Former Member

Conversion therapy is illegal for children in California. Proposals to make it illegal for adults as well have been resisted by ‘religious’ special interest groups. Conversion therapy is still legal is most states. :–(

Many teenage boys are ‘situationally Gay.’ Since they have no access to the heterosex that they prefer, they’ll get off with whomever is available: other boys. Kind of like being in the Navy or Marines. Or being in prison. ;–)

Jake’s parents were married fifteen years. Jake just turned fifteen. Was Jake a (pretend) ‘premie’ or did they wait until after they were married to have him? ;–)

The original was sooooooooooo much more amusing! Your autocorrect must be doing it on purpose! Did someone prank you? ;–)

I don’t understand what this means, is it another Southernism? ;–)

Is that why almost all of them have closed? They’re almost as rare as drive-in movie theaters these days! And both were huge back in the Fifties and Sixties! ;–)

I’m wondering if Jake’s mom did the fake apology thing where they ‘apologize if…’ The ‘if’ negates the whole apology. If no one was offended, there’d be no point to apologizing! Usually the one pretending to feel remorse is being pressured to say something, in this case she feels compelled to pretend she’s remorseful for putting her ex-husband down within Jake’s hearing (but is certainly not sorry for saying it in the first place, much less thinking it).

Yay, we got to see Dustin! And Nate! ;–)

Hey, don’t pretend you wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing Jimmy did for Jack! ;–)

Let’s see… Capitalize the ‘H.’ Rotate the ‘e’ 180° and massage the shape just a bit. People who speak some languages cannot distinguish between an ‘L’ and an ‘R’ because they only have one or the other, not both. The ‘Y’ is closely related to the ‘I.’ The ’S’ can stay as it is, where it is. Only that second ‘E’ is extraneous. ;–)

Jealousy would explain why Jimmy has such a problem with Tracy. But some people think that what most people know is sex, isn’t. Jimmy’s just doing Jack a favor to make up for what he did. ;–) Of course Jimmy is straight, he has girlfriends. Jimmy can’t be Gay, he’s not a pervert. People can convince themselves anything if the motivation is strong enough. ;–)

Religious hypocrites think everything is all about sex. They have no problem with violence. That’s why US TV and movies are so filled with violence, but puritanical about nudity and sex. They like to ignore the second half of their holy fairytale books. They’re all about angry and vengeful. Sorry, the pedant in me refused to quote you without fixing your punctuation! ;–)

It’s too bad Tracy didn’t come back to visit while Jimmy was busy “relieving Jack’s tension.” ;–)

Never forget: Harris! ;–)

People around here start wishing each other a ‘Merry Christmas’ around the end of November! (I hold off until one or two days ahead of the occasion and wish cheerful ‘Happy Holidays!’ to everyone regardless of their religious choices. Even if they won’t respect my right to not believe in the particular fairy tales they do.) ;–)

I don’t feel qualified to negotiate on the appropriate terms for a group that I don’t belong to… ;–) But I think Danni might have used ‘drag’ as a descriptor for her clothing (at least in the past).

And no one even had to prompt you for a sequel! ;–) It’s my impression that Trans encompasses what used to be called transvestism as well as those who identify as Transgender. But I could be wrong. ;–)

Many libraries offer much more than just physical items to check out. Especially larger library systems offer a wide selection of downloadable or streaming services. Check your local library's website to see what they offer. Typical services offer ebooks, magazines, newspapers, music, and movies. But some libraries offer even more with San Francisco offering comic books! And check similar services to see if one offers something interesting that the other(s) doesn’t. If you have more than one library card, check to see if the selection is different – even if they use the same service, they might have made different choices that mean the offerings differ. As an example, my little city library system (for some reason it’s not part of the larger county library system like the wealthy communities) offers OverDrive (ebooks & audio books), Libby (ebooks), Enki (ebooks), the NY Times, and online research links. The Oakland library site mentions that any California resident can get a card, but doesn’t say if they offer temporary cards during the pandemic. The Berkeley library also offers cards to any California resident and they do offer temporary cards. They offer a much larger selection of resources online than my little local library. PCWorld has an article that goes into more details.

Do you have a library card? You should check to see what extras they offer. Many libraries offer ebooks, magazines, newspapers, music, and even movies. Larger library systems generally offer larger selections. In some cases you can get a temporary card online from your nearby library (even if you don’t live in their coverage area). It doesn’t hurt to check on their website if you need one. Berkeley library offers the SF Chronicle as well as the NY Times for free, for example. An article online mentioned that San Francisco library offers manga! If you have more than one option for similar services (or even the same service from different libraries), you’ll want to check them to see if there are different selections available – I know the Freegal and Zinio selections differ for Berkeley and Oakland, for example. Larger and wealthier libraries can afford to pay for a larger variety. I’m sure I’m not typical, but I have four library cards: my own city's library, my county's library system (probably expired), Berkeley, and Oakland (might be expired). I used to have an Alameda County card, but haven’t used it in a couple decades so it’s definitely expired. More than forty years ago, I had a San Diego library card, but I think my mother kept it for me, just as she had with my Honolulu library card from more than fifty years ago. ;–)

Not ‘normal,’ but mundane doesn’t sound right either! ;–)

I think that the Major truly believes that a child needs both a mother and a father. Military personnel tend to see everything as black and white, right or wrong, good or bad. The Major has obviously never experienced a non-traditional family. Studies have proven that children thrive in all sorts of families, as long as they are given love, shelter, and sufficient nutritious food. As many GA stories illustrate, merely having a female and a male parent (or guardian) present in the household is not enough to ensure a happy home or a good environment for the child. Many well-adjusted adults were raised by single parents, grandparents, and other relatives or guardians. Historically, children were raised by the community. Any adult was allowed to scold misbehaving children (or alert their parents to their misdeeds). In some cases, depending on the ‘crime,’ the adult would administer the punishment as well. It takes a village to raise a child. It’s a philosophy that kept the wildest children in line.

Why did huge flocks of crows and ravens suddenly decide to descend on Barre? ;–)

I wasn’t sure where this story was going, but it was certainly different! I kind of wondered if that was Danni’s secret when she was first introduced. (All those times I’ve wondered if a character was Trans paid off this time.) ;–) This was an interesting way for a protagonist to discover that his sexuality is ‘stretchier’ than he thought. ;–) And Kyle’s parents will probably have mixed feelings about Daniel. On the one hand, Daniel has encouraged Kyle to settle down not only with his studying, but also in their relationship. On the other hand, they probably weren’t expecting Kyle to start a relationship with a man! But it doesn’t seem like they pay much attention to him, will this change things? ;–)

Back in February, just before we went into lockdown, almond trees and sunflowers were in full bloom. Farmers were complaining because trespassers were trampling their crops in their efforts to capture the perfect selfies. Selfie is the perfect description since the picture -takers are so incredibly selfish.

You’re such a tease, Wayne! ;–)