Yo.

Been a long time - again - 6 whole f'ing months. I still read the friends' pages with regularity, even if I'm not a regular commentor.

Not much new. Taught my first course this summer, on the Vietnam War. It went well - students were especially interested in making links between it and Iraq. I actually had to be the person to point out the things that were different, and insist on historical uniqueness, even though I also believe there are many links and similarities between the two wars.

Living here on the West Coast all my life, I've not known many people from the US Gulf Coast region, although I do have friends in suburban Houston who have spent the last few weeks engaged in relief efforts. Let me tell you all something - the only reason anything good is happening down there is because of the inherent goodness of much of the American public, folks who have opened their lives and homes to strangers. The US government is guilty of criminal negligence in not doing anything for these folks.

There were several near-misses with the women this summer - both bondage and non-bondage. With regard to the former, there was a girl about my age who really came into her own, felt more self-confident and assured, when I had her tied and gagged. But she also came off as very young-looking, and that weirded me out a bit much, and so we didn't play subsequently. I prefer to tie up *women* - with curves, a bit of age to them. Just my thing, I guess.

With regards to the latter - non-bondage - it's my same old story, I suppose - something seems to develop, and then evaporates into nothing. I'm still curious about why that is. I've got many years ahead of me to figure that out.