mollyhousemouse

over about the last year or so i've become more active on GA in doing so i've learned the value of the reaction, comment and review. it's often difficult for me, as a reader, to comment on a story offering. it seems superficial, trite and cliche to say "thanks, i enjoyed that" over and over, especially when 6 other readers have said the same thing. i want my comments to mean something to the author. what i find myself doing is reading and re-reading before commenting. in the last 3 or 4 months i've joined a "team" and have started blogging. i see now, even more just how important the reactions, comments, and reviews are. this has spurred me to be more consistent in doing that and also with sharing what i've read with others thanks for bringing up the topic @Ronyx

Parker, you have a wonderful way with words! these were delightful!

this is lovely! it plays in my mind like film noir, like a Sam Spade movie the first stanza all foggy and grey, the second done in flashbacks the third and fourth back to the film noir (i had to google "dross" just to make sure i was sure of what it meant, lol)

it is most definitely cheating! the test is an assessment tool for the teacher, you, to see how much of what you've presented has "taken," or stuck with the student. having the aide give answers gives false data for the teacher. the higher test score may lead you to move to the next level, the next topic, which may or may not build on what the test was about. now the student, or students, who were given the answers are at an even greater deficit. i am totally behind giving the student the tools to succeed, the quiet place or the test being read that you mention, but handing out answers? no not hardly! if i were the parent in that situation, i'd also be a little pissed! how many other tests has this aide "helped" little Sally with and how far behind is she now? having just gone through a charge of academic dishonesty with Number Two Son (proved false, received a hand signed apology from said teacher) this pokes a raw spot i hope that you are able to get this rectified @DynoReads

i'm not an author, but i do blog here occasionally. i find using the tags widens the exposure to what i've written. i've started using the tags to search for others blogs on subjects that interest me. thanks for all the hard work Myr

LOL! yes Sir, i get your drift. i feel the same about Phil Sir the difference is indeed something to celebrate i am enjoying them, but boys still baffle me! thanks for reading Sir

LOL @Kitt ! it's not the BO, that's a really icky smell, it's just boy i think someone referred to it as musk yes, this is true! Phil laughs when i tell Him it's His turn to be the adult! that is very true @Dodger! thanks!

ah yes, those toys do sometimes get bigger with age thanks A! LOL! no, they don't really grow up JayT and yes, most of the time, they smell better as men! Thanks JayT!

thanks tim! for giving me the courage to do it and for reading it! yes They are always boys, even at 53! thanks, Parker! the youngest is in fact 17 lol! i do a lot of listening when i have a car full of Number Two's friends... thanks Def! oh jp, yes those noises are forever! having been married for this long, i can attest to that, LOL! i hadn't thought of that smell, in that way, but yes i imagine it was intoxicating! thanks jp!

Mac Sir, and tim, i believe congratulations are in order. this is another beautiful piece and the fact that it was done blind, as it were, only adds to the wonder of it i often say that poems leave me speechless, this one doesn't. quite the opposite. there are so many things i'd like to say, but the thoughts and feelings it invokes are difficult to express coherently. it does, however, leave me breathless. thank you Sir thank you tim

Boys are odd creatures. Yes, they are. Don’t try to deny it. Let me explain. i took both my boys shopping today. (Yes i know you know i detest shopping. i had no choice in this. Anyway, that’s a different blog post. ) Boys, make odd noises. They were talking, and they would accent their conversation with these strange vocalizations. i can’t even begin to describe them. Is there a gene, or other chromosomal anomaly that enables the male vocal chords to do that? i tried hard to just listen and not react. It was fascinating. Truly. Boys, they smell. They do. i know for a fact that both these boys showered. This morning. But, they’d walk past me to see something on a shelf and there was a whiff of...something on the breeze. It wasn’t that it was unpleasant, but it wasn’t roses and lilacs either. It was just “boy.” Boys, show affection differently. Now granted these are not boyfriends or lovers, they’re brothers, and that’s its own kind of relationship. And these brothers are 6 ½ years apart in age. The physicality of their affection startles me still. Shoulder punches, high fives and fist bumps that resembled an MMA fight, shoving, headlocks. At one point, i was concerned about the glass jars and bottles on the shelves at the store. But these boys were aware of where they were and this tussling affection was measured and controlled. And the name calling! Oh good heavens! If i didn’t know any better i would have thought they didn’t like each other. Boys, though, still surprise their mom. They found a movie they both wanted, neither had enough to get it. They agreed to split the cost. In a most satisfying and adult way. It was an affirmation that they do like each other. Even if mom doesn’t understand them! Yes, boys are odd. It’s a good thing that they grow up. Or do they?

this is such a fun little story full of wonderful word pictures from the eye roll, to the traffic jam, to the Hatchimal! and of course it had to be Budweiser and Labatts! i giggled a little each time i read it! thanks for including me in the magic that is your storytelling ❤

truly no words smiles, joyful tears the last 8 words hit my heart ❤ ❤ ❤

i hadn't known about reviewing until recently, i'll be more cognizant of it now. i do comment quite regularly and was recently given some advice about it. an author i respect said that you shouldn't be self-conscious about comments you may want to make. they are all welcome, and remember, even if it's something similar to a comment you made on another work, a potential reader won't know or care. so i am becoming bolder in reviewing and commenting.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. Martin Luther King, Jr.

well done BDANR! the sadness, and the hope, come through loud and clear

i had the same type of reaction A! it was really good wasn't it?

OH! Mac Sir and tim this is so good! it's hard to believe that you only had the last line of the previous stanza, it flows so well the imagery is vivid and the emotion is so real, almost palpable the last stanza evokes such peace, calm and hope after some of the more raw emotions of earlier well done!

thank you Sir

thank you Reader for your support and openness thanks Def it really has made a difference to have tim to talk to. he's supported me in so many ways, and i hope we continue to be there for each other.

Sirs... thank you, again, for this. i have also thanked Phil again. you both mention that there is no disrespect or anger in any part of the conversation, and that there surely could have been. this is due, in part, to the fact that You, our Sirs, never correct/discipline without us knowing exactly why correction is happening. we are fully aware that we have messed up. and we are fully aware of what we need to do to make it right.

thank you Michael Sir for everything

some years, Sir, the piles of shiny wrappings seem deeper than others but, as you say, New Years is cyclical, and each is a chance to begin again full of potential thanks for this gift to end 2017, and here's to a much better 2018!

(this is me, following directions, leaving no comment)

you are truly gifted ❤ both in your relationship with Michael and in your talent for writing thank you again for sharing those gifts with us