Big Ed's Place

If you’re reading this, I’m still away from the computer taking care of my wife, son, and new daughter. This is another case where I saw a picture and said, “what’s the story?”

We’re obviously at a party of some organization of young women, since they’re all wearing similar costumes. They also have plastic cups, which is typical for college beer parties. So this screams ‘sorority party’ to me. But then the questions start: are there men around (is that knee and blue cloak in the picture a man)? If so, why is there such a large congregation of women in the frame? Most men would be all over the girls when they’re dressed like this and drinking. Second, what’s with the lack of underwear? Is it just those two girls or all of them? Finally, what did it take to get these two to pull this pose so publicly? They wouldn’t do it if they were worried about the reaction of the other women at the party. While I doubt it’s a serious sex pose (it looks like a “Girls Gone Wild” type dare picture) they still have to be comfortable that their friends won’t be ticked off at them. And if they’re wiling to do something like this for the camera, what happens behind closed doors? For just the two of them or the sorority?

Like I said, I’m curious about the story behind the photo.

One of the wonderful things about having a WordPress engine for this site is that I can pre-schedule posts. If you’re reading this, it means real life (i.e., the birth of my daughter) has forced me to be away from the computer. Since I don’t want to miss a regularly scheduled post, this one has been pre-programmed.

My question is simple: what’s the story behind this picture?

I found the picture on a tumblr. It’s obviously an amateur shot and it’s in a semi-public area (note the clothed people in the background). There’s been alcohol involved and obviously some risque’ conversation because otherwise why would the one woman be giving an up close and personal pussy show? Also, four women and three men (I’m assuming the photographer is male) is an uneven gendered group, so it’s probably not couples or swingers. How do they know each other? And how did the photographer talk the four women into all sitting on the side and letting him take the picture.

It definitely makes me wonder what the story is.

With the turn of the calendar, we’re in the season of retrospectives and resolutions for the future. My daily life is still oriented with very short term deadlines, which makes resolutions a bit tricky. It’s hard to say, “this is what I want to do for the year” when I can barely see past the end of the week. Similarly, it’s hard to look back at the past year with any objectivity when near term events have been rather stressful. I’m happy to say, “Good Riddance” to 2010, except it’d be more accurate to say, “Good Riddance to December 2010” because, when I have a chance to really relax, I may discover the other months weren’t that bad.

This is in part because I realize how malleable memory really is. False memories are surprisingly easy to imprint, as is the tendency for the mind to fill in details inaccurately. We remember things that have strong emotional content and I’ve realized that sometimes the memories change when the emotions do.

For example, I can remember fights with my college girlfriend, despite it being nearly 20 years since the fight in question. However, the distance of time has mellowed the import of those fights and so the details of them have changed. They’re memories I’ve revisited several times, but over time I’ve remembered less and less what she said, and more what I said. Am I remembering correctly? I like to think so, because those memories of my younger self aren’t flattering, and why alter them to make me look bad? But of course, I have no way of knowing. After all, if I asked her, there’s no way to tell if it’s her memory or my memory that’s at fault.

Similarly, and more on-topic for this site, I remember sexual encounters that I thought were the most-incredible-thing-ever at the time, and even for some time after. But years later, they’ve lost their thrill for one reason or another. It’s usually not so much me having more experience or being jaded, as having a different perspective. For example, now when I recall the face of one past partner, I see different emotions in her expression. I don’t think she was as crazy about the sex that time as I had thought.

So… what do I remember about writing in 2010? Not a lot, I admit. I remember spending most of the year on Deep Dish, getting started on Unmasked, and also TMI, but those are all relatively ‘fresh’ in that they’re still in my queue in one form or another. Fortunately, I don’t have to actually remember what I did–because I have notes in the form of musing posts over the past year.

I released Babe in the Night, though it had been written in 2009. I also wrote and released In the Style of Rodin, and Love’s Labor Found in 2010. I wrote and sold Irie No Kaubutsu. Throw in the Deep Dish script and TMI, and that’s five stories completed, for about 50,000 words total. That’s a lot more than I remembered or thought. I just kept plugging away…

So maybe the memories aren’t all that important. Not when I have my words here to provide a reality check of my brain.

Welcome!

After much preparation, I’m proud to announce that Big Ed’s Place is ready for business. Feel free to look around or stay awhile! To celebrate this ‘Grand Opening,’ I’ll be releasing four stories over the next few weeks. Their descriptions are:

One-Eyed Dick, Nellie the Whore, and the Spring of Perpetual Wood
This here’s a story about One-Eyed Dick, the legend of the Mountain West. What, ya never heard of One-Eyed Dick? Why, you’ve heard of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, haven’t ya? But I’m not surprised ya haven’t heard of Dick, not really. His stories are not the ones ya tell to children, if ya get my drift.
MF, FF, group, humor ~7400 words.
To be published November 12, 2009.

The Price
A Compassionate Courtesan Universe Story. It was a gamble, meeting my boss’s hooker. But if she’d tell me what I wanted to know, my political career could take off… Originally published at Ruthie’s Club.
MF caution ~6200 words.
To be published November 20, 2009.

A Mall Tale
Who says there aren’t surprising things to see at the mall? Originally published at Ruthie’s Club.
MF voy ~3600 words
To be published December 4, 2009.

Bent
A story in Nick Scipio’s Summer Camp Universe.
New Year’s was a traditional time for the Hughes and Coulters to bend the rules. But this time, would they go too far?
M+F+f+ oral group inc ~7400 words
To be published December 11, 2009.