Thanks for your reply. I'm sincerely sorry things turned out like they did. Good for you for not tolerating abuse. No one deserves to be disrespected.

With your love for travel and talent for writing, why not pour your creative energy in that direction? Have you read any of David Sedaris' work?

HHNC, buddy, I am glad to see you survived both your first flight and a breakup. Now you can understand the first rule of online hook-ups-- seven words of wisdom:

Long distance relationships just don't work out.

Believe me, I know. And indirectly you just learned the first rule of pleasure travel:

Always go somewhere that will engage you, since the person that may be there with you may not.

So your next trip needs to be somewhere cool and worth your time. Why not choose haunted places in the US and do some research? Say, New England? Or maybe, if you feel like some nice dry sun, the haunted places of southern California (Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe both haunt the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel for some reason)? Make yourself happy. And if you're going to have someone at your destination, make sure it's <b>some</b>body, not just some<b>body</b>. Ya know?

Thanks everyone for your support and kind words. I found out I do indeed like to fly and would love to do it again some time, especially if I can fly there direct from Asheville or can connect in Charlotte because both airports are extremely user-friendly.

Granted, flying from Asheville you can only go to the following places: Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Cincinnati, New York, Houston, and Detroit. But, we're angling for flights to Chicago, Washington DC, and Miami so perhaps in a few years I can broaden my horizon.

...

...rjw_lgb_ca, as much as I love my city -- and God, don't you know it by how I ramble on about it sometimes, this is one time I'll tell you to count your blessings for living where you do. I know that long distance relationships have a slim to none chance of working out, but they're really my only option. After all, ordinarily a gay man, which I am, wouldn't have any trouble at all finding a date or a husband in Asheville.

But... when you're really only strongly attracted to African-American men, as I am, and when you have HIV, as I do, then boom... you're pretty much lowered the limbo bar that there are very, very few people anywhere and next to none in Asheville who are willing to try to shimmy under.

So that leaves me with whoever will pay attention to me, wherever they are.. and it leaves me with really high long distance bills.

Sigh. I think I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

haunted, my heart goes out to you, I hope you find what you are looking for.

Yeah, HHNC, chin up. You gotta keep trying and keep a good attitude-- good things come when you least expect them. Believe me, I know <b>that</b> very well!! :)

hhnc: Every time your plane &quot;plummeted&quot;? Good grief! You must just have bad luck. I'm not exactly a frequent flyer, but I've flown maybe 50 times in the last 10 years, and I've never had a plane &quot;plummet&quot;! We did go through a storm once that nearly shook our brains out of our heads. (Think of the chocolate milk ads on TV.) A friend who flies frequently told me a plane will hit an air pocket and &quot;fall&quot; sometimes, and everything loose in the plane will slide. You must have been really freaked out!

Donna

**HUGS** It gets better haunted

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the concern... I know things get better but it's hard to see the light when you're in that blue-black funk of a relationship's aftermath.

Just gotta keep trying, you know? At the moment I'm investigating the possibilities in Greenville-Spartanburg, the nearest metro area to Asheville with a sizeable population of eligible black bachelors. Hopefully I'll sweep one off his feet and he'll see the light and realize that Asheville is the center of the known universe... but til then you all know what that means...

ROADTRIP!