While the people you will most likely run into between the farmer's market and the business district of Kelson City are as regular as any Tom, Dick and Harry, the capital of Mylon County will attest to the fact that the relationships of her people are anything but.Thomas Keenan had all the miseries of the human condition figured out long before he was old enough to drive. Abandoned at a young age of 3, he spared no time in growing up in Charles Clementine, a humble orphanage run by Dr. Rose Morris. His self-reliance earned him a comfortable adult life, however, it had also hardened his core, keeping everyone at arm's length. His life finally started to turn for the better when he ran into Jerry, an old classmate who worked part time as a security guard at the local library.Richard came to the world knowing he was unwanted. Having been given up at birth, the only people he could rely on were his best friend Tom, Dr. Morris, and her husband Cody Lewis, who stood by Richard relentlessly like a father. Richard's lifelong attempt to deny his feelings for Tom was further complicated when Jerry came into Tom's life. Jerry was able to fulfill Tom's needs as a lover and a friend, and it threatened what little connection Richard had with the man he spent his whole life trying to fall out of love with.Harry Lincoln was born fully-grown, for he has no memory of the days before he woke up in a small hospital in West Virginia. But against all odds, he managed to find his way in life, and ended up a nurse working for Dr. Morris. The crush he developed for Richard was almost instantaneous, and as the natural magnetism of Richard's tender personality caused his hormones to surge out of control, it threatened to expose something sinister from Harry's forgotten past.Tom, Dick & Harry chronicles how the most unexpected of circumstances brought three strangers in Kelson City together, and although the stark differences of their personalities seem like a perfect recipe for chaos, what little they do have in common are the very things that keep their lives forever intertwined.
From the early days of the Christian faith, the relationship between the twin realities of Jesus' historical particularity and universal presence has been a theological puzzle. The apparent dichotomy of the two leads Christ-followers to ponder some difficult questions: Who is Jesus is to those who do not know him? Who are those who do not know him to those who do? Do "we" who follow Jesus meet him in "those" who do not?Contemporary debates concerning Christian theology of religions have been profoundly shaped by Alan Race's threefold typology of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism. Scholars increasingly recognize the insufficiency of this typology, and a consensus about how to replace it remains elusive. With The Unique and Universal Christ, Drew Collins argues that an alternative theological approach to the relation between the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the universality of God's presence can be gleaned from the theology of Hans Frei and his fivefold typology of Christian theology. With Frei's model as an interpretive lens, Collins examines the various ecumenical movements of the twentieth century and their conversations around theological authority in connection to Christianity's relationship with other faith traditions. A new paradigm emerges for conceptualizing Christian faith amid the rich diversity of our world. Reconsidered in this light, the Christian theology of religions ceases to be a combative venture that pits a Christian faith committed to the scandalous particularity of Jesus Christ's identity as the Son of God against a faith open to the possibility of encountering the divine presence in the world at large. Instead, it becomes a mode of exploration, hoping for such encounters with the universal presence of Christ because of the uniqueness of Jesus.
On his first night renting a cottage on the Cornish coast, widower John Tennant comes face to face with, of all things, a grizzly bear. Fearing for his life, John tries to convince the animal he isn't worth eating, and is relieved when the bear ambles away. Maintenance man Mitch Benjamin is two hundred years old but doesn't look a day over forty. As a werebear, he needs to stay under the radar. The new renter is making that difficult. Not only is John attractive, but his vulnerability triggers all of Mitch's protective instincts. If that wasn't trouble enough, Mitch is struggling with his inner bear's desire to befriend John. He knows what his bear is up to, but Mitch doesn't want another mate. His last one was murdered ninety years ago, and he's still grieving. John is confused by Mitch's mixed signals. Physically, Mitch -- with his bulging muscles and hulking frame -- is a gay man's wet dream come true. But emotionally, he keeps closing down. John discovers more comfort with the magnificent grizzly bear he occasionally meets on his evening walks along the beach. In an effort to help, Morwenna, the owner of the cottages, uses her psychic gifts to give John a message from his dead lover, George. Far from helping, it adds another layer of strangeness to what's already turning out to be the strangest summer John can remember. Can a well-meaning medium and a determined grizzly bring John and Mitch together? Will Mitch come clean about his werebear nature? If he does, can John accept that a man and bear exist in the same body?
It was the summer of 2014, and it had been almost two years since Harry Lincoln left Mylon County. He was confident that he had overcome whatever turmoil his heart was battling, and was getting ready to move on with his life. But was he lying to himself?As Tom set out to find his elusive biological family for his upcoming nuptial with Richard, Harry found himself left alone with a man he knew he could not trust himself being around.To make things worse, ominous elements from Richard's past started surfacing just when the man was faced with the prospect of losing someone he held dear to his heart. Richard was left alone to fend for himself when he was at his weakest, and when Tom's return took an unexpected delay, Harry had to decide if he could risk losing control of his heart again to stand by a friend he loved beyond words.Had he found the strength he needed to fully break free from a man who had captured his heart so completely and still remained so close to him? Would he end up spending the rest of his life yearning for a heart that would never be his?
Two teen boys explore each other's bodies at the lake house one summer day... A straight college student engages in a bisexual threesome that evolves into man-on-man lovemaking... A gay college student is seduced by his curious, straight roommate... An afternoon of video games turns into a four-man sex romp... And more This collection of hardcore erotic short stories details the sexual explorations and awakenings of straight, bi-curious young men as they explore their sexuality with fellow straight men, gay friends, bisexual acquaintances and others. Acclaimed erotic author Drew Shadrot's hardcore gay erotics is now available for the first time in print These tales of hardcore gay erotica offer something for every fan of the genre...
Effectively manage Apple devices anywhere from a handful of Macs at one location to thousands of iPhones across many locations. This book is a comprehensive guide for supporting Mac and iOS devices in organizations of all sizes.You'll learn how to control a fleet of macOS clients using tools like Profile Manager, Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP), and Apple Remote Desktop. Then integrate your Mac clients into your existing Microsoft solutions for file sharing, print sharing, Exchange, and Active Directory authentication without having to deploy additional Mac-specific middle-ware or syncing between multiple directory services. Apple macOS and iOS System Administration shows how to automate the software installation and upgrade process using the open source Munki platform and provides a scripted out-of-the box experience for large scale deployments of macOS endpoints in any organization. Finally, you'll see how to provision and manage thousands of iOS devices in a standardized and secure fashion with device restrictions and over-the-air configuration. What You'll LearnIntegrate macOS and iOS clients into enterprise Microsoft environmentsUse Apple’s Volume Purchase Program to manage App installations and share pools of Apps across multiple usersMass deploy iOS devices with standard configurationsRemotely manage a fleet of macOS devices using Apple's Remote DesktopWho This Book Is ForSystem or desktop administrators in enterprise organizations who need to integrate macOS or iOS clients into their existing IT infrastructure or set-up a new infrastructure for an Apple environment from scratch.
When Kirkwood High School's integrated basketball team faced Raytown South's all white team in the 1972 Missouri Class L state basketball championship game there was more at stake than just a game. This is the true story of how the game drew Kirkwood's white and black players together enabling them to overcome society's mores and their disparate backgrounds to fashion a perfect 31-0 record going into the state final.In this gripping memoir, Drew Rogers, Kirkwood's All State center recounts growing up in the sixties when race riots and the Civil Rights movement dominated society and a group of athletes bonded together for the sake of the game. Rogers describes the simplicity of the game, a common thread that united this team and held it together in the face of "The Game", and its promoters who sought to politicize and commercialize events for the sake of money.His recount of those times is both humorous and sobering as he draws his readers in with childhood anecdotes, societal movements and dramatic game descriptions culminating in a state tournament showdown; city versus county, black versus white - an outcome determined by the final shot in a game described by onlookers as the greatest game in Missouri high school basketball history.Rogers' story is a candid look at change in the sixties and a moving introspective on racism and how the game contributed to change.
Simon Peters and his partner Mark Smith face a number of challenging life events in the fourth and final volume of this heart-warming saga. Because of his time working on the streets after being kicked out of home by his father, Mark worries he may have contracted HIV. Despite knowing the lack of treatment options if he were to test positive -- this is the late 1980's before the age of retro-viral drugs -- Mark is determined to know his fate. Things become complicated when Mark receives a letter from his father wanting to re-establish contact. Roy entering their lives presents further challenges, ones which ultimately threaten Simon and Mark's continued happiness. Gay teens Sam and Billy play an increasingly important part in Simon and Mark's lives, often regarding the older men as surrogate fathers/big brothers. Can this unconventional family pull together and become stronger, despite all the world has thrown at them?
Nobody likes bad customer service, as a customer you want to feel loved, and feel like you're being treated well, or at least fairly, by whatever company you are dealing with.Things go wrong however, thats a fact, we don't live in a perfect world and companies do make genuine mistakes. We have to live with that, but often they are things that could be avoided, and with a little thought on the side of the company you are dealing with, be more palatable for you as one of their customers. In this book, I'll explain how to complain effectively, or, if you dislike the word 'complain'; how to make a point, and receive something to make that pain a little better. I'll explain how to get as close to the top of a company as you need to get to obtain the result you want; I'll explain what to do, and how to do it, so that in the majority of cases you'll get something back from the company that broke your customer experience.But why should you take my advise? Well.. I've not only worked in customer service centres, I've also been the one doing the complaining on more than one occasion. People who know me have often asked how I get results, and how I've managed to get the gratuities or good will gestures I have from companies. For over 10 years I've followed a few key points when I've needed to complain to a company. In some of those cases the resulting outcome has been financial, 50 credited to my account, reversal of a charge, a gift voucher, a reduced bill, or obtaining an item for free. In other cases the result has been to fix the issue, and go beyond to provide the service that should have been provided initially. In all cases what I've obtained has made the pain of a company lets say, 'making some mistakes' a little easier to swallow.
Growing up with a single mother and a socially popular older brother, Charlie Strickland learned way too young just how ugly and shallow the world is, and how difficult it is for an average joe like himself to find someone to share his life with.In his attempts to honor his mother's dying wish, which was for him to find someone who could put up with all his quirks, Charlie inadvertently set his path in a collision course with Josh Norman. Josh was born with all the advantages Charlie lacked, but unlike Charlie, he was on a take-no-prisoner self-destruct course to oblivion.In a bizarre twist of fate, Charlie traded his life with Josh, and he has to use everything life has taught him to fight his way back to the people he loved. But luck wasn't on his side, as it hasn't been since the day he was born. As he struggled to hold onto the memories of the people he cherished the most, Charlie has to outsmart Josh, who was hell-bent on reclaiming his old life, outmaneuver Lee Preston, a trigger-happy career criminal who was looking to settle a score with Josh, but ultimately, he has to overcome his own negative outlook on the new life that fate has forced upon him.
