Former Member

We’ve always known that something traumatic had happened to Elias that has caused him to avoid physical contact. This is a clear symptom of some sort of physical violence. In this chapter, it was suggested that the original trigger was sexual. Someone who claimed to have loved Elias did something horrible.

Everything that makes these individuals unique and interesting are the very reasons why society sees them as misfits. ‘Think different.’ Those who break the rules are the ones who have created a better world than the one they were born into.

So beautiful! Elias was able to drop his barriers to get a hug from Orson precisely because Orson doesn’t feel a sexual attraction to him. Almost nobody else could have done that for Elias. It was an enormous step to allow himself to be so vulnerable! This is huge for both Elias and for Orson. ;–) It was Mason’s birthday, but Greg’s asking for permission from Mason to marry Clay threatened to eclipse the event. Then Clay & Greg’s birthday gift surpassed the question. Ultimately, it was Elias allowing Orson to hug him and even cuddling with him as they slept which was the actual highpoint of the chapter! ;–)

Robbie doesn’t lead a life with style, that’s Nathan’s thing! Being LGBTQ+ is a part of life, not a lifestyle. RVing or snowbirding is a lifestyle. Please don’t echo the phrasing of our enemies.

It’s fun to hear a different view of perfect little Billy Roberts! It’s amusing to see him described as most people probably see him: as a self-absorbed little jerk. Brett had lots of problems, but it’s good to see that he is reaching out to younger LGBTQs in their LGBTQ Alliance. I hope we continue to see Brett, but I’m not opposed to Billy remaining in W.A.R. ;–)

*scratching my noodle* something tells me...this is a certain Dane who likes to camp cluelessly.... I wonder if I'm right...

No, Robbie will then be available for Tom! ;–) Go Team Tom! ;–)

I’ve had mixed results. Sometimes the Comment field ‘remembers’ what I wrote when I am forced to redraw the page. Sometimes the Comment field ‘remembers’ things that I’ve written and posted, in some cases days earlier. Other times, the Comments are permanently lost. ;–)

This is exactly why the city of Piedmont, CA exists – even though it is completely surrounded by the much larger city of Oakland. Piedmont has its own police department and school district precisely because the founding fathers wanted to be able to control their small city and keep it ‘pure’ (ie white), unlike Oakland. There are small cities surrounding most large cities for the very same reasons. If the population is low enough, it only takes a few people to dominate the whole thing. In a larger city, Donnie’s ambitions and dreams would be obvious and laughable because he does not have actual leadership skills.

I’m convinced that a large percentage of the former military personnel who are homeless have Dishonorable or Less-Than-Honorable Discharges. This means they aren’t eligible for most Vet services from the government. They literally fall between the cracks…

Venice was originally settled by people who were hiding from their enemies. The shifting tides and sandbars prevented their enemies from being able to attack them. But the swampy land means that buildings gradually sink, so Venetians add stories to their homes and move up a floor or two periodically to stay above water. Venice is one of the most vulnerable cities to Global Warming. They are building protective devices that will prevent storm surges from flooding the city. But it will never be enough…

April and Jett are never boring! Confused and confusing, yes. But Jay has a straight daddy and a Gay daddy – the best of both worlds? ;–)

I believe that the Ox and Andy both traveled down a path very common for Vets and active duty military personnel. Chemical abuse is typical for those dealing with traumatic issues. And people who are attracted to military service tend to be the very same ones who avoid getting help with psychological problems. It’s a disastrous combination that isn’t being dealt with sufficiently by the US government (I don’t know what it’s like in other countries).

Jett’s father is a Transman and is actually his bio-mom! ;–)

Due to all the complaints, Jett has decided to change his hairstyle! ;–)

There was a news report about an event featuring hard cider in the City today. Apparently they had some very unusual flavor combinations (as you’d expect in San Francisco). I’m surprised you didn’t manage to be there. But maybe it sold-out before you could arrange to get here! ;–)

Okay, this way makes a whole lot more sense. I can see Susie and Mr Andrews acting like that. And I still think the detectives were playing good cop/bad cop, trying to entrap Robbie into saying something revealing. But I don’t think they actually believe he murdered Alex and Luke. I believe they think Robbie actually knows where they’re hiding. Because it’s inconceivable to them that Alex would be able to take Luke and successfully evade police notice without assistance for this long.

It used to be that sports anchors were the worst at mispronouncing names of athletes whose ancestors did not come from Northern Europe. Now days, it’s news anchors who cannot seem to correctly pronounce the names of cities and newsworthy people. I regularly hear local anchors refer to ‘Hanalulu.’ Sixty years after statehood and 121 years after annexation and people still don’t know how to correctly pronounce Hawaiian words! Jim West from PBS’s Destination Craft show visits Japan and mispronounces guests names as well as the crafts he’s describing. Obviously the guests told him how their names should be pronounced. And there would have been multiple people correctly pronouncing the names of the crafts. How difficult is it to remember how Japanese words are pronounced? It’s a matter of respect – or disrespect in this case!

I’d like to point out that I hadn’t seen Danilo’s second Comment when I was writing mine. And I’d used to the combination in past chapters. It just seems to be a natural combination. ;–) Orson is struggling with restrictions he’s never had to deal with before. But we don’t really know much about his upbringing or background. We only know he doesn’t have any relatives who could have helped him during his recovery.

Poor Orson. Just as he thought he had adjusted to his new situation, he takes a disastrous walk down to the creek. Tripping could have happened to anyone, but his disability magnifies the problem. It sounds like Mason has a new project: widen and remove tripping hazards from the path to the creek. Hacking back the blackberries should be relatively easy for Mason. Eliminating tripping hazards and smoothing out the path will probably be more difficult. Should they ever have a guest who uses a wheelchair or a walker, this is something they’ll need to think about ahead of time for all of their paths and walkways.

Robbie’s not smart enough to realize the detectives were playing good cop/bad cop. They were testing Robbie to see his reaction to their accusations. Robbie certainly didn’t hide his feelings. They framed their questions to be as provocative as possible. I’m sure that any good detective would have investigated Don and his trustworthiness. Don’s accusations don’t match what would have been said about Robbie and Alex by teachers and other students. But I’m shocked that Canadian police are allowed to interrogate a teenaged suspect without a parent or guardian present. That would be illegal in the US, so everything that Robbie said would be tainted and not admissible in any court! There’d be a huge lawsuit against the two detectives, the police department, the school district, and the school administrators who left Robbie alone with the detectives. This is the kind of scandal that causes school administrators, school district supervisors, and police chiefs to be forced to resign in shame.

I love these lines! These are great too! Maybe Robbie & Nathan can star in remakes of the old Rock Hudson/Doris Day comedies – guess who gets to play Doris! ;–)

Jett is getting awfully close to admitting he wants to have more-than-just-jerking-off-together sex with April! ;–) And the major reason why April objects is because he believes Jett’s claim that he is straight. Jett might identify as straight, but either April is an exception or he’s not really as straight as he likes to think he is. I think Jett is at least a Kinsey One or Two, not the Zero he claims. ;–)

Aww! And I thought it’d be the perfect solution for Jett! Fun parts on top and bottom! At least they would be for Jett. ;–)