etiquette for this blog

As I mentioned at the bottom of the first post, I intended the blog for friends and soul-mates, and complete strangers too. My wife reads it. I have not shared it with family. I have also not shared it with all my friends. This is not an attempt to exclude anyone, but rather reflects the fact that my inspiration for this blog was to create it for my friends. I inform my family of my progress in other ways. One pal has broadened the circle by suggesting other mutual friends for me to add. I also welcome complete strangers, as this is a public blog. I would just ask that my friends not "out" me by including material that identifies me in this blog, or by sharing the blog with other people without asking me. I set up the comments section just in case people wanted to chime in. Friends are welcome to add comments, but I guess I set up the comments section to let strangers chime in if they wanted to.

Let's say you are a relative or friend who I had not told about this blog, and you stumble on it and make the connection. Obviously, in practical terms, I can't compel you to tell me, but I ask you to tell me. Thanks.

But of those invited friends, I ask you to ask me before you out me as the blog author, or share the blog with other people who already know me.

A group of friends and neighbors, plus relatives and former coworkers, held a meeting the night of June 1 to organize a support network for our family.

It was stunning and very touching to see 40 people in one room all trying to do good and show that they care. Amazing.

I had worried that someone might blurt about the blog, because I prefer to keep in touch with family and neighbors personally, not via the internet. I think only three people there knew about the blog.

One asked me about it and then clammed up when I gave him the hush signal (finger over lips).

Another later started making an announcement about how great my blog is. I interrupted and gave the hush signal. Then he started to give the URL! I overrode him and denied that there was any blog, to much laughter.

Crap.

One of the advantages of the blog is that other than a few really close friends, most readers have never met me. It allows me to be more open. So those of you who came here as a result of the meeting, please send me a private email letting me know. Don't put your name, or my name, in the comments!

I suffered awful constipation in the morning, but even so, went to my son's kindergarten, where he presented his mom and sister and I for share day. I sat there in the wheelchair with my guts and ass pipe grinding away. Such a pain you should never know. And I covered my mouth so I wouldn't accidentally spray saliva on the kids (I still have remnants of the cough). I also tried to orient my legs in such a way that they wouldn't jiggle up and down as they tend to.

Very comfortable. A little more agony and by 3:05 PM I passed the tractor.

But as the day wore on I sometimes caught a sour whiff of my own scat. The smell must have permeated my sweat pants.

I caught another foul whiff as I was gingerly standing up with the aid of the wall, at the end of the meeting. The hostess, who is a stunning beauty in the same category as my majestic wife, bent down to move a chair for me, thus putting her nose within inches of my stank. I shifted to the side. She shifted her nose, like a wing man to my ass, to get a better angle on the chair. I shifted again. She shifted. By the end of the dance I was huddled against the wall thinking: Please don't smell it! Please don't smell it!

Sigh. She smelled it. And some of you who have come here as a result of that meeting can avoid being smells by contacting me privately about your discovery.