Nahrung

Well, Gary... I'm so sad the story is over! I so wanted to hear about the Grans visiting, Albert's murder trial, Fletcher's brothers bringing the sheep and dog by train and their reaction to Fletcher and Augie's new ranch, family visits that I guess already happened, interactions with the folks in town and so much else that happened their first Fall, Winter and Spring. Seems to me you have another whole story to write just about their first year at Barnswallow... Anyway, as usual, GREAT STORY, GARY!!!

Read 'Born in Blood' by John J. Robinson... It's a very interesting take on the history of the Knights Templar and their reappearance as the Freemasons. It's also a really good read... hard to put down. I'm a Freemason and found Robinson's theory very compelling.

Great chapter as usual, Gary! I can't wait until Gran comes to visit the boys at Barnswallow! The boys have only been there a few hours and already have a ton of questions and thanks for Gran. I'm puzzled that you keep saying that the chapters are posted early but I'm pretty sure I've always read them on Monday morning... Great way to start the week! A couple times I had to wait until late morning.

This comment reminded me of something that's been nigglin' at the back of my mind... I don't think we've heard the end of Augie's older brother Rob. There was speculation that he'd end up living in the bunkhouse at the ranch if Albert's new wife didn't take kindly to him being around. That got me thinking that he may just show up at Barnswallow someday. God forbid things get so bad for him back at the ranch that he shows up with the sheep... 😐

Great chapter... getting nice images of the warmth, safety and bounty of the place... certainly can feel 'hommmmmmmme' wafting through the air and embracing our fearless foursome...

Great Chapter! There was so much to take in and was so enjoyable to read that I had to read it again. I also read most of the comments, which I normally don't do... I always read some, but they seemed to be like an extension of this chapter. It's like discussing a good movie you saw with your friends. It was clever of you to have Willie James tell that family that he was headed EAST to Springfield to throw off his plan to head West to Warrensville. So, they went West away from 'Springfield' and traveled most of the way along the South side of 'the river'... Hmmm...

Great Chapter! Although, my mind is having a 'time-line' seizure... I just can't imagine how they could have so much happen in one day. They started out the day going through town, meeting the son of a town leader who directed them to Gran's house, reuniting with Gran, meeting her 'housekeeper/?', having what seemed to be a long conversation about their lifestyle/partner choices (along with their Concern for Runyan and the whereabouts of Willie James), going over the deed and getting it signed and sorted, and stopping at the bank. Then they made what seemed like a long trip to Barnswallow, getting through the gate, reuniting with Willie James and almost losing Runyan in the process. Then they started making their way past the beautiful house and discovering the wonderfully well built and maintained barn and, all the stalls and pens. Then they checked out the shed with all the wonderful tools and mysteriously well-maintained saddle and horse tack. Finally, they checked out the out-building, which they think was once used as a bunkhouse. Thew! And NOW, they're headed for the house and all the wonderful surprises it is sure to contain. Gary, I love how descriptively you write... reading your writing is like actually being there and experiencing all the sights, sounds, smells, temperatures and textures of where we are. I get immersed in the imagery that your writing evokes. And then, suddenly, I'm thinking, where the hell in this country are we? [yeah, I'm on that again]. I'm guessing that we maybe started in Iowa or Nebraska and, because they went East, they are now in Indiana maybe? But that seems too close to have taken three weeks to get there... then again... 🤔

Dark Thoughts and Dark Clouds Given the title of this chapter, I honestly anticipated a sad ending to the chapter... Thank you Gary for the pleasant surprise. There were several hints and speculation that Gran 'knew something' because of her reassurances that things would be alright. So, I was also expecting Willie James to reveal that Gran gave him a key to the gate lock (recently oiled) so that he could surprise the new arrivals but then figured he wouldn't have had to be camping if he had a house or barn to sleep in. Gran wouldn't have allowed that... Can't wait to hear about the house, barn, land and other 'surprises' in store.

Dolly never forgot where she came from and saw her talent and well-earned wealth as a gift to be shared with others. She was naturally humbled by her fame and never gravitated toward entitlement or snobbery. She will be missed for her music for sure but I think that she will be missed for her beautiful character and integrity even more.

I'm really not liking the humiliation, degradation and contempt that the noble Andy is receiving at the hands of the evil Lucas. I want Andy to take a stand and demand that Lucas treat him with respect. It's just not much fun reading this anymore.

OOPS! My bad... 😐

Loved the chapter! Good to hear that they're making good progress toward Warrensville and Barnswallow. Excellent writing of the confrontation with Regis and Darnell and the appearance of Runyan. Am I the only one who noticed that Regis' friend was Lance at the beginning of the confrontation and Darnell after things cooled down? Hmmm...

I'm surprised that the word Loyalty isn't being used along with Trustworthy and Faithful... Subtle but profound differences and combinations of intent. Maybe... It just seems that there is some 'blind loyalty' going on here...

I don't think it wise to assume that Ali is on the side of helping Lawrence discover the truth. He could also very well be intentionally distracting Lawrence away from the truth.

HEHE... Google tells me that a town named 'Warrensville Heights is in Ohio and that Enniskillen is a town in Northern Ireland... A wee bit more than a month by team. So, I'm guessing that they're headed somewhere in Iowa or Nebraska. Oh well, you've always been a bit cryptic about geographical locations. I live in Minnesota and have been around the Midwest quite a bit so I'm particularly interested in these 'old West' tales and trying to figure out where they are taking place.