Former Member

They don’t publish a paper on Christmas Day? None of the daily newspaper my family has ever subscribed to ever skip a day*, unless a disaster prevents publication (after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the SF Examiner [the afternoon paper at the time] was able to get to press only because they used their Macintoshes). Most newspapers take pride in their regularity. But I suppose a small-town paper might give their employees the time off instead. ;–) * I’m only thinking about papers I was aware enough to read. Which means the San Diego Union, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San José Mercury, and several small daily papers in the East Bay. I never paid any attention to newspapers when we lived in Hawaii (Honolulu Advertiser or Honolulu Star-Bulletin in the Sixties). None of the papers that I mentioned are ever affected by blizzards, hurricanes, or tornadoes.

That’s okay. Tom has a starring role in the sequel, The Cockney and the Canuck! I look forward to his greatly expanded role. ;–)

Rory was on Robbie’s list of potential boyfriends before he and Nathan got together. Robbie still flirts with Rory even though he knows Rory is straight (and Rory is good natured enough to tolerate his rudeness). If Rory ever wanted to experiment, Robbie would certainly not turn him down. ;–)

That sounded pretty much like my first sessions with a new therapist always did. Mine were for clinical depression and generalized anxiety. And the very first questions were always to make sure I was neither suicidal nor homicidal (never, by the way). There was also reference to the fact that the therapist was legally mandated to report certain crimes even though everything else was confidential. But my ‘addiction’ to sugar isn’t serious enough to require rehab…

There would be no explanation for the journal’s mysterious migration from the fireplace into the garage. Would Grant cover it with ash to replicate the condition he found it in? How would he maintain his guilty silence? (Michael, have you found missing things in odd places?) ;–)

Well, we don’t know where Ms Sexton (or her parents) originally came from. Half of California’s adult residents came from somewhere else, either another state or another country. Owing a vineyard does not necessarily mean the family has owned the land for any significant amount of time. People have been becoming wealthy in California for generations – remember the 1849 California Gold Rush? ;–) California has only been a US state since 1850 and Europeans have only been here since 1769 (San Diego and Monterey were the first two settlements in colonial Spanish California). Of course, Native Americans have been here for thousands of years. But it doesn’t sound like Grant has any significant (if any) Native, Spanish, or Mexican ancestry.

The meaning of those two words changes dramatically depending on who is saying them, whether it’s Ms Sexton, Troy, or you and we readers! ;–)

Cosmo is no Gismo! ;–)

There was only the tiniest bit of fear that Cosmo wouldn't survive. You don't write those kinds of stories. You're not even remotely George RR Martin! ;–) I hate the long wait for word after surgery. There's nothing that you can do while you wait. You have to rely on the medical staff to inform you. Nothing you do will speed up the process.

Sailor's Lament, deftly done. Thank you for these. v

And apparently, Donnie never looks in the mirror at his own grotesquely overweight body! ;–)

Is it possible to write a story that’s dialog-free? ;–)

But this is a soap opera! Someone’s going to get caught having an affair. Soaps are notorious for the previously unknown child from a drunken encounter showing up, fully grown even when the father appears to be much too young to have a child that old. Where’s the evil twin? Or the mysterious stranger with amnesia? Will Frank & Ben eat the oddly gray fish that Stephanie brings them for lunch? Who is the secret admirer that keeps sending Terrence flowers, candy, and expensive gifts – Gail denies being the guilty party, and besides, would she even know how to arrange all that herself? Why is that strange man in a trenchcoat (in the middle of summer) hanging around all day across the street from SNET headquarters? ;–)

Cupid’s Dart 2/25/2020 “I tripped over a guy crawling out of a gap in the hedge.” What? Amoretto and Atman? Strange character names, especially Atman. Clever. “His head kept swelling and shrinking into a mist.” Satyrs, pool, columns. Wow! Smooth transition to the other side of the hedge. At this point I was howling, of course, where else would they be? Without giving away and your goodies, I’ll just say I did an Amazon search but decided a willing one is better. Good, clear and quick twist to the end. Thanks for this short piece done well. v

Orange tic-tacs! ;–)

Trainwreck is a crazy, wild ride from start to finish! Two unlikely writers team up to create a new Gay soap opera for a Canadian all-soaps TV network. Their lives are as much a soap opera as the show they are writing for. This was a very successful collaboration of two extremely talented writers, neither of whom are known for writing this sort of story. They claim that this story is complete, but I think there’s plenty of room for a sequel. Perhaps their boss, Gail, will ask them to create a second soap opera for the network… ;–) All I know is that they said to tune in next year for more! ;–)

It’s rick’s fault! He made me think in that direction. But I forgot all about Jessica, she’s ditzy enough to forget to get her birth control pill prescription refilled… ;–)

So even after an entire year, Ben is still insecure. He sounds like me! ;–)

So Trainwreck – A Very Guilty Sequel arrives in 2021? ;–)

There were (up until this chapter) only three women in this story (I completely forgot about their ditzy PA)! ;–)

Stella is pregnant‽ Surely it’s not Gail!

Conner does not seem like a good boyfriend. He’s pressuring Robbie into having sex when Robbie clearly isn’t interested. This doesn’t bode well for a successful future relationship. Robbie is still obsessed with Nathan. And Nathan seems well aware of his feelings. But there were many reasons why they weren’t a good match either. Robbie’s best relationship was with Tom. They have a long history together and they still seem to have a connection despite their physical separation and inconsistent communication… Go Team Tom!

Robbie doesn’t have a lot of old friends. While I’d love for Tom to visit again, I don’t think it’s likely that he’d be traveling back to Canada so soon. His little buddy is unlikely to be attending any parties even though he’d be a hit, especially with the girls. I doubt the Retired Social Worker™ would be attending a teenager’s party. Fran is unlikely to cause a problem, but her sexy brother might cause Robbie to embarrass himself yet again (but that wouldn’t affect the family). That pretty much leaves just Alex… ;–)

Conner? ;–)

Which happened first, the shooting or the stabbing? I would have expected that Rolph and Cosmo would have let the bad guys leave without bothering them, but the phrasing implies otherwise. Some of the preparations at the bar suggest that they’ve had to do similar things in the past. The office with the secret window, especially, seems like something that existed long before Eric and Peter ever visited Big. It’s kind of like how Gay bar lighting was intentionally kept dim so people arriving would need time before their eyes adjusted to the relative darkness. This allowed bar patrons and staff time to escape out the back if the night-blind police tried to raid the bar. ;–)