Merkin

So sad. Mike encouraged me as a writer just as our Awesome Dude showed me the way. I have relied on him and on this site for over twenty years now, and I am left with a huge hole in my heart. James

As a kid growing up in Pennsylvania I was surrounded by locales with names that would make any fifth-grader dissolve in laughter to the dismay of our teachers. Pennsylvania still has townships with names like Blue Ball, Bird-In-Hand, and Intercourse. The latter was guaranteed to create havoc for at least ten minutes in any classroom. We weren’t yet worldly enough to recognize the rich lode of foreign place names like Bangkok.

I suspect we who are reading this are all the children of war. That is to say, my father went off into World War II when I was nearly four years old, and when he returned I was in school, seven going on eight, and we hardly knew one another. He returned depressed and melancholy, this man who I barely remembered as laughing and loving. He never spoke of the war, and he never became a father to me, wrapped up as he was mired in his own memories. Until he died, in the 1960s, we hardly spoke to one another.

We did have fun with that, didn't we Bruin. Largely because so many AD writers pitched in, and kept up a lively conversation in and around the posted episodes. It was a collaboration filled with good will.

A new Cole Parker story “With A Little Help From Zeus” over on IoMfAtS (on our Links page) responding to a picture challenge. I knew all along that Cole was all wet. Have a look and give him a vote!

I especially remember the short shorts worn by French boys in the 1960s.

Your 'usual fare' Cole is so varied and inspired I cannot imagine any new fare from you not sitting well. And stay away from my butt in future remarks, if you please.

Working on getting my eyes fixed. Reading with difficulty. Writing a no-go. Thinking of hiring a lithesome boy secretary with strong spelling skills to help with dangling participles.

A fitting ending indeed to “Jack in the Box”, made all the more moving thanks to the personal note now appended to Chapter 59, explaining a lot about how this tale grew by stumbles and starts and sheer determination. “Jack in the Box” demonstrates once again that Driver is right up there among the best of our online writers in describing the human condition with sympathy and understanding.

Bummer. I barely remember anything.

Rory's nickname should be 'Slick'.

Yeah, balderdash.

Stephen Fry speaks so rapidly he cannot be understood by Americans. He wrote a brilliant book entitled The Ode Less Travelled in which he explains everything you will ever need to know about poetic forms. Thankfully you can read it at your own pace, not his.

Based on your reviews, Root, I plan to look for the Philo Vance series. Thanks for taking the effort to alert us to these musty mysteries.

Chapter Nine. ‘What a piece of work is Man…’ Hamlet. I thought Cary was going to be the challenge, but Rory has certainly captured my attention: “I learned from dealing with my father not to show emotions. Once you’ve started doing that, you get in the habit and it’s hard to change”.

YESS!

Over on IOMfAtS the latest chapter 10 of Making Nico , by cm, deals with discovering, diagnosing, and treatment for testicular cancer. It is completely authentic in its presentation and can be read as a stand-alone narrative without having to read the previous chapters. This is an extremely important bit of information for all of us and knowing how to practice regular self-examination may save a few lives. Please have a look.https://iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/c-m/making-nico/10.html

Much about WWII still needs to emerge from behind the myths and legends.

Thank you, John, for keeping us informed, and for all you do to maintain the site.

Well put, Nigel. I'm getting that too, plus realizing that Rory is the ultimate catch. He's gotta have a flaw somewhere!

I quote the last graph of Cole's fine story: 'What happened with James? Nothing. Well, not really nothing. He stayed on the team. None of us cared if he was gay. Well, that wasn’t true, either. I cared. But that’s a story for another time.' That sure looks like a commitment to me.

So nice to be brought up-to-date on young Cormac. He’s had quite a career since he was named Chorister of the Year in 2021. Now we must hope he will make it through his gawky years with a voice that will mature successfully. BTW when will some designer come up with a dress shirt that can be unbuttoned and worn under a jacket with some élan?

It's been a while since I tried to watch "Vera" but she kept putting me off because she was/is so unlikable. I felt most sorry for her sergeant, whose family life was constantly being thrown under the bus by Vera's incessant need for hand-holding.

More and more Americans identify as LGBTQ The percent of U.S. adults who identify as something other than heterosexual has doubled over the last 10 years, from 3.5 percent in 2012 to 7.1 percent, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday. Even more striking is the differences among our “generations”: more than 1 in 5, or 21 percent, of Generation Z adults identify as LGBTQ, Gallup found. That’s almost double the proportion of millennials, who are 26 to 41, at 10.5 percent, and nearly five times the proportion of Generation X, who are 42 to 57, at 4.2 percent. Less than 3 percent of baby boomers, who are 58 to 76, identify as LGBTQ, compared to just 0.8 percent of traditionalists, who are 77 or older. If younger Americans continue to come out at increasing rates, Gallup predicts the proportion of adults who identify as LGBTQ will exceed 10 percent in the near future (from NBC News). https://news.gallup.com/poll/470708/lgbt-identification-steady.aspx

Hooray for you, Jason. This is an enormously inspiring, heart-gladdening account of a man who has faced his demons and is winning his life back to where he wants to be. You have my very best wishes. James Merkin