“

I’ve just been outside by the pool, marking papers through great force of effort. That redheaded guy was in the pool with (I assume) his girlfriend, and they were surprisingly friendly, telling me to jump in. I said I had too much work to do, and he said, “It’s Saturday night!”

“

No, it wasn’t just sex. Hell, I see a hundred better-looking guys every day. There was something between us; it hit me like a sneak punch when I first looked into his eyes.

“

Crad wrote that things are pretty rough in Toronto: The weather has been mild, but people here are shriveled up emotionally. They don’t smile the way they did before Xmas. And down in the financial district, they look really sick, mean and pathetic. I’ve been peddling ‘Hot Financial Stories’ with little success . . . During all of January I made about $129. Sometimes I feel like giving up.

“

The class seemed quiet until Benett and his friends started shrieking “Gay power!” and other chants I couldn’t make out. I went on with the punctuation lesson except for a comment about Tourette’s syndrome victims; Robbie caught my eye and smiled. Later, I told him I’d see him in the play he’s acting in.

“

At College Avenue we stopped in our cars and I shouted out the window: “I’ll always love you!” “I love you,” Sean said back, quietly. And we waved goodbye to one another. This is one relationship I’ll never forget: a near-perfect love affair with a boy thirteen years younger.

“

I can’t believe it. Sean just left. Here he was in my apartment, the guy I’ve been fantasizing about. . . Okay: now I’m sure that Sean likes me. I told him I give my books only to people I really like. Damn it, I wish I could express myself better and I hope he can see in my eyes how I feel about him.

“

There are more good-looking boys on campus than I’ve ever seen in one time and place. Sometimes I have to try not to stare at my students, especially when they come in wearing shorts, tank tops, and shirts cut off at the ribs.

“

At the Miami Waves Festival, held at the Koubek Center in Little Havana, Glenn Terry was trying to break the (Alec) Guinness record for lying in a hammock with his clothes on backwards. I read some of my stupid South Florida stories which seemed to stupefy the crowd.