PrivateTim

Will's "blossoming sexuality"? Ummmm, this is Will's theme song.

I think you miss Matt's point that being a guy being under 18 doesn't stop the guy who is attracted to him even if he is 18 or over. I think he was more envisioning a 25 year old dating a 17 year old, not a 53 year old and 14 year old, that is a very different dynamic. But I am sure he will speak for himself when he has the chance. Well hell, then you are the only one! I don't know that you can put a percent on how gay you are and what would it mean if you could? If you are 20% gay does that mean every fifth person you firetruck is a guy? What would be more realistic, to me, would be Tony not understanding his sexuality at 18. We've seen all these characters who just know they are gay and know it from the get go. There are those guys. But there are plenty of guys at 18 who had no idea who they were sexually and some at 30 and probably even some at 50. If you aren't raised in an environment where homosexuality is acceptable you might ignore or shove away feelings that don't conform to the norm. In high school I was about 50-50, guys to girls and none of the 11 or 12 guys I fooled around with turned out to be gay (or at least not yet) and one of the girls is a lesbian now. In college I was 90% women going on an Adam Philips like tear and that was partly because of my fraternity house, partly me trying to prove something to myself and partly fun. Eventually I met a guy and that guy slowed me down with anyone else and then eventually it became him exclusively. So even though I have not been with a woman in 8 or 9 years now, I still firmly classify myself as bi, but it took me a while to get over the notion that my attraction to guys was more than a phase. Point being... it would not be unusual for Tony 2, 3 or 4 on the Kinsey Scale and not understand that those designation exist. I think it possible, even likely that there are "2's" in satisfying homosexual relationships and even more common to see "4's" in satisfying heterosexual relationships.

Very sweet chapter. It is nice to see the complexity of Tony and that he and Will don't fall madly in love or into bed the first chance they get. I hope the mystery over his sexuality lingers a bit longer.

They probably would have been naked as kids together as it wouldn't have been uncommon to bathe young kids at the same time and when you grow up in a house of mostly guys (moms don't count) there is a casualness about clothes and nudity. These families never struck me as ones likely to be shy or prudish about nudity. Most of the homes in the Colony have outdoor showers with nozzles also, at "foot level", but other than small kids, you don't see a lot of people nude-ing up to use them. You do see guys skipping the "towel change" to go from wetsuit to boxers, it they think no one is watching. I think just about any kid is curious about sex and if JJ could have watched John & Will, I think he would have. I might have watched my brothers once or twice or every chance I got , but if I'd had a sister, it would have been gross I think and I might have felt a need to beat the crap out of the guy alla Gathan.

I thought it a bit unrealistic that JJ hadn't seen Will's junk before. In a family of "boys" there is bound to be a casualness about dress and a lack of modesty. Morning wood happens.

Nice chapter, a true five star not a "balance out the schmoe" five star. It is nice to see a bit more complexity in JJ and a bit more character development. JJ might be an interesting narrator. Two quibbles. LAX has very, very little private air traffic, even if they could get a take-off slot, it takes a lot of time. You don't just show up, throw your bags in and off you go. Almost all the private jet traffic in LA uses Van Nuys airport (VNY). It is one of, if not the, busiest private jet airports in the country. You pretty much do just show up, throw your bags in and off you go. And when Gathan says words to the effect "before we plebes get it". I've only ever heard of "plebes" used to refer to freshmen at the service academies and most especially the USNA. I think he meant "plebeians". He could have said "plebs" referring to the common Roman citizen vs. slave, but I think plebeian would have been the more common usage

I gather your friend in San Diego is not in the special sex crimes unit, because I have seen them prosecute on a lot less. And they also would not be able to say whether or not they would and would not prosecute because each case is different. If you have a complaining witness who sees Lark outdoors masturbating (another criminal violation, CA PC ss 314 & 647(a)) and sees that Will is watching and sees Lark turn and look in Will direction, Lark would be having a very long unpleasant conversation with detectives. The conversation would get even more interesting when they dug into Lark's background. What the state would do is charge and overcharge Lark. He'd be looking at 5 years state time with a child molester jacket on him. They don't have to prove a thing because it wouldn't get to trial. Lark at a minimum would have to admit to behavior that would land him in county jail, if not state. He would not be able to deny it with a complaining witness. After stewing a couple of months on what his prospects would be in state prison, Lark would take his lawyer's advice to plead to the lower charge. That is how it goes down every day.

I liked Lark's summation of Will's situation. Didn't find it hot. I understand the curiosity of a teen boy, I loved Just Looking with Patti Lupone. Everyone has their own taste in the gay world. Not everyone likes a muscle stud. Some guys like the shrimp, the nerd, the swimmer, the cross country guy, the wrestler, the band guy, etc. If Will has an encounter with a middle aged (is 38 middle aged now? What does that make Mark? ) I hope it is someone no one in the family knows. Wills own thing. Lark doesn't have to touch Will. what he did, knowing Will was watching would be illegal in any state I can think of. Here is the California statute, I presume Hawaii has a similar law. It is creepy to flirt with an ex-lovers son. I am actually starting to warm up to Brad. I didn't like him in Be Rad or many of the other stories. He starting to look more human and vulnerable and a typically indulgent Colony parent/

Well I was tempted to only give the story 4 stars not 5 because Jaws is pretty much a tow in place only, but I had two glasses of wine with dinner so I am feeling pretty mellow so I cut you some slack and gave the 5. Scott (Lark?) was being just slightly creepy, but redeemed himself with some interesting insights. Curious how much Darius spent on the Vegas side trip and what, if anything, anyone has to say about it. Do Brad and Robbie monitor the boys credit cards?

The kind of money Stef and Brad & Robbie have at this point nothing in the 2000 recession or the 2007 recession is going to affect them. In fact jumping in the market after the 9-11 thumping (which is what a lot of smart money managers did) and jumping out in 2007 they would damn near double their money. And cash became king in 2007, Stef could have picked up a lot of real estate on the cheap. There would be no reason for Stef to pull out of real estate in 2005 since so many of his holdings in real estate were bought in the early 70's and 80's, even at the 2007 "crashing" real estate he would still be way up and he knows the way to wealth is to hold on to real estate and lease it out. Who would call you mule-headed??

My Scots roots run deep, we are "tight wi' the brass". I was taught from about age five about savings, interest and compounding. I didn't spend money needlessly. I also had to make my bed like a midshipman at Annapolis from about age 9 on, keep my room "ship shape" and was taught how to do my laundry and iron by my freshman year of high school. My mother still did 90% of my laundry and ironing until I left for college, but learning how to do it was important part of "Life 101" at home. But I know exactly what you mean. I was shocked at how unworldly so many of my college friends were.

2. I guess I forgot that Matt and Gathan had even met. That should be interesting. 3. I agree, but I thought JP had a good perspective. I remember my first love at 14 who didn't love me back. I was crushed. Never did get over him. 5. I'm surprised Kristen didn't read him the riot act (or maybe that is yet to come). She is supposed to be the reasonable one. 6. If Gathan is going to be an effective anything in life he needs to learn to control his emotions, impulses and temper.

Yeah, we didn't care about no stinking Oregon Trail either. We made Missions out of sugar cubes and talked about how the Donners ate each other I didn't.... see previous comments on his immaturity

I get that stories need to have drama and tension and problems and no matter what an immature ass I think Gathan is, but I don't want him to get a gambling problem or a spending addiction problem. I also don't get why Darius doesn't but out his Amex card, I would assume Brad and Robbie wouldn't send him on a cross country drive without a card with a hefty limit.

You forget Matt and I went to school in the Bay Area and Matt would have been in school still when Darius started at Santa Clara. We had our share of friends there too, not to mention Davis, Santa Cruz, Humboldt, SF State, UNR, USF, St. Mary's and SJSU. I knew most of the Santa Clara polo players pretty well and they were more subdued than most of the guys I knew in college and the drinking and drug usage was pretty much non-existent on campus, especially for the underclassmen. A very different experience than mine at Berkeley.

Santa Clara does not have fraternities or sororities. They had some when Darius would have matriculated, but they would have been officially gone by his senior year. Statement Regarding Fraternities and Sororities

"Puka" shells. Puka is Hawaiian for "hole". There is no "c" in the written Hawaiian language, in fact there are only 12 letters in entire Hawaiian alphabet.

In college, driving up to my parents place in Northstar (North Lake Tahoe), I wondered every time what it must have been like crossing those mountains on horseback and with wagons and I always thought of the Donner Party.

Holy crap have you ever done the 10 Freeway from LA to Jacksonville? LA to Boeme, TX (just outside San Antonio) is the most God forsaken piece of real estate I've ever seen in my life. 1,300+ miles of nothingness, dry, hot nothingness. There are minor pockets of civilization, but none of the beauty of the I-70 drive from Denver through the red rock area until you hit the 15. And none of the beauty of the Rockies through WY and the Wasatches through UT. Yeah SLC to Reno ain't pretty, but Reno to SF is. And yes, the TX hill country is great, but once you get away from San Antonio it is back to misery through Houston and Beaumont (ever been to Beaumont TX, yikes!) all the way until you hit NOLA, but NOLA is the last bastion of civilization until you hit the Atlantic Ocean, other than that it is red neck, "I got two good teethess" country.

If we were in a court I'd object to you assuming facts not in evidence. There is a difference between flashy wealth and not being aware you are wealthy. Will might not drive a Ferrari to school, but I also bet it isn't a 1994 used Forerunner. It will probably be a 2003 Range Rover or the like and that is a $90-100k car and it might never occur to Will that that is what a new condo might cost in Claremont. He might take a boy friend camping is Yosemite, but he is just as likely to borrow grands yacht and head to Todos Santos, or fly to Tavarua or Playa Dominical. He would do that not because he is a snotty rich kid, but it is because it is how he has been raised. Has Will ever been on a commercial plane? Does he understand what it is like to go to a normal airport? Mark has never really discussed it (that I recall), but they wouldn't fly out of LAX, they would most likely go out of the Van Nuys airport (VNY) which is what LAX uses for 90% of their private traffic. When you are used to life like that, it is very hard to do things "the ordinary way".

Stop. It ain't even 2001 yet.

If Darius thinks I-80 is the most boring highway, he really never wants to take the I-10 across country! Wonder what is being set up here. It is also about time for Stef's intuition to kick in on the market. Oct 1999 was a peak and now it is building to an Oct 2000 peak before the run down to the low in July 2002. Brad should challenge Will to give up his wetsuit and surfboard since both are both heavily dependent on petroleum products.

You can hardly take the extremes for the norm. There are all kinds of sociopaths in the world, some even have kids. There is no indication of the Hendricksons ever having been bad or abusive parents. The psychology of being a parent is way different from the psychology of being a sibling. Maybe if Gathan had raised a two year old Ella from the time he was 14, there could some feeble comparison, but two siblings a year apart it doesn't wash. Everyone else here seems to have no problem getting into Mr. Hendrickson's head and what he was thinking during the apology, etc, but finds it inconceivable for anyone else to get into Gathan's head or think Gathan behaved badly at a time he could have exhibited some growth and maturity.

Hey Nick, what happened against St. Ignatius???

I thought Gathan handled the talk with her father badly. If I really loved someone and I knew their parents loved them too and weren't bad or abusive to them, I'd want them to like me too. I would have been more sympathetic with the father and I would have addressed what I knew his concerns were, I am not good enough for his daughter, I come from a bad family, etc. I would point out I am going to the second most prestigious university in California, that my extended family of the Hayes-Schluters is going to help me find my way in the world and that I really love his daughter and I will what ever I can to convince them I am going to be good for their daughter. Even if I wanted to call the father a miserable son of a bitch for thinking I am not good enough, I would still try to schoomze him and the father did apologize.