm getting out to the city, the big big city I'll be a big noise with all the big boys, so much stuff I will own And I will pray to a big god, as I kneel in the big church Big time, I'm on my way I'm making it, big time, oh yes Big time, I've got to make it show yeah, big time Big time, so much larger than life Big time, I'm gonna watch it growing, big time Ho ohh ohh, oh oh, ho ohh ohh, oh ohhh My parties have all the big names and I greet them with the widest smile Tell them how my life is one big adventure and always they're amazed when I show them 'round my house to my bed I had it made like a mountain range with a snow white pillow for my big fat head And my heaven will be a big heaven, and I will walk through the front door Big Time, I'm on my way I'm making it, big time, Huh! Big time, I've got to make it show yeah, big time Big time, so much larger than life Big time, I'm gonna watch it growing, big time Big time, my car is getting bigger Big time, my house is getting bigger Big time, my eyes are getting bigger and my mouth Big time, my belly's getting bigger Big time, and my bank account Big time, look at my circumstance Big time, and the bulge in my big big big big big big big big big big big big big big big, hi there 🎶

This is a lovely story that has sadly been overlooked. I hope more readers will discover as I did the love story of Bash & Scotty. I have to thank @Talo Segura for discovering this hidden gem and referring me to it!

I'm glad that Bash & Scotty adopted. There are too many disabled or otherwise difficult to adopt children out there and not enough willing adopters. As the Romanovsky and Phillips song says, Love is All it Takes to Make a Family. ;–)

What a lovely way to end their trip to Sydney! I've heard that Koalas are not really as cuddly as they appear. It's best not to get wild animals get too used to humans in any case. Koalas shouldn't be domesticated and don't make good pets.

What a fun evening at the bar! It was amusing that Jerry didn't recognize Scotty at first. But what a letdown to be yelled at just for looking too young and being on the stage.

Just like I thought, Bash & Scotty's friends not only didn't have a problem with their being Gay, but also kind of knew before they were told! ;–)

Brad isn't very smart. He had to know that the Prom would be well supervised and yet he thinks he can assault Scotty on school property. Sending Bo to assault Bobby was an interesting distraction though. It's amazing how many homophobic bullies want to have sex with another male though. There's a strong correlation between internalized homophobia and anti-LGBTQ attacks.

With my Lesbian(?) Aunt, there was a period of more than a decade when I didn’t see her. When her ‘roommate’ died, we went to the memorial in Southern California and I was shocked at how much older my Aunt looked. I remember Oprah once talking about how, as we age, our skin either sinks or sags. My Aunt was definitely a sagger! ;–)

Sorry, this is more amusing than inspirational…