Carlos Hazday

Thanks, Parker. Would all kids Ritch's age have the support system he does. The vagaries of birth, in his case indirectly, can have a huge effect on how people behave. And it's not the money but the morals and values.

Kids these days have no idea how much fear and terrorism affect our lives. In another response, I referred to attending previous presidential inauguration. In those days, instead of our capital being turned into a fortress and our capitol being the site of sedition, I walked through both unencumbered and without fear. I recently watched a documentary on the search for James Earl Ray after he murdered Martin Luther King, Jr. He drove to Canada before flying to London where he was arrested with a gun in his possession. Could you imagine that happening today?

@tabaqui I'm impressed! I screwed up Singer, the average should have been 1000 lol Thiago may end up with the highest average. As I envision it right now, it'll be only six chapters so I may have to cram a lot in each one.

LOL Someone new is binge reading every story and I keep scanning sections when our new family member reacts to chapters. I just went through the chapter with the wedding rehearsal dinner.

@Okiegrad For the record, I wasn't a Carter supporter. A friend worked part-time for a South Florida Congressman, got his hands on half a dozen tickets, and a bunch of us who lived in the same dorm got to attend. I wonder whatever happened to Joe Callahan. LOL

It was the story I posted on 01/01/20, New Year's Day. Time to binge read all the spinoffs and spinins. LOL

New Year's Day. He's one of the 2 main characters. I didn't provide a link to that story, because he was only mentioned in passing. In a future chapter, he and his BF, Riley, will make an appearance.

I don't mind (much) you supported Trump, but today has been bitter sweet. I can understand the effect of COVID on the events, but seeing those fences breaks my heart. Washington is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. The majesty of it's buildings and open spaces can inspire all but the most jaded of individuals. I recall standing on frozen snow to see Jimmy Carter inaugurated, and freezing my ass even more in another one. Trump's illogical refusal to accept the election results is unparalleled in my lifetime. Ford, Carter, and Bush 41 all lost elections but loved their country enough to accept the peoples' decision. Hell, even Nixon had the decency to resign! Trump, in contrast, egged on his supporters to destroy one of our institutions. He will forever be branded as a failure and a loser. May he rot in hell and may we never see the likes of him again. Carlos steps off the soapbox and tries to concentrate on the positive as President Biden suggests.

Damn! Oh well, I guess I better start writing again.

I may have been thinking about fighting fires in both places when I wrote that. Owen, the families, and I would like to thank you for helping save Liston Winery from the flames.

LOL The first half dozen chapters are all around 6k words each. That's longer than most recent stories I've posted. I think you have to go back to Walls to find longer average chapter length.

The flying lines are so easy.... LOL

LOL about the porn Isn't it amazing how silly we all were in our 20s? I've tried to make CJ and Ritch more mature than I was at that age and I credit the fathers with providing them with the framework for it. Much better than having Cuban immigrant parents who could barely speak the language. My brother and I had to navigate a lot on our own.

We don't want you to get in trouble by taking longer lunch breaks. Maybe I should post shorter chapters from now on. And speaking of from now on, those bits from other stories play a huge part in the next chapter. Ritch opens his mouth in a seminar and sets in motion--never mind. You can read it in two days. LOL

I'm so glad you can figure out what I was talking about. It's good to have contemporaries reading.

The early CJ books had plenty of plot lines running, but it was all chronological. The back and forth of timing in subsequent stories forces me to outline certain events (plenty of that in future chapters) and decide how much I can reveal in Cadet. Did you notice I mentioned the Orange Bowl game at year's end? Those story links as the first comment will be a regular occurrence. LOL I saw John F. Kennedy Jr. when I wrote about the little kid saluting Ritch.

The TV's been on since I woke up, and I suspect it will remain on for the rest of the day. I'm signing off in a few to listen to the actual swearing in. This chapter takes place between the elctoral college voting and the coup attempt, so Biden's officially elected. There'll be a comment about January 6 in the next chapter.

There's no pandemic in this universe. Ritch's been away from home for 7 months and his mindset's not 100% military yet. I figure the contrast between regimented life and the more permissive environment around family will take a little time to reach proper balance.

President CJ will take care of that little problem. He better considering his daughter's already hooked on good wine!

That first time had to be a shock for both you and Ritch. He'll get used to it. Along the way, we can count on his family to keep him grounded and not allow rank and honorifics to go to his head.

Thanks, bud.

LMAO Although the overlapping plot lines are a pain to keep track of, I'm love tying so many different stories together. I may have a few more of those in coming chapters.

Family's been central to all these stories and will continue to be. The legal drinking age bullshit drives me nuts. I blame MADD for being overzealous and the Federal government for butting in

But... but... I thought stirring was part of my job description.

When I read this chapter a couple of days ago, I thought Mann should go into hiding. Anyone else remember Sawyer and Jimmy? They seem to have disappeared.