Podcasts about straddling

Kathy Quimby Johnson grew up in East Peacham before attending college out of state. In the latest installment of "What class are you?," Kathy talks with Erica Heilman about growing up blue collar and straddling two Vermont cultures.

Stephanie wants answersBy LiminallySpaced. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.As the get together wound down, I hung back and helped clean up. Denny attempted to do the same, but was finally hustled out of the house by Roberto, who needed a ride home. It was Just Christine and I now, and as we finished tidying up, we sat alone by the shallow end of the pool as the sun got low in the sky."They're a nice group of kids," I said, kicking my feet in the water, "that Denny guy really has the hots for you, huh?"She smiled an embarrassed smile and swiped her long hair back behind her ear."He's harmless. He has the hots for everyone. He and Talia dated for a hot second, but I think she might have been too much bite for his bark.""Yeah, she's something else," I said with a chuckle, "really nice, she cornered me over by the pizza and wouldn't let me leave till we exchanged screen names."Christine laughed, but there was a hesitation to her laugh; a reticence. Had that cold pang of jealousy possibly hit her deep inside like it had me?"So what's going on, Tim, you clearly have something on your mind," she said with a kind timber to her smoky voice."I did, I do. It's, Stephanie.""The girl from the limo?" she said, shifting her hips as one long leg dangled down in the water. Christine knew Stephanie as my prom date. As "the girl from the limo" ;  the girl she saw passionately sucking my cock that night."Yeah," I said.I swear I saw her lightly lick her lips.From there, I just vented fully. I told her everything. The whole story, from the first time I heard Stephanie's orgasmic moans to the night in the limo, to my fracture with Tara, to the first time we had sex, all the way through to the events of last night, Christine listened to it all closely and intently."I'm sorry, that was, a lot," I said timidly once I finished."No, no, don't apologize," she said as she scooted herself closer to me. She placed her hand on my hand. "This is all really emotionally complex, I totally get how much it's been weighing on you. It sounds to me like you were willing to let Stephanie play some games with you, maybe you even enjoyed it, but once she started affecting other people you cared about it became too much, which is all totally understandable." I felt the soft waves made by her dangling leg against my calf. "It sounds to me like she's a very self conscious person, Tim; she wants to protect herself from getting hurt, but she took it too far. I've always thought honesty was the best option. You need to tell Stephanie how you feel, because right now it's up to her to make it right.""Yeah, I don't know, I'm not really interested in talking to her right now." I said, feeling Christine's thumb stroking the back of my hand."When you're ready, of course. Just try not to live with regret, whatever you do.""Thanks, Christine, you're a great friend," I said, pulling her hand up to my mouth to kiss it."My pleasure. You've listened to my struggles enough times, I'm happy to listen to yours for once."Her struggles. I suddenly remembered her struggles. That internal conflict between the godly and the carnal that caused her to break up with her boyfriend in an attempt to stay pure, and led her to the front seat of my car, a spasming cunt, and a mouthful of my cock."And how is 'your struggle,'" I floated.I felt her wading foot brushing my leg as it glided back and forth in the water."I'm, losing," she said, looking up at me with an unmistakable look in her eyes: lust. "But I think I've found a new approach."This time there was no missing her tongue sneaking out to moisten her lips. Her loose button down had fallen off one shoulder, giving me a tantalizing peak at her bikini top."I have desires, needs," she began as she started to run her hand up and down my forearm very suggestively, "I know I can't deny them, but I think I can at least deal with them responsibly, if I have someone responsible who can help me."My cock surged to life."Are you a responsible person, Tim?" she said as her eyes bore a hole through me. My friend, the pastor's daughter, the churchiest girl I knew, was asking me something very, very sinful. And it was hot as fuck."Extremely." I croaked out."There are just certain, rules, we have to abide by, ok?" She said, her breath getting slightly ragged."Ok, Like what kind of rules?" I said, pulse quickening."We can't have sex, in fact I can't let you touch my body at all,” she said, dropping her head. My enthusiasm dropped. I wanted nothing but to run my hands all over her gorgeous body, feel how wet she undoubtedly was.Her eyes slowly lifted to meet mine as she finished her statement.“ but everything from the neck up is fair game."My eyebrows shot up as quickly as my cock."Does that work for you? Are you willing to help me get through the summer?" she said, running her hands over my arm faster, practically jerking it off."Why me?" I asked dumbly. She was my friend, I knew how difficult this all had been for her, and I didn't want my cock to do the thinking for me here."Because I trust you," she said in that smoky, erotic voice of hers, "I know you won't cross any line I don't want to cross. I know you'll be, respectful." That last line had enough syrup on it for a whole stack of pancakes."The neck up is fair game?" I said, hardly believing the offer in front of me. All thoughts of Stephanie were gone from my head as I took in the sight of this wanton, lusty church girl dying for release.Her small bosom rose and fell heavily as she looked me in the eyes and slowly nodded.I decided to put things to the test. My eyes never leaving hers, I slowly reached over with my free hand and softly caressed the curve of her face. Her eyes shut. She exhaled a heavy sigh.I gently ran my thumb over her glistening lips, feeling how soft they were. I felt Christine shake as a chill ran through her. I circled them slowly, as if asking a question.Christine's eyes opened slowly. She looked at me, and as if answering that question, parted her lips and took my entire thumb into her wet mouth with a low moan.Now it was my turn to shudder as a chill ran through my body.Christine's hands slid up and held my wrist steady as she worked my thumb in and out of her mouth slowly. Eyes closed as if in rapture, she lolled my thumb around in her mouth, teasing me with her tongue, savoring every inch that she dragged her lips along.My pulse was racing, my breath was shallow, and my cock was rock hard, desperately fighting to get out of my swim trunks.The light of the low sun behind her framed her in a golden glow, her lovely hair bouncing ever so slightly in the warm summer breeze. Her exposed shoulder rocked forward as she sucked, daring me to touch her perfect skin. Her rigid nipples protruded sharply against the fabric of her bathing suit.Looking at this wanton beauty in front of me, this creature of goodness, haunted by repressed lust, I had had enough. I didn't want to take advantage, but she had rationalized it enough in her own head. This is what she wanted. And she wanted me, trusted me, to be the one to help her.How could I ever refuse?My thumb slipped out of her wet mouth with a slight slurp, I reached my fingers back along her face to the back of her neck, and pulled her gently, but firmly, into a hot kiss.A sigh of relief leapt out of her body excitedly as our lips touched, and almost instantly I felt the warm wriggle of her tongue plunge into my mouth. It was neeful. It was aggressive.I felt her hand grip the inside of my thigh. I groaned in pleasure, and my hand slipped down onto the flat of her upper chest.Christine immediately pulled away from our kiss."I'm serious, Tim, really, neck up only." She said assertively, but not angrily."I'm sorry, it was an accident, really," I stammered. She understood my dilemma. This was new to both of us, and there was going to be a bit of an adjustment period. "But I mean, at the same time,” I said, gesturing down to her hand gripping my inner thigh mere inches below my balls.She smiled a coy, sexy smile, and leaned in close enough to whisper "The rules are You can't touch Me below the neck." I felt her hand start to slide up my thigh. "Is that going to be ok with you?"My cock surged at the double standard. The church had taught her well.I slowly slipped my hand up the back of her neck, and lightly grasped a hand full of her long, brown hair right at the root."So this is ok?" I said, pulling slightly.Christine's mouth hung open as she gasped."Yes," she said through ragged breath, "very ok."I matched her smile with my own and pulled her back in for another kiss.Our tongues sparred breathlessly again, and her hand slipped closer to my balls.Gripping her hair tighter, I tipped her head back, revealing her long, elegant neck. A devilish smile broke out on her lips with an accompanying gasp.I leaned in and began peppering my lips and tongue all over the soft exposed flesh of her neck. From the hollow above her collar bone up to the tip of her chin, I treated her entire neck the same way I treated Stephanie's cunt, and by the sounds Christine was making, it was having a similar effect.Her hand finally gripped my balls through my trunks. She squeezed. I moaned. I felt her throat shuffle beneath my lips as she swallowed some air in near rapture.Suddenly Christine pushed me back, and in a flash she was on top of me. Straddling my hips, our lips met again, but this time there was a new sensation: pressed tight against my cock, gyrating, grinding, was Christine's hot cunt, covered only by the thin material of bathing suit bottoms and short shorts.My hands still tight in her hair, I tipped her head back again, redoubling my efforts on her neck with my lips and tongue as the preacher's daughter rubbed her cunt against my iron-hard cock. I could tell from the way her hands gripped and grabbed at me that pleasure was shooting through her young body.This was going to be tougher than she thought to play by her rules, I think. This girl clearly wanted to fuck.As if she read my mind, Christine all of a sudden rolled herself off of me, and each sucked in air catching our breath. We chuckled at what was transpiring between us, two friends from church, and I watched as Christine ran a cleansing hand around her face, down her neck, over her breasts, across her flat stomach, and down between her legs before quickly pulling away. It made me a little bit sad to see how quickly she removed her hand from between her legs. Christine was clearly a very sexual girl, but her upbringing and religion made her push that part of her so far down. I wondered if she had ever even masturbated before.Wanting nothing more than to make her feel good now, I leaned back in toward her, but her hand on my chest stopped my advancement. She gently pushed me back to my seated position, legs dangling in the water.Dipping in to kiss me once, that devilish smile returned to the church girl's face, and in one smooth motion she slipped her lithe body into the water of the pool.Being in the shallow end, the water barely came up to the crotch of her pants. As she waded her way over to me, the waves lapped at her ass deliciously.There was a fire in her eyes now of pure want. Running her hands impatiently up my thighs, she grasped onto the waistband of my swim trunks and began to pull. Not wanting to stand in the way of what this girl needed, I lifted my hips and shimmied slightly as Christine removed my pants completely, freeing my hard, straining cock to the warm evening air.Never taking my eyes off my proud, erect cock, Christine pushed my legs apart, and sank to her knees between them. A single step ran along the bottom edge of the pool, and when on her knees, this brought the warm, lapping water right up to the bottom of her small breasts, and put her in perfect cocksucking position.But there was something else as well. Before she even touched me, Christine's eyes closed breathlessly, and a pleasurable grin pulled at her lips. Her hands rubbed up and down my bare thighs, and I watched her shift and gyrate as if searching for the perfect position. When her eyes shot open with a gasp and I felt her nails dig into my thighs I knew she had found it: Christine had positioned herself perfectly so the pulsing spray of the pool jet hit her directly on the clit.Invigorated by the new source of pleasure, her hands closed in on me from either side, and I finally felt Christine's fingers wrap around the length of my dick.Now it was my turn to moan.Her hands played with me gently, stroking my shaft, squeezing my big, full balls, all while the pool jets peppered her cunt with a constant stream of pressurized water. She giggled, she smiled. She shook with small euphoric shocks.My cock still in her hands, she leaned up and kissed me on the lips. Almost like a signal that things were about to really heat up, she pulled away from our kiss, licked her lips wet, dropped her head down and took the tip of my cock into her salivating mouth.I gasped loudly.Holding my shaft and balls firmly, not stroking, not squeezing, Christine suckled at the head of my cock with delight. Pressure built in my tip, flaring it out purple and desperate. Her lips and tongue danced around it like she was desperately trying to save a melting ice cream.The entire universe was in the swollen end of my cock, and Christine made a meal out of it. Wet tongue sliding in circles around it, teasing the underside, closed lips sucking in short bursts like I was her own personal lollipop; it felt amazing.I was squirming with each suckle, with each lash of her tongue, and the building pressure made my tip extremely sensitive. It wasn't going to make me cum, but it was an overwhelming sensation of acute pleasure I had never quite experienced before.

Straddling the US-Canadian border, the Haskell Library has a unique location: it is situated in both the towns of Stanstead, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont. Until now, an agreement allowed Canadians to use a stretch of pavement on the American side to access the library. But since a controversial visit by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem back in January, US Border Protection has put an end to that agreement. As the iconic border town now awaits the fate of its century-old customs posts and famous Canusa Street, Stanstead already embodies the growing divide between Americans and Canadians. FRANCE 24's François Rihouay, Joanne Profeta and Fraser Jackson report.

Mom's Hot Friend, Rachel Beautiful mature woman Joins Our Family Vacation on the beach. By Stonemarten. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. At the time of this story, I was about 30 years old and still near the peak of my virility; I had recently broken-up from a long-term relationship and feeling a little bruised by the experience, though I never felt lonely, as I've always had good mates around me, both male and female. My mum used to take short holidays out-of-season at a quiet beach resort in Spain and as my dad was constantly working, she often used to share her apartment with AuntyRachel. Rachel wasn't really my Aunty, but a very close friend of my mother's youth. I was told she was very close to us when I was a baby, and that's when she accepted the honorary title of Aunty, by my parents.  She'd married and moved away, but a couple years ago she was divorced. She never had children, so she renewed her connection with mum and the nickname "Aunty" seemed about right. Mum and Aunty were always very close, but I had almost no familiarity with her. She was a fine looking, mature woman in her late fifties and kept very fit and healthy for her age. She had mid-brown hair, which lightened a little in the sun and slight crows-feet around the eyes, for she was always sunning herself, giving her a lovely overall tan. Rachel was not slim, not fat, but curvaceous, with large boobs (I'd say D Cup) and a flattish tummy, a good sized bum with only a hint of cellulite; she went to the gym regularly and was in good shape for her age. Because mum knew I was a little down in the dumps, she asked whether I wished to join her and Rachel for a few days relaxing in the sunshine, eating some healthy Mediterranean food and swimming in the warm sea; not a regular prospect for me when living in Scotland! Up to then, I hadn't spent much time with Rachel, as I lived a long way from my parents since leaving for uni. My folks lived in the South of England. When I had met 'Aunty' while visiting my folks, she had always seemed very vivacious and friendly and I did like the look of her, having a bit of a penchant for mature women. Their little Riviera apartment was on the first floor of a well-kept, but almost deserted block, quite up-market, as the unit had three large bedrooms all on-suite. We each had our own room and space, a cozy arrangement, where we could come and go doing our own thing. My mum, who was a bit of an amateur artist, was off painting really good watercolor paintings; Rachel liked to read books and generally relax in the sunshine, whilst I went off early morning nature and bird-watching, which has always been my special thing (love-making excluded). A Stroll On The Beach Late one afternoon, mum was due to drive to a local beauty spot to paint a sunset and suggested that Rachel and I should perhaps go for a wander along the beach, as the weather was lovely. Just then Rachel strolled into the living room in a skimpy bikini, revealing her lush cleavage and deeply tanned body. How could I say 'no'? We set out together heading westwards along the wide sandy beach, which was almost deserted, except for the odd dog walker. Rachel was dressed in a yellow and white striped bikini with her bottom half wrapped in a light blue sarong. I was wearing t-shirt and swimming shorts. We walked slowly besides each other chatting away warmed by the sun. At one stage, Rachel took my hand and so we strolled hand-in-hand like a couple, but this wasn't a surprise to me as she was naturally an affectionate person. She took genuine interest in my life and preferences, even asking about my sex life and preferences? She treated me as a peer, not as a nephew. When I told her my recent relationship lacked any variety, she gasped; "She wouldn't even let you eat her?" Did she blow you? "No, and no." I said. It was getting hot, so Rachel undid her sarong, so looking down at her bottom, I thought I'd compliment her by saying: "wow, even your ass is tanned brown;" I said, while pulling down my own swim shorts at the back to show her my somewhat paler backside.  She smiled graciously at my compliment. "It's not just my ass that's brown" she said, reaching back to undo her bikini top and letting loose her large, tanned boobs. They were fully-bronzed indeed, sagging slightly of course, but otherwise perfect, with lovely dark brown nipples. "Take your shorts and t-shirt off" she said: "there's no-one around and you could do with getting some sun on your whiter bits". Amazingly, her confidence rubbed off on me and I took off my shirt and pulled my shorts off, becoming totally naked beside her. She put my garments in her beach bag, along with her sarong. My body was in good shape in those days though with a flat stomach and muscles defined from martial arts and the gym. How the hell did I muster up such confidence? So there we were, strolling along hand-in-hand with the only scrap of clothing between the two of us being Rachel's little bikini bottom. Rachel looked amazing and the sway of her hips as she moved caused a slight tumescence in my prick which she couldn't help but notice, as it swung a little from side to side. A couple moments later it was clubbing my thighs in a rhythm set by my walking pace.  All of a sudden, she dropped her hand from mine and reached over instead to grasp my swaying cock in her hand. "Your poor cock is getting knocked around. Such a shame to see such a beautiful phallus being treated so." She said as she led me along at a slower pace. This pleasant surprise immediately had my cock swelling and hardened to a long, thick erection, which she began stroking up and down slowly, whilst sporting a wide smile and wicked glint in her eyes, "what a lovely big boy" she exclaimed. A little way ahead of us was a small break between the sand dunes and an amused Rachel led me towards this gap, pulling me behind her by the cock in a rather comical manner.  I said nothing but anticipated anything could happen next. When we were hidden from view, she released me and spread-out her sarong on the sand. She then took me by the cock and guided me down, kneeling next to where she stood, then pushing me down onto my back in front of her. Dropping onto her knees between my thighs, she leaned her head down towards my rampant cock and placed the engorged pink head into her luscious mouth. Grabbing the shaft and wanking it, she licked and sucked my cock head and down to my balls, causing me to moan and shudder with pleasure; Rachel also gave out little moans, clearly enjoying the effect on me. After a few exquisite minutes, Rachel stood-up and quickly shed her bikini bottoms, moving forward to straddle my firm manhood that she placed between her spreading thighs. Rubbing its head for a few seconds against her moist labia, she eased down slowly to accommodate the thick shaft. Rachel's moist cunt may not have been the tightest, but it was certainly the hottest and wettest I'd ever felt, it was amazing and she could firmly grip me tightly. It took all my will-power not to ejaculate into her right there and then. Fortuitously for my ego, it was this lovely older lady that came first, as even after the first couple of pumps, Rachel was contorting forward and whimpering loudly as she convulsed over and over in a massive orgasm, gushing juices and clamping onto my thick shaft. Rachel's soft, brown tits bounced up and down gloriously as she rode me, pumping up and down on my swollen cock, as we both moaned and groaned in unison. I reached-up to grab and squeeze them, flicking my thumbs over her erect nipples as I did so; within seconds this had the desired effect and Rachel spasmed and pitched with the second of her mighty orgasms, which seemed to go on and on, her face contorted and mouth wide open. After a minute or so of further humping, Rachel rose up a little and I pushed her gently sideways onto her back. Straddling between her wide open legs, my head descended towards her womanhood, my tongue lapping at her engorged lips and clitoris like a cat at the cream; a few seconds of this had Rachel bucking and cumming again, grasping her tits and nipples and arching her back; I carried-on licking for a good five minutes as she gasped and sighed. My rampant cock was straining to return to its hot, wet home, so I moved up and over Rachel, giving her breasts deserved attention with my gaping mouth, before kissing and snogging this beautiful Milf, with our nether organs rubbing against each other. We were so ready for the finale with my favorite love-making position, the missionary. Grabbing my cock by the shaft, I pushed up into her soaking cunt and then plunged with abandon into her lovely body. Over and over I thrust into her, bum bouncing up and down obscenely, cock rodding in and out like a lubricated piston. We were both groaning at the pleasure of it and the pressure was building and building in my sperm-laden balls. Soon I could take it no longer, the site of this beautiful older woman writhing beneath me and the rhythmic squeezing of her cunt on my cock made me explode - jets of warm semen shot from my balls in white spurts through my pulsing shaft, splashing into the intimate depths of the gorgeous Rachel, as she screamed in mutual orgasm at the prize she had won by servicing this rampant young male. After kissing, cuddling and cleaning ourselves up, we set-off back down the beach holding hands as the sun was setting behind us, a little sheepish, as we didn't want mum to find-out what we had done. What was certain though, was that there was no way my lovely mature Rachel would be escaping my lusty clutches at least once again before I left for the UK in a few days' time. Fun times in the shower with amazing older woman. Following our illicit encounter on the beach, I only had a couple of days remaining of my holiday in Spain and was desperate to get to grips with Aunty Rachel at least once more before I left. Mum seemed to notice a change of atmosphere between myself and Rachel on the occasions when the three of us were socialising together.. I never seemed to have a chance to be alone with her, as mum was always around, purposely or not. On the last day before I was due to fly back to the UK, I resigned myself to not having another sexy encounter with the gorgeous lady. After lunch together, mum took Rachel out shopping and I went to sunbathe on a lounger and swim in the pool. Later in the afternoon, I went to the apartment to have a shower and to wash off the chlorine. It was a good sized shower and the shower-head was one of those large modern ones that makes you feel like you're standing in a tropical rainstorm. Needless to say, a lot of steam rose-up which fogged-up the place. Soon I was aware that someone had entered the bathroom, but I couldn't see clearly through the steamed-up glass. A manicured hand slid open the glass door to reveal the fully nude, tanned glory of the lovely Rachel. She stepped into the shower and I pulled her gently towards my slippery body, as the warm water cascaded upon us. We immediately started to kiss passionately and my soapy hands stroked and fondled her wonderful curves. Hers in turn ran-up and down my firm, muscular frame. My cock was quickly at full mast, poking rudely against her belly. One of her hands reached down to grasp the thick shaft, wanking it back and forth, causing the bulbous head to roll-in and out of the foreskin; within seconds this had me moaning with pleasure. Her other hand began to cup and soap my sperm laden balls making pre-cum ooze as a result of her double attention. My hands were upon her large, soft boobs, fondling and gently tweaking the lovely brown nipples into rising peaks. I leaned my head down to suckle them, one and then the other. Moving my right hand down between her legs, I ran my fingers up and down her swollen labia and over her little love button, then into her warm, moist cunt. Rachel gasped, delightfully surprised at the expert fingering of such a fine young man. We carried-on frigging each other, our tongues entwining deliciously in the French manner, groaning and mewing. Rachel's mouth suddenly gaped wide in a high-pitched howl as the spasms of orgasm overwhelmed her, love-hole clamping in pulses on my fingers and soaking them with juices. I was sure our secret was now discovered. The whole building had to have heard Rachel's orgasm. She noticed my concern and simply said; "It'll take her at least another 30 minutes to get back here. When we left the shower, we were clean in one way for sure, but very dirty in another, as Rachel leaned over me to envelop my stiff cock in her mouth, sucking and butterfly licking its sensitive head. I grabbed a large bath towel and started drying-us down as Rachel's head bobbed back and forth. Discarding the towel, I followed Rachel into her bedroom admiring her curvy figure, fantastic for a woman now in her midlife. When she turned towards me, I pushed her backwards onto the bed, with my strong body on top of her, opening thighs wide and watching her soft tits bounce up and down. My cock found her cunt with impeccable aim and eased all the way into her warm moist sheath. Rachel may have been a mature woman, but she was a perfect fit for my youthful prick as I began to piston in and out of her. Smooth bronze legs curled around the back of my thighs, as I pumped over and over again to a chorus of: "oh baby, oh baby, oh baby!" With the feeling I was about to cum, I built-up the intensity of my thrusts, so that Rachel could sense it and her cries grew louder as she peaked towards her own climax. I was there and with a guttural growl, erupted, spunk shooting and coating her intimate place with torrents of warm white seed. As if on instinct, Rachel's cunt clenched in uncontrollable spasms as she wailed in the throes of her own orgasm. When mum arrived home sometime later, Rachel and I were in the kitchen drinking wine as if nothing had happened. A conspiratorial grin from Rachel was the only confirmation of our secretive passion. I flew out of Spain the next morning with a renewed sense of joy. I took the train from London to Edinburgh while having the distinct feeling that it wouldn't be long before I would partake again in the pleasures of Rachel, the gorgeous older woman. Lovely, mature Rachel heats-up my wee flat in Edinburgh. My heart raced a little faster when I saw the unmistakable, curvy figure of Aunty Rachel coming towards me down the platform of Waverley Station in Edinburgh. She looked as beautiful as ever as I gathered her up in my arms for a kiss. She was wearing a figure-hugging, light blue dress showing off her ample cleavage, underneath a short, pale yellow jacket and white scarf with blue polka dots. She was looking very summery with her tan, sun-lightened, brown hair and large round sunglasses. I grabbed her suitcase and held her hand as we headed-up onto Princes Street and then on to Rose Street to a pub for a drink, so she could relax after her long journey from the South of England The pub was very busy, so we sat cozily next to each other chatting, whilst I drank my pint of Belhaven Best and she sipped her gin and tonic. Her sweet perfume and the proximity of this luscious, mature woman had my cock swelling a little in my trousers, so I leaned over to kiss her full lips, as our thighs rubbed softly together and her hand gently stroked my knee. After a second round of drinks, I was beginning to feel a bit tipsy and even more horny at the thought of a proper re-acquaintance with this gorgeous creature. We left the pub and took a cab from a nearby taxi-rank for the short journey to my flat in the old city. On closing the door to my cozy wee place, Rachel put her arms around me for a hug and I pushed her gently up against the wall in the hallway so we could kiss passionately, our hands running hungrily over each other's bodies. My fully engorged prick ground against her luscious mound as we snogged, with Rachel rotating her hips a little to allow maximum contact to her sensitive places, making her moan quietly into my mouth, as our tongues fenced and swirled. Breaking-off reluctantly and holding Rachel's hand, I gave her a brief tour of my little bachelor pad at which she was suitably impressed. I had set a romantic table for two in the kitchen and started to cook a light stir-fry with sea-food in my wok, as Rachel chatted to me cheerily over a glass or two of Chablis. Rachel looked even prettier with her eyes sparkling over our candlelight dinner and I felt my seductive banter and boozy, home-made tiramisu was bound to get her in the mood for loving. After the meal, Rachel disappeared into the bathroom, whilst I sat languishing on my sofa with a little dram. She entered the sitting room wearing my toweling bathrobe. As she stood in front of me with a cheeky smile, she undid the belt and slowly slid the robe off her shoulders to reveal a magnificent sight to any young, horny guy like me. Rachel was in the finest lingerie, matching ivory silk bra and panties covered with red roses and silk stockings and suspenders of the same creamy color. With her tan and feminine curves, she looked amazing as she gave a sexy little wiggle and turn for my admiration. I rose to my feet, with a hard cock pressing visibly in my trousers and held her hand above her head as she twirled like in a ballroom dance. Standing back and gazing from her head to her varnished toes with unbridled lust, I gathered her into my arms for a passionate snog. My hands stroked up and down her lovely body and through her hair and she did the same with my manly frame. We carried-on French kissing and moaning gently as my hands cupped and fondled her large, silk-encased globes, thumb flicking softly over her nipples, causing them to poke-out through the shiny fabric. My other hand strayed between her legs to rub up and down her cunt lips, so that moisture seeped on-to my fingers through the silky material. Rachel moaned and held hard onto me, as her knees buckled at the pleasure flashing through her from my dexterous digits. I was desperate to shaft this gorgeous, mature woman, so scooped her into my arms and carried her into my bedroom, throwing her onto my king-sized bed. As I was stripping off my clothing, Rachel spread her thighs and ran her graceful fingers up and down the soaking silk of her panties. "I love your strong, young body" she gasped. When I'd stripped off my boxer shorts and my thick, hard cock bounced-out, she couldn't take her eyes off it and placed her hand inside her panties to rub her sensitive clitty with abandon. I maneuvered my head between her legs and pulled aside her panties to admire her moist cunt, then used the flat of my tongue to lap at her engorged labia. This had Rachel squirming and moaning as she ran her fingers through my hair. Flicking my tongue like a side to side like a lizard on her little bud, whilst fingering her cunt, soon had Rachel arching and spasming in orgasm, squirting some love juice onto my hand and face. Moving up her lovely body, she had undone her bra, freeing me to fondle those fulsome, tanned boobies and suckle and butterfly flick her long, brown nipples to her evident delight. Her hand reached down to grasp my thick cock, jerking it up and down slowly with elegant fingers. "I want that big boy inside of me" she pleaded, rising up and guiding my rampant erection towards her silk covered womanhood. Pulling her panties to one side, she slowly impaled herself down onto the thick shaft, gasping as she did so. "Oh, how you fill me, oh I love it" she moaned and shuddered. Rachel began to ease up and down, soon riding my cock like a desperado, her mouth open wide in ecstasy, as I pumped up into her. Warm love juices and precum mixed and streamed down my pistoning rod, flowing over hairy balls onto the duvet beneath. We were both gasping and groaning in unity, with me so close to exploding and Rachel screaming as she came again, a second huge orgasm pulsing in waves through her gorgeous body. Turning the panting Rachel onto her back, I lay on top kissing her face and neck, as she recovered from such a powerful climax. The head of my engorged prick was probing lightly at her dripping labia and throbbing clit as we petted lovingly. Soon she was ready for me again and reached down to guide my hard cock towards the entrance of her open cunt, then grasped my firm ass, pushing me all the way deep into her soaking love tunnel. I began to thrust, slowly at first and then with gathering pace as Rachel's lovely, hot cunt enticed and squeezed my throbbing shaft. She moaned and cried: "Oh God, oh God" as I pumped her harder and harder, grinding on her clitty on the downward stroke to push her towards heights of desire. Soon, I knew that I could hold out no longer; my aching balls were rising and the pressure within them building to blasting point. In and out, in and out I humped, balls-deep into this beautiful cougar, her wanton body arching upwards to match my thrusts. Then it was there, I was coming, sperm rushing from balls through throbbing shaft, jetting streams of hot white spunk into lovely Rachel's soaking cunt, herself rippling again in orgasm, as if to milk every last spurt of young man's juice into her grasping womb. We lay in each other's arms, gazing into adoring eyes and kissing fondly as we caught our breath from our loving exertions. We had the whole weekend ahead of us and I knew I would have to summon all my youthful strength and energy to satisfy the unbridled lust of this wonderful older woman. Rachel was an incredibly orgasmic, mature woman and I believe I brought-out the very best of her sexuality. By Stonemarten for Literotica

Mom's Hot Friend, Rachel Beautiful mature woman Joins Our Family Vacation on the beach. By Stonemarten. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. At the time of this story, I was about 30 years old and still near the peak of my virility; I had recently broken-up from a long-term relationship and feeling a little bruised by the experience, though I never felt lonely, as I've always had good mates around me, both male and female. My mum used to take short holidays out-of-season at a quiet beach resort in Spain and as my dad was constantly working, she often used to share her apartment with AuntyRachel. Rachel wasn't really my Aunty, but a very close friend of my mother's youth. I was told she was very close to us when I was a baby, and that's when she accepted the honorary title of Aunty, by my parents.  She'd married and moved away, but a couple years ago she was divorced. She never had children, so she renewed her connection with mum and the nickname "Aunty" seemed about right. Mum and Aunty were always very close, but I had almost no familiarity with her. She was a fine looking, mature woman in her late fifties and kept very fit and healthy for her age. She had mid-brown hair, which lightened a little in the sun and slight crows-feet around the eyes, for she was always sunning herself, giving her a lovely overall tan. Rachel was not slim, not fat, but curvaceous, with large boobs (I'd say D Cup) and a flattish tummy, a good sized bum with only a hint of cellulite; she went to the gym regularly and was in good shape for her age. Because mum knew I was a little down in the dumps, she asked whether I wished to join her and Rachel for a few days relaxing in the sunshine, eating some healthy Mediterranean food and swimming in the warm sea; not a regular prospect for me when living in Scotland! Up to then, I hadn't spent much time with Rachel, as I lived a long way from my parents since leaving for uni. My folks lived in the South of England. When I had met 'Aunty' while visiting my folks, she had always seemed very vivacious and friendly and I did like the look of her, having a bit of a penchant for mature women. Their little Riviera apartment was on the first floor of a well-kept, but almost deserted block, quite up-market, as the unit had three large bedrooms all on-suite. We each had our own room and space, a cozy arrangement, where we could come and go doing our own thing. My mum, who was a bit of an amateur artist, was off painting really good watercolor paintings; Rachel liked to read books and generally relax in the sunshine, whilst I went off early morning nature and bird-watching, which has always been my special thing (love-making excluded). A Stroll On The Beach Late one afternoon, mum was due to drive to a local beauty spot to paint a sunset and suggested that Rachel and I should perhaps go for a wander along the beach, as the weather was lovely. Just then Rachel strolled into the living room in a skimpy bikini, revealing her lush cleavage and deeply tanned body. How could I say 'no'? We set out together heading westwards along the wide sandy beach, which was almost deserted, except for the odd dog walker. Rachel was dressed in a yellow and white striped bikini with her bottom half wrapped in a light blue sarong. I was wearing t-shirt and swimming shorts. We walked slowly besides each other chatting away warmed by the sun. At one stage, Rachel took my hand and so we strolled hand-in-hand like a couple, but this wasn't a surprise to me as she was naturally an affectionate person. She took genuine interest in my life and preferences, even asking about my sex life and preferences? She treated me as a peer, not as a nephew. When I told her my recent relationship lacked any variety, she gasped; "She wouldn't even let you eat her?" Did she blow you? "No, and no." I said. It was getting hot, so Rachel undid her sarong, so looking down at her bottom, I thought I'd compliment her by saying: "wow, even your ass is tanned brown;" I said, while pulling down my own swim shorts at the back to show her my somewhat paler backside.  She smiled graciously at my compliment. "It's not just my ass that's brown" she said, reaching back to undo her bikini top and letting loose her large, tanned boobs. They were fully-bronzed indeed, sagging slightly of course, but otherwise perfect, with lovely dark brown nipples. "Take your shorts and t-shirt off" she said: "there's no-one around and you could do with getting some sun on your whiter bits". Amazingly, her confidence rubbed off on me and I took off my shirt and pulled my shorts off, becoming totally naked beside her. She put my garments in her beach bag, along with her sarong. My body was in good shape in those days though with a flat stomach and muscles defined from martial arts and the gym. How the hell did I muster up such confidence? So there we were, strolling along hand-in-hand with the only scrap of clothing between the two of us being Rachel's little bikini bottom. Rachel looked amazing and the sway of her hips as she moved caused a slight tumescence in my prick which she couldn't help but notice, as it swung a little from side to side. A couple moments later it was clubbing my thighs in a rhythm set by my walking pace.  All of a sudden, she dropped her hand from mine and reached over instead to grasp my swaying cock in her hand. "Your poor cock is getting knocked around. Such a shame to see such a beautiful phallus being treated so." She said as she led me along at a slower pace. This pleasant surprise immediately had my cock swelling and hardened to a long, thick erection, which she began stroking up and down slowly, whilst sporting a wide smile and wicked glint in her eyes, "what a lovely big boy" she exclaimed. A little way ahead of us was a small break between the sand dunes and an amused Rachel led me towards this gap, pulling me behind her by the cock in a rather comical manner.  I said nothing but anticipated anything could happen next. When we were hidden from view, she released me and spread-out her sarong on the sand. She then took me by the cock and guided me down, kneeling next to where she stood, then pushing me down onto my back in front of her. Dropping onto her knees between my thighs, she leaned her head down towards my rampant cock and placed the engorged pink head into her luscious mouth. Grabbing the shaft and wanking it, she licked and sucked my cock head and down to my balls, causing me to moan and shudder with pleasure; Rachel also gave out little moans, clearly enjoying the effect on me. After a few exquisite minutes, Rachel stood-up and quickly shed her bikini bottoms, moving forward to straddle my firm manhood that she placed between her spreading thighs. Rubbing its head for a few seconds against her moist labia, she eased down slowly to accommodate the thick shaft. Rachel's moist cunt may not have been the tightest, but it was certainly the hottest and wettest I'd ever felt, it was amazing and she could firmly grip me tightly. It took all my will-power not to ejaculate into her right there and then. Fortuitously for my ego, it was this lovely older lady that came first, as even after the first couple of pumps, Rachel was contorting forward and whimpering loudly as she convulsed over and over in a massive orgasm, gushing juices and clamping onto my thick shaft. Rachel's soft, brown tits bounced up and down gloriously as she rode me, pumping up and down on my swollen cock, as we both moaned and groaned in unison. I reached-up to grab and squeeze them, flicking my thumbs over her erect nipples as I did so; within seconds this had the desired effect and Rachel spasmed and pitched with the second of her mighty orgasms, which seemed to go on and on, her face contorted and mouth wide open. After a minute or so of further humping, Rachel rose up a little and I pushed her gently sideways onto her back. Straddling between her wide open legs, my head descended towards her womanhood, my tongue lapping at her engorged lips and clitoris like a cat at the cream; a few seconds of this had Rachel bucking and cumming again, grasping her tits and nipples and arching her back; I carried-on licking for a good five minutes as she gasped and sighed. My rampant cock was straining to return to its hot, wet home, so I moved up and over Rachel, giving her breasts deserved attention with my gaping mouth, before kissing and snogging this beautiful Milf, with our nether organs rubbing against each other. We were so ready for the finale with my favorite love-making position, the missionary. Grabbing my cock by the shaft, I pushed up into her soaking cunt and then plunged with abandon into her lovely body. Over and over I thrust into her, bum bouncing up and down obscenely, cock rodding in and out like a lubricated piston. We were both groaning at the pleasure of it and the pressure was building and building in my sperm-laden balls. Soon I could take it no longer, the site of this beautiful older woman writhing beneath me and the rhythmic squeezing of her cunt on my cock made me explode - jets of warm semen shot from my balls in white spurts through my pulsing shaft, splashing into the intimate depths of the gorgeous Rachel, as she screamed in mutual orgasm at the prize she had won by servicing this rampant young male. After kissing, cuddling and cleaning ourselves up, we set-off back down the beach holding hands as the sun was setting behind us, a little sheepish, as we didn't want mum to find-out what we had done. What was certain though, was that there was no way my lovely mature Rachel would be escaping my lusty clutches at least once again before I left for the UK in a few days' time. Fun times in the shower with amazing older woman. Following our illicit encounter on the beach, I only had a couple of days remaining of my holiday in Spain and was desperate to get to grips with Aunty Rachel at least once more before I left. Mum seemed to notice a change of atmosphere between myself and Rachel on the occasions when the three of us were socialising together.. I never seemed to have a chance to be alone with her, as mum was always around, purposely or not. On the last day before I was due to fly back to the UK, I resigned myself to not having another sexy encounter with the gorgeous lady. After lunch together, mum took Rachel out shopping and I went to sunbathe on a lounger and swim in the pool. Later in the afternoon, I went to the apartment to have a shower and to wash off the chlorine. It was a good sized shower and the shower-head was one of those large modern ones that makes you feel like you're standing in a tropical rainstorm. Needless to say, a lot of steam rose-up which fogged-up the place. Soon I was aware that someone had entered the bathroom, but I couldn't see clearly through the steamed-up glass. A manicured hand slid open the glass door to reveal the fully nude, tanned glory of the lovely Rachel. She stepped into the shower and I pulled her gently towards my slippery body, as the warm water cascaded upon us. We immediately started to kiss passionately and my soapy hands stroked and fondled her wonderful curves. Hers in turn ran-up and down my firm, muscular frame. My cock was quickly at full mast, poking rudely against her belly. One of her hands reached down to grasp the thick shaft, wanking it back and forth, causing the bulbous head to roll-in and out of the foreskin; within seconds this had me moaning with pleasure. Her other hand began to cup and soap my sperm laden balls making pre-cum ooze as a result of her double attention. My hands were upon her large, soft boobs, fondling and gently tweaking the lovely brown nipples into rising peaks. I leaned my head down to suckle them, one and then the other. Moving my right hand down between her legs, I ran my fingers up and down her swollen labia and over her little love button, then into her warm, moist cunt. Rachel gasped, delightfully surprised at the expert fingering of such a fine young man. We carried-on frigging each other, our tongues entwining deliciously in the French manner, groaning and mewing. Rachel's mouth suddenly gaped wide in a high-pitched howl as the spasms of orgasm overwhelmed her, love-hole clamping in pulses on my fingers and soaking them with juices. I was sure our secret was now discovered. The whole building had to have heard Rachel's orgasm. She noticed my concern and simply said; "It'll take her at least another 30 minutes to get back here. When we left the shower, we were clean in one way for sure, but very dirty in another, as Rachel leaned over me to envelop my stiff cock in her mouth, sucking and butterfly licking its sensitive head. I grabbed a large bath towel and started drying-us down as Rachel's head bobbed back and forth. Discarding the towel, I followed Rachel into her bedroom admiring her curvy figure, fantastic for a woman now in her midlife. When she turned towards me, I pushed her backwards onto the bed, with my strong body on top of her, opening thighs wide and watching her soft tits bounce up and down. My cock found her cunt with impeccable aim and eased all the way into her warm moist sheath. Rachel may have been a mature woman, but she was a perfect fit for my youthful prick as I began to piston in and out of her. Smooth bronze legs curled around the back of my thighs, as I pumped over and over again to a chorus of: "oh baby, oh baby, oh baby!" With the feeling I was about to cum, I built-up the intensity of my thrusts, so that Rachel could sense it and her cries grew louder as she peaked towards her own climax. I was there and with a guttural growl, erupted, spunk shooting and coating her intimate place with torrents of warm white seed. As if on instinct, Rachel's cunt clenched in uncontrollable spasms as she wailed in the throes of her own orgasm. When mum arrived home sometime later, Rachel and I were in the kitchen drinking wine as if nothing had happened. A conspiratorial grin from Rachel was the only confirmation of our secretive passion. I flew out of Spain the next morning with a renewed sense of joy. I took the train from London to Edinburgh while having the distinct feeling that it wouldn't be long before I would partake again in the pleasures of Rachel, the gorgeous older woman. Lovely, mature Rachel heats-up my wee flat in Edinburgh. My heart raced a little faster when I saw the unmistakable, curvy figure of Aunty Rachel coming towards me down the platform of Waverley Station in Edinburgh. She looked as beautiful as ever as I gathered her up in my arms for a kiss. She was wearing a figure-hugging, light blue dress showing off her ample cleavage, underneath a short, pale yellow jacket and white scarf with blue polka dots. She was looking very summery with her tan, sun-lightened, brown hair and large round sunglasses. I grabbed her suitcase and held her hand as we headed-up onto Princes Street and then on to Rose Street to a pub for a drink, so she could relax after her long journey from the South of England The pub was very busy, so we sat cozily next to each other chatting, whilst I drank my pint of Belhaven Best and she sipped her gin and tonic. Her sweet perfume and the proximity of this luscious, mature woman had my cock swelling a little in my trousers, so I leaned over to kiss her full lips, as our thighs rubbed softly together and her hand gently stroked my knee. After a second round of drinks, I was beginning to feel a bit tipsy and even more horny at the thought of a proper re-acquaintance with this gorgeous creature. We left the pub and took a cab from a nearby taxi-rank for the short journey to my flat in the old city. On closing the door to my cozy wee place, Rachel put her arms around me for a hug and I pushed her gently up against the wall in the hallway so we could kiss passionately, our hands running hungrily over each other's bodies. My fully engorged prick ground against her luscious mound as we snogged, with Rachel rotating her hips a little to allow maximum contact to her sensitive places, making her moan quietly into my mouth, as our tongues fenced and swirled. Breaking-off reluctantly and holding Rachel's hand, I gave her a brief tour of my little bachelor pad at which she was suitably impressed. I had set a romantic table for two in the kitchen and started to cook a light stir-fry with sea-food in my wok, as Rachel chatted to me cheerily over a glass or two of Chablis. Rachel looked even prettier with her eyes sparkling over our candlelight dinner and I felt my seductive banter and boozy, home-made tiramisu was bound to get her in the mood for loving. After the meal, Rachel disappeared into the bathroom, whilst I sat languishing on my sofa with a little dram. She entered the sitting room wearing my toweling bathrobe. As she stood in front of me with a cheeky smile, she undid the belt and slowly slid the robe off her shoulders to reveal a magnificent sight to any young, horny guy like me. Rachel was in the finest lingerie, matching ivory silk bra and panties covered with red roses and silk stockings and suspenders of the same creamy color. With her tan and feminine curves, she looked amazing as she gave a sexy little wiggle and turn for my admiration. I rose to my feet, with a hard cock pressing visibly in my trousers and held her hand above her head as she twirled like in a ballroom dance. Standing back and gazing from her head to her varnished toes with unbridled lust, I gathered her into my arms for a passionate snog. My hands stroked up and down her lovely body and through her hair and she did the same with my manly frame. We carried-on French kissing and moaning gently as my hands cupped and fondled her large, silk-encased globes, thumb flicking softly over her nipples, causing them to poke-out through the shiny fabric. My other hand strayed between her legs to rub up and down her cunt lips, so that moisture seeped on-to my fingers through the silky material. Rachel moaned and held hard onto me, as her knees buckled at the pleasure flashing through her from my dexterous digits. I was desperate to shaft this gorgeous, mature woman, so scooped her into my arms and carried her into my bedroom, throwing her onto my king-sized bed. As I was stripping off my clothing, Rachel spread her thighs and ran her graceful fingers up and down the soaking silk of her panties. "I love your strong, young body" she gasped. When I'd stripped off my boxer shorts and my thick, hard cock bounced-out, she couldn't take her eyes off it and placed her hand inside her panties to rub her sensitive clitty with abandon. I maneuvered my head between her legs and pulled aside her panties to admire her moist cunt, then used the flat of my tongue to lap at her engorged labia. This had Rachel squirming and moaning as she ran her fingers through my hair. Flicking my tongue like a side to side like a lizard on her little bud, whilst fingering her cunt, soon had Rachel arching and spasming in orgasm, squirting some love juice onto my hand and face. Moving up her lovely body, she had undone her bra, freeing me to fondle those fulsome, tanned boobies and suckle and butterfly flick her long, brown nipples to her evident delight. Her hand reached down to grasp my thick cock, jerking it up and down slowly with elegant fingers. "I want that big boy inside of me" she pleaded, rising up and guiding my rampant erection towards her silk covered womanhood. Pulling her panties to one side, she slowly impaled herself down onto the thick shaft, gasping as she did so. "Oh, how you fill me, oh I love it" she moaned and shuddered. Rachel began to ease up and down, soon riding my cock like a desperado, her mouth open wide in ecstasy, as I pumped up into her. Warm love juices and precum mixed and streamed down my pistoning rod, flowing over hairy balls onto the duvet beneath. We were both gasping and groaning in unity, with me so close to exploding and Rachel screaming as she came again, a second huge orgasm pulsing in waves through her gorgeous body. Turning the panting Rachel onto her back, I lay on top kissing her face and neck, as she recovered from such a powerful climax. The head of my engorged prick was probing lightly at her dripping labia and throbbing clit as we petted lovingly. Soon she was ready for me again and reached down to guide my hard cock towards the entrance of her open cunt, then grasped my firm ass, pushing me all the way deep into her soaking love tunnel. I began to thrust, slowly at first and then with gathering pace as Rachel's lovely, hot cunt enticed and squeezed my throbbing shaft. She moaned and cried: "Oh God, oh God" as I pumped her harder and harder, grinding on her clitty on the downward stroke to push her towards heights of desire. Soon, I knew that I could hold out no longer; my aching balls were rising and the pressure within them building to blasting point. In and out, in and out I humped, balls-deep into this beautiful cougar, her wanton body arching upwards to match my thrusts. Then it was there, I was coming, sperm rushing from balls through throbbing shaft, jetting streams of hot white spunk into lovely Rachel's soaking cunt, herself rippling again in orgasm, as if to milk every last spurt of young man's juice into her grasping womb. We lay in each other's arms, gazing into adoring eyes and kissing fondly as we caught our breath from our loving exertions. We had the whole weekend ahead of us and I knew I would have to summon all my youthful strength and energy to satisfy the unbridled lust of this wonderful older woman. Rachel was an incredibly orgasmic, mature woman and I believe I brought-out the very best of her sexuality. By Stonemarten for Literotica

Survivors savor the joy of living, and their bravery turns to romantic discovery.By SilverFoxMullet - Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Luckily for me, my room was on the ground floor, as my building has no elevators. I had my key on a lanyard around my neck, and I unlocked the door. I let her precede me inside, and I shut the door once I got in. She looked around the room, which I usually keep fairly neat, but lately it's been immaculate. I am not as active with crutches, so I've stayed in a fair bit the last couple of weeks. And I clean when I get bored."Your room is so neat. I expected, um, sorry, a pigsty. You know, 'guy'?""It's not usually this nice, but I've been staying in a lot recently." Tapping my cast for emphasis.She looked at my leg, then asked "Can I sign your cast?""Only if I can sign yours." I negotiated."Deal. Got a pen?" She inquired."Desk, top drawer." I responded, and suddenly thought. Oh No. "Uh, I'll get one for you."She was too quick, you know, having moveable feet and all, and she pulled the drawer open. First thing she sees is the unopened box of condoms my dorm buddies gave me for Christmas. Her eyebrows rose, and she put a finger on the still-sealed box. Then she turned bright red, and picked up a sharpie."Your cast is covered up, I can't get at it." she said in a slightly quavering voice. She looked nervous and fidgety. I knew I was nervous as all hell. That box of condoms was meant as a joke, as I was notorious for not getting anywhere with the ladies. I'd kissed a couple of girls, but that was as far as I'd ever gotten. I just wasn't able to pursue them the way other guys did. I always backed off. Just couldn't put myself forward like that.I looked down at my leg, covered by the sweatpants. It took every ounce of bravery I could muster to open my mouth and say the words. "I'll have to uncover it I guess."She knelt in front of me. I could see how nervous she was. Hell, I could feel how nervous I was. "Suzanne? I, uh, I never-""Me too." She affirmed.I looked in her eyes and asked; "Are you sure?""Yes." she said, and she reached for my waistband."Wait." I interrupted.She stopped, and had a fearful expression on her face, like I'd just said something that hurt her. Damn, that hurts me, to see her look of feeling rejected."Let me get on the bed first, this chair is so uncomfortable.""Oh, Okay. Can I help you?""Yeah, just hold the chair still?"She got behind it, and I heard her say "Hey there's brakes." Once the brakes were set, it was easy to get out of the chair and sat the bed. She unset the brakes and slipped the chair into the corner, then knelt down before me again. This time I leaned back on my elbows & she reached out to pull down my sweats with a little more confidence. She got them to my knees, and stopped to pull off the shoe on my good leg.The sweats slipped off my legs, leaving me semi-reclined in my polo shirt and briefs. The briefs were definitely bulging now. She stared at my crotch for long enough that I became self-conscious, and I blushed almost as red as she was.Grinning big, she picked up the sharpie, then wrote a note on my cast."To Robert, I saved myself for the one who saved my life, Suzanne"It was difficult to read from my angle, so she read it out loud to me. My heart started to race, and I felt a little dizzy. "Really?" I said.She blushed harder, as if that were even possible, and looked at the floor."I think I've been saving myself for someone like you, too." I said.She looked up at me, with what I thought was panic at first, but the smile that grew from that look was anything but panicked. I held out my hand for the pen. She sat to my left and held out her arm. It was covered by her blouse, so I said "Uh, It's covered"."Then you'll have to uncover it I guess," she beamed.She shifted up over me and I reached up with trembling fingers to work the front buttons on her silky long sleeved top. It felt like I had never operated a button in my life, I was so uncoordinated. But I finally got the job done, and her blouse fell open. I slid it off her far shoulder, and she pulled her left arm free. I stared in wonder at her tits. She didn't have a bra on, probably because she needed both hands to get it on and off. Oh My Fucking God.I absently drew her blouse off her right shoulder, and slid the puffy long sleeve down & off her right arm and it's cast. Only then did I take in the veritable wonder of an actual pair of real live breasts in front of my eyes. "Wow" I said with bright eyes. Her tits were a smaller B cup, with areolas a shade darker than her skin tone, and stiff little nipples poking out."They're not too small?" she timidly asked."God no, wow! You're beautiful!" I said with a giddiness I couldn't suppress.She blushed and looked away shyly for a second. I remembered the pen in my hand, so I had her lay on her back so I could write on her cast."To Suzanne, saving each other, saved for each other, Robert"As I was capping the pen her left hand pulled me down against her, and her lips rushed to meet mine. I had thought she had nice lips when I kissed her earlier, but that was mostly one-sided. This was phenomenal. I dropped the pen somewhere, and wrapped my arms around her. We kissed like this for minutes, or maybe it was days, I dunno, I didn't care. She lay half across my lap, and I bent over her, our lips and tongues entwined for such a glorious time.It was never like this. I was always so nervous trying to kiss a girl before, but this was passion and perfection. We finally had to come up for air, and she smiled sweetly at me as she lay back on my bed. I guess that's when she felt my erection pressing into her hip. Her eyes went wide, then she grinned up at me."Am I as fetching as you thought?""Yeah, fetching is not the half of it. Arousing, beautiful, and literally stunning. I have no more words.""Shall I get the, um, the box, from your desk?" she offered."Not yet." I replied, hobbling up off the bed, then guiding her to her feet. I undid the zipper on her slacks, and slipped them down to pile up around her ankles. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her slacks. "Damn" I said. She was so pale and delicate. Not a small girl, probably the same height as me, but she was certainly slimmer than I was, overall.Her hands seemed to want to cover her boobs, but she fought that urge, standing before me as a lover, not a recently met stranger. I was drawn to her, & I could feel the pull, like gravity between us. She tentatively reached toward me, and I realized she wanted me as naked as she was, so we peeled off my polo shirt.She gasped, looked me up and down, her gaze settling on the sharply defined summit in my underwear. She reached out again, and clumsily pulled down the front of my briefs with her left hand. I hooked my thumb into the waistband behind me and it made her mission move along quickly. But as she leaned down to complete the descent, she nearly got poked in the eye."Oh dear" she said as my stiff cock sprang free of its confinement and pointed upward toward her. "That's so... different. Bigger." Her eyes were wide now as she took in what was apparently her first sight of a full erection.I reached for her, and she started to back away, so I laid back down and waited. She fidgeted some more, some kind of internal debate, and then she knelt and leaned right up to me, nodding. "Okay" she said.I reached down again, and ever so slowly peeled her panties off. Fuck. A neat little triangle of sparse, dark hair was there, just above a puffy slit. I'd seen lots of porn, but this was not like any of that. All those porn stars shaved and trimmed and waxed away everything. This was whatever she had, all of it, come as you are.Her panties dropped to her knees, and I said "Wow. You're beautiful.""You think so?" she asked."Oh yes, I know so." I said with conviction.She smiled, then shifted nervously and flipped her panties to the floor. Then she paused again, a fleeting glance back to the desk. "Lay down here with me for a while." I said.Relaxing the tiniest bit, she laid alongside and half on me, and we embraced, as best we could with two limbs encased in plaster. We kissed again, and it was similar to before, but the extra skin contact made the sensation so much better. I put my hands to use, stroking her back, her neck, her breasts, and her thighs as she shivered from my touch. Then she shifted onto her side and her left hand was around the back of my neck, drawing our kiss closer, pressing her pert tits into my chest, crushing me to her. As before, we kissed forever, it seemed. Once she let up on her clutching me, I gently rolled her onto her back, on the bed.I wanted to see that pussy. To touch it, smell it, taste it! I'd read about eating a girl out, I'd watched innumerable videos, and now I had the opportunity to try it. Some guys said it was gross, and wouldn't do it. Some said it was the best way to get a girl worked up, so don't mind the smell and taste, just do it. Me, I just wanted to find out what it was like, I didn't care if it was good or bad, I was gonna do this.Gently, I scooted myself up, then farther down the bed. I pushed her legs apart, and she watched in wonder as I leaned down to look at her. Wow, this was amazing. "You're beautiful" I said to her pussy. I leaned right in and kissed her patch. There was a sharp sour tang to her, but it wasn't bad, just new, different. I swept my tongue along her slit, picking up even more of her strong flavour. Inside, it was different, still not good or bad, I guessed that this was just what a pussy tasted like.Again and again I lapped at her, and she got wetter and wetter. Her knees bent as she opened herself up, inviting me farther inside. This wetness might have been me drooling on her, or her arousal, I didn't know. She was making joyous little noises up there, in time to my activities with my tongue. That felt good, really good, to me! I caressed her thighs, then ran my fingers through her delicate fur, and her hips moved in a way I had never imagined I would ever see. I could FEEL her arousal in that motion, she was so happy with what I was doing, and that made me happy!I knew her clitoris was supposed to be up here somewhere, so I began licking at the apex of her slit. Her soft cries and shudders let me now when I found it. Yes, there she was, and when I used my tongue the way I saw in those videos, she reacted with an astonishing cry and multiple thrusts of her hips. She practically bounced on the bed and yelped in her efforts to seemingly avoid my tongue and ram herself onto it at one and the same time.Her hand came down to twine her fingers in my hair, not too push me away, or even to draw me in, but just to make contact, to be part of what was happening to her. I continued to lick her clit gently, and her hips began a hypnotic rolling motion, over and over, slowly cycling up and down.I put a finger down where I thought her opening was, and moved it around, between her slick labia. I found what I sought, and as my finger slipped inside of her, the tone of her soft noises changed, from one of languid pleasure to one of lust and need. I continued this double activity, which came so much easier to me than the old patting-head and rubbing-tummy trick. I always botched that, but not this!I had thought that I'd made her cum a while earlier, when she'd made that louder noise, but I was wrong, or perhaps this was a new order of magnitude for her. This time her entire body tensed up, and she shook and made small gasping sounds for a half a minute. Now her hand was pushing me away, her breath rasping in her throat, as she'd had enough of this."Oh, Robert" she whispered hoarsely.I sat up and let my casted leg hang over the side of the bed. Then I looked down upon her, spread out before me, spread eagle, gasping for air in her glory."Did I do OK?" I asked.She laughed weakly, then said; "I didn't know it could be like that.""Me neither." I admitted."Do, do we need those uh, things now?""Condoms. Yes, we'll need those, I hope?" I eager looked at her."I'd get them, but I can't seem to move right now,” she revealed. “Can I catch my breath for a bit?" She was still breathing heavily."That's Okay, we're in no hurry,” I assured her.I felt like I would never tire of watching her when she was naked and aroused. Beautiful, amazing. After a while she struggled to sit up, difficult with one arm and tangled up with another person in bed. She stepped over to the desk and got out that box, then brought it to me. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched closely as I opened it and pulled out a strip of condoms. A folded instruction sheet fell out in my lap, and she picked it up. I tore one of the condom packages off the strip as she unfolded the paper & flipped it over to read the English side. I peered over her shoulder at the little diagram, and tore open the packet. Suzanne dropped the paper and looked closely at what I was doing as I squeezed the tip and rolled it on."That's it?" she asked."Yup, I think so,” I surmised.She lifted her cast-encased arm and said "How do we do this?""You on top, I think.""On top?" she asked, "I don't understand.""Can I show you a video?" I offered."Oh, Okay. You mean like, a porn video?""Uh huh, so you can see what position might work.""O, kay?"She got up, unplugged my laptop, and brought it over, placing it on our laps. I surfed to a site I knew had good videos. I typed ‘cowgirl' in the search box and scrolled through the resulting thumbnails. I soon found a promising one, and clicked on it. I had to fast forward through a lot of it, and she said "Go back to that last part."I backed up a bit and she watched in rapt fascination as a girl on the screen took a guy's cock deep into her mouth. "Can I try that?" she asked."Sure! if you want."The girl on the screen pulled away and continued to stroke the guy, his cum splattering her face, then she took him back in to finish."Ewww. Maybe not.""Like I said, only if you want.""Well, you did that for me, so maybe I should do that for you, too.""Let's find the bit we're looking for first."I skipped forward a bit more, then found the cowgirl segment. "See, she's on top, our casts won't be in the way too much like that. Plus, it gives you the ability to take things along as you're comfortable.”We watched for a minute. "Okay, I can do that." she said.Closing the laptop, she put it on the floor and slid it under the bed. She got off the bed, and let me shift around, and clambered back on. Straddling my thighs, she bit her lip and said, "It's supposed to hurt the first time, isn't it?""I think so. You'll have to be gentle." That's why I wanted us to try it this way.She nodded, then reached down and grasped my cock. She took a few minutes to fondle and stroke my cock, with a look of curiosity, desire, and giddiness. She knelt straight up, and shifted her body forward to align her new play tool with her cunt, moving her hips and my cock, to find the right spot. Once engaged, she withdrew her hand and sank halfway down onto me.She froze, with a curious look on her face."Huh" she groaned."Oh god, Suzanne" I said, basking in the hot wet tightness of her pussy. It was incredible. I was gonna cum, and soon, this was so astonishingly good!She was descended in front of me, pert breasts caped with tight hard nipples, hair hanging in disarray about her face, and her pussy - holy fuck - I could see my cock impaling her. Labia distended and wrapped around my shaft, and the sensations from inside her were amazing! As she raised back up, my cock looked like it had a pussy doughnut encircling it.It was like some weird sheathed hand, wrapped around my cock, with rippling touches here and there. Her thousand-yard stare suddenly focused back on me, and she said "Wow" and slid down my shaft until she bottomed out. "That didn't hurt at all" she whispered in awe. "That feels so good! You feel so big inside me."Recalling the video we'd previewed, she started humping and grinding and bouncing on my shaft. I was trying not to cum yet, I wanted to please her first, and luckily, what she was doing wasn't over stimulating me. Except visually, I was getting so turned on by the sight of a naked girl getting turned on by my own cock! And guys are visual creatures, so it was difficult to hold back.But she did cum again, and hard, and I could feel it from the inside. Her orgasm was a rippling and clenching of muscles, both inside her pussy, and over her whole body. Her arms, her legs, her abs, everything tensed and shook. Maybe there's nothing so visually erotic as watching a sexy woman having a massive trance orgasm.And that was all I could stand before I exploded.I thought the condom was gonna explode, I pumped so much cum into it. The sight of her there, on me, cumming, fuck that was intense.When it had passed, she opened her eyes in wonder and looked down at me. "Oh god Robert, this is amazing! You're amazing." All I could do was smile up at her. Then she said "Did you finish yet?""Oh Yeah."  I assured her.She smiled with a deep sense of accomplishment, then asked me; "Can I try that mouth thing?" Her innocence is so sexy."A blowjob?" I asked."That's a blowjob?” she seemed inquisitive. “I heard other people talk about it, but was always afraid to ask what it was. I really want to try that."She rose up off of me and tried to get the condom off. Left handed wasn't working well, so I removed it, and asked her to reach over to the desk for some tissues to clean up. "Thanks" she said, then she went around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to get at my cock.She sat cross-legged and leaned down to get closer to her new favorite sex toy.She held my semi-flaccid cock and gave the tip a tentative lick first, then smiled at me and licked harder. She spent a minute or so licking me like a popsicle. “Wow, you taste sorta salty and manly” she observed. Then she took my head into her mouth and I gasped and whimpered "Please, No teeth"."Sorry." she said. Then I was engulfed again, and she hummed on me, which was so very stimulating. Pulling off she commented "You taste good! Probably better than me." Then she was back at it, and now her tongue swirled around the head of my cock. This was too much, too stimulating. The view I had, plus the feel of her tongue on me, was enough to set me right off. My first blowjob lasted 30 seconds before I blew.I groaned, and said "Now", and she sealed her lips around me, lapping her tongue repeatedly over the sensitive underside of my head. I think I whimpered, and I may have said something, I have no idea. My orgasm was a completely different thing from what I got from masturbating. This was so powerful it was excruciating. I could feel her tongue lapping at me as I shot load after load into her mouth. I don't think I ever came so much before in my life. Her eyes were wide in surprise as she kept working on me, swallowing what I gave, and teasing out more.I finally ran dry and started to wilt, and she pulled away. "Wow" she said, "that was cool. You taste good, too. I like blowjobs, they're fun!"I laid back, floating in post orgasmic bliss.She crawled up alongside & cuddled with me. It took a few tries to get comfortable with our casts in the way. There we were, to newly deflowered teens, both buck-nekked except for the white casts covering two limbs. We were in sweaty bliss from some great first-time, multiple-orgasm sex. The afterglow was heavenly.Then we got chilled and we had to untangle ourselves to get under the blankets. The adrenaline was gone, our lust was sated, and sleep took us both.That was one April Fools joke that both failed and succeeded in a most spectacular manner. Tomorrow will reveal what troubles await those who endangered two virgins' lives, but It couldn't have turned out any better for Suzanne & Robert.By SilverFoxMullet for Literotica

Survivors savor the joy of living, and their bravery turns to romantic discovery.By SilverFoxMullet - Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Luckily for me, my room was on the ground floor, as my building has no elevators. I had my key on a lanyard around my neck, and I unlocked the door. I let her precede me inside, and I shut the door once I got in. She looked around the room, which I usually keep fairly neat, but lately it's been immaculate. I am not as active with crutches, so I've stayed in a fair bit the last couple of weeks. And I clean when I get bored."Your room is so neat. I expected, um, sorry, a pigsty. You know, 'guy'?""It's not usually this nice, but I've been staying in a lot recently." Tapping my cast for emphasis.She looked at my leg, then asked "Can I sign your cast?""Only if I can sign yours." I negotiated."Deal. Got a pen?" She inquired."Desk, top drawer." I responded, and suddenly thought. Oh No. "Uh, I'll get one for you."She was too quick, you know, having moveable feet and all, and she pulled the drawer open. First thing she sees is the unopened box of condoms my dorm buddies gave me for Christmas. Her eyebrows rose, and she put a finger on the still-sealed box. Then she turned bright red, and picked up a sharpie."Your cast is covered up, I can't get at it." she said in a slightly quavering voice. She looked nervous and fidgety. I knew I was nervous as all hell. That box of condoms was meant as a joke, as I was notorious for not getting anywhere with the ladies. I'd kissed a couple of girls, but that was as far as I'd ever gotten. I just wasn't able to pursue them the way other guys did. I always backed off. Just couldn't put myself forward like that.I looked down at my leg, covered by the sweatpants. It took every ounce of bravery I could muster to open my mouth and say the words. "I'll have to uncover it I guess."She knelt in front of me. I could see how nervous she was. Hell, I could feel how nervous I was. "Suzanne? I, uh, I never-""Me too." She affirmed.I looked in her eyes and asked; "Are you sure?""Yes." she said, and she reached for my waistband."Wait." I interrupted.She stopped, and had a fearful expression on her face, like I'd just said something that hurt her. Damn, that hurts me, to see her look of feeling rejected."Let me get on the bed first, this chair is so uncomfortable.""Oh, Okay. Can I help you?""Yeah, just hold the chair still?"She got behind it, and I heard her say "Hey there's brakes." Once the brakes were set, it was easy to get out of the chair and sat the bed. She unset the brakes and slipped the chair into the corner, then knelt down before me again. This time I leaned back on my elbows & she reached out to pull down my sweats with a little more confidence. She got them to my knees, and stopped to pull off the shoe on my good leg.The sweats slipped off my legs, leaving me semi-reclined in my polo shirt and briefs. The briefs were definitely bulging now. She stared at my crotch for long enough that I became self-conscious, and I blushed almost as red as she was.Grinning big, she picked up the sharpie, then wrote a note on my cast."To Robert, I saved myself for the one who saved my life, Suzanne"It was difficult to read from my angle, so she read it out loud to me. My heart started to race, and I felt a little dizzy. "Really?" I said.She blushed harder, as if that were even possible, and looked at the floor."I think I've been saving myself for someone like you, too." I said.She looked up at me, with what I thought was panic at first, but the smile that grew from that look was anything but panicked. I held out my hand for the pen. She sat to my left and held out her arm. It was covered by her blouse, so I said "Uh, It's covered"."Then you'll have to uncover it I guess," she beamed.She shifted up over me and I reached up with trembling fingers to work the front buttons on her silky long sleeved top. It felt like I had never operated a button in my life, I was so uncoordinated. But I finally got the job done, and her blouse fell open. I slid it off her far shoulder, and she pulled her left arm free. I stared in wonder at her tits. She didn't have a bra on, probably because she needed both hands to get it on and off. Oh My Fucking God.I absently drew her blouse off her right shoulder, and slid the puffy long sleeve down & off her right arm and it's cast. Only then did I take in the veritable wonder of an actual pair of real live breasts in front of my eyes. "Wow" I said with bright eyes. Her tits were a smaller B cup, with areolas a shade darker than her skin tone, and stiff little nipples poking out."They're not too small?" she timidly asked."God no, wow! You're beautiful!" I said with a giddiness I couldn't suppress.She blushed and looked away shyly for a second. I remembered the pen in my hand, so I had her lay on her back so I could write on her cast."To Suzanne, saving each other, saved for each other, Robert"As I was capping the pen her left hand pulled me down against her, and her lips rushed to meet mine. I had thought she had nice lips when I kissed her earlier, but that was mostly one-sided. This was phenomenal. I dropped the pen somewhere, and wrapped my arms around her. We kissed like this for minutes, or maybe it was days, I dunno, I didn't care. She lay half across my lap, and I bent over her, our lips and tongues entwined for such a glorious time.It was never like this. I was always so nervous trying to kiss a girl before, but this was passion and perfection. We finally had to come up for air, and she smiled sweetly at me as she lay back on my bed. I guess that's when she felt my erection pressing into her hip. Her eyes went wide, then she grinned up at me."Am I as fetching as you thought?""Yeah, fetching is not the half of it. Arousing, beautiful, and literally stunning. I have no more words.""Shall I get the, um, the box, from your desk?" she offered."Not yet." I replied, hobbling up off the bed, then guiding her to her feet. I undid the zipper on her slacks, and slipped them down to pile up around her ankles. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her slacks. "Damn" I said. She was so pale and delicate. Not a small girl, probably the same height as me, but she was certainly slimmer than I was, overall.Her hands seemed to want to cover her boobs, but she fought that urge, standing before me as a lover, not a recently met stranger. I was drawn to her, & I could feel the pull, like gravity between us. She tentatively reached toward me, and I realized she wanted me as naked as she was, so we peeled off my polo shirt.She gasped, looked me up and down, her gaze settling on the sharply defined summit in my underwear. She reached out again, and clumsily pulled down the front of my briefs with her left hand. I hooked my thumb into the waistband behind me and it made her mission move along quickly. But as she leaned down to complete the descent, she nearly got poked in the eye."Oh dear" she said as my stiff cock sprang free of its confinement and pointed upward toward her. "That's so... different. Bigger." Her eyes were wide now as she took in what was apparently her first sight of a full erection.I reached for her, and she started to back away, so I laid back down and waited. She fidgeted some more, some kind of internal debate, and then she knelt and leaned right up to me, nodding. "Okay" she said.I reached down again, and ever so slowly peeled her panties off. Fuck. A neat little triangle of sparse, dark hair was there, just above a puffy slit. I'd seen lots of porn, but this was not like any of that. All those porn stars shaved and trimmed and waxed away everything. This was whatever she had, all of it, come as you are.Her panties dropped to her knees, and I said "Wow. You're beautiful.""You think so?" she asked."Oh yes, I know so." I said with conviction.She smiled, then shifted nervously and flipped her panties to the floor. Then she paused again, a fleeting glance back to the desk. "Lay down here with me for a while." I said.Relaxing the tiniest bit, she laid alongside and half on me, and we embraced, as best we could with two limbs encased in plaster. We kissed again, and it was similar to before, but the extra skin contact made the sensation so much better. I put my hands to use, stroking her back, her neck, her breasts, and her thighs as she shivered from my touch. Then she shifted onto her side and her left hand was around the back of my neck, drawing our kiss closer, pressing her pert tits into my chest, crushing me to her. As before, we kissed forever, it seemed. Once she let up on her clutching me, I gently rolled her onto her back, on the bed.I wanted to see that pussy. To touch it, smell it, taste it! I'd read about eating a girl out, I'd watched innumerable videos, and now I had the opportunity to try it. Some guys said it was gross, and wouldn't do it. Some said it was the best way to get a girl worked up, so don't mind the smell and taste, just do it. Me, I just wanted to find out what it was like, I didn't care if it was good or bad, I was gonna do this.Gently, I scooted myself up, then farther down the bed. I pushed her legs apart, and she watched in wonder as I leaned down to look at her. Wow, this was amazing. "You're beautiful" I said to her pussy. I leaned right in and kissed her patch. There was a sharp sour tang to her, but it wasn't bad, just new, different. I swept my tongue along her slit, picking up even more of her strong flavour. Inside, it was different, still not good or bad, I guessed that this was just what a pussy tasted like.Again and again I lapped at her, and she got wetter and wetter. Her knees bent as she opened herself up, inviting me farther inside. This wetness might have been me drooling on her, or her arousal, I didn't know. She was making joyous little noises up there, in time to my activities with my tongue. That felt good, really good, to me! I caressed her thighs, then ran my fingers through her delicate fur, and her hips moved in a way I had never imagined I would ever see. I could FEEL her arousal in that motion, she was so happy with what I was doing, and that made me happy!I knew her clitoris was supposed to be up here somewhere, so I began licking at the apex of her slit. Her soft cries and shudders let me now when I found it. Yes, there she was, and when I used my tongue the way I saw in those videos, she reacted with an astonishing cry and multiple thrusts of her hips. She practically bounced on the bed and yelped in her efforts to seemingly avoid my tongue and ram herself onto it at one and the same time.Her hand came down to twine her fingers in my hair, not too push me away, or even to draw me in, but just to make contact, to be part of what was happening to her. I continued to lick her clit gently, and her hips began a hypnotic rolling motion, over and over, slowly cycling up and down.I put a finger down where I thought her opening was, and moved it around, between her slick labia. I found what I sought, and as my finger slipped inside of her, the tone of her soft noises changed, from one of languid pleasure to one of lust and need. I continued this double activity, which came so much easier to me than the old patting-head and rubbing-tummy trick. I always botched that, but not this!I had thought that I'd made her cum a while earlier, when she'd made that louder noise, but I was wrong, or perhaps this was a new order of magnitude for her. This time her entire body tensed up, and she shook and made small gasping sounds for a half a minute. Now her hand was pushing me away, her breath rasping in her throat, as she'd had enough of this."Oh, Robert" she whispered hoarsely.I sat up and let my casted leg hang over the side of the bed. Then I looked down upon her, spread out before me, spread eagle, gasping for air in her glory."Did I do OK?" I asked.She laughed weakly, then said; "I didn't know it could be like that.""Me neither." I admitted."Do, do we need those uh, things now?""Condoms. Yes, we'll need those, I hope?" I eager looked at her."I'd get them, but I can't seem to move right now,” she revealed. “Can I catch my breath for a bit?" She was still breathing heavily."That's Okay, we're in no hurry,” I assured her.I felt like I would never tire of watching her when she was naked and aroused. Beautiful, amazing. After a while she struggled to sit up, difficult with one arm and tangled up with another person in bed. She stepped over to the desk and got out that box, then brought it to me. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched closely as I opened it and pulled out a strip of condoms. A folded instruction sheet fell out in my lap, and she picked it up. I tore one of the condom packages off the strip as she unfolded the paper & flipped it over to read the English side. I peered over her shoulder at the little diagram, and tore open the packet. Suzanne dropped the paper and looked closely at what I was doing as I squeezed the tip and rolled it on."That's it?" she asked."Yup, I think so,” I surmised.She lifted her cast-encased arm and said "How do we do this?""You on top, I think.""On top?" she asked, "I don't understand.""Can I show you a video?" I offered."Oh, Okay. You mean like, a porn video?""Uh huh, so you can see what position might work.""O, kay?"She got up, unplugged my laptop, and brought it over, placing it on our laps. I surfed to a site I knew had good videos. I typed ‘cowgirl' in the search box and scrolled through the resulting thumbnails. I soon found a promising one, and clicked on it. I had to fast forward through a lot of it, and she said "Go back to that last part."I backed up a bit and she watched in rapt fascination as a girl on the screen took a guy's cock deep into her mouth. "Can I try that?" she asked."Sure! if you want."The girl on the screen pulled away and continued to stroke the guy, his cum splattering her face, then she took him back in to finish."Ewww. Maybe not.""Like I said, only if you want.""Well, you did that for me, so maybe I should do that for you, too.""Let's find the bit we're looking for first."I skipped forward a bit more, then found the cowgirl segment. "See, she's on top, our casts won't be in the way too much like that. Plus, it gives you the ability to take things along as you're comfortable.”We watched for a minute. "Okay, I can do that." she said.Closing the laptop, she put it on the floor and slid it under the bed. She got off the bed, and let me shift around, and clambered back on. Straddling my thighs, she bit her lip and said, "It's supposed to hurt the first time, isn't it?""I think so. You'll have to be gentle." That's why I wanted us to try it this way.She nodded, then reached down and grasped my cock. She took a few minutes to fondle and stroke my cock, with a look of curiosity, desire, and giddiness. She knelt straight up, and shifted her body forward to align her new play tool with her cunt, moving her hips and my cock, to find the right spot. Once engaged, she withdrew her hand and sank halfway down onto me.She froze, with a curious look on her face."Huh" she groaned."Oh god, Suzanne" I said, basking in the hot wet tightness of her pussy. It was incredible. I was gonna cum, and soon, this was so astonishingly good!She was descended in front of me, pert breasts caped with tight hard nipples, hair hanging in disarray about her face, and her pussy - holy fuck - I could see my cock impaling her. Labia distended and wrapped around my shaft, and the sensations from inside her were amazing! As she raised back up, my cock looked like it had a pussy doughnut encircling it.It was like some weird sheathed hand, wrapped around my cock, with rippling touches here and there. Her thousand-yard stare suddenly focused back on me, and she said "Wow" and slid down my shaft until she bottomed out. "That didn't hurt at all" she whispered in awe. "That feels so good! You feel so big inside me."Recalling the video we'd previewed, she started humping and grinding and bouncing on my shaft. I was trying not to cum yet, I wanted to please her first, and luckily, what she was doing wasn't over stimulating me. Except visually, I was getting so turned on by the sight of a naked girl getting turned on by my own cock! And guys are visual creatures, so it was difficult to hold back.But she did cum again, and hard, and I could feel it from the inside. Her orgasm was a rippling and clenching of muscles, both inside her pussy, and over her whole body. Her arms, her legs, her abs, everything tensed and shook. Maybe there's nothing so visually erotic as watching a sexy woman having a massive trance orgasm.And that was all I could stand before I exploded.I thought the condom was gonna explode, I pumped so much cum into it. The sight of her there, on me, cumming, fuck that was intense.When it had passed, she opened her eyes in wonder and looked down at me. "Oh god Robert, this is amazing! You're amazing." All I could do was smile up at her. Then she said "Did you finish yet?""Oh Yeah."  I assured her.She smiled with a deep sense of accomplishment, then asked me; "Can I try that mouth thing?" Her innocence is so sexy."A blowjob?" I asked."That's a blowjob?” she seemed inquisitive. “I heard other people talk about it, but was always afraid to ask what it was. I really want to try that."She rose up off of me and tried to get the condom off. Left handed wasn't working well, so I removed it, and asked her to reach over to the desk for some tissues to clean up. "Thanks" she said, then she went around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to get at my cock.She sat cross-legged and leaned down to get closer to her new favorite sex toy.She held my semi-flaccid cock and gave the tip a tentative lick first, then smiled at me and licked harder. She spent a minute or so licking me like a popsicle. “Wow, you taste sorta salty and manly” she observed. Then she took my head into her mouth and I gasped and whimpered "Please, No teeth"."Sorry." she said. Then I was engulfed again, and she hummed on me, which was so very stimulating. Pulling off she commented "You taste good! Probably better than me." Then she was back at it, and now her tongue swirled around the head of my cock. This was too much, too stimulating. The view I had, plus the feel of her tongue on me, was enough to set me right off. My first blowjob lasted 30 seconds before I blew.I groaned, and said "Now", and she sealed her lips around me, lapping her tongue repeatedly over the sensitive underside of my head. I think I whimpered, and I may have said something, I have no idea. My orgasm was a completely different thing from what I got from masturbating. This was so powerful it was excruciating. I could feel her tongue lapping at me as I shot load after load into her mouth. I don't think I ever came so much before in my life. Her eyes were wide in surprise as she kept working on me, swallowing what I gave, and teasing out more.I finally ran dry and started to wilt, and she pulled away. "Wow" she said, "that was cool. You taste good, too. I like blowjobs, they're fun!"I laid back, floating in post orgasmic bliss.She crawled up alongside & cuddled with me. It took a few tries to get comfortable with our casts in the way. There we were, to newly deflowered teens, both buck-nekked except for the white casts covering two limbs. We were in sweaty bliss from some great first-time, multiple-orgasm sex. The afterglow was heavenly.Then we got chilled and we had to untangle ourselves to get under the blankets. The adrenaline was gone, our lust was sated, and sleep took us both.That was one April Fools joke that both failed and succeeded in a most spectacular manner. Tomorrow will reveal what troubles await those who endangered two virgins' lives, but It couldn't have turned out any better for Suzanne & Robert.By SilverFoxMullet for Literotica

PART 3 They were the Comanche, or Numunuh—meaning "The People"— and they were the undisputed "Lords of the Plains," fiercely guarding their vast homeland across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Masters of horseback warfare, they resisted westward expansion as the U.S. government pushed settlers into their territory. In an 1836 raid on Fort Parker, nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker was taken captive. She embraced Comanche life, later marrying Chief Peta Nocona. And their son, Quanah Parker, became a legendary leader. As the U.S. broke the Treaty of Medicine Lodge, Quanah led his people in the Red River War, the last major conflict between the southern Plains tribes and the U.S. military. Realizing continued resistance meant destruction, he surrendered at Fort Sill in 1875 to secure his people's survival. Straddling two worlds, Quanah worked to bridge the divide between Native and white societies. Though never elected chief, he was appointed the Comanche Nation's Principal Chief. To his family, he was a beloved grandfather who championed education and Comanche traditions. To history, he remains the "Last Chief of the Comanche." In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I spoke with one of Quanah Parker's descendants, Jody Parker. Now in part 3, you'll hear directly from Quanah's great grandchildren: Jacquetta Parker Ardith Parker-Leming LaNora Parke Sandra Chesnut Don Allen Parker Jody Colbert The family shares insights on: - Quanah's influence on the importance of education and always showing up dressed to impress - His vision for a school and church for his people - What Quanah was like as a master horseman and a great warrior - The significance of Comanche oral history and that much of their knowledge came from both their elders and the Mennonite missionaries Quanah worked with - Did Quanah really tell a missionary she was "ugly"? You may be surprised by the answer! Finally, the elders share a heartfelt reflection on how Quanah bridged two worlds—the world of his people and of those who had taken over. Unfortunately, when I recorded this 2 years ago, my sound and video were messed up. So thank you for your patience, as it has been cleaned up as best as possible. Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

U.S. officials are making it harder for Canadians to access the iconic Haskell Free Library that straddles the border between Quebec and Vermont, a shared building that used to be a sign of friendship between the two nations. We hear from a library board member about how the town of Stanstead is pushing back against the move.

Guest: Matthew Farfan, past-president, Haskell Free Library and Opera House.

Meryl chats with Kim Salzman about her historical fiction novel, Straddling Black and White, the story of fourteen-year-old Azmera, who takes part in the mass immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in the 1980s. Theyalso talk about the current war in Israel and its impact on Kim, her family,and friends.Kim was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. After receiving a degree in psychology from Columbia University, she lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel, which inspired her to make Aliyah. After receiving her law degree from the University of Michigan, she immigrated to Israel where she became fascinated by the stories of Jewish immigrants to Israel from all over the world. She served in the international law department of the Israel Defense Forces, and also advocated for the legal rights of Ethiopian-Israelis. Kim lives in Northern Israel with her husband, three children and a dog. Currently, she works as the Israel and Overseas Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.Website: www.kimsalzman.com/Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091317043993/People of the Book is copyrighted by Authors on the Air GlobalRadio Network#AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #KimSalzman #StraddlingBlackAndWhite #HistoricalFiction #EthiopianIsraelis #EthiopianJews #Aliyah #MakingAliyah #Israel #EthiopianAliyah #Sudan #OperationSolomon #OperationMoses #Racism #Identity #FamilySecrets #Assimilation #Acculturation #ClashOfCultures #October7 #IsraelAtWar #Hostages #WarAgainstHamas #IsraeliArmy #IsraeliArmyService #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #Sequel #ShadowsWeCarry #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead!

Meryl chats with Kim Salzman about her historical fiction novel, Straddling Black and White, the story of fourteen-year-old Azmera, who takes part in the mass immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in the 1980s. They also talk about the current war in Israel and its impact on Kim, her family, and friends. Kim was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. After receiving a degree in psychology from Columbia University, she lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel, which inspired her to make Aliyah. After receiving her law degree from the University of Michigan, she immigrated to Israel where she became fascinated by the stories of Jewish immigrants to Israel from all over the world. She served in the international law department of the Israel Defense Forces, and also advocated for the legal rights of Ethiopian-Israelis. Kim lives in Northern Israel with her husband, three children and a dog. Currently, she works as the Israel and Overseas Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Website: www.kimsalzman.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091317043993/ People of the Book is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #KimSalzman #StraddlingBlackAndWhite #HistoricalFiction #EthiopianIsraelis #EthiopianJews #Aliyah #MakingAliyah #Israel #EthiopianAliyah #Sudan #OperationSolomon #OperationMoses #Racism #Identity #FamilySecrets #Assimilation #Acculturation #ClashOfCultures #October7 #IsraelAtWar #Hostages #WarAgainstHamas #IsraeliArmy #IsraeliArmyService #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #Sequel #ShadowsWeCarry #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead!

Meryl chats with Kim Salzman about her historical fiction novel, Straddling Black and White, the story of fourteen-year-old Azmera, who takes part in the mass immigration of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in the 1980s. They also talk about the current war in Israel and its impact on Kim, her family, and friends. Kim was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. After receiving a degree in psychology from Columbia University, she lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel, which inspired her to make Aliyah. After receiving her law degree from the University of Michigan, she immigrated to Israel where she became fascinated by the stories of Jewish immigrants to Israel from all over the world. She served in the international law department of the Israel Defense Forces, and also advocated for the legal rights of Ethiopian-Israelis. Kim lives in Northern Israel with her husband, three children and a dog. Currently, she works as the Israel and Overseas Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Website: www.kimsalzman.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091317043993/ People of the Book is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #AuthorsOnTheAir #AuthorsOnTheAirGlobalRadioNetwork #AOTA #KimSalzman #StraddlingBlackAndWhite #HistoricalFiction #EthiopianIsraelis #EthiopianJews #Aliyah #MakingAliyah #Israel #EthiopianAliyah #Sudan #OperationSolomon #OperationMoses #Racism #Identity #FamilySecrets #Assimilation #Acculturation #ClashOfCultures #October7 #IsraelAtWar #Hostages #WarAgainstHamas #IsraeliArmy #IsraeliArmyService #PeopleoftheBook #MerylAin #TheTakeawayMen #Sequel #ShadowsWeCarry #LetsTalkJewishBooks #JewsLoveToRead!

Straddling the Mediterranean and Atlantic, Morocco is where Africa meets Europe in a clash of colors, tastes, and traditions. From the labyrinthine medinas of imperial cities to the stark beauty of the Sahara, from the snowcapped Atlas Mountains to the palm-fringed coast, Morocco serves up adventure with a side of mint tea. Just don't expect to navigate those medieval streets with Google Maps – some things here remain delightfully unmappable.Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Morocco for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-33-guide-to-morocco-1133643?source=storefront. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membershipThanks for all your support!TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Galatians 3:15-17 Thanks to everyone who supports TMBH at patreon.com/thetmbhpodcast You're the reason we can all do this together! Discuss the episode here Music by Jeff Foote

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Have overwhelm or frustration ever made you want to sell your agency? When you're burned out, the grass might look greener — but one agency owner learned that it's not. Discover why he sold after just two years plus why the acquisition was dissolved and he grew his original business back to 5X within the next four years. Learn more about his reflections on why his initial burnout came to be, the reasons that partnership failed, and how he managed to rebuild his agency even stronger by surrounding himself with the right people. Alex Polamero is the founder of Ninestone Partners, an agency focused on the middle of the funnel. They build marketing and sales automation systems that help clients scale and effectively nurture prospects to closing. He discuss the evolution of his career, going from solopreneur to building and selling his agency and remaining as an equity partner. Alex also dives into his mindset and reasons behind his agency's sale and the events that led to him taking back ownership of its name and original clients. In this episode, we'll discuss: Selling as a way out of the burnout trap. Cashflow issues and not making payroll.  Lessons after buying back his agency. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. Building an Agency by Filling the Gap Alex has over 20 years of experience working with CRMs, beginning as an Oracle superuser with an extensive network of contacts and later becoming a Marketo-certified expert managing marketing for a billion-dollar real estate firm. Seven years ago, he took the leap to start his own venture, Ninestone Partners. When he first launched his business, Alex viewed other agencies as competitors, seeing them as rivals in areas like website development and paid advertising. However, years of experience shifted his perspective. Today, his agency operates as a collaborator, working alongside other agencies and specializing in the middle of the funnel—where their expertise truly shines. According to Alex, most people don't know the nuances of every automation system, which one to use in each industry and how to help businesses grow quickly. This knowledge gap is where his team excels, helping businesses grow quickly by leveraging the right automation strategies tailored to their needs. Escaping Burnout by Selling the Agency Two years after starting his agency, Alex had two full-time employees and several contractors, even managing automated marketing solutions for a larger 25-person agency. Despite this success, he found himself overwhelmed and burned out. Looking back, he realizes the root of his struggles was that he hadn't chosen between being a solopreneur—taking most of the profits to fund his lifestyle—or committing to being a true business owner. Straddling both worlds, he continued accepting new projects for quick profits without building the necessary team infrastructure. His fear of hiring and potential failure led to increasingly unsustainable workweeks filled with late nights and weekends. This approach inevitably led to stagnation. Alex faced a classic dilemma: unable to handle more clients alone, yet afraid to bring on additional help. Like many inexperienced business owners, he had initially prioritized money over time and it took years before he learned to value time with his employees, family, and himself. His mindset reflected a common misconception among agency owners: that leadership means outworking everyone else and that constant busyness equates to productivity. Exhausted from this unsustainable approach, Alex ultimately sold his agency in a deal keeping him on as an equity partner. The arrangement promised relief from the administrative and management duties he disliked, allowing him to focus solely on sales. Post-Sale Breakdown: Cashflow Issues and Not Making Payroll The first weeks post-sale were great for Alex. He finally had time for himself and even went on a skiing trip with some friends. However, eight months later, the reality of balancing multiple roles began to take its toll. Juggling his sales responsibilities, equity partnership duties, and technical operations proved far more challenging than he had anticipated. Around this time, Alex and his partners discovered a critical issue: their invoicing process had completely broken down, resulting in six months of unpaid invoices, an oversight that left them without the funds to pay their 25 employees. With no money to cover payroll, Alex was forced to take out a high-interest loan, a decision that weighed heavily on him and his family. It became clear that not everything was going as well as he'd initially hoped. After this, Alex and the other partners reached the conclusion that there were some aspects of running the business in which they just didn't agree. Why Clarity is Key: Growing 5x in Four Years The heart-to-heart with his partners culminated in an offer to buy back his agency. Under the terms of the deal, his partners would retain his equity and any new clients acquired during that year, while Alex regained his previous clients and rights to the Ninestone name. Though he restarted with only half the business he had before the partnership, Alex viewed it as a fresh start. Four years later, his agency had grown to five times its size at the time of the split. This period was a lesson in humility and forced Alex to confront the reality of his situation and acknowledge that he didn't have all the answers. It also underscored the inherent uncertainty of the entrepreneurial journey—a reality he had to embrace rather than resist. Furthermore, the experience taught Alex an important lesson about having clarity as you start to build your business. Do you want to be a consultant working only with contractors and never having to build a team? Or do you want to build a business that you can sell in the future? The pathway is different; the mentality and systems are different for each approach. Once he committed to a clear direction, he Alex understood he needed to surround himself with experts. The founder does not need to do it all and be a lone wolf. Instead, being part of a pack brought him much more joy and helped him grow much more than he'd expected. Embracing Collaboration and Uncertainty to Unlock Your Agency's Potential What's the biggest bottleneck holding your agency back at the moment? As Alex learned with experience, he had been the bottleneck stifling his agency's growth by trying to juggle multiple responsibilities without a clear delineation. During his second run with the agency, he knew that as the visionary leader, he needed an integrator that would handle operations, freeing him up to focus on sales. By collaborating with others and delegating tasks according to expertise, owners can focus on their strengths, ultimately leading to a more efficient and successful operation. Basically, Alex figured out where he wanted to go and who he needed to hire to get there. Ultimately, the journey of building a business is not just about reaching a destination but about embracing the process as an ongoing experiment. Adopting a mindset that values experimentation and collaboration can lead to both personal fulfillment and professional success. Entrepreneurship is inherently uncertain. However by acknowledging this, you can cultivate a culture of innovation within your team, encouraging creative problem-solving and the exploration of new ideas. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Sermon Notes: GALATIANS…THE GOSPEL OF GRACE…WHICH GIVES US FREEDOM THROUGH FAITH…TO BRING GLORY TO GOD! QUIT STRADDLING THE IMAGINARY FENCE…THERE IS NO FENCE! Galatians 5:16-26 NLT So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. [17] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. [18] But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. [19] When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, [21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [22] But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. [25] Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. [26] Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. GET YOUR EYES BACK ON JESUS…AND OFF OF YOU…AND WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN DO Galatians 3:1-7 AMPC O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom-right before your very eyes-Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified? [2] Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] [3] Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh? [4] Have you suffered so many things and experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)-if it really is to no purpose and in vain? [5] Then does He Who supplies you with His marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that you heard? [6] Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action). [7] Know and understand that it is [really] the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham. QUIT STRADDLING THE IMAGINARY FENCE…THERE IS NO FENCE! GET YOUR EYES BACK ON JESUS…AND OFF OF YOU…AND WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THE GOSPEL OF GRACE…GIVES US FREEDOM THROUGH FAITH…TO BRING GLORY TO GOD!

A professional photographer from St. John's points his journalistic lens at a spot on the 49th parallel...where people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border live in each other's pocket. (Krissy Holmes with Greg Locke)

Can you follow The Freedom Model while attending AA/NA for community? Mark & Michelle discuss balancing autonomy with healthy relationships.

GOOD EVENING: TONIGHT SPECIAL EDITION: HUGHES FIRE: North of Santa Clarita straddling the 5 Freeway. #PacificWatch:  Moving fast.  @JCBliss 1952 Kings Canyon National Forest fire. CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR 9:00-9:15 #Ukraine: Friedrich Merz to Kyiv Colonel Jeff McCausland, USA (retired) @mccauslj @CBSNews @dickinsoncol 9:15-9:30 #GAZA: Doubts of the Ceasefire Colonel Jeff McCausland, USA (retired) 9:30-9:45 #Tariffs: Tax Net not Gross John Cochrane, Hoover Institution 9:45-10:00 #Social Security: 70 is the new 50 & What is to be done? John Cochrane, Hoover Institution SECOND HOUR 10:00-10:15 #BERLIN: Macron and Scholz in Paris is old Europe Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin 10:15-10:30 #BERLIN: Many in the CDU supports Ukraine Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Endowment 10:30-10:45 #POTUS: Biden and the Pardon Power @AndrewCMcCarthy @NRO @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness 10:45-11:00 #POTUS: Releasing Peltier @AndrewCMcCarthy @NRO @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness THIRD HOUR 11:00-11:30 #NewWorldReport: Mexico and Trump Administration demands Professor Evan Ellis, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute @revanellis #NewWorldReportEllis 11:30-11:45 #NewWorldReport: Panama and China 11:45-12:00 #NewWorldReport: Marco Rubio to State FOURTH HOUR 12:00-12:15 #Russia: The price of oil is Russia's weakness Michael Bernstam, Hoover Institution 12:15-12:30 #France: Starmer's failure to lead Simon Constable, Occitanie 12:30-12:45 #FAA: Politely to SpaceX and Blue Origin Bob Zimmerman, BehindtheBlack.com 12:45-1:00 #MARS: Perseverance on the summit of Gale Crater

Straddling two oceans and boasting some of the most biodiverse terrain on Earth, Costa Rica is a country that takes its natural wonders seriously – perhaps too seriously. While the rest of the world was building armies, Costa Rica was busy abolishing its military and redirecting funds to education and conservation. The result? A nation so environmentally conscious it makes Greta Thunberg look like an oil baron, and so peaceful it's regularly crowned the happiest country in Latin America.Love the pod? Get the guide! Out with each new podcast, we publish a guide to the country. Buy the TrodPod guide to Costa Rica for just $3: https://www.patreon.com/TrodPod/shop/trodpod-28-guide-to-costa-rica-911460. Better yet, become a TrodPod member for just $5 a month and access TrodPod guides to every country in the world, released weekly with each new podcast episode! Sign up now: https://www.patreon.com/trodpod/membershipThanks for all your support!TrodPod is Murray Garrard and Elle Keymer. Sound editing by Leo Audio Productions. Design and marketing by GPS: Garrard Powell Solutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textIn Episode 41 of the podcast we return to Hokkaido and onto its most famous volcanoes as I chat with Chuck Olbery of Hokkaido Powder Guides. Operating for 20 years, Hokkaido Powder Guides offers backcountry, free and customised tours across Japan's northern island including touring of its most prominent volcanoes – including Mount Yotei, Mount Tokachi, Mount Asahidake and Mount Rishiri.Straddling the Pacific Ring of Fire, - the 40,000 km / 25,000 mi long tectonic belt rings the Pacific Ocean – Japan is the world's most seismically-active country while also home to many active volcanoes. Volcanoes have long played an important role in Japan's history and cultural fabric, and for that reason, I see real value in experiences that take us into those living landscapes. Chuck advocates wonderfully that experience.For more information, visit the Hokkaido Powder Guides website and you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube - you'll find images and videos across those platforms including some very nice videos featuring Chuck on the HPG YouTube channel. You might also be interested in previous episodes related to Hokkaido including: EP40. Iwanai, Hokkaido: Japan's Best Cat Skiing & Snowboarding Mountain, EP25. Daisetsuzan: Japan's Largest National Park and EP23. The God Bears of Northern Japan. I hope you enjoy.Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.

Michigan Rock Vocal/bassist/songwriter legend Al Jacquez is no stranger to the music business. Straddling the comforts of positivity post-Savage Grace (which formed out of The Scarlet Letter), Jacquez looks back in fondness and care at the legend that Warner Brothers once held high on its record label. Jacquez maintained the rougher elements of the final years of the band and the reunion album that was released nearly 20 years ago helped cement credibility, friendships, and the magic that the group once had. They released Savage Grace I, II and in 2006 a reunion album (III) called One Night In America.    Still at the top of the vocal game, Jacquez performed as a member of the Dick Wagner Band during Wagner's final touring years and has continued to sing the songs he was known for from the late '60s and early '70s, amongst many others. Always surrounded with great guitar partners, Jacquez still touts Savage Grace partner Ron Koss as a favorite, as well as Silver Bullet Band's Drew Abbott, whom he plays with on occasion. Jacquez was inducted with Savage Grace into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2021 and performed in Bay City the day after taping this historical podcast at the MMHP Dunlop Songwriters Stage.  Al offers up live songs, the move back to Michigan, backstory on the reunion album, the abundance of his faith, the loss of Ron Koss and why his voice continues to be his most important tool--all here in Part 2 of 2. Dig in...

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican global icon known for his innovative contributions to Latin trap and reggaeton, has continuously expanded his influence beyond music. Straddling various facets of entertainment and culture, Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has captured worldwide attention with his unique style, poignant lyrics, and trailblazing endeavors.Since emerging onto the music scene, Bad Bunny has been recognized for his genre-defying sounds and eclectic visuals that challenge traditional norms. Hits like "Soy Peor," "Dakiti," and "Yonaguni" have charted internationally, earning him a dedicated fanbase that spans the globe.Bad Bunny recently returned to the music limelight with a project featuring a new single, "Un Preview," an infectious track that's resonating widely with fans. This release comes after his acclaimed 2022 album "Un Verano Sin Ti," which dominated charts and continues to accumulate streams worldwide. The album reflects his ability to consistently produce crowd-pleasers while exploring new artistic territories. Moreover, Bad Bunny's influence extends into fashion and media. Known for his bold fashion statements, he often merges music with style. This dynamic reach into the fashion world has seen him collaborating with major brands, contributing to his role as a cultural icon. His style choices often send messages on social issues, as seen in his androgynous clothing choices that confront gender norms, advocating for broader acceptance and inclusivity.In the realm of media, Bad Bunny has showcased his multifaceted talent through acting. In 2022, he made headlines for his role in the action film "Bullet Train" alongside Brad Pitt, highlighting his transition into Hollywood and broadening his artistic horizons.Bad Bunny's continued rise in the entertainment industry mirrors the surging popularity of Latin music worldwide. Dominating streaming platforms and consistently filling venues, his success also highlights the growing recognition and celebration of Latinx culture across different media.

In this bonus episode, I reflect on a powerful conversation with Barb Higgins, who has faced numerous life challenges, including the tragic loss of her daughter. Barb's journey is a testament to resilience and finding meaning in grief. She emphasizes that while our experiences shape us, they do not solely define us. She shares how she maintains her joyful spirit despite the hardships, even describing herself as a "wrinkly kid" at heart. This is my little episode to convince you to listen to Barb's full story on The Life Shift - https://www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/s3e159.Takeaways:Life experiences, even traumatic ones, can shape us without solely defining our identities. Barb's story illustrates the power of authentic storytelling in connecting with others. Embracing both joy and sorrow allows us to live more fully despite past traumas. The significance of community and support in overcoming life's toughest moments is paramount. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Barb Higgins shares a deeply moving and raw story about the loss of her daughter, Molly, an experience that transformed her life in unimaginable ways. The conversation explores the complexities of grief, addiction, and the journey toward healing after such a profound loss. Barb candidly discusses her struggles with substance use as a coping mechanism and how she navigated the tumultuous emotions that followed Molly's death. As she reflects on her experiences, Barb emphasizes the importance of allowing oneself to feel and process pain without judgment. The episode concludes with a message of hope and resilience, highlighting that even in the darkest moments, there are pathways to new beginnings and personal growth.Takeaways: Life is a balance of joy and sorrow, and both can coexist simultaneously. Straddling life's challenges can feel like being on a picket fence, with highs and lows. The journey through grief can lead to unexpected paths and new beginnings. Coping mechanisms, even unhealthy ones, emerge as we try to handle trauma. The importance of sharing stories lies in connecting with others who have similar experiences. Transformation often arises from our darkest moments, leading us to new perspectives. Barb Higgins is a dedicated educator, coach, and author committed to inspiring others through her personal experiences. Her journey from overcoming childhood trauma to becoming a published author highlights her resilience and passion for personal growth. Barb's work in education and athletics continues to empower individuals to pursue their own paths of healing and transformation.Connect with Barb Higgins:www.athousandtinysteps.comwww.mollybfoundation.orgResources: To listen in on more conversations about pivotal moments that changed lives forever, subscribe to "The Life Shift" on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate the show 5 stars and leave a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Access ad-free episodes released two days early and bonus episodes with past guests through Patreon.https://patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcastConnect with me:Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelifeshiftpodcastFacebook: www.facebook.com/thelifeshiftpodcastYouTube: https://bit.ly/thelifeshift_youtubeTwitter: www.twitter.com/thelifeshiftpodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifeshiftpodcastWebsite: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Some podcast apps may not display links from our show notes properly, so we have included a list of links at the end of this description. * What role does dominant culture play in how we experience the sensations, thoughts, feelings, and deeper existential mysteries of our bodies? Dr. Roger Kuhn, a Poarch Creek Two-Spirit Indigequeer activist, artist, sex therapist, and somacultural theorist, believes that Two-Spirit people hold a unique and valuable perspective. Straddling colonial imposition and tribal significance, Two-Spirit identity offers a powerful decolonizing framework to achieve freedom and navigate the toxic systems of domination that impose upon the precious truth of who we are. * In this episode, Dr. Kuhn is joined by queer nonbinary therapist and mediator Jay Tzvia Helfand for a conversation illuminating the ways our bodies offer portals to our own liberation and how viewing our bodies through a somacultural lens can help us better understand how dominant culture informs and, all too often, misinforms our relationship to our bodies. * Dr. Kuhn discusses his latest book, Somacultural Liberation, based on his revolutionary mode of inquiry, Somacultural Liberation, an embodied practice that helps people connect with the intersections of their identity. Dr. Kuhn's approach illuminates the full impact of our cultural reality in shaping both our individual and shared sense of self. * This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 20th, 2024. You can also watch it on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube channel. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. To find out more about CIIS and public programs like this one, visit our website ciis.edu and connect with us on social media @ciispubprograms. * We hope that each episode of our podcast provides opportunities for growth, and that our listeners will use them as a starting point for further introspection. Many of the topics discussed on our podcast have the potential to bring up feelings and emotional responses. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health care and support, here are some resources to find immediate help and future healing: * -Visit 988lifeline.org or text, call, or chat with The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 from anywhere in the U.S. to be connected immediately with a trained counselor. Please note that 988 staff are required to take all action necessary to secure the safety of a caller and initiate emergency response with or without the caller's consent if they are unwilling or unable to take action on their own behalf. * -Visit thrivelifeline.org or text “THRIVE” to begin a conversation with a THRIVE Lifeline crisis responder 24/7/365, from anywhere: +1.313.662.8209. This confidential text line is available for individuals 18+ and is staffed by people in STEMM with marginalized identities. * -Visit translifeline.org or call (877) 565-8860 in the U.S. or (877) 330-6366 in Canada to learn more and contact Trans Lifeline, who provides trans peer support divested from police. * -Visit ciis.edu/ciis-in-the-world/counseling-clinics to learn more and schedule counseling sessions at one of our centers. * -Find information about additional global helplines at befrienders.org. * LINKS * Podcast Transcripts: https://www.ciispod.com/ * California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) Website: https://www.ciis.edu/ * CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ciispublicprograms * CIIS Public Programs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciispubprograms/ * Mental Health Care and Support Resources: https://988lifeline.org/ https://thrivelifeline.org/ https://translifeline.org/ https://www.ciis.edu/ciis-in-the-world/counseling-clinics https://befrienders.org/

Straddling your yesterdays and anticipating your tomorrows while being present for your today takes a particular set of skills. It is important that you make time to be grateful for the experiences that you've had as they often impact your plans and goals for the future.

Michigan Rock Vocal/bassist/songwriter legend Al Jacquez is no stranger to the music business. Straddling the comforts of positivity post-Savage Grace (which formed out of The Scarlet Letter), Jacquez looks back in fondness and care at the legend that Warner Brothers once held high on its record label. Jacquez maintained the rougher elements of the final years of the band and the reunion album that was released nearly 20 years ago helped cement credibility, friendships, and the magic that the group once had. They released Savage Grace I, II and in 2006 a reunion album (III) called One Night In America.    Still at the top of the vocal game, Jacquez performed as a member of the Dick Wagner Band during Wagner's final touring years and has continued to sing the songs he was known for from the late '60s and early '70s, amongst many others. Always surrounded with great guitar partners, Jacquez still touts Savage Grace partner Ron Koss as a favorite, as well as Silver Bullet Band's Drew Abbott, whom he plays with on occasion. Jacquez was inducted with Savage Grace into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2021 and performed in Bay City the day after taping this historical podcast at the MMHP Dunlop Songwriters Stage.    So Come On Down, tune in and get ready to hear this epic story, that continues to this day. Part one of two, served up HOT...hit PLAY

In the last chapter of the Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, an angel shows John a vision of the water of life flowing from God's throne. Straddling the river is the tree of life producing fruit for all creation and the leaves that come from the tree of life are for the healing of all the nations. We live in a world that is both beautiful and hurting. As we enter this giving season, we remember that our giving is for the purpose of healing. On each Sunday, we will explore how God calls us to be like leaves from the tree of life for the healing and transformation of the world. Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 55:1-5. Support the showContact Village Presbyterian Churchvillagepres.orgcommunications@villagepres.org913-262-4200Have a prayer request? pastoral-care@villagepres.orgFacebook @villagepresInstagram @villagepreschurchYouTube @villagepresbyterianchurchTo join in the mission and ministry of Village Church, go to villagepres.org/giving

Lori Michele Leavitt is the Founder of LML Services, a collaborative group of independent thought leaders and experts who serve various industries. She is also the Founder and President of Abrige Corp, which offers the Aligned Momentum (A.M)® program and software to help managers lead. Widely recognized as The Pivot Catalyst, Lori has coached, consulted, and trained hundreds of global leaders to achieve their objectives and generate momentum. She speaks globally about catalyzing momentum, leading, pivoting, and workplace culture change. Lori also leads the 10x!® business and leadership private peer advisory groups. As an author, she wrote The Pivot and Pivot to Clarity. In this episode… Organizational change is necessary to kickstart and sustain growth, but resistance from leaders and other changemakers can impede progress and create friction. How can you instruct your team to adapt and pivot during challenges? Leadership catalyst Lori Michele Leavitt believes in fostering a vibrant workplace and business, which entails future-proofing your team and company by maintaining high value. She encourages leaders to identify and recognize the fear surrounding change and create a safe space to work through those fears and foster trust. By aligning progress with your end goals and pivoting in response to setbacks, you can build a resilient and change-ready organization. In today's episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston chats with Lori Michele Leavitt, the Founder of LML Services, about adaptable leadership. Lori talks about cultivating an organizational mindset that anticipates change, her 10x!® peer advisory group, and how to align your momentum.

In the last chapter of the Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, an angel shows John a vision of the water of life flowing from God's throne. Straddling the river is the tree of life producing fruit for all creation and the leaves that come from the tree of life are for the healing of all the nations. We live in a world that is both beautiful and hurting. As we enter this giving season, we remember that our giving is for the purpose of healing. On each Sunday, we will explore how God calls us to be like leaves from the tree of life for the healing and transformation of the world.Sermon preached at Village Church Mission Campus on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. Our scripture reading today is Galatians 5:16-23.To join in the mission and ministry of Village Church, go to villagepres.org/giving. Support the showContact Village Presbyterian Churchvillagepres.orgcommunications@villagepres.org913-262-4200Have a prayer request? pastoral-care@villagepres.orgFacebook @villagepresInstagram @villagepreschurchYouTube @villagepresbyterianchurchTo join in the mission and ministry of Village Church, go to villagepres.org/giving

Falen and Jenny discuss the Brianna Chickenfry situation with Zach Bryan, Jenny's trip back home, the new book Falen read that can help with creatives and more! Thank you for listening! 

In the last chapter of the Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, an angel shows John a vision of the water of life flowing from God's throne. Straddling the river is the tree of life producing fruit for all creation and the leaves that come from the tree of life are for the healing of all the nations. We live in a world that is both beautiful and hurting. As we enter this giving season, we remember that our giving is for the purpose of healing. On each Sunday, we will explore how God calls us to be like leaves from the tree of life for the healing and transformation of the world.Our scripture reading is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Support the showContact Village Presbyterian Churchvillagepres.orgcommunications@villagepres.org913-262-4200Have a prayer request? pastoral-care@villagepres.orgFacebook @villagepresInstagram @villagepreschurchYouTube @villagepresbyterianchurchTo join in the mission and ministry of Village Church, go to villagepres.org/giving

In the last chapter of the Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, an angel shows John a vision of the water of life flowing from God's throne. Straddling the river is the tree of life producing fruit for all creation and the leaves that come from the tree of life are for the healing of all the nations. We live in a world that is both beautiful and hurting. As we enter this giving season, we remember that our giving is for the purpose of healing. On each Sunday, we will explore how God calls us to be like leaves from the tree of life for the healing and transformation of the world.Today is All Saint's Day, where we honor those loved ones who have gone before us in the prior year and give thanks for our Gifts of Remembering. Our scripture reading is Philippians 1:3-11. Support the showContact Village Presbyterian Churchvillagepres.orgcommunications@villagepres.org913-262-4200Have a prayer request? pastoral-care@villagepres.orgFacebook @villagepresInstagram @villagepreschurchYouTube @villagepresbyterianchurchTo join in the mission and ministry of Village Church, go to villagepres.org/giving

Send us a textLet's delve into the danger of a divided heart by examining the story of Solomon—a man of immense wealth, wisdom, and dangerously divided devotion. If you struggle with staying true to your path while facing life's many choices, this episode is for you.

In this powerful episode of The Professional Homegirl Podcast, Eboné engages with a guest who shares his transformative journey through race, identity, and forgiveness in a divided America. Straddling both Black and white worlds, he opens up about the challenges he faced in reconciling his identity, particularly after learning that his mother was white and struggled with mental illness. This discovery deepened his insight into family dynamics and significantly impacted his experiences with racism, paving the way for his journey toward self-acceptance. As he seeks healing, Eboné's guest encounters the haunting presence of his grandfather's ghost—a man who initially rejected him at birth. This surprising spiritual connection forces him to confront lingering feelings of abandonment and rejection, ultimately leading him toward profound forgiveness and reconciliation. Join Eboné and her guest for a conversation that challenges perceptions, explores the nuances of race, and taps into the spiritual realm as a powerful force for healing. Connect with Eboné: Donate Turkey HERE Buy Eboné A Gift: Shop Now Eboné PHG Storefront: Shop Now Read Eboné's Love Letters: www.theyalltheone.com  Website: www.thephgpodcast.com Instagram: @theprofessionalhomegirl & @thephgpodcast TikTok & Twitter: @theprofessionalhomegirl  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theprofessionalhomegirl Email: hello@thephgpodcast.com Shop PHG: https://www.thephgpodcast.com/shopSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sensual Summit February 16-19, 2025 in Los Cabos: click here for details Start Here: Here is the link to join the SoulWork Onboarding Welcome Video!  Go get onboarded for Adi Shakti's 99 Day Magical Mystery Tour for the chance to win prizes and retreats: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-FuuGMumcc/ Here is the link to join the SEEKER Membership for FREE. —--- ✨ The Power of Being a Preserving Innovator: Bridging Ancient Wisdom and Modern Relevance As I journey deeper into the soul work that guides my path, I've come to understand the delicate dance of being a Preserving Innovator—honoring the sacred lineage of the teachings that fill my life with meaning while making them accessible for today's world. This path is a unique blend of respecting tradition and infusing it with modern insights, creating a bridge that allows wisdom to flow from past to present with authenticity and resonance.

Every year, an average of four planes and twenty boats vanish in this notorious area. Straddling the line between legend and reality, the Bermuda Triangle has inspired countless adventure novels and films, continuing to captivate the public's imagination. This vast region spans approximately 500,000 square kilometres, situated between Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Bermuda archipelago. How did the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle come about? Why is this area so high-risk? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: Where does the myth of the Loch Ness Monster come from? Why do we consider Friday 13th unlucky? Are women really more emotional than men? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and realised by Amber Minogue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have signed an agreement with new terms for the co-development of offshore Block 14, according to local media. Straddling the maritime border between Angola and the DRC, Block 14 boasts a production capacity of 3.29 million barrels of oil per year. The agreement was signed Wednesday in Angola's capital, Luanda. For more on this deal, VOA's Douglas Mpuga reached political analyst David Monda

Straddling the line between outsider artist and full fledged Hollywood sellout, Will Janowitz has always found solace working both sides of the industry. With work ranging from Troma films to Ang Lee's “Taking Woodstock” to “The Sopranos,” he's made a career of always doing the unpredictable. This year two films he produced, and one he wrote, will make their festival run; “Bang Bang” starring Tim Blake Nelson and the later, “Train Dreams,” starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones directed by Clint Bently. On this episode he talks about his improvisational sweet spot and how it rests in the heart of danger and risk, brings us back to his beginnings at UNCSA and the reasons why that school didn't work so well for him, charts his own journey discovering his way into the craft, tells some hilarious and relatable audition stories, plus an eye opening one from the other side of the table, and much more. Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from  Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

As we travel over 3 continents in search of international understanding, connection, and peace, our guest is Daniel Mamah, and he is the author of As The Rivers Merge: A Story of Love, War, and Perseverance Across Continents. Daniel & his siblings were raised between their mother's Hungary, their father's Nigeria, and in a couple other countries, with all the intricacies of attitudes, culture, and history that result in the face of major differences of perspective.

In this powerful Q&A session, Dr. Finlayson-Fife took questions from her audience about indecision / straddling. The discussion that followed was a beautiful exploration of vulnerability, fear, finitude, and the importance of claiming our choices in life and in marriage.

In part 1 we talked about a Medscape Today article that reader Antoni sent me about weight stigma in healthcare called “Weight Stigma is Bad Medicine.” The author, Mengyi (Zed) Zha, MD made important points about weight stigma, some of which aren't often aren't made. So there's a lot of good in the article, which I appreciate.What Dr. Zha has written is brave (and she will undoubtedly get criticism from those who implicit or explicit anti-fat bias drives their thoughts about and interactions with higher-weight people.) I'm beyond grateful that she wrote this articleThat doesn't mean I'm not going to push farther, though, because there is more to the journey here to reduce the harm done to higher-weight people by the healthcare system and the providers within it.So there are some issues with the article that I want to discuss. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

Today, we hear from Laura van den Berg whose latest novel, STATE OF PARADISE, will be released on July 9. We're talking to Laura about writing a book that combines autofiction and speculative fiction and what to do when another novel you're writing is asking for attention.Watch a recording here. This audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.To find van den Berg's debut and many other books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. Laura van den Berg was born and raised in Florida. She is the author of five works of fiction, including The Third Hotel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018), a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, and I Hold a Wolf by the Ears (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020), which was one of Time Magazine's 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020. She is the recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, and a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her next two novels, State of Paradise and Ring of Night, are forthcoming from FSG in 2024 and 2026. She is the author of two previous story collections, The Isle of Youth (FSG, 2013) and What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us (Dzanc Books, 2009), and the novel Find Me (FSG, 2015). She is currently a Senior Lecturer on Fiction at Harvard University. Laura lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, the writer Paul Yoon, and their dog, Oscar.Photo by Paul Yoon This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Welcome to the premiere "Album Dive" bonus episode: a way to hear the stories behind the songs from a specific album that have made, or will soon make, our collective mixtapes & playlists! On this "Album Dive" episode, I am joined by modern soul artist Wolfgang Valbrun to dig into the stories behind several songs from his debut album “Flawed By Design,” which was released in May via Jalapeno Records. Straddling the lines between soul, rock and blues, Wolfgang provides introspective insights through raw unapologetic lyrics, married with the incredible musicianship of his band. Some of the songs we discuss include: Sun Don't Shine, Love Yourself, Keep Your Head Up, I'll Be Your Prey, Paris, Flawed By Design & Almighty $$. We also talk about the importance of physical media vs. streaming, as well as the current state of soul music.  Be sure to visit http://www.MyWeeklyMixtape.com to hear all of the songs we discussed in this episode, and join the My Weekly Mixtape Discord Server via the link on the episode page! FOR MORE ON MY WEEKLY MIXTAPE Website: http://www.myweeklymixtape.com  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/myweeklymixtape  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/myweeklymixtape  Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/myweeklymixtape  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myweeklymixtape  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@myweeklymixtape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tune in to learn:Make your business strategy a data strategy  (3:10)‘Cover my back' approaches (09:00)Straddling risks in data and business (11:28)Learnings from implementing myGPT (16:18) Activating your organization's collective genius (24:05)Creating the right processes and culture to breed AI success (31:00) The current state of AI regulation (38:35) Key Quotes: “You can have an AI strategy without a data strategy or without a business strategy, but it will not help you much. So your data strategy is your business strategy and vice versa. (04:42).“I would say we started with the collective genius or activating the collective genius. What we wanted to do is enable everybody to try things out and tell us what has the highest opportunity and possibility” (25:46)“We're now slowly going into a paradigm shift where we go away from more reports, from more dashboards, and into what's important for me to know today. I don't want to go through 200 dashboards in three different technologies. The one thing that I want is an intelligent model that has access to all of my data and tells me, well, there's five KPIs you should have a look at. Maybe it's a data quality problem. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's just a deferred invoice or whatever. But maybe it's something that needs your attention and you should now get active on it.” (30:26)“I think AI is a wonderful technology. I think it has a lot of potential upside. It has the high risk of being misunderstood and overestimated. But honestly, you can't blame it on technology. Often, that's part of the history of large organizations. It's not always the technology, it's the adoption of the technology. And this has a lot to do with maturity of the workforce, maturity of the organization, processes, culture. So you can bring the best technology in the world, but if you don't have fertile ground, if you don't have the right people on the ground that make sure that your workforce understands it and also that your processes are adjusted accordingly, then the technology will fail” (34:05)“My dream is that you don't need me anymore because I'm a transformational leader. And when everybody in this organization breathes data, breathes AI and applies it every single day, then my task is done, then you don't need me anymore. I still have a few days.” (38:00)Mentions: Bring Your Own DocumentsLangdockSnowflake Gary MarcusKoshari RecipeBio: Walid is Chief Data & AI Officer at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where he leads the company's Data & AI organization, delivering value, governance, architecture, engineering, and operations across the company globally. With many years experience in startups, IT, and consulting major corporations, Walid encompasses a strong understanding of the intersection between business and technology. Born in Egypt and raised in three different states in Germany, Walid celebrates his multicultural background and leverages it to inform his commitment to DE&I. As a father of two amazing daughters, he advocates for a more equal workplace to ensure a better future for the next generation. Walid strives to be the best ally he can be, making these values the cornerstone of his leadership approach. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Tonight, we'll read a section from “At Home In the Smokies”, a History Handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park produced by the National Park Service and written by Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely. The Great Smoky Mountains, a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, are renowned for their breathtaking beauty and rich history. Straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, they boast the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States. This majestic area draws millions of visitors each year with its ancient mountains, diverse ecosystems, and vibrant display of wildflowers, which bloom year-round. The Smokies are named for the natural fog that often hangs over the range, appearing as large smoke plumes from a distance. This mist is caused by vegetation exhaling volatile organic compounds, a phenomenon that adds to the mystical quality of the landscape. For tonight's selection we'll be reading the section titled “Birth of a Park” — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices