Atlanta, Pecans, and Woman on the Verge

My Dear Sillies,
I haven't been around much, because I was honored to visit Atlanta, Georgia, for the AFSP's/American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Annual Leadership Conference. Despite the profound tragedies that brought 340 of us together, I was energized by AFSP's life-saving successes, incredible people, and delectable pecan everything (pecan bacon, pecan pie with chocolate, pecan hash browns, pecan...)

                                        Atlanta, Buckhead District - view from the hotel

   On another exciting note, I finished editing my book (though I'm not sure I'll ever be finished editing), Woman on the Verge of Paradise. Now, to work on publication and continue revealing snippets here. 
   This scene takes us to my dorm room at UCLA, freshman year. Times are unsettling. I've just been shaken by the tragic news of my Mom's terminal illness, when I receive an odd phonecall...

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

  A day or two after learning of my Mom’s illness, another unexpected phone-call interrupted my studies. It was a guy. He sounded serious.

  “Hi. This is Bob. I’m conducting a research study on the orgasm. It will only take a minute. You’re a student, right?”

   “Yes.”

   “Your age, major, and year in school, please?”

   “Eighteen, Psychology, Freshman.”

   “Have you ever had an orgasm?”

   My face flushed and heart rate sped. “No I don’t think, no.”

  “Hmm, really? On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being ‘not at all interested,’ and 5 being ‘extremely interested’, how interested are you in having an orgasm, say, if you could have one right now?”

    I heard they’re good, I thought. “Five.”

   “You sound REALLY interested. Is that right?”

   Crap. I quelled my enthusiasm. “Yeah, I guess.”

   “So why haven’t you had an orgasm?”

   I was quick to defend my innocence. “I’ve been dealing with other things, like my Mom’s dying of cancer.”

   “Oh. Thank you for your time.”

   “Okay bye.” Wait. Don’t go!

    Click.

   Honestly, he sounded like a researcher, and I believed he was. I still think he was conducting a clinical study. But I’m naïve. Had he known who he was calling, and that I could use some stress relief?  Had I missed a momentous opportunity? Did I turn him off by telling him that my Mom was dying of cancer? I can see how that might have killed the mood. I’ll never know for sure.  

Courage, In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

source
I posted this poem in October of last year, as a tribute to you and your loved ones who were/are faced with tremendous obstacles, like cancer. I'm re-posting it in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Apologies that I haven't written new non-erotica poetry as of late. I'm hoping to do so soon.

I was fortunate enough to be in the audience many years ago, when Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King's then widow, who passed away in 2006; gave a moving speech. Even more awesome, that speech was delivered to a Jewish audience. I couldn't have felt more directly connected with the Reverend's teachings.

As horrible as things seem in the greater picture, there's always reason for hope. In fact, hope is our only real option. Right?

Have a hopeful week, with gratitude to Martin Luther King for his greatness and courage.

Courage

Extending the dance, 

When you’ve long lost your groove
Swimming to shore too frail to move.

Stepping towards light, when darkness abounds
Permitting a laugh amid no other sounds.

Confronting a beast no one should endure
It strikes with no warning, no reprieve and no cure.
 

Snuggling with hope, when the pain you can’t bare
Unveiling your heart in the face of despair.

Conveying a smile, when you’d much rather cry
Speaking the truth though it’s safer to lie.

Taking a stance, when integrity’s lost
Forcing what’s right in spite of the cost.  

Holding to faith in your value and worth
Maintaining a grace that softens the earth.  

Passing with ease
As you air your last breath

A hero whose soul
Transcends life
and death.

Bacon Hot Chocolate!? The Latest in Chocolate

 Add chocolate, a woman's first love, to bacon, a man's; heat; then drink! Does it work? I had to find out, so I purchased Redneck Cafe's Bacon Hot Chocolate at Cost Plus World Market. It's created and distributed by McSteven's Inc. in Vancouver, Washington. 

  I excitedly poured half of the packet into water, heated it in my microwave, sipped, and...thumbs down. It doesn't work. I tasted more bacon than chocolate and struggled, in fact, to taste chocolate. The bacon flavor wasn't right either - as if it was too fatty, too non-kosher, or had been left on the grill for too long. 

   Next, I mixed the rest with almond milk and heated it. That tasted better, sweeter and creamier. But it still didn't make me smile or sigh ecstatically - as good chocolate-bacon should.

   I'm not saying it's a bad product, and I drank it all, but I suggest that you save your money for a better bacon-chocolate product like the candy bars I reviewed in the past. 

   On a scale of 1 to 10, one being utterly disgusting and ten being orgasmicly divine, I give Redneck Cafe's Bacon Hot Chocolate a 3.5. It was a decent effort, and the package is kinda enticing. It was worth a try - if only for your sake, my dear readers. Wink.

Anyone else ever try bacon hot chocolate? How does it sound?

Have a sweet, tasty week.