An open letter to Will

[Boston Guy]

Dear Will -

 

I thought at first of writing to you privately. (It's been much too long since we've corresponded that way and it's entirely my fault. I apologize, my friend.)

 

But, upon reflection, I realized I wanted to write this note openly, for others to see.

 

You are a kind man and a civilized one. You bring great depth and breadth of knowledge to this place. Your posts have educated us, informed us, amused us, and made at least this poster reach for the dictionary any number of times. You write with skill and accuracy and wit and verve.

 

Many of us have reached often for an emoticon to make sure our feelings are clear to those reading what we write; you write so well that such clumsy devices are unnecessary.

 

I find the real value of this site to be almost entirely concentrated in this Message Center; the reviews are sometimes amusing but they are not why I come here. Instead, I come because so many who post here write interesting notes on subjects that are themselves of interest to me. The range of topics here is not nearly so broad as can be found at Atkol but still I find this board worth visiting.

 

At times it gets a bit tiresome reading through the cat fights and the insults and the "he-said, he-said" and at times I think that everything that can be said about escorting and escorts already has been said here.

 

But still there is value here.

 

Thinking back, your words stand out like a beacon for me. Yes, certainly, there are many others whose contributions I've read gladly and will continue to do so. There is room here for many ways of approaching life and many different interests and many kinds of writing.

 

But you are among the very best. You help us remember who we are and where we have been and where we may be going. It would be our loss indeed were you to abandon us.

 

Perhaps, working together, we can try to help make the discourse a bit more interesting again. Perhaps we can help steer it a bit away from the course of personal insults that it seems to have settled on and back a bit more towards an exchange of ideas that challenges us all.

 

I have been remiss in recent months in contributing here, perhaps to the delight of some who visit. But I'm willing to try once again if you are.

 

As a first attempt, I'm going to post another thread on a topic that has begun to concern me recently -- the difficulties often faced by gay men as they age. The recent decline of a dear friend has helped to me understand just a bit about what we all might eventually face and my concern about him and his needs has posed questions that I am still trying to understand, much less answer. And I see him know that he is declining too soon and I know he keeps wondering where the time has gone and I keep thinking back to Prufrock and mermaids and coffee spoons.

 

This topic may not interest you. But, if not, perhaps you will join me by posting another new topic that you think will interest some of the people here. If we are successful, perhaps we will all benefit.

 

And if you choose to go, then do so knowing that to me at least you have made a difference and I thank you.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Thanks Boston Guy...

 

and thanks also to Will for making such a big difference.

[Guest LAPrada]

Wow... such beautiful music. Who played First Violin??

[Justice]

>And if you choose to go,

>then do so knowing that

>to me at least you

>have made a difference and

>I thank you.

 

Wow! Thanks Boston Guy! (If you haven't already done so, please send a copy of this post to Will. He may not see it here.)

 

And to Will ... thank you for being here. I can't think of a thing to add to Boston Guys post. I echo everything that he said about you. Take care and thanks again!

 

Justice