Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 05:02:56 GMT
From: tanj wirehead <tanj_wirehead@hotmail.com>
Subject: Jon's Path (part 2)

Jon's Path (part 2)
by tanj


   Okay, so it's the same thing as last time, right? This story is pure
fiction with the exception of a few place names. Fictional story, fictional
characters, fictional consenting sex between teens who happen to be males.
Exclusively. Don't like it? Don't read it. Nuff said.

   My thanks to all those who gave their encouragement, but the vast
majority of my gratitude is reserved for that singular person whom has made
my life complete. You know who you are - am I right, sexy-boy?

   And now, back to the path...

===========================================================================

   Jon sat in the cubicle in somewhat of a daze. The stranger that had
occupied the neighbouring stall had escaped in total anonymity leaving Jon
with a few cum stains on his shirt, a softening cock and a warm glow of
satisfaction centred on his crotch. His first thought - after his brain
reactivated - reminded him that it was early summer, and he need not wear a
splotchy shirt all the way home. It could be shoved into the backpack for
the bike ride. Jon's second thought was less trivial, however.

   He was mortified to think that his life was becoming queerer and queerer
before his very eyes while there was apparently nothing he could do about
it. As was usually the case, Jon shrugged it off thinking that if he
couldn't swim against the current, he may as well relax as he drifted down
stream. At times like this, he often thought of an interesting article he
had stumbled across while performing some rather unfocused research for a
biology project a year ago. It was from a medical journal on the topic of
genetics. The author of the article claimed to have found evidence that
homosexuality was an inherited trait - a certain area of the brain that was
smaller and less active in homosexuals than in "normal" people.

   At the time, Jon's father had seen the specious flaw within this claim
almost immediately.  "How could it be genetic? Homosexuals don't breed, do
they? If your belief in evolution were right, then this feature would have
died out millions of years ago, wouldn't it? I don't know whether to blame
your teachers or you, but *I* refuse to take responsibility for it!" The
memory of his father's voice echoed off the tiles of the empty washroom.

   Screw this, Jon thought. It had been a most excellent day so far, aside
from the tumble from his Schwinn that morning. Warm and sunny, an easy
calculus final, the last day in this dump of a school and he had gotten his
rocks off in an extraordinary fashion. What more could he ask for? More
riding, that's what.

   Jon exited the washroom and then the building altogether with a sense of
sneaking secrecy, certain that if anybody had spied him they would somehow
identify his indecent act. Prosecution wishes to enter the stained shirt as
exhibit A, your Honour.

   His bike was just as he had left it, locked to the rack with two or
three other stragglers. In practiced, fluid motions, Jon unlocked his bike,
set the front wheel back into the fork, and re-attached the seat at the
perfect height. Within seconds he was on the street, travelling at the same
speed as the traffic.

   About two kilometres south on Fourth Street, Jon left the road for the
path that wound through Centennial Park. His legs felt a slight burn as was
ordinary for a fit seventeen-year-old. He could hold this pace for hours on
end, never tiring enough to be forced into a rest, enough power left over
for a sustained burst of pure speed if it became necessary. The one thing
he needed was water. Carrying large quantities of it was wasteful - far
better to carry it inside the body.

   Jon stopped at a drinking fountain and filled his stomach with cool,
clear water without getting off his bike. Here he paused, resting one foot
on the edge of the child sized fountain, the other still on a pedal, while
he watched the joggers, 'bladers, bikers and elderly strollers pass by in
the sunshine.

   From his left came the distinctive sound of a skateboard rolling across
pavement. Jon glanced in the direction of the sound and was at once
rewarded by the sight of a young skater, sixteen tops, no shirt and baggy
knee-length shorts, battered sneakers with no socks inside them, shoulder
length dirty blonde hair tossing fitfully in the wind created by the kids
motion. Without a doubt, summer is the greatest of all the seasons. Jon
admired the strong butt that was hinted at beneath the fabric of the shorts
each time the kid's right leg reached forward to pound at the path.

   As he watched the cutie dwindle to his right, a voice reached him from
near left.

   "Scuze, man. Thirsty out - Whoa! Dude! It's you again!"

   Jon looked over into the face of a young roman god on a Trek, the same
kid that had forced him off the path earlier that day. No shirt, well
proportioned smooth chest, Jon's prick immediately twitched in recognition.
"Hey. Mind if I stay on my bike this time?"

   "Ha haaa! Not at all, man. Mind if I smell yer foot while I drink?" the
kid grinned back.

   "Oh... sorry..." Jon nearly stammered as he removed his foot from the
fountain. His wit was slowly overcome by desire and the fantasies playing
out in his head. Jon watched the kid bend over the fountain in the same
manner as he had moments before: ass still on the seat and one foot on the
edge of the fountain. He watched the glistening back muscles and neck
tendons standing out. He watched the young arm, finely muscled, as it
caught the stem of the fountain, watched as the thumb pressed the valve
button. He studied the beads of sweat on the boy's forehead as they
gathered themselves into drops that slid over the high cheekbones one by
one, some dripping off the majestic nose, falling into the stream of water
as it entered the mouth and down the throat in repeated bobs of the Adam's
apple. He gazed at the hair peeking out of the boy's armpit, then to his
leg, bent nearly double, showing off the knee and developed calf muscle
covered in fine light brown hairs. Jon slowly shifted his stance,
repositioned his pedals to raise his left leg, hiding his growing erection.

   "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! Jeezuz, but this city has good water, eh?" The boy
straightened out, leaving his foot on the side of the fountain.

   Get a grip, Jon. "Uhh... Yah... You're not from around here?" Brilliant.
Fucking brilliant, Jon. Another witty repost from the gay-boy at his
finest.

   "Naw, dude. Winnipeg. Not as many hills to hump over out there, but way
more places to take a swim when you get hot. Is there anywhere around here
for that?"

   Jon considered the question for perhaps an eighth of a second. "Sure,
but it's gonna be damned cold. Think you can handle it?"

   "Helllloooo! Dude, I'm from *Winnipeg!* If it's liquid, it's warm enough
to swim in!" The kid smirked in a way that made Jon laugh out loud.

   "All right, mano. Try to keep up with me!" Jon replied with a smirk of
his own.

   There was no suppressing Jon's teenage competitive instinct. He
immediately sent his entire weight onto the cranks. Distorting the frame
ever so slightly, he shot off in the direction he'd come from, back into
the heart of Centennial Park. He quickly cycled through the gears until the
last rear sprocket, about the size of a loonie, was giving the drive wheel
about six revolutions for every one of the pedals. Zipping around a jogger,
Jon spied the young 'boarder ahead and coming up *fast*.

   "On your left!"

   WOOOSHHH!

   Jon looked back over his shoulder to see the skater's expression. His
new friend was still with him and Jon begrudgingly admitted that he was
pretty good on his bike. Then, to his amazement, he saw his cycling buddy
give the younger skater a swat on the butt as he passed.

   "Out of the way, little dude!"

   Jon guffawed at the look on the poor kid's face. Much better than
anything he could have produced by simply zooming past at excessive speed.

   Another two kilometres at this speed went by in an amazingly short time
span. Jon dismounted on the other side of a small hump-backed wooden bridge
that crossed the creek just upstream of where it widened into a pool. His
new friend was right behind him. They were both blowing hard. "Hey (puff).
You're not bad on that thing."

   "Yah...well," the kid replied sarcastically, "I've been (huff huff)
studying since I... (huff) ran over you this morning. (huff) Now I can
correctly identify (huff) a bicycle eight times out of ten (huff huff). Of
those times (huff), I can pick out the front end about half the time.
(huff)"

   "Half the time, eh? (puff puff)" Jon asked, getting into the game, "Then
you're probably (puff) just guessing. Odds are (puff) you'd be right about
half the time (puff puff) 'cuz there's only two ends on a bike (puff)."

   They both laughed as their cardio-pulmonary rates quickly resettled to
normal levels. They set their bikes down on the grass (kick-stands are for
pussies) and Jon waved an arm expansively at the pool of water. "It's all
yours, mano. Dive in!"

   "What about you? You're not going in?"

   "No way. *I'm* not from Winnipeg." Jon stated.

   "Have it your way, dude." The boy said as he waded thigh deep into the
water. "Aw, hell... It's not th-th-that bad!"

   Jon's laugh died out in amazement as he watched his friend slowly sink
down to a kneeling position, the chilled water reaching nipple level. The
small nipples stood erect in tiny buttons of perfectly formed flesh as they
alternately appeared and disappeared behind the small waves. "Jesus. You've
got more balls than brains!"

   "Not any more, dude. Ever heard of river-dick?"

   Jon laughed again. This guy was funny as well as good looking. He
couldn't tear his gaze from the kid's nipples; try as he might, until his
friend stood up to wade out of the water.

   "See what I mean?" the boy asked, "The water makes it disappear!" He
gestured at his crotch and wet jogging shorts.

   Jon averted his gaze and twiddled the grass, once again afraid of being
outed. The boy plopped down beside him to soak up some warmth from the sun.
"Thanks dude, this is a great spot for a cool-down." He said. "Hey, ummm...
my name's Anth. What's yours?"

   "Jonathon. Call me Jon." Still not trusting himself to glance at the
boy, he asked, "Anth? As in, Anthony?"

   "Yeah, that's right, but I'll deny it if you ever repeat it. I can't
take 'Tony' so I stick with Anth. Nice to meet you, Jon!" Anth stuck out
his hand.

   Jon took the offered hand and looked into Anth's eyes as he shook it,
marvelling at the strength and feel of the wet and cool hand. "Yah, nice to
meet you, Anth." It was all he could do not to run his eyes down the length
of his new friends bod, lingering for special attention at the wet crotch
area.

   "Is it safe to whiz in the bushes?"

   Jon's daze was broken by the abrupt change in subject. "Uhh... sure, I
guess... I mean there's no cop station on the other side or anything."

   Anth produced his smirk and got up to search out a spot to mark. When he
returned, he sat down with his back against a tree and facing Jon. He kept
his left leg bent at the knee, thereby lifting the drying shorts off of his
right thigh. Jon was stunned. He had a clear view of his new friends 'nads.
Anth seemed to be totally unaware of the fact that he was exposing himself
so completely. Besides that, he seemed to be straighter than Jon's roomie
Kev!

   Jon stared as long as he possibly dared. Long enough to see the
underside of a cut cock lying on its side over top of a shrunken sac. The
same brown hair that covered those legs thinly surrounded the cock and
balls he so avidly observed. He also noted a strange dark spot of irregular
shape on the shaft of this beautiful tool. God, he *had* to stop looking!
Anth would surely notice. But mano! *Look* at that thing! Jesus, he could
even see some hair in the crack of Anth's ass below his tight bag. Was it
always that tight? Maybe it was just the cold water...

   "... the look on that kid's face! ...Dude...?"

   A shot of adrenalin pumped Jon's chest as he realized, with a fatal
certainty, that his new friend had caught him looking. "Yah!" he said, far
too loudly, snapping his eyes back to Anth's face. He was no longer
smiling. "That was... uh... that was great." Jon burned with anxiety. Anth
had noticed. Was he going to condemn Jon as a fag? Snarl a remark and throw
a punch?

   To be sure, Jon had spent very little time looking his new friend in the
face. Even now, at a time when that was the only place he should be
looking, Jon's eyes found themselves glued to Anth's chest. The rapid
breathing had drawn his eye, and now his mind was racing. Shit! What am I
*doing*? He's going to think I'm a fag. Christ... I *am* a fag! Shit shit
*shit*!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Anth had arrived in Calgary less than a week before. His father had been
transferred but had managed to delay the move until Anth and his younger
sister Sonya had completed the school year.

   He couldn't complain about his new city, the scenery was like nothing he
had ever experienced before, but the bike paths! They were a dream come
true. A diligent cyclist could explore every sector of the city, but it
would take months at least. The only problem was the fact that he had left
every single friend he'd ever had behind in Dullsville.

   The people were different, that was certain. Take, for example, that
prick this morning. Telling him how to identify the front end of his bike
as if there were still training wheels on it! Sure, Anth thought, maybe he
could have been paying a little more attention to his surroundings, but
still! Back home, they would have been stumbling over each other to
apologize.

   Anth had spent most of the day exploring his new environment. He
realized that the altitude would take some getting used to. The air was
thinner, and that made the hills that much tougher to pump his bike over,
but it sure as hell didn't affect his sex drive. At sixteen, he pulled off
at least twice a day, and today was no different.

   So far, he had seen the downtown core, which was just down a steep
incline from his new home. He'd seen the General Hospital, the long, long
climb back up the damned hill on Edmonton Trail, seen Peter's Drive-In,
where he was shocked by his order of fries. He had asked for a large fries,
and that's what he got -- practically a shoebox full of them. He'd seen
what he had realized was his new school, Fowler High, and naturally, it was
built on the side of a hill. After that, he had cycled through a large park
and found nothing of interest on the other side.

   Damn it, he deserved a good whack after all that work! He decided to
head back into the park to find a nice secluded spot for some fun in the
sun. It didn't take him long to find just he spot. A small area on the side
of a creek surrounded by trees and bushes.

   Anth peeled off his t-shirt and sat down on a tiny patch of grass. He
was half hard already. After a pause to listen for other people nearby, he
hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his nylon jogging shorts. No
underwear because he loved the delicious feeling of being less than fully
dressed in public, not to mention the feel of the silky material against
his cock as he pedaled. Shorts down around mid thighs, Anth flipped his
semi-wood over to the other side and watched as it grew and slowly worked
itself back to the left with small bobbing motions. It wasn't long before
he was extended to his full six and five-eighths inches - he had measured
it to exacting standards many times.

   "How's my buddy doin'?" Anth mumbled. He scrutinized his dick with a
practiced eye. The patchy pigmentation was an oddity that he had not fully
come to grips with yet, but he knew - from experience - that some time in
the sun would help blend the differing shades.

   Anth heard a rustle in the bushes somewhere in front and slightly to his
right. His body immediately froze, but his mind thrilled at the thought
that somebody was watching him. His cock had similar sentiments; it
immediately became almost painfully hard. He pretended not to notice the
intruder and started slowly stroking his cock with his masculine hand. His
other hand gripped his bag, loose and hanging, and gently rolled his nuts
around each other. He tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes to mere
slits, knowing that anybody more than three metres away would think they
were closed.

   His rod was throbbing pleasure throughout his body as he stroked it and
covertly studied the bushes across from him. He never would have seen the
trespasser if she had not moved. Instantly, Anth's shielded eyes focused on
the motion, picked out the outline of a girl with shoulder length hair,
stealthily repositioning for a better view.

   Maybe two seconds later, Anth realized that it was a guy in the bushes,
not a girl at all. He had no shirt on! His cock erupted as this thought
formed, the first shot going straight up, rotating end over end to land
with a splat - half on his shorts, half on his thigh - just as the next
volley lifted itself over his navel and onto his chest. A barely audible
gasp from the kid in the bushes only served to intensify Anth's climax and
the next three or four blast landed on and around his toned body.

   Having seen all he could, the hiding boy scrambled to extricate himself
from his cover and rush back to the path. Anth heard him drop a skateboard
and frantically pound away over the pavement. He sat there a while
pondering the intensity of his burst. Why had it felt so damn good when he
saw that it was a boy? Would it have felt the same if it really *was* a
girl? What the hell was going on here?

   After a time, Anth cleaned himself in the water but was unsure what to
do about the spot on the hem of his shorts. Riding with wet shorts was a
total drag. It chafed. He decided to forget about it - all of it - and just
ride home.

   Later, leisurely coasting along the path, Anth spied a fountain at which
another biker was resting. Yup, time for fluids, all right. The guy was
staring off in the direction Anth had been cycling and didn't see or hear
him approach.

   "Scuze, man. Thirsty out" here today, his mind finished as his mouth
formed the words, "Whoa! Dude! It's you again!" Here was the guy that had
dumped himself off the path in order to avoid colliding with Anth.

   "Hey. Mind if I stay on my bike this time?" The kid said.

   So, going to remain in the role of the righteous, are we? Well... I
suppose it *was* more my fault than his, Anth thought. "Ha haaa! Not at
all, man. Mind if I smell yer foot while I drink?" Anth cocked his head at
the guy's foot resting on the edge of the fountain.

   "Oh... sorry..."

   Aww, shit. The guy thinks it was *his* fault! Anth bent over to swallow
water and thought about how to explain to this dude that he should have
been more careful. His mind remained a complete blank. All he could think
of was, "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! Jeezuz, but this city has good water, eh?" Oh,
yah. Like these Albertans don't think I'm hick enough already. Shit, man!
What a stupid thing to say.

   "Uhh... Yah... You're not from around here?"

   Wow. This dude was really upset. Better make friendly-like. "Naw, dude.
Winnipeg. Not as many hills to hump over out there, but way more places to
take a swim when you get hot. Is there anywhere around here for that?" Anth
smiled hopefully. No hard feelings?

   "Sure, but it's gonna be damned cold. Think you can handle it?" The kid
answered immediately and smiled.

   That's cool, Anth thought, he ain't such a hard-ass after all. Anth made
a wisecrack about Winterpeg only to receive a friendly challenge of cycling
skills. The dude took off like a bat out of hell and Anth hoped the grade
would remain somewhat level on the way to the swimming hole. He'd seen
enough of the damn hills already!

   "On your left!" the dude yelled out at someone just in front of him and
swerved around a kid on a skateboard, missing him by millimetres.

   Holy shit! Anth thought, that's the kid who was spying on me! As he
passed, Anth gave him a sound smack on the ass and hollered, "Out of the
way, little dude!" That'll show him, little bastard. Anth didn't look back
for fear of being recognized, but he caught his new friend's look of utter
astonishment.

   A few minutes later, they had reached a spot on the creek that was wide
and deep enough for a swim. Trading jibes and jokes; Anth suddenly
remembered the spot on his shorts and the fact that he had forgotten his
shirt back in the trees. Better get into the water.

   And damn, it *was* cold! But he had no choice. He sunk down to a squat
and surreptitiously rubbed at the stain to work it out of the material.
Dude was having trouble looking Anth in the eye. Was he still feeling bad
about the incident this morning? Anth waded back out of the water and
cracked another joke about how cold it really was. "See what I mean? The
water makes it disappear!" He gestured at his wet shorts laughing at his
own double entendre.

   The dude still didn't respond, just sat there twisting grass around his
finger. Anth wanted to apologize, but all that came out was a timid,
"Thanks dude, this is a great spot for a cool-down. Hey, ummm... my name's
Anth. What's yours?"

   Anth found out his new friends name was Jonathon, Jon for short. They
shook hands and Jon finally looked him in the eye and gave him a crooked
little - very little - grin. "Is it safe to whiz in the bushes?" Anth
asked, hoping for a laugh.

   "Uhh... sure, I guess... I mean there's no cop station on the other side
or anything." Jon replied. No laugh, but Anth got that crooked grin again.

   Anth got up and took a leak, returned to his new friend, and sat back
down with his right leg stretched out in front of him. "Man, that was
priceless, eh? That kid on the board? I saw you zoom right past him and I
sure as hell didn't wanna be outdone! I mean... the look on that kids
face! ...Dude...?" He noticed Jon was staring at his shorts with a slightly
stunned look on his face. Aw, shit! Was there still a cum stain visible
there? Should have scrubbed it harder! Jon's going to think I'm a perv or
something! Shit!! What if he knows that little dude on the skateboard?!
What if they were talking about me before I showed up at the fountain? Shit
shit *shit*!

   Anth tried to retrieve some semblance of normality. "Umm... dude...
look, I gotta get home. Maybe we can get together later and hang a bit?"

   "Uhh... Hey, look, man... I'm really sorry. Really I am, but I should
make tracks too. Maybe I'll..." see you around. "Later, mano." And with
that, Jon picked up his Schwinn pulled the disappearing act for the second
time that day.

   Fuck, thought Anth, burning with shame. We would have made pretty good
friends, biking buddies at least.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Jon lay in his bed in a black mood. Just my luck, he thought, a sexy,
smart, friendly guy like that, and I have to let him see me drooling like
some queen on an American sitcom.

   Despite his shame, or perhaps because of it, he decided that if he
insisted on acting so queer, he might as well *be* that queer. It was one
in the morning, and he was going to take his bike down to *the* park.

   Jon lifted his Schwinn from the wall and let himself quietly out the
door. He pushed the bike around to the front of the house, mounted it and
rode like the wind. He went to the cliff edge, found the path that led
obliquely down the face of it, cycled across Princess' Island Park, through
the nearly deserted downtown core, across the lively strip centred on
Eleventh Avenue, and turned onto Thirteenth.

   Here he slowed his pace. He needed his wits about him and the slower
speed helped him focus on the shadows surrounding the empty lots, the
large, old houses, the apartment buildings. Seeing no immediate dangers,
Jon turned into the area surrounding the old Lougheed Residence.

   There was a youngish guy, maybe twenty, sitting on the steps at the rear
of the building. He let out a low whistle of appreciation at the sight of
Jon and stood up to walk towards him. Jon stood astride his bike and
inspected the guy as he approached. About five foot eight, one-thirty
pounds, dressed in a tight t-shirt and jeans. He couldn't see specifics,
eye colour, hair; it was too dim for that. But he did see him rubbing his
crotch. And when he got close enough, Jon could see a sizeable bulge in his
jeans.

   Jon was wearing his black spandex riding shorts and practically nothing
else. His hard cock was perfectly outlined under the tight fabric, the
head, even the tube on the underside stood out in bas-relief. The guy's
hand reached out and gave Jon's meat a squeeze. Oh, yaaahhhh. Jon swung his
leg over the bike and walked it back towards the stoop. The stranger
followed while unzipping his jeans and producing a cock at least nine
inches long, uncut, and hard as a nail.

   He placed his hands on Jon's hips and peeled the spandex down his legs,
freeing Jon's aching tool. He kneeled down and let out that low, almost
inaudible whistle again. "Nice fuckin' cock, man." Jon just watched with an
expressionless face.

   The young man looked Jon straight in the eyes as he opened his mouth and
swallowed whole the prick bouncing in front of his face. Jon took in a
sharp breath and rolled his head back, enjoying the warm, silky sensation.
The guy pulled his mouth off and whispered, "Yah. You like that, huh?" and
reached a hand around to Jon's ass, slipped a finger into the crack and
pressed it against Jon's hole.

   Jon flinched and tightened his sphincter while reaching down to
wordlessly removing the man's hand from his ass. With his other hand, Jon
pulled the man's head back onto his cock. He thrust into the face a few
times, all the while looking into the man's eyes with a vague feeling of
violence. The man was stroking his huge cock while sucking on Jon.

   Jon pulled his meat out with a pop and sat his naked ass on the cold
cement of the steps. The man stood up and pushed his jeans farther down his
legs. Jon had never seen a tool this size, so hard, so close up. The
foreskin was stretched taught and only covered the bottom half of the
engorged head. There was no way he would get his mouth around that thing,
so he spit on it and started fisting it while watching the precum leak out
of the slit.

   "Yah, baby... suck on it a while." The man whispered. Jon had no
intention of doing so. He let go and leaned back onto his elbows, inviting
the man to resume his oral assault, giving him a crooked grin that came out
as more of a sneer.

   The man dropped to his knees again and grabbed Jon's cock and held it
back so he could lick and suck on Jon's bag. He slipped his tongue a little
farther down and teased Jon's ass again. Jon sat up slightly straighter,
silently warning the guy to stay away from that area. He took the hint and
resumed pistoning his mouth up and down Jon's shaft. Jon lolled his head
back, closed his eyes and moaned quietly, very close to blowing it.
"Uuuuunnnnnggggggggghhhhhh!"

   Jon started cumming. Two shots spurted into the man's mouth and throat,
then the stranger pulled off and caught some in his hand, the rest shooting
onto his jeans and t-shirt. "Yah! That's it! That's the way...." The man
took Jon's fresh juice and covered his own cock with it. He stood up,
scrambled to get his cock near Jon's face while pumping furiously with his
cum-covered fist. He didn't make it all the way to Jon's face. "Uuuuhhhhh,
yah, baby here it is. Take it baby, take it all!" The stranger lost his
load in flying gobs, heavy with velocity. Most of it ended up in Jon's
hair, one spot on his neck, the rest dribbling out onto his stomach.

   They both remained unmoving for a short while, that
exhilarating/exhausting body rush slowly washing away. Jon's mood turned
suddenly blacker than it was before he left home. He humped his ass up two
steps and got out from under this total stranger. He took three quick
strides to his bike while thinking, fag! Fucking *FAG*!!

   Jon pedaled away at near light speed... still unsure of whom, exactly,
he was calling a fag.

===========================================================================

   End of part two. Again, if you have any thing to say about this story -
good, bad, or indifferent - the address is at the top. But please, do me
the courtesy of omitting any personal questions.