Kitt

Just FYI? Fort Dix has not gone away - it is still there although greatly reduced, operating under the new title of "Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst"

Maybe we shouldn't be giving him any bright ideas - he gets plenty of his own!

Tony wouldn't be the first to use the military's old policies to help hide being gay/bi. Don't ask don't tell seems to fit right into his philosophy at this point. I can see a lot of the appropriately aged kids from Claremont enlisting post 9/11. There was a surge in enlistments after the event, and while i am not sure its is true and not just perceptual there always seems to be a slightly more patriotic feel to smaller towns as compared to metropolis' like NYC. I can see Claremont revamping some older health care facility to welcome recovering vets into the area, some of whom tend to stay close to their rehab facilities. There is in fact several VA facilities in Ohio including Clermont County Community Based Outpatient Clinic (Cincinnati, OH).

You already know what I think of the poem, I have been saying it for years now. What you don't know is I am proud of you!

I have to admit as much as I am looking forward to each chapter, as the dreadful day approaches my nerves get a little tighter every time I think about the story. I appreciate how so many of you feel, recalling the events as they pertained to you. Nothing I can imagine can compare to the way i felt as i watched the plane hit tower two from my upstairs window. There are two things we all need to brace ourselves for beyond the event. The effects of that day were widespread. Phones both land lines and cells were next to useless this close to ground zero. All air traffic was grounded for days, rail service in and around NYC either at a standstill or so overwhelmed trying to take up the slack it was impossible. Bridges were monitored closer than they ever have been before or since. The "Tunnel to Towers" marathon run was named for a first responder who literally donned his equipment and ran thru the Lincoln tunnel to ground zero because no traffic was able to move. Remembering the events as we watch thru Mark's eyes will be difficult. The other thing we need to brace for is that Mark researches thoroughly and will not miss the details that never fail to pull at our emotions. Hang on tight people- we are in for a rough one i am sure!

Doesn't everyone in love think about it when a friend gets married? And if I had been the man of honor through all the headaches this wedding had been i'd elope too! Ty dear.

Damn well told!

I'm glad you could enjoy. My own wedding had me threatening my aunt, uncles and father that if they started arguing at my wedding i would throw them out myself wedding gown be damned!They all behaved thank goodness!

As with so many stories, the best have a grain of truth. Each hastle poor Susan faced has occurred to someone I know, with the execption of the man of honors elopement. Thankfully they didn't all happen to the same wedding. I am glad you enjoyed, and hope that if any of the brides recognize themselves they can laugh at it now too.

“So you decided to tell me that now?” Susan looked at her best friend like he had suddenly grown horns and a tail. “Well, I just sort of thought you should know. Come on, it isn’t like I am the groom telling you I’m gay the night before the wedding!” Sue took a deep breath, earning her a dirty look from the seamstress. The wedding gown fittings had been stressful enough. Every time she tried the silly thing on some other little chunk of it hung wrong. This wa

Oh my, the sleeping volcano is starting to smoke. I can definitely understand why Robbie suddenly seems like the voice of reason. His situation with Brad and Stef definitely have some similarities. Stef is surprising me lately. He may be many things but a hypocrite has never been one of them before now. And i am not talking about the sexual behaviors. To be so firmly in Brads corner as to be planning to become a co-guardian yet presenting himself as a neutral party leaves me questioning if he and Will will ever be able to repair their relationship. It totally shocks me that neither Will not Brad has called their shrinks for an appointment yet. One would think a disassociated voice of reason might be helpful in getting one ( or both) of them to think things through to the possible outcomes. Brad may not be able to revoke the emancipation, but even attempting it will further damage his relationship with Will, and he apparently hasn't thought about that yet. Will it matter if he gets his way and has total control over the boy again if Will then hates him beyond any reasoning? As usual you have left me with more questions to mull over than answers to the previous questions. The mark of a great author - starting minds to churning. Thank you.

Perhaps restrained as well - you can do a lot of damage with bare hands.

I can't help but wonder just how much worse things will get between the two when Brad finally figures out most of the kids bad behavior is in his head. He isn't one to admit when he has been wrong, unlike Will who tries to make it right once he calms down and figures things out. All Will is really guilty of here is keeping Brad at arms distance, and reacting badly to being shouted at and threatened. Once Brad figures that out I think he may feel a little foolish, something I can't see him liking very much.

Can I like Zombie's response twice? I have seen teachers belittle students for not knowing an answer or asking a "silly" question. No student should ever be subjected to that.

I can see Brad thinking just that way, as easily as any parent could go there. The my way or the highway attitude didn't go over very well back when i was Wills age either. In fact it still doesn't in most cases. When someone is being unreasonable in their presentation of the issues they seldom have a chance to resolve them. About half the readers seem to want to lay the entire situation at Will's feet. Will is being a brat, Will is not taking Brad's calls, Will is building a sex room. OK, so what if every word is true, and Will IS getting out of control, drinking more, doing more drugs? Will starting every attempt at conversation with animosity and letting the discussion deteriorate into shouting and threats do any good? Try sitting down and talking to the kid POLITELY. If someone started out by threatening to take me to court, even today, my response would be to say "Then speak to my lawyer". One cannot reason with a gale storm. Walk away and let the wind die down. I agree with everything you said here but one. Will did not rape the man. Rape is a crime of violence, and it is NOT a consensual act. Malcolm could have stopped the situation by saying no. Will did not force himself on the man, he gave a submissive partner what he was looking for. To leap to the conclusion that it was rape ranks right up there with the conclusions others have leapt to that Will is drinking too much and getting into more drugs than just the pot.

Are you SURE you are not a part of my family???

I love that you have Rob dress the idiots down for their behavior! Someone needs to go a step further and turn Dee over their knee, but then - if momma had done that when the prima-donna was a child she wouldn't be like this now would she? Are you sure you were not at my family dinners? All giggling aside - you really make the characters come to life here.

Last time i looked it was also illegal to buy ice cream after 6 pm on Sunday's unless you have a doctors prescription in one town. Being "legal" for Brad and "illegal" for Will does not change the fact that Brad has adopted a "do as I say not as I do" attitude and is doing it with extreme animosity and frequently at the top of his lungs. And pot smoking is legal in California? I was under the impression that was only if you have a medical card. And btw- smoking regular cigarettes are illegal under 18 as well - doesn't stop thousands of kids does it?

Speak for yourself! lol I am partial to a-Lan Mandragoran myself.

Brad often doesn't even talk at Will - he shouts at him.

Aside from the obvious implications that 911 may have in lost/hurt/missing family members, I can't help but think the tragedy of that day may be the catalyst that sets Brad's head straight. Perhaps it is a function of living so close to ground zero, but the people around me found themselves re-evaluating their lives and relationships in the days that followed. Many of us lost friends and family and it made us look at those we had left differently. I don't see JP as "Immediately supporting Will for the sake of just that". I think JP see's the forest in spite of the trees in the way and understands that Brad is pushing when he should be pulling. You want to get closer to someone stop being argumentative and pushing them away.

Wow. I can feel JP approaching his boiling point in this latest chapter! I can't help but think of a sleeping volcano. It may not erupt often but when it does... We already know that momma Dansfield is quite capable of putting someone into a political office and doing what ever she deems necessary to keep said politician in line. I would hate to see Gathan fall into her hands at some point in the future, but I can also totally see it happening once she decided her self exile should come to an end. I would think that would be a possibility for yet another book in the series. "From Humble Roots" maybe? Note to Mr. Arbour, You had asked me to expound on my comment on your anniversary about my family all reading your work. Check your messages sir! The response you requested is in your pm's.

My apologies for contradicting you Grienne, but Will did not kick Brad out of Escorial, he removed himself and informed the family he would not return till after Brad had left. A small but very important distinction, And where did you get the idea Will is into narcotics? Sure he smokes a bit of pot, but that is something every man-jack in the family has done since long before Will was even born. It does not make use of other drugs inevitable. Nor does having a bar in a home make someone an alcoholic. Brad tends not to act but to react when it comes to Will. He lets his emotions get the better of his thought processes, something everyone seems to condemn Will for. That isn't unusual in a teen. It should be in an adult however. Brad seems to be intent on provoking some drastic behavior in Will that the courts will see as sufficient reason to revoke the emancipation. Refusing to put The Hobart parents into an untenable position with the Marie situation and removing himself from a discussion that could only go downhill and pick up speed doing so looks to me as tho Will is being the more reasonable party this evening. A well written chapter Mr.Arbour. Your attention to the little details as usual make the story for me. The narration makes me feel as tho I am sitting at the dinner table at Escorial watching the events unfold. You turn the reader into a fly on the wall, something we have all wished to be a time or two in our lives. You give us all we need to be able to identify with one or more characters in your story, but withhold just enough to make us keep coming back for more.

I know a real life Elizabeth Dansfield. She took herself from upper middle class thru college to a low level executive position eventually marrying a man with the sort of money she felt she deserved. Love had nothing to do with the relationship as far as she was concerned. We went to high school together and she started her scheams at about the age of 12 and was very much like Marie when she was in her mid teens. I was looking at it less like ED "nurturing" Marie and more like Marie learning that any means to an end is allowable. You have to admit Elizabeth did some pretty low down things to obtain her goals.