Carlos Hazday

1. Poached in Sherry sprinkled with fresh thyme 2. Splash in the Pool. The trilogy by Jack Scribe starred the type of gay men I associated with my entire life, and it inspired my writing. 3. I followed someone from another site. He was banned soon after I joined for rule breaking and mouthing off. (Sounds like me at times LOL) 4. Overcoming 5. Bahamian conch chowder.

I'm willing to lend Nina and Captain Glenn to nyone interested in writing their conversation as a stand alone short.

Possibly... but it's so much fun to watch CJ slap someone down. We already know he's decisive based on Mexico, and five years later he still is. However, instead of jumping and screaming, he approaches the douchey chef calmly. I'd say he's matured some more in the intervening years. That was just part 1 of day 1!

Prude! LOL

Some of the using first name for parents comes from my family. My nieces still use Mom and Dad now and then, but most of the time it's Sal and Jennifer. Of course, they're in their 20s now, but that began a long time ago. CJ nicknamed his grandmother Aba, and the name stuck. His brother and his children call her the same thing. I see the twins also learning from Liebe, and since she calls them Ceej/CJ and Oz/Ozzie, they'll follow along. As for that sandwich, careful you fdon't get splattered with mayo.

I don't want to get adopted since my goal's to be in the middle of Brett and Cesar at some point. GA doesn't like incest stories.

For anyone who didn't bother to look it up, this is the Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona.

Thank you!

I think we're all too old! The only adoption I see in the future is when CJ and Owen get an infant they name Davenport. Sometime in the near future. Part 2 of day 1 coming up next week. CJ, a moderate, white, gay man was elected in an extremely liberal city with a large African-American population. Winning, and governing, would require him to be more measured in his responses to annoying pricks. I think the days of him snapping at others without thinking first are mostly gone.

I'd wager those two get put on time out frequently. I previously hinted CJ was the disciplinarian, but we see he and Owen work together well. I pity the fool who interferes with how they discipline their kids. I very much doubt the grandparents would go behind their backs to comfort the kids if they turned to Brett and Cesar. Brett might give them a shot of something to relax them, but he'll most likely back CJ and Owen up. All of us usually settle for sloppy service and products at one time or another. If I had CJ's bankroll, I'd demand better when it happens. Unfortunately, wealth does provide some benefits not available to those of us who don't qualify for an Centurion card.

We still have one more chapter covering day 1! We'll get to hear a bit more about CJ being DC's mayor.

@Clancy59 The kids are not idealized perfection. They're definitely spoiled in a lot of ways, but their dads work hard at keeping them grounded. Foodwise, there'll be things they don't like, but they're probably not allowed to say they don't like something until they taste it. I didn't travel extensively with my parents when I was that age (we didn't have the money) but by the time the third brother came along, the finances were better and my youngest brother wound up in Europe a couple of times. The crew might my accustomed to dealing with high net worth people, but not like this. They'll obviously spend money and expect quality service, but they won't demand anything too outrageous.

I'm not sure my nieces and nephews ever threw tantrums like that, but my one of my best friend's daughters did. I clearly recall a trip we did together to Key West, the kid crying her head off on the drive back, and my friend talking to her as an adult, asking what was wrong. That was close to 30 years ago but it obviously stuck with me. Trying to show consistency in how they dealt with Liebe at when she was the twins' age and younger.

But he's OUR wanker! CJ can't throw tantrums for fear the kids might imitate him, but he's not about to let anyone walk over them. Brett and Ritch would have been disappointed he was so diplomatic.

Only as far as I'm on a kick to trash all things Russia. I wanted an international crew to reflect the yachting world and decided the one who would prove difficult would be a Putin admirer. Because it was tangential to the story, I cut out my initial description telling us she was borderline homophobic and a supporter of Russia's laws against gay people. I think it worked better limiting her to being obnoxious and being put in her place.

Andalucía, Sevilla, Malaga, Toledo, Valencia... all those cities I heard about growing up would be places to take them to and explore. I mentioned before my maternal ancestors come from Ribadesella in the north. However, my paternal ancestors could be found in Toledo until 1492 when Jews were expelled. A couple of Hazdays (spelled a bit different back then) were big shots. One was a medical pioneer and another one was renowned philosopher. Not sure when the genes were corrupted between them and me.

Good! My goal with this story's to make readers' smile. I particularly enjoyed writing the trailing entourage thing. I can see Brett and Ritch smirking and rubbing their hands together then pouting when their other halves suggested they sit. Brett probably threw a tantrum to rival Jeffer's.

I may have watched a chef or two throw tantrums in cooking competitions. LOL Can you imagine those three as adults, sitting at a bar, trying to decide how many dozen slimies they want to order?

Should I add you to the adoption waiting list?

Thank you. Take a look at my reply to Dave's comment. Does it make sense?

I'm pretty sure cruising the Med on a mega sailing yacht will be enjoyable. Although as someone mentioned before, that family could squeeze fun out of a rock.

Those kids are being raised to be good capitalists and not pass any opportunity to make a buck. Showing the conversation between the captain and the chef would have not worked. She politely dismissed CJ so the scene would have revolved around the two women by themselves. It's been years since I switch point of view within a chapter. After the first couple of entries, CJ-centric stories have all been exclusively from his POV until now. We get to see things from every family member's perspective, but it would have been silly to break the continuity to include a scene from the captain's POV. Furthermore, the story's about the family not the crew. @Dr. John NYC commented the prologue reminded him of the Below Deck shows on Bravo. Although the episodes I've watched did influence some story details, those shows are all about crew drama. I wanted to avoid that.

Such enthusiasm! LOL Thank you. This is a sailing holiday so I tried to keep a sunny outlook through the entire book. Hopefully, at the end, readers will be smiling.

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed that. It's simply CJ being CJ.