skinnydragon

First, I’m sorry if I caused any trouble on GA. That was never my intention. No one wants to read about another person’s illness, so I’ll make this brief. Last Tuesday morning I went to our emergency room due to strong abdominal pains. After a scan, the ER doctor told me I have stage 4 pancreatic cancer; it had already spread to my abdomen wall and into my liver. I’m a realist, and there is only one prognosis – which is obvious. It’s just a matter of how long. The rest of the week was spent in a larger hospital on a ‘medical campus.’ During that time, I was mostly doped up and out of it. Only when I got home did my friends find and old laptop and connect it to our internet. I check into the ‘cancer hospital’ of that medical campus on Wednesday morning for a final test and hopefully a realistic appraisal of how much time I have left. It’s the only question that means anything, yet is the one they don’t want to answer. I guess it interferes with their sales pitch or something. I always thought cancer was something I didn’t have to worry about until I was older, especially this one. But it seems when you’re younger it is more common for it to be discovered in late stages because your body is strong enough to hide any symptoms. I can only write when I’m in pain. Then I take my knockout drop and fade away. This blog entry was written in Word, over five cycles so I could post it now. Thanks for all the good wishes sent my way, and thank-you to AC, who takes friendships seriously. OK, that's all I can write right now.

Thanks, Dark, for all your hard work.

Thanks so much, Rex!

Robbie is giddy. He can't contain himself. Oh, yes. He'll be out, in general, very soon. My interest on that day will be Daniel. He holds the key to so much in Robbie's future, when he is an 'out' gay boy. More than Nicola, who might even surprise us. But Daniel holds the keys to the kingdom. Nice chapter, Dodger!

Last paragraphs of chapter 6: For all practical purposes, that’s how Tuesday ends. I eat my cheeseburger to add to my memories, I drive Don home for his punishment, I return to my house for dinner with Mom and spend the rest of the night coming up with what I hope will be irresistible selling points for David. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Sandwiched in there somewhere, I told Mom about my weekend Florida vacation. When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll be eighteen! My body is trying to wake up. No,

Two lovely Cinquains, Parker. The first is sort of prophetic of something about to happen. Of course, we know exactly what it is, and I delighted in your description of "quieting the bones." That leaves us with exactly the right feel. The second, with its astro-nomical/-logical vision, lifts our sight upward to the prince who rules over the coming season. Also very well written and visually stimulating. I enjoyed these very much.

Thank YOU, jess! I was a little startled to see a review of '18 Weeks' in my notifications. Your comments remind me how I too like to re-read a story I've enjoyed after letting it "sit" for a bit. Suddenly I notice all kinds of little hints the author has dropped and usually end up kicking myself for ever being surprised the first time through when something happened. Glad you're still enjoying David and the gang!

Gary brings up a good point. You've shown through the various situations in which TP found himself in this chapter that he's made a decision. And while the car and the stocking and the meal were each lovely representations, the decision is to atone, however possible, turn a corner and move forward. Since he has always been able to focus on advancing his "career," I have no doubt his talent will help him overcome the drag of his past and actually become redeemed. A nice Christmastide story, Parker. Although, I'll be the first to admit, the early chapters gave no hint of that.

Not totally surprised about Terry -- after all, you gave us plenty of hints. I think it should work out between the two and will give Dave some much needed support; Terry seems sensitive too. By springtime, mayor Cathy will have everyone whipped into shape! Great chapter, tim -- it covered lots of ground, too!

A good choice, Renee! Mikiesboy's little story is wonderfully written and was a pleasure to read. Plus, I met the first dog I hated.

I can't even begin to grasp the difficulty of doing this, tim! The three come out nicely, though. Very well done!

A thoroughly enjoyable debut, northie! Now that you have ink on your fingers, don't stop!

Very well done, tim! Of course, it took me a long time to get to it. First, I had to sift through everything that piled up in my two-day absence -- was there a fire sale on stories? And then, once I got Mark's story finished -- sorry -- and landed on yours, but had to trace back up the ladder of references to find the prompt and the meaning of it. Then, being who I am, I had to think about how I would have written the story, if I ever had the time. Finally, I began reading and was at once captured by you usual light deftness of placing us in the moment. A little head feint toward Jim, a deke around the defenceman Akasha and a goal with Randy was a great tic-tac-toe in the finest sense! A great score, my friend!

Wow! So happy to have you back! At first I thought Jake would help clarify this muddy situation you've so carefully sunk us into. But he seems to have found a little more for us to worry about. Why are we surprised? An interesting, as always, dinner at Escorial with Will (nearly) up to his old tricks. Also, a nice one-on-one with JP and Wade. There was actually a lot of stuff stuffed into this chapter! Thanks again for this!

OMG! How did I miss the last chapter?! At least I got two-in-a-row out of it, without having to out-wait your wicked ending, And so is this the turning point for our evil hero? Somehow I think there will be more than just shopping ahead. Marc is going to thoroughly vet our hapless hero's intent. But that could be good. Whatever it is, it will be well out of earshot of Lee. A good (potential) turn here, and another fine chapter, Parker!

Thanks, Def! The 'more proactive' group of teenagers is no doubt one of the products of David's leadership and founding of the GSA. Probably a little-realized legacy. What all this has shown is the impact of a generational gap that can possibly be the salvation of the town if it is successful in purging it of that other legacy -- PPF's.

Thanks, jess! Chuck seems to be pretty mature, of course he's a senior and (about to be) 18. It's nice he can use David's lake in the more positive way of it creating a calming effect and allowing for introspection. Right now, as far as Chuck's concerned, the pipe wrench is David's participation, but we'll need to wait and see.

Thanks, CG! I agree with your assessment. Poking at a hornets' nest is not always a wise maneuver. As to the Mustang, I don't think Chuck had any revulsion to the car. He liked it and got a deal. He was never involved in the drama surrounding Twoey and Erik. Another color? What's a better color that black for a Mustang? hehe.

Thanks, Lux! I -- and Chuck -- agree with you. But people of that age don't always consider all the possible fallout of their actions.

Thanks, Jay! I can't think of another S-word either, except "s'nice to have you read and review!"

Thanks, Parker! The generational gap may be a saving factor for the little town. Are these just the remnants of a quaint and dying-out sect, or is there some deeper thing to be worried about?

Very, very sad for Dave. To make this trek to apologize and hope for their future together, but have it end at a riverside grave is just terrible. Terrible is what 'civilization' has become in this really possible future, You've graphically shown it to us, not by brutal descriptions but by brutally toying with our emotions -- the hallmark of a good writer. Well done, tim!

I think I have to agree with Dayne. The picture we have of the loving but frightened and cowed Adrian has basically been painted for us by Zac. Of course he doesn't see the selfish and one-sided 'not-quite-a-relationship he's had with Adrian -- always using the Daddy-card to make excuses for Adrian's selfishness. But we should know better -- Jimmy does. I don't know is Austin is going to be his man, but he would offer a nice diversion, if they each keep it at the 'interested' but not 'serious' level.

Excellent story, tim. It was borderline -- disturbing. But it was supposed to be. Underneath it all was a gentle love story. So - great going, to thread the two stories along together. Very satisfying at the end.

Last paragraphs of chapter 5: “He’s calm. He didn’t seem worked up or anything, even though I was expecting him to be, y’know – considering what had happened to him at the hands of my father. Oh, by the way, do you know they’re married?” “What?!” “Hehe – yep, quietly last summer. I saw the rings and asked. He didn’t try to hide it from me. He told me an interesting story about meeting some dude at a cross-country race the fall of his senior year. Andy, I think his name was. I guess they got a