Former Member

I thought Rudolph was going to run away with Topher’s dad!

I may buy some candy now that it’s been marked down after the holiday. Grocery Outlet always has year-old candy for sale too. I’ll go looking tomorrow! ;-)

I have experienced this too. In the past (on Nifty), it made me stop reading certain authors’ works altogether. On GA, it hardened my opinion that one other reader in particular objected to. I’m strong enough to resist popular opinion. But I’m sure others have been turned off by forceful, persistent, and insistent cheerleading for characters and situations. When it became clear that my opinion of the direction of the story was not where the author was going, I continued to read the story (since the author writes well and I liked most of the characters), but commented on other aspects of the story or on how others reacted to what was happening. I tried to disengage from most of the back-and-forth with the cheerleader.

I knew Rudolph was behind everything! And I’m still sure Hat Man is working for him too! Rudolph needs to lose all his money, investments, real estate, and most of all his reputation! ;-)

I didn’t know Jason Voorhees could sing – doesn’t his voice get muffled by his hockey mask? ‘-)

I don't know if I posted this already, but two years before Emanuel Schikaneder and Mozart collaborated to bring The Magic Flute to the stage, the impresario did a project with one of the leading figures of Viennese music at the time, Paul Wranitzky. Here is the overture to his incredibly charming fairy tale opera, Oberon - King of the Elves, 1789

This is the first time I’ve seen anyone mistake this homonym! (It’s outweigh.) ;-)

Yay! Anderson Cooper! Very well respected, a serious news guy, and Openly Gay! The perfect person to be the first they talk to off campus! ;-)

There are just some people you are drawn to. When I was volunteering at an AIDS organization around 1988-90, I met the Street Coordinator (the guy who went to the bathhouse and parks where guys go to have anonymous sex and provided Safe Sex information). He was a funny, engaging guy and we became friends. He was one of several who were mentor-ish, pseudo-older brother-types. I got to hear stories as he met and fell in love with a guy from Amsterdam, moved to the Netherlands, and returned (single) a few years later. I should have spent more time with him. I knew he had AIDS, but I only was around him when he was healthy. I hadn’t heard from him in a few years and got a handwritten card from his roommate and former coworker that told me he had died. I miss you, Jah Mel!

Happy Birthday, Arpeggio! ;-)

I couldn't be anyone's second choice. He chose Sarah over Mike. There would have been no coming back from that, at least for me.

@Jordn87 It seems like the heights of Brady, Ness, and Ty are symbolic of their levels of Privilege!

I think it’s amusing that Kaiden is not quite aware that he’s feeling emotionally exhausted and drained after the party! But anyone watching his actions from the day before would have seen all his nervous energy. Your body has to recover from expending all of that energy somehow! ;-)

Even if you don’t use my ideas, I hope that others will see what I’ve written and do some research of their own and learn more about the diversity of the LGBTQ community! ;-)

I was wondering why you hadn’t posted any new chapters, but thought you had been distracted by your new story! Now I realize it’s because you wanted to publish it on Halloween (at least in my time zone)! I wonder if there’s been any other chaos outside the caverns… ;-)

The Red Light District is never in the cleanest, best lit neighborhood! ;-)

With fava beans and chianti? ;-)

Until otherwise proven, my Prime Suspect is CM! ;-)

I think I saw Gene's change coming a couple of chapters back. But it's still nice to see it all the same. Another very good chapter. Thanks, Ronyx

I think it’s going to take a long time for Dustin and the others to heal from their tragic histories. They should send all the psych bills to Dahawk! ;-)

I’m horrible at figuring out mysteries. My therapists hate it when I say my role in my family is ‘The Failure’, but I’m the one that didn’t do any of the things the rest of the family did. All of my relatives with the possible exception of my father’s older sisters and brothers-in-law, graduated from college – except me! With the exception of my mother and a couple of my oldest aunts, had careers – I had a series of disposable jobs, mostly in retail. With the exception of one aunt, I am the only one who has never been in a serious, long-term relationship. I’m the one dealing with mental health issues and am on Disability for Depression and Anxiety. And as far as I know, I’m the only one who has been homeless. Having a high IQ has not made me successful in life… ;-)

Most nurses who work in hospitals don’t really care who is actually family and who isn’t. They’re just trying to keep the numbers of people visiting down to a reasonable number. When my father had just come out of quintuple bypass surgery (chest pains, not a heart attack; small veins/arteries, not bad diet/toxic habits), they thought his young coworker was just another one of his sons and we didn’t correct them. They don’t check ID and genealogical charts to confirm your relationships – people adopt so families don’t always look related. ;-)

So Jake’s story was just a prologue for the real story! I’m totally confused! (Yes, it’s very difficult to tell the difference from my usual confusion!) ;-)

I don't think it’s possible to have a blanket ‘correct’ answer to this question. Some shops are set up for a quick turnover of customers, rather like urban fast food restaurants which have a 30 minute limit posted. Other shops encourage or at least tolerate longer stays, somewhat like fine dining establishments that expect diners to eat over the course of an entire evening. I’m sure someone sells or could easily develop a system which generates limited-time access codes printed on the receipt, if coffee shops really were concerned with turnover.

Congratulations to all!