is in hospice care as I type this. According to the best information I have right now, she is not expected to live much longer unless hospice care can bring her back.. Apparently the cancer was worse than we knew. This might be the hardest thing I've ever had to write.
I cannot believe all the negative comments on this article... and about Transsexuals. This person was DISCRIMINATED against for being who she is! Hello? Any of that sound vaguely familiar to anyone else? Gee, what about the Blacks and their fight for THEIR rights? What about women and THEIR fight or their rights? I suppose all you negative folks here think that all blacks should still be slaves and all women should be barefoot and pregnant, huh? Remember this. The same things you all are saying about Transsexuals, were said about blacks and women who were fighting for equality!
Today is a special day for our beloved Sitemom, Erin Halfelven! It's her BIRTHDAY! She has given up so much for all of us and has given us a place where we don't have to worry about someone putting us down. A place where we can all be who we want or need to be. A place where we can display our writing talents and where we can connect with others to help or be helped.
She has been a major influence on so many, myself included. Without her I wouldn't be a published author.
So let's all join in a rousing cheer for someone who is special to us all.
After my blood tests were finished, I got on the scale just to see what it might indicate. To my shock, it showed that I had lost 25 POUNDS over the preceding couple of months!!!! No, I'm not suffering from some exotic wasting disease, not have I been ill in any other way, save for being sick of heat and humidity.
but I find myself wondering... How many of you have done what I do? While walking through the mall, I look for the SRU store. Not seriously, mind you... well, sort of not seriously. I actually wouldn't know what to do if I actually found one. I know it's just fiction, but... you know?
I know there have been many things written to eulogize Stan since his passing and I don't want to be tedious or redundant, but I wanted to share my own feelings about someone who was so misunderstood and yet, so loved.
Thanks to Pippa and her bulldog-like dedication, I DID locate and talk with my first Cousin in New Mexico. He was, of course, quite surprised to hear from me since it has been almost 35 years since last we spoke. Our separation wasn't for any personal problems, but more a case of moving around. Myself through the military, and him because of family and business opportunities.
I'm trying to locate my cousin who, at last knowledge, was living there. I am, when it comes to using search engines on the internet, a complete dummy... clueless if you will. If you live there or near there, please contact me for his name. I haven't seen or heard from him in over 30 years and we were, or at least seemed to be, close pals when we were kids and teens.
So... I'm at a store where I shop regularly. Well, maybe I'd better preface this. First of all, my transition has gone so smoothly that I can't believe it. There have been a handful of people I knew "before" who haven't accepted it, but almost everyone has simply adjusted and moved on with their lives with me still in them.
It appears that both my gmail and yahoo mail accounts have been hacked by some nondescript asshole in Pakistan. I have sent NO emails in recent memory from either account. Furthermore, I have cancelled my gmail account and changed my password on my yahoo account.
This song and video by Colin Raye really says it all. Life is precious and every one lost, lessens us all. Watch the video, listen to the words and take them to heart.
and I quote: "Fictionmania was..." which indicates one of two things to me. One, Fictionmania might be gone forever or, Two: Wiki is being it's usual fallible self and spreading rumor and assumption.
I DO hope it's the latter. Even though FM has it's "one handed fiction" it also has some of the best works by some of the best writers in the genre.
I have a transman in Buffalo who is at his wits end. He is a friend and has been run around by Social Services and every other agency he's tried to go to for help. I need a therapist who can help. You can PM me here at Top Shelf. He has no insurance and barely enough money to get by each month... barely.
This is someone I've known since his birth, the child of one of my best friends who can't help either because he's in Japan and struggling to get by there.
Please, I am begging. Someone point me to someone who can help.
Jennifer Jane Pope posted this extensive listing of Brit terms/slang a few years ago at Crystal's Storysite. I thought that if one has interest in the Hartlepool Dictionary, they might want to add this to their lexicon as well.
I haven't heard from Jenny in several years, and don't know if she is still writing or, in fact, if she is still among the living. We used to talk quite a bit in the chatroom at Storysite, but she went somewhat quiet owing to some business problems she was having and eventually she just stopped coming by the chat and sort of dropped out of sight.
and ALL the rest who work SO hard to make and keep Top Shelf not only the BEST TG fiction site on the web, but such a wonderful place to meet and chat! You all work SO hard for us, and I wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate all you do. We sit out here like a bunch of junkies, waiting, nay praying for our next fix, and you all never disappoint. Whatever you have to do to keep our internet fix coming, you go right ahead and do. There's no need to apologize to us. We will wait however long it takes.
If you've purchased a copy of my book, HEADLIGHTS GIRL, or if you've read it online, would you please go to my amazon page and leave a review? It doesn't have to be anything long, just a few words and a rating.
I've been re-reading GENOMORPH by Scott and it's a great story. The first story arc is complete, but there is a teaser for arc 2, yet no stories have been posted. There was a link to Fictioneer for Scotts page, but it no longer exists, and Scotts name is not on the Fictioneer list of authors.
Woke up this AM to winds blowing trash cans and various bits of lawn furniture about the yard and streets. Seems like we have gusts of over 50 MPH here although some seem higher than that. Kinda worried about losing power at some point if this keeps up, since usually if a squirrel farts sideways we tend to get brownouts. (pun intended)
Let me say, at the outset, that comments from me are spotty... sporadic, if you will. When I first started writing I was, quite unashamedly, a comment whore. I lived and breathed for the comments on my stories. I DO understand, therefore, the importance of comments.
for all your hard work and vigilance in keeping the site up and running. Erin, Piper, Samantha, Cat, my eternal thanks for all you do for us. Top Shelf is my home on the net. It means almost as much to me as my real life home.
Huggles and love and gratitude,
Catherine Linda Michel
In years past, when my Dad was still alive, I couldn't quite connect with his feelings when one of his friends passed away. I guess it never really occurred to me that Dad had any lifelong friends...I don't know why. Maybe it was partly because he was always too busy working 2... sometimes 2 and 1/2 jobs to keep his family fed, clothed and sheltered.
This series of four videos follows several transsexuals on several weekend retreats as they discover who and what they really are, and how to deal with it. The EXPLICIT warning refers to actual surgery scenes in one or two of the videos. As I watched these videos, I found myself becoming involved with the guys and gals as they become friends and, at the end, when they depart from the retreat for the last time, I actually felt tearful as they parted company and went back to their real world lives.
I'd like to take this space to wish everyone out there a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a good one and is able to spend it with the ones they hold dear.
We are gathered here tonight to mourn those of us who have been taken from us by hatred, violence, and ignorance, but in a larger sense, we are here to celebrate their lives. That we might not have known any of them personally, does not lessen our sense of loss or our disgust for the way they were taken.
The Science channel is, right now, running a Firefly marathon, followed by the final two episodes and then a reunion of the entire cast. The reunion is titles "Browncoats Unite" and will show at 10PM.
Catherine Linda Michel
Edit made. My mistake about the SciFi channel. CLM,
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
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Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
