PrivateTim

I've never lived more than a mile from the beach in my life (excluding Berkeley, but college doesn't count).

Very sorry to hear you are in THE hospital.

Thanks Mark for staying on schedule in your posting. I know it isn't an obligation, but I think you see it as one sometimes. I am just grateful for when it comes out. I think an Austin and Will hook up has become inevitable. Sooner or later Austin is going to figure out Troy isn't worth it; not just because of Will, but all the other possibilities as well. How can Will be the smartest man in the room and not have figured out Jeremy by now and the competition between them? I think the paparazzi will back off, but not all the way. You can't stuff that genie back in the bottle all that easily. The consuming public wants what they want.

Absolutely love this book and series. It is a masterful work of historical fiction. The period piece is carefully researched down to the language used and the situations presented. The character development is beautiful. I love Horatio Hornblower (a name that takes on a new significance having read Bridgemont) and Jack Aubrey, but love George Granger even more because we see so much more of his inner thoughts. Anyone who loves books about love, intrigue, lust, the Napoleonic wars, British navy and the sweep of history should love this book and series.

You mean a mirror image of himself? 🤣

1968 continues the saga of CAP and the life of college professor John Paul Crampton, an academic, but also the scion of a wealthy Midwest family. He is a closeted homosexual, as most people in his position needed to be in 1967-68. To that end, he is married with children, but his wife knows his secrets. We see JP navigate this double life, we get to know Tonto, JP's grandmother, and possibly the most beloved character in all of CAP, and see the decision that JP makes that changes everything and starts a snowball rolling,

How to write a comprehensive review without spoilers? I can't so the review won't be comprehensive, but quite shallow, ankle deep kiddie pool shallow. The story is quasi biographical and you want to slap the author upside the head a lot, I mean A LOT. The story is pure Shakespearean tragedy full of misunderstandings and assumptions that are not correct. What I can say is, it is a very satisfying tale and well worth the time you invest into reading it.

Who do you think I went to Neverland with? 🤣

Sadly never got the invite. (just kidding)

Disagree all you want, the reality on the ground is different. Young Hollywood male stars escorting different females to the hot spots is called being a player. You might not like it, but that too is a reality for Hollywood male stars who either are gay or thought to be. I won't list the names for obvious reasons, but it is a largish number. I went to a Christmas party at Neverland Ranch and had a sign an 8 page non-disclosure agreement to get on the estate.

Bwah, I think you just fall for certain guys and certain types. I am not sure Bomer was ever destined to be the next Leo.

It is understandable that they are good friends, but being "together as much as possible" is a bridge too far. If Travis wants to remain closeted he needs to be seen more in the company of young women, not just that of a noted sodomite. Travis needs paparazzi photos of him and a hot female at L'Orangerie, The Ivy, Spago, Dan Tana's, etc. And not the same hot babe, but if possible, different ones each time. He might even have to acquiesce to blow jobs from them and the occasional fuck. Travis needs to spend money, maybe good chunks of it, like a certain Hollywood star, to threaten legal action against those wagging tongues. Just about one year after this date, Neil Patrick Harris will come out and show being gay isn't a career killer.

The Schluter kids would have had to deal with a certain level of paparazzi their whole lives. Not a lot, not ten people at a time, but there would always be a stringer or two, hoping to sell to gossip rags.

Thanks Mark for staying on schedule in posting chapters. I am sure it cannot be easy and I appreciate what it takes. It is a devotion to your readers. I think Will was kind of a dick here. So Travis overheard a private conversation. If it was me, I'd have never told Will about it. As it, Will should be touched by Jeremy's gesture of coming to see him. When someone reaches their hand out to you, you don't spit on it. But I guess Will does.

First you have to assume George will find a lover or two on the Spanish frigate. Was it cowardice that led the captain to flee the scene? Was he obligated to intercede if he had no chance of success and then both the frigate and merchant would be lost and maybe with more loss of life than just letting the merchant be captured. And just because the captain gave the order to flee, doesn't mean the officers were of the same mindset. I do think an engagement with the Algerians is in the offing. Surely Cardona's staff must know Granger and Cardona are lovers. Is that not an issue? Lastly, I think the disgraced captain should be posted to Los Angeles and have to deal with Don Diego de la Vega. It could be a whole new series!

You hardly need a Harvard degree in psychology to snare gay boys. Gay boys jump into your boat like Asian carp.

Most likely. Just look at that bad boy.

There are so many tech companies that most people never heard of that got gobbled up by Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, etc. You could have built a tech index fund just based on 100 companies in a 10 mile radius of the San Jose Airport. Just writing down the names off the building would have made you a genius portfolio manager 🤣 Travis by far. Just in the industry there are there more of them, but most are spectacularly good looking and many are willing to trade virtue for an "in". Then there are the ordinary 'just horny' ones, and now as Travis' fame grows, there will be those lifting their tails just to be with someone famous.

I suspect the success of George and Daventry will be more personal success, and cementing bonds with those of their station than success for England. How different might the world have been if British diplomats had convinced Spain to the their side, or even neutrality. There would have been no Trafalgar and how would that have changed things? It was Star Trek that alerted me to how little events could have big consequences.... or maybe it was the Simpson's.

🤣 Which is why I've never understood how they ruled China, India, South Africa, Rhodesia, Ceylon and all the rest. The Walt Disney Company has more submarines than the Royal Navy 🤣

In 2026 dollars, Apple was still a phenomenal buy. Even as late as 2016 you could still buy Apple for around $30 in 2026 dollars. It closed at $250 yesterday. $1,000 invested in Apple in 2005 is worth $130,000 today. That takes into account dividends and splits.

I can see Will pleasing Will, which he does a lot of. Will is a player, there is no way around that. He isn't the worst player I've seen, but he's not the Mother Teresa of players either. I think it is great what they did during Katrina, but if I was going to be critical, it is because the suffering was right in their face on every TV channel 24/7. Yes they responded, but it was one week in between jaunts to Europe, Maui, shuttling between Manhattan Beach and Palo Alto on private jets. Will used to do once a month or so visits to Father Tim's mission in LA, but that was when he lived in LA. What has he been doing lately to use his vast resources to relieve every day suffering? I don't know if Will ever made surfing trips to Baja California, but that was my introduction to the third world. I was 10 probably with my father, grandfather and their surf buddies, heading to K-38 for a week of camping and surfing. As we drove past the cardboard houses of Tijuana, I started crying because I saw kids playing outside these dwellings and I knew it just wasn't right. Nothing my grandfather or father said could console me. No, I didn't devote my life to the poor, yes I did become a money-grubbing lawyer, relieving my well heeled clients of substantial cash, but I did go back to Tijuana at least 10 times over the next ten years on mission trips from my church helping in these neighborhoods to build proper homes, bring food and supplies, and like Travis, play with the kids. I was always amazed at the kids resilience and how joyful they could be in tough circumstances. As I got older, I wasn't able to spend the time I once did, meaning weeks at a time, to help others. Now it has to be weekends and funding surrogates. Here is one of my favorite surrogates. I hope Will finds causes to help relieve suffering long term, not just short term. I am pretty sure he will, more so than his father or Stef, who both have baggage that shaped their drive.

Thanks Mark for your latest chapter of just the right length! I have cast the evil eye on two provocateurs who have dared to question the Master in his own house! They shall be smitten! 🤣 But no, seriously, thanks for this chapter, on schedule and humming along. I think it is a foregone conclusion that Will is going to top Colton at some point. Colton will be on a mission. The question is, will Will and Austin hook up? College boys are not known for their strong resistance to temptation. If I was betting, I'd bet in the affirmative, even if just because it would good drama. Mark has created candy, but just a small sparing bit. There are only 7,000 undergrads at Harvard from all over the country. OCC has 24,000 undergrads, mostly from Orange County and mostly Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach. In other words, roughly 12,000 males like Will and Travis. It's no secret I wanted Will to go to UC San Diego, which doesn't have as many hot guys as San Diego State (35,000 undergrads), but the college kids from all the schools in SD hit the same spots because San Diego really isn't that big. Will could have had a field day in SD or at UC Santa Barbara.

But as we know, he will fail. It will be the 'diplomacy' of Lord Nelson who flips the Spanish.

Well I was in elementary school.... so....