WilliamM

I agree. I have been to many other places, but not Scotland. Perhaps I can explain it as being one of the last grandchildren on both sides of the family, so by then they had told all the stories about Scotland so many times already. Also, I was five when my last grandparent died (grandmother, at age 82). I did have many aunts and uncles who went to at least a year of school in Scotland though. Thanks. Marylander -- very good advice. William

My four grandparents were born in Scotland. Sometimes I wish they had not migrated to the U.S. This is one of those time.

http://www.boyculture.com/.a/6a00d8341c2ca253ef017d3f55cd04970c-550wi Anything with 1980s porn star John Davonport, esspecially if Mike Hensen & Kevin Williams are also near by as in "Big Guns." I never pay much attention to the plot anyway. I believe John Waters agrees.

As of this moment, Stonewall has a rating of 07% favorable from movie critics. You likely could not get a rating that low even if you tried hard.

Unicorn, do you plan your vacations yourself. I do. I spend my time deciding what countries I want to visit, visa requirements, if any, and booking hotels and travel plans within countries and from country to country. Everyone prepares for a trip differently. I am terrible at foreign languages, so I give you a huge amount of credit for learning more than just a little of the language of the places you are visiting. It would be like having an appointment with a dentist for weeks at a time for me.

My favorite teacher was my sixth grade teacher. A few years ago I found out she was in an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts. I decided to visit, but it was a very tough decision because we had no contact in 50 years. I was lucky, she did remember me immediately, perhaps because I was in her last class before becoming a principal. As I was leaving, many of the staff asked what she was like as a teacher; they all knew her only as a principal whom they very much disliked. They were very surprised when I said what a great teacher she was. I did understand because she could occasionally be very hard on students, especially those whom she believe could do better work. And she never afraid to say exactly what she thought. She was a very good teacher, especially in math and English because she came up with ways to make things like the multiplacation table into a contest. And she gave students tasks that were difficult, but some how she know they would succeed (even if they did not). That visit was something I will never forget.

My best friend had the same experience with Latin, so it must have been my teacher. Thanks for continuing the discussion, Gman. I have not thought about my high school Latin teacher in depth for many years. She also taught a freshman algebra class and failed most of the students.

It was not necessarily her teacher. I took Latin in the eight grade and as a freshman in high school. I can not speak French after five years in high school and college, but I can read French to some extent with a dictionary. And did extensive research in French in graduate school. I do not attribute any of it to my Latin classes -- in fact the opposite. To be fair to you, Gman, I lked Franch far more than Latin.

Yes, I understand that happening in 1989 because the area around the Gare du Nord is very French, including the train statition. Gman, that very likely would not happen now, except in areas where tourists never visit.

I agree completely. I have spent time in France a lot in the last 15 years: 2001, 2005, 2010, 2014. In the summer of 2005, I found an amateur tennis tournament in the Luxembourg Gardens. I watched several games, and then wandered away. When I came back, one of the matches was over. I asked the cutest player, "Did you win?" forgetting for a minute that I was in France. He laughed and we had a great conversation in English. He invited me back to see his next few matches and meet his family. It does depend in how they are approached. I had a smile on my face when I asked "Did you win?" Yes, I did occcasionally meet people who insisted on speaking French, but very few compared to my firest visit in 1973.

I agree with most of your comments. The only foreign language I know is French, and the words & grammar more than the ability to speak French. Many visits to France and other French-speaking countries in the last 45 years have not been long enough to improve much. You may have an ability to learn languages that I lack, Unicorn. I do not regret taking five years of French in high school and college, but it has been frustrating since. My first cousin has lived and worked in France for the last 12 years. She still says that by the end of the day, she is exhausted from speaking French all day. So maybe it's family thing -- not good at foreign languages. Finally, most people in Europe speak at least some English, most under 40 are fluent. Even in the former Yugoslavia, I had no problem. Russia, on the other hand, is very difficult unless you find some students to help.

My experience has an o.k. ending. In 2011, I spent most of August in Stockholm, where (90%) of the population speaks English. I remember particularly meeting some working class guys who were drinking beer in a public park in Stockholm on a Saturday. They love Sweden, including the cradle-to-grave welfare system and eagerly asked about NYC and LA, while handing me beer after beer. One odd incident: Swedes put on winter clothing on Sept. 1 regardless of the weather. I tried a blanket, and, of course, looked ridiculous with sweat on my face and the rest of me.

I love Australia and have made three long visits. It always takes me a small amount of time to get used to the accent, but it's usually very easy. Except once that is on a bus in Sydney, on my first day. I could not understand a word. I finally introduced myself to the two guys, somewhere in their 20s, who were sitting next to me. It turned out they were from Sweden and speaking in their native language. Of course, they also spoke English. I was a dumb American!

I am always surprised that for some gay men "Golden Girls" is more popular than "I Love Lucy." Whatever you may think of the real Lucy as a person, it's difficult to say that Lucille Ball was not extremely talented, as reflected in the TV show.

I attented many rock concerts in the 1970s: Bob Dylan & The Band, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Janis Joplin, James Taylor & Carole King, Jackson Browne, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan and his own band, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Joan Baez, many Bruce Springsteen concerts: outdoors; very small venues; arenas, The Talking Heads, Patti Smith. Also many jazz and pop concerts. I have to go by albums, not songs: Smith's "Horses," Springsteen's "Born to Run" and Dylan's "Desire."

Thomas Roberts has been a regular on "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. Recently he was given his own two-hour show on MSNBC in the afternoon. He's better off away from "Morning Joe," because the show has too many talking heads already. I wish him the best. He comes across as a really smart, nice guy on TV.

John Kerr also starred in the play on Broadway, which may explain why he's way too old in the film. I watched it again recently on Turner Classic Movie; it's really dated now. Now you could not play up a gay plot, and suddenly change gears near the end. I should read the play to understand if the ending was changed for Hollywood. "Tea and Sympathy" is available to purchase at Amazon. I suggest we both read the play instead, although I totally agree about John Kerr in the film version of "South Pacific."

In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades, I always seemed to pick the best looking kid in my class as a friend. True, one student became a real friend, nick named Bimbo (not kidding). But, I did not understand it. And then I saw the film "Tea and Sympathy" on TV, and totally understood from then on. Hey, how many nine-year olds would watch that film for more than 10 minutes?

Also, Kristian is a nice guy, not a clock watcher and damn good singer.

None of the awards are for his escort skills, or did I miss something.

No, you did not offend me in any way, Fresh Fluff. Absolutely not! I did not have your courage when I thought I might have lung cancer (after a scan). After reading your comments, I wish I had told more people. Even I had been offended, I care about you too much to even think about it, now or later.

I had a lung cancer scare eighteen months ago. The worse thing I did was look at every medical site on the Internet. Then I got a second and third opinion from pulminary specialists. They dismissed lung cancer, and I have been fine ever since. Please see a doctor and a specialist as soon as you possibly can, Fresh Fluff. You have a huge amount of courage to post on this site, or any site, about a possible medical problem!

Chris, I am very surprised that the Bailey review is not getting more attention. He apparently stole $500 from the client's wallet.

Read Bailey's review. He's listed as a Philadelphia escort, with two review both horrific. The most recent review involves stealing for a client's wallet.

I was awful because I worked in a supermarket in high school and college. Back then, supermarket workers belonged to a union -- so the pay was good and management would not have been able to get away with Whole Foods' policies.