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He agrees to be her focus group for demoing toys in the adult toy store.By Norweger. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Can I help you?I glanced aside from the colourful products on display right in front of me, blushing mildly. The shopkeeper had done the rounds, and I, being lost in thought in front of the Toys; male, solo shelf hadn t noticed her approaching. Well, I could hardly deny I was thinking of buying a Fleshlight, as I held one; well, a securely wrapped one, luckily; in my hands as I met her friendly gaze.I, ah Fuck. Going to an adult toy shop shouldn t be embarrassing, should it? My cheeks and earlobes grew pretty pink. Well, I m just browsing, to be honest, IShe nodded. ‘Those are real good, by the way. She giggled. Well, good quality. Easy to keep clean. Rugged. For obvious reasons, I haven t taken one for a test drive myself.I chuckled, feeling my awkwardness recede a bit. That s one way of putting it. For obvious reasons I thought before answering Well, I could hardly expect you to have, could I? That being said, shops like this are quite particular, no? Normally, asking the shopkeeper for recommendations and whether she d used the product herself would be reasonable, but here, I guess it would get me me-too d right away? How do you actually reply if someone holds up something and asks, well, is this one any good?I smiled weakly while feeling my cheeks getting rosier again, hoping I hadn t overstepped any bounds. I got a chuckle for my trouble. Well, please try to keep the exciting images out of your mind, but to tell you the truth, we do test quite a lot of the stuff we sell.She blushed a little, herself. Well, we must buy them, of course, though at a steep discount. She turned her gaze down as the sentence trailed off, giving me a chance to look her over without being too obvious about it as the images she d been warning me about started to manifest themselves to my inner eye. I guessed she could be in her early thirties, a few years younger than me. Quite cute, slender, narrow hips, a loose-fitting, turquoise sweater doing its best to hide her ample bosom I d already undressed her in my mind, trying to imagine her testing the huge dildos in the glass display cabinet right behind her.Oh no, I hadn t been blushing earlier. Now; NOW I was blushing.She lifted her gaze again and giggled. Let me guess. Exciting images?I could hardly deny it, and she could hardly take affront, either. I turned my own gaze down, intensely studying my rather rumpled leather boots. There was no way in hell I d be able to meet her stare while saying it. Oh, guilty as charged. I made a helpless gesture with my arm towards the toys on display I imagined both this and that, I ll admit.Well, there s a reason we don t have fitting rooms, you know! Her giggle turned to a quick laugh which she stifled as quickly. I felt my mood rise just by hearing it; it had a chirping quality, sounded almost like a bird s cry. In improving spirits; and, frankly, quite turned on; this young, cute woman had more or less told me that she test ran a lot of the toys in the store. Now my eyes wandered around the room, desperate not to meet her stare, while every time I saw something titillating I imagined her using it on herself. Not that there was anything extraordinary about a woman in her thirties enjoying herself, but the mere thought, as she was standing two feet away from me Fuck. I was rock hard. I hoped it wasn t too obvious.Here goes nothing. Had I first said A, I might as well say B, too. I felt a bit braver, thinking we could spin a bit on this, while still keeping it innocent. She looked amused, too. That s kind of unfair, though, isn t it? Any woman walking into this store can get, ah, expert advice, whereas I, as a man, will have to take your word for it Oh, this one is good; I haven t tried it, but it is good, believe me!She laughed. Loud. I swear to all that s holy, had we ever had a male shop assistant here, he d be loaded down with all the male solo toys we could muster and be told to test the hell out of them; and take notes while he was at it! She turned serious. Wouldn t do you much good, though; I d be most surprised if there s even a single man in town who d casually ask another if that sex toy of his was any good or not.I d have to give her that. Chitchatting about sex did come a lot easier when I did it with a woman.Just that. There s a reason we re all women working here, she smiled. Women sell better to both men and women than, say, a fifty-something, balding, pudgy male in a soiled T-shirt and sweat pants. She chuckled. Beg your pardon for letting my prejudices shine through, by the way.I laughed out loud again, realizing I was getting close to asking her what she did once she d closed shop; she had, in a few minutes since I d become aware she even existed, shown herself to be one of those all too rare people who could get me in a good mood simply by being there; and that she could quip about sex and seemingly be at ease was an added bonus. Plus, of course, she was incredibly cute. I caught the warm, brown eyes peering out under her unruly mop of reddish hair, trying to come up with a suitable response before the silence became awkward or she trotted on through the shop, ending our moment.She glanced down at her watch, and my heart sank like a stone; opportunity wasted, I thought; until I heard what she had to say.Look Now I want you to be real careful; not getting the wrong idea as to what I am suggesting, okay? You are not going to have sex with me, capisce? Well, she had my full and undivided attention, even if I wouldn t get to sleep with her. I nodded, firmly. No fucking her. OK.I m about to close shop, now. If you, ahem, would like to test the fleshlight before you buy it, you can do so, okay? But, you re going to have to buy it afterwards, obviously. The lube is on the house.I gawked at her. Wow. I nodded, numbly. This couldn t be, could it? But I wouldn t want to miss this for the world. I nodded again, vigorously. She smiled a quick smile, then went to the entrance to lock the doors, glancing over her shoulder at me as she did so, throwing me another smile.Returning, she grabbed a bottle of lube from a shelf, and motioned for me to follow her as she walked past. As if I needed any prodding. It d probably be best to use our office, rather than have you go at it here under the bright lights, she suggested softly. I just shrugged. I d follow her anywhere. My cock was rather a simpleton.As we exited a door with a 'staff only sign at the back of the shop, we entered the kind of storeroom you ll find somewhere in any shop in the world; shelves stocked with all kinds of goods, except Well, these goods were very much adult toys. Darting past a crate packed to the gunwales with inflatable dolls; inflated!, she giggled Meet last year s Christmas decorations; we couldn t sell them, but neither could we bring ourselves to throw them away I shook my head, dumbfounded.She nodded towards a green door near the corner of the storeroom That s where you ll get to find out if the fleshlight is any goodShe opened the door, hinges groaning. I ve been meaning to grease those for ages, wonder if I can use this lube? she mused as we entered a small-ish, run-down office. Lots of papers were covering just about any horizontal surface; a desk with a computer and a phone on it and a small coffee table in front of a battered old sofa tucked into a corner; piles of merchandise along the far wall.Nodding towards the sofa, she suggested I take a seat before seating herself on the office chair by the desk. I hope you don t mind me watching. After all, I have a certain, um, professional interest in seeing how you get along with it, you know. , throwing me another smile; a warm, seemingly genuine one. She didn t appear to be wholly untouched, herself.I fumbled with the packaging. What sadist had invented welded plastic? Probably a good thing when it came to protecting sex toys on display, but when you were about to unwrap it to try it out? Not so much. My audience reached for a pair of scissors and motioned for me to lob her the fleshlight. You get out of your jeans, I ll get this out, OK? she suggested. I nodded, still not trusting my voice to bear.I hardly needed any more encouragement. I tugged at my belt, seconds later dropping my jeans to the floor, stepping out of them. My briefs were unceremoniously shoved down my thighs, and as I rose again, my almost painfully erect cock pointed arrogantly at the ceiling, the shopkeeper raising her eyebrows a little and giggling softly as she took the sight in while cutting open the packaging separating me from instant bliss.With a satisfied Hah! Finally! she pulled the fleshlight from its by now shredded plastic cover and reached over to hand it to me. I shamelessly ogled her cleavage before reverting to holding her gaze. As I said, this is good shit. You won t be able to destroy this one during normal use She proceeded to explain how important it was to clean it after use, stressing that they had both suitable toy cleaner and disinfectant in the store. Most gentle for the silicone, that stuff; unlike the dish soap most people tend to useHer sentence trailed off, apparently she got struck by the same thing I had; that this was an absurd time to discuss maintenance. My apologies, I got a bit carried away. Here.Accepting the toy, I glanced over at the bottle of lube perched on the edge of her desk. Turning around, she reached the bottle and spun back to present it to me. There you go, put lots in the fleshlight, some around the entrance and a little on your johnson, and you re good to go.Nodding, I did as she had suggested; an ample spurt of lube into the pale, pink thingy, then a little around the sculpted pussy lips. Bah, in a way it would have been better if they hadn t tried so hard to make it look like the real thing. Seeing as you wanted my observations, I think it would have been better if it was just an opening, not modeled to look like a real pussy; you know, no matter how good this may turn out to be, it can t possibly compare to the real thingDoh, she exclaimed as she rolled her eyes. I should have mentioned that, there s a neutral version, too; and, believe it or not, a few which are supposedly modeled after famous porn stars pussies, whether you believe it or not. Anyway, they probably all feel the same; just look at something, anything else while you re using it.I d be lying if I claimed I thought it would matter much what it looked like once it was wrapped around me. Squirting a wee bit of lube in the palm of my hand, I stroked myself a couple of times, ensuring I got some on the purplish, swollen head, too; unless I slipped in unhindered, I d be sore afterwards, of that I was certain.Positioning the fleshlight against the glans, I looked over at the shopkeeper. She stared back, eagerly anticipating my next move; not that she d have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what that would be. Gently pressing the fleshlight towards me, I slid into my first silicone pussy. It was just tight enough to feel natural-ish, I d hand the designers that; but it felt rather cold and, well, dead.What s it like? she asked, voice quivering slightly. Oh, not too bad, I replied Though it does feel a bit cold and. ah, dead, if I may say so at the moment, but that should improve shortly Giving it a couple of strokes, I could already feel it begin to warm up.She raised her stare from my fleshlight-wrapped member to meet mine. Fuck me, I really am not doing my job properly, now; I just remembered that the manufacturer recommend that you put it in warm water for a few minutes before use, precisely to avoid that corpse bride-feeling. My apologies.I nodded. That d probably do the trick, I m sure. However ; I let it slide back and forth a few times, feeling the soft silicone caress my oh-so-erect cock; it does feel really good, don t get me wrong; and it keeps getting warmer by the second!Having said that, I stroked myself in silence for a few moments, slowly, deliberately; pulling it off me until my cock emerged from it, exposing the swollen, lube-glistening head for my very attentive audience, then shoving myself into it again. Oh yes, it felt better and better. While no one would ever mistake it for the real thing; well, no one who had ever had the good fortune to have the real thing wrapped around oneself, anyway; it definitely felt good, much better than a simple handjob.It keeps getting better, I grunted. Would work better still if one could take it out of the casing, though; you know, to adjust the pressure, using it as a sleeve over my cock; would feel more alive, then.She nodded. I ll keep that in mind, in case someone asks. I believe you can take it out for cleaning, by the way; so you could probably, um, go au-naturel on it, if that s your preference. ; before again staring at my cock sliding in and out of the toy, mesmerised.I felt like I was being on display; quite naturally, seeing as that was just what I was; but caught myself enjoying it. My audience was really cute and sexy as hell; well, truth be told, I d probably find even Margaret Thatcher hot as fuck if she had stared at my masturbating with that sultry look my watcher now sent me; but I digress. I was turned on, way beyond what I would have been had I been doing the deed at home, alone.I coughed softly, then slowing the pace a bit as I caught her stare again. Uh, I know there won t be any actual sex, that s not what I m fishing for now, but Would you mind, ah, could I Well, have a little glimpse of your charms? Some bare skin? Just to help me over the edge? I must have looked like a pleading puppy, as she burst into laughter, luckily a good-natured one.After first shaking her head, she apparently had second thoughts and nodded. I swallowed. This intensely erotic moment was about to become even hotter. Grabbing the hem of her sweater, she pulled it over her head and revealed a black, low-cut bra and ample cleavage. Lovely, pillowy, full breasts. My pace picked up.Don t you think about touching me, don t even reach for me, OK? she said, sternly. I nodded, hoping I looked like I d be true to my word. God knows how reliable one looks when masturbating to the sight of the girl asking you to keep your hands off her.She apparently found my promise good enough, and, after reaching behind her back for a second, the bra fell into her lap and her breasts swung free. I swallowed again, almost in disbelief. They were really beautiful; round, full and pillowy, large, but not so large as to be saggy; they proudly stood form her chest, slightly pear-shaped, milky white and crowned by the largest, weakly drawn areolas I d ever seen, pale pink, crested with nipples looking as if you d be able to cut glass with them, so hard were they.She was amazing, and I wasted no time telling her so as my cock hardened further still inside the silicone wrapper I was now doing my best to fuck the daylights out of while keeping my eyes locked on the shopkeeper, occasionally falling to her wonderful breasts, but mostly maintaining eye contact.She leant back in her chair, her breasts gently parting. My turn to be mesmerised. I could already feel the familiar tingling telling me my strokes were numbered and my orgasm forthcoming; I d be done for shortly.The fleshlight was now at body temperature, and felt much, much more lifelike, albeit still no match for a woman, I grunted through clenched teeth no muscles milking me, no body thrust against mine, no hands feverishly stroking over my back, hugging me close as orgasm approaches; but it does feel pretty pretty damned good!Nodding absentmindedly, she stroked a hand over her right breast, cupping it, then pinching her nipple between her thumb and index finger, moaning softly.I m about to cum, I grunted, snapping her back to reality. Oh, please do it in that one, huh? , she nodded to an empty mug on the table between us. I want to see you cum. I nodded, feverishly working my cock with the latest addition to my meagre sex toy collection. Lean forward, please , I snapped I want to see those lovely tits swaying under youLaughingly, she obliged, leaning forward, then rocking side to side. Like this, huh? she teased, smiling warmly at me as the heavy globes swayed back and forth under her.Yes. Just like that. There was no use trying to hold back. Two more strokes, and I could feel my orgasm erupting, a tad before I d expected it to. And here I was, figuring I had it under controlI jerked the fleshlight off my cock, throwing it on the floor, sending spurt after spurt of cum over the table, grasping for the mug, missing, shooting another spurt halfway across the room towards her; at least it felt like it; before finally grabbing the mug and shooting the last, feeble spurt into it. I felt my earlobes glow with embarrassment as I came in for landing after the massive orgasm, only to see the mess I d made; cum streaks over invoices, a pack of cigarettes, the table itself, a lighterMy companion laughed, totally losing it in a fit of laughter, her breasts jiggling as she shook You should ve seen yourself!!! , she eventually gasped, regaining some control over herself. It was the most absurd sight I ve ever seen, so incredibly hot, you in the midst of such an orgasm, frantically trying to grab my old mugI joined her, a bit hesitantly at first. It had indeed been comedy hour. I hoped there wasn t a surveillance camera here, for if it did, I d be bound to find myself on some amateur blooper reel shortly.Never mind, though, she giggled. I ll get that cleaned up in no time. Without getting her sweater back on, she left the room. Seconds later I heard the tell-tale sound of water pouring from a faucet and paper being torn from a roll. She returned, hand full of tissue paper, and handed me some. Here, clean yourself up; then I ll show you how to clean your latest conquest afterwards.She leaned in over the table and cleaned up any trace of my little indiscretion. I really had to fight the urge to reach out and touch the lovely form right in front of my eyes; but managed. I d promised, after all; and I d had a wonderful experience, I wouldn t want to ruin it by doing anything which might scare or offend her in any way. I leaned back in the sofa while cleaning most of the lube off my semi-erect cock, softly caressing it as I stared hungrily at her, finishing up the table.I followed her to the cupboard next to the office; standing close to her; still dressed like Venus of Milo, only with arms; in the tiny room, I could feel the warmth of her body against mine as she fumbled the fleshlight open, taking out the silicone innards. Just hold it under lukewarm water, first, to get rid of your cum and the lube, then wipe it clean with a little bit of the toy cleaner I ll give you when we re back in the shop and it ll be ready for its next outing.She glanced up at me, noting my attention was on her, rather than on the most useful instructions she were supplying. Better leave it outside its sheath overnight to allow it to dry properly, she said. Well, unless you find you prefer to use just the inner sleeve, of course. Quick smile.With that, she handed the toy back to me. Just head back out in the shop, you. I ll be with you in a minute, just need to get dressed. I was treated to a smile too cute to be believed, and I was bright enough not to overstay my welcome by asking for just a few more glimpses of her.I threw a last, longing glance at her beautiful, curvy shape, met her gaze; a rather lustful one at that!; and smiled at her. I ll do some window shopping, then, see if I find more playthings catching my fancy. I then turned and briskly headed back into the shop, again passing the surreal pile of inflatable dolls, one still sporting a santa s cap.She sure took her time getting dressed; I imagined she d figured she needed

He agrees to be her focus group for demoing toys in the adult toy store.By Norweger. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Can I help you?I glanced aside from the colourful products on display right in front of me, blushing mildly. The shopkeeper had done the rounds, and I, being lost in thought in front of the Toys; male, solo shelf hadn t noticed her approaching. Well, I could hardly deny I was thinking of buying a Fleshlight, as I held one; well, a securely wrapped one, luckily; in my hands as I met her friendly gaze.I, ah Fuck. Going to an adult toy shop shouldn t be embarrassing, should it? My cheeks and earlobes grew pretty pink. Well, I m just browsing, to be honest, IShe nodded. ‘Those are real good, by the way. She giggled. Well, good quality. Easy to keep clean. Rugged. For obvious reasons, I haven t taken one for a test drive myself.I chuckled, feeling my awkwardness recede a bit. That s one way of putting it. For obvious reasons I thought before answering Well, I could hardly expect you to have, could I? That being said, shops like this are quite particular, no? Normally, asking the shopkeeper for recommendations and whether she d used the product herself would be reasonable, but here, I guess it would get me me-too d right away? How do you actually reply if someone holds up something and asks, well, is this one any good?I smiled weakly while feeling my cheeks getting rosier again, hoping I hadn t overstepped any bounds. I got a chuckle for my trouble. Well, please try to keep the exciting images out of your mind, but to tell you the truth, we do test quite a lot of the stuff we sell.She blushed a little, herself. Well, we must buy them, of course, though at a steep discount. She turned her gaze down as the sentence trailed off, giving me a chance to look her over without being too obvious about it as the images she d been warning me about started to manifest themselves to my inner eye. I guessed she could be in her early thirties, a few years younger than me. Quite cute, slender, narrow hips, a loose-fitting, turquoise sweater doing its best to hide her ample bosom I d already undressed her in my mind, trying to imagine her testing the huge dildos in the glass display cabinet right behind her.Oh no, I hadn t been blushing earlier. Now; NOW I was blushing.She lifted her gaze again and giggled. Let me guess. Exciting images?I could hardly deny it, and she could hardly take affront, either. I turned my own gaze down, intensely studying my rather rumpled leather boots. There was no way in hell I d be able to meet her stare while saying it. Oh, guilty as charged. I made a helpless gesture with my arm towards the toys on display I imagined both this and that, I ll admit.Well, there s a reason we don t have fitting rooms, you know! Her giggle turned to a quick laugh which she stifled as quickly. I felt my mood rise just by hearing it; it had a chirping quality, sounded almost like a bird s cry. In improving spirits; and, frankly, quite turned on; this young, cute woman had more or less told me that she test ran a lot of the toys in the store. Now my eyes wandered around the room, desperate not to meet her stare, while every time I saw something titillating I imagined her using it on herself. Not that there was anything extraordinary about a woman in her thirties enjoying herself, but the mere thought, as she was standing two feet away from me Fuck. I was rock hard. I hoped it wasn t too obvious.Here goes nothing. Had I first said A, I might as well say B, too. I felt a bit braver, thinking we could spin a bit on this, while still keeping it innocent. She looked amused, too. That s kind of unfair, though, isn t it? Any woman walking into this store can get, ah, expert advice, whereas I, as a man, will have to take your word for it Oh, this one is good; I haven t tried it, but it is good, believe me!She laughed. Loud. I swear to all that s holy, had we ever had a male shop assistant here, he d be loaded down with all the male solo toys we could muster and be told to test the hell out of them; and take notes while he was at it! She turned serious. Wouldn t do you much good, though; I d be most surprised if there s even a single man in town who d casually ask another if that sex toy of his was any good or not.I d have to give her that. Chitchatting about sex did come a lot easier when I did it with a woman.Just that. There s a reason we re all women working here, she smiled. Women sell better to both men and women than, say, a fifty-something, balding, pudgy male in a soiled T-shirt and sweat pants. She chuckled. Beg your pardon for letting my prejudices shine through, by the way.I laughed out loud again, realizing I was getting close to asking her what she did once she d closed shop; she had, in a few minutes since I d become aware she even existed, shown herself to be one of those all too rare people who could get me in a good mood simply by being there; and that she could quip about sex and seemingly be at ease was an added bonus. Plus, of course, she was incredibly cute. I caught the warm, brown eyes peering out under her unruly mop of reddish hair, trying to come up with a suitable response before the silence became awkward or she trotted on through the shop, ending our moment.She glanced down at her watch, and my heart sank like a stone; opportunity wasted, I thought; until I heard what she had to say.Look Now I want you to be real careful; not getting the wrong idea as to what I am suggesting, okay? You are not going to have sex with me, capisce? Well, she had my full and undivided attention, even if I wouldn t get to sleep with her. I nodded, firmly. No fucking her. OK.I m about to close shop, now. If you, ahem, would like to test the fleshlight before you buy it, you can do so, okay? But, you re going to have to buy it afterwards, obviously. The lube is on the house.I gawked at her. Wow. I nodded, numbly. This couldn t be, could it? But I wouldn t want to miss this for the world. I nodded again, vigorously. She smiled a quick smile, then went to the entrance to lock the doors, glancing over her shoulder at me as she did so, throwing me another smile.Returning, she grabbed a bottle of lube from a shelf, and motioned for me to follow her as she walked past. As if I needed any prodding. It d probably be best to use our office, rather than have you go at it here under the bright lights, she suggested softly. I just shrugged. I d follow her anywhere. My cock was rather a simpleton.As we exited a door with a 'staff only sign at the back of the shop, we entered the kind of storeroom you ll find somewhere in any shop in the world; shelves stocked with all kinds of goods, except Well, these goods were very much adult toys. Darting past a crate packed to the gunwales with inflatable dolls; inflated!, she giggled Meet last year s Christmas decorations; we couldn t sell them, but neither could we bring ourselves to throw them away I shook my head, dumbfounded.She nodded towards a green door near the corner of the storeroom That s where you ll get to find out if the fleshlight is any goodShe opened the door, hinges groaning. I ve been meaning to grease those for ages, wonder if I can use this lube? she mused as we entered a small-ish, run-down office. Lots of papers were covering just about any horizontal surface; a desk with a computer and a phone on it and a small coffee table in front of a battered old sofa tucked into a corner; piles of merchandise along the far wall.Nodding towards the sofa, she suggested I take a seat before seating herself on the office chair by the desk. I hope you don t mind me watching. After all, I have a certain, um, professional interest in seeing how you get along with it, you know. , throwing me another smile; a warm, seemingly genuine one. She didn t appear to be wholly untouched, herself.I fumbled with the packaging. What sadist had invented welded plastic? Probably a good thing when it came to protecting sex toys on display, but when you were about to unwrap it to try it out? Not so much. My audience reached for a pair of scissors and motioned for me to lob her the fleshlight. You get out of your jeans, I ll get this out, OK? she suggested. I nodded, still not trusting my voice to bear.I hardly needed any more encouragement. I tugged at my belt, seconds later dropping my jeans to the floor, stepping out of them. My briefs were unceremoniously shoved down my thighs, and as I rose again, my almost painfully erect cock pointed arrogantly at the ceiling, the shopkeeper raising her eyebrows a little and giggling softly as she took the sight in while cutting open the packaging separating me from instant bliss.With a satisfied Hah! Finally! she pulled the fleshlight from its by now shredded plastic cover and reached over to hand it to me. I shamelessly ogled her cleavage before reverting to holding her gaze. As I said, this is good shit. You won t be able to destroy this one during normal use She proceeded to explain how important it was to clean it after use, stressing that they had both suitable toy cleaner and disinfectant in the store. Most gentle for the silicone, that stuff; unlike the dish soap most people tend to useHer sentence trailed off, apparently she got struck by the same thing I had; that this was an absurd time to discuss maintenance. My apologies, I got a bit carried away. Here.Accepting the toy, I glanced over at the bottle of lube perched on the edge of her desk. Turning around, she reached the bottle and spun back to present it to me. There you go, put lots in the fleshlight, some around the entrance and a little on your johnson, and you re good to go.Nodding, I did as she had suggested; an ample spurt of lube into the pale, pink thingy, then a little around the sculpted pussy lips. Bah, in a way it would have been better if they hadn t tried so hard to make it look like the real thing. Seeing as you wanted my observations, I think it would have been better if it was just an opening, not modeled to look like a real pussy; you know, no matter how good this may turn out to be, it can t possibly compare to the real thingDoh, she exclaimed as she rolled her eyes. I should have mentioned that, there s a neutral version, too; and, believe it or not, a few which are supposedly modeled after famous porn stars pussies, whether you believe it or not. Anyway, they probably all feel the same; just look at something, anything else while you re using it.I d be lying if I claimed I thought it would matter much what it looked like once it was wrapped around me. Squirting a wee bit of lube in the palm of my hand, I stroked myself a couple of times, ensuring I got some on the purplish, swollen head, too; unless I slipped in unhindered, I d be sore afterwards, of that I was certain.Positioning the fleshlight against the glans, I looked over at the shopkeeper. She stared back, eagerly anticipating my next move; not that she d have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what that would be. Gently pressing the fleshlight towards me, I slid into my first silicone pussy. It was just tight enough to feel natural-ish, I d hand the designers that; but it felt rather cold and, well, dead.What s it like? she asked, voice quivering slightly. Oh, not too bad, I replied Though it does feel a bit cold and. ah, dead, if I may say so at the moment, but that should improve shortly Giving it a couple of strokes, I could already feel it begin to warm up.She raised her stare from my fleshlight-wrapped member to meet mine. Fuck me, I really am not doing my job properly, now; I just remembered that the manufacturer recommend that you put it in warm water for a few minutes before use, precisely to avoid that corpse bride-feeling. My apologies.I nodded. That d probably do the trick, I m sure. However ; I let it slide back and forth a few times, feeling the soft silicone caress my oh-so-erect cock; it does feel really good, don t get me wrong; and it keeps getting warmer by the second!Having said that, I stroked myself in silence for a few moments, slowly, deliberately; pulling it off me until my cock emerged from it, exposing the swollen, lube-glistening head for my very attentive audience, then shoving myself into it again. Oh yes, it felt better and better. While no one would ever mistake it for the real thing; well, no one who had ever had the good fortune to have the real thing wrapped around oneself, anyway; it definitely felt good, much better than a simple handjob.It keeps getting better, I grunted. Would work better still if one could take it out of the casing, though; you know, to adjust the pressure, using it as a sleeve over my cock; would feel more alive, then.She nodded. I ll keep that in mind, in case someone asks. I believe you can take it out for cleaning, by the way; so you could probably, um, go au-naturel on it, if that s your preference. ; before again staring at my cock sliding in and out of the toy, mesmerised.I felt like I was being on display; quite naturally, seeing as that was just what I was; but caught myself enjoying it. My audience was really cute and sexy as hell; well, truth be told, I d probably find even Margaret Thatcher hot as fuck if she had stared at my masturbating with that sultry look my watcher now sent me; but I digress. I was turned on, way beyond what I would have been had I been doing the deed at home, alone.I coughed softly, then slowing the pace a bit as I caught her stare again. Uh, I know there won t be any actual sex, that s not what I m fishing for now, but Would you mind, ah, could I Well, have a little glimpse of your charms? Some bare skin? Just to help me over the edge? I must have looked like a pleading puppy, as she burst into laughter, luckily a good-natured one.After first shaking her head, she apparently had second thoughts and nodded. I swallowed. This intensely erotic moment was about to become even hotter. Grabbing the hem of her sweater, she pulled it over her head and revealed a black, low-cut bra and ample cleavage. Lovely, pillowy, full breasts. My pace picked up.Don t you think about touching me, don t even reach for me, OK? she said, sternly. I nodded, hoping I looked like I d be true to my word. God knows how reliable one looks when masturbating to the sight of the girl asking you to keep your hands off her.She apparently found my promise good enough, and, after reaching behind her back for a second, the bra fell into her lap and her breasts swung free. I swallowed again, almost in disbelief. They were really beautiful; round, full and pillowy, large, but not so large as to be saggy; they proudly stood form her chest, slightly pear-shaped, milky white and crowned by the largest, weakly drawn areolas I d ever seen, pale pink, crested with nipples looking as if you d be able to cut glass with them, so hard were they.She was amazing, and I wasted no time telling her so as my cock hardened further still inside the silicone wrapper I was now doing my best to fuck the daylights out of while keeping my eyes locked on the shopkeeper, occasionally falling to her wonderful breasts, but mostly maintaining eye contact.She leant back in her chair, her breasts gently parting. My turn to be mesmerised. I could already feel the familiar tingling telling me my strokes were numbered and my orgasm forthcoming; I d be done for shortly.The fleshlight was now at body temperature, and felt much, much more lifelike, albeit still no match for a woman, I grunted through clenched teeth no muscles milking me, no body thrust against mine, no hands feverishly stroking over my back, hugging me close as orgasm approaches; but it does feel pretty pretty damned good!Nodding absentmindedly, she stroked a hand over her right breast, cupping it, then pinching her nipple between her thumb and index finger, moaning softly.I m about to cum, I grunted, snapping her back to reality. Oh, please do it in that one, huh? , she nodded to an empty mug on the table between us. I want to see you cum. I nodded, feverishly working my cock with the latest addition to my meagre sex toy collection. Lean forward, please , I snapped I want to see those lovely tits swaying under youLaughingly, she obliged, leaning forward, then rocking side to side. Like this, huh? she teased, smiling warmly at me as the heavy globes swayed back and forth under her.Yes. Just like that. There was no use trying to hold back. Two more strokes, and I could feel my orgasm erupting, a tad before I d expected it to. And here I was, figuring I had it under controlI jerked the fleshlight off my cock, throwing it on the floor, sending spurt after spurt of cum over the table, grasping for the mug, missing, shooting another spurt halfway across the room towards her; at least it felt like it; before finally grabbing the mug and shooting the last, feeble spurt into it. I felt my earlobes glow with embarrassment as I came in for landing after the massive orgasm, only to see the mess I d made; cum streaks over invoices, a pack of cigarettes, the table itself, a lighterMy companion laughed, totally losing it in a fit of laughter, her breasts jiggling as she shook You should ve seen yourself!!! , she eventually gasped, regaining some control over herself. It was the most absurd sight I ve ever seen, so incredibly hot, you in the midst of such an orgasm, frantically trying to grab my old mugI joined her, a bit hesitantly at first. It had indeed been comedy hour. I hoped there wasn t a surveillance camera here, for if it did, I d be bound to find myself on some amateur blooper reel shortly.Never mind, though, she giggled. I ll get that cleaned up in no time. Without getting her sweater back on, she left the room. Seconds later I heard the tell-tale sound of water pouring from a faucet and paper being torn from a roll. She returned, hand full of tissue paper, and handed me some. Here, clean yourself up; then I ll show you how to clean your latest conquest afterwards.She leaned in over the table and cleaned up any trace of my little indiscretion. I really had to fight the urge to reach out and touch the lovely form right in front of my eyes; but managed. I d promised, after all; and I d had a wonderful experience, I wouldn t want to ruin it by doing anything which might scare or offend her in any way. I leaned back in the sofa while cleaning most of the lube off my semi-erect cock, softly caressing it as I stared hungrily at her, finishing up the table.I followed her to the cupboard next to the office; standing close to her; still dressed like Venus of Milo, only with arms; in the tiny room, I could feel the warmth of her body against mine as she fumbled the fleshlight open, taking out the silicone innards. Just hold it under lukewarm water, first, to get rid of your cum and the lube, then wipe it clean with a little bit of the toy cleaner I ll give you when we re back in the shop and it ll be ready for its next outing.She glanced up at me, noting my attention was on her, rather than on the most useful instructions she were supplying. Better leave it outside its sheath overnight to allow it to dry properly, she said. Well, unless you find you prefer to use just the inner sleeve, of course. Quick smile.With that, she handed the toy back to me. Just head back out in the shop, you. I ll be with you in a minute, just need to get dressed. I was treated to a smile too cute to be believed, and I was bright enough not to overstay my welcome by asking for just a few more glimpses of her.I threw a last, longing glance at her beautiful, curvy shape, met her gaze; a rather lustful one at that!; and smiled at her. I ll do some window shopping, then, see if I find more playthings catching my fancy. I then turned and briskly headed back into the shop, again passing the surreal pile of inflatable dolls, one still sporting a santa s cap.She sure took her time getting dressed; I imagined she d figured she needed

The UK government has opened a public consultation on a potential social media ban for under 16 year olds, and this creates a huge opportunity for us.It's not just about giving our opinion to government, but as parents we now have a real chance to connect with our kids like never before.What is their opinion on this?How do they feel?What matters to them, and why?This is chance for us to encourage our children to find a voice, and learn how to speak up for themselves whilst respecting others opinions, even if they disagree with them.And in this episode I share six reasons why this discussion is so important, and give you some practical tips to help you, as you navigate this tricky subject with your own kids.So pour yourself a cuppa, find a comfy seat, and enjoy the conversation…Mentioned in this episode:Why I Now Believe in a Social Media Ban - https://drmaryhan.com/why-i-now-believe-in-a-social-media-ban-for-under-16s/ Highlights from this episode:00:53 - The social media ban03:44 - See how your child sees things07:54 - Having an opinion10:16 - Using your voice12:50 - An opportunity to shape the outcome

Want to be coached by us? Visit www.fitfemaleproject.com or follow us on Instagram @fitfemaleproject to find out how we can help you.1- Natalie2-Victoria3- Stephanie4- Lucy

Send a textOn this episode we explain why we unexpectedly took a week off. We discuss which was better, the cover or the original…we talk rock hall nominees, play “Poorly Explained Movies”, MixTape, and we climb the Wall of Tunes for one of O'Brien's Desert Island Albums from a guy who used to get mistaken for the Boss. #rrhof #rickspringfieldhttps://www.facebook.com/obrienanddoug/ https://instagram.com/obrien_and_doug

Galloping into the FireBuckle up! The Year of the Fire Horse isn't just knocking at the door—it's kicking it down with golden hooves. In this episode, Tahverlee helps you grab the reins of this fierce, fast-moving energy before it leaves you in the stardust.If you've felt a wild itch for change, that's the March awakening calling your soul to play. We're moving past the "same old, same old" rituals and diving deep into the celestial fire.✨ In This Episode:The Fire Horse Gallop: How to navigate the high-speed astrological landscape of March without losing yourself.Lunar Momentum: Using the current moon cycles to slingshot your intentions into reality.Protect Your Spark: Meet the plant allies and protective rituals that act as your energetic "seatbelt" during rapid transformation.Course Corrections: Why "business as usual" magic won't cut it, and how to pivot with grace when the ride gets wild.Now is the time to choose your direction with fierce intention. Ready to wild-craft your destiny? Grab your favorite brew and let's harness the flame.************************Tahverlee is a Social Impact Entrepreneur, Author, Artist, High Priestess, Ritualist, and Initiate of the Sacred Way. Visit Moon Temple Mystery School for ancient teachings for our modern world, spiritual coaching, and everything you need to know as you walk your awakening path. Join Witch School to unlock the Magic within.Get Tahverlee's Sacred Gifts, your FREE pass to a magical awakening journey. Find all of Tahverlee's books at Tahverlee.com.Watch this and all episodes of the Moon Temple Mystery School Podcast on YouTube. Learn more about Tahverlee:Moon Temple Mystery SchoolTahverlee.com Contact Tahverlee directly:Tahverlee@MoonTempleSchool.com Follow Tahverlee:InstagramTikTokYouTube Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

5pm - GUEST - FORMER KING COUNTY SHERIFF DAVE REICHART // Former King County sheriff leads lawsuit blocking lawmakers from grabbing first responder pensions // Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties // Gates’ admission conflicts with his statement last week // Chaos erupts as Hillary Clinton HALTS her Epstein testimony after MAGA lawmaker took photo of closed-door deposition // LETTERS

Okay, try to picture it. Maybe you don't have to picture it. Maybe you've been there. It's the Friday morning after Thanksgiving, just before doors open at, let's say, Walmart. It's still dark, but a lot of people are lined up, anxiously waiting to enter. It's the day of those fabulous sales that stores like this have to encourage your early Christmas shopping. And for a short time after the doors open, there are some absolutely amazing prices on many popular items. But you have to move quickly and scoop them up. One year recently, I remember the crush of people was so great, at one store a lady was nearly trampled to death when the doors opened. And at another store, another year, a man actually was trampled to death. Once you're in the store, you know what to do. No browsing. No chatting. You're on a mission! Just look for those sales opportunities and grab them while you can! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grabbing Opportunities to Save a Life." Aggressively seizing opportunities because time is short - that's not just a picture of a sale day shopper. That's supposed to be the picture of every follower of Jesus Christ. Not just browsing and cruising through our days, but really making them count...really making a difference with your life. If you read our word for today from the Word of God in the original language of the New Testament, you can see just that kind of urgency and intensity. It's Ephesians 5:15-16 - "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise, but as wise" - now what follows is God's definition of what it means to "live smart." "...making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil." The original Greek conveys the idea of aggressively buying up every opportunity you have to do something about the darkness around you. Near the end of this letter that Paul wrote from a prison cell, probably chained to a Roman guard, he gives us a living example of this "make a difference" mindset in action. He says, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel...pray that I will declare it fearlessly, as I should." In another letter, we learn that there were believers ultimately in Caesar's household; likely some of those soldiers Paul spent so much time with. He saw his imprisonment, not so much as an ordeal, but as an opportunity to tell people there about his Jesus and to rescue them from evil. Life is full of life-saving opportunities for those with eyes to see them; for those who understand that we're supposed to be looking for them wherever we are. I know when one member of our family was in the hospital, the reason seemed clear. There was a patient who left a trail of Jesus all through that hospital. There just to get well? No. They were there positioned by God to help spiritually rescue some of the people in that hospital. If you want to make the greatest possible difference with the rest of your life, and I hope you do. If you want to help some people be in heaven with you, and I hope you do. Then each morning pray for natural opportunities to bring up your Jesus. "Lord, open a door." Then look for those opportunities to open up. Buy them up like an alert shopper. When someone shares a burden or a concern with you, don't just promise to pray for them. Ask if you can pray with them right then. Chances are they have never heard their name in a prayer all their life! I've never had anyone turn down that offer by the way. And if God opens the door, tell them after you pray that you weren't always able to talk to God like that because there used to be a wall between you and Him that Jesus took down. Look for opportunities to share your personal hope story, which is the story of the difference Jesus has made for you in certain life situations, particular needs, and certainly your eternal situation. Look for those opportunities. Pray for those opportunities. Grab those opportunities. Why? Because God is putting people in your life so they can have a chance at Jesus...and a chance at heaven. That's an opportunity you just must not miss.

What happens when a professional contemporary dancer gets fed up with "healthy" snacks that are actually just sugar-laden, ultra-processed disappointments? She starts a revolution in her own kitchen. In this episode of Food Rebels, AJ Sharp sits down with Claire Hindley, the powerhouse founder of Claire's Amazeballs. Based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Claire is on a mission to prove that "convenient" doesn't have to mean "chemical." From hand-destoning Medjool dates to battling the 12-month shelf-life industry standard, Claire shares her journey of building an award-winning brand while juggling three kids, dance teaching, and Pilates instruction. Website: clairesamazeballs.com Instagram: @clairesamazeballs Discount Code: FOODREBELS  (for 15% OFF)

An April Fools Prank Goes Awry.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Spring break was just that, a break. My leg, actually.When I went home to Ottawa for spring break, I met up with a few of my old high school buds, and we took a day trip to the Quebec side for some skiing at one of the nearby hills, north of Ottawa. Mid-gafternoon, I hit a patch of ice and went down hard. It was quite a day for falls, as the hills were pretty icy this late in the season. I tried to get up, but my right ankle hurt like a bitch. None of my friends had stopped, as we were all falling a lot today, they just assumed I would get up and follow them.“Aw fuck!” I groaned. I lay there in the snow for a few minutes, until someone slid to a stop next to me.“Hey, are you all right?” the guy asks.“No, I hurt my ankle. Fuck.”“Don’t move it, I’ll find the ski patrol. Hang on.” He skied away to get help.30 seconds later another guy stopped. Same question. "Hey are you all right?“"I think I sprained my ankle. There was a guy here a minute ago, he said he’d send the ski patrol.”The guy turned and looked around, then waved and yelled “Ici! Over here! Vien! Here they are.”Two guys in red jackets stopped and asked what’s wrong. This other guy said “Good luck!” to me, and skied away, as I recounted the fall and my symptoms. The ski patrol guys were great, they radioed for a stretcher and 20 minutes later they’re loading me into an ambulance. The rest of the day was a lot of waiting, x-rays, and paperwork. The local hospital had a seasonal trauma unit for all the ski injuries, and they’re used to dealing with the inter-provincial healthcare.I called my Dad, who said he’d fetch me from the hospital, then called my buddies who were still in the chalet . He told them to go home without me. They commiserated and said they’d drop by my house tomorrow and see how I was doing.I eventually got a cast on my right leg. It spanned from my toes to my mid-thigh. I was issued a pair of crutches, and a whole ream of instructions (in both French and English of course) about what to do and what not to do. My Dad showed up somewhere during this tedious process and reassured me everything would be fine.We got home really late, after stopping at a pharmacy for pain meds, and stopping for takeout, damn I was hungry by then. I was asleep in minutes after I took one of those pills after getting home.Next morning, I had to take another pill, damn leg was throbbing like mad. I had to learn how to negotiate using the toilet with crutches, fuck, that’s pain in the arse. Then I had to figure out how to shower. They gave me a shower bag for the cast but I couldn’t get the damn thing on by myself. Mom was trying to be motherly (naturally) but I was way too embarrassed to be seen naked in front of her. My Dad was a trooper, he helped me with all the bathroom stuff, and I got my shower Okay.I wasn’t going to be able to drive for a while, so my folks said they’d drive me back to school in Toronto. I could come home by bus and get my car once I was able to drive. Great.“Actually, if I could have my car on campus, one of my buddies could drive me around. None of the other guys have a car.” Not that my rattly old car was much of a ride, but it got us from A to B.“Okay” my Dad says, “Your mother can drive you there, and I’ll follow in your car, then we’ll drive back together.”“Awesome, sounds like a plan!”The rest of the day my parents helped me work out how to deal with the cast and crutches and take care of personal stuff by myself, like getting dressed, showering, shaving (yeah, ever try to balance on one foot to shave? fuckin hell), and using the toilet. My mom went shopping and bought me a bunch of baggy sweat pants, something that would go over my cast.My old friends dropped by with some hard coolers the next day, thinking it would cheer me up; but I had to pass on those due to the meds I was on. They laughed at me and drank it all, themselves. We all had a good laugh about my predicament, and they wished me luck at college. Gonna need it, eh?Then it was time to head back to school. I’d been texting and calling my buddies at school, told them the whole idiot story of my misadventures. They laughed at me big time, and of course they worried about their ride, what was gonna happen to my car? I told them about the arrangements and they were happy that it would still be available.The drive to school was really tedious, seemed to last forever, because it was so fricking uncomfortable to sit there with that stiff cast on. They got me and my stuff into my room in the dorm, and said their good-byes. I was so happy that I was on the first floor! No stairs here but there were stairs all over campus. Sure, there’s elevators everywhere but I didn’t know where most of them were.First order of business, I gotta pee after that road trip. I used the big accessible stall in the bathroom, that was great. Grab bars, lots of room, it really was made for this kind of thing. Easier than the bathroom at home, that’s for sure.I was the butt of a lot of jokes and shit for the first few days, but otherwise it was fine. Down in the dining hall I spotted someone else who’d had a fun spring break. There was a girl with her whole arm in a cast, like from shoulder to wrist, with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. I wondered what happened to her. Skiing too I supposed. My buddies said we’d make a great couple and told me to go ask her out. No way, dudes, not gonna happen. I can’t talk to girls, I always get freaked out and clam up.The end of March rolled around, and I still had weeks to go before getting my cast off. There was a party on Saturday night, and I was weaning off the strong meds by now so I could have a few drinks. My floor mates were getting me drinks, too; so I ended up having a few more than I would normally have. I was feeling buzzed by the end of the night.One of the guys suddenly showed up with a wheelchair. "Robbo! we got you some wheels, man!“"Where’d you steal that from?” I asked, a little dubious about the idea of them scamming someone’s chair.“No-No, totally not stolen, we got it for you from the Red Cross. It’s legit, dude!”“All right! Let’s check out my new ride then!” I hopped over and settled into the chair. They adjusted the footrest out for me and one of them took my crutches, and they started wheeling me away. "Where we goin?“ I asked."It’s a surprise.” says one of them, and then pull a pillowcase down over my head so I can’t see where we’re going. When I try to pull the covering off, they stopped me, and then the started grabbing my arms & duct taping them to the chair’s armrests. We were outside by now, and I started yelling, until they taped the pillowcase tight against my mouth, to muff my yelling. Now I was getting pissed, but there’s not much I could do, except literally ride this out.They laughed and giggled and make goofy jokes as they wheeled me around campus. Eventually, I had no idea where I am, and it suddenly strikes me that it was now April 1st. The alcoholic buzz is wearing off fast under the rush of my adrenaline and anger, and I wondered what kind of demented nightmare game they’ve come up with.I heard more laughing, girls this time, and they make whispered comments back and forth with the guys. I m now in a building, but I had no clue where. My chair was pushed around some more, bumping into stuff, and then a body is dumped in my lap, then they yanked the duct tape off the pillowcase and I can again my mouth. The room is pitch black. The giggling and laughing is cut off by the slamming of a door, and everything goes quiet.I think there’s a girl in my lap, or a small, really nice smelling guy with long hair. She’s quiescent, asleep or passed out, pressed against my chest.“Hey. Hey, wake up.” I said.No response, she’s just sitting there, draped over my lap. She’s warm and breathing, so it’s not a manikin or something. I wondered if she’s okay.I started to shift a bit, can’t use my arms because they’re taped down, but I try to shake her awake with my rocking shoulders. It didn’t work, and now I’m afraid that if I move too much she’ll fall off onto the floor.“Hey, uh, miss, wake up.” louder. She’s out of it. I turn my head to the side so I’m not yelling in her ear and holler “Hey, enough crap, let me out of here!” Silence reigns. Well, fuck. Now what?‘Now what’. Then the fire alarm starts blaring. It startles the heck out of me, but still isn’t enough to wake the girl.  I heard loud commotion in the halls for about 30 seconds, but then suddenly there is silence. Fuck, this is getting serious. What if it’s a real fire? No, no way, it's April 1st now, gotta be a prank. I’ll just wait for her to wake up, and we’ll get out of here. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I began to see faint outlines of what is probably a maintenance closet or storage room.The alarm rings for an annoyingly long time. 15 minutes I guess, I dunno, but it seems interminable. And I need to pee now. When the alarm finally stops the need to pee gets more insistent. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my passenger. Her hip is pressed up against my groin, adding to the struggle of my urge to piss.More time passes, and damn, I gotta go bad, now. I’m gonna wet myself, and her too, if I don’t get out of here right now. I’ve tried speaking to her, yelling, shaking her, and then there was another alarm that went on and on. She just isn’t gonna wake up. Did those morons drug her or something?I’m desperate now. “Come on, sleeping beauty, wake up!” Sleeping beauty? Yeah, fine, I’ll try that before I piss all over her. I think a girl would be slightly less angry about a stolen kiss than wet pants. So I seek her mouth. There was a little light coming in under the door, but suddenly that light went out, and only a faint intermittent light glowed. Oh, crap! That would be the emergency exit lighting. I eventually bumped my faced against her nose, then lowered a bit and kissed her, probably a little too hard for a wakeup smooch, cause I'm dying’ here, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee.She’s got nice soft lips, really quite kissable, and I kinda wished she was awake and under different circumstances. I kissed her again, even harder. No response. I try again, this time I let my tongue do the talking, and I push into her mouth. Helluva way to experience my own first tongue-kiss . Finally, she stirred & turned into the kiss.Surprised, I pull back, and say “Oh thank god you’re awake, help me up!”She startled, yelping at me, “Who are you?!”“Help me, please, I’m gonna piss my pants! Untie me!”In the dim red glow of an exit sign I finally saw her face. She’s kinda cute, not particularly pretty, and she has a cast on her right arm. It’s the girl I saw in the dining hall a few times.“Hurry!" I pleaded.She struggled off me, and stood. Where the hell did you take me! she demanded.I told her that we were both abducted by campus hooligans and locked in some storage room, but I didn t know which building. Then I said; But I gotta pee right now and my leg is in a cast, and I m bound to this wheelchair.She felt the tape on my wrists. It's slow going for her to undo the tape with her one weak hand, the way she’s pulling at it, she’s obviously not left handed.I’m not gonna make it, and I looked around. We’re in a janitor’s room or something. I spotted a stack of small waste baskets. "Quick, grab one of those buckets and put it between my legs.”She’s quick on the uptake, I’ll give her that, and she grabbed the bucket for me. “Pull my pants down, hurry.”“What? No!” she protested.“Argh. Please, I’m gonna wet myself.” I grind out through my clenched teeth.She reached out with that uncoordinated left hand of hers and fumbles with my sweat pants. I squirmed to lift my hips a bit to help, and the elastic waistband slipped down, exposing my tight briefs.“You gotta help. Pull me out, aim for the bucket. Please?”I can see she’s not happy with the situation, and she’s fighting with her distaste at touching a man, a total stranger at that, in such a bizarre circumstance. But she perseveres, and that delicate hand fishes in my shorts for my cock. She paused momentarily as she made contact, then pulled my cock free. She picked up the empty bucket and aimed my hose toward the container.I groaned as I let loose. Oh god, finally! The relief was incredible. The poor girl was acting shocked as she dutifully aimed me at the bucket, and she even nudged the bucket a bit closer. I pissed on and on, holy fuck there was so much, and eventually I ran dry.Her disposition is no longer shocked, but instead she appeared to be curious.“Oh thank you, you saved me so much embarrassment. You can put me back in there now. Thanks.”She hesitated, and timidly tried to one-handedly stuff my cock back through the fly, and after a couple of clumsy tries I’m all set. And of course now my cock was growing fast in her hand, as I no longer had to pee, but there’s a wonderful-smelling girl handling that most sensitive part of my anatomy. Something that’s never happened before.That last drop of pee evidently got on her hand, and she looked a bit frantic now, “Ew” she says.“Just wipe it on my sweats, it’s Okay.” I told her, and she rubbed her hand on my inner thigh. That doesn’t help with my ever increasing boner of course.She looked up at me, and her brow wrinkled. “Do you smell smoke?” she asked.It’s my turn to be startled, and I looked toward the door. Oh Fuck, there’s smoke coming in under the door! That alarm was real! Why wasn’t it still going off? “Quick, help me get this tape off!” She started trying to pull up my sweats, but I say “No, leave that, just get me undone!”She started working on the tape on my left arm, and it took a few minutes to get me free. Working together, my right arm is unstuck in less than a minute. “Check the door.” I told her as I looked around the room. No other doors, just shelves, a big sink, a floor pan for filling and emptying mop buckets, and stacks of boxes and stuff.She tried the light switch but it doesn’t work. Great, my idiot friends probably unscrewed the light bulb. Then she tried the door. “It’s locked!” she says.“From the outside? Why the fuck would it be set up to lock people in? Sorry. I swear when I get nervous.”“Is there really a fire, do you think?”“I guess so, there was an alarm that went off when you were out cold.”“What do we do?” She started frantically searching her pockets and said; “I can’t find my phone!”“I didn’t even bring mine to the party. No pockets.”The smell of smoke got stronger. I wheeled up next to the sink, and ran some water. Grabbing a package of paper towels, I ripped it open and dumped them in the sink. “Here, block up the crack under the door with these!”I handed her wads of soggy paper, and she knelt down to stuff them under the door. The smoke stoped coming in, thank goodness.  But now the room is black. “Now what?” she said.I shrugged, “I guess we wait and hope.”“I’m scared.” she said in a small voice.“Come here, sit on my lap here. Oh, uh, maybe pull up my pants first.” She helped me with that and sat on me. I think the gravity of the situation is now hitting her pretty hard, I know it’s got me freaked out. She burrowed into my neck and wraps her good arm wraps around me. “We’re Okay for now.” I tell her.I smelled her hair again, as she’s crushed against me. Damn that feels nice. Shit, I don’t even know her name. “I’m Robert by the way. Robert Green.”“Suzanne. Suzanne Shelton.”, she informed me.“I’d say pleased to meet you Suzanne, but under these circumstances, maybe the sentiment should be I’m ecstatic to meet you. If I was by myself I would have pissed my pants and suffocated.”She giggled, my goofy sense of humor somehow helped in this situation. “I’m glad to meet you too, Robert.”“So how did you get here?”“I don’t know, I was at the dorm party and felt dizzy, then you were kissing me.” She blushed again.“Sorry about that, I tried to wake you for like 20 minutes, but you were really out of it. I finally thought I would try the sleeping beauty trick, and it worked. Did you drink something someone else gave you?”“Oh. Shit. She seemed to recall. I think so. One of my floor mates gave me a coke. It must have been spiked?  I had to take some of my pain meds for my arm earlier tonight, it was bothering me. I keep trying to do too much with it all the time.”“Oh, yeah, you don’t want to mix booze or anything with that stuff, I know! Sorry about the pee episode. I really was going to wet my pants in another few seconds. Wet both our pants.”She blushed and giggled. “I never saw a guy like that, like your, thing, before.”“Wow. Okay, well, I never had a girl touch my co-, um, thing, before.”“It changed when I was putting it away. Was that, um, like…’"Yeah, well, when a pretty girl touches me like that, I’m bound to get aroused.”Her eyes went wide at that statement. “Oh” she said. She paused a few seconds, then put her head back on my shoulder. There was that scent again. "So. Um, you think I’m pretty?“"Well, yeah, of course. You’re what I think my grandpa would call 'fetching’”She giggled again. Damn, that sounds nice, and she smells really nice. Little Robert stirred down below. I heard a sharp intake of breath. Uh Oh. She felt that. I may have just ruined what might have been a moment.“Am I pretty enough to make you, uh, aroused, then?”“Oh, Suzanne, I am so embarrassed. Please, don’t be offended, it’s just circumstances, you know?”She pulled back again and looked at the door. Still no smoke. Then she looked at me with a sad smile, saying “I didn’t think so.” Suzanne started to get up, and I realized where our wires had crossed.I put my arms around her and said " Oh, no no. You’re very pretty, and definitely arousing.“She looked surprised, but settled back down on my lap. "Oh.” she said. “Thank you.”Just

An April Fools Prank Goes Awry.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Spring break was just that, a break. My leg, actually.When I went home to Ottawa for spring break, I met up with a few of my old high school buds, and we took a day trip to the Quebec side for some skiing at one of the nearby hills, north of Ottawa. Mid-gafternoon, I hit a patch of ice and went down hard. It was quite a day for falls, as the hills were pretty icy this late in the season. I tried to get up, but my right ankle hurt like a bitch. None of my friends had stopped, as we were all falling a lot today, they just assumed I would get up and follow them.“Aw fuck!” I groaned. I lay there in the snow for a few minutes, until someone slid to a stop next to me.“Hey, are you all right?” the guy asks.“No, I hurt my ankle. Fuck.”“Don’t move it, I’ll find the ski patrol. Hang on.” He skied away to get help.30 seconds later another guy stopped. Same question. "Hey are you all right?“"I think I sprained my ankle. There was a guy here a minute ago, he said he’d send the ski patrol.”The guy turned and looked around, then waved and yelled “Ici! Over here! Vien! Here they are.”Two guys in red jackets stopped and asked what’s wrong. This other guy said “Good luck!” to me, and skied away, as I recounted the fall and my symptoms. The ski patrol guys were great, they radioed for a stretcher and 20 minutes later they’re loading me into an ambulance. The rest of the day was a lot of waiting, x-rays, and paperwork. The local hospital had a seasonal trauma unit for all the ski injuries, and they’re used to dealing with the inter-provincial healthcare.I called my Dad, who said he’d fetch me from the hospital, then called my buddies who were still in the chalet . He told them to go home without me. They commiserated and said they’d drop by my house tomorrow and see how I was doing.I eventually got a cast on my right leg. It spanned from my toes to my mid-thigh. I was issued a pair of crutches, and a whole ream of instructions (in both French and English of course) about what to do and what not to do. My Dad showed up somewhere during this tedious process and reassured me everything would be fine.We got home really late, after stopping at a pharmacy for pain meds, and stopping for takeout, damn I was hungry by then. I was asleep in minutes after I took one of those pills after getting home.Next morning, I had to take another pill, damn leg was throbbing like mad. I had to learn how to negotiate using the toilet with crutches, fuck, that’s pain in the arse. Then I had to figure out how to shower. They gave me a shower bag for the cast but I couldn’t get the damn thing on by myself. Mom was trying to be motherly (naturally) but I was way too embarrassed to be seen naked in front of her. My Dad was a trooper, he helped me with all the bathroom stuff, and I got my shower Okay.I wasn’t going to be able to drive for a while, so my folks said they’d drive me back to school in Toronto. I could come home by bus and get my car once I was able to drive. Great.“Actually, if I could have my car on campus, one of my buddies could drive me around. None of the other guys have a car.” Not that my rattly old car was much of a ride, but it got us from A to B.“Okay” my Dad says, “Your mother can drive you there, and I’ll follow in your car, then we’ll drive back together.”“Awesome, sounds like a plan!”The rest of the day my parents helped me work out how to deal with the cast and crutches and take care of personal stuff by myself, like getting dressed, showering, shaving (yeah, ever try to balance on one foot to shave? fuckin hell), and using the toilet. My mom went shopping and bought me a bunch of baggy sweat pants, something that would go over my cast.My old friends dropped by with some hard coolers the next day, thinking it would cheer me up; but I had to pass on those due to the meds I was on. They laughed at me and drank it all, themselves. We all had a good laugh about my predicament, and they wished me luck at college. Gonna need it, eh?Then it was time to head back to school. I’d been texting and calling my buddies at school, told them the whole idiot story of my misadventures. They laughed at me big time, and of course they worried about their ride, what was gonna happen to my car? I told them about the arrangements and they were happy that it would still be available.The drive to school was really tedious, seemed to last forever, because it was so fricking uncomfortable to sit there with that stiff cast on. They got me and my stuff into my room in the dorm, and said their good-byes. I was so happy that I was on the first floor! No stairs here but there were stairs all over campus. Sure, there’s elevators everywhere but I didn’t know where most of them were.First order of business, I gotta pee after that road trip. I used the big accessible stall in the bathroom, that was great. Grab bars, lots of room, it really was made for this kind of thing. Easier than the bathroom at home, that’s for sure.I was the butt of a lot of jokes and shit for the first few days, but otherwise it was fine. Down in the dining hall I spotted someone else who’d had a fun spring break. There was a girl with her whole arm in a cast, like from shoulder to wrist, with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. I wondered what happened to her. Skiing too I supposed. My buddies said we’d make a great couple and told me to go ask her out. No way, dudes, not gonna happen. I can’t talk to girls, I always get freaked out and clam up.The end of March rolled around, and I still had weeks to go before getting my cast off. There was a party on Saturday night, and I was weaning off the strong meds by now so I could have a few drinks. My floor mates were getting me drinks, too; so I ended up having a few more than I would normally have. I was feeling buzzed by the end of the night.One of the guys suddenly showed up with a wheelchair. "Robbo! we got you some wheels, man!“"Where’d you steal that from?” I asked, a little dubious about the idea of them scamming someone’s chair.“No-No, totally not stolen, we got it for you from the Red Cross. It’s legit, dude!”“All right! Let’s check out my new ride then!” I hopped over and settled into the chair. They adjusted the footrest out for me and one of them took my crutches, and they started wheeling me away. "Where we goin?“ I asked."It’s a surprise.” says one of them, and then pull a pillowcase down over my head so I can’t see where we’re going. When I try to pull the covering off, they stopped me, and then the started grabbing my arms & duct taping them to the chair’s armrests. We were outside by now, and I started yelling, until they taped the pillowcase tight against my mouth, to muff my yelling. Now I was getting pissed, but there’s not much I could do, except literally ride this out.They laughed and giggled and make goofy jokes as they wheeled me around campus. Eventually, I had no idea where I am, and it suddenly strikes me that it was now April 1st. The alcoholic buzz is wearing off fast under the rush of my adrenaline and anger, and I wondered what kind of demented nightmare game they’ve come up with.I heard more laughing, girls this time, and they make whispered comments back and forth with the guys. I m now in a building, but I had no clue where. My chair was pushed around some more, bumping into stuff, and then a body is dumped in my lap, then they yanked the duct tape off the pillowcase and I can again my mouth. The room is pitch black. The giggling and laughing is cut off by the slamming of a door, and everything goes quiet.I think there’s a girl in my lap, or a small, really nice smelling guy with long hair. She’s quiescent, asleep or passed out, pressed against my chest.“Hey. Hey, wake up.” I said.No response, she’s just sitting there, draped over my lap. She’s warm and breathing, so it’s not a manikin or something. I wondered if she’s okay.I started to shift a bit, can’t use my arms because they’re taped down, but I try to shake her awake with my rocking shoulders. It didn’t work, and now I’m afraid that if I move too much she’ll fall off onto the floor.“Hey, uh, miss, wake up.” louder. She’s out of it. I turn my head to the side so I’m not yelling in her ear and holler “Hey, enough crap, let me out of here!” Silence reigns. Well, fuck. Now what?‘Now what’. Then the fire alarm starts blaring. It startles the heck out of me, but still isn’t enough to wake the girl.  I heard loud commotion in the halls for about 30 seconds, but then suddenly there is silence. Fuck, this is getting serious. What if it’s a real fire? No, no way, it's April 1st now, gotta be a prank. I’ll just wait for her to wake up, and we’ll get out of here. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I began to see faint outlines of what is probably a maintenance closet or storage room.The alarm rings for an annoyingly long time. 15 minutes I guess, I dunno, but it seems interminable. And I need to pee now. When the alarm finally stops the need to pee gets more insistent. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my passenger. Her hip is pressed up against my groin, adding to the struggle of my urge to piss.More time passes, and damn, I gotta go bad, now. I’m gonna wet myself, and her too, if I don’t get out of here right now. I’ve tried speaking to her, yelling, shaking her, and then there was another alarm that went on and on. She just isn’t gonna wake up. Did those morons drug her or something?I’m desperate now. “Come on, sleeping beauty, wake up!” Sleeping beauty? Yeah, fine, I’ll try that before I piss all over her. I think a girl would be slightly less angry about a stolen kiss than wet pants. So I seek her mouth. There was a little light coming in under the door, but suddenly that light went out, and only a faint intermittent light glowed. Oh, crap! That would be the emergency exit lighting. I eventually bumped my faced against her nose, then lowered a bit and kissed her, probably a little too hard for a wakeup smooch, cause I'm dying’ here, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee.She’s got nice soft lips, really quite kissable, and I kinda wished she was awake and under different circumstances. I kissed her again, even harder. No response. I try again, this time I let my tongue do the talking, and I push into her mouth. Helluva way to experience my own first tongue-kiss . Finally, she stirred & turned into the kiss.Surprised, I pull back, and say “Oh thank god you’re awake, help me up!”She startled, yelping at me, “Who are you?!”“Help me, please, I’m gonna piss my pants! Untie me!”In the dim red glow of an exit sign I finally saw her face. She’s kinda cute, not particularly pretty, and she has a cast on her right arm. It’s the girl I saw in the dining hall a few times.“Hurry!" I pleaded.She struggled off me, and stood. Where the hell did you take me! she demanded.I told her that we were both abducted by campus hooligans and locked in some storage room, but I didn t know which building. Then I said; But I gotta pee right now and my leg is in a cast, and I m bound to this wheelchair.She felt the tape on my wrists. It's slow going for her to undo the tape with her one weak hand, the way she’s pulling at it, she’s obviously not left handed.I’m not gonna make it, and I looked around. We’re in a janitor’s room or something. I spotted a stack of small waste baskets. "Quick, grab one of those buckets and put it between my legs.”She’s quick on the uptake, I’ll give her that, and she grabbed the bucket for me. “Pull my pants down, hurry.”“What? No!” she protested.“Argh. Please, I’m gonna wet myself.” I grind out through my clenched teeth.She reached out with that uncoordinated left hand of hers and fumbles with my sweat pants. I squirmed to lift my hips a bit to help, and the elastic waistband slipped down, exposing my tight briefs.“You gotta help. Pull me out, aim for the bucket. Please?”I can see she’s not happy with the situation, and she’s fighting with her distaste at touching a man, a total stranger at that, in such a bizarre circumstance. But she perseveres, and that delicate hand fishes in my shorts for my cock. She paused momentarily as she made contact, then pulled my cock free. She picked up the empty bucket and aimed my hose toward the container.I groaned as I let loose. Oh god, finally! The relief was incredible. The poor girl was acting shocked as she dutifully aimed me at the bucket, and she even nudged the bucket a bit closer. I pissed on and on, holy fuck there was so much, and eventually I ran dry.Her disposition is no longer shocked, but instead she appeared to be curious.“Oh thank you, you saved me so much embarrassment. You can put me back in there now. Thanks.”She hesitated, and timidly tried to one-handedly stuff my cock back through the fly, and after a couple of clumsy tries I’m all set. And of course now my cock was growing fast in her hand, as I no longer had to pee, but there’s a wonderful-smelling girl handling that most sensitive part of my anatomy. Something that’s never happened before.That last drop of pee evidently got on her hand, and she looked a bit frantic now, “Ew” she says.“Just wipe it on my sweats, it’s Okay.” I told her, and she rubbed her hand on my inner thigh. That doesn’t help with my ever increasing boner of course.She looked up at me, and her brow wrinkled. “Do you smell smoke?” she asked.It’s my turn to be startled, and I looked toward the door. Oh Fuck, there’s smoke coming in under the door! That alarm was real! Why wasn’t it still going off? “Quick, help me get this tape off!” She started trying to pull up my sweats, but I say “No, leave that, just get me undone!”She started working on the tape on my left arm, and it took a few minutes to get me free. Working together, my right arm is unstuck in less than a minute. “Check the door.” I told her as I looked around the room. No other doors, just shelves, a big sink, a floor pan for filling and emptying mop buckets, and stacks of boxes and stuff.She tried the light switch but it doesn’t work. Great, my idiot friends probably unscrewed the light bulb. Then she tried the door. “It’s locked!” she says.“From the outside? Why the fuck would it be set up to lock people in? Sorry. I swear when I get nervous.”“Is there really a fire, do you think?”“I guess so, there was an alarm that went off when you were out cold.”“What do we do?” She started frantically searching her pockets and said; “I can’t find my phone!”“I didn’t even bring mine to the party. No pockets.”The smell of smoke got stronger. I wheeled up next to the sink, and ran some water. Grabbing a package of paper towels, I ripped it open and dumped them in the sink. “Here, block up the crack under the door with these!”I handed her wads of soggy paper, and she knelt down to stuff them under the door. The smoke stoped coming in, thank goodness.  But now the room is black. “Now what?” she said.I shrugged, “I guess we wait and hope.”“I’m scared.” she said in a small voice.“Come here, sit on my lap here. Oh, uh, maybe pull up my pants first.” She helped me with that and sat on me. I think the gravity of the situation is now hitting her pretty hard, I know it’s got me freaked out. She burrowed into my neck and wraps her good arm wraps around me. “We’re Okay for now.” I tell her.I smelled her hair again, as she’s crushed against me. Damn that feels nice. Shit, I don’t even know her name. “I’m Robert by the way. Robert Green.”“Suzanne. Suzanne Shelton.”, she informed me.“I’d say pleased to meet you Suzanne, but under these circumstances, maybe the sentiment should be I’m ecstatic to meet you. If I was by myself I would have pissed my pants and suffocated.”She giggled, my goofy sense of humor somehow helped in this situation. “I’m glad to meet you too, Robert.”“So how did you get here?”“I don’t know, I was at the dorm party and felt dizzy, then you were kissing me.” She blushed again.“Sorry about that, I tried to wake you for like 20 minutes, but you were really out of it. I finally thought I would try the sleeping beauty trick, and it worked. Did you drink something someone else gave you?”“Oh. Shit. She seemed to recall. I think so. One of my floor mates gave me a coke. It must have been spiked?  I had to take some of my pain meds for my arm earlier tonight, it was bothering me. I keep trying to do too much with it all the time.”“Oh, yeah, you don’t want to mix booze or anything with that stuff, I know! Sorry about the pee episode. I really was going to wet my pants in another few seconds. Wet both our pants.”She blushed and giggled. “I never saw a guy like that, like your, thing, before.”“Wow. Okay, well, I never had a girl touch my co-, um, thing, before.”“It changed when I was putting it away. Was that, um, like…’"Yeah, well, when a pretty girl touches me like that, I’m bound to get aroused.”Her eyes went wide at that statement. “Oh” she said. She paused a few seconds, then put her head back on my shoulder. There was that scent again. "So. Um, you think I’m pretty?“"Well, yeah, of course. You’re what I think my grandpa would call 'fetching’”She giggled again. Damn, that sounds nice, and she smells really nice. Little Robert stirred down below. I heard a sharp intake of breath. Uh Oh. She felt that. I may have just ruined what might have been a moment.“Am I pretty enough to make you, uh, aroused, then?”“Oh, Suzanne, I am so embarrassed. Please, don’t be offended, it’s just circumstances, you know?”She pulled back again and looked at the door. Still no smoke. Then she looked at me with a sad smile, saying “I didn’t think so.” Suzanne started to get up, and I realized where our wires had crossed.I put my arms around her and said " Oh, no no. You’re very pretty, and definitely arousing.“She looked surprised, but settled back down on my lap. "Oh.” she said. “Thank you.”Just

This episode covers recent highlights in golf, including Anthony Kim's remarkable victory at LIV Adelaide, Jacob Bridgeman's first PGA Tour win, and the evolving landscape of PGA Tour events. Billy shares some AK tales from their time together on the 2005 US Walker Cup team, and how he had that swagger from age 20. Chapters00:00 Golf Recap: Rising Stars and Signature Wins04:41 The Impact of Performance Under Pressure09:57 Colin Morikawa: A Return to Form15:29 Anthony Kim's Remarkable Comeback25:02 The Changing Landscape of PGA Tour Events

An April Fools Prank Goes Awry.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Spring break was just that, a break. My leg, actually.When I went home to Ottawa for spring break, I met up with a few of my old high school buds, and we took a day trip to the Quebec side for some skiing at one of the nearby hills, north of Ottawa. Mid-gafternoon, I hit a patch of ice and went down hard. It was quite a day for falls, as the hills were pretty icy this late in the season. I tried to get up, but my right ankle hurt like a bitch. None of my friends had stopped, as we were all falling a lot today, they just assumed I would get up and follow them.“Aw fuck!” I groaned. I lay there in the snow for a few minutes, until someone slid to a stop next to me.“Hey, are you all right?” the guy asks.“No, I hurt my ankle. Fuck.”“Don’t move it, I’ll find the ski patrol. Hang on.” He skied away to get help.30 seconds later another guy stopped. Same question. "Hey are you all right?“"I think I sprained my ankle. There was a guy here a minute ago, he said he’d send the ski patrol.”The guy turned and looked around, then waved and yelled “Ici! Over here! Vien! Here they are.”Two guys in red jackets stopped and asked what’s wrong. This other guy said “Good luck!” to me, and skied away, as I recounted the fall and my symptoms. The ski patrol guys were great, they radioed for a stretcher and 20 minutes later they’re loading me into an ambulance. The rest of the day was a lot of waiting, x-rays, and paperwork. The local hospital had a seasonal trauma unit for all the ski injuries, and they’re used to dealing with the inter-provincial healthcare.I called my Dad, who said he’d fetch me from the hospital, then called my buddies who were still in the chalet . He told them to go home without me. They commiserated and said they’d drop by my house tomorrow and see how I was doing.I eventually got a cast on my right leg. It spanned from my toes to my mid-thigh. I was issued a pair of crutches, and a whole ream of instructions (in both French and English of course) about what to do and what not to do. My Dad showed up somewhere during this tedious process and reassured me everything would be fine.We got home really late, after stopping at a pharmacy for pain meds, and stopping for takeout, damn I was hungry by then. I was asleep in minutes after I took one of those pills after getting home.Next morning, I had to take another pill, damn leg was throbbing like mad. I had to learn how to negotiate using the toilet with crutches, fuck, that’s pain in the arse. Then I had to figure out how to shower. They gave me a shower bag for the cast but I couldn’t get the damn thing on by myself. Mom was trying to be motherly (naturally) but I was way too embarrassed to be seen naked in front of her. My Dad was a trooper, he helped me with all the bathroom stuff, and I got my shower Okay.I wasn’t going to be able to drive for a while, so my folks said they’d drive me back to school in Toronto. I could come home by bus and get my car once I was able to drive. Great.“Actually, if I could have my car on campus, one of my buddies could drive me around. None of the other guys have a car.” Not that my rattly old car was much of a ride, but it got us from A to B.“Okay” my Dad says, “Your mother can drive you there, and I’ll follow in your car, then we’ll drive back together.”“Awesome, sounds like a plan!”The rest of the day my parents helped me work out how to deal with the cast and crutches and take care of personal stuff by myself, like getting dressed, showering, shaving (yeah, ever try to balance on one foot to shave? fuckin hell), and using the toilet. My mom went shopping and bought me a bunch of baggy sweat pants, something that would go over my cast.My old friends dropped by with some hard coolers the next day, thinking it would cheer me up; but I had to pass on those due to the meds I was on. They laughed at me and drank it all, themselves. We all had a good laugh about my predicament, and they wished me luck at college. Gonna need it, eh?Then it was time to head back to school. I’d been texting and calling my buddies at school, told them the whole idiot story of my misadventures. They laughed at me big time, and of course they worried about their ride, what was gonna happen to my car? I told them about the arrangements and they were happy that it would still be available.The drive to school was really tedious, seemed to last forever, because it was so fricking uncomfortable to sit there with that stiff cast on. They got me and my stuff into my room in the dorm, and said their good-byes. I was so happy that I was on the first floor! No stairs here but there were stairs all over campus. Sure, there’s elevators everywhere but I didn’t know where most of them were.First order of business, I gotta pee after that road trip. I used the big accessible stall in the bathroom, that was great. Grab bars, lots of room, it really was made for this kind of thing. Easier than the bathroom at home, that’s for sure.I was the butt of a lot of jokes and shit for the first few days, but otherwise it was fine. Down in the dining hall I spotted someone else who’d had a fun spring break. There was a girl with her whole arm in a cast, like from shoulder to wrist, with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. I wondered what happened to her. Skiing too I supposed. My buddies said we’d make a great couple and told me to go ask her out. No way, dudes, not gonna happen. I can’t talk to girls, I always get freaked out and clam up.The end of March rolled around, and I still had weeks to go before getting my cast off. There was a party on Saturday night, and I was weaning off the strong meds by now so I could have a few drinks. My floor mates were getting me drinks, too; so I ended up having a few more than I would normally have. I was feeling buzzed by the end of the night.One of the guys suddenly showed up with a wheelchair. "Robbo! we got you some wheels, man!“"Where’d you steal that from?” I asked, a little dubious about the idea of them scamming someone’s chair.“No-No, totally not stolen, we got it for you from the Red Cross. It’s legit, dude!”“All right! Let’s check out my new ride then!” I hopped over and settled into the chair. They adjusted the footrest out for me and one of them took my crutches, and they started wheeling me away. "Where we goin?“ I asked."It’s a surprise.” says one of them, and then pull a pillowcase down over my head so I can’t see where we’re going. When I try to pull the covering off, they stopped me, and then the started grabbing my arms & duct taping them to the chair’s armrests. We were outside by now, and I started yelling, until they taped the pillowcase tight against my mouth, to muff my yelling. Now I was getting pissed, but there’s not much I could do, except literally ride this out.They laughed and giggled and make goofy jokes as they wheeled me around campus. Eventually, I had no idea where I am, and it suddenly strikes me that it was now April 1st. The alcoholic buzz is wearing off fast under the rush of my adrenaline and anger, and I wondered what kind of demented nightmare game they’ve come up with.I heard more laughing, girls this time, and they make whispered comments back and forth with the guys. I m now in a building, but I had no clue where. My chair was pushed around some more, bumping into stuff, and then a body is dumped in my lap, then they yanked the duct tape off the pillowcase and I can again my mouth. The room is pitch black. The giggling and laughing is cut off by the slamming of a door, and everything goes quiet.I think there’s a girl in my lap, or a small, really nice smelling guy with long hair. She’s quiescent, asleep or passed out, pressed against my chest.“Hey. Hey, wake up.” I said.No response, she’s just sitting there, draped over my lap. She’s warm and breathing, so it’s not a manikin or something. I wondered if she’s okay.I started to shift a bit, can’t use my arms because they’re taped down, but I try to shake her awake with my rocking shoulders. It didn’t work, and now I’m afraid that if I move too much she’ll fall off onto the floor.“Hey, uh, miss, wake up.” louder. She’s out of it. I turn my head to the side so I’m not yelling in her ear and holler “Hey, enough crap, let me out of here!” Silence reigns. Well, fuck. Now what?‘Now what’. Then the fire alarm starts blaring. It startles the heck out of me, but still isn’t enough to wake the girl.  I heard loud commotion in the halls for about 30 seconds, but then suddenly there is silence. Fuck, this is getting serious. What if it’s a real fire? No, no way, it's April 1st now, gotta be a prank. I’ll just wait for her to wake up, and we’ll get out of here. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I began to see faint outlines of what is probably a maintenance closet or storage room.The alarm rings for an annoyingly long time. 15 minutes I guess, I dunno, but it seems interminable. And I need to pee now. When the alarm finally stops the need to pee gets more insistent. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my passenger. Her hip is pressed up against my groin, adding to the struggle of my urge to piss.More time passes, and damn, I gotta go bad, now. I’m gonna wet myself, and her too, if I don’t get out of here right now. I’ve tried speaking to her, yelling, shaking her, and then there was another alarm that went on and on. She just isn’t gonna wake up. Did those morons drug her or something?I’m desperate now. “Come on, sleeping beauty, wake up!” Sleeping beauty? Yeah, fine, I’ll try that before I piss all over her. I think a girl would be slightly less angry about a stolen kiss than wet pants. So I seek her mouth. There was a little light coming in under the door, but suddenly that light went out, and only a faint intermittent light glowed. Oh, crap! That would be the emergency exit lighting. I eventually bumped my faced against her nose, then lowered a bit and kissed her, probably a little too hard for a wakeup smooch, cause I'm dying’ here, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee.She’s got nice soft lips, really quite kissable, and I kinda wished she was awake and under different circumstances. I kissed her again, even harder. No response. I try again, this time I let my tongue do the talking, and I push into her mouth. Helluva way to experience my own first tongue-kiss . Finally, she stirred & turned into the kiss.Surprised, I pull back, and say “Oh thank god you’re awake, help me up!”She startled, yelping at me, “Who are you?!”“Help me, please, I’m gonna piss my pants! Untie me!”In the dim red glow of an exit sign I finally saw her face. She’s kinda cute, not particularly pretty, and she has a cast on her right arm. It’s the girl I saw in the dining hall a few times.“Hurry!" I pleaded.She struggled off me, and stood. Where the hell did you take me! she demanded.I told her that we were both abducted by campus hooligans and locked in some storage room, but I didn t know which building. Then I said; But I gotta pee right now and my leg is in a cast, and I m bound to this wheelchair.She felt the tape on my wrists. It's slow going for her to undo the tape with her one weak hand, the way she’s pulling at it, she’s obviously not left handed.I’m not gonna make it, and I looked around. We’re in a janitor’s room or something. I spotted a stack of small waste baskets. "Quick, grab one of those buckets and put it between my legs.”She’s quick on the uptake, I’ll give her that, and she grabbed the bucket for me. “Pull my pants down, hurry.”“What? No!” she protested.“Argh. Please, I’m gonna wet myself.” I grind out through my clenched teeth.She reached out with that uncoordinated left hand of hers and fumbles with my sweat pants. I squirmed to lift my hips a bit to help, and the elastic waistband slipped down, exposing my tight briefs.“You gotta help. Pull me out, aim for the bucket. Please?”I can see she’s not happy with the situation, and she’s fighting with her distaste at touching a man, a total stranger at that, in such a bizarre circumstance. But she perseveres, and that delicate hand fishes in my shorts for my cock. She paused momentarily as she made contact, then pulled my cock free. She picked up the empty bucket and aimed my hose toward the container.I groaned as I let loose. Oh god, finally! The relief was incredible. The poor girl was acting shocked as she dutifully aimed me at the bucket, and she even nudged the bucket a bit closer. I pissed on and on, holy fuck there was so much, and eventually I ran dry.Her disposition is no longer shocked, but instead she appeared to be curious.“Oh thank you, you saved me so much embarrassment. You can put me back in there now. Thanks.”She hesitated, and timidly tried to one-handedly stuff my cock back through the fly, and after a couple of clumsy tries I’m all set. And of course now my cock was growing fast in her hand, as I no longer had to pee, but there’s a wonderful-smelling girl handling that most sensitive part of my anatomy. Something that’s never happened before.That last drop of pee evidently got on her hand, and she looked a bit frantic now, “Ew” she says.“Just wipe it on my sweats, it’s Okay.” I told her, and she rubbed her hand on my inner thigh. That doesn’t help with my ever increasing boner of course.She looked up at me, and her brow wrinkled. “Do you smell smoke?” she asked.It’s my turn to be startled, and I looked toward the door. Oh Fuck, there’s smoke coming in under the door! That alarm was real! Why wasn’t it still going off? “Quick, help me get this tape off!” She started trying to pull up my sweats, but I say “No, leave that, just get me undone!”She started working on the tape on my left arm, and it took a few minutes to get me free. Working together, my right arm is unstuck in less than a minute. “Check the door.” I told her as I looked around the room. No other doors, just shelves, a big sink, a floor pan for filling and emptying mop buckets, and stacks of boxes and stuff.She tried the light switch but it doesn’t work. Great, my idiot friends probably unscrewed the light bulb. Then she tried the door. “It’s locked!” she says.“From the outside? Why the fuck would it be set up to lock people in? Sorry. I swear when I get nervous.”“Is there really a fire, do you think?”“I guess so, there was an alarm that went off when you were out cold.”“What do we do?” She started frantically searching her pockets and said; “I can’t find my phone!”“I didn’t even bring mine to the party. No pockets.”The smell of smoke got stronger. I wheeled up next to the sink, and ran some water. Grabbing a package of paper towels, I ripped it open and dumped them in the sink. “Here, block up the crack under the door with these!”I handed her wads of soggy paper, and she knelt down to stuff them under the door. The smoke stoped coming in, thank goodness.  But now the room is black. “Now what?” she said.I shrugged, “I guess we wait and hope.”“I’m scared.” she said in a small voice.“Come here, sit on my lap here. Oh, uh, maybe pull up my pants first.” She helped me with that and sat on me. I think the gravity of the situation is now hitting her pretty hard, I know it’s got me freaked out. She burrowed into my neck and wraps her good arm wraps around me. “We’re Okay for now.” I tell her.I smelled her hair again, as she’s crushed against me. Damn that feels nice. Shit, I don’t even know her name. “I’m Robert by the way. Robert Green.”“Suzanne. Suzanne Shelton.”, she informed me.“I’d say pleased to meet you Suzanne, but under these circumstances, maybe the sentiment should be I’m ecstatic to meet you. If I was by myself I would have pissed my pants and suffocated.”She giggled, my goofy sense of humor somehow helped in this situation. “I’m glad to meet you too, Robert.”“So how did you get here?”“I don’t know, I was at the dorm party and felt dizzy, then you were kissing me.” She blushed again.“Sorry about that, I tried to wake you for like 20 minutes, but you were really out of it. I finally thought I would try the sleeping beauty trick, and it worked. Did you drink something someone else gave you?”“Oh. Shit. She seemed to recall. I think so. One of my floor mates gave me a coke. It must have been spiked?  I had to take some of my pain meds for my arm earlier tonight, it was bothering me. I keep trying to do too much with it all the time.”“Oh, yeah, you don’t want to mix booze or anything with that stuff, I know! Sorry about the pee episode. I really was going to wet my pants in another few seconds. Wet both our pants.”She blushed and giggled. “I never saw a guy like that, like your, thing, before.”“Wow. Okay, well, I never had a girl touch my co-, um, thing, before.”“It changed when I was putting it away. Was that, um, like…’"Yeah, well, when a pretty girl touches me like that, I’m bound to get aroused.”Her eyes went wide at that statement. “Oh” she said. She paused a few seconds, then put her head back on my shoulder. There was that scent again. "So. Um, you think I’m pretty?“"Well, yeah, of course. You’re what I think my grandpa would call 'fetching’”She giggled again. Damn, that sounds nice, and she smells really nice. Little Robert stirred down below. I heard a sharp intake of breath. Uh Oh. She felt that. I may have just ruined what might have been a moment.“Am I pretty enough to make you, uh, aroused, then?”“Oh, Suzanne, I am so embarrassed. Please, don’t be offended, it’s just circumstances, you know?”She pulled back again and looked at the door. Still no smoke. Then she looked at me with a sad smile, saying “I didn’t think so.” Suzanne started to get up, and I realized where our wires had crossed.I put my arms around her and said " Oh, no no. You’re very pretty, and definitely arousing.“She looked surprised, but settled back down on my lap. "Oh.” she said. “Thank you.”Just

An April Fools Prank Goes Awry.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Spring break was just that, a break. My leg, actually.When I went home to Ottawa for spring break, I met up with a few of my old high school buds, and we took a day trip to the Quebec side for some skiing at one of the nearby hills, north of Ottawa. Mid-gafternoon, I hit a patch of ice and went down hard. It was quite a day for falls, as the hills were pretty icy this late in the season. I tried to get up, but my right ankle hurt like a bitch. None of my friends had stopped, as we were all falling a lot today, they just assumed I would get up and follow them.“Aw fuck!” I groaned. I lay there in the snow for a few minutes, until someone slid to a stop next to me.“Hey, are you all right?” the guy asks.“No, I hurt my ankle. Fuck.”“Don’t move it, I’ll find the ski patrol. Hang on.” He skied away to get help.30 seconds later another guy stopped. Same question. "Hey are you all right?“"I think I sprained my ankle. There was a guy here a minute ago, he said he’d send the ski patrol.”The guy turned and looked around, then waved and yelled “Ici! Over here! Vien! Here they are.”Two guys in red jackets stopped and asked what’s wrong. This other guy said “Good luck!” to me, and skied away, as I recounted the fall and my symptoms. The ski patrol guys were great, they radioed for a stretcher and 20 minutes later they’re loading me into an ambulance. The rest of the day was a lot of waiting, x-rays, and paperwork. The local hospital had a seasonal trauma unit for all the ski injuries, and they’re used to dealing with the inter-provincial healthcare.I called my Dad, who said he’d fetch me from the hospital, then called my buddies who were still in the chalet . He told them to go home without me. They commiserated and said they’d drop by my house tomorrow and see how I was doing.I eventually got a cast on my right leg. It spanned from my toes to my mid-thigh. I was issued a pair of crutches, and a whole ream of instructions (in both French and English of course) about what to do and what not to do. My Dad showed up somewhere during this tedious process and reassured me everything would be fine.We got home really late, after stopping at a pharmacy for pain meds, and stopping for takeout, damn I was hungry by then. I was asleep in minutes after I took one of those pills after getting home.Next morning, I had to take another pill, damn leg was throbbing like mad. I had to learn how to negotiate using the toilet with crutches, fuck, that’s pain in the arse. Then I had to figure out how to shower. They gave me a shower bag for the cast but I couldn’t get the damn thing on by myself. Mom was trying to be motherly (naturally) but I was way too embarrassed to be seen naked in front of her. My Dad was a trooper, he helped me with all the bathroom stuff, and I got my shower Okay.I wasn’t going to be able to drive for a while, so my folks said they’d drive me back to school in Toronto. I could come home by bus and get my car once I was able to drive. Great.“Actually, if I could have my car on campus, one of my buddies could drive me around. None of the other guys have a car.” Not that my rattly old car was much of a ride, but it got us from A to B.“Okay” my Dad says, “Your mother can drive you there, and I’ll follow in your car, then we’ll drive back together.”“Awesome, sounds like a plan!”The rest of the day my parents helped me work out how to deal with the cast and crutches and take care of personal stuff by myself, like getting dressed, showering, shaving (yeah, ever try to balance on one foot to shave? fuckin hell), and using the toilet. My mom went shopping and bought me a bunch of baggy sweat pants, something that would go over my cast.My old friends dropped by with some hard coolers the next day, thinking it would cheer me up; but I had to pass on those due to the meds I was on. They laughed at me and drank it all, themselves. We all had a good laugh about my predicament, and they wished me luck at college. Gonna need it, eh?Then it was time to head back to school. I’d been texting and calling my buddies at school, told them the whole idiot story of my misadventures. They laughed at me big time, and of course they worried about their ride, what was gonna happen to my car? I told them about the arrangements and they were happy that it would still be available.The drive to school was really tedious, seemed to last forever, because it was so fricking uncomfortable to sit there with that stiff cast on. They got me and my stuff into my room in the dorm, and said their good-byes. I was so happy that I was on the first floor! No stairs here but there were stairs all over campus. Sure, there’s elevators everywhere but I didn’t know where most of them were.First order of business, I gotta pee after that road trip. I used the big accessible stall in the bathroom, that was great. Grab bars, lots of room, it really was made for this kind of thing. Easier than the bathroom at home, that’s for sure.I was the butt of a lot of jokes and shit for the first few days, but otherwise it was fine. Down in the dining hall I spotted someone else who’d had a fun spring break. There was a girl with her whole arm in a cast, like from shoulder to wrist, with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. I wondered what happened to her. Skiing too I supposed. My buddies said we’d make a great couple and told me to go ask her out. No way, dudes, not gonna happen. I can’t talk to girls, I always get freaked out and clam up.The end of March rolled around, and I still had weeks to go before getting my cast off. There was a party on Saturday night, and I was weaning off the strong meds by now so I could have a few drinks. My floor mates were getting me drinks, too; so I ended up having a few more than I would normally have. I was feeling buzzed by the end of the night.One of the guys suddenly showed up with a wheelchair. "Robbo! we got you some wheels, man!“"Where’d you steal that from?” I asked, a little dubious about the idea of them scamming someone’s chair.“No-No, totally not stolen, we got it for you from the Red Cross. It’s legit, dude!”“All right! Let’s check out my new ride then!” I hopped over and settled into the chair. They adjusted the footrest out for me and one of them took my crutches, and they started wheeling me away. "Where we goin?“ I asked."It’s a surprise.” says one of them, and then pull a pillowcase down over my head so I can’t see where we’re going. When I try to pull the covering off, they stopped me, and then the started grabbing my arms & duct taping them to the chair’s armrests. We were outside by now, and I started yelling, until they taped the pillowcase tight against my mouth, to muff my yelling. Now I was getting pissed, but there’s not much I could do, except literally ride this out.They laughed and giggled and make goofy jokes as they wheeled me around campus. Eventually, I had no idea where I am, and it suddenly strikes me that it was now April 1st. The alcoholic buzz is wearing off fast under the rush of my adrenaline and anger, and I wondered what kind of demented nightmare game they’ve come up with.I heard more laughing, girls this time, and they make whispered comments back and forth with the guys. I m now in a building, but I had no clue where. My chair was pushed around some more, bumping into stuff, and then a body is dumped in my lap, then they yanked the duct tape off the pillowcase and I can again my mouth. The room is pitch black. The giggling and laughing is cut off by the slamming of a door, and everything goes quiet.I think there’s a girl in my lap, or a small, really nice smelling guy with long hair. She’s quiescent, asleep or passed out, pressed against my chest.“Hey. Hey, wake up.” I said.No response, she’s just sitting there, draped over my lap. She’s warm and breathing, so it’s not a manikin or something. I wondered if she’s okay.I started to shift a bit, can’t use my arms because they’re taped down, but I try to shake her awake with my rocking shoulders. It didn’t work, and now I’m afraid that if I move too much she’ll fall off onto the floor.“Hey, uh, miss, wake up.” louder. She’s out of it. I turn my head to the side so I’m not yelling in her ear and holler “Hey, enough crap, let me out of here!” Silence reigns. Well, fuck. Now what?‘Now what’. Then the fire alarm starts blaring. It startles the heck out of me, but still isn’t enough to wake the girl.  I heard loud commotion in the halls for about 30 seconds, but then suddenly there is silence. Fuck, this is getting serious. What if it’s a real fire? No, no way, it's April 1st now, gotta be a prank. I’ll just wait for her to wake up, and we’ll get out of here. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I began to see faint outlines of what is probably a maintenance closet or storage room.The alarm rings for an annoyingly long time. 15 minutes I guess, I dunno, but it seems interminable. And I need to pee now. When the alarm finally stops the need to pee gets more insistent. I shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my passenger. Her hip is pressed up against my groin, adding to the struggle of my urge to piss.More time passes, and damn, I gotta go bad, now. I’m gonna wet myself, and her too, if I don’t get out of here right now. I’ve tried speaking to her, yelling, shaking her, and then there was another alarm that went on and on. She just isn’t gonna wake up. Did those morons drug her or something?I’m desperate now. “Come on, sleeping beauty, wake up!” Sleeping beauty? Yeah, fine, I’ll try that before I piss all over her. I think a girl would be slightly less angry about a stolen kiss than wet pants. So I seek her mouth. There was a little light coming in under the door, but suddenly that light went out, and only a faint intermittent light glowed. Oh, crap! That would be the emergency exit lighting. I eventually bumped my faced against her nose, then lowered a bit and kissed her, probably a little too hard for a wakeup smooch, cause I'm dying’ here, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee.She’s got nice soft lips, really quite kissable, and I kinda wished she was awake and under different circumstances. I kissed her again, even harder. No response. I try again, this time I let my tongue do the talking, and I push into her mouth. Helluva way to experience my own first tongue-kiss . Finally, she stirred & turned into the kiss.Surprised, I pull back, and say “Oh thank god you’re awake, help me up!”She startled, yelping at me, “Who are you?!”“Help me, please, I’m gonna piss my pants! Untie me!”In the dim red glow of an exit sign I finally saw her face. She’s kinda cute, not particularly pretty, and she has a cast on her right arm. It’s the girl I saw in the dining hall a few times.“Hurry!" I pleaded.She struggled off me, and stood. Where the hell did you take me! she demanded.I told her that we were both abducted by campus hooligans and locked in some storage room, but I didn t know which building. Then I said; But I gotta pee right now and my leg is in a cast, and I m bound to this wheelchair.She felt the tape on my wrists. It's slow going for her to undo the tape with her one weak hand, the way she’s pulling at it, she’s obviously not left handed.I’m not gonna make it, and I looked around. We’re in a janitor’s room or something. I spotted a stack of small waste baskets. "Quick, grab one of those buckets and put it between my legs.”She’s quick on the uptake, I’ll give her that, and she grabbed the bucket for me. “Pull my pants down, hurry.”“What? No!” she protested.“Argh. Please, I’m gonna wet myself.” I grind out through my clenched teeth.She reached out with that uncoordinated left hand of hers and fumbles with my sweat pants. I squirmed to lift my hips a bit to help, and the elastic waistband slipped down, exposing my tight briefs.“You gotta help. Pull me out, aim for the bucket. Please?”I can see she’s not happy with the situation, and she’s fighting with her distaste at touching a man, a total stranger at that, in such a bizarre circumstance. But she perseveres, and that delicate hand fishes in my shorts for my cock. She paused momentarily as she made contact, then pulled my cock free. She picked up the empty bucket and aimed my hose toward the container.I groaned as I let loose. Oh god, finally! The relief was incredible. The poor girl was acting shocked as she dutifully aimed me at the bucket, and she even nudged the bucket a bit closer. I pissed on and on, holy fuck there was so much, and eventually I ran dry.Her disposition is no longer shocked, but instead she appeared to be curious.“Oh thank you, you saved me so much embarrassment. You can put me back in there now. Thanks.”She hesitated, and timidly tried to one-handedly stuff my cock back through the fly, and after a couple of clumsy tries I’m all set. And of course now my cock was growing fast in her hand, as I no longer had to pee, but there’s a wonderful-smelling girl handling that most sensitive part of my anatomy. Something that’s never happened before.That last drop of pee evidently got on her hand, and she looked a bit frantic now, “Ew” she says.“Just wipe it on my sweats, it’s Okay.” I told her, and she rubbed her hand on my inner thigh. That doesn’t help with my ever increasing boner of course.She looked up at me, and her brow wrinkled. “Do you smell smoke?” she asked.It’s my turn to be startled, and I looked toward the door. Oh Fuck, there’s smoke coming in under the door! That alarm was real! Why wasn’t it still going off? “Quick, help me get this tape off!” She started trying to pull up my sweats, but I say “No, leave that, just get me undone!”She started working on the tape on my left arm, and it took a few minutes to get me free. Working together, my right arm is unstuck in less than a minute. “Check the door.” I told her as I looked around the room. No other doors, just shelves, a big sink, a floor pan for filling and emptying mop buckets, and stacks of boxes and stuff.She tried the light switch but it doesn’t work. Great, my idiot friends probably unscrewed the light bulb. Then she tried the door. “It’s locked!” she says.“From the outside? Why the fuck would it be set up to lock people in? Sorry. I swear when I get nervous.”“Is there really a fire, do you think?”“I guess so, there was an alarm that went off when you were out cold.”“What do we do?” She started frantically searching her pockets and said; “I can’t find my phone!”“I didn’t even bring mine to the party. No pockets.”The smell of smoke got stronger. I wheeled up next to the sink, and ran some water. Grabbing a package of paper towels, I ripped it open and dumped them in the sink. “Here, block up the crack under the door with these!”I handed her wads of soggy paper, and she knelt down to stuff them under the door. The smoke stoped coming in, thank goodness.  But now the room is black. “Now what?” she said.I shrugged, “I guess we wait and hope.”“I’m scared.” she said in a small voice.“Come here, sit on my lap here. Oh, uh, maybe pull up my pants first.” She helped me with that and sat on me. I think the gravity of the situation is now hitting her pretty hard, I know it’s got me freaked out. She burrowed into my neck and wraps her good arm wraps around me. “We’re Okay for now.” I tell her.I smelled her hair again, as she’s crushed against me. Damn that feels nice. Shit, I don’t even know her name. “I’m Robert by the way. Robert Green.”“Suzanne. Suzanne Shelton.”, she informed me.“I’d say pleased to meet you Suzanne, but under these circumstances, maybe the sentiment should be I’m ecstatic to meet you. If I was by myself I would have pissed my pants and suffocated.”She giggled, my goofy sense of humor somehow helped in this situation. “I’m glad to meet you too, Robert.”“So how did you get here?”“I don’t know, I was at the dorm party and felt dizzy, then you were kissing me.” She blushed again.“Sorry about that, I tried to wake you for like 20 minutes, but you were really out of it. I finally thought I would try the sleeping beauty trick, and it worked. Did you drink something someone else gave you?”“Oh. Shit. She seemed to recall. I think so. One of my floor mates gave me a coke. It must have been spiked?  I had to take some of my pain meds for my arm earlier tonight, it was bothering me. I keep trying to do too much with it all the time.”“Oh, yeah, you don’t want to mix booze or anything with that stuff, I know! Sorry about the pee episode. I really was going to wet my pants in another few seconds. Wet both our pants.”She blushed and giggled. “I never saw a guy like that, like your, thing, before.”“Wow. Okay, well, I never had a girl touch my co-, um, thing, before.”“It changed when I was putting it away. Was that, um, like…’"Yeah, well, when a pretty girl touches me like that, I’m bound to get aroused.”Her eyes went wide at that statement. “Oh” she said. She paused a few seconds, then put her head back on my shoulder. There was that scent again. "So. Um, you think I’m pretty?“"Well, yeah, of course. You’re what I think my grandpa would call 'fetching’”She giggled again. Damn, that sounds nice, and she smells really nice. Little Robert stirred down below. I heard a sharp intake of breath. Uh Oh. She felt that. I may have just ruined what might have been a moment.“Am I pretty enough to make you, uh, aroused, then?”“Oh, Suzanne, I am so embarrassed. Please, don’t be offended, it’s just circumstances, you know?”She pulled back again and looked at the door. Still no smoke. Then she looked at me with a sad smile, saying “I didn’t think so.” Suzanne started to get up, and I realized where our wires had crossed.I put my arms around her and said " Oh, no no. You’re very pretty, and definitely arousing.“She looked surprised, but settled back down on my lap. "Oh.” she said. “Thank you.”Just

It's not too often I get to sit down and share Mere with you guys, but I get so excited every time that I do because she is such a gift! Today, we dive into things we want to let go of and things we wish to pour more into it. Friendship is beautiful & it's so fun to add depth to it in every convo. Apologies if Mere & I were both a little rusty, podcasting as a duo gets nerve-wracking. We love you! Watch Mere's vlogs: https://www.youtube.com/@meredithgood  If you'd like to donate to Paws, check this out: https://3heartstrings.com/  Keep up with me here, too: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lexxhidalgo/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Moments IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/themomentspod/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lexxhidalgo ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpEdIqyesP-XZn89i0yNpQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  And order the journal that sparked it all, so excited for you to experience the moments journal too

In this episode I get to interview Fae D'Cay, a fetishist with about 20 years of experience! I talk with her through her journey of making content and also talking about giantess as well!Find her here: https://linktr.ee/faedcay

‘…they're GRABBING all they can, while the can!' To help support this Podcast & get exclusive videos every week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.comhttps://www.patreon.com/neiloliver To Donate, go to Neil's Website:https://www.neiloliver.com To Shop:https://neil-oliver.creator-spring.com YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@Neil-Oliver Rumble site – Neil Oliver Official:https://rumble.com/c/c-6293844 Instagram - NeilOliverLoveLetter:https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter Podcasts:Neil Oliver: News Comment HistoryNeil Oliver: HistoryNeil Oliver: InterviewsAvailable on all the usual providershttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/neil-olivers-love-letter-to-the-british-isles #NeilOliver #MarcoRubio #Trump #MunichSecurityConference #neiloliverGBNews #travel #culture #ancient #historyfact #explore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send a textKatalina's didn't become a beloved Columbus restaurant by accident.In this conversation with founder Kathleen Day, we talk about staying power, what it takes to build something people love, keep it standing through hard seasons, and still care deeply about the work years later.We bounce from wild life stories to music obsessions, famous run-ins, creative intensity, and the unfiltered realities of the restaurant industry, alongside the very real work of protecting a legacy brand when the economics get tougher and the stakes get higher.Kathleen shares what she's learned about leadership, resilience, and why being liked was never the goal, while reminding us that you can be serious about your work without taking yourself too seriously.This episode is equal parts grit, honesty, laughter, and grabbing life by the balls... then staying in it long enough to make it matter.

On the show today, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are taking the Wuthering Heights press tour global, but one $12 million diamond necklace has sparked a massive historical backlash. And, why is everyone talking about Margot wearing Emily Bronte’s hair? We debate whether method dressing has finally gone too far into shock-value territory. And, Tina has her notebook ready because we are decoding Opalite. Taylor's new music video is here, and it’s basically a giant "I’m actually very likable" campaign. We explain the secret meaning behind the pet rock, the "trash" metaphors for Kim Kardashian, and the "resting Cillian face" that launched a thousand memes. Plus why this might be her most "Taylor" video yet.THE END BITS Love binge-watching TV? The Spill has launched Watch Party — spoiler-filled episode deep dives into the shows everyone’s talking about. Find the feed on Apple or Spotify. Support independent women's media We’re giving away a Your Reformer Pilates bed (worth $3,400) Subscribe to enter Follow us on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. And subscribe to our Youtube channel. Read all the latest entertainment news on Mamamia... here. Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here. Do you have feedback or a topic you want us to discuss on The Spill? Send us a voice message, or send us an email thespill@mamamia.com.au and we'll come back to you ASAP! CREDITS Hosts: Laura Brodnik and Tina Burke Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran Audio Producer: Scott StronachBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Strap in for parental outrage as Clay Edwards breaks down the viral story of Madison dad Shane Saxton in this intense segment from Episode #1150. Amid back-to-back bomb threats at Madison Station Elementary—shutting down classes and traumatizing kids—Shane shows up at the church evacuation site to get his six-year-old and sibling off the bus. School admins stonewall him three times: "Nobody can get their kids." With no clear safety plan in place, Shane declares he's taking them anyway. The vice principal relents, hands over the kids, and other parents follow suit with a quick sign-out.   But the drama escalates: Just a quarter-mile down the road, Madison police pull Shane over—someone from the school called, claiming he caused a "disturbance." Shane's raw video (complete with dashcam footage) blasts the absurdity: Why divert cops from a real threat to harass a dad protecting his family? Clay plays the full clip, shares his blood-boiling reaction as a parent, and opens the lines and texts for your takes—was it bureaucratic overreach, poor communication, or necessary protocol?   Listeners chime in: "I'd have done the same," "Clean up your own house before calling cops," and debates on "what if" scenarios. Clay owns up to announcing pickup spots on air (potentially tipping off hoaxers) and calls for better school-parent transparency. If you're a parent fed up with system failures, this segment demands accountability and exposes the real chaos in Central Mississippi schools.

This engaging episode features a conversation with Renee Thompson, Founder of the Healthy Workforce Institute.

It's not every day our gearhead behavior comes under threat from the local oaf - it's usually Big Gov't or badly behaving bureaucrats.  In this case, the pepperoni-armed beta boys and their unhappy wives are acting in ways that tee up pending geek doom for the smart set.  ...This means everything from sabotaging our cars to exploiting our Second Amendment rights, as well as attacking our friends and neighbors with their vehicles, their delusions, and their bathing habits.  Don't take it - support law enforcement and remember: the basest reason for laws is to keep some rando's freedoms from interfering with yours and mine. What's more: tire repairs and all-wheel drive, the Standard across from Brown's Chicken, steam whistles and some good tunes: KMFDM, Sugar Ray, The Melvins, Union Underground, Puny Human, Monster Magnet, and Marylin Manson, with a special appearance by Godzilla.

It's not every day our gearhead behavior comes under threat from the local oaf - it's usually Big Gov't or badly behaving bureaucrats.  In this case, the pepperoni-armed beta boys and their unhappy wives are acting in ways that tee up pending geek doom for the smart set.  ...This means everything from sabotaging our cars to exploiting our Second Amendment rights, as well as attacking our friends and neighbors with their vehicles, their delusions, and their bathing habits.  Don't take it - support law enforcement and remember: the basest reason for laws is to keep some rando's freedoms from interfering with yours and mine. What's more: tire repairs and all-wheel drive, the Standard across from Brown's Chicken, steam whistles and some good tunes: KMFDM, Sugar Ray, The Melvins, Union Underground, Puny Human, Monster Magnet, and Marylin Manson, with a special appearance by Godzilla.

https://jo.my/k7u1jrThe Most Common Hand Injuries And CausesYour hands are your most valuable tools. In a warehouse, they're constantly at risk. From sharp edges to pinch points and fast-moving machinery, one wrong move can lead to serious injury. That's why this week, we're focusing on hand safety—and more specifically, how to avoid cuts, pinches, and caught-in hazards.Most hand injuries don't come out of nowhere. They build up from small oversights. Grabbing debris without gloves. Reaching into a jammed conveyor. Wearing a loose hoodie near a rotating shaft. These aren't just bad habits—they're dangerous ones. The goal is simple: protect your hands before an injury forces you to stop using them.Here are a few ways to keep your hands out of harm's way:1. Watch for pinch, crush, and cut points.Anywhere metal moves, shifts, or presses—assume there's a danger zone. Conveyor rollers, dock plates, loading bays, lift gates. Keep your hands out unless you've locked out the equipment and confirmed it's safe.2. Never clear jams by hand.Tempting? Sure. But that shortcut can cost you fingers. Use proper lockout/tagout procedures. And always use tools—not hands—to remove material that's stuck or jammed.3. Skip the loose clothing and jewelry.That oversized hoodie, drawstring, or metal watch? It might seem harmless—until it catches on a rotating shaft or pallet jack chain. Keep sleeves snug and accessories off the floor.4. Stay alert around moving parts.Rotating belts. Chain drives. Live rollers. These parts don't stop just because you're nearby. Give machinery space, even if it looks idle. Always assume it could start back up.5. Don't ignore small cuts or blisters.Even minor scrapes can turn into infections or worse if untreated. Clean and cover wounds. Report them. Letting a small cut fester is never the smart move.As always, these are potential tips. Please be sure to follow the rules and regulations of your specific facility.A strong safety culture isn't built on luck. It's built on small decisions, repeated daily. Every time you choose gloves over bare hands, or back away instead of reaching in, you're protecting more than just yourself. You're setting the tone for your whole team.Hand injuries are some of the most common incidents in the warehouse. But here's the thing—they're also some of the most preventable. With awareness, a little patience, and the right habits, you can keep your hands safe and working as hard as you do.Thank you for being part of another episode of Warehouse Safety Tips.Until we meet next time - have a great week, and STAY SAFE!#Safety #SafetyCulture #StaySafe #HandSafety #InjuryPrevention #CaughtInHazards #WorkplaceSafety #StayAlert #HealthAndSafety

Virginia's new Governor, Abigail Spanberger, openly admitted it's good for the state to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, not to protect the climate and environment, but rather because it's a great “cash grab.”   Bonner Cohen, Ph.D., a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, explains how Virginia's participation in RGGI will raise energy costs, hurt low- and middle-income residents, and drive businesses out of the state, when he joined Joe Thomas, The Daily Signal's Virginia correspondent, on his podcast today.    “It's not about saving the planet, and we have to be very careful about what we mean when we say it makes money for Virginia. Actually, it's ultimately going to cost Virginia rate payers who, as a result of RGGI, as well as a result of other energy policies she's imposing as well as taxes she plans to raise, these people are going to see their disposable incomes reduced and you have to ask the question: to what end?” Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In anticipation of the author's return to the pod ... New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author, Gregg Hurwitz, spoke with me about why all writing is a process of self-discovery, how to humanize a trained assassin, and the latest Orphan X thriller, THE LAST ORPHAN. Gregg Hurwitz is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author of 23 thrillers including the ORPHAN X series. He has been published in 33 languages, and the Los Angeles Times called him “... a thriller giant."  He is also a NY Times bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for AWA (Knighted and the critically acclaimed anthology NewThink), Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). His eighth Orphan X novel is The Last Orphan, the ongoing series featuring The Nowhere Man, “Evan Smoak, a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past.” #1 NY Times bestselling author Meg Gardiner said of the book, "Just when I thought the Orphan X novels couldn't get any better, Gregg Hurwitz takes the series to an even higher level. The Last Orphan is pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, and thought-provoking.” Gregg Hurwitz has written screenplays and TV scripts for many of the major studios and networks, has published poetry, numerous academic articles on Shakespeare, and has taught fiction writing at USC. [This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to⁠ ⁠ulys.app/writeabook⁠⁠ to download Ulysses, and use the code FILES at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription."] [Discover⁠ The Writer Files Extra⁠: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at⁠ writerfiles.fm⁠] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please⁠ click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews⁠. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Gregg Hurwitz and I discussed:  The reason he never took a creative writing class Why Orphan X is the culmination of his career Plot as character in motion How every writer's voice is as distinctive as a fingerprint Writing Batman vs Bruce Wayne and villains vs antagonists Grabbing a bourbon with William Faulkner And a lot more! Show Notes: ⁠GreggHurwitz.net⁠ ⁠The Last Orphan⁠ By Gregg Hurwitz (Amazon) ⁠Gregg Hurwitz Amazon Author Page⁠ ⁠Gregg Hurwitz on Facebook⁠ ⁠Gregg Hurwitz on Instagram⁠ ⁠Gregg Hurwitz on Twitter⁠ Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer⁠ ⁠diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram⁠ ⁠Kelton Reid Instagram⁠ ⁠Kelton Reid on Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Dez is fresh from Disney land and has stories to tell that will make you glad you had a vasectomy too! so clap your cheeks and grab your ass its time to Get Wrecked!

In this week's episode Rabbi Kohn talks about why Moshe changed what G-D told him to say to the Pharaoh. When he told Pharoah about the plague of the firstborn he said at "about midnight" instead of at midnight. Why did Moshe do this? Does G-D not know how to tell time? He also speaks about the mitzvah of the korban Pesach. How family is important to our Judaism and how are Judaism brings our families together. Subscribe to The Practical Parsha Podcast. For questions or comments please email RabbiShlomoKohn@gmail.com. To listen to Rabbi Kohn's other podcast use this link- the-pirkei-avos-podcast.castos.com/  If you would like to support this podcast please use this secure link to donate: SUPPORT THE PODCAST  Chapters (00:00:00) - Practical Parsha(00:01:18) - Parshha's Bow(00:08:04) - The Plague of the Firstborn(00:17:51) - The Great Desecration of Hashem(00:20:04) - The Mitzvah of Karbon Pesach

Is Hofer back? Jeff and Bill will talk about Hofer's recent performances and how he has grabbed the number 1 job from Jordan Binnington. The big win against Carolina was a milestone night for many reasons and the most recent losses proved that the Blues still have some major work to do. Philip Broberg signs a new deal then instantly gets hurt. Logan Mailloux has inked a new deal and stayed healthy. We break it all down with St. Louis beers in hand and a mouth full of pretzels (not really). Let's Go Blues Radio is the longest-running St. Louis Blues hockey podcast, bringing fans unfiltered analysis and in-your-face commentary since 2011. Hosted by Curt Price, Bill Day and Jeff Ponder. Sponsors: Mike Burgoyne Real Estate – Check out StrikeWithMike.com for the best realty service in St. Louis!

Apply to Join Churchfront Premium Apply to Join Churchfront Pro Free Worship and Production Toolkit Shop Our Online Courses Join us at the Churchfront Conference Follow Churchfront on Instagram or TikTok: @churchfront Follow on Twitter: @realchurchfront Gear we use to make videos at Churchfront Musicbed SyncID: MB01VWQ69XRQNSN   Carey Nieuwhof Interview - Podcast Notes Overview Conversation with Carey Nieuwhof about the shift in modern church worship from entertainment-focused to encounter-focused experiences, live streaming strategy, and church growth in the digital age. Key Themes 1. The Shift: Entertainment vs. Encounter The Problem with Modern Church Production Social media created a "copycat phase" where churches could suddenly see what megachurches were doing Churches adopted same equipment, same songs, same production values What was unique became ubiquitous - "we all became copies of each other" Gen Z is "the most marketed to generation in human history" and numb to production Quote: "Gen Z is the most marketed to generation in human history. And we're all kind of numb to the production. I don't think people are looking for hype. They're looking for hope." What People Actually Want Something real and tangible An experience of God, not just information about God Presence, not just presentation Transformation over information The Internet's Limitation Really good at delivering information (especially with AI) Cannot facilitate an encounter "There's something that happens in the room that doesn't happen online" 2. What "Encounter Over Entertainment" Looks Like The Tonal Shift Worship leaders being more sensitive to what's happening in the room, not just rehearsed transitions Preachers leaving space, not just hitting time marks Paying attention to what God might be doing (people crying, leaning in, visible reactions) Creating space to breathe Silence and Space "When I started in ministry, my goal was to get rid of as much silence in church as I could" Now: "Where else are you going to get silence? You don't get it unless you're in church" Don't have to fill every moment with words Can be silent or "noodle" on instruments while creating space Quote: "People's lives are so noisy and so crowded. I mean, we don't even sleep without white noise machines or anything like that. So where else are you going to get silence?" Evoke vs. Manipulate Can't plan a revival - it happens or it doesn't Job is to "set the table" and make space for the Holy Spirit Example: Great movies evoke genuine tears by accessing real emotions Cheap manipulation feels different Quote: "It's not our job as Christians to manipulate. It's our job possibly to evoke, to say, 'I'm going to set the table. I can't control the Holy Spirit.'" 3. The Liturgy Issue Modern Church is "Liturgically Malnourished" Liturgy = order of service (not an outdated term) Modern church handles joy and praise well Missing: contemplation, confession, lamentation, reflection Lost practices: prayers of confession, prayers of the people Carey's Confession Presbyterian background included prayers of approach and confession As church became attractional, prayer became "just an opportunity to clear the set for the sermon" Regrets thin prayers: "God, it's so good to be here today. We thank you so much. Amen." Quote: "It's like confess your sins to one another and you will be healed. We don't do that anymore. What if we did that?" Not Either/Or, But Both/And Keep good lighting, sound, production, and musicians who can play Add breathing room, texture, color, tone, mood Use liturgical calendar and historic practices adapted to modern context Don't approach Sunday as "slots to fill" Creative Freedom 52 Sundays = 52 blank canvases Already do this well at Easter and Christmas Can be more creative without confusing people Example: Good Friday Service Ended in darkness with no announcement Faded to black and stayed there People sat in uncomfortable silence, then slowly left "I wanted them to feel that discomfort... if you can even get a small sampling of that" Easter Sunday picked up in darkness, then sunrise/resurrection 4. Live Streaming Strategy Who Should Live Stream? Not every church needs to live stream everything Need good musicians to sound great online (around 400-500 attendance to have talent base) Need separate mix for online vs. in-house Poor production = "school play" - only interesting to those directly involved Quote: "A lot of churches, and these are well-meaning, beautiful Christian people. If you don't have the talent in production or in worship, you sound like a school play." Alternatives Stream just the message On-demand after, mixed in post-production Audio only if video isn't good Consider what strangers stumbling on feed would think The Discovery Argument Pre-COVID minority of churches streamed Now "everybody you want to reach is online" "All of non-Christian America, all the nuns, all the duns, all the atheists, all the agnostics, they're on the internet" Can't remember last time truly unchurched person hadn't watched online for weeks/months before visiting The New Foyer Online is now the foyer, not the physical lobby People investigate online before visiting By the time they show up, they're ready to go "further, faster" "They've already done their investigating. They've already asked ChatGPT all the questions" 5. Practical Service Design Handling Growth Pressure Multiple services create pressure to program everything tightly Solution: Trim 5 minutes from sermon Do 60-minute service with breathing room between Create more lobby/connection space Leverage outdoor space (if climate allows) Worship Set Strategy Don't need extended mix of everything Maybe two songs and a tag instead of three full songs "Sit in the tag for a while" Find the high-impact moments (example: bridge of "How Great Is Our God") Get to what matters, like talent shows do 90-second versions Quote: "You don't have to do the extended mix of everything, the seven minute version, do the tag. That would be great. Space is something that you can do in three minutes if you know how to do it well." Service Flow Examples Don't make people stand and greet (where else does that happen?) Have emotionally intelligent people on doors, not just available people Greet people the way THEY want to be greeted Consider kids moments, announcements, communion as natural transitions Call to commitment/involvement comes sooner now than 10 years ago 6. Online Presence Best Practices Website Design Design for new people first Show service times and location prominently (mobile friendly) Staff page is #3 most viewed - people want to see "are there people like me?" Use accurate photos (don't show 27-year-olds if congregation is 70+) Show actual diversity if you have it Quote (Seth Godin): "Culture is people like us do things like this. So what people are looking for, are there people like us?" Content Strategy Lead with best sermons, not just latest Most popular videos should be easy to find People don't care if it's from 2 years ago (still watching The Office) Have robust FAQ section for unchurched questions Position yourself for lost people, not just members 7. The Current Moment The Harvest is Ripe People are seeking more than maybe in past decade or two Culture is saturated with production - not the competitive edge anymore Mental health crisis caused by social media People desperate for something real What to Do Pray for it (spiritual activity) Make newcomer journey easy Take them somewhere when they show up Go deeper faster - they're ready Quote: "People come to church looking to find God, but sometimes all they find is us. They found a really cool song, they found a really great message, but they didn't actually find God in the midst of it." Give Them Meat Reference to Tara-Lee Cobble and The Bible Recap Provide historical context (helps Christians AND non-Christians) Don't be afraid to go deep on sin, gospel, redemption Write/speak in accessible "street Greek" like the New Testament Example Opening: "Hey, we're going back 3000 years. And there was a guy named David who was King of Israel. He was trying to keep the kingdom united because there was a north and a south. You can relate to that. These are divided times..." Quote (Tim Keller): "It's worse than you can possibly imagine and better than you can possibly dream." 8. Leadership Advice For Young Church Staff (25-40) Navigating Frustration with Leadership Write down actual issues you're facing (budget, staffing, expertise) Present respectfully, thoughtfully, submissively Good leaders will either provide resources or adjust priorities Identifying Toxic Culture Unrealistic expectations Unsympathetic to staff needs Expects 60-hour weeks with no life Toxic leader will get mad/defensive when approached Options in Toxic Environment Respectfully approach and share difficulties Accept the glass ceiling and stay Build healthy team within unhealthy body (temporary solution) Leave - "unhealthy bodies drive out healthy cells" Interview Questions for New Positions Ask to talk to current staff (not the pastor) Ask to talk to FORMER staff Find out who left and why Read Google reviews Have meals/experiences together (reveals character under pressure) Quote: "Ask around, ask if you have permission. Don't ask the pastor. Don't ask the pastor. Are you healthy? The toxic people, 'I'm so healthy.'" 9. Team Building & Growth Hiring Philosophy Only hire A players C players: you know immediately (late, unmotivated, incomplete work) - should be gone B players: good but not great - "it's too bad but we'll survive" A players: if they quit you'd need 3 people to replace them Quote (Netflix): "Adequate performance gets you a generous severance package." A Player Test If they knocked on the door saying "this is my last day," how do you react? C player: "Thank goodness, now I don't have to fire them" B player: "Too bad but we'll survive" A player: "Grabbing the waste basket and throwing up" Growth Wisdom Don't settle on staff because you're panicking Will eventually become bloated with no profit Profit = "permission to do this again tomorrow" (Seth Godin) Most businesses fail not from lack of vision but lack of cash Use tools like Working Genius to find right fit Don't just find A players - find A players with gifts your team needs Cultural Values Write them down and review regularly Ritz-Carlton: 26 values, reviewed 2-3 daily in team meetings Use to evaluate: "Where are we winning/losing with our values?" Catch team members exemplifying values Values help instill culture as org chart grows 10. Upcoming Projects Carey's New Book Topic: AI and the Future Church Thesis: "As the world becomes more artificial, we need to become more human as Christians" Church's future direction is human connection Expected publication: 2026 Latest Book "At Your Best" - about time, energy, and priorities Notable Statistics & Data Points 72% of teenagers have tried AI chatbots 31% prefer AI companionship to human companions Pre-COVID: minority of churches streamed services Can't recall single unchurched person who didn't watch online for weeks/months before visiting Around 400-500 attendance: churches start having talent base for good production 80-95% of church growth in America is conversion growth (not transfer) Top 3 website pages: Homepage, Messages, Staff/About Production Quality Basics Good Enough to Stream Great singing (doesn't need to be phenomenal) Decent lights Pretty good mix Can work with church of 150-200 with good coaching Everything else can be helped with technology Bare Minimum Great guitarist + great vocalist = "off to the races" Don't feel pressure to have full mediocre band Add musicians as you find/afford great ones Practical Takeaways Create space in services - silence, breathing room, sensitivity to the room Recover lost liturgical practices - confession, lamentation, contemplation Go deeper faster - people are ready for meat, not just milk Design for online discovery - unchurched people are investigating you Lead with best content - not just latest content Only hire A players - don't panic hire when growing Build real human connection - counter to increasingly artificial world Make newcomer journey easy - they're ready to engage quickly Be creative with 52 Sundays - not just slots to fill Focus on encounter over entertainment - production supports experience, doesn't replace it Questions for Further Reflection How can we create more space for confession in our services? What would it look like to "evoke" rather than "manipulate" in worship? Are we positioning our online presence for unchurched discovery? Is our production supporting encounter or replacing it? What emotions are people carrying into our services, and how do we acknowledge that? Are we moving too fast for the Holy Spirit to work? Memorable Quotes "I don't think people are looking for hype. They're looking for hope." "People aren't looking for more information. They're looking for presence, not just presentation." "The internet is really good at information, especially with AI. You want to know anything, you can find out anything, but the internet can't really facilitate an encounter." "It's not our job as Christians to manipulate. It's our job possibly to evoke." "Where else are you going to get silence? You don't get it unless you're in church." "If you don't have the talent in production or in worship, you sound like a school play." "Everybody you want to reach is online." "Your foyer has moved online." "People come to church looking to find God, but sometimes all they find is us." "As the world becomes more artificial, we need to become more human as Christians." "Adequate performance gets you a generous severance package." "Profit is permission to do this again tomorrow."

Happy New Year! We're back to share our favorite albums of 2025! We have a collective pick and it shouldn't come as a surprise. Getting Killed by Geese has made most of lists and we concur. Song: Geese - “Au pays du cocaine”Grabbing the number 2 spot on Jay & Nick's list was Everything Must Go by Goose. It still does nothing for Greg. His number two pick was Never Enough by Turnstile.Song: Goose - “Give It Time”Jay's third pick was Sam Fender's People Watching, Nick chose MEGAGONG by DOOM GONG, and Greg chose Private Music by Deftones.Songs:Sam Fender - “People Watching”DOOM GONG - "Never Crossed My Mind"Then Greg remembers the late Brigitte Bardot and tells us about his Christmas night listening to Coltrane's last recorded performance.Songs:Serge Gainsbourg - “Bonnie & Clyde”John Coltrane - “My Favorite Things (The Olatunji Concert)”

Last time we spoke about the Russian Counter Offensive over the Heights. On the Manchurian frontier, a Japanese plan hatched in the hush before dawn: strike at Hill 52, seize the summit, and bargain only if fate demanded. Colonel Sato chose Nakano's 75th Regiment, delivering five fearless captains to lead the charge, with Nakajima rising like a bright spark among them. Under a cloak of night, scouts threaded the cold air, and at 2:15 a.m. wires fell away, revealing a path through darkness. By dawn, a pale light brushed the crest; Hill 52 yielded, then Shachaofeng did, as dawn's demands pressed forward. The Russians responded with a thunder of tanks, planes, and relentless artillery. Yet the Japanese braced, shifting guns, moving reinforcements, and pressing a discipline born of training and resolve. The battlefield fractured into sectors, Hill 52, Shachaofeng, the lake, each demanding courage and cunning. Night winds carried the buzz of flares, the hiss of shells, and the stubborn clang of rifles meeting armor. The Russians tried to reweave their strength, but Japanese firepower and tenacious assaults kept the line from bending. By nightfall, a quiet resolve settled over the hills; the cost was steep, but the crest remained in Japanese hands.   #182 The Second Russian Counteroffensive over the heights Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Japanese retained their hard won positions despite fierce Russian counterattacks. For the Japanese command structure at the front, 3 August was of prime importance. Suetaka concluded that he could not merely direct the fighting around Changkufeng nor abandon Kyonghun, given his need to manage relations with Korea Army Headquarters and central authorities, as well as the special characteristics of these battles and his grave concerns about the Wuchiatzu front to the north. By 5 p.m., the newly arrived 37th Brigade commander, Morimoto Nobuki, was assigned control of all sectors from Hill 52 and Changkufeng to Shachaofeng, establishing his command post at the former site of the 75th Regiment at Chiangchunfeng. The Japanese estimated losses from the Soviet counterattacks on 2–3 August as follows: Hill 52-Changkufeng, at least 300 Soviet casualties and four tanks; Shachaofeng, about 300 casualties and several tanks, plus several heavy machine guns knocked out. By 17:00 on 3 August, Russian strength committed to the front and immediate rear was assessed at ten infantry battalions, 40 artillery pieces, and 80 tanks. Japanese casualties on the 2nd and 3rd totaled 16 killed and 25 wounded. Suetaka judged the Soviet bombardments on 3 August powerful, but their infantry assaults were not particularly bold, likely due to their heavy losses on the 2nd. Even though morale was not high, there were signs of reinforcements from elite units, including armor and large artillery formations. Suetaka concluded the Russians would again attempt to retake the Shachaofeng sector and positions around Changkufeng. During the night of 3–4 August, the 75th Infantry, still on alert against resumed enemy counterattacks, intensified security and worked energetically to strengthen defenses. K. Sato remained at Chiangchunfeng to complete the turnover to the 37th Brigade and to brief Morimoto. The regiment established its new command post for the right sector at the foot of Fangchuanting. Throughout the night, Soviet vehicles with blinking lights were observed moving south along the high ground east of Khasan, and a new buildup of mechanized forces and artillery appeared in the area. At 05:30, 36 tanks were seen advancing to Hill 29, followed by the apparent withdrawal of 50–60 Russian horsemen into the same area. At 07:00 on 04 August, Soviet artillery began a bombardment. Although there was a lull around noon, by 14:00 intensity peaked, described as "like millions of lightning bolts striking at once." After another quiet spell, enemy guns renewed their tempo at 19:30, targeting Hill 52 and Changkufeng. The Russians' artillery was not precisely zeroed in; "many of the shells plopped into the Tumen, which delighted us considerably." Beginning on the 4th, Soviet artillery sought to cut lines of communication by bombarding the river crossing site, disrupting daytime supply. Japanese artillery records add: "Until today, this battalion had been fired on only by field artillery; now 122-mm. howitzers went into action against us. We sustained no losses, since the points of impact were 100 meters off. Apparently, the Russians conducted firing for effect from the outset, using data provided by the field artillery in advance." Around midnight, Ichimoto, the old commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, arrived at the 75th Regiment Headquarters to resume command. He was "itching to fight." K. Sato described the casualties in detail, but "he didn't look beaten at all." "To the contrary, the colonel was strong and in excellent spirits. Yet while he wasn't pessimistic, one could not call him optimistic." At the battalion site, about 100 men were in operational condition out of an original 400. Some soldiers were hauling ammunition, rations, and position materiel; others were cremating the dead, since corpses would rot in the August heat. Japanese casualties on 4 August were light: the 75th Infantry lost five killed and three wounded; among attached engineers, the platoon leader and two men were wounded. Ammunition expenditure was very low. The Japanese press noted that although the Russians had been reported retreating behind the lake to the northeast, investigation showed a redeployment forward from south of Changkufeng. An American observer in Tokyo stated that "the best information obtainable is that the Russians now occupy the lower slopes of Changkufeng, while the Japanese still occupy the heights." From this period dates a series of pleas from the 19th Division for the dispatch of long-range artillery from the Kwantung Army. Suetaka believed that the addition of long-range artillery was necessary and feasible. As Kitano predicted, Suetaka submitted his recommendation at 05:00 on 5 August for the attention of the Korea Army commander and the AGS deputy. As dawn approached on 5 August, the Korea Army received Suetaka's request. A message was dispatched to the vice minister of war and the AGS deputy, and an inquiry was sent to Hsinking. The note detailed Soviet artillery on the Changkufeng front, eight to ten batteries of field and mountain guns, including 10-cm cannons and two or three 15-cm howitzers, and described how these long-range pieces kept up a slow fire beyond Japanese firing range. Overnight, Soviet traffic pressed along the high ground east of Khasan, and by 06:30 the horizon brimmed with new threat: 48 tanks concentrated near Hill 29, with fresh artillery deployed once the Russians realized their own guns were receiving scant challenge from the Japanese. Movement across the lake suggested continued armor in play; at dawn, 10 to 15 tanks lingered on the Crestline, while closer still, six Russian tanks prowled near the southern edge of Khasan. By 03:00, Changkufeng came under bombardment again. K. Sato urged the mountain artillery to answer dawn with counterfire against the high ground east of Khasan and against Hill 29. Between 05:00 and 05:40, the artillery struck armor concentrations, knocked out two tanks, and forced the rest toward the east of Hill 29. Observation posts were neutralized, and cavalry was driven north. At the same hour, the Soviet barrage against the Japanese rear intensified, targeting lines of communication across the Tumen. The Sozan link failed by day, and telephone lines to the artillery battalion were severed, though signalmen managed to restore communications. The river crossings, Fangchuanting, Hill 52, and Shachaofeng bore the brunt of the shelling, with 15-cm blasts jolting the frontline. "From today enemy shellfire was coned and grew increasingly accurate, until every area along our front was deprived of its dead angles and our casualties mounted." The Hill 52 zone endured a slow siege, but tank fire from the eastern heights remained severe. Noguchi's company, positioned south of Changkufeng, found itself trapped in crossfire from positions across the lake. Suetaka, his front-line subordinates, and their worries about artillery superiority pressed onward. He did what he could with the resources at hand, and, in the morning, shifted a two-15-cm howitzer battery from Kyonghun to the sector opposite Changkufeng, a modest increment in reach but a needed one. At 10:00, Suetaka ordered replenishment of frontline strength. He calculated the enemy's power and their own limits: the Russians had deployed three or four infantry battalions, around 120–130 tanks, 50–60 armored cars, about 1,000 mounted troops, and three or four artillery battalions. Yet he found a glimmer in their morale; "the morale of our own units has risen, as we have been dealing grievous blows to the foe on occasion and have been steadily breaking hostile intentions." By 5 August, he noted, fifty enemy tanks had already fallen. Morimoto watched the ominous lull that threatened another attritional test and warned that the situation demanded constant vigilance. "Even if the front seems quiet, we must tighten security, reinforce positions, and not give the foe even the slightest advantage to exploit." The 5th saw only four Japanese soldiers wounded, three from the 75th and one from the mountain artillery, while ammunition usage remained low. Anti-aircraft guns west of Sozan drove off two aircraft that appeared over Changkufeng at 11:45, triggering a counterbarrage from the northeast of Khasan. A few Soviet planes skimmed over Hill 52 and Changkufeng in the afternoon, but their flights felt more like reconnaissance than threat. Across the line, the Russians continued to probe the east side. Northeast of Khasan, waves of infantry and trucks, dozens at a time, slipped south, while roughly 20 tanks began their own southern march. The Russians worked to erect new positions along the Khansi heights. In the meantime, conversations in Moscow pressed toward a decision, with intelligence predicting that a breakthrough would come by noon on the 5th. Around midnight on 5 August, Morimoto observed that the Russians' forward elements seemed to have been pulled back and the front lay quiet. He ordered vigilant guard duties, stressing that crossing the border, trespassing, and fomenting trouble were prohibited by all units and even by scouts. Meanwhile, the Japanese had been preparing for night attacks and consolidating positions. Throughout the foggy night, mechanized units moved on the Crestline east of Khasan. At daybreak, a platoon leader north of Changkufeng reported tanks heading toward Hill 29, estimating the total force at about 70 tanks and 50 troop-laden trucks. Japanese observers at Hill 52 detected new artillery positions on both sides of Hill 29 and 40 tanks on the Crestline south of the hill. By 07:00, the high ground was covered by no fewer than 100 tanks, with 8 or 9 infantry battalions deployed ahead and behind. As early as 03:00, K. Sato had urged his artillery liaison officer to ensure friendly guns fired at daybreak against the Hill 29 sector to thwart the enemy's intentions in advance. When morning fog lifted a bit at 06:00, Kamimori's mountain artillery battalion "hit the tanks very well," and front-line officers spotted shell impacts, though visibility improved only until 10:00, when mist again hampered observation. By 07:00, Soviet guns began firing from near Hill 29, triggering a duel in which the Japanese outranged them. Around 09:00, as the fog lifted from the higher crest of Changkufeng, Japanese gunners added their fire against the 40 Russian tanks near Hill 29. From Fangchuanting, the lone Japanese mountain piece also engaged armor and troop-laden trucks around Hill 29. As time wore on, the Soviet artillery showed its power, and Hill 52 became a beehive of shelling. From 11:00 onward the defenders began to suffer more and more casualties, with works shattered in succession. Flank fire from Gaho and heavy guns from Maanshan took a toll. The 100 tanks deployed on the Crestline north and south of Hill 29 delivered furious low-trajectory fire, gradually turning the front walls of our firing trenches into something resembling a saw. Russian shellfire pounded defenses at Hill 52, Noguchi Hill, and Changkufeng. Between 02:00 and 05:00 the Russian shells had been dispersed; now they concentrated their bombardment. They even struck the rear headquarters of the 37th Brigade and the 75th Regiment. The crossings at Sozan and Matsu'otsuho took heavy hits, and Sato worried that friendly batteries would become exposed to counter-battery fire if they opened up too soon. A peak of intensity arrived near 13:30 as the Soviet ground assault began. Now 30 Soviet aircraft bombed Changkufeng, Fangchuanting, and Hill 52, and Russian tanks moved toward Hill 52, with infantry 300–400 meters behind. To blunt the assault, Hirahara ordered ammunition caches and instructed troops not to open fire prematurely. The Soviet infantry and tanks pressed to a line about 900 meters from the Japanese, paused briefly, then continued. By 14:00, the advance resumed, led by three battalions and 50 tanks. Lieutenant Saito, commanding the 3rd Battalion's antitank battery, waited until tanks were 800 meters away and then opened fire with his three pieces. In a furious exchange between 13:50 and 14:30, as armor closed to 300 meters, the Japanese stopped 14 tanks and seriously damaged others in the rear. One antitank squad leader, a corporal, would later receive a posthumous citation for destroying more than ten tanks. Several tanks fled into a dip near Khasan; some Soviet troops were reportedly crushed by their own tanks in the melee. Supporting Saito's fire were Hisatsune's regimental guns and the captured antitank gun at Changkufeng, which the Japanese used to engage armor along the lake's slopes. Noguchi's unit fired battalion guns against the tanks while the attached mountain pieces bombarded the Russians despite intense counterbattery fire. At Hill 52, liaison lieutenant Fuji'uchi observed the shelling and coordinated infantry–artillery actions with a platoon leader, never flinching even after being buried in trenches three times by shell blasts; he was killed near 14:00. Captain Shiozawa, the mountain battery commander, took charge of directing fire and also was also slain. The Russians' assault pushed forward; 16 tanks followed behind the vanguard, moving along the Crestline behind Hill 52, and joined the tanks in firing but did not advance further. To the rear, a large force moved along the lake north of Hill 52 until checked by fire from Noguchi's positions. A dozen Russian tanks converged southwest of Khasan at 16:00. Master Sergeant Kobayashi, acting platoon leader of the engineers, proposed a close-quarter demolition attack since Japanese antitank strength was limited. After approval from Hirahara, at around 16:30 he and 13 men crept forward 300 meters undetected. Twenty meters from the tanks, Kobayashi urged his men: "One man, one tank! Unto death for us all!" The assault wrecked six to eight (or possibly ten) of the 12 enemy tanks and killed many crew members inside and outside the vehicles, but Kobayashi and seven of his men were killed; only one soldier, Kabasawa, survived to perform a posthumous rescue of a fallen comrade. Of the 60 Russian tanks and at least four battalions that rushed to Hill 52, only one tank charged into the hill positions. At 17:30, this machine reached within 150 meters of the 11th Company lines but was destroyed by armor-piercing heavy machine-gun fire. Back at the 75th Regiment command post, K. Sato received reports from the line units, but hostile fire cut communications with Hill 52 in the afternoon. His antitank guns were increasingly inoperable, and casualties mounted. He reinforced Hill 52 first with heavy machine guns and then with an infantry company. North of Hill 52, Noguchi had been in position with an infantry platoon, a machine-gun platoon, and the battalion gun battery. By 09:30, enemy bombardment forced him to pull back temporarily to the lower Scattered Pines area to avoid needless casualties. At Akahage or "Red Bald" Hill, Noguchi left only lookouts. Around 16:00, about two enemy companies were observed moving toward Changkufeng. Noguchi redirected fire to meet the threat. The Japanese, pinned by infantry and four tanks approaching within 150 meters, endured infantry guns and other tanks in a protracted exchange. Shelling continued until sundown. Casualties mounted; the machine-gun platoon leader, Master Sergeant Harayama, fell with 20 of his men. "It was a hard battle, but we retained our positions, and the enemy advance toward Changkufeng was checked." After sunset there were occasional fire exchanges; tanks remained visible burning. Soviet troops attempting to breach barriers faced hand-grenade assaults. A great deal of noise signaled casualties being evacuated and tanks salvaged behind enemy lines, but no fresh assaults followed. The effective barrage by the 2nd Mountain Artillery Battalion helped deter further attempts.  Around 13:30 the advance began. Soviet ground troops laid down a barrage of field, heavy, and mountain gunfire against Hill 52, Noguchi Hill, and Fangchuanting until sunset. Casualties were heaviest between 15:00 and 17:00. Soviet cutoff fire against the Tumen crossings continued even after the sun went down. Japanese close-support artillery attracted instantaneous counterbattery fire. Enemy planes also seemed to be bombing in quest of the artillery sites. On the sector defended by T. Sato, throughout the night of 5-6 August, Russian movements had been frequent on the Kozando-Paksikori road and east of Khasan, trucks and tanks making round trips. The roar of engines and rumbling of vehicles were especially pronounced on the lake heights. Headlights shone brightly, causing Japanese lookouts to speculate that the Russians were putting on a demonstration to suggest that their main offensive effort was being aimed against Hill 52. Nevertheless, the left sector unit was ready for an enemy dawn assault, which did materialize around 06:00. One or two Soviet battalions struck forward, encountered a torrent of fire at 300 meters, and fled, leaving 30 bodies behind. Near 09:00 the left sector experienced a fierce series of bombardments; all of the men except lookouts took cover in trenches. The Soviet guns thundered unrelentingly, apparently in preparation for an offensive. At 14:30 several dozen bombers struck. Simultaneously, a wave of 60 tanks moved forward, followed by three battalions of infantry. Major Obo, battalion commander on the right wing, had his heavy machine guns, battalion guns, and line companies engage the foot soldiers, while antitank and regimental guns concentrated against armor. The tanks fanned out and approached within 700 meters, stopping to fire on occasion in "mobile pillbox" fashion. Despite unrelenting enemy tank and artillery shelling, the Japanese regimental guns, and the rapid-fire pieces in particular, shifted position and laid down raiding fire. In conjunction with heavy weapons belonging to Takenouchi's battalion, Obo's men succeeded in stopping 20 tanks. The rest of the armored group continued to push forward. The Russian infantry had pressed on another 200 meters behind the tanks, but eventually they lost momentum 400 meters from the Japanese positions. Having managed to separate the tanks from the infantry, the Japanese units staged close-in assaults in concert with heavy weapons and smashed ten more tanks. Thirty machines had been immobilized by now after a furious struggle lasting five hours. Although Lieutenant Ikue was killed by machine-gun fire, his mountain artillery platoon, emplaced at Shachaofeng, rendered yeoman service, stopping 20 tanks. The forward elements of Soviet infantry, still firing from 400 meters behind the tanks, had apparently abandoned the attack. Second-line forces seemed to have pulled far back, northeast of the lake.   Several dozen Soviet bombers struck Takenouchi's left-wing battalion around 14:30 and lost one plane to machine-gun fire. At the same time, 50 Soviet tanks closed to 800 meters. Engaging this armored formation were battalion guns, heavy field artillery, and mountain artillery attached to the sector unit, as well as heavy weapons firing from the neighboring battalion. In succession the tanks were knocked out, perhaps 20 in all. Under cover of artillery and bombing, a battalion of Soviet infantry, who had been advancing behind the tanks, got as close as 30 or 40 meters before being checked by guns firing from the Nanpozan area and by the vigorous resistance of the defenders. The enemy withdrew 600 meters and began to dig in. T. Sato noted at 19:00 that, although the Russians on the right and left sectors seemed to have sustained considerable losses, they apparently were "planning something at point-blank range in front of our positions." The 73rd Infantry would therefore cope with a twilight or night attack by the one battalion and several tanks immediately facing it. On 06:08, immediately after large-scale air attacks involving four-engine bombers between noon and 14:00, enemy barrages began. Enemy artillery positions, 6,000–7,000 meters away, were not engaged by the Japanese since their gunners were trained only at 1,000 meters. Longer ranges were ineffective, would betray the guns, and would waste ammunition. Near 16:00 50 tanks appeared at 3,000 meters, and infantry could also be seen, wearing high boots and marching around the lake. Although the Russians may have closed to 200 or 300 meters, Tominaga received no impression that their foot soldiers were particularly aggressive. Soviet armored tactics were poor: some tanks were moving, some stopped, but they did their firing from rises, which made them easy targets. Perhaps it was because of the terrain, undulating and swampy. Without armor-piercing rounds, the Japanese guns could not penetrate the heaviest armor, so they aimed at the treads or at the belly when the tank was on a rise. Tominaga's weapons were aided by rapid-fire pieces and machine guns and by the 15-cm howitzers from across the river. Of the ten targets which came within effective range, Tominaga's battery claimed five light tanks. Major Takenouchi remembered a tank-led Soviet attack that day on Takenouchi's sector. The enemy infantry deployed in good order four kilometers from the defenses. As the formations drew closer, the Japanese counted more than 40 tanks and 3,000 ground troops. The commander knew he had a serious problem, for there were only 20 antitank shells for the rapid-fire guns. When the Russians got within 4,000 meters, the Japanese opened fire with all available heavy weapons. The attackers hit the ground and continued to advance in creeping formation, although the terrain consisted of paddy fields. All the Japanese could see were Russians, wearing reddish-purple trousers and carrying rifles, deployed every 200 meters behind the front lines and apparently exhorting the soldiers. These must have been the "enforcers." The Japanese let the tanks close to 800 meters before opening fire with their precious antitank ammunition. Both the lead and the last tanks were knocked out, but there were by now only four or five shells left, and the firing had to be stopped. Fortunately for the Japanese, the tanks never again advanced, perhaps because of the wet terrain. The Soviet infantry, however, pressed forward tenaciously all day and wormed their way close to the front edge of the barbed wire under cover of artillery and machine guns. Throughout the day, pleas for reinforcement were made frequently by the two Japanese line companies, but the battalion had no reserves, only the few soldiers in the command team. Requests were met with the reply to "hold on for a while; help is coming." Luckily, there was no close-quarter fighting by the time night fell, but the Russians did lay down concerted machine-gun fire after dark. When dawn broke without a Soviet assault, Major Takenouchi surmised that the barrage of machine-gun fire laid down by Russian infantry the evening before must have been intended to cover disengagement from the lines or to check a Japanese attack. Now, in daylight, Russian assault troops which had closed to the entanglements the day before had pulled back to a distance of 400 or 500 meters and could be seen constructing positions. At 19:10 Morimoto warned that while the Soviet offensive had bogged down, "all units are to be wary of attacks after twilight and are to crush them in good time." Ito, in charge at Changkufeng, was consequently alert, although regimental headquarters did not particularly share his concern. Ito had only two infantry squads from the 6th Company and Hisatsune's regimental gun battery, 121 men in all. A little after 20:00, Ito received a report from lookouts that enemy troops were advancing onto the southern skirt. At 20:30 two Soviet companies attacked the advanced lines, hurling grenades. One Japanese squad was almost wiped out; "they died heroic deaths, leaping into a hostile force which outnumbered them 20:1." Immediately, the Russians surged toward the main Japanese positions farther up the hill, while other strong elements sought to encircle the crest on the left. Accompanying the Soviet troops were "wardens." From north, east, and south the Japanese defenses were being overrun, and the regimental guns were in jeopardy. Wounded men fell back and down the hill, one by one. Lieutenant Hisatsune personally sought to repulse the Russians. Taking his command team, a dozen men under a master sergeant, and the two regimental gun squads which possessed only captured rifles, he led a desperate charge at 21:10. With fixed bayonets, the Japanese rushed forward, yelling loudly and hurling rocks, since there were not enough grenades. The Russians retreated in confusion, pursued by the Japanese. Hisatsune cut down several Russians, was wounded badly by grenades, but plunged into the enemy one last time before meeting a "matchlessly heroic death" at 21:40. Almost all of the noncoms and soldiers fell with him. Suddenly, at 21:20, Ito's antitank squad leader staggered to the 75th Regiment command post at Fangchuanting, his face mangled. "Changkufeng is in danger! Avenge us!" Nishimura and the reinforcements had to run 1,200 meters to reach the hill. Major Ichimoto also worked desperately to retrieve men from logistical chores; somehow he assembled 45. Grabbing every grenade available at the command post, Ichimoto ran with his men to the relief of Changkufeng. Next, Regimental Aide Suko sent 10 soldiers, the last being headquarters clerks and runners. When 16 men from the 2nd Company turned up, having delivered their supplies, Suko rushed them out, also. At regimental headquarters there now remained only a dozen soldiers and one heavy machine gun. By then, the Russians had climbed up and across Changkufeng peak and were pushing halfway down the Japanese slope of the hill. Enemy machine guns fired fiercely, but it was mainly grenades that felled Murakoshi's unit; although few were killed, half of the lead platoon was wounded. Murakoshi, struck by a grenade fragment, tied a cloth around his knee and kept on running. Clinging to Changkufeng, Ito now had little more than 50 men left—only seven of his own soldiers, the rest gunners. The latter had lost their pieces, however, and had never been armed with rifles in the first place. The survivors had to use stones, picks, and shovels to grapple with the foe in the trenches.  A little before 22:00, the 17-man contingent under Nishimura arrived. Ten minutes later, Ichimoto rushed up with his 45 men, bunched closely. The survivors, inferior to the reinforcements in numbers, were heartened immensely. Soon afterward, at 22:30, the regimental warrant officer, Nishizawa, caught up with another dozen soldiers, and Murakoshi brought 16 more at 23:00. Wild fighting ensued, furious grenade exchanges, the crisscrossing of fire, and shouts and flashes. Ichimoto remembered that by the time he arrived, the last remnants of Ito's company were fighting hand-to-hand in the trenches on the north side in utter darkness. Thirty meters from the peak, he and Nishimura scouted the situation. Then, having combined the 120 reinforcements into one line, Ichimoto drew his sword and led the charge. In the constant flashes, shapes could be discerned rather well. The Russian machine guns were firing "crazily," all tracers, probably to warn away their own troops. But the firing was very high, sometimes ten meters over the heads of the Japanese, perhaps because of the darkness, the 40-degree slope near the crest, and the angle of the guns. Much of the fire was considerably lower, but the Japanese had only to observe the roots of the tracer fire and stay down, ducking behind boulders. The Soviets had been committing new troops steadily, and a considerable amount of heavy weapons had been emplaced. Near midnight the Russians were driven south, down the cliff, but most of the Japanese had been killed or wounded, and ammunition was exhausted. The mere dozen unscathed survivors were pushed back, but Master Sergeant Isobe and his platoon from Inokuma's company reached the crest in the nick of time at 02:00. With this reinforcement, Ichimoto led a new charge and again drove the enemy below the cliff.  At 22:50 P.M., Inokuma set out with only 49 men, crossed the border, and headed for the enemy's rear. First to be encountered, probably at 01:00, were several dozen Soviet soldiers, armed with machine guns, who were surprised and almost destroyed, abandoning more than 20 corpses. Inokuma veered north along Khasan, cutting down Russian phone lines on the way. The Japanese detected no evidence of enemy retreat. Instead, voices and the sound of oars on the lake could be heard from the eastern foot of Changkufeng, perhaps they came from Soviet reinforcements. Inokuma decided that the best course would be to plunge ahead and take the Russians by surprise. On his own initiative, he began his new operation, although by now he had lost permanent touch with the assault teams. At 02:00, Inokuma's unit broke silently through the "imperfect" lines of barbed wire and charged through another enemy force of company size which was equipped with machine guns. Next, Inokuma directed an attack against a concentration just behind the company location, a unit estimated to number two battalions massing west of the Khasan crossing. The Russians were "stunned" by the assault. According to Akaishizawa, the enemy were killing their own men by wild firing. A portion fled north, leaving over 30 bodies behind. At the same time, the foe called down fire from all areas, causing very heavy Japanese casualties. Inokuma charged, managed to scatter the foe, and seized the cliff. By now he had only a half-dozen men left. His own sword had been shattered and his pistol ammunition exhausted; he picked up a Russian rifle and bayoneted several enemy soldiers. Now the Soviet troops, who had fallen back once, were approaching again from the right rear. Inokuma charged once more, shouting. The Russians retreated to the foot of the heights on the northeast. Daybreak was near. Already hit several times, Inokuma sought to resume the attack, this time from the rear of hostile forces desperately engaging Ichimoto's elements on Changkufeng crest. Akaishizawa said his last orders were, "Ito is just ahead. Charge on!" Although he had only a few soldiers left, Inokuma was trying to move forward when a bullet or a grenade fragment struck him in the head, and he died at 03:00. Sergeant Okumura, although wounded seriously, had remained with Inokuma to the last and defended the positions that had been reached. He saw to it that Inokuma's corpse was recovered first and next struggled to evacuate the wounded. Only then did he withdraw. Around 07:00, Okumura got back to Fangchuanting with one unscathed and two badly wounded soldiers. A day later, the seriously injured but indestructible M. Saito appeared at the regiment command post, somehow dragging a rifle and light machine gun with his one good arm, for "we were always trained to respect our weapons." It was estimated that, during the fighting throughout 6 August, the Russians lost 1,500 killed and wounded as well as 40 tanks knocked out in K. Sato's right sector alone. Japanese casualties were heavy on the 6th. The 75th Infantry lost three officers; 44 enlisted men were killed and 85 wounded. In the engineer platoon seven were killed and five wounded out of 19 men. The 54 killed and 90 wounded in the right sector amounted to 17 percent of the 843 men available. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Japanese leadership under Colonel Sato assigned Nakano's 75th Regiment for a dawn assault, seizing Hill 52 and Shachaofeng despite fierce Soviet counterattacks,tanks, aircraft, and heavy artillery. Across the front, sustained bombardment, shifting fire, and nocturnal maneuvers characterize the period. Yet the crest endured, losses mounting but resolve unbroken, until the sun dipped and the hillside remained stubbornly Japanese

Back with lots of Packers @ Bears thoughts to lead off this edition of the Intentional Foul...an OT win by Chicago at Soldier Field. GB outplays CHI for a majority of the game but can't close it out. Special season could result in a division championship for the Bears...and they're already in the playoffs. Week 16 results, week 17 matchups. College Football Playoffs. Wisconsin/Marquette basketball. Bucks continue to struggle. Some local basketball opining. All that and more on this hour-plus episode! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and tell your friends!

(00:00-30:04) Are we the only ones in the building today? Best-of vibe. We just have so much to get to. Jackson heading to The Gator Bowl. 70 degrees on Christmas. Could you land a plane if you had to? We got cows in Missouri. Weaving in shout outs to the new OC. The new Michigan Man. Pigskin, porcine. Doug, what's the lede today? Wilson Contreras to the Sox. Poor Nolan. RIP Wheelhouse. Cardinals embracing stepdad life. Grabbing chunks of flesh.(30:12-55:17) Chairman made the trip to Oxford for the Ole Miss vs. Tulane game. Southern belles. Underwhelming stadium in Oxford. Both Group of 5 teams get rolled in the CFP. Which team of the remaining 8 is least likely to win it all? Good time to get out of the Michigan football program. Bears and Packers with a thriller on Saturday. Iceman. Steelers Lions was great last night. The Flyers announcer may be in some trouble. The porta potty guy. Who's the highest profile contact in Martin's phone? Mt. Rushmore of flat tops. Guest roulette.(55:27-1:05:01) The Bee Gees. Barry Manilow on the Walkman. Players and coaches behaving badly. Ed Cooley of Georgetown hit a kid with a water bottle. DK Metcalf getting physical with a fan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Conflicts over water are human-caused events with socio-political and economic causes. From Brazil's Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) to environmental activists in Pittsburgh, people are coming together to fight for control of their water. In Global Solidarities against water grabbing: Without water, we have nothing, Caitlin Schroerer examines how movements are communicating and organizing against water privatization and other forms of water grabbing, and explores how movements engage with and learn from each other. Water is at the heart of this book, but Global solidarities against water grabbing is as much about collective struggle and popular organization as it is about water. Based on extensive fieldwork with two movements fighting against water privatization, the book uses anticolonial and feminist research methods to show how global communications and organizing are occurring around water and how Global North movements are engaging with and learning from the Global South and vice versa. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology at William Penn University, where he specializes in the cultural and interpretive study of space, behavior, and identity. His scholarship examines how designed environments shape social interaction, connectedness, and moral life across diverse settings. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His current research projects include ethnographic studies of escape rooms as emotion-structured environments, the use of urban aesthetics in rural downtown districts, and the lived experience of belongingness among college and university students. To learn more about his work, visit his personal website, Google Scholar profile, or connect with him on Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social) or Twitter/X (@ProfessorJohnst). He can also be reached directly by email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Conflicts over water are human-caused events with socio-political and economic causes. From Brazil's Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) to environmental activists in Pittsburgh, people are coming together to fight for control of their water. In Global Solidarities against water grabbing: Without water, we have nothing, Caitlin Schroerer examines how movements are communicating and organizing against water privatization and other forms of water grabbing, and explores how movements engage with and learn from each other. Water is at the heart of this book, but Global solidarities against water grabbing is as much about collective struggle and popular organization as it is about water. Based on extensive fieldwork with two movements fighting against water privatization, the book uses anticolonial and feminist research methods to show how global communications and organizing are occurring around water and how Global North movements are engaging with and learning from the Global South and vice versa. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology at William Penn University, where he specializes in the cultural and interpretive study of space, behavior, and identity. His scholarship examines how designed environments shape social interaction, connectedness, and moral life across diverse settings. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His current research projects include ethnographic studies of escape rooms as emotion-structured environments, the use of urban aesthetics in rural downtown districts, and the lived experience of belongingness among college and university students. To learn more about his work, visit his personal website, Google Scholar profile, or connect with him on Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social) or Twitter/X (@ProfessorJohnst). He can also be reached directly by email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Conflicts over water are human-caused events with socio-political and economic causes. From Brazil's Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) to environmental activists in Pittsburgh, people are coming together to fight for control of their water. In Global Solidarities against water grabbing: Without water, we have nothing, Caitlin Schroerer examines how movements are communicating and organizing against water privatization and other forms of water grabbing, and explores how movements engage with and learn from each other. Water is at the heart of this book, but Global solidarities against water grabbing is as much about collective struggle and popular organization as it is about water. Based on extensive fieldwork with two movements fighting against water privatization, the book uses anticolonial and feminist research methods to show how global communications and organizing are occurring around water and how Global North movements are engaging with and learning from the Global South and vice versa. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology at William Penn University, where he specializes in the cultural and interpretive study of space, behavior, and identity. His scholarship examines how designed environments shape social interaction, connectedness, and moral life across diverse settings. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His current research projects include ethnographic studies of escape rooms as emotion-structured environments, the use of urban aesthetics in rural downtown districts, and the lived experience of belongingness among college and university students. To learn more about his work, visit his personal website, Google Scholar profile, or connect with him on Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social) or Twitter/X (@ProfessorJohnst). He can also be reached directly by email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Conflicts over water are human-caused events with socio-political and economic causes. From Brazil's Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) to environmental activists in Pittsburgh, people are coming together to fight for control of their water. In Global Solidarities against water grabbing: Without water, we have nothing, Caitlin Schroerer examines how movements are communicating and organizing against water privatization and other forms of water grabbing, and explores how movements engage with and learn from each other. Water is at the heart of this book, but Global solidarities against water grabbing is as much about collective struggle and popular organization as it is about water. Based on extensive fieldwork with two movements fighting against water privatization, the book uses anticolonial and feminist research methods to show how global communications and organizing are occurring around water and how Global North movements are engaging with and learning from the Global South and vice versa. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology at William Penn University, where he specializes in the cultural and interpretive study of space, behavior, and identity. His scholarship examines how designed environments shape social interaction, connectedness, and moral life across diverse settings. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His current research projects include ethnographic studies of escape rooms as emotion-structured environments, the use of urban aesthetics in rural downtown districts, and the lived experience of belongingness among college and university students. To learn more about his work, visit his personal website, Google Scholar profile, or connect with him on Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social) or Twitter/X (@ProfessorJohnst). He can also be reached directly by email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Here's the harsh reality: if you lose your audience in the first minute, it's incredibly hard to win them back. So, the first 30 seconds of your presentation, your Attention-Grabbing Opening, has to reach out and grab them! Tune in and learn how to open with an attention-grabbing openings that engage your audiences from word one. Just as important, learn how the common openings many speakers start with are undermining your talks. Resources: PeterGeorgePublicSpeaking.com The Captivating Public Speaker on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ8HRPWC

What Turns Her Off — and What Godly Husbands Do Instead Have you ever wished you could just…get inside your wife's heart for a moment? Not to manipulate, but to genuinely understand her. To love her in a way that makes her feel safe and wanted—not pressured or confused. My husband Darrow and I sat down to talk through something men rarely get honest insight about: Her biggest turn-offs. And not because we want to shame or scold—but because clarity brings freedom. When you finally understand what shuts her down, you also discover what opens her heart. So take a deep breath.You're not in trouble.You're learning—and that already makes you a good man. Let's walk through these turn-offs together, with God's kindness leading us all the way. 1. When Affection Feels Like a Transaction One of the most common complaints I hear from wives is this: "Every time he does something sweet, it feels like he's trying to get sex." A back rub, a coffee, a hand on her waist, a date night—beautiful gestures—become tainted when she senses they come with an expectation. When affection is only a bridge to the bedroom, she feels: Used Not loved for who she is Like her worth is tied to her sexual availability God never intended marital intimacy to be a negotiation.Love her without a scoreboard. Bless her without an agenda. 2. Grabbing, Pinching, or Smacking Her Body When She's Not Comfortable Yes…wives talk about this. And I know many husbands mean it playfully.But if she doesn't feel safe—emotionally, spiritually, or physically—this kind of touch feels like entitlement, not affection. Her body is not something to be "snatched."She needs room to open, not pressure to surrender. When she feels cherished—not grabbed—she wants to share her body freely. 3. Taking "Not Now" Personally If she says she's tired, overwhelmed, stressed, or simply "not right now," it's almost never about you. But when a husband interprets it as: Rejection Lack of desire "She doesn't love me" …it puts enormous emotional weight on her shoulders. Instead, respond with: "No worries, sweetheart. Another time would be wonderful." That confidence and peace will draw her toward you—not away. 4. Moping After She Says No Emotional sulking is not harmless. Moping communicates: "You disappointed me." "Now I have to punish you with sadness." "You're responsible for my emotions."   This shuts her heart down.Fast. Your steadiness and joy—even when she's not available—makes her feel safe. And safety is the soil where desire grows. 5. Punishing Her for Not Wanting Sex This is one of the deepest wounds wives carry. Punishments include: Silent treatment Withholding affection Moving to another room Being cold or distant Only being "nice" when you want intimacy These behaviors feel manipulative and honestly frightening. Your wife is not the enemy. She is the assignment God entrusted to you. Lead with love, not consequences. 6. Lack of Playfulness Playfulness is essential to intimacy. If everything feels heavy, serious, structured, pressured…then her nervous system never relaxes enough to enjoy being sensual. Silliness is holy ground for a woman's heart. Laughter lowers her guard.Playfulness creates connection. If you want her to be playful in the bedroom, she needs to experience playfulness outside the bedroom. 7. Not Feeling Emotionally Safe Women cannot separate emotional connection from physical intimacy. I'll say that one more time. Women cannot separate emotional connection from physical intimacy. When she feels emotionally unsafe, her body shuts down. Emotional Safety looks like: Listening Compassion Being slow to speak and quick to understand Responding gently Supporting her heart, not "fixing" immediately  When she feels heard, she opens. 8. Being a "Negative Nellie" (or Negative Ned!) Constant complaining is exhausting and not attractive. It pulls the atmosphere of the home downward and makes her feel like she has to carry your emotional weight. There is space to process hard things—but constant negativity drains the joy God wants in your marriage. Rejoice. Notice blessings. Bring hope into the home. 9. Bitterness and Resentment Long-term resentment is a marriage-killer. Bitterness communicates: "I haven't forgiven you." "You owe me." "I'm still keeping score." This is the opposite of Christlike love. Your wife cannot relax into intimacy with a man who holds her mistakes over her head. Forgiveness clears the ground for closeness to grow again. And if you need a little extra inspiration, let us turn you to Matthew 6:15 (NIV): "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." 10. Being Too Serious All the Time Intensity has a place—but not every moment. When a man is always stern, rigid, perfectionistic, spiritual-but-heavy…it makes her feel like she can never fully exhale. If she can't be herself around you, she won't be vulnerable with you. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit—not an optional extra. 11. Using Slang or Sexual Words She Doesn't Like Words matter. Some husbands use slang affectionately or playfully.Some wives love it.Others absolutely don't. If slang or sexual language makes her uncomfortable, embarrassed, or unsafe, it becomes a turn-off—not a turn-on. Honor her preferences. You're not losing freedom—you're gaining connection. Final Thoughts: So What Do You Do with All This? If reading this stirs conviction…good. Conviction is not condemnation.The enemy heaps shame.God invites repentance—and repentance leads to freedom. Your wife is God's daughter. And He entrusted her to you. Every shift you make toward loving her well brings you closer to His heart and closer to hers. We're rooting for you!   Blessing, The Delight Your Marriage Team   PS - If you want help walking this out in real life—not just head knowledge—that's exactly why our coaching and in-person training programs exist. Men who were separated from their wives…Men in sexless marriages…Men whose wives felt unsafe for years……have seen transformation they once thought impossible.For more information on our In-Person Training programs, launching January 2026, check out delightyourmarriage.com/ipt If you're ready to dive into the Coaching programs, please feel free to schedule a free Clarity Call at delightyourmarriage.com/cc PPS - Here is a quote from a recent In-Person Training pilot program graduate: "My wife and I have been separated for 6 months, and the same day as our [IPT] graduation, she chose to and began moving back into our matrimonial home. I also told her about our [IPT] program that same day. Up until then, I had said I was attending a men's bible study. All praise be to God."

If you've ever felt like raising kids and staying healthy are competing priorities, this episode will change how you think about both.We're bringing together six of our most powerful conversations on parenting — from applying the Five Factors to family life, to helping kids navigate adversity, to designing environments where healthy choices happen naturally.Last week, we published an essay called Your Ceiling Becomes Their Starting Point **— a complete guide to building healthy family habits.This compilation episode is the raw material behind that essay: years of conversations about how to raise resilient kids while maintaining your own health.We explore the frameworks, tactics, and daily practices that transform abstract principles into real family culture.

12-2 Jeff Howe joins Papa & Silver to discuss the jumbled up playoff picture in the NFC and how the 49ers still have a chance at grabbing the 1 seedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if every triumph and disaster you face is just a temporary imposter - neither defining you nor derailing you?In this episode, we explore Rudyard Kipling's timeless poem "If" and uncover how emotional intelligence, resilience, and warrior-like composure can help you navigate life's highest highs and lowest lows with grace.We dive into the mindset that lets you stay centered when others panic, rebuild humbly when things crumble, and risk freely without being attached to outcomes - so you can live with intentionality and purpose no matter what comes your way.

Jamison Price returns to discuss his new guide on self-mastery, "On Dragons, Lions, & Wolves."He shares three metaphors that define the path from inner transformation to outer impact: facing your dragons (the shame, addiction, and fear within), chasing your lions (the external threats that demand courage), and taming your wolves (integrating strength and wisdom to belong).This conversation explores why self-actualization isn't the end goal—it's shared-actualization, becoming someone dangerous to darkness and dependable in the light.

49ers' safety Malik Mustapha joins Murph and Markus as 49ers Player of the Week, after grabbing his first interception of the season in the 49ers' 41-22 victory over the Cardinals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the problem isn't your problems — it's how you're categorizing them?In this episode, we share a five-category framework for complaints (from drizzle to hurricane) that will change how you respond to life's challenges. Learn how to calibrate your emotional responses, stop suffering from small stuff, and build the resilience you need when real storms hit.The wisdom is in the calibration. Most things don't matter at all, and the things that do matter matter a ton. Learn the difference.

Discover how to unlock your capacity to learn anything and break free from limiting beliefs that keep you stuck.You'll learn why combining a growth mindset with the right approach to stress creates the foundation for lasting change in every area of your life. Trevor Ragan from The Learner Lab shares the neuroscience of neuroplasticity, the three building blocks for developing a growth mindset, and the Pygmalion Effect, which shows how our beliefs about others can become reality. Learn the powerful equation for reframing discomfort, why the learner identity beats the knower identity, and how exposure to challenges is a trainable skill that transfers across all domains. 

Discover how clarity in questioning can unlock better outcomes and transform your mindset. In this episode, we explore Kidlin's Law with Mark England: any question sufficiently worded and written down is half answered. You'll learn practical techniques to draft, craft, and supercharge your questions, leading to greater clarity and actionable insights in your personal and professional life. 

Over the past year, Chris Irwin — retired Navy SEAL and creator of RareSense — has walked us through his complete framework for training your mind like you train your body. In this supercut, we're bringing all four conversations together to cover the five MindKillers (oblivion, storytelling, suppression, fear, and stagnation) and their countermeasures — the specific tools you can use to stop sabotaging your mental fitness. 

Alongside Robert Glazer, we explore the importance of identifying and living by your core values to create a fulfilling life and make better decisions. You'll gain practical insights and exercises to help you articulate your values and align them with your personal and professional choices.