Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 12:12:19 -0400
From: sissi lesli <tvlesli@gmail.com>
Subject: Young Times - Reprise

Shortly after the turn of the century I began writing Young Times
(nifty.org, gay male, adult-youth 7/18/2000-8/6/2001) a 23 chapter
autobiographical tome about the trials and tribulations of growing up queer
in a small Virginia town.  Long and drawn out, the story followed my
experiences on the road from the closet as I evolved from the class, then
school, then town queer.

I planned, thru Young Times, to cover my extended growth and maturation as
I came, not only to grips, but to embrace my sexuality as me.  That the
writing came to an end in August 2001 was not planned but the result of my
real life soul mate Donnie coming back into my life and the extent I was
willing to sacrifice those writings in an effort to appease him.  It was,
in the end, a doomed relationship and the small sacrifice of ending my
story could in no way make up for the greater sacrifices neither of us was
willing to make.  We had both changed over the years in ways that
guaranteed disconnects on several levels.

Donnie was (is) a straight up homosexual, a poster child for gay pride, and
over the ensuing years he had hardened his position and opinions of anyone
and everyone not in the `identified' gay community.  He detested
heterosexual men who he blamed for all the pain and suffering he, and
others, had suffered in growing up `different'.  His lovers were gay, his
world was gay, and everyone else could go to hell.  He didn't understand or
approve of the changes that had affected me in the years we had been apart,
my transitioning, and my willingness to involve myself with the parade of
men that had come through my life.  We were two promiscuous bottoms in need
of a top, and neither of us was willing, or able to provide what the other
wanted.

They say that writing is therapeutic and I believe that.  Young Times
helped me over a very rough patch of my life after 2000 and, in hindsight;
I should never have given in to Donnie and stopped.  After we split, I
tried several times to take it up, only to drop it due to some crisis de
jour.

When I began Young Times, my life had already come to 2 cross roads and I
intended to divide the story in two main parts, each in a different section
of Nifty.  Now, with the hiatus of almost 12 years behind me, it
conveniently breaks into 3 parts.

The original Young Times deals with the approximate period of middle school
thru my running away from home at 17.  It was, by far, the most influential
period of my life, dealing with my eventual coming out and all the
adventures (good and bad) of my sexual initiations.

The next chapter `Young Times – the `tween year' will appear in the
Transgendered section under the TV subheading.  It will cover my roughly 1
year period as a TV streetwalker.

`Young Times – the rest of the story' will also appear in the
Transgendered section and chronicle my life from 18 on.

The original Young Times was about 60% either a true story or based on
actual events in my life with the remaining 40% fantasy.  My new writing
will strive to minimize the fantasy to less than 5%.

I hope those of you who have read Young Times have enjoyed it, and I hope
you will give my new writings a chance.

I apologize for not being able to `stitch' these two listings together, but
email address changes over the years have made that impossible.

Enjoy,

Lesli