eRutt

Sometimes younger Americans forget how dangerous it often was in the past to be "out" in America, and how dangerous it still is in many parts of the world. Gay men anywhere have many reasons other than legal or physical danger to want to stay "in the closet." Being openly gay may affect their livelihood, their acceptance in a religion that is important to them, their personal relationships with family or other important persons in their lives. One's sexual orientation or sexual behavior is something that one can manage to hide more easily than one's race, physical disabilities, lack of education or financial means, and other issues that affect one's social interactions.
That being said, staying in the closet can have psychological repercussions, given how important one's sexuality is to a healthy, integrated personality. In my late teens, I had what was loosely called a "nervous breakdown," and my parents sent me to see a counseling psychologist. He gave me the best advice--and surprising advice in those days--which was to always tell the truth to myself about who I was, and to be honest with my loved ones, even if it was hard to do. In other situations, be as honest as you could be pragmatically (this was in the early 1960s, when being homosexually active  was illegal and could get one expelled from school, fired from a job, banned from the military, and even sent to prison). I went home from his office, and told my parents I was "homosexual" (they had no idea what "gay" meant), and to my relief they did not seem openly upset (my mother asked, "How do you know?" which caused me to start laughing and relax). I was already out to a couple of my closest friends, and from then on I was ready to admit my orientation to anyone else who asked. Within a couple more years I had met new friends who were very active in the burgeoning gay rights movement and had joined them in their activities; when a photo appeared in a major newspaper of me taking part in a protest, I gave up any pretense of not being gay.
I do not condemn anyone who stays in the closet for a good reason, though I still would encourage them to be as honest with themselves and as open with others as is possible for them. I agree that those who are stridently homophobic are usually fighting against fear of being perceived as gay by others.
 

I don't like the self-checkout and I don't use it. First, I don't work there. Second, because of the self-checkout, neither does someone else who used to, and I don't like being complicit -even in such a small and indirect way- in someone losing their job in order that a huge chain can make a bigger profit; it's obscene.
I dislike it so much that at least twice that I can recall, when all the checker-staffed lanes were swamped and the self-check lanes were much less busy, I left my groceries-laden cart where it was, walked out, then went to different store. Yes, I can be a Karen-esque bitch when the mood strikes me. I'm not really proud of that behavior, but as Frasier once said of himself, "It's part of the magic that is me."
Another annoyance of grocery shopping in my city is that the store is required by the city government to charge 5-cents for each plastic bag. I understand and agree with the objective of limiting the use of these bags, but not in this manner. In a newspaper article on the program, the city manager reported that it had brought in more revenue than had been projected and that he was very pleased with that result. When I saw the mayor sometime later (in a social setting) I told her the city manager was an idiot. If the objective of the program is to reduce the use of plastic bags, does the manager not realize that a higher than projected income from the program is a sign that the program is not working as effectively as possible to reach the stated goal of reducing usage of plastic bags? If you truly want to reduce usage, simply ban them instead of making their use a revenue stream for the city. Madam Mayor didn't say it words, but her eyes and pursed lips screamed, "What a Karen!"
Damn right, bitch!
End of rant.

In addition to perks, don't overlook the importance of customer service. I use a Barclay's card because a number of the other major card issuers have failed me in inexcusable ways, and Barclay's has provided consistently good service.
One particularly galling example was when I told my card company that i would be traveling in Europe and they nonetheless put a hold on my card. When I tried to follow their instructions and contact them via a collect call, the repeatedly refused the charges. Their excuse? They were "too busy" to take the call!

Mummified and placed in an attractive sarcophagus.

I don't know how close you were to your parents, but from your description it sounds like you are also dealing with the loss of a relationship that may have compensated for your lack of a romantic/sex life (and which may also have inhibited you from having the latter?). It may sound strange coming from someone on a a site about gay escorts, but friends are more important than sex for most people. I agree with those who have suggested seeing a professional therapist (I sound like "Dear Abby" here), but socializing with sympathetic gay men is probably more important than searching for sex partners at this point in your development of a new life.

Another angle not mentioned is how does having your contact information shared necessarily link you to having hired that escort?  I get that if the escort has text exchanges with you or shows a phone log showing multiple phone calls to and from your number, those could be shared and might be damning for some people.  But just because someone has your phone number?  Wouldn't it be easy to just say, "I don't know why my phone number is among a list of 1,000 people on someone's phone," and leave it at that? 

There are a few areas I've been confused about this:
The date for this has been known for a LOOOONG time.  The deadline has been pushed already multiple times.  Why has this not been a higher priority for federal officials before now?  If this has been felt to be a problem, they should have been resolving this way before hand.  Specifically before the spectrum was released to the carriers.  The FAA literally will kill other activities from even being talked about but did not object until after the release of the spectrum?  Something is screwed up here.   I have not seen anywhere from the FAA or the airlines that clearly outline what they feel the problem is other than "it could be catastrophic".  Spell out exactly what the concern is.   Why is this a problem only within the US and not overseas where the 5G roll out has been happening long before this.   What exactly is the FAA/airlines asking for?  Originally I recall reading they needed a few extra days/weeks to wrap up some extra checks.  They need to clearly articulate a plan to resolving the issue.  If they cannot do this, there should be a TON of people at the FAA fired for incompetence. Why are people from the FAA not literally locked a room with people from the carriers to figure this out with no one leaving the room till a game plan is worked out and agreed to from both sides.  
In a nutshell... spell out the damned who, what, where, when, why, and how.  Quit making excuses and figure it out.  
 

Wow - I had the complete opposite reaction to La Sagrada Familia.  For me it was like stepping into a fantasy novel, and the colours cast on the walls by the stained glass windows seemed otherworldly to me.  

And once the Pfizer vaccine gets full approval this coming week a lot more companies should, and I think will, start requiring them. 

yes they can and they should.
The Long History of Mandated Vaccines in the United States (governing.com)

Here’s to inanity! 🥂😁

Sorry...WHAT?

There was actually NOTHING hilarious about the guy or the situation he put OTHER passengers in....  Lock the motherfucker UP !    More fucking WHITE privilege on FULL display. .

My takeaway is "wear your sunscreen".

My takeaway is "wear your sunscreen".

The militant left is just as bad as the far right. They feed off of each other.
When I look at the police photo associated with the attached article I see like 90% people of color and women. And the super woke crowd can't even be happy about that! You just can't please them. They need and thrive off of controversy and aggression. And as you can read, they will just as happily violate democratic norms and choice as will hard core conservatives. I say a pox on both ends of the spectrum.
This year's parade now has so much negative energy associated with it it should be cancelled and revisited next year after they get their shit together with a whole new executive committee. 

For the last several weeks I have come to this site expecting this news and was then relieved when it was not here. I was just heading to bed and decided I would check again, just to be sure. Unfortunately, this time, my expectation was met
I hope that in his life, he had a sense of the important role he played in the life of many of the men of this site.
I had the opportunity to meet him at the Palm Springs Party and found him to be a caring man but to me, he was more than a bit sad. It my sincere hope that he found joy in his life, satisfaction in his work and companionship in times of need. I also hope that in his passing he will be remembered as a hard working and dedicated individual who held this site together and who, as a result of that, held us together.
It seems that we will all soon need to move on with our lives without the comfort and joy this site brings. When we miss this site, we should also take time to consider and thank the man who worked so diligently to bring it to us.

Herb Caen, the late-lamented San Francisco Chronicle columnist, used to regularly feature "namephreaks"--people with names peculiarly matched or mismatched to their occupation. I wish I could remember them because many were hilarious but thankfully Wikipedia documents a few: Substitute teacher Mr. Fillin, hospital spokesman Pam Talkington, periodontist Dr. Rott, piano teacher Patience Scales, orthopedic specialist Dr. Kneebone, and the Vatican's spokesman on the evils of rock 'n roll, Cardinal Rapsong.

Herb Caen, the late-lamented San Francisco Chronicle columnist, used to regularly feature "namephreaks"--people with names peculiarly matched or mismatched to their occupation. I wish I could remember them because many were hilarious but thankfully Wikipedia documents a few: Substitute teacher Mr. Fillin, hospital spokesman Pam Talkington, periodontist Dr. Rott, piano teacher Patience Scales, orthopedic specialist Dr. Kneebone, and the Vatican's spokesman on the evils of rock 'n roll, Cardinal Rapsong.

Herb Caen, the late-lamented San Francisco Chronicle columnist, used to regularly feature "namephreaks"--people with names peculiarly matched or mismatched to their occupation. I wish I could remember them because many were hilarious but thankfully Wikipedia documents a few: Substitute teacher Mr. Fillin, hospital spokesman Pam Talkington, periodontist Dr. Rott, piano teacher Patience Scales, orthopedic specialist Dr. Kneebone, and the Vatican's spokesman on the evils of rock 'n roll, Cardinal Rapsong.