Former Member

The descriptions did not feel salacious and leave me feeling dirty the way some other stories have. Like @David Santos, I'm not here to read porn. I'd rather have hints of what happened instead of intensely detailed proctological descriptions. Some things can safely remain behind closed doors. Even characters in Gay fiction deserve privacy. ;–)

I think Ed is going to have to get used to not being Brian's constant companion. It would be the same if Jeff had been a woman. But I have to wonder if Ed has feelings for Brian even as he lusts after large-breasted women. ;–)

It seemed clear to me from our first introduction to Jeff that there was something more happening unsaid. ;–) Your point about the boys working to pay for their cars reminds me of a news report I heard maybe a couple years ago about some very expensive pony cars being stolen from a community college parking lot. These weren't just basic, entry-level Mustangs and Camaros, they were top-of-the-line models! Nothing that a kid could afford to pay the insurance on, much less the cost of the car itself! Naturally, it was in a very affluent part of the Bay Area. ;–)

One of the reasons I loved my Scion was that there was no negotiation on the set price. Neither my ex or I have any intention to ever have kids which made the pitch ironic. I have no patience for them, but I do love my nieces and nephews. I took that same ex with me when I went to buy a bed. I had no idea you could negotiate on the price of a bed! He’s a much better negotiator than I am and I had him negotiate when I sold my Scion so I had rent money for a few more months (before I got evicted and became homeless). The bed was for my apartment when I became housed again.

When my (Lesbian?) Aunt was buying her '68 Buick Skylark, the sales guy tried to tell her the car was too expensive for her and didn't want to sell it to her. A few years later, I witnessed her very long-term ‘roommate’ negotiate so tough on a Pinto wagon that the guy probably went home to cry afterwards. On the other hand, in 1995 when I was shopping for a car, I went to a Ford dealership where the female salesperson was clueless about the Escort sedan that not only was brand new, but was featured on the Escort brochure handout (that was just part of the reason I bought the Civic). When I went shopping for the Scion, I took my ex-boyfriend with me and the sales pitch kept mentioning things like the anchors for child safety seats. ;–)

What? Your car never told you the door is ajar? ;–)

I grew up in the suburbs. If anything like that was going on, I wasn’t aware of it. I think there were more challenging road in the mountains east of San Diego that would have favored imports over Detroit muscle cars. ;–)

I always apologized when I ground the gears in my cars. It didn't happen very often, but passengers would usually wonder why I was apologizing. But saying sorry to the car seemed like the right thing to do! ;–)

The real LAPD was racist and extremely homophobic back then. It's much better now. Most police departments were pretty bad back then. There are so many muscle cars that will never be reintroduced since the brands that sold them were discontinued. AMX and Javelin, Barracuda and Roadrunner, Capri and Cougar, Firebird and GTO, and 442 come to mind right away. Of course, some of those were applied to some very unsporty models over the years and probably don't mean much anymore (a Cougar Villager station wagon with fake wood paneling and a severely emission-control choked Chevy Nova-based GTO were among the travesties). But I'm probably the only one who'd want to see a Rotary-powered Pacer (as was originally intended). ;–)

I think there's some foreshadowing of trouble ahead with Mahowsky… ;–)

I remember a classmate getting teased for buying a new 1977 Datsun F-10 wagon, one of the oddest examples of Datsun's so-called science fiction styling era. There was no way that my parents were going to let me buy a car when I was still in high school. In 1985, I bought a new Mazda 626 sedan, my first new car. It replaced a 1978 Ford Pinto hatchback (a year old when I bought it from my older brother), which in turn had replaced an entry-level 1973 Ford Torino 4-door (5 years old when I inherited it from my parents). The 626 was more economical and much more powerful than the Pinto – and the Torino too. It was significantly more roomy and comfortable than the Pinto and rivaled the much larger and heavier Torino in interior room while handling better than either one of the Fords. Unlike the Torino's 302 cid (4.9L) V8 or even the Pinto's 2.3L, the 626 was only 2.0L. The Torino had a 3-speed automatic, the Pinto had a 4-speed manual, and the 626 had a 5-speed manual. The CHP clocked me in the 626 at 102mph and the car probably could have gone a little bit faster. It was a very balanced, well-designed car that I only replaced when I was rear-ended. That's when I bought a 1995 Honda Civic 4-door with a 5-speed. Not quite as roomy as the 626 since Honda obsesses on low, sporty designs. When that was totaled, I bought a Scion xA (a former Toyota sub-brand) with a 5-speed. The Scion was very buzzy since it was geared to feel sporty with quick acceleration – I always felt like I should be shifting into a higher gear when I was on the freeway. It was surprisingly roomy inside despite its short length. I installed a fantastic sound system in it, one designed to be balanced rather than just loud.

I’d be nice if they focused on fixing themselves before they try to dictate to the rest of us how we should live our lives. Most of us are content to let others do what feels right as long as it doesn’t harm us. Most of us are tolerant of small inconveniences that are part of living in a diverse and interesting world with people who might seem at first glance to be very unlike us, but turn out to be more similar than not. ;–) I like the idea of the US as a salad bowl. Each of us contributing to the flavor and texture without needing to be the same. A salad of just iceberg lettuce is not only boring, it’s also not very nutritious. Adding different greens, some crunchy stuff like celery or jicama, some tangy fruit, some cheese, alfalfa sprouts, and a handful of nuts will give you a much more exciting dish!

I just talk about movies I’ve seen or books I’ve read. Since a large percentage of what I see and read are LGBTQ, it means that most of the time I’m describing movies and books that straight friends (and, in the past, coworkers) had never heard of before. In my area at least, there’s more crossover than in the past, with straight people being more aware of the most significant happenings in the LGBTQ community. ;–) You could also mention the stories you’ve written here on GA… ;–)

I think it’s interesting that both this story and After the Past not only involve horses, but are set in a post apocalyptic future. In both stories, the horse seems to represent power and independence. The horse represents hope for a better future.

Poor Brad gets to come back from his classes to that fragrance! ;–) Did Angela know who Mason was when she agreed to meet him?

People from New York and New Jersey tend to stick out as being unusually rude in California. It’s a cultural thing and we’ve been influenced by our Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander heritages. We’ve learned different lessons on the West Coast and have had our own shameful history of racism and hatred. The majority here appreciate diversity. ;–) Have a nice day! ;–)

Mason probably was working on a Friday night. People who work in bars tend to have to work on Friday and Saturday nights when it’s busiest. I’m guessing Adam’s bakery is probably only open when business people are working. I don’t think Adam is ready to start dating yet. He’s smart to wait. Dating Mason now would be a rebound that wouldn’t last.

Chapters should be coming out several times a day to get to 200 before Fall when the sequel starts… ;–)

He’s Canadian, it’s the law! They have to be polite! (It’s also part of a secret procedure conducted during adoption process – he had to get an extra dose to counter the ‘Cockney’.) ;–)

Yeah. GMMR is horrible with time-management. His estimates of completion dates seem to slip even as he’s predicting them. He’d probably be jealous of your skill in that area especially! ;–)

Poor Novy stuck at home by himself. All the adults are with someone they’re embarrassed to be seen with – or are just starting to get over being embarrassed to be seen with. No wonder we keep singing that children are our future! They don’t have the baggage we all have! ;–) It gets better, Novy! ;–)

It took me several days to finish reading this novel. I never know what to expect when I start reading a Charlie & Kippy story! If you follow @sandrewn’s Status Updates, you’ll find that there are tons more ‘holidays’ than you ever believed. Some are recognized by governments, others are self-proclaimed, with most somewhere in between. But I’m not sure how you’d turn National Eat Your Beans Day (July 3rd) or National Workaholics Day (July 5th) into a story theme! ;–) Keep this up and you’ll be rivaling JRR Tolkien and George RR Martin – Geron RR Kees? ;–)

Just for you, I ran my comment through a CAtoCA Translator: Now that you’ve got your Loonie, you need to work on your Toonie, eh? ;–)

I’d like to point out that this dq has never been described as a DQ! ;–)

Congratulations on hitting the Century Mark! Here’s to another hundred! Maybe our Robbie won’t be making foolish choices by then… ;–)