PrivateTim

I still think it was wrong because Will was so aggressive, because he is 14 years old and putting Malcolm in danger of a statutory rape charge and because Malcolm is an employee. There are several cans of worms opened here. I've loved the time in Maui, a place close to my heart, but Will still has problems at home to deal with. I can see the Crampton/Schluter clan helping Kai through college and Kai is still someone along with Alistair, Travis or Mason who could be a real partner. I can't see Will being a lawyer like Wade, a financial guy like Brad or any conventional profession. That is why I think climate change/reef research in Teahupoʻo Tahiti, French Polynesia, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, etc would be perfect for him. It is still wrong of Will because of the legal jeopardy he places Malcolm in and the legal jeopardy he places Stef and Brad in for his behavior with an employee. Will doesn't like "no".

I think this is about the time someone started a topic in the forums, "Will's loves and hook ups". Will needs a combo of bamboo floors and Mexican paver tiles. Marble isn't good when it is wet.

I hope Stef does the house with Hawaiian sensibilities, not so it looks like a Paris condo or a San Francisco condo. Well I hope not, he is 14 and a freshman going on sophomore in high school. That would cool, but as I recall Mason disappears from the story for now. Maybe Will will bump into him at Harvard. As I said in my first review 10 years ago, he had nothing to apologize for. I can be hard on Will when he acts like a douchey Malibu Billionaire Row kid, but he was absolutely correct in the first email, even if it was starkly blunt.

On this second reading, I don't think Stef and Brad were completely off base in concerns about Kai, but how could they listen to Lark about anything. No spoiler here, but I like Kai because he is age appropriate for Will and keep heat off Will with the locals. Localism is a real issue in the surfing world, but once someone proves themselves, adheres to the "rules" of surfing and is respectful, it is 'no worries bra'.

As I think about what Gary said to Will and as will worked it out in his mind, it occurred to me that this is what I am talking about when I bring up moral relativism and why society has to have some mores and standard. The concept of "thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife" has been around for a long time. It didn't exist just to be a kill joy, but because of the consequences it can bring. With the Maui house, Brad had to see what a great deal it was. He should be thinking about investing in North Maui for himself.

So what I was saying in my original review 10 years ago was thank you Santa Mark for the wonderful chapter, book and series. The roller-coaster ride of the story isn't an accident, it is brilliant writing in its timing. I dislike Lark so much because you make him so unlikeable. The amazing thing about literature is how everyone reacts to the same story differently and characters differently. Everyone brings their own life experience and biases to the table. Some people find Lark a charming rapscallion. I just find him douchey. I've known a lot of Larks in my life, even have a couple as clients, so I have no patience for them. What Lark was doing to Kai definitely meets the legal (and I think moral) definition of rape. I was glad Will intervened. I knew once Will and Kai got to really know each other that they would like each other.

Scott/Lark has always been one of my least favorite characters because he is so sleazy. He is a taker and a user. Will get that and it makes Lark unattractive to him. Sure he was fine with a little voyeurism, but to actually hook up.... just no. What is hilarious is the older and more senior I get, the less actual work I do. That is what associates are for. They do the gritty work, then I review it. I take clients to lunch while the associates get Uber Eats lunches. Again, very sad that so many lives were lost, so many livelihoods were destroyed and so much Hawaiian history destroyed. Many, maybe most of those great restaurants that Brad wanted to be near are gone. Many of their workers are now homeless and unemployed. As to the story, there are very few issues I agree with Diane Feinstein on, other than intelligence and defense, but she is an incredibly nice woman, unfailingly polite and a politician of the old school who believed in comity and working together. That spirit seems to be missing in WDC and it seems like it is never coming back. I wonder what is going to shake Isidore out of her stupidity, because that is what it really is at the bottom, blind stupidity. I think Frank and Jack need to play bigger roles in getting the women to rediscover their moral compass and the importance of family.

"We stopped in Lahaina at this good restaurant where we could eat outside dressed like we were." It makes me incredibly sad that that restaurant is no longer there, nor anything else in old Lahaina Town and that hundreds died, when it was all so unnecessary.

I don't remember ever seeing Mason in the story again, which is too bad. I like guys closer in to Will's age and station, which isn't elitism, just compatibility.

This reminds me of the Norwegian trip. Will is going to fuck every guy on the float trip and be the talk of the trip.

Tony found his backbone and yet wants to use his front bone on Rick.... what was the whole point I think the height thing is relative. For Will, who's probably 6' by now, this dude is going to seem short. I think at the start of this story Will confirmed he is 6'1 now. Naw, not willing any more. Hey hey, ho ho, loser Tony has to go. I don't get to the Midwest much. Are there sharks in the Missouri River? Very cross Wall-eyed Pike? Dana will try to cause problems, but I think they will backfire.

I spent a week in St. Louis one night...... I do wish Will would have stuck to his plan to fly home.

"We grabbed Gathan and walked around, making fun of the people we saw who were rednecks or idiots, although the rednecks generally fell into the ‘idiot’ category too." As I've said before, this is my first time rereading 9-11 because it is such a painful story, but the second time through, you see things you didn't before and being 10 years older brings a different perspective too. Isn't Will the guy who just a few days ago got really pissed at his aunt and grandmother for being elitists? Isn't he doing the same thing here? (that is rhetorical, the answer is 'yes he is', for those wondering). "We kept going back to the Crampton tent to get drinks, so by the time the fireworks finally shot off, I was fucking wasted." So two things on this, the first is, if Will is so mature, why does he keep getting wasted? When you stop getting wasted is a sign of maturity. The second thought is, why don't ANY of the adults care that a 14 year old is drinking and getting wasted? I don't know any parents who would have let their 14 year old drink to the point of getting wasted. Emancipated or not, Will cannot drink alcohol legally. If anyone needed a basis to revoke his emancipation, underage drinking would be a good place to start. “You are making me wish I did not bring you,” he grumbled. “You are not old enough to go into the bar.” “What if I have an ID that says I am?” Why doesn't Stef say, 'I don't care what a fake ID says, I know you are not. Gay clubs are not an appropriate place for a 14 year old to be.' The second part is, if Will doesn't tell someone he is 14 years old before he messes around with them, he is putting them at huge risk legally. If J Bar had been raided by Chicago PD for whatever reason, and the guy was caught in the act with Will, he is in serious trouble and so is the bar. It is pure selfishness on Will's part; part of his 'I want what I want and I don't care about anyone else' attitude.

Claire only called JP tp plead young Marie's case, not to offer a sincere apology and talk about her epiphany. Why Isidore and Frank are not there is a bigger mystery. I would think the entire clan, except maybe Jack (can't get away from doctor duties) would have gone for the dedication of the Marie Bouvier Crampton Amphitheater.

I officiate two sports at a very high level. A coach being right does not give him license to loudly let his views be known. He will be penalized the same way whether he is right or wrong for his failure to adhere to protocol. Will was hurt, but he expressed his hurt in anger, rather than calmly explaining his hurt. How much more effective with Claire would he have been had he explained in a low voice how hurt he was that his best friend at Menlo wasn't invited despite Will only requesting two people and that no one gave him the courtesy of a heads up or explanation; and then his dismay and hurt at discovering the person who attacked him and put him in the hospital, was on the list along with a boy who attacked his brother.

Vindicates? It actually validates that he is immature and abrasive. A mature person would have calmly laid out his points and not lost control of his temper and been abrasive to his grandfather John Paul and his Aunt Claire, who have stood by him so steadfastly the last ten months. The drama queen action of taking off his ring to the people who have let him move into their home, who fly him hither and yon in a private jet, have drivers at his beck and call, etc, shows how callow Will is. I will be impressed with Will when he eschews his privilege, moves out of Escorial into his own apartment, flies commercially (coach), enrolls at Gunn, and takes over paying his own AmEx Platinum bill. For the purposes of the story, occasionally characters will be called upon to act uncharacteristically.

Brooklyn got "hot" because it was affordable compared to Manhattan. It was getting harder and harder for developers to make a profit in a Manhattan building. If people could afford Manhattan, they'd prefer Manhattan, that is why it is so expensive. Because he hurts people. He is hurting Dana. He hurts Will every time he bails when he cums. He hurts Will when he makes him lie about being straight. He uses people. He is also a spawn of Satan.... Watch the first 27 seconds....

Oh do read on my friend..... read on.... 🤣

I obviously didn't remember this "review", but when I came to the end of this chapter, I felt THE SAME DAMN WAY. Don't know why, but he just rubs me the wrong way. OMG when will that be?!?! Ha ha ha, we are 10 years down the road from this story and Will isn't even 18 yet. I'll be in my 90's before Will hits 24, at this pace.

It's been more than ten years since I read this story, so I am still betting that His Cousin Vinny is dating Berto, who Will was madly in love with 10 months ago. I am still hopeful Tony announces to Will he got an internship at Canter Fitzgerald or a waiters job at Windows on the World.

Ten years later Hank still comes off badly. She didn't make a great first impression with anyone, especially Will, which is never a good thing if you desire a peaceful existence. “You’re going by yourself?” Dad asked, trying to curb his normal tendency to be a control freak. What he wanted to do was lay down a bunch of rules if I went, or to ban me from going, but he couldn’t do that. I don't think it is being a control freak, it is genuine concern for a 14 year old going to Europe on his own. He is the grandson of a multi-billionaire and the son of a billionaire, which could make him a target. It's been less than a year in CAP time since he was kidnapped in Paris. I also don't remember the requirements for a minor, even an emancipated one, traveling to the EU prior to 9-11. It is never easy. One fussy immigration agent can make you miserable for awhile.

Didn't we already see how he acted towards Zach for taking John's cherry at Claremont last year? Will is 14. He will not turn 15 until September 14, 2001.... a birthday he is unlikely to forget. It has been less than 11 months since Will was a virgin. 'Sez who? If we use "biology" as an excuse, what is the point of a brain and thousands of years of social evolution? I miss the forums..... and the chat room.

This seems inconsistent. If Will is "right", if he isn't doing anything wrong, then why is it wrong for John and Marie to talk about it? I've read most of the CAP stories twice, some three times, but I've been avoiding this one. I lost a good number of family friends, people who'd known me my whole life, and I was never sure I was ready to dredge up those old feelings. I guess we'll find out.

I've just finished Paternity for the third time and it is amazing that I find new things and new insights each time. Mark Arbour's true talent is to create characters so rich, real and relatable that we actually care about them as if they were real people and we share their emotional ups and downs. Paternity is almost an ironic title in the Chronicles Of An Academic Predator series, where no one's apparent father is actually their father and men who have no blood relation to the children they raise wind up being good fathers anyway. Paternity is Book 12 of the Chronicles Of An Academic Predator series, but it isn't essential to read the previous 11 books, just helpful. About all I can promise without spoilers is that there is never a dull moment in a Mark Arbour tale.

Shane's death is one of one of the more regrettable, tragic deaths in all of CAP. Where was "I know what's best", Mr. Black & White But No Gray Will when we needed him to be a bull in a Wedgewood shop? He could have called Shane and told him he saw the pictures, but pretend he didn't tell anyone; or he could have called LAPD anonymously after the coach died and told them about Shane and the other skaters and left out JJ's name. To leave those kids out there on their own seems wrong.