On Friday, November 20, 2020 at 11:08:02 PM UTC-6, Mike Duffy wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2020 14:24:54 -0800, Bryan Simmons wrote:
>
> > Remember how he especially wanted *pediatric* nursing jobs?
> > As long as he had hopes of getting those gigs, there was always the
> > chance that he might get [...] the forbidden fruit
>
> That's a serious accusation without any supporting evidence.

I've known him since we were teenagers. We were both on alt.punk
for years before we were here.
>
> It could be that he just gets along well with juveniles because his
> medical / mental condition makes meaningful dialogue with them easier
> than with most adults. Or, they are lighter to manipulate when that is
> needed, or less disposed to become violent, etc.

You prefer to believe that he does not have a sexual interest in the vulvas
of young girls.

> > About that "failed" thing. In order to fail, there would have had to
> > have been parameters for success that were unmet.
> Well, (like my e-book offering), not one person has read it and given it
> a positive review. That would be a minimalist parameter, no?

Here? On this NG? You know, right after I finished it, I was looking
forward to trying to get it published, and I sent out a few query letters
to agents, and I do mean a few.

> > book has cost me several tens of thousands of dollars in lost income.
> I believed that individuals would learn HTML and everyone would write his
> own web-site. It was obvious to me that Facebook was too restrictive, and
> most people would never put up with being so pigeon-holed. When I'm
> wrong, I can be really wrong.

See? I didn't believe anything other than that I had to finish the book or I
would get no peace. Having never written so much as a full page of fiction
in my life, I got this kooky idea to write some short stories where women
enjoy sex and don't suffer any negative consequences. Within a few weeks
I felt almost possessed by the story, and the only way out was to write my
way out. Strange things started happening in my life that I won't go into,
but I wanted my life and sanity back.

Don't think that I believe that there were actually supernatural forces acting
upon me, but it really did feel that way. I wasn't unhappy, but I didn't feel
mentally healthy. What I'm saying is that my feelings about the book are
not those that a normal writer would normally have about a normal book. I
just read these two paragraphs to my wife, and she said, "That was very
well put."

> > You don't have anything I want. You're just one more wacky misfit
> Well, you can trade it with someone else I guess.
> > In fact, one of the best things about this NG is that pretty much nobody
> > sucks up to anyone else to get approval, and folks don't seem to jockey
> > to get acceptance or popularity. There are some long-running
> > hostilities, and even hints at pseudo-alliances, but no cliques.
> Are you deliberately leaving out the false alliances, where someone
> appears to be friendly with someone else, but it is all a sham waiting
> for the right time for a face-kicking?

Folks don't strategize to that extent. They just react. I'm not kidding when
I say that I find that refreshing.
>
> Just kidding! I like to be a devil's advocate sometimes.

Oh, and you need to take your asterisk back because I posted an entire
chapter a couple of hours ago. Hank eggs me on you know.

--Bryan