The sound of the creek cascading down the side of the hill sounded almost musical; like a thousand bells tinkling in unison. I enjoyed being surrounded by the beauty of nature, and it helped me to relax. That was why I was here now; I needed time to myself to think and get away from people for a while. I was eight months pregnant with twins, and the father...
I decided to have my summer vacation in the Bavarian Lake District. It was early June, before the family herds take their vacations. Searching the Web, I finally made a reservation for a single room in a family pension in a small town on Tegernsee Lake south of Munich. What caught my attention was the relatively modest room price, while having a free use of...
It was a strange set of circumstances and events that led to a most embarrassing and exciting day. As a 19 year old college student I lived in a unique apartment building just off campus. The building had eight apartments; each was occupied by four students and a resident advisor. This year five of the units were male; three were female. Each unit was very n...
By way of introduction, I live in a Midwestern city. My town has a very conservative reputation, which is justified in some respects. More broadly, however, I would characterize the prevailing attitude as benign indifference. Whatever consenting adults get up to among themselves is ok so long as it is not in our face. On a more personal level, I am 50 and a...
This story takes place long before the "From the Curtains" series published on here a few months ago. Some readers may remember Melanie, the main character of the original series. This story takes place before those stories. Melanie lay back in the nude on a raft in her pool, her thoughts drifting back to when she was younger. The sun's warm rays wafting ov...
I have had a somewhat odd career. I went straight through college and law school. I spent 15 years working for a large law firm. That experience left me frustrated and bored. In my mid-30s, I felt forced to reassess my life and direction. I asked myself what did I really love? The answer was that I really loved sports. I was fortunate because I was able to g...
My wife Dee Dee and I married in 1975. We had known each other for about 3 years and dated regularly and I finally popped the question. During this period, Dee Dee had met my brother Alex many times. We had all gone camping together, eaten many Thanksgiving meals together, and generally hung out together both at our house and his apartment. Dee Dee and Alex...
The campfire embers gradually faded from white and reddish-orange to gray and black. As the campfire died, the darkness from the surrounding woods edged closer eventually enveloping me. I'd been sitting for a couple of hours staring into the fire and poking it now and then with a long stick to keep it burning. I'd been thinking about the evening ahead and ho...
I would like to thank Alexandra my editor for correcting my English and her wise remarks. Prologue I was planning my visit to a professional trade fair in Cologne in Germany. I do have a habit of spending one or two exhausting days in the fair and then allowing some quality time with myself, as due to our company's policy I travel alone. After surfing the...
For several decades in the 20th century, young men in the U.S. swam in YMCA pools, at countryside swimming holes, in high school and college phys. ed. courses, and even at well-attended swim team meets, totally, bollocks naked. Yes, that's right: fully bare. No skimpy speedos, swim trunks, or even underwear; and usually no hair caps or swim goggles. The pre...