I couldn't believe what I'd done! I'd turned a perfectly good neighbor/fellow tenant into a boyfriend. A new boyfriend who lived, literally, ten feet ...elow me. A boyfriend who heard every step I took if I wore shoes on the hardwood floor. A boyfriend who could knock on my door five seconds after stepping out of his door. How the hell was I going to continue explaining my nightly absences? I'm sure the other passengers were amused watching me whack my forehead with the palm of my hand several. My two companions helped me to the car three hours later. I was still woozy from the sedatives and anesthetic. Radical Bilateral Orchiectomy. They had resolved my hormonal conflict, all right. I wished Doctor Masters had been a little more forthcoming about the procedure up front. It wasn’t that I was sorry to take such a great leap towards Womanhood so soon. I just wished I had had an opportunity to prepare myself mentally. My groin would wear the heavy gauze padding for forty-eight hours.. When I arrived at the meeting all of our people were there, I was pleased to see them there early, the owners took us on a tour and explained what they were working on, I asked them how they felt about the progress being made, they explained that they had put everything they had into this and felt they would not have enough to see it through at this point. I asked if they were looking for investors or if they just wanted out, they said it had grown to more than they could handle and they felt. Only the deaf and dead among us could not have heard them.' The grim humor continued with, 'I just can't imagine what the opening key to their portal might be. Perhaps something along the lines of, 'A friend of Elfrealm Vankell, draws near'? Hum, which reminds me. We need to get some better security measures installed ourselves. Maybe that IFF thing Mike mentioned would do the trick. We'll have to see about that when we return from this excursion.'THURSDAY 10:48 A. M.News Stand, Chicago, ILMike.