Senior / Sixty+

Ye of Little Faith

Everyone wants definite boundaries in life. Fire burns, ice is cold, electricity runs our appliances, lights our world, etc. Sometimes things happen that can't be explained. And sometimes humans exceed their own limits, such as the daughter who lifted a BMW off her father after the jacks failed and the car fell with him under it. Who or what helped her lift the car or did she do it alone?

Idol

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Idol

This is the story of Dakota Sullivan. We all know him... a child star that had so much talent and his struggles to be accepted as an adult star. His life as an adult star in movies and music has made him a legend.
We have heard rumours and allegations about him, but his personal life was always hidden from us.
"Idol" is the true story of Dakota, where nothing is hidden. This will shock you and you will have a new view of who this Idol really is!

Nothing Makes Sense to me Any More

I, Georgia, who was born George, am doubtless like all others of my age. I have no problems with anachronisms and old word forms and grammar, but I find difficulty understanding modern speech forms, which I can’t help but regard as illiteracy. I accept that language changes with time, but I don’t like it, and I think poorly of those who use what I can not help but regard as stupidity. So, I’m no different from what older persons have ever been.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 29 Yasser Arafat, Slobodan Milosevic, Colonel Gaddafi

I mind playing with my gran’s sewing pins. She was a seamstress and used expensive, thin, steel pins, not the cheaper more common, thicker, iron ones that were used by virtually all women in those days. I’d been playing with them with a magnet and some had become magnetised. She’d complained to my dad, ‘I don’t know what that bairn of yours has put on them, but I’ve even scrubbed them with Ajax powder and still they stick together.’

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 28 Treated Like a Mushroom

Dave said, “I mind scavenging hedges for bottles as a kid. Most had three old pennies return on them, beer bottles and pop bottles were like that, but we thought we’d made a fortune if we found a cider bottle, because they had six old pennies return price on them.

The Hero, The Mouse & The Cheshire Pt. 30 (Final Chapter)

Christine goes looking for Cheshire. She and Lache needed to get back to Hollywood to continue working on the movie they had been hired to work on. She finally finds Cheshire in Mr. Bounty’s office along with Mrs. Bounty.

She knocks on the office door as she walks into the office “I’m sorry for interrupting, Mrs. Bounty and Cheshire, but Lache and I need to get back to Hollywood to finish the movie we’ve been hired to work on.”

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 27 I Loved the Old Money

Part of the butcher’s tour was past my two great aunties’ houses on Lords Lane. They were two old widow women who lived in a pair of isolated semis both of whom had lost their husbands in the Great War. As a child I’d heard them described many a time as batting for the other side, but they’d been dead many a year before I realised that referred to them being suspected of being lesbians. Looking back I don’t think that was true. They were just a pair of lonely sisters who’d managed to find a man when they were young and were too old to find another after they lost them to Flanders’ fields. There was so great a shortage of men after the war the competition for them was fierce and they were ten maybe fifteen years too old by then. They treated me wonderfully and it was years before I realised I was the nearest they’d ever come to having a child of their own. It’s enough to make a grown man weep.

The Hero, The Mouse & The Cheshire Pt. 29

“Mom, me and Catlin want to get married before we start our careers. I know you are going to be using Catlin in whatever fight you and uncle Bounty are involved in.” Krisha looks at her mother and watches her facial expression.

“You do know that my enemies and whatever enemies Catlin make will either come after you or try to use you as bait. Are you two sure about this?” Cheshire didn’t want anything to happen to her daughter or Catlin.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 26 Bearthwaite Folk to the Core

Kilts always have been expensive, and many a man couldn’t afford one, most of the men I knew when I was a child had inherited theirs. But all the men and the boys too had to be wearing one if they expected to be fed at Granny’s house on a Sunday, even the toddlers too. I mind my youngest brother Graeme wearing one when he was still in nappies [US diapers] and so young my Mum was still nursing him.

Sixty is not that old - Part 24 Finale

Michel and Delphine returned to their Devon retreat by train later that afternoon. It had been a long day. Neither of them was in the mood for much small-chat on the train.

Despite the latest episode with her daughters coming to an end, Delphine was still pretty down in the dumps. She would not admit it but the attempt by her daughters to have her declared unfit to manage her life hit her very hard. The effect of seeing them face to face in Verity’s Office was very real and impossible to brush off. Michel was there with her all the way but he knew that it was going to take some time for his wife to return to anywhere near normal.

Sixty is not that old - Part 23

Monday came around far too quickly for everyone. The previous evening Michel had taken Delphine out for a quiet meal at a Restaurant in Ashburton. Despite his best intentions, it had failed to lift her spirits.

“Last meal of the condemned?” muttered Delphine as she played with her desert.

“Stop talking like that or…!”

“Or what?”

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 22 The Bridge is Out

“And?” Asked Sasha in a tone of voice that demanded the truth and all of it. “And what do you mean by he changed after leaving home?”

“He says he’s trans and goes by the name of Harriet. I suspect that’s why Bert treated him so badly. He never was much of a lad and as a boy he was a natural victim just waiting to be picked on. When he telt me he was trans it all kind of made sense. He seems to be doing all right. He says he doesn’t get bullied now he’s living as a girl and he is much happier. He’s waiting on doing silver service in a big hotel in Didsbury as a waitress.”

“Bollocks! You need to start understanding how these sorts of things work, Pete. Her name is Harriet, and your niece is a waitress. Start thinking Harriet, female, she, her, hers and all that goes with that, and just forget everything before that. There is no Alex. Get her up here. Is that going to cause any problems between you and Gladys? Or do I have to have a word with her, Pete?”

“No. Gladys knows about Alex and is sympathetic.” Pete paused and after a few seconds, during which Sasha could see Pete was making efforts to change his thinking, he continued “I think she’d have asked Harriet to come up here a while back, but she was bothered about how I would cope.”

“You’re supposed to be a man, so you’ll stiffen your spine, and behave, act and cope like a man. Which means if necessary you’ll tell those who cause Harriet problems to fuck off and drink somewhere else. Write to her, Pete. Get her up here to speak to me and we’ll go from there. Send her enough to cover the train fare and be generous.”

A Good Man

Bethan now a pretty girl of fifteen had been looked after by Doc Vitlow who’d prescribed the necessary medications, and they were talking about her surgeries which were planned for the medium term future at the city hospital under the care of Mistress Gardener her gender consultant. More importantly to Bethan she’d recently become on kissing terms with Joey Fairbarnes who was eighteen and the son of a nearby farming neighbour who was understanding of her situation.

Sixty is not that old - Part 22

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and sunny. Delphine was first to stir. Her new corset was rubbing on her hip. Henri had been right in that it was a lot stiffer than her old one. The boning was much wider and stronger than the training corset.

As they were still sleeping in the cottage, she had to go up to the new house to get a shower. Michel had been up there most of the previous afternoon working on something. He’d been very evasive when she’d asked about whatever it was that he'd been working on.

The Hero, The Mouse & The Cheshire Pt. 28

Selina looks at Debbie when she and her guest come walking into the house. They had come in through the back door instead of the front door.

“We got a problem, Debbie. Jack activated his emergency beacon.” Selina was standing in front of the big-screen television in the kitchen.
It was flashing red and showing a wolf head on the screen. There was a laser keyboard on the marble countertop and Selina was trying to zoom in on his location.

“Are you sure it's Jack’s beacon, Selina?” Debbie and Cheshire run over to stand next to her.

Annie's Rose



Annie's Rose standalone.jpg
Graphic created by Patricia Marie Allen from photos on Unsplash .
Background by Jorge De Jorge , model by Alex Blăjan ,
coffee and muffin by Nathan Dumlao


Authors note: This story first appeared in the “ One Dozen Roses ” anthology and has been edited to be read as a standalone.
You can read it in the anthology here .



A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 21 Behind the Blackout

“Perhaps my best con was on Belinda. I telt her there was a song from the sixties with the lyrics ‘Lie down girl let me push it up push it up lie down.’ She absolutely refused to believe it. I kept that one going for thirty years. It was only when one of her mates said, ‘I remember that,’ that my ‘con’ was busted.”

Sixty is not that old - Part 21

Michel was sitting in the Kitchen of the Cottage when Delphine returned from Totnes.

“Did she get the train ok?”

“Yes. We had plenty of time. In fact, we need not have rushed so much because it was five minutes late,” replied Delphine.

“This letter was in the post yesterday,” he said holding a letter.
"Oh sorry. There was one addressed to you. I clean forgot about them all what with being Verity here."
Michel handed her the letter.

Cis Rose

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Graphic created by Patricia Marie Allen from photos on Pixabay.com
- Background by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

This is the story of a crossdressers wife. It was originally published as part of the anthology One Dozen Roses. I highly recommend the whole anthology, but I am biased.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 6 Finale

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 6

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Our two lovers have been married for 10 years; 10 very happy years, I might add. Now we are back in the town where Sandy’s adventure began. Rick had some business there, and the entire family came along. They were seeing America. Then Maxie showed up.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 5

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 5

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Well, it’s back to the big date. Without question, Sandy is looking forward to it. She’s still a bit puzzled about why she is so looking forward to it. Becky puts it in very simple terms. Sandy is growing up.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 4

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 4

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Apparently, Becky was not too upset about finding out about Sylvia. It certainly had to have been a surprise, but obviously things did work out. At least our narrator thought they had.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 3

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 3

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Back to the present, sort of. Rick has shaken Sandy to the core. Everything she thought about herself is eroding away, and rather quickly, I might add. Yet, she cannot find anything in the original wish that would indicate why this is happening to her.

Sixty is not that old - Part 20

While they waited for things beyond their control such as passports and driving licenses to be processed, Michel and Delphine worked together on the Smallholding and the new house.

Despite Delphine's protestations, she eventually gave in and started wearing a pair of dungarees and work boots. She refused point-blank to stop wearing stockings even though on some days, a pair of leggings were worn between them and the dungarees.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 2

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 2

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

We are going to take a bit of a trip back in time; not too far. Maybe this will help us make some sense about what’s going on.

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 1

A Hackneyed Tale of Serious Gravity, Chapter 1

By Portia Bennett

Introduction: I’m sure everyone has come across a story or two about someone finding that bottle or lamp that after the appropriate action releases a genie who will grant a certain number of wishes for the lucky person who happens to find it. Quite frequently, the person finding the genie doesn’t read the ‘fine print’ and the results are frequently not what the person making the wishes desired. The greedy and the dishonest seem to get the worst of it. In the case of this story, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Ignorance is No Excuse for Hating Someone Part 31 (Final Chapter)

Jack takes out a bottle of Irish whiskey he brought with him from home and pours it into a custom-made crystal glass. He takes a sip from the glass as he looks out the big bay window in his office. He was worried about Cheshire and his girls. The men that came with Amy had managed to stop the bleeding and they were resting in their bedrooms.

Sixty is not that old - Part 19

Vivienne spoke at length on the phone with her lawyer, Verity May later that day. After some discussion of the downsides to the plan to change their names, Verity agreed with what Jacques had outlined. Their previously planned meeting for Monday was still going to take place but at her offices. That way, anyone watching her offices will see nothing out of the ordinary other than a client visiting their lawyer. Verity called it ‘scheming in plain sight’.

Verity had promised to have all the documents that Vivienne had requested ready for their signatures apart from a few missing details that would be filled in on the day.

The Hero, The Mouse & The Cheshire Pt. 26

“It’s not your time, yet Cheshire. Go back to your family and look after them.” A glowing Cat woman stood before Cheshire.

Cheshire looks at the glowing cat woman standing before her in silk robes. She had been moving towards the light and then all of sudden she stopped before the golden cat woman. She had appeared out of nowhere.

Cheshire could feel the power coming off her and the warmth as well. She had heard stories about Cat deities when she traveled to Africa, Thailand, and Egypt.

“Who are you?”

Sixty is not that old - Part 18

The rest of their journey down to Devon was done in relative silence. It reinforced the reality that Jacques was going to have to do a lot of explaining to do later that evening.

The sun was still high in the sky when Jacques drove the Van up the track to their home.

“Why don’t we leave unloading until morning?” suggested Jacques.

“Good idea. I’m bushed,” replied Vivienne in a firm voice.

One Dozen Roses

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Join a dozen Roses as they attend the SWEET Conference (South Western Exposition for the Embetterment of Transwomen/Transpeople, depending on who you ask.) Rose Gallagher is a registrar for the conference and notices that there are 12 Roses in attendance. On a whim, she contacts them and suggests a meeting of the Roses to share a bit about their choice of the name Rose.

Seven authors collaborate on one story to tell us about

One Dozen Roses

Sixty is not that old - Part 17

Vivienne had no real idea exactly how long she’d been sitting outside the Cottage but it must have been a while. The sun was starting to go down behind the trees. The warmth of the day had long since passed.

A few goose-pimples had appeared on Vivienne's arms. These were the spur for her to stand up and go inside the cottage. It was marginally warmer inside but Vivienne was still cold inside. All she could think of… ‘where was Jacques?’ rapidly followed by 'I hope he is all right'.
She’d been inside the cottage for well over half an hour when she heard a sound from outside. It was the sound of Ducks and Geese quacking away. Something or someone had disturbed them.

Sixty is not that old - Part 16

Vivienne’s return to London from Paris was rather strange. It was strange in that she actually felt rather naked without the corset wrapped tightly around her body. Even after just a few days, it had started to be part of her. Then there were the brand new two suitcases that held all her purchases. If her daughters could see inside, then they’d probably keel over on the spot. She had spent quite a lot of money but Vivienne had plenty and it wasn’t as if she’d be going shopping in Paris every day or London for much longer.

Sixty is not that old - Part 15

The three-and-a-half-hour journey from Totnes to Portsmouth allowed the two women to begin the process of getting to know each other.

At first, Gabrielle was a little defensive towards her father.

Then Vivienne said,
"As I said when we were back in Totnes, I've just sold my home in London. In a few weeks, I will have the equivalent of more than three million Euro in my bank. I'm not after any money that Jacques may or may not have but this is not about that."

Ignorance is No Excuse for Hating Someone Part 29

Troy, Amy, and Samuel follow behind Mr. Bounty and Cheshire as they step outside. Just as they stepped outside a huge black wolf comes running up to Jack.

“That’s a huge wolf.” Troy couldn’t believe how big the wolf was. He figures it had to be about the same size as a werewolf or dire wolf.

“That is the legendary demon wolf, Chaos. A wolf you don’t want to mess with.” Gina had been standing nearby when her father and their guest came out.

“What makes him so legendary?” Samuel looks at Chaos and wonders what makes him so dangerous.

Sixty is not that old - Part 14

The arrival of the supposed ‘Downsizing Experts’ the following day proved to be rather an anti-climax. They talked the talk but didn’t really persuade Vivienne that the services that they offered were what she really needed.

Their estimates of the costs for their services based upon their inspection of her home and garden made Vivienne gasp with surprise.

“That is an awful lot. It seems rather excessive,” she said to one of the three companies.

Sixty is not that old - Part 13

"Ja… Jacques? What are you doing here?" said a very startled and surprised Vivienne after they'd almost bumped into each other on 'The Strand'.

He smiled back at her. Any worries that she might have had just disappeared in an instant. His smile did that to her. Again!

"Meeting you," he replied.

Sixty is not that old - Part 12

Once Vivienne had gotten over feeling so foolish, a silly old woman and a dozen other even more derogatory things she suddenly felt a little lost. This sort of thing was all new to her. Back in London, her life had been framed by routine. Walk Betty, go to work, come home, walk Betty and go to bed. Rinse and repeat every day with a slight variation at the weekend.

Standing there with nature alive all around her made her realise that she was very much out of her comfort zone.

New Worlds

‘You don’t mind if I call you Mike do you?’ When forced to reply they usually replied by saying something like, ‘I didn’t realise you were talking me, Cinderella, because my name is Michael.’ That was of course if the questioner were male. They substituted a name like Arnold if the questioner were female.

Sixty is not that old - Part 11

The sun was just poking its head above the horizon as Vivienne left home the next morning. She had high hopes for the weekend despite not having anywhere to stay for the next few days. The traffic was light at that early hour. It was just before 05:45 when she reached the start of the M3 close to Kempton Park Racecourse. The battery gauge on the dash told her that the battery in her car would get her to the charger at the Supermarket in Wincanton just as she’d planned. She hoped that she could get a late breakfast while the car was also fed but with electrons rather than her choice of Sausage, Bacon, Eggs and Hash Browns all washed down with a large cup of tea.

Sixty is not that old - Part 10

Vivienne met with Verity late the next day at her offices on Victoria Street. They’d been at Boarding School together and had become firm friends when they both got struck down with Measles at the same time. Being the sole occupants of a Boarding School Sick-bay over the Easter holidays was no fun so they’d gotten up to all sorts of mischief together. That bond had lasted until Vivienne had gotten married. Verity had been her Maid of Honour at her wedding to Rex.

Sixty is not that old - Part 9

Vivienne had been nagged by the thought of some dark secret or secrets that Jacques was hiding refused to go away. His good looks and charming personality were tempered by this as yet unanswered question. She preferred to think that someone like him could not be all bad.
This was, of course, complete and utter bollocks naturally… but it sounded rather nice to her.

Sixty is not that old - Part 8

The Photographer from the Estate Agency, a still wet behind the ears youngster named Neil Thomas, finished packing up his gear and then left Vivienne alone. A job that should have taken under an hour had taken three hours. For some unfathomable reason, he insisted on using a full studio flash rig even in the Bathroom where there really wasn’t the room to swing a cat let alone all the kit that he’d brought with him. From what little he’d said during the visit, he was clearly more used to taking pictures of the very large houses that only the mega rich of Hampstead could afford. Still, it was at their cost not hers. If she wasn’t happy with the promotion material she could take her business to another agency.

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