ColumbusGuy

Georgie, such a heart-wrenching story, and it made me think of the three people I've lost in my life due to choosing their own ending times. Two of those occurred in 2007, my mother and my s.o. My mother was 76 when she went into palliative care at the local hospital for her final days; her struggle with diabetes came to a head when she refused dialysis, and I was by her side her last week--the final three in a coma. She went in the day before my birthday and died five days later with her family around her. My partner of twelve years, essentially tossed out and yet still geing stressed by his parents, finally had enough and took his own life at the end of that summer, just a couple days after we'd last been together. He gave no signs of doing what he did, and at his memorial I wanted to vomit because of the hypocrisy his parents showed. Pure examples of Christian parental concern when they'd told him constantly the only way they'd ever take him back in the family was if he submitted entirely to their controlling his life. They truly had no clue of what his personality and goals were, and would have been horrified to learn he was bisexual. I miss him each day and only wish I could have done more for him, but he wouldn't let anyone in so closely to see his turmoil... The third loss was several years earlier--one of my two nephews I'd babysat for when they were kids. He was twenty five and had just been told by his girlfriend that she wouldn't allow him to see their daughter again, so with no legal recourse, he took his own life. I think what Einar and Stirnir did was the only way for them to preserve any sort of dignity, and only hope that attitudes will change so it is an option for those who face similar circumstances. We allow euthanasia for our pets when they can no longer live without pain or suffering and there is no other option, so why be so cruel as to drag out one's suffering just because we are supposedly more intelligent? Is it compassionate to let one's beloved suffer endless pain for a few more days, weeks, months? I know my mother's choice was right for her after a long and happy life, and I hope my own will be equally ushered out in peace....

As bad as arranged marriages can be, who can guarantee that other marriages will work out any better? Half today end in divorce, and some of those that don't should have as the love has worn thin or are still together only for the children, happy or not. My own family was an example of various attempts, most of which failed. I was the sole product of my mother's second marriage and my father's third, and they divorced at last when I was a sophomore in college with much recrimination. My mother had three girls older than me from her first, and all had more than one marriages before finding one that worked. My father had a son and daughter from his first, and those seemed better. The son could have no children yet stayed married, and the daughter had two kids but so far as I know both are still unmarried. No wonder I stayed single with only a couple long-lasting relationships. The last was the most successful at twelve years but ended when he killed himself due to troubles with his parents...who knows what they'd have done even worse if they had any idea he was bisexual! Who knows what the final straw will be that leads to the ultimate decision? My partner gave no sign when I saw him just a couple days before he ended his life....

Okay, my brain is on overload, naughty author...I'd wager it's Jack in the lake, but beyond that I'm at a loss. I hadn't thought of Bob Luard as a suspect seriously, but now it could fit since he'd be the expert on the old garden/well, and the renovation plans. I'll just coast along and wait for the last act of the drama to see whodunit. :) Just one thing, with the references to old sleuths, you should watch the comedy Murder By Death which has send ups of most of the old detectives such as Charley Chan, Miss Marple and Nick Charles....A lot of great actors in it too.

Though it's been a long time since I read the first books, I'd kept up with them all until about the third one by Todd...I don't recall chickens off-hand, so immediately thought of wherries...but now I'm wondering: I don't seem to recall dogs or cats either--does anyone else know if they're mentioned?

Will Vikkel learn from this or go on hoarding his marks? Want to wager if he wants slate roofing, he gets it for the barns first? Innocents like Berran and our heroes suffer the most when people like Lengiorl continue their despicable ways unscathed. With luck the idiot will be out with the flamethrower next Fall, and I won't miss him if he gets injured. Not enough time for any major renovations before the next Fall, but maybe a bit of hope for the one after that in just over two weeks....

Of course Fall would come in weather that made it difficult to spot, giving less warning to all concerned, but especially those on the ground. Kadin will know what to do, but it comes down to the closeness of shelter--they'd have chosen a shelter in good repair, but caves for the animals is another matter--I figure Vikkel will have lost more beasts in the hills than he'd like, so what about future summer pasturing? Without enough shelters for beasts too, I bet he'll limit or eliminate it.

I'm at a loss to speculate on things with all these damned herrings schooling around... The only mention of Jack's being gay tied him with Maurice, but perhaps Trevor was a first crush? The fact Maurice later married Brenda is no real deterrence to that as he could be bisexual. My first relationship was with a bi friend who later married and had three kids, and my last and longest was with another bi guy who succumbed to mental pressures from his family over his entire conduct of his life and not following their plans so that he committed suicide . His memorial service gave no clue to who he was as it presented the parents as perfect symbols of Christian beliefs and proved they had no clue or desire to get to know who their son was in any respect...and all this was without their knowing of his sexuality! So, the apparition...is it an employee or an outsider who stumbled on something he shouldn't have seen? And where's Jack after all these years?

Having grown up with odd shows and books as a young teen and high schooler, I was among the first in my middle school to read von Daniken's Chariots of The Gods, and later loved the tv series Kolchak The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin about a reporter who finds supernatural events to investigate. That series is still in syndication on METV and shouldn't be missed... The point? What if Terry's visions are echoes of real events at the theater, and the victim is in the well? So Terry is merely a conduit for a spirit rather than the victim himself....Who the victim is could be the one person who isn't living now, but who is the murderer(s)? Wonder if they fled to Australia?

Once more our Author gives us a puzzle to work on: he closes off one question only to reveal another that we hadn't seen coming. Naughty Author! :) A bit confused when the rider said they'd be sure Thread was coming by mid Winter, when I though we had a year or more to the first Fall of the Pass...unless he means a preliminary sighting through the Star Stones? It would seem to me that the Red Star must appear at almost the same point each year, so there must be some special indicator in the skies to say a Pass begins at the next Turn rather than it being another normal year?

I wish Eaddji had lived to see them married and return home one last time...still, I think he knew they'd be the ones to fulfill his dream. I'm intrigued at them taking on the roles of shamans in even a small way, and just hope Mihkkel's mother can help them learn the traditions in some ways--knowing the language is a wonderful foundation, but there's far more like the mythologies and practices to make it have a true tie to the past in a more concrete way. You don't need to duplicate things exactly, but it's sad to think how much was lost to indigenous people through outsider domination and willful destruction. It saddens me when I remember Grandfather drumming and joiking to them, and realizing they might never pick up even the skill of drumming....

Only one more chapter? I don't want to leave these boys and their story behind... Ivor pointed me to this story, and I'm glad he did because it's such a beautiful combination of folk culture and how it relates to the 'modern' world. In so many ways pre-Christian societies put us to shame with their openness to other beliefs and views on the natural world. No wonder I reject organized religions in favor of a more naturalistic and compassionate world view. Being of Germanic background I've always felt more comfortable in rural settings, and most connected to hills and forests over cities. That led me into the mythologies of the Nordic cultures, and in the mid 80s to the lucky find of some cds of a series called Nordic Roots that features songs from all the arctic countries. I found some Sami songs in the mixes along with Norse, Swedish, Finnish and even some Icelandic, and all of it stirs my soul which most classical music doesn't manage. If you haven't seen it, check out the video 'Suvitar' online by Gjallarhorn...the rhythms and visuals are astounding.

Been a long time since I did any readings, used a Waite deck back then, or was it a Rider-Waite? If I remember right the card that often came up signifying me was the Knight of Cups which felt like a proper fit then. Now, who knows since I can't interpret them now with my vision problems. Surprised Dan is open-minded about paranormal things, but his interest in Terry is a nice confirmation of Terry's own feelings.

Wow, I have to keep better track of things beyond your main stories...Ivor told me about this one, and it turns out I'd missed the previous one as well! I tried learning Gaelic once but gave it up as too difficult with no native speakers to hear it from, though I love the music and mythology....

Dang, I missed this, and it came out on my birthday! A lot of fun with this one, Mawgrim? I suppose I'm unlike most gay people here in that I'm fairly conservative on a lot of issues that so burn up social media these days. Could be my rural youth, but I grew up in the 60s and 70s when you thought for yourself and questioned things others said as a matter of course. So, I'll think about issues and not just agree with someone on the basis of popularity or what some liberals scream as truth...we've fragmented our community by not seeing that unity is the key to our freedom rather than giving every niche an initial or touting the popular social media fad as gospel. I gave up hope for us when some Pride groups banned policemen from marching with them just because of their jobs--so much for an inclusive gay community. I'm reminded of a picture that I saw a few years back about a wild cat in one of our northeast Columbus suburbs that had panicked people, and a guy posted a pic of a yellow tabby kitten in a windowsill with a gun pointed at it while it's paws were in the air, and labeled 'Gahanna' Wild Cat Cornered!'

I can see Kemi making it to Benden okay since her path is on open slopes and then a major road rather than trails hugging mountain cliffs. Well, once Vikkel sees Thread come, he'll be far worse off--there's no way he'll replace the old buildings with new slates, so those will be destroyed with their contents at first fall, and we can guess he'll be severely scored rather than eaten entirely unless he's far from the Hold...can't imagine Thread would find him palatable. :) Sorry, the only ones I have sympathy for at Pinnacle are Merida and Kadin's sisters...and our intrepid heroes of course.

I wonder if Lourde Construction's problem is a decline in quality work being covered up by branching out so much into modern stuff that they think the past is now forgotten? Perhaps that's why the family lost the old homestead? Urban flight is nothing new--those who could afford it had both town and country houses, while less fortunate suffered or scraped enough together to leave entirely. We lived on the east side of Columbus until I was three years old when the empty fields across from us were divided up into lots and new houses went up, so my parents got us out into the country where I grew up surrounded by farms until I was nearly 30. I now live just north of OSU's campus in a neighborhood that was developed around 1900, so the houses are fairly diverse in style and alas about half are rented out to students with internal changes occurring when owners sell or tenants do too much damage...the exteriors are governed by historic regulations, so at least those maintain their style. My own house has kept most of the internal features like original woodwork in varnish and lighting, and that was a huge plus for me.... Romance with Dan? Hmm, an interesting thought, but he seems almost as close-minded as Cliff was.

A nice diversion for Kemi's escape...I hope she manages to get to the weyr, and one thing gives me some hope for it: daughter of the Holder or not, she is from a smaller Hold where no one is truly pampered, all must work to one degree or another. Her chances are better than a girl from a major Hold or even a town-bred girl. I think she won't care what her brother and Kadin get up to with her own rebellious streak.

I'm torn on the subject of the paranormal--it would make life more interesting if it existed, but so much of what is claimed are obvious fakes. I'm open to evidence before deciding, yet just saying something is true because of 'belief' or 'faith' is not real proof, so I see religion in the same light. I'm more likely to believe in a natural philosophy based religion than one based on 'miracles' or dogmatic teachings, as those who claim to know the one true path cause more problems in history than any other group. Regarding dementia, my stepfather provided a chilling example: when he first married my mother, he was in his early 60s, full of life, wit and boundless enthusiasm; I met his mother before she died at age 92 and her mind was clear as a bell and was as active as she could be. Sadly, some fifteen years later, signs set in with him, and he began to forget things like the way to their fishing cabin in Canada, then other things until he seldom spoke and couldn't remember his own childrens' or grandchildrens' names, all of whom he'd been close to all their lives. When my mother went into hospice care he was unable to care for himself and I heard he died some five years after her death in 2007. At least my own parents and grandparents had no signs of dementia that I ever heard of, thank the gods.

The fact that there's a year or more before Jevikel and Kadin leave gives room for Kemi's escape, but it also makes me think something intervenes so she either never tries or is lost. Vikkel won't allow a repeat of the earlier escape of Kadin's mother with his own daughter, though he is a fool in many other ways.... I hope Kemi finds a way to a happier life, so maybe our Author will fix things up for her? :)

We seem to be eliminating some possibilities, yet the dream of the pursuit and rusty ladder remain...if it weren't for that I'd think the 'haunting' stems from the time before the cinema was built. A real brain teaser, Mawgrim!

So it seems we have a year or so before Jevikel and Kadin are forced out of their Hold...I feel sorry for Kemi who will be sent off for her 'wedding' by then or forced to run, which seems unlikely despite her resolve. I'm wondering if 'The Sound of Music' played some part in inspiring this tale, as I can picture our heroes traipsing the hills and almost twirling to take in the scenery. :)

I wonder if Terry's dream is a memory rather than a premonition? The question then is this: doesn't the sensitive have to be at or near the location for such a dream to occur? If so, then it may likely be the workings of a feverish imagination rather than a true psychic visitation... Dang, I think Mawgrim is turning into another Wilkie Collins.

I love this group of characters so much and spent yesterday reading the entire first book, and this morning reading what we have so far of the new volume. Not a complaint, just curiosity: I know South Africa was settled by the Dutch, then the English a bit later, but are the two cultures so separated now that Afrikaans now appears only in place names or food names? I've always enjoyed various forms of folk music, and while in college in the late 70s, the book store had lps from all over, and one was music by Miriam Makeba, and another was of Afrikaans songs by a couple called the Marais--Josef and Sarie I think. Loved both. Eager for the next chapter!

What a likable bunch the management of the cinema are. :) A new suspect in Jack with a temper who also drinks...certainly looks suspicious, but then that's what is known as a red herring in mysteries.... Silver Surfer--I love it! I remember him from old comics as a kid, and seem to vaguely think he was cute, later replaced by Billy Mumy and Lance Kerwin when I hit 15....It's sad when childhood fantasies grow out of their cuteness, but that happens to all of us in time. Perhaps that's why I loved fiction novel heroes longer as I could see them only in my head, undimmed by actual images from reality? Ah, John Cater of Barsoom, Thongor of Lemuria and Jandar of Callisto...

Wow, G-Man, when you come back into sight you do it with a bang! Hee hee. The changes age brings about are a mixed blessing and curse...Okay, I'm an inch shorter than I used to be, but then, I'm also almost forty pounds lighter than I was in college now being 205#. Also on the minus is the diabetes I inherited from my mother that showed up when I was 41, though it's managed with meds, yet has caused vision problems which are only partially corrected, leaving me with about half the vision I had before. On the plus, no neart or respiratory problems, no ulcers or allergies, no mental aberrations though I do have a bit of arthritis in my knees from accidents rather than age. Sigh...what's that old saw? You can't win for losing? On the whole, I'm not bad, got reasonable health, a few good friends both in real life and online, and my house is paid off...of course inflation and utilities see that I don't need to worry about having any savings.... Working on a chapter for you, my friend!