From: brumby@nella7.cc.monash.edu.au (Stephen McNamara)
Subject: Re: Definition of "monogamy"?
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 21:26:30 GMT

   The brumby flicks his ears up as someone peers through a crack in the
door, before walking in.

cliveg@cix.compulink.co.uk (Clive Grace) writes:

[...]
>    He looks over at Mary and Ignatz holding hands in some dark corner and smiles a b
>it more, it's a real smile. Not one borne out of pain o
> out of being 'strong' or 'macho'. Goodness knows how many times he's tried being lik
>e other 'model' men, strong, unemotional, unfeeling. Th
>t's in the past now. He *is* emotional (and proud of it), he *is* 
>feeling and caring and sensitive, he speaks his mind, he has a light 

   "I never did manage to follow that macho act, though I was made to
suffer for not living up to it quite a few times. I sometimes wonder who
ended up suffering more though."

[...]
>    "I'll have a Tequila please Mike. Salted rim, no ice, no cherry and... and that'l
>l be my 'usual' from now on. The name's Tanais by the w
>y"

   The brumby blows down his nose in an equine greeting.

[...]
>    "Non monogamy huh? That's an interesting discussuion, and of course everything Ma
>ry says is right. It's up to the *individual*, but when

   The brumby chuckles softly.
   "I stayed out of this discussion, because monogamy probably isn't a
strong enough word for my relationship with Robyn. I'm not really sure why,
but I seem to only really be capable of devoting myself to one person. At
all, as far as I can tell."

>   "Take, for example my particular beliefs. I'm Bisexual. That means I'm sexually an
>d emotionally compatible with both men and women. I'm a
>so attracted to other species. Mind you, I'm not attracted to *all* 

   The brumby flicks one ear forwards, and one back.

[...]
>"I just want to be listened and... and to be *believed*. The times I 
>tried telling people as a kid and they didn't believe me because I 
>botched the telling of the story... but that's all in the past now, 
>that's for other people to hear.

   "One thing I have promised to try and do with Jenny is to *listen* to
her. I suppose I am fortunate that nothing particularly bad ever happened
to me during my childhood, but there were things that seemed bad at the
time. For some reason though all the adults around me refused to consider
my experiences as valid as their own. It just gave me the feeling that for
some reason I wasn't good enough to be listened to, that I wasn't really
important. And then when I got older my parents wanted to know why I
wouldn't talk to them, why I never bothered to tell them anything
important. I still have a lot of trouble believing that anyone would want
to listen to me at times."
   "I am hoping that I won't do the same thing to Jenny, but I worry that I
will do as I have been told a lot of other people do, and follow my own
parents example."

[...]
>    "I was told that I would be a horrible monster if I told anyone, that if anyone f
>ound out, my family would disown me." Tanais started to
>laugh bitterly into his jug, now drained of half it's contents. 
>"Well, I disowned them long ago, in quiet, subtle ways, but I 
>disowned them for sure. I'm now a stranger in their eyes when I walk 
>through the door or speak to them over a comm-link" 

   "Hey, being disowned by your family isn't always a bad thing. Although
in my case my parents ended up sort of following me, so I get along with
them better now than I have for 15 years. But the rest of the McNamara's
were nailing me into a nice neat box that I couldn't fit into without
giving up a lot of myself.  "

   The brumby looks across at the counter-clock and realises he is supposed
to be doing other things right now, rather than rambling due to lack of
sleep.


-- 
     The Silver Brumby of          brumby@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au
      the Silicon Plains            brumby@zikzak.apana.org.au

      The grass is always greener on the other side of the network.