Former Member

Impotence? That could discourage further exploration. But you should learn to just enjoy whatever happens, when it happens. Stress only makes it worse. So relax… avoid heart-pounding, action movies and scary films that make your heart stop. ;–)

Premature ejaculation? A common occurrence for young people. Something to work on. Frequently. In private. ;–)

The fate of all social workers everywhere!

Authorities don’t like putting two foster children who are boyfriends together in the same placement. They might be okay if the boys are given separate rooms. Maybe.

I have been to Los Angeles – not one of my favorite cities, and not just because of how they dominate state politics and steal our water! The closest I’ve been to South Carolina is Alexandria, VA (Washington, DC), St Louis, MO, and Houston & Austin, TX. Alexandria only because we stayed there when visiting DC. St Louis because my plane had a layover in the Eighties (American Airlines). Houston to change planes to get to Austin. Austin for my then-boyfriend’s family gathering on Lake Travis. No offense, but I have no interest in visiting a part of the country that would have so many reasons to hate me (ethnicity, sexual orientation, politics, Agnosticism). ;–) In one accident I was in, I was rear ended by a driver who didn’t see I was stopped trying to make a left turn into a driveway blocked by a UPS truck making a delivery. It took forever for the other two insurance companies to negotiate who would pay. The driver’s employer’s insurance company or the insurance company that was covering the truck that the driver borrowed. In another accident, I was sideswiped by a driver who decided he didn’t want to wait for the left turn arrow (which had just changed to red) and he merged right into my car. He crossed a solid white line to do so. The two insurance companies decided we shared fault even though he made an illegal lane change!

Don’t they have a law against that in South Carolina? Even if you’re at a stop light, it’s illegal to use your phone while you’re driving in California. No phone calls, texts, or emails. Not even GPS navigation. The only exception is if you’re using a hands-free device (usually through your car stereo) or to call 911 in an emergency. There have been suggestions that even hands-free is too dangerous and should be outlawed.

I’ve read a few that were, shall we say, less good. Some of the ones I thought were bad were very popular with others though. There’s a huge variety here and there’s plenty for everybody. ;–)

@Mancunian, you may have been delayed, but two of my other favorite authors more than made up for your absence. One posted an entire story, eight hours between each long chapter. The other posted a second chapter a day or so after a delayed but much anticipated chapter. One morning, I woke to check on 60+ Notifications. This morning, it was ‘only’ 52 Notifications. 20 Notifications is usually a busy morning for me. ;–)

Clearly Jason/JJ didn’t want authorities to know where he was. I’m guessing that the home will be informed that JJ is in hospital and they’ll want to send him back. :–( But, if nothing else good happens, at least Danny & JJ have been reunited.

Anderson didn’t bring his buddy Andy Cohen with him? ;–)

Just a few more mistakes than usual… ;–) For a wedding that’s been planned for a year, it seems like the first eleven months went by quickly and the last few days have been taking forever! And now, the last few hours seem to be taking days to get through. Odd how time passes at different rates depending on what’s happening. ;–) I’m starting to think that we’ll finally be reading about the wedding ceremony itself sometime next year. ;–)

You only need to run as far as your horse! ;–)

I think I remember references to Dizzy cooking because his mother didn’t cook well. And I think Dizzy has cooked at Adam’s place too. Couldn’t Artie have learned how to heat up the prepared things that Adam prefers to buy? I can imagine a traditional Southern family would not want a son to spend any time in the kitchen learning to cook… ;–)

There are people who cook all the time but aren’t any good at cooking! ;–)

I only used the terms when I worked retail. It’s kind of expected. And customers get offended by all sorts of other silly things… (That’s when you apologize even when it’s not your fault and you think their complaint is dumb. But you do your best to sound sincere anyway.) ;–)

Artie is reverting to his Texas roots. Things are much less formal in California, especially in the Bay Area. We’re polite, but we don’t go around calling everybody Sir or Ma’am.

I’m either an optimistic pessimist or a pessimistic optimist. ;–)

There is a certain mindset where things are all either right or wrong, black or white, good or bad. They are incapable of seeing shades of gray, much less an entire spectrum of color! There is no compromise with people like that.

One problem many homeless people have is not being able to imagine a path out of homelessness. If my Disability case had failed, I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t know how I would have been able to find a job and housing. There are so many additional barriers that people who are housed do not have to deal with.

I’m much more like Dizzy. I grew up here in California, mostly in San Diego which is much more conservative than the Bay Area. But it's nothing like Texas! Ezra doesn’t realize how brainwashed he was by Adam’s father and the rest of that community. He doesn’t really stop to think about what he’s saying about the man who used to be his best friend. He seems incapable of understanding the situation and refuses to make an attempt to learn how.

One of my homeless shelter Case Managers told me I ‘present well’ in reference to the struggles with my Disability case… ;–)

I’m counting on my neighbors being cannon fodder. He’d have no reason to randomly choose me since I only read the story. I didn’t write it. ;–)

No, with fight/flight/freeze, I just freeze! (Risk Averse.) My depression makes me sleep too much. I usually wake up and read an hour or two, then go back to sleep for a few hours… Psychologically, I’ve got all sorts of issues… ;–)

Based on when this chapter was posted, I’m guessing I’ll be sleeping when the next one drops. Maybe. I should say, I should be sleeping when it happens. ;–)