C James

Laid? Hmmm... I don't know... Maybe I should have them keep getting interupted for the rest of the story, and rename it "Blue Spheres"? Thank you Jack!!! BTW, a question for everyone: This was my first attempt at writing a car chase scene. Did it read ok? Anything that I could have done differently to improve it?

Nah, no tatoos... I've never had an interest in them. Most Goats don't ya know... It's not easy being a Goat, especially when people like to celebrate the holidays by shooting flaming arrows at you!

Hi Bob! Thank you!!! I'm delighted to hear that, as I had no idea how it would appear to someone who wasn't reading it in weekly installments! The story is basically a thriller with a comedic undertone in places, but serious in others, and also a love story. That is a strange mix, but I'm a strange Goat. As for Steve's father being a cop, yep, but I can't say what due to giving spoilers spoilers.

Thanks Rick! Yep, I agree, those Echidnas have this weird thing about insisting that it is Wednesday when it is really Tuesday. Incomprehensible, they are! Oh yeah, YOU would never leave us with a cliffie! :wacko: As for Eric, well, I'll leave y'all with one spoiler: he either gets away, or he doesn't. Thanks Rick! BTW, I'm cross-posting a lot, so my replies are appearing out of order. Sorry for any confusion!

Honestly, I don't consider it much of cliffhanger. Something is about to happen, but it could range from pleasant to unpleasant, from serious to trivial. There's not enough there to built up much tension. Now if you'd added something like: Then THAT would be a cliffhanger. ACK!!!!!!!!!!! OK, OK, who leaked the beginning of chapter 6 to the Echidna?!?!!?!?? EMOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shdowgod!!!!!!! OK, who balbbed? Well, maybe Eric is on the hilltop so he can wait for the UFO his people have sent? And maybe the ATM withdrawla was to he could chip in for gas money (it might be a long trip to his home planet?)?

What? You really didnt think they were going to get to have sex, did you? Besides, who knows what Steve's last exclamation meant? Maybe he had just noticed the stars, and wanted to point them out to Chris? A favorite constellation perhaps? Trust me on this: when you are stuck in the wilderness without shoes, and are faced with a long walk, you get VERY creative. I was dumb enough to go offroading while barefoot once in college, and got stuck (Broke a leaf spring). The duct tape and carpet is an obvious trick in that situation, and the one I used. Makes pretty decent foot protection, actually, even after a few miles. I did, however, thereafter equip my 4x4 with a pair of shoes in the emergency kit. These days, I carry a large emergency kit in my vehicle, including five gallons of water, plus clothes, shoes, camping gear, first aid kit, and tools. I also carry a mountain bike; makes it much easier when you get stuck 20 miles from anywhere: a 20 mile bike ride isn't hard. a 20 mile hike can be (and I've had to do both). Cell phones are of very limited use in most off-pavement areas around here, so they cannot be counted on. You also can't just call a tow truck if you break down on a trail; they can't get there, and couldn't get your vehicle out even if they did. It usually has to be fixed on-site. I carry a decent selection of parts in my emergency kit, but if something major goes, I usually have to get the part, get a ride back to the vehicle, and fix it myself. As for the blood not having returned to their brains, quite possible! LoL! But, this chapter was entitled "interruptus", after all.

What? Me? Use a cliffhanger? Would I do such a thing, especially with you heading off on computerless vacation next week? Besides, maybe Steve was just admiring the stars? OOPS! I botched that, and should have explained it in the story. The police cars in Piedmont are cars, not SUV's, and so couldn't reach Eric's location. Same in Lonesome Valley (their town). At best, they might be able to make it to where Steve and Chris are, maybe, and it is one heck of a rough drive. Also, Eric has the advantage of the high ground he is on: he can see for miles from where he is, and would see the headlights of anyone coming to Chris and Steve, or towards his location, and probably bug out. Eric also has several different (As mentioned, Dozens) of trails to choose from, so cornering him wouldn't be possible. I suppose a Helicopter would be an option, but a small town Sheriff's department wouldn't have one, and trying to get one from the nearest big city would be very difficult for a fairly minor situation such as car theft. Normally, a small town Sheriff's department in Arizona has several SUV's, but I kind of cheated and made it so they didn't, and thus wouldn't have the option of trying to converge on him. Also, if they did send several units, that would be the entire police force from the two towns, leaving the towns themselves unprotected. Usually, they won't do that without darn good reason, and a kid joyriding wouldn't be good enough. Steve's father would be an option, but I should have had them mention the problem of being spotted in the story instead of just ignoring it. Thanks! WHAT? Oh no, I'm going to have to go into paranoid defensive mode and claim that it was intentional, for dramatic reasons!! Seriously though, thanks, and it is fixed! The line break isn't there in the original document, but the capitalized "Guess" sure was, and should not have been. Oops! Thank you Graeme!

Talk about getting the point... Ouch!!

Today is Tuesday!! Yes, it is, and should remain so for the rest of the day (even though some people on the weird side of the datline will argue the point). And what happens on Tuesdays? Hmmm.. There was something I was supposed to do, but I forget what... Oh, yeah, Chapter 5 is up.

Shhhh! That's a secret! But, been as you ask, it's just a place for us shy and retiring goats to go and do what we do best: Lurk.

Well, I'll allow the possibility the Postaholicisim is transmitted by Goats. After all, most species that carry a disease are immune to it themselves. ERK! GREAME! I shall, on this very rare occasion, allow myself to actually post (even lurkers do so on rare occasion) to refute these nefarious allegations! I assure you that Goats are not noted for their propensity for Internet chatting! Hmmm, yes, I have noticed that pirates have a very strong tendency towards being postaholics. Well, Pirates, and creatures with sharp spines, anyway. quote name='captainrick' date='December 4 2006, 01:46 PM' post='55784'] Aaaarrhhh! I takes exception to the pirate crack matey! As for goats, being from rural Mississippi, I have had some experience with those -- Platonic, of course, and find them relatively docile creatures, but not known to be shy. What? Me, not shy? Why, I'll have you know that I'm very shy! Just take a look in my profile, it clearly says "a SHY and retiring forum lurker" ROFL! I like it!

Ah HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think Kevin and Graeme might be contagious!! Take a look folks, what we have here is a budding POSTAHOLIC! Yep, keeping track of their post numbers is a sure symptom. Trying to make "major" posts with "milestone" post numbers is another. Maybe somebody should call the CDC?

Well, yes, you just did that, didn't you, my postaholic friend? Me? I was only agreeing with Kevin...

Welcome to the Forums, Andy!!! There are a lot of things to talk about here, and it gets easier as you get to know people. Come on in and join the fun! Ahhh, yes, we have our culprit!

LB, this sounds like a case of needing to think outside the box! Or, more precisely, inside the jar. You have a taste for far-eastern culture, so perhaps that includes Bonsai? If so, the solution to your problem is at hand! This Feline Bonsai site might be just what you are looking for. Seriously though, baby locks might be the only answer, becuase a determined cat will defeat most anything else. One question: when their behavior changed, did it happen to coincide with a change in the temperature? I've seen cats become more active in cooler homes.

Kevin's posts may normally constitute about 80% of GA forum traffic, but most of that will be people READING them. Kevin's actual posting rate is way below the top few people. As an example, if you look at this thread, and count the number of posts for each person, you'll find that while there are several people with multiple posts, Kevin is not one of them. Oh, I completely agree that Kevin's posting has not been up to his normal levels lately! You also raise a good point about multiple posts in a thread. Why, I even see one poster (an Echidna, wouldn't ya know?) has FOUR posts in this very thread! And yes, Kevin's post-per-day average is actually below that of said Echidna, who has an average of 5 posts per day. Out of all of GA, only you and Dark Shadow have an average in the 5's! (and there is no one at all in the 6's!). Postaholics, the both of ya! But Graeme, double or triple zero is still zero.. Hi Krista! Well, it's very rare to see me on that list (me being a lurker and all) but it was astonishing not to see Graeme there. Usually, when I need to send Graeme a PM, I just go to that list and click on his name, as it is always on top.

It is now Dec 1st in the UK, and if all goes well, our very own Rhawes16 and Magicalme will be getting married in Scotland in a few hours! Congratulations to both of you!!!

Who? Me? It would have been a perfect ending...

AHHEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Folks, I think we have identified the real source of the posting drop-off!!! Kevin's posts normally constitute about 80% of GA forum traffic, so no wonder things have been quiet around here lately!

ACK!! Thanks for the heads up, Jan!!! Ummm, Orange spray paint just isn't my color, so please keep that away from me!! As for the magazines, I'm not usually one to judge a book by its cover, but I do tend to prefer high fibre and organic.

:king: :king: :king: Happy 21st Birthday! :king: :king: :king:

Hi Rick! I was amazed by that too. It's really strange when a notorious lurker (I like that term, thank you! I'll be quoting it often! ) is mentioned as posting, so things have definitly been very, very quiet around here. I was offline almost all day yesterday, and have just now had a chance to look around, so I do see what you mean.

Oh no you don't! We all know it was your fault, because everything is! Graeme, blame Shdowgod, he did it!!! Why? Wouldn't it have made a perfect ending?

Unless you developed the headache while reading the chapter, I hear by, now and forever, deny any responsibility for said headache. Seriously though, i hope you feel better soon. Hmmmm... You expected the mother to react to the news of her son and Chris becoming boyfriends by sending them to Chris' apartment, implying that they would have sex, and be accepting enough to tease her son about it? What did I do in prior chapters that would indicate that she had that open an attitude? Gay accepting, yes, but sexually permissive? Granted, you do have a good point: there was a great deal of "wrapping up" here, and this is were where I intended to answer some of the questions that the prior chapters raised. Steve's freinds play a major role soon, but aside from that, I can't really say much (your spines, again!) There will be new arcs to the story, some beginning very soon. This isn't a one-issue-at-a-time story. :ranger: Thanks!!!! The "peace at last" line was my favorite of the chapter. Well, now you know why I was vauge in chapter 3 regarding Steve's plans. So, did anyone think they were going to hang him? The chapter title, "necktie party", kind of hinted at that. Rat bastard?!?! Demon seed?!?!?!? Hmmm, Poor misunderstood Eric. I'm sure he's going to have a nice heart-to-heart chat with his folks, be made to understand the error of his ways, and will be a perfect angel from now on, and keep his mouth shut at school. I'm still undecided on whether there will be another chapter or not. All I can say for sure is that it will be online this coming Tuesday. Or maybe Tuesday... Could sweet, innocent Eric do such a thing? Graeme, there is no actual tape: it's a digital recorder. Take a look at this for an idea of the type. That one in the link has eight hours of recording capability, plus the ability to port into a computer via the USB port. I'll give one spoiler: Either the recorder is now gone from the story, or it isn't. What? Me, comment? I never comment! ( lurker here, remember!). So put those evil spines away!!

Thank you Jack!! However, I really don't see why everyone is so down on poor, misunderstood Eric. Maybe he was just trying to show how much he cared? Ahh yes! Now that they are finally together, alone, mostly undressed, and horny, and they have all night, it makes the start of the next chapter so easy! Heh, actually I made up the "locked the door" part for that other post.