Charlie

Herbert Hoover imposed tariffs at the beginning of the Great Depression. We know how that turned out.

I have never even thought of wearing a t-shirt when I go into water. It makes it look you are trying to hide something unpleasant.

Ummm...how often do you manage to get that kink satisfied?

I believe the usual quote attributed to Yogi Berra is, "It ain't over till it's over."

How could you doubt that is a photo of a portrait of me?

No, I don't care, but the pundits are salivating over this possibility. I think it is more interesting that Mensik is young enough to be Novak's son.

I think it must have been confusing for the kids when they had to explain their family structure to friends, especially after their mother remarried: they had a mother, a father, and two stepfathers, all at the same time, and sometimes all together in the same place on a holiday.

I have never discussed with my brother-in-law's husband his sexual interests and activities when he was married to a woman. I do know that after his marriage ended, he did sleep with other men before he married my brother-in-law, so he may have simply been a closeted gay man when he was married and fathered his two children. He and his ex-wife maintained a good relationship after they divorced, and my brother-in-law helped to raise his children.

One of my late husband's brothers is happily married to a formerly bi-man with grown children and grandchildren. We are one big family.

How could "Boyfriend Experience" not include kissing?

The front page of today's Los Angeles Times has an article about violent attacks on Tesla dealerships all over the country, as well as on Tesla charging stations and even individual cars. That certainly will discourage many people from buying the vehicles, and drive down the value of the stock.

Everything about the site was different when I checked in yesterday in mid-morning. The opening page had a huge image of my ID photo and the print was small and blue against a blue-gray background, very hard to read.

Jimmy Carter left the Georgia statehouse fifty years ago. He looks pretty good for a 90 year old.

When I tried to log in a few hours ago, I saw a totally changed site that I found very hard to read and navigate. When I logged in again just now, I see the old familiar site. It's a puzzlement.

I am confused--there is nothing in his ad about being in Palm Springs or traveling to Palm Springs.

When you saw Leo, was it at his place? Alberto's ad gives his actual location, while Leo's "map me" function just goes to the default location shown for those who do not specify their address in their ad. If you saw Leo at Alberto's location, they are either the same person, or they just look a lot alike.

Is this thread about guys from Columbia University, or from Colombia?

If you don't speak the local language, it is important not to move someplace where you don't already have friends or contacts through whom you will meet and be accepted by local inhabitants.That is especially important if you are already elderly. I have mentioned here before an English friend of mine who retired to Portugal because he had visited as a tourist and enjoyed himself, and thought it would be cheaper to live there than in England. He would call me from there, and I could tell that he was almost weeping because he felt so lonely and isolated in a culture with which he had no natural connection. When I went to live in London as a young man, I had no problem because I was fluent in the language and culture, and could easily make new friends. When I went to live in the Czech Republic in middle age, I already had a job arranged there teaching English, so I knew I would be welcomed and would have a built-in social structure, even though I didn't speak much Czech. Rod's point about researching local medical care is also important, especially if you have existing medical issues. When I worked in the CR, I had a number of students who were medical professionals, and discovered that the government had much more control of all medical care than we are accustomed to in the US.

I haven't done any vacation travel since before COVID, but over the past holidays I drove to Texas to visit family, and stayed each night at motels along the route. I was stunned at the price increases at motels that offered nothing but a basic room to sleep in--e.g., $269 for one night at a Holiday Inn Express in Casa Grande, AZ!! I remember when I could buy a roundtrip air ticket from NY to Europe for that amount.

If you were a middle-aged man when I was 21, you would be dead long before now.🤣

Male body hair seems to be a pretty regular turn-on or turn-off for most gay men. I suspect it often determines whether one is turned on by twinks or daddies, and a book could be written (and probably has been) on the reasons for that dynamic.

Nose rings and other facial jewelry.

BTW, on RentMen there is a "map me" function where the advertiser can show exactly where he is located, but many providers don't activate it. Therefore, on their ads the "map me" simply shows a default location in the city where they are advertising. In Philadelphia, the spot always circled on the map is City Hall courtyard, which I suppose is a bow to ancient gay history.

Don't worry--you can send me the airfare to come to visit regularly.

True confession: when I was a 21 year old graduate school student with very little money, I discovered that rentboys hung around in Philadelphia City Hall courtyard. (The Internet, personal computers and smart phones hadn't been invented yet.) I decided to try my luck selling my wares there, too. I dressed in what I thought showed off my best qualities without being outrageously obvious, and went there to hang out. After twenty minutes of lounging on a bench and giving questioning looks to every male who glanced at me, an older man sat down next to me and started a conversation. After a few minutes, he asked how much I charged. It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what the going rates were, so I said what sounded like a reasonable rate to me, not too much and not too little: $30. He seemed to think that was OK, so he said he lived in West Philly, and he suggested we go to his place. When we got there, he told me to get undressed. I was surprised, because I thought that rentboys never did anything but get their cocks sucked, but I did as he said. Then he got undressed, too, and there was nothing about him that aroused me sexually. He grabbed me and kissed me, and then offered his ass to me, but I couldn't get hard, so he started to suck it. I closed my eyes, and my cock immediately came to life as I fantasized that I was somewhere else with someone else, and shot in his mouth, which surprised him. He was obviously disappointed, since I didn't lose any time getting dressed again. After a very perfunctory conversation, he shoved a couple of bills in my hand and showed me the door. When I was a little way down the street, I took the bills out of my pocket, and they were two tens. I didn't blame him. That experience was what taught me that I was not suitable for the profession of sexual provider.