just gotta share, just how much this place means to me... and the people I have found here over the years..

I can't even remember exactly what lead me here... I think it was my search for erotica... little did I know back then (July 2002) what it would be that I would discover here... and how much this place has meant to me personally.

In the world we live in, there are few places in which you can be truly who you are without fear of ridicule, judgment, or being alienated. Most of us, live our every day life with very few people truly knowing this aspect of ourselves. I can tell you that of the many people I know, even my closest friends, very very very few people know about my sexual desires/likes-dislikes, the fact that I have written erotica, or the fact that I come and spend time here. I would venture to say that many of them would be shocked, and the majority possibly appauled.

The people that I have found here.. some may not even realize I noticed them... many have touched my heart in ways they will never know.. and many I have been able to build a level of friendship that I treasure... the acceptance... the fact that others here share my desires... the fact that things are discussed so openly that they actually are thought provoking and have certainly opened up my own personal perceptions. Ultimately, this place has helped me grow into a much better person on many levels..

It is true... that I stepped away from this place for a very long time... the reasons for that were complex... I found that I have become uncomfortably vulnerable... and chose to step away (not that I wasn't lurking, cuz I did)... ultimately coming back because I had truly missed the things that I enjoy here... the people.. the very hot conversations... and the gentle persuasion that has led me over the years to open up more that I believe I ever would have otherwise...

It is because of all of you... the sum of all the parts... that make this place so wonderful.

So tell me... if you would... what this place has come to mean to you..