C James

ACK!!! Now, now, you wouldn't want to do that to poor, innocent me, now would ya, old pal, old, buddy? (or is that just plain old old, given that today is your birthday? ) A luau sounds good, provided I'm not on the menu! I'm allergic to hot rocks, ya know... ACK! Talk about turning up the heat! :fire:

My apologies to those to whom I did not reply; I can't comment on plot points, especially at this stage of the story, but I do read and enjoy them all! Thanks! Hi Trevor and Bondwriter! All I can say is, Eric isn't gone from the story. Ahhh, so this means that anything bad happening in the story is, of course, Shadowgod's fault, right? ROFL!!!!!!!!!! Just a minor story note here. A few minutes ago, I completed the draft of FTL 38, the final chapter. Now all I have to do is touch up the epilogue. The epilogue, incidentally, was the very first thing I wrote for FTL. CJ

Just wanted to add my renewed wishes on the big day itself; Happy Birthday, Steve!!!!!!!!! :king:

Did you go on that indoor-outdoor roller-coaster in stateline? That one was fun. Glad you had fun, except of course for your uncle. Damn, that sucks. I hope he comes around, or was just in a bad mood. That must have really hurt. Glad the rest of your trip went so well!!!

It's a little early for this in my time zone, but in Australia it's the 26th already, so I'm jumping the gun a bit here. Thursday the 26th is Shadowgod's Birthday!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: Happy 29th Birthday Steve!!! :king: :king: :king: :king: :music: :music: :music: :music: My best wishes for a great day and a great year!!

Roast pig, or a cooked goose, Thaddeus is not a happy camper. I can't comment on future happenings, or about Chris's parting comment. The legalities are a little complicated (and I must give thanks to Captain Rick for setting me straight on some of the legal issues) but the Sheriff had a warrant, plus he was there in pursuit of a known fugitive who has a definitive connection to the property (as Thaddeus' son) and was seen moments before heading up the tunnel, which leads nowhere else but the church. Chris and Steve didn't touch the computer until after the Sheriff and Mr. Williams were present, so there was no tainting of the evidence. Thaddeus was also clever enough to implicate himself, after being mirandized, for setting the booby trap. Steve and Chris might be technically guilty of trespassing, though. The Piedmont Sheriff is not in jail, and is still in office. He's just under indictment. That might sound far-fetched, but I based it on a similar case less about a decade ago; an Arizona Sheriff was indicted for racketeering, but remained in office throughout his trial. It's a legal gray area whether or not the county supervisors can remove a sheriff, because the Sheriff is an elected official. This put them in a very bad position; their insurance carrier would no longer cover them against wrongdoings by the sheriff or his department due to the indictment, leaving them with an enormous legal liability if the sheriff (or his deputies) did anything wrong. He remained in office all during his trial, until he was convicted. (at which point, he could be easily removed, and was.)

Hrmmmm, well, you know the old saying, something to do with letting a monkey flail away at a keyboard and, given infinite time, eventually he'll write King Lear? Well, put a goat in front of a keyboard for long enough and... Grumble grumble grumble... I'm sorry, but Shadowgod is only to blame for bad things, and as you have already said you liked the story, you can't now say it's bad. Hrmmmm... I shall have to remember this "blame shadowgod" angle for the next time I write a story that flops... Awwww... It's not easy being a goat who writes... usually, when critics decide to decide to roast an author, they mean it figuratively; with me, they start firing up the grill!

Thanks Marty!! Using descriptions is something I've been trying to work on, and Shadowgod has been trying to teach me... I'm glad you liked it, and thanks very much for reading and commenting! It was a fun story to write; it just sort of popped into my head, fully formed (thus proving the old adage that nature abhors a vacuum). CJ

Awww, come on, you gotta tell us what the prank was? The situation with Bob is a heart-wrencher. Poor kid, I'm glad you were there for him, though maybe, due to his age, he's confusing "gay" with "want to be friends". I sure hope he doesn't tell the wrong person.

Happy Birthday, James!!!

Today is Tuesday, sooo... Chapter 35, Hell's Fury, is up. Thanks! CJ

"Let the Music Play" Should be out, very soon. Before the end of FTL, too. What? I'm not evil... As for Eric, yes, I will concede that he has a few, ummm, personality problems? It will definitly be a different topic post. The taunts, however, will surely cross over. Definitely not the same characters; it's an entirely different, unrelated story. So, a new thread too.

Yes, we have a winner!! :king: Well now, I'd best get back to... lurking...

You do realize, I hope, that anyone with more than 1000 posts (and less than 4000) is a postaholic? CJ

Well, yes, well enough to posts thousandS of times, and write some wonderful stories too.

Hi Steve!! I can't comment on the speculation (The Echidna will turn me into a pincushion if I do) but this is darn good stuff!

Someone had better pass me, quick! Being at the top of the list Bob posted could be seen as perhaps detrimental to my precious reputation as a quiet and shy forum lurker. Seriously though, the forums are a huge part of what makes GA so special, so THANK YOU to all who take part!

Kevin, I don't know what to say,

Oh Sharon, My deepest condolences. Times like these are the hardest of all. Take care, and best wishes, CJ

I'm glad things are going so well with Kitty, but sorry to hear you still need surgery. Take care, take it easy, and get well soon. CJ

Losing a parent is one of the hardest things. I feel for you, and I understand. It's been ten years for me, but I won't ever forget that day.

Aillie, I love it! I particularly like string ties of that kind; they are both stylish, and make for a delightful snack. Nah, I never said I'd revive blackheart; all I've said is that he's definitely either dead or alive, and the story will confirm which. Yipes, now, now, no goat barbecues!!! That's just mean!! You wouldn't want to hurt sweet, innocent me, now would ya? And, ummmm, on the fashion-insensitive part: I can't deny that, not at all. Shadowgod will surely confirm this, too. We were discussing fashion recently, and he named several things that were decidedly out of fashion; Bomber jackets and white jeans being amongst them. I had to admit that examples of both were hanging in my closet. I also had a character in an upcoming story dressed in a particular way, because the scene setting required a "high fashion" look: Tight white jeans, White hightops, a black cloth belt, white muscle shirt, and mirrored aviator wrap-around sunglasses. It was pointed out to me that that look might have been fashionable in the 80's, but not now. I don't know about Shadowgod and fashion, though... I mean, I've heard rumors that he doesn't own a coors belt buckle, or even have a single baseball cap naming his favorite brand of tractor, or NASCAR... ROFL!!! Yep, and Chris can also tell the story of how the FBI helped. Of course, that would entail telling veronica why, exactly, they were guests of the FBI. Can I answer a rhetorical question, rhetorically? OK. minor, minor spoiler: I didn't hint!! (Spare me, Echidna!!!) I think I just said that Eric was either in Piedmont, or somewhere other than Piedmont?

Wow, thanks everyone! I've had the time of my life here; GA is a wonderful place (thanks Myr!) and I've really enjoyed "meeting" everyone. And Emoe, thats a VERY good quote of Graeme's you found, and I will point out that he certainly does have more than 2000 posts now. Well, we seem to have a new tradition here; 4k congrats threads. I'm also remembering that I announced my current serial story (linked in my sig) during my 2000th post thread. So, I'l like to kick off a new tradition, of announcing stories in millennial post threads. Yes, that's just my excuse to be able to announce my next story here in the lounge, by doing so in this thread. The new story is called "Let the Music Play". It should be appearing in eFiction soon, soon being less than two weeks. I'll be posting the prologue and chapters 1&2 together. I'd also like to mention, for those of you who may have seen the old prologue in sneak peeks, that's not the prologue anymore. Thanks everyone! CJ

Sorry I didn't comment... And on the Pizza issue, egads, not pineapple? Oh, the horror of it all... CJ