WET SPOT STORY
July 20, 2019
It's time for the wet spot story - the story which started me thinking about doing a blog.
Ok, we are working on a cool new product. My brother and I are developing a waterproof blanket that will absorb liquid so you can just throw it in the wash without getting your sheets, bed, couch, car, whatever, all wet. There are lots of applications and market niches we want to customize this for, but the reason I thought of it in the first place is because I want a product like this.
I do not enjoy changing the sheets on my bed. There are times after having some fun that a wet spot remains to remind us of the fun. Towels just soak through and the sheets get wet. This is a not fun part of having fun. I wanted something to lay down that would keep the sheets and blankets fresh and dry and which I could just throw into the wash afterward. It also should be comfy and hopefully not break the mood too much with it's ugliness. Which is kind of what happens now, since I use incontinence pads for the purpose. They are definitely functional and do the job, but they are not cool or sexy at all. So, this is my amazing new product idea! If you are interested in the product, I've got some email sign ups and web pages in the works. They are in draft stage at the moment, but you can see the in progress site at WaterNymphBlankets.com.

So, thinking about wet spots. I remember the first time I read about the wet spot in a story. It has stayed with me 20 years later. It was written by Harlan Ellison. If you have never read him, you probably shouldn't start. He is most often categorized in the horror genre because his stories can really mess with your head. He is an acquired taste you have to take in small doses.

Anyway, I know all this, but I still go back to his stories once in a while because I forget. What I do remember is that he is very good at evoking visceral reactions with his writing. Sometimes that is what you want. In this case, I wanted to go find that one story, again. I've searched for it before and then I didn't mark it down. Well, I did find it, finally. After skimming through most of the stories again. I have the anthology Dreams with Sharp Teeth by Harlan Ellison. I don't really know why I am telling you this, because you won't like the stories if you go read them. Ah well, the story must be told.

I was not sexually precocious at a young age, so I spent my early life being oblivious and naive about this stuff. So if I had heard about wet spots before, I probably just thought they had a bit of damp in the basement or something. This reference was the first time I saw it in print and knew what it was and it kind of shocked me. I must have been 25 or so at the time. It has obviously stayed with me.

This is the first line of the story:
"He turned onto his left side in the bed, trying to avoid the wet spot. He propped his hand against his cheek, smiled grimly, and prepared himself to tell her the truth about why he had been married and divorced three times."
Later after they talk and Martha leaves -
"He knew he would never see Martha again.
The bubble of sadness bobbed on the surface for a moment, then burst; the sense of loss flavored the air a moment longer; then he turned off the light, rolled over onto the dried wet spot, and went to sleep."
All the Birds Come Home to Roost by Harlan Ellison


The story is actually not sexually explicit, except for talking about sex in such an ordinary, everyday way. I think that was what was new for me. We just don't talk about this stuff. So hearing it matter-of-factly in a story was literally remarkable at the time for me. Perhaps I am making too big a deal of this really. It was a moment in time that has stayed with me and that in itself lends it weight. Hmm.

I would have been living in that apartment downtown at the time. I lived in the Palladio for three years. Seems like forever long ago now. I liked that apartment. But it got lonely there on my own.

Anyway. Now we are talking wet spots all the time at my house because we have been doing some testing on these sample blankets we are trying to research. Becoming more normal every day with exposure and matter of fact attitudes. Just shows how anything can become the new normal over time. Even talking wet spots and developing sex blankets with your brother.

When did you first hear about the wet spot?