SomewhereonNeptune

On 9/16/2025 at 12:10 PM, tr4veler said:

I've been noticing more and more guys stating preferences that are very racialized and others that are very misogynistic. Things I've noticed:

- a lot more guys explicitly stating racial preferences for partners, in all directions (e.g. no whites, no blacks, but also parties that are black tops/white bottoms only, white bottoms who express a preference for black tops, etc. etc .) or who state their own race in their posts, as though it's part of their own sexual identity (e.g. come fuck my white/asian/latin ass)

- a lot more guys who equate submissive with feminine and female.  Lots more "turn me into your little fem sissy bitch" or the like.  

You mean besides the stereotype of "I only want BBC" (and they don't clarify if it's 1, 2, 3, or 4)? I thought it had always been that way. 😉

10 hours ago, verbalBTTM said:

Speaking for myself, I was always anon online, and then things changed. Hiding became impossible if you lived in the modern world. From RFID tags embedded in everything you own to the time you take your morning shit, Skynet is aware of everything in real-time and can predict your movements and thoughts with a high degree of accuracy. Unless you're willing to live like Ted Kaczynski congratulations, you're in the matrix. 

Mine varies. 🤣

I grant you that a lot is known about each of us that we're not completely anonymous, and the amount of intelligence gathered is increasing almost exponentially. It doesn't mean that all of that information is accurate or a few bogeys couldn't be thrown in the mix to fuck a bit with the algorithms. Anyone can operate under multiple personas, and as long as we keep going down the road of RFIDs and chips and encrypted credit card numbers versus cash for payment, we're enabling that direction.

Helpful Trick: When you go to CVS, do you actually give them your phone number, or do you give them (XXX) 867-5309? Try the latter sometime and have it print out that CVS receipt with the coupons. I once got one around 10 feet long of offers, some I might buy but most I wouldn't. Do that with any "loyalty card" and see what you get. In a small way, you've thrown off the system and benefitted from everyone else who racks up loyalty points from doing so.

4 hours ago, TaKinGDeePanal said:

BTW, where were the prayers when an actual politician (Melissa Hortmann) was assassinated?

You're probably barking up the wrong tree here as I was very saddened at the deaths in Minnesota -- both the kids in the church/school and the legislators (the Hortmans). I'll say 2 things:

1. One is more local, the other national/international. Simply the range of people who knew each person. Nonetheless, neither of them were right.
2. I'm fatigued of the canned responses such as "Well what about..." or "This other thing..." because it tries to create a division where none may exist, and it comes across as passive aggressive.

I was watching a panel show on Monday and one of the panelists started down that road and was waylaid by the responses as it came across as being insensitive to the current situation. That panelist has a reputation of doing the "Well what about..." response a bit too often. 

But as to your question, no violence like that is acceptable. Neither should have happened.  Along that line, I will stand by my statement that the examples in the wake of events on each side of the (George Floyd, Kirk) couldn't be more different. We may see this point differently, but I've watched more people reject the tactics used in the former and embrace the examples of the latter. 

8 hours ago, descartes70817 said:

A man can have a wife, get her pregnant every year and still have sex with other men every single day without disobeying the "go forth and multiply" commandment. This leaves me asking "who benefits", from increasing their population, and the answer is "priests and kings/tribal leaders" every single time.

Actually, we've created a system where we all benefit from continued population growth at a certain rate. It's called Social Security, and the funding comes from current wage earners to pay current recipients. Unless birthrates make an increase (they've been decreasing in the Western world for years), it'll create an aging population (think Japan) that will have a difficult time meeting obligations. Fewer people to buy products, goods, services. A shelter surplus due to more homes than occupants as they die off. Japan has this now too, you can buy really cheap homes in the country now. Europe is already feeling this effect too. China will start to feel the effects of their "one child" policy. Korea is feeling this as well, Russia is aging and population declining. 

The fact is that fewer people are having kids and they're doing so later in life, and China can't continue to provide kids for adoption indefinitely, and Elon Musk will run out of women to impregnate. 🤣 The population growth is not coming from the first world any longer. We've worried so long about a population explosion that we forgot to notice the implosion that we've begin to create. And let's not even begin to discuss Margaret Sanger and Eugenics.

3 hours ago, Pozzible said:

CCTV is one thing, a matrix of all our data is quite another. After reading the NYT article, try reading the Wikipedia page on right to privacy. Kiss that goodbye. Everything we’ve ever done online is captured. Every hookup made, every story read, every movie watched, every post, every comment. And all of it instantly analyzed. I suspected we’d eventually live in a dystopian Huxley novel. Just came sooner than I expected. 

Well now we have a world online with social media where it came along, was free, and most of us volunteers our interests and everything about ourselves. What we buy, what we eat, what we watch, who we like and how we're all 6-degrees of separation. And we did all of that voluntarily. 

If we were smart enough, we'd ditch our online identities (mostly) and adopt a different or more anonymous persona so that the data we're providing is completely misleading. Let them think you're really "Steve from Austin who is a womanizer, drinks craft beer and is a rabid Cowboys fan with a pizza addiction". 😉

I suspect that the President is sitting back and letting shit happen and simply taking the tact of saying "I told you so". Or depicting that Chicago's mayor and Pritzker can defend how great last weekend was because there were only a dozen murders. 🤣

You inevitably get the government you accept. Clearly Brandon and Pritzker don't care about their citizens or their decreasing numbers, so until those citizens decide to end the lunacy and vote for leaders who prioritize law and order, they're stuck with that. 

3 minutes ago, Infected said:

And this surprises you how?  As technology improves and becomes more wide spread, expect this to happen.  If you don’t like it, move to a less populated area or one with less technological usage.  Seems like a simple solution to me.  Live in a major city, expect everyone to be watching or spying on you.  As for me, I love my rural upbringing and current lifestyle where the nearest neighbor is a Holstein cow by the property fence line. 😝

London has been one of the most surveilled cities in the world for years due to the sheer penetration of CCTV. Let's ask our UK friends about whether this has changed their behavior.

13 hours ago, firstexp said:

I agree with what you said.
Extremism is to be condemned.
Expressing one's opinions is a right.

"I don't agree with you but I defend your right to say so"

E.B. Hall

Thanks @firstexp.

12 hours ago, Pozzible said:

Have we, though? I definitely would have agreed with you about a year ago.  Now, not so sure.

I'm not sure either. I guess seeing the things happening across the board, I fear that we can't converse for all the yelling at each other. 

First of all, I suspect we can agree to disagree on a number of things, and that's ok. If we can still talk about them in a civil discourse, we're doing better as a group than much of society at the moment.

For those who know, I'm libertarian and conservative. I'm also staunchly pro-Second Amendment (the gun isn't the issue, the capacity and stability of the person holding it sure is though). Where the far left has gone is looting, rioting, and 'mostly peaceful protests' that have perhaps been "mostly" but certainly not "peaceful". I think the moderates and conservatives this weekend set a good example by coming together in prayer, vigil, and remembrance. We can argue that perhaps, but that means we'd still be talking and having a civil discourse. I'm happy to do that, but I suspect that we won't reach much agreement. Kirk lived his faith, embraced liberty, and carefully studied and debated his topics. And he wasn't afraid to go on campuses where he wasn't always welcomed and engaged in discourse. People like King or Lincoln or Jesus did the same and lived his convictions without fear.

I don't condone violence. I won't celebrate his death. But if the goal of assassinating Kirk was to silence those who disagreed with the radical left, I'll tell you it's had the opposite effect. I'm not going on social media and posting videos of doing the happy dance because someone was killed. But those who are seem to be learning that actions have consequences, and becoming a societal pariah is one of those. Unemployed is another. 

7 hours ago, hntnhole said:

Killing people who are different than ourselves is simply not excusable, and that goes both ways.  What the shooter did is inexcusable, as is excusing hatreds via ancient texts.  What was "wisdom" thousands of years ago is, of course, interesting, but we have progressed far beyond those ancient hatreds, haven't we?

Here we agree. I'm not going to say I agreed 100% with everything Charlie said, especially his views on gays, etc. I'm writing on here, so I accept people as they are and don't expect total conformity. I applaud his conviction despite not always agreeing. 

Keep in mind that a lot of us on the right are very accepting and tolerant, as those who've had those conversations have learned. Including this writer. Hopefully we can exchange views without downvoting or flaming or any other vitriol. As a society, though, we need to get along and cultivate understanding and sanity. 

Peace.

On 9/13/2025 at 3:51 PM, hntnhole said:

At first read, I shuddered .... I haven't ever used Nextdoor, and I did notice your proverbial tongue-in-cheek, so I'm hoping for the best on your behalf.  

Thanks. I won't turn this into a political stump speech, but we had to really hold tight reins on discussion of the assassination since it was ripe for deep and nasty political debate and even some distasteful memes. Or explaining to people who obviously do not care to read why the guidelines prohibit national politics discussion in General feeds to the replies of every Karen in a 10 mile radius "asking for the manager". We tell them to go enjoy TikTok with the other crazies. 

If you don't have the experience of living in an HOA or needing to find a plumber or electrician (or losing/finding a pet before the Chinese takeout does), you're missing nothing on Nextdoor.  Though maybe your looky-lous are talking about your sling over there. 🤣

On 9/13/2025 at 9:29 AM, verbalBTTM said:

Most boys, especially twinks who hook up with much older men, do it for a few reasons, and it's usually not for the leathery signs of aging on a man.

 

1. Free drugs and dick

2. They're sugar babies

3. Have a daddy fetish

4. Prefer staying at a beach house for the weekend

 

I hope that answers your question.

Surprisingly, I lack the leathery signs of aging, just boyish good looks, great skin, and knock-on-wood a face that doesn't look a day over 39 despite being shaved bald. 😉

Yes, I've encountered #1 and #2 above, and that doesn't go far at all. I'm kinda red pilled against paying for sex in one way or another. As for #4, I'm 20 minutes drive from one of the best beaches in the US without having to be on it, so no one's had any designs on that one (though the private pool has garnered interest).

But I've encountered #3 more organically on some other sites where I get the whole daddy fetish or "I'm turned on by older guys". The conversations where the other party isn't of consenting age end abruptly since I don't crave a guest appearance with Chris Hansen. 🤣 I live in Florida not far from 'America's Favorite Sheriff' Grady Judd, so a news conference with my picture doesn't thrill me either.

It sounds like your adventures or situation taught you a lot and were positive. Happy for you. Like I said earlier, I don't want to be the reason some dude's life gets totally messed up or goes into therapy to overcome it. I can see and appreciate the other views down to a certain point, but I suppose any interest I may have in someone younger would be mentoring or protective in nature. And as others have far broader experience than me, the chances of that are negligible.

8 hours ago, hntnhole said:

The moderators don't do stuff like that.  They're mostly referees, controlling what can be posted, what can't, and they're here for our protection; not theirs.  This site (or any other, for that matter) could turn into one big fat mess without the guidelines being explained and enforced.  

Would you mind coming over on Nextdoor and reinforcing that to the Karens who think the Guidelines shouldn't apply to them? The past two days (we can all imagine why) have made the LGBT Politics threads here look downright meek.

Some of the things that get said from behind a keyboard on a literally hyper-local (read: down the same block in the same subdivision) neighborhood-focused network make you think they have the intelligence of a baseball score. Especially in a state with Constitutional Carry laws. 
____________________________
Yes you have First Amendment rights. Keep in mind that everyone also has Second Amendment rights.

14 hours ago, verbalBTTM said:

You've really captured how age provides us with wisdom from life experiences. At one point, we didn't appreciate the reasoning behind the limitations in age of consent laws. 

I suppose that as hot as it may seem that someone young and hot is into us, I don't want to be a predator in the situation. Like am I the "dirty old [banned word]" that's into little boys (answer in that case is an obvious "yes"), but I'd always wonder what he'd see in me, or if the roles were reversed, would I see a dude my age now being an instant "ick". Not a dad/son experience but a grand-dad/grandson experience.

And your point about being a mentor is more how I'd approach it. Someone older as a protector and to provide guidance in the right setting, but the other party would need to request that so I didn't feel like it was predation.

10 hours ago, ellentonboy said:

I'll stick with 18, even that age makes me question my decision.  I am not really comfortable having sex with someone who could be my son, but I have had sex with plenty of guys in their 20s who were hot and experienced.

I still think guys 30 to 55 are optimal.  They are experienced, and they usually know what they want and how to go about doing it.  Of course, there are exceptions, but I would take an experienced 40 year old guy any day over a 20 year old who doesn't know what the hell he is doing.  That's just my view .....

The "young enough to be my son" thing isn't that big of an issue at my age. That would make the guy somewhere between say 25 and 40. But the topic made me do soul-searching a bit to where I'd need to ask the following:

• For those who actually had an "early experience", how did you feel about it? Did it form how you are today? Did you or the older person take the initiative?

I'm hoping this doesn't run afoul of the guidelines. Not asking the details of the encounters or anything titillating, but how do you look back on it now? Might be interesting to hear those who responded with say sub-16 responses for proposed consenting age.

Uh oh...here comes Neptune saying something controversial or prone to be downvoted. (Ahem)

Now this is a really good question. Years ago, I probably would have said 16. That was around the time of my first experience and the consenting age in my state. But by the same token, that also had the capacity to mess with my brain, my emotions, and my feelings, and at 16 the idea of sex versus love are still formative. 

11 hours ago, verbalBTTM said:

Once a young person, as in our case, reaches the age of maturity (18), they are better equipped to understand the consequences of their decisions. While we all develop at different rates, by 18, most have experienced enough of life to form a general understanding and are expected to take responsibility for their choices. Before this age, individuals are rightly viewed as children, as they lack the life experience to fully grasp the repercussions of their actions.

This. Plus, growing up I'd routinely watch a priest sit in his van at a park that was known for being a pedo cruising spot. And he had predilections for 13 and 14 year olds. Know any 13 year olds able to process the full impact and notions of sex? Didn't think so, though quite a few of us had those experiences and most of us survived intact.

Entering my seventh decade, rarely would I suggest 16 or younger. Unless this was something that truly came out of the thoughts and actions of the younger party doing so of free will. But even that is sketchy to me because (and this will be controversial but it needs to be said) we have kids who are not yet maturationally developed at 13 or even younger being supported through gender transition and sexual reassignment. Breasts or penis, something's being altered at an age where they are possibly not able to process the future ramifications of their decision. 

Yeah, maybe some folks have had gender dysphoria, and I have cousins and nephews who are going through it, but pulling hormone blockers or chemical castration or mastectomies at ages below 16 is...is...well, crazy. I've spoken to detransitioners who went through procedures before 18 who not only now regret it but are trying to return to their genetic state, which adds more complexities. And I'm not prudish about these things, but my heart breaks for them.

Leave it the way it is, or move it to 18 where it isn't. Let kids enjoy being kids before they do something that will put them in therapy for several years. 

I can only echo the absolute dated feel of BBRT. No one has done frame navigation since the late 90's, and there's a reason for that. We have better development tools but apparently BBRT won't spring for a site update that uses them. And while people knock on BBRT for 'Oinks', Adam4Adam is even worse in many cases with its 'Winks' (I know, here's SoN complaining about A4A again, will he ever give it up?). I can count at least 5 or 6 winks per day from non-pic/limited-effort profiles or those who have descriptions that make it seem like the Gay eHarmony. I've stopped responding.

I concur with @ellentonboy on NKP. It's either more fetish based or more focused on 'pigs' and 'parTyinG'. They do seem lacking with their Groups implementation, so if you see a Group don't get too excited. There are only a few Poz Groups over there, most are blue ballers from what I gather.

I wonder how BZ would do if it enhanced their current search capacity to be more friendly to people trying to meet. Forums are great and an organic way to foster friendships or hookups, but there's already some search capacity here that could be leveraged for hooking up. Seems like there's a missed opportunity.

5 hours ago, hntnhole said:

Apparently it did.  

In my book, it remains the case that when I catch a bug, I won't go out breeding holes all night until it's over with.  That happens occasionally, and at least my conscience is clear.  I wouldn't knowingly share an std with anyone either.  

You and I agree on that. Others can do what they want, but I'd hope we're all better than that. Fact remains though that we need to operate under the premise that not everyone is as honest or above board about sexual health. 

I was feeling old having recently turned 60, but this thread just brightened my day. Good to know some folks still appreciate older guys. Thanks.

6 hours ago, tr4veler said:

thanks, @SomewhereonNeptune. I agree that attacking someone for posing an earnest question is silly and toxic. I personally practice consistent use of PrEP, testing every 3 months, and abstaining during treatment. After this latest bout of chlamydia, I think I will start using Doxy PEP too. The question was meant as a discussion point since I was musing about the fact that rectal chlamydia is a) extremely common; b) typically without symptoms; and c) easily treated. I wasn't planning on changing my behavior, but apparently this even asking about it makes me a bad person, so oh well 🤷‍♂️

There's always going to be a keyboard warrior no matter where you go. In a way, it's hypocritical of people to criticize any opinion stated about sex with STIs, but we also have discussed the ethics of 'stealthing' on these boards and I've seen people talking about the practice of it (in reality and fictionally) wax poetic about how 'hot' it is. We've read similar comments about non-consensual play. Point is that we should be able to talk about it even though the likelihood is that we'd find it repugnant in reality. Fantasy though...

3 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Who are we kidding?  We can all clutch our pearls but there have always been Typhoid Marys since before, well, Typhoid Mary.  People of a Certain Age (like me) have heard the stories of people who knowingly transmitted HIV, back when it was still a death sentence.  Even though YOU are not going out with Chlamydia etc., we can safely assume that some people are.   Everything in life is a calculated risk.

Anyone going out and having bareback encounters is likely doing so understanding the risks they take in doing so. You should expect that if you aren't asking questions, you're assuming the inherent risks. I and others are only happy to go in bare in a don't ask/don't tell context and already assume that I could get something nasty, or for that matter so can he. Sometimes that risk can be erotic in the right context. But I don't think that either @tr4veler or I will knowingly go out and knock someone with something they can't clear with a regimen of medication. Am I clutching my pearls about that? 

3 hours ago, anonCUMtainer said:

...I feel and consider that I am being generous and I am helping my fellow man. AND for me - that means the moral or ethic is NOT to even consider passing on any STI - I feel like I have the responsibility to interrupt the cycle and protect my fellow horny man as much as possible (and to help avoid getting it back).

I have LOST good fucks because they caught something from me...It's the ugly side of bareback. So PLEASE get tested, know your status, treat infections, be informed, and don't spread anything knowingly please men. I beg of you.

Presuming I even crossed paths a second time with someone and found out I'd passed along something untreated, I'd be mortified about it. Unless it was something consensual and neither of us were concerned or we accepted that as a by-product of our mutual preference for barebacking. But even that would involve a conversation and I gather that point got lost in how some folks might have viewed the OP's post.

On 9/1/2025 at 6:35 AM, BarebackedBear said:

The ethics are simple and shouldn't even be a question: you should make every effort to always know your status through regular testing, and disclose it to any potential partners so they can make an informed choice. Did you consider that it was someone either not knowing their status or actively hiding it from you that put you in this situation? Why would you risk doing the same to someone else?

If abstaining for a week so you can get treatment & protect your potential partners is too much for you, I'd consider doing some soul searching during your week of abstinence, because that's a next level of selfishness.

The last I checked, this is still a "discussion forum", except that in some parts here I find it gets rather preachy or holier-than-thou about having specific viewpoints. I certainly don't expect everyone to (or sometimes anyone) to agree with me, but I'd hope we be tolerant of other points of view regardless of finding them offensive. 

16 hours ago, tr4veler said:

Ok first of all, I am abstaining. I was as a default.  I asked what I thought was an interesting question here, and saw what the consensus was. It confirmed my baseline belief and I continued with it. 

second, I really don’t appreciate you coming into a message board where I asked a question and having you (who do not know me) calling me the “next level of selfishness.” Maybe you should do some “soul searching” about why you feel the need to come online and judge strangers like that. 

Thank you @tr4veler for calling this out. I'll weigh in and say this is a 'choice', but one that should be made with the benefit of information so that people are free to make decisions based on facts. Guess it's now a rarity to even talk about some subjects, and this is a place where I would think there are few or no sacred cows. 

I was (ahem...consenting age in my state), he was (almost) 18. As you might expect, it was a lot of clumsy fumbling since he was a huge premature ejaculator, and he wasn't at all big (about little finger size, that's being generous). He barely got in and was done in about 10 seconds. We flipped and it worked better with him bottoming.

It was memorable in that it was so off-the-chart bad. Spoke with others who knew him that spilled the tea, and suffice to say their experiences were equally tragic. Also heard he was married and then divorced after his wife turned lesbian, so that was two genders he drove away. 🤣

12 hours ago, ellentonboy said:

Wait....I thought "side" meant I was the guy he fucked on the "side", as he had a partner.  

I thought it was just a term that all the 20 somethings used.  

Like "Side piece". I thought about that once too, then I consulted I think Urban Dictionary after a brief web search and got corrected. 

And I wish it was only 20-somethings. In my own experience, it gets defined as "a noob who thinks he wants to be with a guy, but dislikes most of the things that guys might do together, including oral and penetration". If it did mean side dish, at least someone's salad might be getting tossed. 🤣

On 2/10/2025 at 3:46 AM, Leobboy said:

Bleachy 🤢

I was waiting for someone to mention that. Often it tastes a bit like pool water.

1 minute ago, Hungryforbbc said:

Depends on what they have been eating but generally it’s thick and sweet with a salty aftertaste 

I've found a more savory, slightly bitter flavor to it, combined with that pool water. Asparagus and Brussel sprouts are a huge turn-off. It's not at all unpleasant to me.

3 hours ago, Willing said:

Mines sweet,  eat a lot of ice cream 🍦 

Now that has me curious to try. 😉

On 2/25/2023 at 11:28 AM, FelchingPisser said:

This feels like a topic from 2008.  I haven't seen condom use for a very long time and I play a lot in public spaces. 

But I'm not a cumdump....so maybe I just don't see it.

I was thinking the same thing. 

I had a condom nazi for a bottom exactly one time in the last 15 or so years. I tried, really did, but it wasn't happening so I told him to find someone else, not interested in something so boner-killing. I've never had to be asked and even discussion of status now doesn't happen that often.

Only in online hookups is it ever a conversation because it's stated on a profile.

5 hours ago, leakyhole said:

I just sit on their bare cocks and either they protest or they don't.

They don't.

Likewise from a top perspective. When someone tries to make conversation about 'safe' or 'condoms', it goes no further. Want to impale yourself on me raw? You won't hear me complaining.

I've encountered this more and more, and it comes down to people not bothering to read any longer versus looking at the pictures. But that's another tale about apps seeming to regress people in real life situations.

On 8/22/2025 at 10:38 AM, Iker80 said:

But I have to admit I so far pass by side guys. But yeah, there's no substitute for getting your prostate worked over or fucking a guy, no plans to quit that ever!

Could not agree more. It feels like a total waste of time and effort to me when we clearly are not on the same wavelength to start. To me, it's like walking into the car dealer because you want a new car that has some power to it and having the smarmy salesperson show you only bicycles and tricycles proclaiming how fantastic the "open air/self-powered experience" is. Or...

5 hours ago, KindaBasic said:

...I guess, think that I am Burger King. They probably think I’m one of them, because they are usually surprised when they can’t get it their way. 

Just like I can't imagine walking into Burger King and only wanting onion rings or fries and a drink, or sitting down at a steak house and ordering a caesar salad and asparagus with béarnaise, I would miss the climaxes that make the experience fulfilling to me. Orgasms can be incredibly cathartic and amazing. But without that experience, it feels like I'm trying to make a meal composed of 'side dishes'.

6 hours ago, KindaBasic said:

Everybody wants to be special and have their own unique label these days. Which I guess is okay, but I wish they would agree on a description. The thing I find annoying is when a “side” hits me up after reading my profile, where I make it clear what I’m looking for is to get fucked, just to tell me they are not into penetration. 

XX and XY. Rarely is it ever XXY or XYY for the specific sexes ("following the science"). But you're right, I once saw a drop-down list that exceeded the normal scroll line of gender descriptions and I thought I needed a translation guide to understand what all of these are. When it comes down to getting our freak on, I simply want to know if between us we have two pegs or one peg and a couple possible entry points. Beyond that call yourself what you want. But if I need to read a novel to get to the punchline, I've probably left the conversation. 

(Yes, that was called sarcasm for anyone not so inclined, it's one of my kinks)

12 hours ago, badubydo said:

sorry I’m not spending hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket and hotel costs to go meet some random dude from the internet. Hell I don’t even have the money to do so. And if I did, there are plenty of places within the U.S. I’d rather go see haha. 

That's my hard-and-fast rule: If I need to involve my travel agent in my sex life, it's not happening. I broke that rule exactly one time when I wasn't in a great frame of mind.

There's a much longer story about the early days of the internet, early Instant Messaging Apps, exposing a Catfish (before that was even a term) and how I wound up in a remote part of West Texas that I might post another time.