Chapters 1-7 are somewhat self contained and describe Matt being rescued from a Midwest snowstorm by a family that turn out to be his soul mates, girls with lots of past life ties. Lots of spirituality and lots of sex. This was mostly written in 2005 and was posted in 2010.
Chapters 8-13 describe Matt going home to the Northeast, discussing things with his wife. Ann, Barbara and Connie starting college. Matt and Ann setting up a business. Again lots of spirituality and lots of sex. Written and posted in 2013.
Chapters 14-17 are sort of a side story. They describe meeting two of Barbara's friends and what unfolds from there. I considered posting it as a separate work under the title: "Tall and Short." Written in 2013-2014 but the characters Becca and Zena were developed in 2007.
Chapter 18.
The studio evolves
We had been making small changes to the studio. We added several different kinds of chairs. I also had three different stools. We moved most of the conference chairs across the hall into the third office. We added a sofa and several throw rugs. We also acquired a large free standing mirror and an eight foot stepladder.
I occasionally used the ladder as a prop but mostly I used it to shoot from a high angle. I got some neat shots that way.
Joyce found a large plastic sheet that we could use to protect things when I used oil on a model. Janet and Joyce both really enjoyed being photographed oiled. The results were spectacular. Ann really looked good too.
Joyce was imaginative in coming up with props. Joyce found a large red plastic ball that turned into a popular prop. Balloons and soap bubbles were also popular.
Joyce says she is looking for a bear skin rug: "So I can be bare on a bear skin rug."
I bought a set of colored gels for effect lighting. They made for some interesting experiments.
Impromptu pool party.
A bunch of girls were together in Ann and Janet's dorm room the next Saturday afternoon when Janet let slip that Ann had a pool. Much discussion followed and it was decided that it was time for an impromptu pool party. Everybody went and changed.
Ann brought Ruth in the Miata while the rest of the girls followed Janet on foot.
I was working in the office when Ann arrived. She introduced Ruth and said there were five more girls plus Janet coming.
I asked: "Am I invited?"
Ann said: "Sure, why not. Bring your camera."
We went to put on bathing suits.
The rest of the girls arrived. Ann introduced everybody: "Joan, Ellen, Candy, Robin and Linda."
She introduced me as: "My good friend, spiritual compatriot and business partner: Matt."
Ann led us to the pool. I brought up the rear. Ruth had an amazing wiggle in her walk.
Everyone peeled down to bathing suits. The girls were all wearing fairly tame bikinis except Ruth who was wearing a one piece suit.
The sky was virtually cloudless, bright sun. Ann asked if anyone wanted sun-screen. Everyone said yes. She had two types. One at a moderate rating that was waterproof and another with a higher rating that needed to be reapplied after swimming.
Everybody jumped in. There was much splashing and giggling. We were having fun. Both the slide and the waterfall were popular. I started taking pictures.
We had fun.
I found myself having a one on one conversation with each of the girls over the course of the party. Some of them were light and superficial and some went deeper. All were pleasant. Ann picks nice friends.
I was comfortable with them. They were comfortable with me.
I found that Joan spooked me. She looked just like Jean, my first love, sounded like Jean, used some of the same expressions as Jean, same astronomical intelligence, clowned around like Jean and had the same, somewhat warped, sense of humor.
I had an interesting chat with Candy. She hated her name. She explained her name really was Candy not Candace or some other name with the nickname Candy. When she was small she was teased about it but now she found a different reaction. Many boys assumed that it meant that she would be sexually free. This had become an ongoing problem for her. She explained that her parents had been hippies and thought naming her Candy would be 'sweet.' She further explained that they were still into drugs and this had convinced her to studiously avoid them.
I commented to her that I viewed the 60's as a great big move toward spirituality but that it had been sidetracked by drugs. Too many people were looking for an easy way to do it. The funny part of that is that when you are doing it right the journey becomes effortless.
She was very glad to have met Ann, saying: "Ann has been a huge help to me. My parent's lifestyle is not a good role model in general and yet there are some aspects that do appeal but the whole thing does not make sense to me. I became a physics major thinking that physicists really understood the nature of reality. I found out that most physicists studiously avoid the reality question. Ann on the other hand is looking at it in some profound ways. Ann has her head on straight and is helping me get straightened out too. She is also such a nice person."
There were some neat group discussions too. The girls very much treated me as just another member of the group. That felt really good.
At one point I had been talking about Tao and how it was a no-thing as opposed to nothing and how it does nothing and by doing nothing leaves nothing undone.
Ruth asked me if I believed in God.
I answered: "That depends on what you mean by God. If by the word God you mean the old Guy with the long white beard who wears a flowing robe and sits on a golden throne in far away heaven, then no. I do not believe that that God exists or more accurately I believe that that God exists only as a thought-form. Thought-forms exist as proto-life and are created by the minds of sentient beings. Likewise, I believe that Satan is also just a thought-form. On the other hand I do believe that there is a consciousness behind and beyond all of physical manifestation. That consciousness infuses and animates all life. There is a divine spark at the center of each of us."
This discussion went far and wide.
Later we took the girls on a tour of
3i
and the apartment. The photos in the hall received a great deal of praise. Ann pointed out that I took them. I explained that photography had long been a hobby of mine. I offered to photograph any of the girls. When they saw the studio their eyes did light up.
We then took them on a tour of upstairs.
Janet wanted a hug. I ended up hugging each in turn. Good hugs in every case. Especially with Joan.
Ann drove them back in the SUV.
Another pool party.
We continued the party the next day. Same group of people with one addition. Robin asked Ann if she could bring her roommate, Gail, along. Ann answered: "Sure. The more the merrier."
Gail was well padded with a truly massive bosom, flat tummy, light brown hair, cute face and a five foot six frame.
Lots of hugs. It is fun hugging pretty girls in bikinis.