ColumbusGuy

Wow, an honest lawman in the Old West; I'm sure there were more than a few, but movies and stories often show them in cahoots with unscrupulous characters or taken in by their slick talk. I was surprised that he also urged the two men to find another occupation and even returned the gold to them. Fifty dollars in reward money is a huge sum for those days too, so maybe a small farm isn't out of reach?

I am so far behind on stuff, but finally got back to this great yarn! I really hope Coy and Boone stay together, and I'm glad Coy made the right decision about Will's ill-gotten gains. On to the next gripping chapter....

A nice adventure for Adam and Mark, and looks like they'll be fast friends from this point on. Sports was never my thing either thanks to poor vision, but I did try games of softball in our front yard as a kid, and my Dad hit the ball hard enough to lose it in the field across the road, even breaking the bat once. I preferred Frisbee or biking or hiking rather than more organized games, but swimming was never an option because I fell into the neighbor's pool when I was little and it scared me away from deep water.... Maybe the boys will have another camping holiday next year?

Ah, the dreaded annual camping experience some parents inflict on their kids! Fortunately for me, a bookworm just like Adam, rural/small town Ohio isn't a place prone to such things. You got your daily dose of outdoors either doing chores or playing with neighbor kids, so such structured events weren't necessary. Mind you, this was back in the 60s and early 70s before paranoia about raising kids set in, so we roamed our local lanes on bikes, hiked in fields and groves of trees or swam in ponds or streams or a neighbor's pool if one was available. I whiled away many lazy days on my bike or in a tree house across the street on a neighbors farm in a centuries old oak. We'd eat at friends' houses and were told to call if we were going to be there after dark, when we'd likely spend the night. Who needed camp with an unknown mix of strangers back then?

I hope things work out for Coy and Boone, but it seems they've had this discussion before and it doesn't sound like it went well. Even so, Coy seems to be sending out conflicting signals. If Boone goes off to seek land, I hope he's savvy enough to be wary of the rife land speculation that went on back then.... On to the next chapter! 🐈

I've been on a horse exactly twice...okay, one was a pony at the local street fair when I was a kid, but it had a mane and tail and we rode around in a circular ring for a while on a lead. The other time was when I was an older teen and neighbors came to take my sisters out on their horses and I tried one, a big Palomino. An elderly neighbor on a nearby farm taught me to drive a sulky on the dirt track next to his barn, so that counts right?

Whoa dogies, another high falutin' adventure from our G-Man! I'll be moseyin' on over to from time to time t' see what's goin' on with these here wranglers.

I'm finally caught up after being distracted by outside things. I hated to read of the loss of more kids, but knowing what is going on with the Cataii should give Alex and his group the feeling that it will all be worthwhile when the aliens are forced out. I admire Alex for rescuing the group from the intern camp, but now I'm wondering if the group at Kelvedon is dead...that still leaves Cheyenne, right? 🐈

No words of wisdom from me this time since Gary has said them all. Sigh.... 🐈

I've been here seven years now, but didn't post anything until a year later. This was my first real gay writing site for posting, before that I'd done interactive historical fiction at a now defunct site for more than a decade, and since it was set in ancient Rome, I allowed same-sex relationships to be a part of the stories. I began reading at gay sites in the 90s, but many are now gone, though I never thought I'd do my own at that time. I'd written off and on since elementary school, and in college learned I had a talent for historical fiction, which led to the ancient Rome site once I had a computer and the internet grew in the mid 90s. I now post at four sites, but GA always gets my stories first as it was my first experience. Like the others, I thank Myr for his foresight and drive in getting this adventure going, and am glad it can be free from partisan politics on the main boards. I don't go to the Pit because I need a refuge from our world at times, and GA provides that for me. I'll come this close to politics: since 1976 at my first voting, I've gone with my beliefs most times, sometimes Independent, Libertarian, Republican or Democrat. There were moderates back then which made working together possible, and that seems nearly impossible these days, which leaves all of us in a poorer position as regards being happy in our personal lives. Thanks again Myr, and Carlos for posting this great slice of history.

When I was told about this prompt I saw nothing but problems in trying to write something for it...but Ivor has shown us all that challenges can be overcome. He saw a path where I couldn't...but then he's a native of the land that gave birth to our language, and I'm just a poor benighted ex-colonial.

Getting the bottled up emotions out is wonderful therapy, and you're in an enviable position to do it--a farm in the middle of woods where you can go out , stand in the middle of a clearing and scream your lungs out. If I did that I'd be hauled away to another sort of farm specializing in fruit, and we're not talking about that growing on trees....I don't feel like being wrapped up in a soft padded jacket and room with a lock on the outside and a little window in the door for someone to look in on me occasionally. I'm on the verge at times, having gone out twice since February to doctor's appointments, and even if I could go out, there's nothing to do with restaurants and stores closed. Can't even sit on the stupid porch because it's over 90 degrees out and the heat index is often over 100. Go out and have a good scream for me and let me know how it went, please! 🐈

I love your imagery, my dear friend. Think of it linked to birthdays also...there will always be more ahead than behind, we just have to wait for them.... Times are rough right now, and politics have hindered the cooperation needed to combat this virus more effectively, but we have more knowledge now and just have to rely on sanity and facts rather than fear and division. On a side note: this isn't the worst pandemic we've had--the Influenza outbreak of 1918 killed tens of millions worldwide and while not much could have been done, the government at that time issued no guidelines or bulletins on it at all, though the military knew about it in 1917 when it began. It impacted the war in Europe on both sides, and here at home mass graves had to be dug for the dead. It had such an impact that there was even a children's rhyme about it. All that in a time with less people and fewer modes of quick transport, so I think we're not doing too bad in comparison..... Coincidentally, my late father was born in late March of 1918, and I think it's a wonder that he lived through the epidemic. I saw the grave of his older brother who died in 1914 of diphtheria at age three. Hugs and much love, my dear Gary.

Damn it, Geron! You give us a smashing adventure story, an amazing new use for skwish, and leave us standing outside a sealed ancient city just about to peer inside.... We never get to see the inside of these new places, except Twombley--and we don't even know what the Juacarvo look like except they're bigger than Kontus. AARRGGHH!! You are way too good at this game, my dear!

One thing about Ivor's stories is the wonderful feel he has for the period he sets them in, primarily due to the fact he's lived through it and fills the scene with resilient characters who often surprise us. The occasional Britishism is no deterrent, rather it lends authenticity to his works...his meaning is always clear to the reader, and his tales lose nothing of his special character. The English world is full of talented authors, and I enjoy nothing more than immersing myself in one of their worlds with a perspective often different from that of American producers. As one fine example, try 'Love On The Rocks' by Marcus MacNally at CRVBoy, or our own authors Graeme or Palantir.

I had to smile at the images conveyed between the robin and cat scenario. Playful game or prelude to a battle for survival? Not so long ago it was thought that the concept of play was unknown in the animal kingdom, but we now know that to be untrue. It was thought then to be training for survival, but the scene you portray shows us otherwise. I seem to recall that the naturalist Konrad Lorenz said play was an integral part of the development of all animals...yes, it's related to hunting instincts, but it is done even when there is no actual prey around, say between siblings in a lion's pride. As for spiders...well, they are excellent predators, and serve a very useful purpose in our environment. Even so, there are many examples of them grown to enormous size preying on humans in both movies and novels. I too set them outside if I find one in the house, and when I lived in the country I would be careful not to destroy their webs when I found them in the undergrowth. Dang, can't say anymore that 'Sumer is icumen in'...it's already here.

I loved this slice of urban life and the way you crafted a happy ending for Trent and Armie that actually was more than the standard result for this type of encounter. When I first moved to Columbus and would go out to bars with friends or singly, I was approached by such 'temporary companions', sadly mostly female...obviously of no interest though I was polite in turning them down. The only time a man made such an approach was at a party with a mix of gay and straight friends, and it took a bit to realize what he was hinting at. I'm fairly sure he wasn't gay, but needed money, and he also had other services like minor repairs and such. Weird. I'm not sure if I didn't hang out in the right spots, or didn't have tons of money because I never saw an escort like in your story...sigh. :) Almost missed this one as it was the last thing in the queue!

Mothers are a strange mix of emotions for most of us, boys in particular. I think only time can sort some of those feelings out for us...when we were little, we enjoyed the warmth and security we got from being held; as we grew older we felt somehow limited by those same feelings, like they were holding us back, but at times even then we needed that reassurance. It was once we became teens and then young adults going out on our own that we felt free...but how often did we wish to experience that warmth one more time deep in our hearts? How often did we feel trapped by a call to hear her ask what we were up to, and how we were doing, then hasten the call to go join friends? Only once those calls have ceased because Time has taken that loved one from us do we remember those calls with a mix of joy and regret for not having had them go on longer, or more often. I spoke to my mother almost every day until she died, and visited her as often as I could, yet it seemed not enough when she was finally gone. We had no set place or event that brought us together, but every moment was one we bonded over and shared, at her house, walking in a park, or visiting relatives. And yet, it's the feeling of her arms and love that springs to mind when I think of her, going back to a time when we watched a late monster movie when I was ten and she made popcorn for us. Even now, thirteen years on, I will get an urge to call her and mention something I saw or heard that day that she would have enjoyed too...then I remember, and my day loses some of that sparkle it held until that moment. Thanks G-Man for this wonderful image of your own mother. Hugs and kisses, my friend. I wish they were from your mother, but a friend's may help anyway.

What?! Stories grow out of an author's control? Madness! Of course, my Jay & Miles was going to be just some short pieces, and has wound up being sixty chapters so far and 350k words.... I never would have thought years ago when I read your shorts at another site that we'd embark on a wild adventure into other Realms and even into outer space! Keep at it my friend...my vision problems has slowed me down, but I'm not out yet.I was glad to see footy on my cable again over the weekend with Brisbane v. Freemantle! That's about the only sport I like, having first caught it years ago before moving into Columbus in the early 80s when I liked St. Kilda and Geelong. Then as now, a big draw was the skimpy outfits and toned athletes... :)

It has been an awesome ride, my dear friend! I regret only that this trip has ended, and it will be a while until you saddle up again to lead us on another adventure. I hope it's to the Realms again, but a jump into the Diaspora wouldn't be bad either. You've gifted us with so many new friends in this tale that it'll be like losing touch with family members we see only at unknown intervals, yet they are never far from our thoughts. I look forward to your next story, and know that it will be filled with good friends, great adventures and vividly detailed flights of fancy like all your other books. Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, Palantir has real books out--Mparntwe and Attunga are the two future sci-fi ones...pester him for links! Hugs and kisses and much love to you.

What can be said when society's moral compass has failed us? You don't need religion to point out that some things are just not right, and our shared humanity is drowned in a sea of rhetoric from all sides that cares nothing for coming together as one unit to share our better selves for a solution to our problems. Civilization is a tissue thin veneer easily torn away by those who always wait for the opportunity to tear things down so we sink back into the mire of the primordial swamp. The light which occasionally shines as a beacon to a better future gutters now and could easily be blown out... I am reminded of the final verse of Zager & Evans' In The Year 2525: 'Now it's been 10,000 years, Man has cried a billion tears For what, he never knew, Now Man's reign is through...' Maybe some other species will make a better world some day.

It's easier now for me to 'turn off' my editor eye since I mostly use my ears now, but like the other authors I can supply the right word or missing word in most cases. About the only things I check now in stories is the spelling of character names if the narration makes them a mad tangle. I can still lose myself in a good story, and admit to passing some up for glaring errors in descriptions as some mentioned as it may indicate a lack of attachment for the story's final appearance by the author. Also, I will give more leeway to foreign authors whose native language isn't English. As for published print volumes, one in particular drove me to distraction: I had awaited the book Earth Made of Glass by, I think, Robert Silverberg for some years, only to find when I got it, that some forty pages had been randomly duplicated in the center of the book, making it almost impossible to follow the thread of the plot. So far as I know that was never corrected. I have not had much experience with ebooks, so can make no judgments on them. I am leery of audiobooks because many are possibly edited versions of printed volumes, giving what are considered the 'best' sections of the story rather than the complete text. If I'm wrong on this count, please let me know.

Oh man, if Gary and Ivor are the same person, then that cuts down my circle of friends way too much! Oh wait, I've talked to Gary by phone when I had undergone my eye surgeries, and he doesn't have a British accent...but then, he wouldn't if Ivor is the fictional one. Drat, still a mystery. A sequel would be nice, but I know how it feels to try and come up with one to a story you considered completed already (Have some ideas for Sole Mates II in the works). A wonderful use of the prompt, and packed full of visuals and emotion. 🐈

A sweet indulgence for the romantically minded...too bad there are those out there who don't think this is something they'd ever do. There are more than a few gay men I have run into that think it's somehow an 'extra' that isn't necessary or is less than macho. Another sad fact is that it is an art that few think to learn...a kiss can convey a wealth of information and emotion in one seemingly simple act, so I don't understand why this is a neglected topic in schools. :) A fluttering bashful smooch to my dear Gary for reminding us of this most sublime of intimacies.c

From the first half of the chapter, I didn't think this ending would come so soon, or perhaps even be possible. Several factors helped to reunite Hank and Chase: they both had to let go of the resentments that grew out of the past events, and do some very deep introspection to see if any love remained between them. Without that ember, I don't think any real connection could be rekindled. Is the road ahead going to be free of pot-holes? Is it ever? At least now they have a better understanding of what they need to do to keep things running smoothly, which they didn't before. Personal growth into an adult perspective on life and love will augment the starry-eyed vision of their future, and this time they'll make it work. We can't forget the influence of Christine's last gift either--I think that gave Chase a way to see that others saw what existed between him and Hank wasn't just in his own heart, but also obvious to the one person he truly trusted in life. It worked the same way for Hank, who had lost his own trust in life once he thought Chase had abandoned him. Did Christine make the bar's sign work again just for them? I like to think so, and if Gary says it did, then who am I to argue? 🐈