Former Member

Ryder really needs to read that letter from his father. His grandmother thought she was doing what was best by not letting him know he had written something for Ryder. Clearly, he needs to know what his father was actually dealing with instead of the fears that he came up with on his own. They each take turns taking care of each other. ;-)

I see myself in Eric very much. In my case, my depression and anxiety keep me in my apartment most of the time. I rarely get out except to go grocery shopping once a month or so. I used to be forced to leave the apartment once a week for therapy appointments, but my provider’s choice for this year’s psychology intern decided not to take the job and they won’t be able to get another one until July. My psychiatrist wants me to find a therapist at a different provider, but I keep procrastinating. ;-) I do have friends, but the circle has shrunken over the years to just a few. Of course, I also have e-friends from here and another site. I’ve actually met three of them in real life when they each (separately) visited the Bay Area. I also talk to some of my neighbors occasionally. So I’m not quite as isolated as Eric is. ;-)

Oh, Happy Day! Finally something goes my way. To celebrate, here's a great number from the 1930 re-launch of Strike Up the Band! The Gershwins were decades ahead of their competitors. The story is an absurdist's holiday romp where an American chocolate company buys political influence, and convinces the U.S. to start a war with Swiss chocolate - not a trade war, but an actual war where the taxpayer will "get 25% of the profit!" In this number, three American carpet-baggers go 'over there' to woo three little Swiss Misses. The score is the original, including all the colorful orchestration, AND, this is how you do an encore! It's longer and more complex than the number it follows. So brilliant, so Gershiwins.

You do realize I do also read stories by other authors. And some of those stories are really long! I just finished reading the Dabeagle stories that I either hadn’t read or thought I hadn’t read before. ;-) When I read this chapter, the Ape ASL reference is what popped up in my brain. ;-) Would you rather have had a total non-sequitur like Annette Benning? She was on Jimmy Kimmel Live promoting her new movie costarring the very sexy Jamie Bell. (I looked her up earlier tonight because she mentioned attending Mesa College, a Community College in San Diego, that many of my high school classmates went on to go to. I found out she’s almost exactly one year older than I am. And she attended my high school’s arch rival.) ;-)

There was also a mention of bonobos later on… ;-)

In one of Sandrewn’s Status Updates, he posted that Apes that have learned to communicate by ASL (American Sign Language) have never asked a question. It is speculated that either they do not realize that others might have information that they could learn, or that they just don’t have the curiosity to ask questions. Something in the way their brains work? ;-)

Wade was the only reason I wasn’t too worried! ;-)

This has been building up for years. Things had gotten much worse recently. The final break has finally happened. Will Mike cause some sort of mischief now?

The police should be called to remove the intrusively invasive news media. Must be tabloid-type bottom feeders like TMZ and Fox News. Real journalists wouldn’t be camped out like that. ;-)

This chapter shows it pays to know the right people! ;-)

There’s always Joey! Maybe if he bent over and let Dustin have his way with him, he’d find out what he’s been missing! But he’d have to take the big stick out of his *ss first! ;-) A brand-new haircut for the new adult (legally at least). ;-)

It was @Wesley8890's fault! Somehow he made me do it! I cried through almost all of this chapter! ;-) A few years ago, I looked up my high school and was shocked to find out that they had a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance)! When I attended the school, there was only one Openly Gay student – and it certainly wasn’t me! Apparently things weren’t much better a few years later when RuPaul attended the school either. But times have changed from the days when San Diego had just crossed the one million threshold and became the tenth largest city in the country while remaining just a little Navy Town at heart. San Diego has grown into the eighth largest city in the US, elected LGBTQ politicians (even a very rare Gay-friendly straight Republican Mayor a few years ago), and has become much more cosmopolitan. ;-)

Teddy’s Uncle was mean to make the announcement the way he did! Whose side is he on when he tried to get Ryder to stop seeing Teddy? Who is he trying to protect, Teddy or himself? ;-)

Dealing with the loss of a family member takes time. It’s never really gone, it just gets a little easier to cope. More than a decade later, I still think about my parents at odd times. My parents were in their ‘70s and each had been dealing with the side-effects of cancer, so it wasn’t as big a shock as Josh’s death.

I think Wayne’s reaction was what most people would do in the same situation. It felt very real. I’d be furious too, in his situation! ;-)

I just realized that this explains Hatman’s general incompetence! When you blackmail people into doing things instead of hiring real professionals, you run the very real risk that they will be caught. Rudy & Penny might be evil, but they’re not particularly smart! ;-)

Whenever I thought Rudy & Penny were despicable, more evidence was mentioned that lowered my impression of them even further! At least they should remain in Federal custody so they can’t disrupt the wedding! ;-)

That even more true now than in the past! There are so many ways to ‘adjust’ vocal tracks on a computer. Things have improved dramatically since the days when Herbie Hancock played with his voice using a vocoder on Rocket Rockit or even when Cher used Auto-Tune on Believe. We know that Milli Vanilli* aren’t the only ones (Mariah, Bieber, Britney, et al) who lip-sync their songs in concerts and other performances. ;-) * Tower Records Upper Market/Castro store labeled the tab for their CDs “(not) Milli Vanilli”! ;-)

And Nan. Is there a pattern here? Are you into cougars? Really old cougars? ;-) But I’d be much more concerned if you said you liked Zack, Tommy – or even worse, Brandon! ;-)

That would cause chaos at the venue! It would be a security nightmare. They’d never be able to sneak Tyrone in without the groupies trying to follow! ;-) I like the closeted little jerk even less than I did before! It’s sexual harassment! But of course, his ‘people’ would try to cover it up with a massive payoff to keep Andy quiet. We wouldn’t want the moneymaker’s teenybopper groupies to find out the truth about the object of their affection! Gotta keep the cash torrent flowing! ;-)

The flaw in the plan is that they can’t get a signal in the cabin. They won’t get calls from James. Someone would need to stay down by the lake! Well, that shouldn’t be very difficult. Most ex-cons have more respectability than the vile Rudy! Why would James want to deal with another boss who was so evil? ;-)

Red hair and green eyes! Yum! Mic’s a lucky guy! ;-)

Of course that’s what you zero in on! ;-)

I’m sure Colin and Devon pronounce the name ‘Ralf’, but since he’s from the UK, maybe it should be pronounced ‘Rafe’ (rhymes with ‘safe’) – as in Ralph Fiennes! ;-) Besides ‘ralph’ is euphemism in the US for vomiting.

I know you’re not snowed in. I’m sure the stores haven’t sold out of Kleenex yet. But if they have, there’s always Amazon… ;-)