drsawzall

Groan...

I'm going to go out on a limb here...Calvin is going to fight for the boys and at least visitation rights, outside of being in jail for the past several years, any sane judge is going to look at is efforts to reenter the boys lives askance. Keeping the saw firmly in my hand and stepping a bit further out on the proverbial limb, I'm guessing caleb is going to be the one who sinks Calvin's hopes... How many chapters in this tale???

Podunk is an actual local about 40 miles from where I live, here's an interesting link, and BTW Connie Mack, an early baseball hall of famer was from just up the road in East Brookfield Ma...He was a real piece of work... https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/09/20/411502703/some-podunk-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Mack Interestingly enough Bugtussel is the purported hometown of Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies TV show https://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question17153.html

I think the clincher will be Pete, once he finds out the chance Michael has, and with a not so gentle kick to the backside, will be the encouragement he needs. If he thinks about it long and hard enough, the 'promotion' he's being offered , is in reality, the last gasp of a dying business. Michael is being asked to find and extract the last vestiges of profit before the factory is shuttered and production is moved elsewhere. Michael knows this whether he admits to it or not. His internal dialogue concerning how he will be perceived by labor and management is proof, of one last thing to consider...the 'raise' of $2.50 per hour works out to an extra $100.00 per week, he knows it isn't worth it being thrown into the no-man's land management is offering. He's being set-up to be a management stooge. Considering when the factory closes, and Michael has 'found' the last nickel and dime of profit that could be found, how does Michael face living in a town of fellow unemployed workers, who just might resent a labor turncoat... He has no future staying in Bugtussell, a dying Podunk of a small town. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see past the 'same old, same old'. Eric is that person, carefully he has set the stage to open Michael's eyes, a catalyst as it were. Inadvertently or not, his presence has woken something in Pete and given him a sense of purpose...I'm guessing the museum will be Pete's to manage once the work is done and new love enters his life. The trip to Polymath Park was another brilliant stroke of genius along with the applications to the various architectural schools, including Eric's own job opportunity. The brilliance of all this is that Eric is showing Michael, that at the end of the day, any reasons he thinks he has for staying, evaporate against the realities of the day. Will there be a few bumps along the way between these two hardheade lovers...you can bet your life on it...will they overcome perceived obstacles, differences of opinions...ditto! Loved this chapter...talk about shades of differing nuances, red herrings, and burgeoning romances...what's not to like??

My, how lives will change...now the question is...Will Brad and Robbie reach the level of maturity needed to raise a child, or will they go on blithely as they have been?

Nothing like family vultures parsing the will of a deceased loved one...having lived and going through a similar situation I'm reminded of the old adage...''You can pick your nose, but not your relatives..."

Life is a merry-go-round for our boys...isn't it!

God...how I remember those days... what’s that word? Bromance. Or a crush. That’s fine. You’ll get over it. You don’t even need to pray about it. St Jude’s got it covered already. Except my brain and all its counsellors were wrong. I didn’t know it yet, but I was completely, madly, and head-over-heels in love with Christopher Hathaway.

When you don't talk to each other, but at each other

And we know who's to blame for that...😁

Once again we find ourselves in sleepy Ravello, a quaint town that time passes slowly or so it would seem. A wonderful story of young teens finding their way as they leave their childhood behind them and navigate the thrills and perils of growing up. Toss in a mystery, a broken heart or two, unexpected discoveries and events, and you'll be glad you took the time to read this.

Well done and thank you for taking the time to write such a marvelous story...Succinctly this chapter had it all in running the gamut of emotions. Well paced and written. While the story arc for Dani has run its course as you have noted, I'm sure that Ravello has a few more tales to tell!! Once again, its work like your and others who make the time to entertain us, that makes Gay Authors so fantastically great!!! Looking forward with eager anticipation to your next...Thank you!!!!

Was it...

Took the words right out of my head!!! Could not agree more!!

it's 7:53PM here just south of Boston, as soon as it's midnite in your local...post damn it...Post haste I say!!! I got faith it's flesh wound, a very lucky escape... Cause if it isn't...your neighbors and fan's just might show up...just sayin....

I am a bit late to the party but the bonus is that I get 2 chapters today!!! Giaco isn't/hasn't taken a walk on the dark side, I firmly believe he's trying to pull Cosmo away before the cops show up...

Jason, I hope you have padding for the fall you're about to experience...a tad disappointed with the coach tho...

Memory fails me but China isn't the only nation to have a footprint on that continental shelf...In a matter of a decade or so, India which just surpassed China in population, will have a military robust enough to be worrisome...considering China is experiencing declining birthrates and an economy that is unable to employ or find employment for those graduating college. The president of China recently called on those graduates to "eat bitter tears" a euphemism for going back to the countryside and do manual labor. Reports of their parents being upset with the government as they spent good money to give their children a chance at a better life... https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/china-youth-unemployment.html

So many ways this could go, I'm not even going to speculate other than it is going to truly mess with Caleb... Where has he been all this time? How did he find out about Donna's death, were they back together? What truly does not bode well is the following, and if I had to guess Calvin, by initial appearance, looks like he was road hard and put away wet... Near the gate stood a tallish man. He was thin, a few inches taller than Bryan himself. He was balding badly and what hair he had was jet black with gray streaks. He looked passed Diego and looked at Bryan and Caleb.

Glad to see I wan't the only one to notice this line, @Al Norris...Knowing Devin and the planning he puts into everything, I would have to trust the certainty of his comment... “Probably not, but Grandpa Isaac said he’s figured out a way you could take part, even if you aren’t a skinwalker yet.” Nice job on the Christmas presents for the children in the hospital; and the donation to Toys For Tots...No comp[laing about the grades for either one this semester and love they both felt there was room for improvement... And in case anyone forgot... even if you aren’t a skinwalker yet

So...larger forces were after Brad thru Robbie and were clumsy in their attempt...have they been neutralized or are they regrouping?...more importantly, why???

I guess promises Brad and Robbie make to each other aren't even worth a pile of dung... How soon will we find out Brad is going to be a father for real????

So...who really killed Neil???

Will 'C Ya Next Tuesday" Neil sleep with the fishes???

He isn't the only one Brad...what part of AIDS don't you get??? But it was different because Marcel was 16, where his hormones seemed to override his logic. He was stupid, thinking with his dick Again, an instance that never should of happened and knowing that you knew nothing about the man's past sexual history and understood that it was important to know.. “It's not a big deal, Dad,” I said. “Marcel just developed an obsession with him, a kind of hero-worship thing.” “It is a big deal, Brad,” JP said to me severely. “ Dr. Cambronne is HIV-positive.” “What?” I asked, even as I felt the earth falling out from under my feet, so much that I hurriedly sat down. If I knew the odds of the following happening I'd be on the first plane to Lost Wages Nevada...I'd be rich beyond belief You know me so well,” he said, and gave me a sweet kiss. “You didn't kill me when I fucked up with Neil, so I won't freak out over this.” “Thanks,” I said. “But here’s the deal,” he said, switching to a more assertive tone “We're done with this shit. From now on, it's you and me and no one else. Anytime in the past we've deviated from that, it's caused us problems.” His expression changed abruptly. “That’s okay with you, isn’t it?” Obviously this story was written some time ago, 10 years or so about events taking place in 1985 and how AIDS was ripping apart the gay community, what ticks me off is every protagonist in this story, has/is lost/losing very close friends/relations because of ill-considered behaviors...and they know this...yet continue to make the same stupid sexual decisions that could prove just as fatal...