Charlie

Thomas Jefferson was opposed to a standing army, because he thought that a republic could always count on its citizens to rise up and join voluntary militias to defend themselves against foreign enemies. He tried to cut off support for the army academy at West Point and any support for a navy. (He also insisted that any money appropriated by Congress for naval vessels should be spent on ones he designed himself, which turned out to be worthless in combat, as the naval professionals had predicted.) When the British declared war in 1812, the country was caught unprepared, and Madison found himself a Commander in Chief with almost no organized military to command. It was mainly luck and the British distraction by Napoleon in Europe that enabled the US to avoid being defeated by the British and potentially absorbed back into British North America. Believing in the possibility of non-involvement with the rest of the world was unrealistic then, and it is no more reasonable now.

No one has mentioned the Triangle (Durham/ Raleigh/ Chapel Hill) in North Carolina, which is probably one of the most liberal areas in the South. One of the most active early members of this site retired there around 2005 and declared himself so happy there that he stopped posting. There also seem to be a number of active escorts there. If hiring escorts regularly is important to you, you should probably check out sites like rent.men to see what the market is like in the places that you are considering. Places like Iowa City usually can't support a variety of escorts, so you will have to either travel to where the escorts are, or import them (at your expense) to you.

My first recommendation would be Philadelphia; of really big cities, it is probably the cheapest to live in (that doesn't mean that someone coming from the South would consider it cheap, however). Twenty years ago I would have said Portland, but housing cost there is rising fast. A favorite of mine is Salt Lake City, but the air pollution there is becoming a problem. Someplace inexpensive and very gay friendly, in a low key way, is Albuquerque.

BTW, he bears a very strong resemblance to a retired Serbian soccer player of the same name.

One of his hashtags is #WaterSports. Given his handle, I wonder if he knows what that means on rent.men.

Oh...I thought from the title that this was going to be about bidding in Bridge.

This is a subject that has never swum into my ken before the appearance of this thread. I never took typing in high school--no male in my class did that. When I did start typing papers in college, I was a hunt-and-peck typist, and I still am (which is why there are often several more posts before I have finished trying to add my own). It never occurred to me that there might be some rule about how many spaces to leave after a period. When I had an important paper to submit, I gave it to a professional to type for me. I didn't start typing regularly until email came along, and I still have no idea how to text. (I have just been notified that four messages have appeared since I started writing this.)

The "Dr. Dolittle" series of books. Also The Wind in the Willows.

My mother also used to make her own bread & butter pickles, as well as mustard pickle. We always had jars of them stored in the basement. I have never eaten the commercial variety (if they exist).

OMG, I thought I was the only one (pickle juice drinker, that is)! I like dill pickles, and I save the juice when I finish a bottle of them, because someone told me the juice is good for preventing muscle cramps. I didn't really believe her, but it was a good excuse for having the juice in the refrigerator if someone questioned me.

I stayed in Death Valley once. We rented a cabin in Furnace Creek, and I got some terrible spider bites during the night.

I have fed my last two dogs Hills Science Diet, because my vet recommends it, and they have been very healthy and happy. However, I am no expert on nutrition. I also give them Old Mother Hubbard dog treats, which I found a few years ago when I was trying to avoid dog food made in China, and my dogs love them.

My list is on several sheets of paper, because I started it before personal computers were invented.

+1

In fact, that is exactly the analogy that I think of when I open my front door to go out. My dog is eager to go out until I open the door, and then he cringes. Yesterday it was too hot for his feet, so I had to carry him to a grassy spot in the shade to do his business, then carry him home again.

Every summer we drive from Palm Springs up to visit a friend who lives on the northern Oregon coast, but I can never plan the route until just before we leave, because I have to see which roads in California are closed by wildfires that week.

Each appointment was $100.

But the farther east you go in the Coachella Valley, the straighter it becomes.

1983: "Burt"--NYC; young, handsome, beautiful body, but bland and disengaged 1984: "Clete"--NYC; still young and attractive, but when I realize I have hired him before and try to back out, he denies having met, becomes belligerent and threatens physical harm unless I go through with it; the sex is much more exciting than the first time 1986: "Brett"--SF; much more muscular than before; when he opens the door, neither of us acknowledges the previous meetings in NYC; the sex is fantastic 1989: "Rake"--NYC; even more muscular; at the end of the appt, we both finally admit that we remember one another from before; the sex is just OK 1990: "Rhett"--NYC; by now, I feel sure it's going to be the same guy, but there are no other good options; he is friendly on arrival, but so bulked up that I no longer find him very attractive; sex is boring Of course, all these episodes took place back in the pre-Internet days when I hired from print ads with no photos, and made the appts by phone.

Yes. It was back in the pre-Internet days, when I hired from print ads with no photos. The first time I hired him in NYC in 1983, he made little impression, because although he was young, good-looking and had a beautiful body, he was bland and disengaged. More than a year later, he had a different ad with a different name, and when I arrived at his place, I recognized both it and him. I told him about the previous meeting, but he denied that he was the same guy and threatened to beat me up (he was an impressive physical specimen) if I didn't go through with the appointment, so I acquiesced, and it was actually more exciting sex than the first time. A couple of years later, while visiting SF, I answered an ad with another name, and when the door opened, there he was again. He was even more muscular than before. This time neither of us gave any indication that we recognized one another, and the sex was fantastic. Three years later, back in NYC, a fourth ad with yet another name. This time the sex wasn't as good, but at the end we both admitted that we recognized one another from the previous meetings. Almost two years later, in NYC, another ad with another name, and this time I felt certain it would be him again, but there were no other interesting options, so I called and made an appt. When he arrived, we both acknowledged our history in a friendly manner. However, by then he had bulked up so much that I no longer found him that attractive, and the sex was not satisfying. After that, whenever I thought there was any possibility that an ad would be his, I avoided him.

There are plenty of places in the the world to go for gay scenes. The best thing about Palm Springs is the half of the population that is straight. You don't have to go to a specifically gay neighborhood to feel at home, because no one cares very much whether you are gay or straight. You just blend in, regardless of your sexual orientation.

I have never used it. If I want to ignore someone's post for some reason, I just don't read it. But tomorrow I may want to read a different post by that person.

My digital weather station yesterday afternoon briefly registered a temperature of 123 in my back yard. But it was a dry heat (12% humidity), so of course it didn't bother me at all .

No, I don't remember the name of the dealership. It was somewhere in Nassau County, NY, not in CT.

"I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinski." Bill Clinton (and he was a lawyer)