ColumbusGuy

Chris ought to know better, but this just happened and the wound is too fresh. Give him time, and let's see what Victor does beyond moping and see how he handles Gustav. Gustav as a possible ally of the Blood Army has a great deal of merit...the leaders were ex-High Council members, and while the most visible ones left, it is far more likely that they left agents behind to feed them information. Very few vampires can read minds easily, so it ought to be easy enough to have covert agents in high places still--even Stratos. Interesting that the 'experts' in security can haul in minor cells, but not the organizers behind it....want to guess why? Victor is a youngish vampire, but he should have enough experience to know not to put unquestioned faith in exes, so he better wise up if he wants Chris to come back....

Small town indeed with about 2500 people inside the corporation limits, and it was the largest in a ten mile radius! The other two that made up our school district were a half to 2/3 the size, with others being just some houses around an intersection with names if not really being towns as such. Can't hide much in such places unless you don't talk about it at all... My town had a small bowling alley when we moved there in 1961, but it was gone by the time I began riding my bike there for candy or comics at the pharmacy...and the town hall used to show movies in a theater on the third floor, and I remember seeing Aristocats there, but it closed too. So, gossip was the main source of entertainment until the town got cable service in 1979 or so. Denny and Greg are good guys, and we'll keep our fingers crossed for them.

I think you're right, Goodie. Denny is only in the very first steps of getting his mind and spirit back on the road to being healthy again. Can Greg be the same sort of care-giver that Jay is for Mikey? What secrets does Greg have that will be revealed in the morning?

A couple questions are running around my head now that we know of four different Elven tribes: Patry's House is the fourth, and we know the names of the first two but not the third...are they all from a single tribe, or different ones? Second, what item will Chris encounter and take into himself to represent the third House? Is there one for the fourth, or is that Chris himself?

I don't mind you saying it's a favorite because it shows you actually like it, and are in touch with the boys in the way I hoped. I used to be able to play the Beethoven piece, at least until it got to the hard part near the end...the piano is very similar to one that sits in my parlor today--same date and company just slightly different styling. Can't say who might be coming along in the future...isn't four enough?

Nothing wrong with questions--they keep me on my toes, and also give me some ideas to toss in later. Linda is level-headed, so don't worry too much about her...the Beckels are never down for long with their amazing support for one another. Is there a new couple in the works? Who will it be?

Schools have always been a hotbed of speculation and rumor, with truth being only a small part of it...hence Mikey 'laying out Zane with a 2x4'... Despite social legislation to the contrary, I wonder if kids attitudes have really altered much in most schools--being gay was something to hide in my day, and I wager is still not as accepted as many want us to think. Galvin vs. Vinnie isn't a mystery, it's just a familiar form of his name for friends. I never had one as you couldn't do one for it, but some kids, even when one was available, preferred something else rather than a 'kid' name like 'Timmy' or 'Jimmy'. Hence Dennis' rejection of 'Denny'....

The Beckels are definitely a special family, and we'll learn more later to see how that came about. Hmm, Greg doling out goodies as a sign of favor to gay guys? Hadn't thought of that, but who knows. Greg is extremely loosely based on another person I knew back then, but we were just acquaintances, and I never found out any deeper truths about him. Are there more budding relationships coming?

You're right on all counts, Goodie...there will b more scenes with dads in the story, and J/M are making new friends as they learn more about one another. As you've seen, there are many movie and television references in the conversations, and these were common between me and my few friends then. There wasn't much else to do as a kid then other than play outside or read, and this was in a time before cable so many households had only three or four channels to watch, and no vcrs either. My first video machine was a betamax, and it didn't come until about 1980.

I'm glad the links are helpful and fun, but check out the ones on the front page for drawings of the boys' houses and school, and a list of who's who in the story if you need reminders. Some people haven't appeared yet at this point, but they will. I always thought 'frottage' was a funny sounding word, but turns out it was a heck of a lot of fun to try in person too... I'm getting the feeling that Linda's graduation chapter might wind up being done in several parts just to fit everything it!

Ignore this since it isn't supposed to be here, and there's no Delete button.

Some of us had less than ideal first times, but mine was a good one with a friend from high school though it happened in college. He was also the first person I came out to, and he offered experience, and was gentle and patient and we tried things out equally so I'd know both aspects of the sex act. Sadly, our friendship ended some years later when his fiancee made him choose her younger brother over me as his best man. We weren't enemies, just never hit it off, but he gave in to keep the peace, so that told me where more than a decade of friendship stood... Some questions will be answered in future chapters, while some will remain mysteries for a longer time. Ups and downs ahead, as in life, but I like happy endings....

I think you're right about them showing their concern by being good providers, and that likely came from their growing up during the Depression or in a remote place like eastern Kentucky. I have seen some old pics of my mom and her sisters from the early 40s and they are in simple dresses with what appear to be work-style boots rather than more typical girl's shoes. I know when we visited my mom's aunts down there that the houses were nice, but more than one used privies rather than indoor bathrooms, and my half sisters' grandmother lived in a log cabin and fetched her own water from a spring well into her 90s...she wore a floor length dress and bonnet straight out of the 1850s. Goodie, this all does work out in the end, but I won't give away the details because I don't know them yet.... 🐈

Mikey has had a lot more time being insecure than he has feeling loved for himself, so a little regression is to be expected. I think he'll grow out of that as the relationship strengthens. I won't give anything away, but Jerry has always taken the big brother role seriously. We know very little else about him so far, but snippets will appear in future chapters. What will he think of Jay's being gay? I hope you've checked out some of the video links...they help a lot with getting a feel for the era.

Mikey has taken the chance I passed up, and found what I'd hoped for back then but was too afraid to chance. I did find it eventually in the 90s with an unlikely guy, only to lose it all in 2007 when he killed himself as a result of parental pressure and rejection--it would have been far worse had they any idea he was bisexual. His closest cousins didn't go to the memorial service because he'd have gone off on his parents for driving him to that extremity. It was a sad affair, not just for the grief I felt, but because his parents pretended to be the proper grieving parents for their fellow church members, but his friends knew they threw him out years before because he wanted to live his own life. Yes, we'll see J-1 before the story ends...I hope you stick around for it!

Thanks Goodie! I'm working on Chapter 60 right now, which is about half finished, so you have a little way to go...Jerry will show up for his sister's graduation in early June, so it will be interesting to see him at the ripe old age of 20. You'll also meet Uncle Mikkel and his partner Sam then too, but you get a little look at them in Chapter 20....

I'm glad you found this one as it sorta pre-dates the main story time-wise, and gives some background to the Beckel clan. There's another one called 'Out West' that takes place seven months ahead of the main story, so you should probably wait to read that one until you're caught up...no real spoilers, but...

Until now I thought the boys were getting the most out of staying with George, but no longer. He lost his wife, undoubtedly early due to grief, and their son in the prime of his life. Chris and Billy have given him another chance at having a family after he'd given up hope. With his remarks before and after the slippering, we see that George has taken the boys into his heart as well as his home. I have the odd feeling I'm watching a costume drama, or reading an early 20th century novel with this touching story. When will you offer the BBC the film options, my friend?

One thing, why didn't the 'carrier wave' interfere with other trips as this one wasn't the first? And, why would aliens want attention drawn to their presence? I don't like Naha, but if Elisa could come up with a potion for Many to get the job done, then I bet she'd be less trouble...there was a good amount of knowledge then about natural medicines, and with her updated information, I'm sure something could be done. Eager to hear what the secret is....

I have to admit it was a chore getting through all the comments to this point, but doing so opened a few new avenues of consideration. Some of the twists and turns and motivations attributed to both sides are positively byzantine, and while they may be true, doubt remains thanks to the old application of Occan's Razor. Are these men so full of loathing for one another that they would construct elaborate citadels to oppose one another? I may not like Hank at the moment for dismissing Chase's reasoning, but it fits with his past experiences of betrayal by those he loved. Love is blind, but what does that say of Hate--equally blind or focussed laser-sharp? I'll add this: Chase has advanced to seeing the world in shades of color as we all did in the 60s, while Hank is stuck in the black and white era of the 50s. It's a huge difference, and I can't help but think of the Calvin & Hobbes comic where the father tells the boy the world was all black and white until the 60s when it turned to color, and the mom yelled at him for messing up their hyper-imaginative son's mind more than it already was.... All the speculation is intriguing, but it's just that--Gary isn't telling us the answer like any good writer holds things in reserve. Just as the characters are making assumptions, so Gary is meting out just enough for us to do the same. Huge props to Gary for drawing us into this rocky affair, and now I'm going to try to ease my headache by a little nap. I think this might be your most provocative work to date, my dear G-Man.

A touch of bull-headedness, perhaps? You certainly aren't a 'Cretan', though you do make us 'Minoan' some times with your jokes....

As usual, Geron gives us one amazing adventure, while also keeping us grounded in the things that really matter--our bonds to one another. It's a wonderful concept that even something we think of as cold and unyielding such as stone, can resonate to the idea of love. We see stones in relation only to how they make us feel, or conjure up our own memories, while at least in this tale, it has become a two way street. I do hope we can see what became of the Hanschwei on their new world...Charlie and Company would be right at home with such an empathetic species. Still hoping to learn what Rick and Charlie's skwishy inclinations are! 🐈

Oh, Ivor..... Let's hope these new creatures can actually communicate with one another, or this could be a wild goose chase more suitable for a major food holiday. If that turns out to be the case, then we may have to fall back on using Oumuamua as a refuge for Casper's fellow power-users. Is it midnight yet?

Keerby is a sort of 'universal' power user, so I'd wager he can do almost anything...except maybe sweep floors. I hope we find out what happened to the aliens, but with their seeming ability for long-range planning, I think they wouldn't leave without having found a safe home. Still, I'd like to visit them in the present just to say 'hi'... Max is here to provide the 'muscle' for whatever is coming, or is it the 'common sense'? With Geron as the author, I'm not even going to speculate as his mental pathways are truly labyrinthine in complexity and ingenuity!

I saw the news and a documentary on Oumuamua and thought how awesome it would be for there to be something intelligent behind it...and now we get to find out! Why do these pirates remind me so much of the Time Bandits crew? Also, pirates are often aided by spies, but this crowd gives a whole new definition to 'planting' them among the victims.... No idea how this will tie in to Valentine's Day, but you know what--with this start, I really don't care because I'm having way too much fun just riding along! 🐈