Survivor
Tolliver asserts, “After thirty years in the city, it’s nice to be reminded that I’m still glad to be here, still glad to belong to this sweet confederacy of survivors, where men meet in front of the hardware store and talk of love and death and circle jerks as if they’re discussing the weather.” Tolliver is gratified to be a survivor in the backdrop of the omnipresent bereavements. His capacity to survive upholds that he is unequivocally resilient.
Drugs
Tolliver explains, “But then I didn’t die. The new drug cocktails came along, and I got better, and Thack worked up the nerve to tell me he wanted out.” The drug is a significant factor in Tolliver’s endurance. Had it not been for the potent drug, Tolliver would have expired.
Tomb
Tolliver recounts, “When he (Thack) left for a job in Chicago in the mid-nineties, the house became mine alone. It was a tomb at first, filled with too many ghosts, but I exorcised them with paint and fabric and furniture. Over the next eight years, almost without noticing, I arrived at a quiet revelation.” The tomb underscores the solitude in the house following Thack’s departure. The ghosts are representative of the recollections which endure after Thack leaves.
'Daddy Hunters'
Tolliver expounds, “Before Ben I’d little experience with daddy hunters. I knew there were young guys who went for older guys, but I’d always assumed that it was largely about money and power. But Ben claims he’s lusted after older men since he was twelve in Colorado Springs and began jerking off magazines.” The ‘daddy hunters’ typify the queer nature of Michael Tolliver, which is principally about gay romance.
