ColumbusGuy

The dinner sounded wonderful--and not a ram's nether part in sight! I might skip the dessert course, preferring something a bit less healthy, but I'd try it. In the midst of a grand space, it's still possible to host an intimate dinner with the right company. I was in awe at the scale of the presents being dispatched, but I think the most wonderful part for our heroes is about to come--who wouldn't want a ride in Santa's sleigh, even with the possibility of exhaust gasses. Getting in the spirit of the holidays is inescapable with this group! 🎄 😺

I'm glad to see our new friend has an amazing name, thanks to Bob, our resident master of Illusion. You have to be nimble and quick-witted for a job like that. Auggy might get a mate in future...unless Nicholaas will have him neutered.

Ah, it's wonderful when hunches are proved right, as Kippy and Adrian's were in this instance. A subtle and perhaps significant difference between elves and humans? Or the lack of vision to spot the unusual in a seemingly familiar situation? No disrespect to Dog People, as my dearest pet growing up was a German Shepherd we got when I was three years old, and had put down when I graduated high school sixteen years later...but for me, cats have always piqued my interest with their independence, curiosity and individuality. Cats will challenge your world view like nothing else, while dogs serve as playmates and guardians, and a listening ear when called for. Want a sign of true affection and love from a pet? You'll find it in felines who join you on equal terms and will bond when there is mutual trust, while canines follow their owner as a pack leader out of instinct. In case you miss my point--yay, there's a cat creature at last! 🐱

Like most times, I listened to my narrator rather than read along, and I thought you had written 'fubar', which is slang for 'f-ed up, but all right' or something like that...I thought that came from the War, but then I began thinking of gremlins like in that era's Bugs Bunny cartoons who sabotaged stuff, and that lead to the 'fighters' that some thought might have been Nazi wunderwaffen. Strange route, but I guess it says a lot about my weird mind. 😺

Moths seem to be the gremlins in the GK Universe, much as 'foo-fighters' plagued WWII pilots. Wonder if Pacha will show up to help?

Ronja seems pretty nice, but then wouldn't Santa's wife have to be? I like the different cuisines available during the meal times, but all I can say beyond a shudder at 'sour ram balls' is--thank goodness I don't live in Iceland! Too cold despite the scenery, but if this is one thing they eat on top of all that fish, then I'd quickly starve. Maybe the adventure comes when some poor animals make a break for it?

🎄 🎁 And we're off on another wonderful adventure! Even without knowing the past events at Twombly, a bubbly truck with Western Onion on it should give us a clue that fun times are ahead... So Nicholaas has a partner now...I'm glad as he'd been pining away some while back. Maybe this little celebration will go off without a hitch? Sorry, what am I thinking...not in the Charlie Boone universe!

Well, does that make me the Crypt-Keeper, the Key-Master like in Ghostbusters, or maybe the Grinch, as it's the Yuletide? Oh, and everybody knows the Ark is in Axum guarded by an old man...and I bet Amelia's plane is in Area 51, or Wright-Patterson AFB along with the alien bodies from Roswell....Hmm, that was easy. What else can I help solve? Oh, the ultimate answer to everything is...wait for it... '42!' There could be answers in the next chapter, or perhaps more questions. Heck, let's have both!

That could be a hugely significant 'or', my friend. He was working with Hartmann on several things, but that was almost three centuries in the past when he vanished into space...is he still true to their plans? Why hasn't he kept in contact with Ernst and Jakob, as he'd clearly done with Hartmann? Foremost, why didn't Hartmann let his brother in on what he was trying to do about progeny? Answers will come, but will they lead to still more questions....

About all we know right now is that Matthias is on Luna, perhaps on Far Side. (Last chapter) Is he in charge of anything sinister? Don't know, but he had connections with Hartmann before he went off to his fate on the Star-Seeker mission. Oh, God Jul min ven!

There's a choice? Why not both--unless my brain explodes from the myriad plot twists....

“What can I tell him?” Jakob looked up over the rim of his cup of tea at his husband. When the two came back to the store-room and read the completed analysis of Harman’s genome, they had to admit they weren’t as surprised as they could have been. Vague hints had been in the hidden files on the Mini-Colossus, but to have concrete numbers and code sequences was another matter. In some ways it hadn’t been a revelation at all because most humans’ DNA contained traces from earlier species as a

Wow, gardening in fast-forward. Let's see, another Gift revealed, so that leaves only Mr. B? I wonder if the making of the smaller portals will serve as a tutorial for Kieran to craft/repair the inter-Realm gates? I'd like to see each of the boys get a realm stone of their own, but are all of them red except for Kieran's? Somehow I thought each ruler had a different color? Waiting for the next marvellous unstallment, my friend!

I was impressed by Daniel's courage in coming forward to save his love on the brink of devastation. That Colin found the ability to stand by his convictions is entirely due to Daniel's love. How many others have let it slip away in the face of adversity and public censure? My history with religion has been sparse since I was a teen; I attended a Lutheran church until I was thirteen when a second job of my father's meant we no longer had the time, but since then I've done a lot of reading in various branches of belief from paganistic mythologies such as the Norse and Roman, to the books of the three major Judeo-Christian faiths. As of now, I belong to no organized church and find problems with any one that claims theirs is the single path to Truth. This story reminds us that the only criterion for us to live a better life is to Love One Another, period. All else is purported to be required so some group or individual can rise above their fellows in rank or wealth. So many say 'give us a tithe', and what do they do with it? How much truly goes to the poor and those in need? The same goes for charities--how much goes for the adminstrative salaries and publicity rather than to the cause itself? Research every group that asks for your money before handing it over, and if you aren't satisfied with what you find...seek out a more direct way to help like a food pantry or clothing shop or shelter. Sorry, got off track...Gary has given us the essence of what faith ought to be and often is not. Kudos my dear friend!

Happy Birthday dear G-Man! I've got four more to go until that big day comes, but I smiled and laughed at so many of your memories just like mine. We had many of the same toys except the Raggedy Andy, though I remember my older sisters having Barbies. I dunno, but I can recall the old game Mystery Date where you opened this little door to see a pic of your date--I didn't let on to my sisters while playing that I liked the pics....Hmm, now that I think on it, maybe that was when I began to think about boys? That was when I was eight or so. I liked the music my sisters did: Herman's Hermits, Monkees, Beach Boys, even some Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. My mom liked country then, and I didn't like it, though I did like her bluegrass records. My dad never seemed to listen to music, but I figure he had an interest in Big Band since he grew into his teens in the 30s. I like that style too. Oh yeah, nights in the country smelling new-mown hay, the sound of crickets and frogs at night...alas, being chased by yellow jackets until they got me in the back. I had many lunches as a kid with the two elderly sisters on their farm across the street--often hamburgers and apple sauce and buttered bread, served on their green Depression glass plates. Hmm, another sign of my eventual fate? Gotta love antiques, and I have some Depression glass plates and things in both green and pink...but I have my mom's Oriental Gardens china with a pagoda and stream on them that I grew up with--and I got enough pieces from sources online to expand it for twelve... Holy crap...I must be gay!

While spanking isn't my thing as I discovered when I got picked up on one of my birthdays--I was tall and big-boned and the cute blond guy thought I'd fit his ideal as he did mine--I could barely suppress laughing as he asked me to spank him. Shame, as he was great other than that, but it was enough to kill the budding relationship for us. Nice scenario for a Euro vacation, which I'd hoped to do one day. Having watched porn movies since the early 80s, I've seen quite a few set in Europe and involving Scouts or Guides, thanks to Bel Ami, William Higgins and Jean-Daniel Cadinot. Always had a thing for the idea even though I wasn't a Scout in real life. Gotta say I'm far fonder of Peter's father than Mikey's...maybe we'll see more of these guys when they're older?

I'm glad to say that I loved all of these, and and that I don't have to pick a favorite; how can you pick one out of a bouquet of perfect flowers? Maybe it was me, but I felt there was a connecting rationale to all of them--an 'undercurrent' if you will. 😺 The first sets the pace and hypothesis for the whole, but it's the haiku that carry the theme into succinct whirlpools of clarity, with the final poem the delta of understanding. The image of the one yellow leaf sets out the idea in its entirety--life will go on as long as it can, despite all the forces arrayed to disturb it. Tenacity of existence overrides the vagaries of chance into the future for good or ill, and we can hope and work for the best individual outcome, but it can be achieved only through co-operation and comprehending the entire package of problems. I sort of address this idea in my little fragmentary Tales of Three Worlds...the solution is going forward and not halting progress--we know the old ways don't work, but we can't do anything without new alternatives that are viable and we've also changed our cultural mores. Oh dear, sounds like I'm plugging my own story, but I'm not--just saying that we need to be in this together as a society and planet, and until we all do this, we won't succeed. Penalizing some and letting others continued unabated only fosters failure and stifles hope for a solution. Gary has pointed out the preciousness of Life, now it's up to us to learn from these gems.

So Mike comes to GA at last...some worthy material for the 'spank bank' of readers. ❤️ 😺 Since I've read the entire series, might I suggest you post them all here as chapters for this one rather than separate stories--makes it easier to find for us....

Tusing tak min kaereste ven. I was wondering how to write Eskil's fate, taking in both the times, moral and legal atmosphere, and yet in my mind was my own mother's passing in 2007. Then as now, even in terminal cases, suicide is a criminal act for those who help, and so I had to lend more weight to the era's small town community than the legality. More things were done at home then, from births to deaths, and often the local doctor would be known as a friend, so a back could be turned so nothing had to be reported. In a city situation, I think this wouldn't have been possible. With my mom, her end came in a hospital where she'd opted for palliative care before-hand--no machines, no extreme measures, just oxygen and meds to keep the pain level down. She had chosen to forego dialysis for her kidney problems due to diabetes, so she was set against any attempts to prolong her life artificially. So far as I know, that's a fairly new option and wasn't available back in the mid 50s. She went in the day before my birthday--I'd seen her the day before and she seemed fine--and she died five days later with the last three being unconscious. Her remaining sisters, my sisters and our cousins gathered to say goodbye, and except for breaks to sleep, we were there to the end. That was early March 2007, and turned out to be a bad year for me--I lost two cousins that summer and my s.o. in September. I think we can see why Dirck places such a high value on the family's love and respect for one another in light of his brothers' loss at such early ages. Nothing is so important as having that other person in your life. We saw here that not all families share that view.

I'm still hoping that Sean is going to turn out to be real...maybe as the landowner, or a relative of him? Alternatively, perhaps Zach and Steve? Wouldn't it be great if he buys the land the cabin is on....

Battles are all around us, and all are damaging to us in one way or another, be they in combat or among family members. The wounds of either can be crippling and perhaps mortal, and I try to steer a course that will lead my boys to a happy resolution; as the Beckels have found through sad experience, there are things we can't control that we simply have to endure as best we can, and set an example to others on life and its lessons. Compared to the choices some of us have to make or endure, I am glad I tread an easier path, and keep external forces in balance. Others may rage and rant over issues, but in the grand scheme of life and death, all else is trivial and should not disturb our sense of well-being and kindness toward our fellows. That's what I learned from my life--may it help others to find peace also.

Somebody mention magic? As you said so nicely, I don't calculate but I do fret a lot over getting things right, and I presume that comes through based on your wonderful reviews time after time. Once more, I entered this chapter with a goal set to reach, and got side-tracked by the family, who had other ideas. Things didn't pick up and flow smoothly again until I gave up my plan and capitulated to family fiat. I know only a little about my family's military service--my dad was exempted from WWII due to an inner ear problem, so worked in a factory making armor plate, and one uncle was in the Allied landing at Anzio. He came through fine, only to lose the fingers of his left hand in a bit of farm machinery later. A related branch of cousins had members who fought on both sides--one of them returned to Germany to fight for the Nazis. In my own generation, my oldest sister went to Parris Island Marine boot camp in the mid 60s, and stayed South once she married. We'd see her on summer vacations, and one I recall was seeing her leave the camp. My other sisters corresponded with Viet-Nam servicemen, and I remember souvenirs they got like a paper parasol, some earrings I found a couple years back, and a silk dress that I think had a dragon on it. Thanks once more for the wonderful job you do in making this work, my dear. 😺

Thanks--I try to make sure the good outweighs the bad, and this chapter trod a fine line, but I think the good just edged out the sadder sections.

I'm so glad you like my virtual family--they've grown in both numbers and confidence over the course of the story, with more events to come. My readers keep me inspired.

Thanks Ivor--and congrats on being the first to comment! Time zones are amazingly convenient sometimes. The second half gave me trouble, but I think it worked out better than what I'd first planned.