Charlie

I was watching the match until just before the incident, and Djokovic was very frustrated, because he missed some shots, and then stumbled trying to get a shot and fell heavily on his left arm, wincing so noticeably from the pain that he had to stop and get a medical time out. When they continued the game, his lost his serve. He wasn't trying to hit the line judge--he wasn't even looking in her direction--he just smacked the ball in exasperation, and was obviously shocked that it hit her. If the trajectory had been a few inches different, he probably wouldn't even have received a warning. But the rule says that if a ball not in play is hit by the player with disregard for the result, and it hits someone, the player gets defaulted, regardless of the player's intent. It's not the first time I have watched it happen: Shapovalov hit a ball in anger during a Davis Cup match a few years ago, and it hit the umpire in the eye; Nalbandian hit a ball that hit a wooden surround at a linesman's chair, the wood broke and spiked the linesman's leg. In both cases, the result was unintentional, but each player was defaulted from the tournament. If Djokovic hadn't been defaulted, it would have been assumed that he was getting special treatment because of his status, which would send a very bad message. But it does result in an earthquake in men's tennis. Someone is going to win his first major (slam) title, and the possibilities are intriguing. I watched Tsitsipas, who was one of the favorites, lose his five-setter to Coric the night before and react rather casually to the ending; I am sure he was banging his head against the wall yesterday at the realization of the lost opportunity. I doubt that it will be Pospisil, even though like BSR I have always rooted for him.

I, too, keep a mask in each car, just in case I forget to bring one or find myself in a situation where I didn't expect to need one, but do. I also always have one in my pants' pocket, even when I am just taking the dog out to do his business near the house, because one never knows when a neighbor may suddenly appear.

Perhaps one "hosts" a cat, but a dog is more like a child.

In Palm Springs, wearing masks on the street in the downtown near a commercial activity is required, but I haven't been downtown since it was mandated, so I don't know how many people do it. In our gated residential community, we have been told to wear a mask whenever we are outside in common areas. I always have a mask ready to put on if I encounter another resident, but I don't see any reason to wear one if there is no one else around. If it is OK to not wear a mask while eating at an outdoor restaurant, I don't see why it should be necessary when walking on a street when there is no one around. A few people here have mentioned how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask outdoors when it is very hot, and I have certainly found that to be true, which is why I only wear one outdoors if I am interacting with other people, masked or not. However, Unicorn, if the young woman on the trail didn't know you, why should she assume you were telling her the truth, considering how many people offer questionable information ?

On the other hand, he may be overstating his height, which is not exactly unknown in these ads.

I am basically a dog person, but the only cat I ever housed (one does not own a cat) was the pet I had the longest--14 years. He was a black Persian, and the most laid back personality I have ever seen in an animal. Dogs usually demand more attention than cats, and sometimes I feel like my life is controlled by my dog's scheduled needs, whereas my cat never needed anything except to be fed and have his litter box cleaned. A well-trained dog is great when one lives in a relatively dry, temperate climate, but when I have a dog who needs to be walked at 10pm in a snowstorm or at noon when the temperature is 120, I remember how much easier it is to have a cat. However, when I want to snuggle or be comforted, I would much rather have a dog.

I went to the bars in the Village when I was 18, because that was the legal drinking age in NY in those days. I liked the dance bars, like the Fawn and the Cherry Lane. I became friendly there with a cute little chorus boy, who took me home to meet his parents in the Bronx, where I was shocked to discover that he was 37.

The change in the attitude of the general society and the relaxing of laws against homosexual activity have a lot to do with the loss of a need for exclusive refuges, but the other side of the equation is the change in the demographics of the gay population. The generations that provided the clientele for the bars, young and middle-aged Boomers and pre-Boomers, are dying off or have aged out of the kind of cruising for sex that the bars were designed to facilitate. Local bars can't survive financially on a small number of older men who just drop in during the evening for a few drinks and some nostalgic socializing. Bars have a better chance of hanging on if they are located in tourist destinations, where there is more likely to be a mix of strangers of all ages.

I thought from your title that he was in Bergen County, but he's in North Bergen, in Hudson County.

The moderators have an unenviable job trying to deal with ambiguous material. I have been here forever, and I thought I understood the rules clearly, yet I got the same warning when, in a thread about personal experiences, I told a story about something sexual that happened to me when I was seventeen. Now when I describe something connected to my wild youth, I simply don't mention my age at the time.

Congratulations on your unretirement!

I guess his lesson really didn't make much impression on you, because it was Joseph Smith who founded the Mormons. (John Smith was saved by Pocahontas.)

"Cowboy" is the character in Boys in the Band who is brought to the party as a birthday gift.

I recently read a history of the Vikings, which led me to The Birth of the West by Paul Collins, about the historical importance of the 10th century, in which the simultaneous pressures of both the Vikings from the north and the Muslims from the south were critical in the creation of what became a recognizable western European civilization.

He wasn't called "Cowboy," was he?

I just learned that there were no honeybees west of the Rocky Mountains until early pioneers brought hives with them over the Oregon Trail.

My avatar is the formal portrait that was made when I was raised to the rank of earl.

When we moved to Palm Springs, we inherited the pool man used by the former owners of the house. He was in his early 40s, very handsome and built, but he never took off his shirt, because he was straight, and he said some of his customers made him uncomfortable by sitting and obviously staring at him as he worked. He worked for us for 13 years, and he looked as good in his 50s as he had when we moved in.

Given how hot it was, or how hot you were?

Thanks for that line! I think I will use it if anyone ever asks me directly (because it's true).

All three of our houses in Center City had flat roofs. All of them had water problems, regardless of whether they were built in the 1980s or the 1880s.

Our last two houses had flat roofs. The one in Philadelphia was a three story town house, and we hated it: there is nothing like climbing up onto the roof in the middle of the night during a blizzard to try to shovel snow off it, so that the bottom layer doesn't turn to ice from the heat of the house below, and later melt and find its way into the house. OTOH, the one in Palm Springs, a mid-century modern one story, was no problem at all, even on the rare occasions when it rained.

I never discuss anything specific about my sexual activity except with all you fellow sluts here. However, I have been open about my sexual orientation, with family, friends, co-workers, etc., since the mid-1960s.

I suspect it is Tagalog, but that is just a guess.

It's hard to let go of a really good photo just because it's old, but there is one escort on Rentmen whose opening photo is the same one he was using on Rentboy when I hired him 15 years ago. It wasn't fake then, but it has to be somewhat misleading now.