Lance’s flashback this chapter involves magazines.
Read Hi, I'm Lance, Meeting No. 50 [Chap. 22] here.
I’m old enough to remember a time when information — and images
— were not instantaneous. Prior to the internet, young gay men exploring
feelings that were materializing didn’t really have a lot of options. Sneaking
into an adult store was just too scary.
Convenience stores had magazine racks with some adult
content. Triple X material wasn’t available at every corner but finding
something like Playboy was easy enough. Nudity was there. Ironically, as
my teen years were bringing about desires within me to see other men, it was
those magazines that really brought it to fruition. I would have been mortified
to step up to the counter with a copy of Playgirl. Way back then, a
person would have been instantly judged. But if I had a few minutes in a store
when no one was around, sneaking a look inside any magazine that featured naked
men captivated me.
At the time, I still wouldn’t have admitted I was gay, but
that should have been a big eye-opener, right there.
Young people today have so much media thrown at them and
everything is available. Whether that is a good thing or not is up for
discussion, but at least they can have a bit more privacy in figuring out what
they are feeling.
Being gay is so more accepted nowadays. Magazines are not necessary to figure things out. I hope young people have an easier time.
I hope Lance can find it in his heart to forgive Tyler's ex-lover. This was a lovely chapter.
ReplyDeleteMeeting 50 was powerful. Well done. Richard told Lance the right thing. Sadly, Tyler had alcoholic behaviors and yes Andrew contributed to his sadness but Tyler needed to get out. Looks like Jakob may have a new career. Outstanding! These characters are incredible. I forgot...I loved Mitch being outside waiting. Curious what he will have to say to Cooper. Kissing someone passionately, one word...cheating.
ReplyDelete-G
It seems just like yesterday remembering what I felt (50 years ago!) when I found some Playboy and Penthouse magazines as I was cleaning out the basement of an office building. Obviously it was an eye-opening and cock-hardening experience for a teen boy who was raised in a strict religious family! When I read the stories and letters, I realized this was the "sex education" I had not yet received. Having only rarely seen a flaccid adult penis in a locker room, and having never yet seen an erect penis other than my own – well, the photos of men in sexual positions were unbelievable. I kept the pile of magazines hidden and eventually looked through them all. To this day, I wonder if an office worker in the building was confused to find his stash missing!
ReplyDeleteWhat I really like about all of your stories is the way you have developed each of the characters and gave them real personalities and genuine, mature, believable emotions. You treat your characters kindly. You develop the stories with dialogue and first-person thoughts instead of narrating the stories from the point of view of someone up in the ether, and that makes all the difference for me. I identify with your characters because you help me understand them. And while it’s fun to read the naughty bits, the best part for me is meeting people in print who express emotions in a loving way, as they work on becoming better people while they navigate the challenges of this life. I feel like I’m a better person after reading one of your chapters. Very often it’s therapeutic for my chronically dry eyes.
ReplyDeleteI started with book two (up to a point), then went back and found book one. By then you had come out with Lance’s book. I gotta tell you that I like “Hi, I’m Lance” the best, so far. Maybe I’m just jealous of Lance’s attributes, but I really like the guy, and Jakob too. They both seem more intriguing than Trent and (especially) Mike, and I can’t quite put my finger on the reason. Maybe Lance and Jakob aren’t quite so straight-laced? I also like the device you used with the AA meetings to bring the storyline along. For me, that works better than Trent’s journaling. I think it helps that you begin the chapters that way, instead of it being a wrap-up to each chapter.
A short chapter, but a good one. Very eventful.
ReplyDeleteSo, Baker's in a mess - and it's hard not to say he deserves it. On the other hand, "to forgive is divine" so it will be fascinating to see (whether) how he gets his life together.
Poor Cooper.
And a possible better job for Jakob. That's great. I hope it works out.
-C.