Poor Man's Son

[methodwriter85]

Really enjoyed the new chapter. I think that Will and JJ will have an interesting time at school for the year. I don't see JJ in quite the same way that some have, I think that JJ is more secure in himself than you would think.

When it comes to the ice, JJ is secure in himself. When it comes to everything else, he's always the overshadowed brother that people don't like as much, and that's why he acts the way he does. JJ either doesn't know how, or can't put in the effort, to have real friendships with people, and so he does what he can to get attention from people all the while knowing that he's more of a court jester than anyone actually liking him.

 

School should be interesting, especially when JJ and Will have to clean the cafeteria as the school requires of their students. And when JJ has to convince the school to let him take 5 to 6 weeks off for meets in November, December, January, and February/early March.

 

I don't understand Matt's attitude toward Gathan. I have to wonder if something happened that we aren't aware of yet.

 

Hmmmmm......

 

Matt's a junior and the team captain. Gathan is the new kid on the block who's a freshmen. It's called "sports hazing". Nothing all that out of the ordinary.

 

That Matt grew up an only child who's never had any kind of sibling rivalry to deal with might play into this as well. Suddenly Gathan's the new darling everyone in the family is cooing over, and I can't imagine he's cool with it.

Edited October 26, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

 

Matt's a junior and the team captain. Gathan is the new kid on the block who's a freshmen. It's called "sports hazing". Nothing all that out of the ordinary.

 

That Matt grew up an only child who's never had any kind of sibling rivalry to deal with might play into this as well. Suddenly Gathan's the new darling everyone in the family is cooing over, and I can't imagine he's cool with it.

 

I think there's a deeper thing there, an alpha male thing. Gathan comes in with this cocky attitude and that really frosts Matt, even though if he were being objective, he'd probably see the same characteristics himself. The problem Matt has with Gathan is that Gathan is a lot like him, and that says something about Matt's internal self-esteem.

[methodwriter85]

I think there's a deeper thing there, an alpha male thing. Gathan comes in with this cocky attitude and that really frosts Matt, even though if he were being objective, he'd probably see the same characteristics himself. The problem Matt has with Gathan is that Gathan is a lot like him, and that says something about Matt's internal self-esteem.

 

Have you ever noticed that the cockier a guy seems, the more likely it is that he has total insecurity issues? It took me until I was in my 20's before I realized that the cocky guys who were the total golden boys and seemed to have it all figured out were actually pretty neurotic messes inside the facade.

 

The thought I just had...Matt took to JJ, and they both share a cocky attitude, although JJ's attitude took awhile to develop. They both have a need to prove how great they are to people. Meanwhile, Wade took to Will, and they both have more of a laidback attitude, because in the end they don't really have anything to prove to anybody. Kind of an interesting parallel there.

[Matthew k]

Can I just say what an f-ing pussy I think Gathan is? I mean you are 18 damn years old, away at college, stop moping about your high school crush. I will grant you that Stanfurd women are nothing to write home about, but c'mon man.

 

Loved Will's first day at HW and disappointed in JJ, but whatever. I hope we get to see more of Will's friends and frenemies, especially Alistair and Eric. Will could use a very different friend like Alistair who probably sees the world entirely different than Will and Eric for the love/hate relationship.

 

I think JJ is just a mess.

 

I think Matt's dislike of Gathan is going to trace back to something sexual that Gathan did. Didn't he bed some Stanfurd hockey boy over the summer? If Gathan keeps mooning over what's her face, I hope Matt checks him until he gets some sense beat into him.

[methodwriter85]

Can I just say what an f-ing pussy I think Gathan is? I mean you are 18 damn years old, away at college, stop moping about your high school crush. I will grant you that Stanfurd women are nothing to write home about, but c'mon man.

 

Here's what you got to remember about Gathan, though. He's an emotionally damaged young man from an abusive background who's never had a serious relationship, or felt truly loved before. Of course he's fixated on Kristin.

 

I think JJ is just a mess.

 

I think it was a given that JJ was going to be a neurotic mess. He's a short kid everyone makes fun of who grew up in the middle, overshadowed by two brothers that easily make friends in a way that he can't. JJ was also the kid who was never really good at anything he tried to do, while Darius and Will seemed to excel at everything. Now JJ finds himself, at the age of 14, in a sport that has basically forced him to give up his childhood/adolescence for a shot at Olympic Gold. Said sport comes complete with ludicrous off-ice expectations and a need for a pristine image while being in a family that is FAR from the family-friendly hetero normative image that the powers that be seem to want. This kid will stand for hours in his room practicing just one stance. I really don't see where he would have turned out to be a well-adjusted, easy-going kid like Will.

 

Besides, if all three of Brad's kids were well-adjusted, self-assured types, where would the dramatic fun in that be? Wasn't the whole Paris deal basically Mark realizing that he made Will way too happy and well-adjusted, so that was meant to give Will some real issues to deal with so he wasn't just a happy rich kid who got whatever he wanted in life?

Edited October 27, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Can I just say what an f-ing pussy I think Gathan is? I mean you are 18 damn years old, away at college, stop moping about your high school crush. I will grant you that Stanfurd women are nothing to write home about, but c'mon man.

 

 

 

My, how old you have grown.

 

You don't remember how intense that first true-love relationship is, especially at the young age of 18? You know, the one where you do stupid shit you never thought you'd do? The one where your friends are looking at you and shaking their heads, but you're in love, so you just don't care what they think? Where the logic switch is completely shut down.

 

Search your feelings. You can find that neurotic late-teenager in there somewhere.

[Matthew k]

My, how old you have grown.

 

You don't remember how intense that first true-love relationship is, especially at the young age of 18? You know, the one where you do stupid shit you never thought you'd do? The one where your friends are looking at you and shaking their heads, but you're in love, so you just don't care what they think? Where the logic switch is completely shut down.

 

Search your feelings. You can find that neurotic late-teenager in there somewhere.

 

Naw see it is exactly because I so well remember my first week of college that I want to kick Gathan's ass.

 

That first week, moving into the dorm, meeting new people in droves, everyone in the same boat of not knowing anyone. The sheer excitement of feeling you are starting life for real, no parents to tell you anything.... just what felt like unbridled freedom. I didn't go away o college with any entanglements. My girlfriend from high school and I agreed since we were going to be hundreds of miles apart we'd break up and date people in college and see who we felt the next summer. Neither one of us ever looked back.

[methodwriter85]

You gotta keep in mind, though, that Mark has on more than one occasion admitted that he doesn't really take break-ups well, especially when he was in high school/college, and part of that is going to translate into how he writes his characters. They're just not going to go, "Oh, I'll be okay. This is for the best." That would be so unlike the Crampton/Schluter/Hayes angsty teens we've come to know.

 

I get what you're saying, though. It would be nice for someone to look at a break-up pragmatically, especially when we're talking about a relationship that occurred within a span of two months. Which I'm kinda hoping will happen with JJ, because he's got his career to focus on and relationships would take a distant third in his priorities.

[centexhairysub]

I still think everyone is wrong about JJ... I haven't seen anything to suggest that he is insecure at all. He grew up loved, protected, and with a large cash cushion. He was bubbly and fun when younger and by all accounts is cute not handsome. JJ grew up with not just supportive parents but a whole support system that helped him and was always there for him, even Darius and Will, although they both found him annoying as brothers can do. Now, he is a top ranked athlete in a very competitive sport; if anything this would give him more confindence not less.

 

Now, having said all that, do I think that JJ is a DIVA, yes; do I think that he has his act completely together, NO; do I like how he handled the situation on the first day of school,NO, but I wonder how much that was JJ and how much that was the kid he left the restroom with; finally, I have seen nothing in JJ manner, behaviour, or anything that anyone else has said that would indicate that he is insecure or or some basketcase that others here are trying to make him out to be.

[methodwriter85]

Your mileage may vary on this topic; I'm just reading into it because I have a lot of similarities to JJ, sometimes to the point where it's like getting a mirror put on some of my less-than-favorable characteristics. The shit-stirrer tendency, especially.

 

Yes, JJ grew up loved and in a rich lifestyle. But he also grew up the guy who was never quite as good or as well-liked as his brothers were. Darius and Will could pick up things and pretty much be good at anything they tried; JJ would try but he wasn't good at anything until he found figure skating. At school, he was picked on while his brothers were much more popular and well-liked. A lot of that may have been his own doing, but when you're 14 it's harder to take a look at yourself and realize that your own behavior may be the reason why people don't like you. He also gets crapped on because he's nearly 15 but looks closer to 12, which is pretty damn embarrassing for the teenage male's psyche.

 

Now he's in a sport that requires him to practice long hours, give up family vacations, give up hanging out with what friends he does have, and maintain a pristine and family-friendly image at all times. That's going to cause at least some tension and anxiety within himself. And when JJ goes through all of that and STILL doesn't win gold in '06? The angst will be palpable.

[B1ue]

Angst? Nah. Rage. I maintain our favorite frosted cupcake is going to explode.

 

The only thing where I see JJ as being insecure is when he turned in Ryan and his friend. They had it coming, but wasn't an action calculated to win friends and as Will said, violates the bro code.

 

I wonder when the reason JJ decided to go to school rather than be homeschooled will show up. He sort of admitted he had his eye on someone, yeah?

[Mark Arbour]

Naw see it is exactly because I so well remember my first week of college that I want to kick Gathan's ass.

 

That first week, moving into the dorm, meeting new people in droves, everyone in the same boat of not knowing anyone. The sheer excitement of feeling you are starting life for real, no parents to tell you anything.... just what felt like unbridled freedom. I didn't go away o college with any entanglements. My girlfriend from high school and I agreed since we were going to be hundreds of miles apart we'd break up and date people in college and see who we felt the next summer. Neither one of us ever looked back.

 

I understand what you're saying, but Gathan isn't at that point yet. He's in limbo. All he's got going right now is hockey, and that's clouded by his conflict with Matt.

 

 

Your mileage may vary on this topic; I'm just reading into it because I have a lot of similarities to JJ, sometimes to the point where it's like getting a mirror put on some of my less-than-favorable characteristics. The shit-stirrer tendency, especially.

 

Yes, JJ grew up loved and in a rich lifestyle. But he also grew up the guy who was never quite as good or as well-liked as his brothers were. Darius and Will could pick up things and pretty much be good at anything they tried; JJ would try but he wasn't good at anything until he found figure skating. At school, he was picked on while his brothers were much more popular and well-liked. A lot of that may have been his own doing, but when you're 14 it's harder to take a look at yourself and realize that your own behavior may be the reason why people don't like you. He also gets crapped on because he's nearly 15 but looks closer to 12, which is pretty damn embarrassing for the teenage male's psyche.

 

Now he's in a sport that requires him to practice long hours, give up family vacations, give up hanging out with what friends he does have, and maintain a pristine and family-friendly image at all times. That's going to cause at least some tension and anxiety within himself. And when JJ goes through all of that and STILL doesn't win gold in '06? The angst will be palpable.

 

I think that your comment (underlined above) is closest to the truth. I don't think JJ was ever picked on, at least not extensively, what with Will and Darius as his brothers, but living in their shadow couldn't have been easy. I'm thinking "Jan" of the "Brady Bunch." I think that's why he's so obsessive about skating; this is finally something that he does better than anyone in his family, and probably better than most people on the planet.

 

Angst? Nah. Rage. I maintain our favorite frosted cupcake is going to explode.

 

The only thing where I see JJ as being insecure is when he turned in Ryan and his friend. They had it coming, but wasn't an action calculated to win friends and as Will said, violates the bro code.

 

I wonder when the reason JJ decided to go to school rather than be homeschooled will show up. He sort of admitted he had his eye on someone, yeah?

 

When I wrote the scene where JJ turned those guys in, I was thinking in terms of him lashing out not just at them, but at Will, and stating that he was going to take responsibility for himself. A cupcake explosion: interesting. Now that could be one fun scene to write.

[methodwriter85]

Angst? Nah. Rage. I maintain our favorite frosted cupcake is going to explode.

Rage is a cover for angst, usually. But I do agree. All that repression is going to lead to some big explosions.

 

 

The only thing where I see JJ as being insecure is when he turned in Ryan and his friend. They had it coming, but wasn't an action calculated to win friends and as Will said, violates the bro code.

I basically have a pretty good read on JJ because in many ways I AM JJ. JJ did it because he wanted to suck up to Allistair. JJ now thinks they're best friends, and he'll annoy the hell out of Allistair until he gets dropped.

 

I wonder when the reason JJ decided to go to school rather than be homeschooled will show up. He sort of admitted he had his eye on someone, yeah?

 

It probably didn't work out, because let's face it- 9th grade boys/girls don't go for guys who still look like they're 12 and don't have their peach fuzz yet. They go for advanced guys like Will and John.

 

I'm kinda surprised though that JJ didn't decide to stay at Malibu for high school, because it seems like they already worked out an arrangement with the school, and he could have finally been able to go to school without being in Will's shadow.

 

From all accounts it's going to be an uphill battle for JJ to get cleared for the weeks of school he'll have to miss, according to someone who went to Harvard-Westlake. I'm just looking forward to the fact that 9th graders are supposed to clean up the cafeteria for one period- can you just imagine the bitching that JJ would do?

 

When I wrote the scene where JJ turned those guys in, I was thinking in terms of him lashing out not just at them, but at Will, and stating that he was going to take responsibility for himself.

Matt observed, back in Bloodlines, that JJ's treated like the delicate flower that needs to be protected by his brothers. JJ's turning 15 in December. I think it's finally starting to irk him that his brother, who's almost a year younger than him, treats him like the kid brother.

 

Note: Back when I was their age, I usually rounded up my age to the next number when I was within three months of the next birthday. Now it makes me roll my eyes that Will keeps calling himself "fourteen", but back then I'm sure I would have done the same. You want to be older all the way up to your 21st birthday. Now I'm almost 26 and I desperately want to hold on to 25. Actually, 19 would be better. I miss being 19. Getting old sucks.

Edited October 29, 2011 by methodwriter85

[B1ue]

But think how much energy being 19 took. I kind of like the slower pace of my life now.

 

Rage is a cover for angst, usually. But I do agree. All that repression is going to lead to some big explosions.

 

I disagree that it usually is. It can be, but sometimes rage is just rage. Speaking as someone who spent most of my teenage years and into my twenties angry. It wasn't even that my life sucked, it didn't, and I knew it then. It was that everyone and everything was so stupid and made no sense to me. Pretending to care about small crap like high school romances (that never last), pep rallies (whatever) and what's popular on TV (yeah, like I was going to sit still long enough to watch it) irked the hell out of me. And as for petty litle problems with my life and my friends? My advice was to get over it, and figure out how we weren't going to be trapped in that small town for the rest of our lives. Personally, I was pushing my body and my mind to the limits in every way I could, because I was better than a small town life, and was damnded if I was going to be stuck there, poor or not.

 

While the anger has since faded, the arrogance is still there. Perhaps when I'm older that will wear off too, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

When I wrote the scene where JJ turned those guys in, I was thinking in terms of him lashing out not just at them, but at Will, and stating that he was going to take responsibility for himself. A cupcake explosion: interesting. Now that could be one fun scene to write.

 

Ah, that's a good explanation I hadn't considered. It would have never occured to me to buck my older sister's authority like that. Probably because they're all much older than me, so I never had to deal with them on a daily basis at school. And yes, I know Will is the younger brother, but that wouldnt have bothered me. No, really, it wouldn't. He'd have done his thing, I'd have done mine, and we'd be happy. And I'd have found ways to watch his back like he watched mine.

[methodwriter85]

Will, if it annoys you that your mother needing bedrest put a wrench in your plans for your 14th birthday, I can't WAIT to see how you feel the week of your 15th birthday.

 

t felt like there was this moderate Republican, another George Bush, running against a moderate Democrat, Al Gore, and there just wasn’t that big of a difference when you got right down to it. It wasn’t anything to get passionate over. The economy was doing well; the country was at peace, there was a budget surplus, so the only things to really argue about were things that weren’t going to change much anyway. If George Bush got elected, would that mean the repeal of Roe vs. Wade? If Al Gore got elected, would that mean that gay men could get married? Nothing was going to change, so why get excited about it.

Damn, was that really what this country was like 11 years ago? Damn. It seems like forever ago. At least we have our explanation as to why Gathan as a political science major doesn't seem all that interested about the presidential election.

Edited October 30, 2011 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

Chapter 43 is it now?

 

Nice to see Will with kids, fun flirting with Alistair and the girls. Interesting to see where things go with the wrestler too.

 

As to Gathan... I still think that Matt's hard on for him is something in Gathan's past, I don't think he has been around Matt and Wade enough for Matt to be jealous over a potential hook-up of those two.

 

I get how Will is bummed about kind of being shoved aside on his birthday. I don't think he senses his mother is in any danger (is she Mark? ) or else he'd be worried.

 

There is nothing like fresh lobster with warm tortillas, rice and beans, a Corona and all for about $8, eating on the beach and watching the surf. I'd be bummed at missing a K38 trip too.

[Mark Arbour]

Will, if it annoys you that your mother needing bedrest put a wrench in your plans for your 14th birthday, I can't WAIT to see how you feel the week of your 15th birthday.

 

 

 

Damn, was that really what this country was like 11 years ago? Damn. It seems like forever ago. At least we have our explanation as to why Gathan as a political science major doesn't seem all that interested about the presidential election.

 

I don't think Will's all that upset about his birthday plans being postponed. I think he's taking things pretty much in stride.

 

And yes, the country was like that 11 years ago. Amazing what a booming economy and no wars can do.

 

Chapter 43 is it now?

 

Nice to see Will with kids, fun flirting with Alistair and the girls. Interesting to see where things go with the wrestler too.

 

As to Gathan... I still think that Matt's hard on for him is something in Gathan's past, I don't think he has been around Matt and Wade enough for Matt to be jealous over a potential hook-up of those two.

 

I get how Will is bummed about kind of being shoved aside on his birthday. I don't think he senses his mother is in any danger (is she Mark? ) or else he'd be worried.

 

There is nothing like fresh lobster with warm tortillas, rice and beans, a Corona and all for about $8, eating on the beach and watching the surf. I'd be bummed at missing a K38 trip too.

 

The issues with Matt and Gathan won't really come to light until the next story, which is already in the planning stages.

 

I think Will's being pragmatic about his birthday, just keeping things open and easy. It's kind of a precursor to him finding his way back to the laid-back guy he used to be.

 

Mexico has some awesome places, that's for sure. Personally, I've never done K38, but it sounds like a blast.

[methodwriter85]

Can I just say how much I really liked Will actually hanging out with kids his own age instead of hanging around college guys like he's 20 years old?

 

Given a name like "Raine", I'm hoping that she's like one of those cute Emo chicks that I used to hang with back in 2000-2001. Not like mid/late 2000's emo with the Myspace girl-jeaned guys with crazy hair, but late 90's/early '00s emo, with the streaks of multi-colored hair, cardigans, and Buddy Holly glasses who shared their poetry online at LiveJournal. It feels like the majority of people we've met so far are either jocky rich guys, jocky poor guys, or a geek, and high school ran the gamut way more than that. It's actually kinda annoying how television always depicts high school as being ruled by the snotty preppy jock crowd while the geeky kids cower in fear, and there are no other types of people.

 

It made sense with Matt and Gathan, because they're hockey players and I can see them primarily associating with other jocks and preppy cheerleader girls. Will isn't going to join a team sport, however, and it makes sense that he'd be more of a high school floater, associating with different types of people. Will seems like a guy who has a core group of friends, but also hangs out with people that aren't skater/surfers like him, so I can see him ranging from jock guys to geeks to the emo/artist types.

 

I don't think Will's all that upset about his birthday plans being postponed. I think he's taking things pretty much in stride.

 

And yes, the country was like that 11 years ago. Amazing what a booming economy and no wars can do.

It's just weird to think that we're finally hitting the year countdown to 9/11. These people really have no clue how shitty the next decade is going to be. Well, Ipods and smart phones and facebooking was fun, but for the most part the 2000's blew. The 90's were so much better.

 

I guess Will isn't "upset", per se, just annoyed but realizing that it's the way things have to be. It will be interesting to see what happens next year, though. Will's 15th birthday is three days after 9/11, so right when all the 9/11 hysteria and panic was raw and new.

 

I was kinda hoping you'd give one of the Irish twins a 9/11 birthday. That could have been cool. I always feel bad for friends that have 9/11 birthdays. Seeing the date "September 11th, 2000" was kinda weird for me- just one more year and the country changes forever...

Edited October 30, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Matthew k]

It's just weird to think that we're finally hitting the year countdown to 9/11. These people really have no clue how shitty the next decade is going to be. Well, Ipods and smart phones and facebooking was fun, but for the most part the 2000's blew. The 90's were so much better.

 

I guess Will isn't "upset", per se, just annoyed but realizing that it's the way things have to be. It will be interesting to see what happens next year, though. Will's 15th birthday is three days after 9/11, so right when all the 9/11 hysteria and panic was raw and new.

 

I was kinda hoping you'd give one of the Irish twins a 9/11 birthday. That could have been cool. I always feel bad for friends that have 9/11 birthdays. Seeing the date "September 11th, 2000" was kinda weird for me- just one more year and the country changes forever...

 

The 2000's weren't that bad. Yes 9-11 exasperated the 2000 recession, but the US pulled out of nicely and did okay until the mortgage crisis started to unwind the financial institutions.

 

The over relaxed attitude of the 90's on everything from defense, homeland security (which wasn't even a phrase yet), financial institutions, etc led to what struggles occurred in the 2000's.

 

I hope Will beds a few of his H-W classmates

[Westie]

The issues with Matt and Gathan won't really come to light until the next story, which is already in the planning stages.

 

 

whatever those issues are, i really hope they can be resolved in a scene involving Matt (the hottest guy mark's ever written, IMO) getting naked and slamming gathan like theres no tomorrow.... in the meantime, i'll be the one re-reading bloodlines for the 50th time....

[methodwriter85]

Well, yeah. But there was/is the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, Virginia Tech, bunch of other stuff.

 

Of course, we gotta consider that the 90's were more your "teenaged/college" years, while the 90's for me were when things were simpler because I was a child. Plus you're forgetting how pissed off Democrats were about the Bush administration, of which JP will most likely be an ardent critic of.

 

My viewpoint is shaded by the fact that my friends/contemporaries graduated, on average, in the late 2000's into a shitty economy. Which won't really be of concern to trust fund babies like JJ and Will, but I'm sure they're going to have friends who can't find jobs and the like. (Mark's always made it a point for the protagonists not to live in a total bubble where all of their friends are trust fund kids like themselves.) And then there's all the Iraq War stuff, which is likely to hit Gathan's circle of high school friends pretty hard.

 

Here's an article I shared once, about my generation's penchant for being nostalgic for the 1990's-

 

Twentysomething And Already Nostalgic

 

Here's a section that basically summed it up:

 

Even though nostalgia hits every generation, it seems awfully early for 28-year-olds to be looking back. One possible explanation, say authors who focus on generational identity, is the impact of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The political and economic climate of the late ’90s had been as soothing as a Backstreet Boys ballad: no wars, unemployment as low as 4 percent, a $120 billion federal surplus.

Neil Howe, an author of several books on what he calls the Millennials (another term for Gen Y), draws a parallel between this nostalgic wave and the one boomers embraced with the film “American Graffiti” in 1973. That movie depicted the recent past, the early ’60s, which seemed to have vanished forever.

“It’s instant nostalgia before a huge change in the nation’s mood,” Mr. Howe said. “ ‘American Graffiti’ was nostalgia for the boomers for a world before everything changed after J.F.K.’s assassination.

“Millennials see the world before Sept. 11 as a period of innocence. Our biggest worry was the Y2K bug. That all seems a world away now.”

 

The 90's just seemed like a much better time than the one we live in now. If I could, I really wish I had been born ten years earlier, so I could have gone to college in the '90's. And it was that last period of innocence, which was shattered forever after 9/11.

 

The 2000's just sucked by comparison.

[rjo]

What brought me to the CAP saga was the history. The two events which changed America the most in my lifetime are 11?22?1963 and 9/11/2001. Innocence lost and after 9 11 we never felt totally safe. The characters don't know what is coming and how it will change their lives as it did ours.

 

As for Matt and Gathan, I always liked Matt but I am wondering if he has turned into a real dick. Why do Matt and J J have problems with Gathan. Will, Darius and the crew like him. Well Brad has some problems with him but nobody else does.

 

JJ is the greatest mystery. He seems like a diva but again we are seeing it from Will's point of view not from his. During this story we have seen Will grow. He has found what he thought was love and lost it. He has forgiven people who hurt him which honestly most grown ups can't do. Maybe Will needs to let JJ grow up too.

[methodwriter85]

Maybe Will needs to let JJ grow up too.

 

Okay.

 

Here's where, yet again, I am JJ in many ways. I grew up with older sisters that were pretty protective of me, and with a mom that was pretty permissive and didn't do much to reign me in. Long story short, being treated like a little boy by my family enabled me to enage in a lot of immature behavior for far longer than I should have, and I think it's the same deal with JJ. He's so coddled by everyone that it's hard for him to take personal responsibility for his own actions. I think that's what JJ was attempting to do by turning Ryan in for the bullying- apart from currying favor with Alistair, JJ thought he was doing the independent and right thing and taking proactive action there.

Edited October 31, 2011 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

The flip side of waking up on a Sunday morning with a new chapter of PMS to greet you is waking up on a Sunday morning WITHOUT a new chapter of PMS. It is like waking up Christmas morn and there are no presents under the tree.

[Mark Arbour]

The flip side of waking up on a Sunday morning with a new chapter of PMS to greet you is waking up on a Sunday morning WITHOUT a new chapter of PMS. It is like waking up Christmas morn and there are no presents under the tree.

 

Sometimes Santa gets delayed. This site was moving slower than molasses this morning, and I didn't have time to wait for it.