Former Member

You have to pay to put an obituary in the newspaper, they don’t just show up. She could have said she didn’t want to/couldn’t afford to pay for it or that he didn’t want it to be published. She’s evil, she could come up with any number of excuses. The same with the funeral and headstone.

Well Andy got very lucky! The first guy he Comes Out to accepts him without a problem and even consoles him when he gets emotional! And Jake seems eager to see him! ;-) Hey I thought you British guys didn’t have emotions! Stiff upper lip and all! ;-)

*take you in my arms*

I hope for you, to find your plumb-line to guide through shallows, rocks and unsure deepness to safe shore.

Contentment. This is what I feel when I listen to this song. Walking through life laid back, and not stressing over first world problems.

Mark had a visual argument with himself about which side to sit on, pointing first at one side, then at the other. Apparently Stan was not involved. I told you Stan was less aggressive than Mark – and I’m guessing Stan made the choice in the end. ;-) Devon’s already been kidnapped twice. Once on his wedding day by Burke’s people, the second time when he was taken to Germany. Third time’s the charm? ;-) I’m sure there are some interesting interpretations as to why Devon keeps needing to be rescued… ;-)

I think spitting is gross and disgusting. Using a tissue (aka Kleenex) or handkerchief is more sanitary – if you throw away the tissue or launder the handkerchief! ;-)

But spitting doesn’t? ;-)

I remember a little scene in James Cavell’s Shogun (which is filled with horribly offensive inaccuracies and is yet another example of a white character coming in and learning about an Asian culture, in this case Japanese, to save the ‘exotic’ locals from themselves) where a European blows his nose into a handkerchief and the Asians cannot understand why he wants to ‘save’ his snot! Perhaps they are some of your first converts who were saving their ‘holy’ secretions! ;-)

I know that everyone sees Will as a horrible person. I feel sorry for him. He's in an impossible situation: he doesn’t feel strong enough to deal with Troy’s injuries, yet everyone expects him to just deal with it. He’s doing what he feels is necessary to protect himself from more pain. He is just as much a victim as Troy except it’s emotional, not physical. I once worked with an older gentleman who had a glass eye. He told me his best friend always complained about how dirty the one lens was on his glasses. He never cleaned that one because he couldn’t see it anyway! ;-)

Some of your earlier versions appeared to have things coming out of your nose. I suggested a new creation story…

Whaaaaaaaa? Creation isn’t streaming out of your nose? ;-)

I’ve had the ‘You speak English very well’ thing too! Because only white people are ‘real’ Americans who speak real English (ie with the local California accent – which is not the fake Los Angeles ‘Valley Talk’). I’ve also had the much more subtle, ‘You don’t look like I thought you would’ from a (computer store) customer after we had previously spoken on the phone.

I’ll let you choose the order, but those would all be nice. ;-)

Yes, please. And you can’t get much further from Kentucky than Australia (while still spaykin’ English)! It could possibly be a place for the boys to go on their honeymoon… ;-)

No side story?

More family! ;-) That means we could potentially get yet another side story! This time, one set in Australia! Luke and the Jackaroo? ;-)

I find it amusing that Mark always talks first and Stan has to almost interrupt him to say what he called about! Stan is less aggressive, but he doesn’t let Mark walk all over him. It’s clearly a pattern they’re very used to. ;-)

Actually, I think I started my grieving process even before her surgery. But I didn’t realize it at the time. It felt like she had already gone. It was also the start of the slowly growing rift between me and my sisters-in-law – part of which was caused by the abrupt ending of our then regular gatherings for birthday celebrations several times a year. My mother had been the one who had kept me informed of family news and her memory issues prevented her from continuing in that role. After she had died, my uncle (my father’s brother-in-law) died, but he neglected to tell me until several months had passed – it hadn’t been his job to do that in the past (now it’s my younger brother’s job). One of my therapists was convinced I was suffering from PTSD with my parents’ deaths being the cause. I didn’t feel like that was true, but maybe it was. In some ways it, still feels unresolved…

Happy Birthday, young man! What new and exciting things do you have planned for your new year? ;-)

In the large version, you almost look like you have smoke or something flowing out of one nostril! Or is the background coming out of your nose? ;-) In the beginning, Emi GS snorted out the world… ;-)

Dad seems to be aware that Andrew is Gay. And Jake seems enamored of Andrew. So it doesn’t seem to be a one-sided, unrequited, hero-worship kind of thing happening here… ;-)

Music for a quiet evening.... Haydn Piano Trio No. 39. I'm particularly feeling the slow movement today...melancholy in sway, although bright in the face it shows the world...