Former Member

My sister-in-law’s mother had MS. She was a ‘difficult’ woman to begin with, but her condition exasperated her rude behavior towards her family. She had also married someone from the wrong side of the tracks and he is a very loving, friendly, warm man. No winery though. And the SIL's mother had been a nurse, so she knew what the progression of the disease would be. She had lived in an apartment during her workweek with a female ‘roommate’ and return to her husband on her days off. When her condition worsened to the point where she was pretty much confined to a hospital bed, she was moved from Orange County (CA) to the Bay Area to live with my brother and his family. I only saw her a few times and was never the target of her unpleasantness. After my SIL’s mother had passed, my nephew (her grandson) was still very young. On his birthday gift (Lego, no doubt), I attached three origami dinosaurs I had folded. My nephew was not at all interested in the dinosaurs I’d made for him, but his other grandfather was. So his grandfather was the one who kept the origami dinosaurs. ;–)

Must have been before they inexplicably moved from California to Washington state! ;–)

How old is your Underwood ‘laptop’? Are you still running Hunt ’n Peck OS? Or have you finally upgraded to Touch OS?

Our culture has much less problem dealing with the older man/young woman scenario than with an older woman (or man) with a young man. Men are supposed to be dominant and powerful. The younger person is seen as weaker and less masculine or even feminine. The trophy wife syndrome is winked at even when it's accompanied by a certain amount of derision involved. But there’s major societal condemnation against a large age gap when it involves a young man. We have a long history of powerful (often physically unattractive or even repulsive) old men in relationships with young, attractive women. This can be traced back to warlords and royalty with concubines and mistresses (with the women not necessarily being willing). Undoubtedly there were also kept men (also, not always willing) throughout history with varying societal acceptance, but censorship and condemnation by European historians and missionaries suppressed or erased any mention of them. Men often have greater autonomy than women have, so two men might have the ability to maintain a relationship without necessarily being visible to society in general. Part of the dichotomy is related to the biological differences in fertility between men and women. While men can at least theoretically father children even when they are in their nineties or older, women’s fertility ends when they are much younger. Quite often the least ‘worthy’ have the ability to reproduce, including wealthy women in their sixties being assisted with pregnancy.

This old man has felt overwhelmed and more depressed than usual. I’ve been sleeping more than usual. And I’m getting less done than usual. Even for me! ;–)

I doubt I could get there on mass transit. He lives off in a very isolated, out-of-the-way part of the state. Besides, most of the Bay Area (where I live) is under Shelter in Place orders and that would be considered to be non-essential travel! It’s kind of like California’s Newfoundland… except with lots of pot farms. ;–)

Uh huh! And what brand of ‘laptop’ does he use? Is it Royal or Smith-Corona? ;–)

This sounds like the plot for Trainwreck II: A Very Guilty Underwater Adventure. Which one of you is calling himself ‘flashember’? On second thought, I can see ‘Ash’ and ‘Ember’ so it’s pretty obvious now. I can picture Wayne typing on an ancient manual typewriter! ;–)

Why would anyone name their daughter after a short-lived (in the US) Toyota sedan? The Carina was the sedan version of the much-loved Celica and slotted between the Corolla and the Corona (since replaced by the Camry in the US). This relationship was similar to the original Ford Mustang and Falcon or the early Chevy Camaro and Nova. A 10% import duty killed sales just as the model was being introduced in the US. This shows the most (only?) distinctive feature of a rather plain design: the odd taillight design.

Reric and I disagree about the genetic component of LGBTQ+ as well as the prevalence of bisexuality. I believe there are several genes involved in the likelihood of a man being Gay. I don’t think the genes guaranty orientation because identical twins are not always identical in sexual orientation. I believe that hormones have an influence on orientation because, statistically, the more older brothers you have, the more likely you are to be Gay yourself. But, again, this isn’t definitive because some oldest sons are Gay and many youngest brothers are straight (including my own younger brother). I believe that the Kinsey Scale is a ‘J’ curve rather than a bell curve. With the ‘J’ curve scenario, a significant group is Gay, a smaller number in the middle is bisexual, and the vast majority is straight. But part of this depends on the definition of bisexuality. If you go by identity, the numbers are far lower for both Gay and bisexual. If you go by behavior, the numbers for Gays and especially bisexuals rise dramatically. Someone who has a single experience with one, but predominantly experiences the other is likely to identify as the one they do the most frequently. Sexual identity is not the same as sexual behavior. I personally identify as a Kinsey 6 – I wouldn’t categorically deny the possibility of a potential attraction to a woman, but the likelihood is vanishingly minuscule and shrinking even more as I get closer and closer to the end of my life. It hasn’t happened in six decades, and I don’t expect it to happen in the future.

I’m distracted because most of the Bay Area is under a Shelter in Place order. And I’m old. Plus I read too many stories! ;–) I can’t remember who Carina is. There are so few women in this story, I can only remember Sabrina and Gabby and we can discount Gabby because April would have known if she had been pregnant with Jay. ;–)

https://gayauthors.org/story/ac-benus/onehundredandfifty-fivesonnets/57

Who is going to train me to be better at misleading people about lactose intolerance? I categorically refuse to attend divinity school! Can I buy a doctorate online so I can be a fake doctor like Laura and Phil? ;–)

So you’re saying that I now have a medical excuse from a medical professional (ie you) to avoid exercise because you doubt my lactose intolerance? ;–)

I have lactose intolerance. I have to avoid getting too much lactic acid in my body! This is a medical reason to avoid excessive exercising. ;–)

Why are you blaming me? I wasn’t the one who created Harris and decided to change the trajectory of his story arc! I wasn’t the one who made Wade do what he did! ;–) Just for that I should make sure to give you a boring, standard Review when this story is concluded…

Is there a special secret version of this chapter out there that I don’t have access to? ;–)

No one has any Sears catalogs or corncobs lying around the house anymore… ;–)

That he knows of. Ronyx probably absorbed some of the intricate plot lines and format through osmosis. If it was on everyday, he would have at least heard them when he was on vacation from school or when he stayed home when he was sick. ;–)

My mother was so desperate to watch TV programs broadcast from Japan on weekend evenings that she actually learned how to program the VCR so her precious programs would be recorded. She had originally forced me to do it on my VCR, but I eventually got tired of doing it and told her she needed to do it herself. She learned. The shows included a bunch of costume dramas (Samurai, not European historicals), some game shows (including early Iron Chef programs), and other things. Saturday evening had three or four hours from one Japanese broadcaster, Sunday had three or four hours from a different Japanese broadcaster. Only some of the shows were subtitled in English. My mother was the oldest of five sisters (all born in Los Angeles) and learned English in Kindergarten. She spoke English with no accent, but was embarrassed by her ‘bad’ Japanese. She had no sympathy for others who were older when they were forced to learn English in school (she did it, why can’t they?).

I got an email a few minutes ago from the Berkeley Public Library announcing their closure due to Covid-19. It’s two buses away, but it’s got a huge DVD collection that’s extremely diverse. Oakland’s Library system closed a few days ago (it also has a very large DVD selection, but it’s much further away and I haven’t visited it in several years). My city’s library website is dominated by Covid-19 info, but the calendar on the margin only lists one event that’s cancelled – there are several others listed including story time and homework help (the local school district is closed beginning tomorrow). I had been planning (on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, as well as today) to go to Berkeley to return a stack of DVDs and pick up new DVDs that are on hold and waiting. My clinical depression and generalized anxiety kept me home instead. I guess a part of the depression I’m experiencing has been exasperated by Covid-19, but I don’t feel particularly anxious about contracting it. (I do fit the profile for a higher risk due to age, hypertension, pre-diabetes, and asthma.)

Actually, the only soap opera I regularly watched was Eastenders, when it was first broadcast in the US on the formerly independent San José PBS station (it’s now owned by KQED, the San Francisco PBS behemoth). I stopped watching it in the Nineties when my work schedule changed. I remember Dot’s AIDS panic as one of the last things I saw. I started watching because Are You Being Served’s ‘Miss Brahms’ was ‘Pauline Fowler’ on the show. I did watch Melrose Place for the first season or two, but got tired of Gay Matt being the show’s doormat. He reacted to everyone else’s love life, but didn’t have one of his own. When he got his first kiss on the show, they cut away to show a reaction shot so Americans would be disgusted by two men kissing on TV! It was kind of boring – Vanessa Williams (the one who wasn’t involved in the Miss America scandal) left the show early on too, depriving it of diversity. I’m not sure how @Ronyx thinks I managed to watch the show three years before I was even born when my mother never watched any soap operas! ;–)

Is Jimmy going to acknowledge he's in love with Jack too? Will Jack be trying to let Jeff down easily because he’s really in love with Jimmy? Will Jack and Tracy be trying to find a boyfriend for poor, neglected Jeff? (Is one of Jimmy’s hangers-on available for Jeff?) ;–)

The fact that Andrew’s father was a former client gives Billy extra security because dear old dad won’t want his reputation dragged in the mud, exposing him to potential legal prosecution! Especially damaging legal problems because Billy is still very much underaged (as well as very male). Dear old dad might bluster and threaten, but he has much more to lose than Billy does…

Two revealing photos! Both could cause problems. It’s interesting that Andrew recognizes that Chris is someone local. A random picture found on a train could be of someone who lives anywhere in England. Is there some detail in the background that identifies the location as being Cliftonville? ;–)