Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett

PaulR5
Dog Father

Seen on a bumper sticker: "Why couldn't I have been born rich instead of well hung?"

Posts: 907

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Dec 15, 2015 10:33:44 GMT -5

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Post by PaulR5 on Dec 15, 2015 10:33:44 GMT -5

I have decided to shave three conversations I had with our regrettably deceased friend and talented author, Ryan Bartlett. I have edited the first two and present them here. While these conversations took place via Facebook PM (Private Message) service, I would invite others to share conversations and edit them, as I have done, to preserve privacy on some things. In My conversations with Ryan, if you see the following type of brackets, [ or ] then you know privacy editing has taken place.

I would invite others to CONSIDER sharing Facebook conversations or emails with Ryan, PROVIDED such can be done without compromising the privacy of yourself, another person, the late Ryan, or Ryan's family. It took some time to get this edited into a form the Forum would not erase entirely when backspacing--probably some web issue I don't understand.
Paul

Conversation started August 18

Paul 8/18, 8:30am

Ryan, I would like permission to send you a friend request on Facebook. I'm Paulr5 on Dabeagle's Forum. I'm already friends with [Cynus and Lugnutz.]

I am a 63 year old married bisexual male, married [many] years to the same woman. (She doesn't know I'm bisexual. I am not out in my mostly homophobic community, and probably wouldn't come out anyway at this point, even if I were not married. Too much to lose, and sometimes quiet questions and comments can help people THINK more than in-your-face confrontations.)

Ryan, thanks for your consideration.

PS: at this point, all of my posts on my timeline are Public. Feel free to peruse them before making your decision.

August 18 Ryan Bartlett

8/18, 1:45pm sure Paul, go ahead.

Conversation started August 24

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:06pm hello paul

Paul 8/24, 7:06pm Hey, Ryan! I love your writing in the Sanitaria Springs series, especially!

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:07pm why thank you. I enjoy writing those characters quite a bit

Paul 8/24, 7:07pm I am also looking forward to MSI 2

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:07pm yeah, I need to get around to writing that.

It wasn't speaking to me for the longest time but I have an outline in my head now and the characters have begun to speak a bit.

Paul 8/24, 7:08pm COOL!

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:08pm it's going to be much darker than the first

Paul 8/24, 7:09pm Paul Not surprising.

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:09pm I would liken the first one to Superman, the sequel will be more like Batman

Paul 8/24, 7:10pm So the third one will be Wonder Woman, featuring Jenna more?

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:10pm no

MSI II is going to be Guardian's of the Earth and MSI III, if there is one would be, The Savior.

Paul 8/24, 7:12pm One thing I look forward to finding out, what are Spencer's other powers besides telepathy, telekinesis, healing, and flying?

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:12pm he'll likely be limited to those but they'll grow stronger

I'm setting the second two years after the first, so Bobby and Spencer are 16

Paul 8/24, 7:13pm Maybe he could have an extrasensory talent of finding things, or an extraordinary sense of direction

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:13pm It starts off kind of funny in that Bobby, who can fly, and has all these powers, can't drive. He's taking drivers ed. for the third time

Paul 8/24, 7:14pm LOL

Good one-- my son passed his driver's test on the 7th try-- now he is a very good driver.

And I bet Spencer is a great driver!

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:15pm yes, he sits in the back and uses his telepathy to give Bobby tips that don't really help.

Paul 8/24, 7:15pm LOLOL

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:15pm It's kind of funny they're sitting there having an arguement about Bobby's driving while the instructor is totally oblivious

Paul 8/24, 7:16pm Are there some people whose minds Jenna and Spencer can't read?

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:16pm yes

lots

there are limits to that power and it takes them some skill to learn how to use it

Paul 8/24, 7:17pm And I bet some minds niether can read separately, but CAN read if they are telepathically joined-- at least a few.

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:18pm well, put it this way, the bad guy, Crowe, appears in the current timeline and none of the telepaths can read him

Paul 8/24, 7:19pm That makes sense. He would not train the recruits on how to read HIM. Not explaining all he knows is strategy on his part.

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:19pm there is one person with the power to destroy him and it's a character that hasn't been introduced yet

Paul 8/24, 7:19pm back in a minute, gotta pee

Ryan Bartlett 8/24, 7:19pm or rather, one person who holds the key.

Actually, I've gotta go, I just wanted to say hello.

Paul 8/24, 7:23pm

Thanks, I gotta go also. [Edited]. Had a rare dead spot when you IMed.

Have a great night

Dabeagle
Dog Father

Posts: 2,091

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Dec 15, 2015 14:43:45 GMT -5

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Post by Dabeagle on Dec 15, 2015 14:43:45 GMT -5

RYan had mentioned to me, briefly, that he was starting to form an idea for MSI2, but Almost Famous was something he was determined to finish. Of course, the SS ideas kept popping, too. He'd swear he was taking a break, and some idea would come up.

I have deviants to see and a novel to finish.

Dabeagle
Dog Father

Posts: 2,091

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Jan 1, 2016 15:45:43 GMT -5 mattyboy likes this

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Post by Dabeagle on Jan 1, 2016 15:45:43 GMT -5

So, one time a reader wrote in and asked if Ryan and I were a couple, being that we were so on the same page with respect to SS. Ryan's response was:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...HAHAHAHA!
I'll let you respond to this one.

My response was a little different:

Dear reader,
I've debated putting the Sanitaria Wiki back up and updating it. However, of the stories that are missing and were not offered to me, only one stands out to me as having used any of the main characters and creating a place that has been mentioned, and that is Walt's by Cole Parker. I cannot speak for Chris James, Merkin or Colin Kelly, who all wrote stories, and their reasons for not allowing or offering their story. Perhaps all I ned do is ask, perhaps they didn't appreciate my position or mark me as the villain in the disagreement at AD or they are showing solidarity with an old friend in Mike, the owner.

Being practical, with these stories not having impacted the storyline that has emerged as the dominant one, and because I don't want to risk stirring up anything, I have not pursued any of these 'lost' stories. Due to the animosity, I'm sure there would be no listing to bind those stories together, even though they do not overlap with characters or places. Off the top of my head, I can recall Cole Parker, Merkin, Chris James, and Colin Kelly as authors who posted that I do not have. I can't recall any others at the moment.

As to your second question, no, but we fight like an old married couple. Many storylines get launched or resolved by the titanic arguments that Ryan and I regularly engage in. As Ryan's email implies, he is based in California and I in New York. We do talk almost every evening and, although we definitely do argue, disagree, quarrel about almost anything, we are also friends whose goals are aligned with respect to the Springs. It is amusing to think of us as a couple, given that it's probably a good thing we have a country between us lest our photo's be placed in every coffee shop within a hundred mile radius with respect to the epic arguments I'm sure we'd have.

Have you seen 'The First Monday in October'? It's an old movie with Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh and a few other older actors. The premise is of Supreme Court justices. Matthau plays the liberal lion and CLayburgh plays the newest supreme court justice, a conservative. They argue incessantly while maintaining a respect for one another that often puts me in mind of Ryan and I. I recall a specific line, where Matthau is reading one of Clayburgh's opinions and says angrily 'I wish she didn't write so damn well!' And, yes, I'm comparing Ryan to a woman - not all our discourse is collegial, sometimes we resort to playground taunts.

Certainly, comments are always welcome. In fact, unless you visited the boards you may not know that we have an idea posted that if there are enough questions generated, there will be a You Tube response video for them.

Thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts.

Dave

I have deviants to see and a novel to finish.

PaulR5
Dog Father

Seen on a bumper sticker: "Why couldn't I have been born rich instead of well hung?"

Posts: 907

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Jan 29, 2016 20:15:34 GMT -5

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Post by PaulR5 on Jan 29, 2016 20:15:34 GMT -5

As promised, here is the second Facebook PM i had with Ryan Bartlett, five days before he died on August 31, 2015. Some parts have been edited for privacy of myself or Ryan.
I might have one email somewhere from Ryan; if I find it, I will evaluate it for possible sharing.

August 26, 2015

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:34am evening Paul

Paul 8/26, 12:35am Hey, Ryan, how are you?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:35am technically fine

Paul 8/26, 12:35am Technically?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:35am well, I'm not sick or anything

Paul 8/26, 12:35am I hope you are not depressed.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:36am oh no, just going insane trying to write a synopsis for my novel

Paul 8/26, 12:36am

Ah, no wonder! That is enough to make any person pull their proverbial hair.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:37am it's the worst part of the entire process damn publisher...

Paul 8/26, 12:37am A synopsis for the back cover, or a synopsis for the publisher, or the agent?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:37am publisher

Paul 8/26, 12:38am To persuade them to publish, or to publicize?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:38am to publish

Paul 8/26, 12:39am Best of luck. May it be a best seller, such that you have publishers bidding to put you under contract.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:39am hahaha, I wish, but I would like to see a printed copy of it

Paul 8/26, 12:40am I can believe that.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:40am so, how are you this evening?

Paul 8/26, 12:40am Pretty good. Just got wife to go to bed; I'm up for a while waiting for a load of wash to finish.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:41am What part of the country are you from?

Paul 8/26, 12:41am Missouri

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:42am been through it

Paul 8/26, 12:43am right near the Arkansas border, right in the middle of anti-gay country. One reason I don't come out as bi is that I've been married [over 35] years to a female I love very much, and the intolerance so many have for anyone "different."

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:43am now I have been to Arkansas, yikes I stopped at a gas station on I-40, it was like a scene from Deliverence

Paul 8/26, 12:45am My boss is a homophobe and I work with a guy who thinks Hitler should have killed more Jews. Work with another who loves gays, Jews, and people who are different, but has a wife who is super intolerant of anyone who thinks differently than her.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:46am charming people

Paul 8/26, 12:46am I can believe that about Arkansas, some parts are VERY bigoted, in multiple ways.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:46am had nothing to do with bigotry, the people were just, well, bugger eating morons

Paul 8/26, 12:46am My wife was from Arkansas, and took years to persuade her to realize gays and bis are just people. [edited for privacy]

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:48am I lived in Virginia for a bit, not a big fan of the south

Paul 8/26, 12:48am I hear you there.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:48am and that was the genteel south

Paul 8/26, 12:48am I like a lot of southern weather, but not the intolerance.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:48am the weather is what killed me, can't stand humidity

Paul 8/26, 12:49am Well, it isn't all humidity, but we have had more than our share this year.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:51am hot weather in general just doesn't work for me

Paul 8/26, 12:51am I like warm weather, but not beastly hot

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:51am which really sucks, living in Satan's Butthole as I do

Paul 8/26, 12:52am Is Fresno that hot?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:52am it's ungodly

Paul 8/26, 12:52am How far from the coast is it?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:52am high 90's and 100's during the summer

about two hours

Paul 8/26, 12:52am

No wonder it is how.

hot, not how

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:53am Fresno has more in common with West Texas then the California coast

Paul 8/26, 12:54am Looking at the map of California on google maps, I can see why.

You are not all that far from Death Vally, in absolute terms

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:55am I'd like to relocate to New Hampshire eventually

Paul 8/26, 12:55am Is it lower taxes than New York?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:56am no income tax, higher property taxes though

well, not compared to here but to most other states

Paul 8/26, 12:57am We have quite low property taxes, moderate income taxes, and new taxes have to be voted on by those who will be taxed, under the Missouri Constitution.

And re your High School Reunion post, I enjoyed my 40th reunion more than any of the others-- so many of us had finally matured.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:59am I don't like those people, never did

of course, I was kind of a snob in school, I couldn't shake the feeling I was surrounded by idiots.

Paul 8/26, 12:59am You probably were.

Surrounded by idiots, I mean

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:00am I've always been the type who enjoys a few close friends as opposed to a big crowd, even in my fraternity days I wasn't a real social butterfly

Paul 8/26, 1:01am I was the same way.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:02am of course it's hard to blend into the crowd when your'e 6'5"

Paul 8/26, 1:03am Good grief! I was 6 ft 1 as a freshman.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:03am so you know what I'm talking about

Paul 8/26, 1:03am some of it

I have a cousin who was 6'4" at age 14-- he ended up 6'7"

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:03am yikes

Paul 8/26, 1:04am His dad was 6'4" and his mom was 6'1"

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:04am my parents were both short

my dad was only 5'9"

Paul 8/26, 1:05am Dad was 5'9" and Mom was 5'7"

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:06am

so what line of work are you in Paul?

Paul

8/26, 1:06am

For [more than three decades] years I worked as a Department Manager for Walmart, quit in 2010 because the company was getting too worker unfriendly

Now I work at a [edited for privacy] part time

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:07am oh, I almost took a job with Walmart corporate about 10 years ago but I had no desire to be based out of Little Rock

Paul 8/26, 1:08am Don't blame you. What would you have been doing?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:08am well, you know how Walmart will come into a small down and sometimes the town will oppose it, they put opening a new store on the ballot?

Paul 8/26, 1:09am Yes

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:09am it would have been my job to travel the country and win those campaigns for the company

Paul 8/26, 1:09am A nearly thankless job. Some of the Walmart lawyers have been stupidly open mouthed, talking about country bumpkins and such.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:10am the salary was nice but it would have meant living in little rock when I wasn't living in some podunk out in the hinterland forcing Walmart down peoples throats, so I said no.

Paul 8/26, 1:12am I hear that

How long have you been in photography?

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:12am about two years

I'm trying to transition into it as my full time job

Paul 8/26, 1:13am I ran a Walmart photo lab for a year, before I got fed up and quite working for WM

The crowning blow was when some idiot down in Bentonville, AR, decided that "Toys and Photo Lab are closely related, so let's give Toys to the Photo Lab managers."

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:14am that's...asinine

Paul 8/26, 1:14am True' ─ so they gave me Toys also, and took away three helpers.

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:15am I worked in retail for three years in college, it as awful

Paul 8/26, 1:16am Most retail chains are continually living the motto, "Do more with less people."

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:16am yeap

Paul 8/26, 1:16am Then they wonder why customer satisfaction with them is boung down.

Sorry about the bad grammar.

going down

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:17am it's facebook, not an SAT, I don't care wink emoticon

Paul 8/26, 1:17am LOL

I got kidded a lot in high school; I was tall and thin (freshmen year, 6 ft 1 and 120 pounds

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:19am Ive always hated "How's the weather up there?"

my usual reply is, "Fair to stupid."

Paul 8/26, 1:19am ROFL

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:19am Anyway, i've gotta run, have a good night

Paul 8/26, 1:20am You too. Thanks for the IM

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 1:20am anytime

Dabeagle
Dog Father

Posts: 2,091

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Feb 2, 2016 8:19:26 GMT -5 mattyboy likes this

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Post by Dabeagle on Feb 2, 2016 8:19:26 GMT -5

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:59am I don't like those people, never did

of course, I was kind of a snob in school, I couldn't shake the feeling I was surrounded by idiots.

Ryan and I, I may have said before, argued. Like my son, he was never wrong. When he first told me he was a snob, it wasn't with any remorse as if he knew this was a character flaw, but rather that it was something he took pride in; as if it implied a certain standard rather than looking down one's nose at people.

As people, he and I were very much different. We didn't agree on politics or, well, almost anything - movies, music, books. We even disagreed on the subjective attractiveness of many guys as we trolled through images to represent our characters. Ryan was very private. I know that some folks are more reticent than others, and I think a lot of us have to make decisions about how much we want others to know of our private lives, etc, and I certainly understand it. One of the reasons he hadn't come out was privacy; the notion of putting his sexuality out there and 'shoving it down people's throats'. It was always a shame, to me, that the love his characters found would never come to him because he wasn't open to it. He wouldn't come out, couldn't handle it. People who were out, who were visible and have made such gains for the rest of us, were 'shoving it down people's throats'.

As much as he aggravated me, I always felt badly for him. He wanted to be happy, but said he didn't know how to get there. He felt he was a failure in a great many ways, and would then overstate his achievements. Even with friends he would feel superior, that his writing was better, etc. He was a complicated man, screwed up by his childhood and unable to overcome it. He was undeniably smart, but was also convinced he was always the smartest guy in the room. A study in contradictions.

One of our last arguments was over the courtroom scene with Griffin. I said the guys all knew what had happened to him and they'd all go to support him, even if it was just to sit in the hall and be there when he got done. He said no, it was too private and the only one allowed was Devyn - and the only concession he made was telling the other guys they could be there in spirit. In many ways, that was Ryan in a nutshell, turning away support out of perceived embarrassment.

Ryan also proved to me, in stunning fashion, that you didn't have to agree with a man to like or respect him. I don't know that he felt the same way, as I'm sure he felt he was the superior of the two of us, but that's okay. His opinion of me doesn't change what I thought of him.

I have deviants to see and a novel to finish.

PaulR5
Dog Father

Seen on a bumper sticker: "Why couldn't I have been born rich instead of well hung?"

Posts: 907

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett Feb 2, 2016 21:28:42 GMT -5

Quote

Post by PaulR5 on Feb 2, 2016 21:28:42 GMT -5

Feb 2, 2016 8:19:26 GMT -5 Dabeagle said:

Ryan Bartlett 8/26, 12:59am I don't like those people, never did

of course, I was kind of a snob in school, I couldn't shake the feeling I was surrounded by idiots.

Ryan and I, I may have said before, argued. Like my son, he was never wrong. When he first told me he was a snob, it wasn't with any remorse as if he knew this was a character flaw, but rather that it was something he took pride in; as if it implied a certain standard rather than looking down one's nose at people.

As people, he and I were very much different. We didn't agree on politics or, well, almost anything - movies, music, books. We even disagreed on the subjective attractiveness of many guys as we trolled through images to represent our characters. Ryan was very private. I know that some folks are more reticent than others, and I think a lot of us have to make decisions about how much we want others to know of our private lives, etc, and I certainly understand it. One of the reasons he hadn't come out was privacy; the notion of putting his sexuality out there and 'shoving it down people's throats'. It was always a shame, to me, that the love his characters found would never come to him because he wasn't open to it. He wouldn't come out, couldn't handle it. People who were out, who were visible and have made such gains for the rest of us, were 'shoving it down people's throats'.

As much as he aggravated me, I always felt badly for him. He wanted to be happy, but said he didn't know how to get there. He felt he was a failure in a great many ways, and would then overstate his achievements. Even with friends he would feel superior, that his writing was better, etc. He was a complicated man, screwed up by his childhood and unable to overcome it. He was undeniably smart, but was also convinced he was always the smartest guy in the room. A study in contradictions.....

Ryan also proved to me, in stunning fashion, that you didn't have to agree with a man to like or respect him. I don't know that he felt the same way, as I'm sure he felt he was the superior of the two of us, but that's okay. His opinion of me doesn't change what I thought of him.

There are ways to not be out and yet be happy. Ryan had not found those ways, and I never had the opportunity to discuss it with him.

I certainly agree with the part of your statement I put in bold, just above I have met those who fit those statements.

Conversations with the late Ryan Bartlett

Post by PaulR5 on Dec 15, 2015 10:33:44 GMT -5

Post by Dabeagle on Dec 15, 2015 14:43:45 GMT -5

Post by Dabeagle on Jan 1, 2016 15:45:43 GMT -5

Post by PaulR5 on Jan 29, 2016 20:15:34 GMT -5

Post by Dabeagle on Feb 2, 2016 8:19:26 GMT -5

Post by PaulR5 on Feb 2, 2016 21:28:42 GMT -5

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