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Merkin

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Posts posted by Merkin

  1. I confess I was a pump jockey for a short summer back in the 1950s and I benefited both by learning my way around cars and also by making a lot of adult friends whose cars I serviced in my small home town.  Today, here in Virginia, our city has a few stations with two rows of pumps, one for self-serve and the other full-serve.  I've found that it's a good idea to do full-serve every now and then; the local proprietors come to recognize you and take you and your car under their wing, pointing out the potential for service issues before they become big problems.  An old geezer like me appreciates that.

  2. A Canterbury Tale is a great choice to kick-off this new series, Mike.  Free Thinker was among a handful of other excellent writers who introduced me to the possibility that there could be quality gay fiction published online, and I am so pleased that he is willing to revisit for us what was already a wonderful story,
     

  3. After a long delay, Driver has added a new chapter to "Jack in the Box" and the impression I get from it is that we are getting close to the end of this saga.  That's always a dangerous assumption with any of Driver's stories, and if you are a fan of his work you already know that he is knitting a universe of interrelated titles.  So if your preference for online reading is to wait until a story posts its final chapter you may have a long wait indeed, but for those readers who enjoy catching up on Driver's insights and thoughts on the human condition this is a rare opportunity.
    http://www.storiesbydriver.net/

  4. I just want to say how much I am enjoying “Living With Johnny” by Nigel.  Not only is it filled with great characters, each one unique and each compelling the reader to get involved in his or her particular issues and difficulties, but the story is also constructed around multiple plot lines, intertwined so skillfully our attention is constantly challenged.  At present there are so many balls in the air I am quite dizzy.  I fully expect the main character to crack from the pressure of the responsibilities he has taken onto himself to ensure a safe and secure outcome not only for his own family but also for the young gay men he has taken into his care.
     
    And, not least, I am learning an extraordinary amount.  This story is built up from carefully vetted facts about many of the elements of contemporary English life that could completely baffle an overseas reader. Ordinarily most storytelling on both sides of our pond assumes that readers along for the ride somehow possess basic knowledge of even the most arcane practices and customs, and these matters tend to hum along just below the surface of many stories with nary a nod toward a reader’s possible confusion and misunderstanding.  However, Nigel takes the time to explain, whether it is the challenges of surviving as a free-lance technical writer, or the requirements surrounding home sales and purchases, or the film industry, or Jewish dietary practices, or boat design and boatbuilding, or the peculiar regulations affecting English historical sites and listed buildings.  I feel I am getting quite an education.

  5. Ha ha thanks, Pedro.  I've enjoyed that before, but it fits the situation!
    The senate seats run-off in Georgia allows for renewed campaigning there and the Democrats have a mighty draw now.
    Mitch McConnell may also twig to the fact that if he wants to continue to suck up to the Executive branch and enjoy tea in the Oval Office there is a new sheriff in town.

  6. Very inspiring.  I've always admired the flugelhorn, but they barely exist here in the States.  I was a trumpet player:  on the first day of seventh grade a trumpet was shoved into my hands by our junior high school music director as he said "Here, this is your instrument."   "No, no, no!" I protested, but to no avail.  My dreams of becoming a drummer like Gene Krupa were derailed and I wheezed and puffed and generated a lot of spit throughout my school career with an instrument I worked hard to tolerate and never mastered. 
     

  7. Nigel, much of the eggnog sold in grocery stores here is flavored with fake rum flavoring, since most everybody is aware that true eggnog is booze-based.  A lot of that store-bought eggnog is topped up with spirits once it arrives in the home.

     

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