Former Member

I’m very glad to see you writing again instead of just editing! But however you’re getting this on the page, you’ve found some interesting near-homonyms and several occasions where you used a zero instead of an ‘O’. Always being creative, I see! ;–)

With an irresistible approach like that, how many kids did the two of you have after she married you? ;–)

But it was so much more fun to intentionally misinterpret what you said! ;–)

@Thorn WildeI haven't listened to your posted video yet, but I 100% agree about operatic recordings of sacred music. Since you are a Mozart fan, check out K.195. Beginning at minute 16:00, the brass instruments and use of hair-raising counterpoint could easily fit into his much-later Requiem. The concluding agnus dei is one of his most perfect compositions. It's surprising it's not better known, but then again, his litaniae are ignored for the most part.

I only know what it’s like to be applying as a single person. Those who falsely believe that social services are just handing out free money to a bunch of lazy, undocumented drug dealers (must not be very good drug dealers if they need financial help!) and terrorists (why would they want the government to know who they are and where they live?) pushed a law through that forces California applicants to get fingerprinted and get a picture taken as if we were criminals! CalFresh (aka SNAP or food stamps) has restrictions on how long you can receive them and punishes you if you file paperwork late by reducing your benefits. GA (General Assistance) is a cash loan from your county that they only give you for three months unless (and while) you are applying for certain benefits like Social Security Disability (the county gets paid first from your SSDI lump sum back payment). Benefit programs that force people to find jobs within a limited amount of time assume that there actually are jobs available for the applicant. It’s cruel and inhumane to cut people off from benefits when either they are too disabled to work or there simply are no jobs out there. Entitled people do not understand how difficult and humiliating it is to be poor in the US. Entitled Legislators think that everyone else has access to the same resources they have and disregard the stories they hear about people falling through the cracks as very isolated and unusual anecdotes. They rely on unemployment filings as an indicator of the economy while ignoring the fact that people can only file for unemployment for a limited length of time – many people also give up on finding work because they’ve become depressed and discouraged. There are often no mental health services available at a low enough cost for them to be able to get therapy for their depression either. [sarcasm] Why treat people humanely if the cost benefit ratio isn’t good enough? Why worry about human rights or civil rights? Why should my taxes pay to help poor people who are too lazy to work? Why should my taxes pay for homeless people to get free housing? Why should I help someone I don’t even know? [/sarcasm]

Not ‘Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.’ – Casey Kasem ?

Madonna turns into Margaret Hamilton? ;–)

@LondonCharles, does Camilla know you’re reading these sorts of stories? I thought it was one of your brothers who was rumored to be Gay. And your nephew didn’t rule it out, but ended up marrying the former actor. ;–)

Ross might be playing a very nasty trick on Woody, pretending to be his friend, flirting with him, and taking him along when it’s obvious that Jon wouldn’t want him around. Or Ross might genuinely want to get to know the mysterious, quiet guy who’s been riding to school with them for months. Ross has a brother and might feel empathy for Woody – I hope that’s the case! ;–)

Woody doesn’t realize he answered his own question. Small electronic items are prime candidates for theft: expensive but easily concealed. Those plastic packages prevent a thief from stealing parts (such as the webcam itself) in the store. The same is true for a thief who buys the item and tries to return the package minus the webcam. The packaging keeps the product intact throughout the chain from manufacturer to distributor to retailer to customer. ;–)

Yes, but when you get tired of the Corvette, you can sell it or replace it with a different model easily! ;–)

17 piercings all at once seems like it would take an awful lot of time before school starts! It’s no wonder there was some residual blood. I’m surprised he had any blood left after all those piercings! ;–)

Did you get to class on time that morning? ;–)

Robbie never has much luck with Sue either! ;–) But I was thinking about the legendary strategy of a father taking his son to a prostitute for his sexual initiation, although in this case, Robbie has already lost his virginity and this would be more of a reset to a previous state that Don believes is the true default. ;–)

I don’t think Tim needs to win the prize! ;–)

I lived through the worst days and saw people in the AIDS Ward at Alameda County’s Highland Hospital in the late ‘80s. I also have and have had several friends with AIDS. I did volunteer work for a couple years. I don’t know what it’s like personally and, no offense, I don’t want that to change. ;–)

Conversion therapy for minors is banned in the other, more populous CA.

I sometimes wish I hadn’t waited until my mid-20s to Come Out, but on the other hand, if I had become sexually active in my late teens like many others, I might have become one of the thousands who were infected before anyone knew about HIV/AIDS and how it was transmitted…

I’d like to say I guessed about the ring back when Ben’s mother slipped him the package at the airport… ;–)

Since this story seems to be wrapping up, will there be a Jamie – The Journey Continues? ;–)

Two songs came to mind when I heard that description. My mind immediately jumped to the opening lyrics of the Hollies song, but I couldn’t think of the title right away. Then I thought of the Long and Winding Road by The Beatles, but rejected that as inappropriate for Joey’s funeral. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother as a phrase has an interesting history, as does the song itself.

Maybe Craig will realize that blowjobs are an even better, more natural solution to his grouchiness than weed! ;–)

I’m really glad no one got hurt! I’m beginning to think that Mr Johnson plays up his disabilities to get Dustin to help him out. Mr Johnson keeps Dustin engaged with life outside work and gives Dustin a little bit of purpose without him even realizing it. ;–)

Craig, Mr Johnson, and Dustin have their own weird family thing going on. Dustin, especially, would deny it, but they all care about each other in their own ways. Add Craig and Mr Johnson to the list of people who’d miss our Sweet Little Dusty™! ;–) Now I’m wondering how Craig and Brett know each other. It sounds like more than just druggies hanging out together. Did Brett help Craig quit drinking? ;–)

With a few little tricks, I’ve just added The Real Thing to my iTunes library complete with manually entered metadata and a custom poster image. ;–)