frosenblum

A sweet chapter, full of contentment even when people have died. Lucinius has lived a full and fruitful life. So Junius likes to hunt but won't kill rabbits. The best part is that Duccius accepts his son that way.

Another great chapter. Year after year Lucinius, and his grandfathers and brother, keep on reaping the benefits of his having freed his slaves.

Also, in combat or any emergency situation, including flying in combat, you need to act quickly while amongst lots of noise and chaos. I suspect that training cadets to keep their cool is part of that in-your-face screaming.

Unlike Brett & Caesar, many people -- including public figures -- act in a way that teaches children that anything you do, including cheating, is perfectly okay if you get away with it -- that the only thing that matters is what you can get for yourself. I realize that this has always been going on, but since the 1980s Me Decade, it's become almost the cultural norm (or am I being too cynical?). The culmination being able to get away with anything if you fawn on the (now former) POTUS to pardon you. So it's no surprise about the cheating scandal at West Point. Nor that their punishment was only being put on probation until they graduate. Even more shocking is that fifty-five of the seventy-three cheaters were on athletic teams, almost half on the football team. And seventeen of the football players were allowed to keep playing with the team because the superintendent suspended the school's policy of barring cadets who violate the academy's honor code from representing the school in public. Given this cultural atmosphere, it's not that surprising about Donovan's drug & alcohol use and brazen lying. And it highlights how truly commendable Ritch is, as well as the cadets who he has been choosing as mentors and friends.

And how much courage it took Lee to not go back to Eddie. Lee had taken Oxy just a few days earlier, so his addiction was likely reactivated and strong -- and he had no prospects for getting money or medical care, for surviving on his own -- yet he turned his back on Eddie and the drugs. The magic of Camp Refuge worked miracles in both boys. One factors was the two of them shyly and slowly connecting and becoming intertwined as friends, someone their own age they could trust. Very emotional but very satisfying story. You don't shy from making your stories real, and emotionally challenging, but you don't throw in stuff just for shock effect (like horror movies). So I feel close to all the people in your stories. Bravo.

Lucinius's villa is becoming like Brad's non-profit Sanctuary in "A Child's Haven," taking in any homeless or abused child. By any change, is Brad descended from Lucinius?

It's been over two weeks since you posted this "final" chapter yet the story status is still "In process." I hope that means you're going to give us a another follow-up chapter.

Another great chapter, Carlos. Ritch is a lot maturer than I was at his age. Strategizing with his dad's & brother, then confronting a senior cadet and keeping his cool while going all out, risking his dream for what's right. Go, Ritch, go.

Didn't George HW Bush do a parachute jump for his 80th birthday?

Thanks. That's very kind of you to check with him.🙏

I really enjoy this story. It's great how you give so many practical details, so we can understand the richness of living in Rome in those days. It's a very grounded story, rather than fanciful. They sure have a lot of animals. How do they feed them all? Where do they get the food? It seems that all the grain is going to the human's table, the Temple, the market, or Lucinius's mother and grandfathers. I'm curious about the details, the way we know about oil making and cold wells. And another thing: there's a lot of different types of urine and shit being produced by all those animals; what do they do with it? (Are they selling the manure as is done nowadays?) Could you have Lucinius or the boys elaborate on the animal input/output in future chapters?

Even a two week break seemed to long. Great to have the story continue. I appreciated the character recaps -- you introduced a lot of them in the first book and it was good to have you reintroduce them to my not always reliable memory. Welcome back Owensville.

Another great chapter. Lucinius was a sponge for learning as a child, not just "book" knowledge, but how things were done in the world. And obviously paid attention to how olives were pressed on his father's estate. I've been curious from the start about who the story teller is, who it was that wrote the scrolls. Partway through this section, the writing changed from third person to first person and it is clear that Lucinius is the one telling his story.

@Kev, I loved the pun: "well oiled." They probably had a lot of olive oil their bodies by the time they were done with the pressings.😁

"You all might want to reread chapter 1. I did miss a part of that Scroll and since have corrected it. My sorry" Thank you for finding the misses part of the scroll. The story makes makes much more sense now that we know about Lucinius's birth and early childhood.

The chapter is much better now that you added the part you left out. The following chapters make more sense now.

Another great chapter. Ritch has no idea how special he is, nor the impact he makes on people. He's just going along being himself, his ambition being to fly jets, without realizing what a leader he is because of his high ethical values and his willingness to speak out for them. CJ was an in-your-face; Ritch is more quiet, calm, almost matter-of-fact.

ooh, yeh. Bring it on.

This is an enjoyable change in the manner in which you usually start to your stories, this time starting in the middle of the action and the mystery already in progress without any background. Bravo for trying something new.

That would be cool. I hope you have good air conditioning to cool your overheated brain.🧠

A great chapter. It's an interesting comparison to CJ at that age, in their levels of experience and maturity. Also, we didn't get to see that many details of Ritch's previous teen years, and I'm really enjoying getting closer to him and watching him start to bloom.

A great story. Very moving. It was a perfect time to end. I wish more kids in the real world can find a Sanctuary.

Great chapter. And thanks again for two chapters this week. I could grow to like that. I'm enjoying Will's blossoming from a quiet rural, small-town personality into holding his own with Ritch's clan. He was sure lucky in roommate assignment BTW, Carlos, what's going on with this chapter? First, you pull a "Groundhog's Day" by repeating several paragraphs (from "The television set it off" through Thiago's explanation). Then the whole long final scene of the men leaving Vail is a copy and paste from "Malibu."

It was nice to see Ethan. I always found him to be cool. I hope you keep us updated on his life, including his love life, in the future stories in the CJ-verse. I'm not looking for a Ethan series, just for him to be as a major minor character.

Ritch is fortunate to have had a wide variety of people in his life while growing up -- the Dads' and CJ's friends and acquaintances. I suspect Ritch's flock will be more varied than that of many military folk.