Jay & Miles by ColumbusGuy

[ColumbusGuy]

Hmm, this is a harder road than I thought it would be.  Ivor, I am thinking your line might better go with my alternate history story that only G-Nan has seen part of, and is still 'In Process'.

Maybe I should cruise through my era songs more?   Music does seem to pop up in a lot of places in JM Land....

Lessee...John Denver: Country Roads?  Thank God I'm A Country Boy?
Pilot's song 'Magic'?  David Essex' 'Rock On'?

On a different tack, maybe the place that gives them all safety:  Beckel's Farm?

Ah well, back to scribbling...almost doubled what I had overnight....

[Timothy M.]

I like Country Boys.  

[ColumbusGuy]

Just sent Chapter 58 to Gary.  I hope he remembers me....

It's just been a sucky few months for me, and I had to have my sewer line replaced three weeks ago.  Stupid 110 year old clay pipes and their use of whole-house traps that can shift and clog if something backs up into them from a heavy rain!  It was very slow running for a few weeks, then just stopped, so I was over a barrel.  Mucho bucks later, it's replaced with new materials and the trench and garden fixed up.

[Headstall]

1 hour ago, ColumbusGuy said:

Just sent Chapter 58 to Gary.  I hope he remembers me....

It's just been a sucky few months for me, and I had to have my sewer line replaced three weeks ago.  Stupid 110 year old clay pipes and their use of whole-house traps that can shift and clog if something backs up into them from a heavy rain!  It was very slow running for a few weeks, then just stopped, so I was over a barrel.  Mucho bucks later, it's replaced with new materials and the trench and garden fixed up.

Hey, buddy! I don't know when I can get to this... not tonight or tomorrow for sure. I can't do much other than use the saw, but I am helping my son put down new laminate flooring in the basement. We worked on it for six and a half hours today, and I just came upstairs now. He's off tomorrow too, so we have a full day of work planned. Maybe I can get to it on Thursday, but if it's a long chapter I might need a couple of days or so. I'll try my best.  

[ColumbusGuy]

It's just over 7k words, and I don't think there's much to do, but then your view often finds little things that send it on to a higher plane of quality.  One thing was nagging at me before I sent it, so I completely switched the order of the two sections, and it flowed much better.
What's another day or so after this delay?  If there are readers left, maybe it'll build up the anticipation?  Great, now I've got that stupid ketchup commercial running through my head...guess I'll go snack then work more on Tales.

[Headstall]

53 minutes ago, ColumbusGuy said:

It's just over 7k words, and I don't think there's much to do, but then your view often finds little things that send it on to a higher plane of quality.  One thing was nagging at me before I sent it, so I completely switched the order of the two sections, and it flowed much better.
What's another day or so after this delay?  If there are readers left, maybe it'll build up the anticipation?  Great, now I've got that stupid ketchup commercial running through my head...guess I'll go snack then work more on Tales.

I doubt there's much to do, but typing is still a chore for me. I look forward to reading it. xoxo  

[ColumbusGuy]

Had a doctor's appointment earlier today for general health to renew my prescriptions.  They drew some blood, listened to lungs and heart, and he said things looked good, though the bp was just a bit high.

Big surprise was the A1C which hadn't been checked for a year or so since the last visit.  The previous two were 7.2 and 7.1.  Today was 6.2 which was awesome and the lowest it's ever been, and they like seeing it below 7 so this is good news for me.  No real idea what I've been doing differently, though I've tried to cut back on soda and the occasional sweet, so maybe that's it....

Next visit in six months, March 2nd, four days before my b-day.  Let's hope for another great present.

[Headstall]

On 8/29/2019 at 9:11 PM, ColumbusGuy said:

Had a doctor's appointment earlier today for general health to renew my prescriptions.  They drew some blood, listened to lungs and heart, and he said things looked good, though the bp was just a bit high.

Big surprise was the A1C which hadn't been checked for a year or so since the last visit.  The previous two were 7.2 and 7.1.  Today was 6.2 which was awesome and the lowest it's ever been, and they like seeing it below 7 so this is good news for me.  No real idea what I've been doing differently, though I've tried to cut back on soda and the occasional sweet, so maybe that's it....

Next visit in six months, March 2nd, four days before my b-day.  Let's hope for another great present.

That's awesome, buddy! Keep it up!!     xoxoxoxo

[GanymedeRex]

This story is one of my favorites.  I especially enjoy the Danish - its so sweet.  I read a little Norwegian and it is similar enough that it is  thrill to see it.

[ColumbusGuy]

1 hour ago, GanymedeRex said:

This story is one of my favorites.  I especially enjoy the Danish - its so sweet.  I read a little Norwegian and it is similar enough that it is  thrill to see it.

Tusind tak, Rex!  I have to thank Timothy M for the Danish--he's saved me from some bad situations when I tried online translators, so now he's my go-to source for snippets and advice on customs I can put in like the letters exchanged at Easter.
I've found a few Danish lessons online, but they were just enough to whet my appetite, then they ran out. 

My high school offered only French or Spanish, and I had no interest in either, so I picked up some guides for others and got bits here and there.  I got a four book course in Russian back in the 70s from a place in Moscow after sending a letter asking for some help with it, along with some books on their history and some picture cards from each Soviet capital.  With no one to practice with, I eventually dropped it.

In college I had almost enough courses for a double major in English Literature and German, but was two courses short at the end of my senior year and couldn't afford to go back, which would have meant living on campus rather than commuting with a friend as I'd been doing.  I kept it up and corresponded with a high school exchange student from Munich until about 1990.
I wish I'd had the time and money to do more to finish my German, and to work on the classical Greek I'd done for fun. 

I'm about half done with chapter 59, and hope to have it sent off to Gary in a week or so...I am a bit stuck on the second section, but had an idea earlier today that may help kick-start it.

[ColumbusGuy]

Man, I almost left the pc without giving you a heads-up that G-Man now has Chapter 59, and will get it back to me when he has some spare time.  He has a life, so I won't put pressure on him about it, as long as it's still 2019!!

[Headstall]

20 hours ago, ColumbusGuy said:

Man, I almost left the pc without giving you a heads-up that G-Man now has Chapter 59, and will get it back to me when he has some spare time.  He has a life, so I won't put pressure on him about it, as long as it's still 2019!!

It's done and in your mailbox, buddy. The gmail copy has title suggestions. It's another great chapter! xoxoxo

[ColumbusGuy]

I'm working on Chapter 60 now, and it will finally get to the real life event I've promised for a couple chapters now.  No spoilers here, sorry.

I owe a big thank you to Geron Kees for some help with the 'maps' of the boys' houses and school.  I could remember them pretty well, but a question came up about Jay's, and I could no longer see the details I needed in the uploaded image, so Geron took those and reversed the colors for me making them white lines on black like my text settings on my pc...now I can read them just like before my surgeries.  No world shaking deal you might think, but if I couldn't figure out the detail I wanted, I'd have had to wade through lots of chapters to find my earlier references, and thus delay producing the next installments.  I hope you think that would be a bad thing....

Also, had an eye appointment on the 3rd, which showed up a little inflammation, so I'm on a drop for that, and go back again on the 17th to see if it's cleared up.  It raised the pressure slightly in the eye, which was the major concern.  With luck, the drop has cleared it up...a few days earlier, I'd accidentally poked the eye and hope that irritation is what caused it.

 

Hope everyone has had a good start to 2020!

 

[Timothy M.]

Godt Nytår, min ven. I hope your eye issue gets better soon. Looking forward to the next chapter.

[ColumbusGuy]

Mixed news for you guys...first, I'm working on Chapter 60, though it's early days yet and was distracted by life events over the weekend.
Supposed to have had my follow-up eye visit to check pressure and the inflammation, but had to delay that until today--pressure is back to 14 which is great, and the inflammation appears nearly gone, so it's back to normal drops and finish off the one for the inflammation, tapering off over the next days.  Another visit on 4th March to make sure, but looking good.
Now, the reason I had to move the appointment last Friday;  I was getting ready to go, and was trimming a very stubborn toe nail with some heavy duty clippers and my hand slipped...so, took a little chunk off the end of my big toe and had to call the paramedics to check it out and bandage it.  A trip to the emergency room was optional, so long as the bandages were changed regularly and used peroxide and Neosporin on it, which Joe and I have been doing.  If I got feverish or sick, or felt like it was swelling, then I needed to go in to check for infection and get antibiotics, but so far it seems fine, and is healing.  Also had to keep the foot elevated most of the time, which was the main interference with writing--I'm not one who can type with the keyboard on my lap, and I don't have gorilla arms to reach it on the desk with the leg up.  
so, got some ideas in my head to put down, and just have to do it in the times I have my body in a normal sitting position
Picked a prompt for the next Tales chapter too!. 

[Headstall]

26 minutes ago, ColumbusGuy said:

Mixed news for you guys...first, I'm working on Chapter 60, though it's early days yet and was distracted by life events over the weekend.
Supposed to have had my follow-up eye visit to check pressure and the inflammation, but had to delay that until today--pressure is back to 14 which is great, and the inflammation appears nearly gone, so it's back to normal drops and finish off the one for the inflammation, tapering off over the next days.  Another visit on 4th March to make sure, but looking good.
Now, the reason I had to move the appointment last Friday;  I was getting ready to go, and was trimming a very stubborn toe nail with some heavy duty clippers and my hand slipped...so, took a little chunk off the end of my big toe and had to call the paramedics to check it out and bandage it.  A trip to the emergency room was optional, so long as the bandages were changed regularly and used peroxide and Neosporin on it, which Joe and I have been doing.  If I got feverish or sick, or felt like it was swelling, then I needed to go in to check for infection and get antibiotics, but so far it seems fine, and is healing.  Also had to keep the foot elevated most of the time, which was the main interference with writing--I'm not one who can type with the keyboard on my lap, and I don't have gorilla arms to reach it on the desk with the leg up.  
so, got some ideas in my head to put down, and just have to do it in the times I have my body in a normal sitting position
Picked a prompt for the next Tales chapter too!. 

Great news on your eyes, buddy.   Glad your toe injury is getting better. No more self-pedicures for you.     xoxoxo

[Timothy M.]

Yikes for the foot injury, but I'm glad your eyes are OK. Take care - hugs from Denmark.

[ColumbusGuy]

Had to be out today, so went to the clinic.  They said it looked fine, no antibiotics needed, just keep clean and do bandage. 

[Headstall]

I sent Chapter 60 back to you, buddy... it's great! Let me know you received it please.  

[Timothy M.]

- we look forward to reading it.

[wenmale64]

Waiting for it to post!!!!

[ColumbusGuy]

Hey Guys!

It's been a weird day and 'm behind, but I'm off to check G-Man's quick work, and will post it as soon as any kinks are worked out.  

 

[ColumbusGuy]

Hey guys!
I'm working on the next chapter, and my biggest frustration is why the status keeps changing from what I set it to.
Also working on the next part of Tales.
Had an eye appointment on the 8th, and things were all good...pressure is 18 and no changes.  Next visit in three or four months.  First time I'd been out since the last one in late February, and I hate wearing a mask since mild allergies and walking to where I got the ride from the local clinic to the eye clinic was bad enough without that extra hindrance.  Still, the ride was free as opposed to twelve bucks each way via door-to-door taxi.

   🐈 

[Talo Segura]

It is a rather particular circumstance that you find yourself in with this novel. The changing status is because of the gap between publishing (writing) chapters, more than one month it's labelled TEMPORARY HOLD before going to abandoned or whatever the next label is. I was interested in your comment and so I took a look. You started this epic six years ago in 2014 and there was what, one year between the last chapters. I can see why that might be with your own life problems to deal with. Leaving aside the automatic status changes, which you can go into the story to edit and change back to IN PROCESS, but you've lost your readership over those five or six years. Most of the people, ignoring the little group of I suppose veterans (who have been on GA since before ever I became here and are a tight little consistent group) have long gone.

Those outside that little veterans group, with the exception of one reader who commented on chapters one and two have not logged into GA for years. This got me thinking that what you might want to consider is somehow promoting the story, but perhaps that would be best when you get it finished.

On a broader spectrum the length of time raises another interesting point. Again, leaving aside that small core veterans group, how long do people stay with GA. It looks to me that frequently members rest a couple of years, maybe even four or five, but not forever. Why? Is the obvious next question. It's not because they've read all the stories nor because they never got to the end of your own novel. I digress from your story, but it seemed interesting. Obviously, people come and go, and I haven't looked at the veterans group, but I tend to think people may come here looking for something which they don't find, with the exception of the veterans who are all long time authors. 

Anyhow, that's where your comment led me and good luck with the story, I hope you get your medical problems sorted so you can complete it.

[Timothy M.]

Don't worry about the story status. The term Temporary Hold has become the way GA is showing readers not to expect regular updates. It takes the pressure off, since readers won't complain about a lack of posting. Your fans are all following the story and will get a notification when you post a chapter. 

Glad to hear your eyes are no worse.