ReaderPaul

Well, Poise does not Always Equate with Depends. Perhaps Tena prefers Cora, or Aunt Flow, or such an old brand as Kotex. Sometimes one can Stayfree, and other times one might have to get Rael. But with proper planning one might be Always Discreet.

I am not surprised about Jon Bon Jovi being nice. The nicest celebrities I have met have been singers and musicians of various kinds. Of the persons I mentioned above, all were very nice except one, and he was just okay. Petula Clark and Andy Williams and the Lennon Sisters were especially gracious and nice. Authors ran the gamut from gracious and personable to politely terse. Often the lesser known were more gracious than some of the established authors. I frequented several of the local and regional bookstores -- that is how I met various authors. Some of the owners or managers of bookstores knew the authors personally, and were able to get them to come in for book signings. Have only met a few actors, and most were nice, at least on the surface. Your story has many interesting aspects. I am enjoying reading it.

"Fascinating," Commander Spock would say. "Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice. I have met a few famous people briefly in my time -- Mel Tillis, some of the Osmond Brothers, Andy Williams, Petula Clark, John Davidson (one of the famous persons of that name), some of the Lennon Sisters, some of the Lennon Brothers, and a few others. But except for two of the Lennon Sisters, never talked to any of them more than three minutes. I ahave also met some famous authors. I look forward to next week. Did you say Thursday is coming on Tuesday next week (hope, hope)?

I enjoyed this story a lot over the years. Charlie and the guys first meet Pacha'ka and Mike in this story, and see two others from another story. Also they meet Sefton and the planet of Engris for the first time. Very well worth reading.

How am I the first to react to this fascinating chapter? Does Justin have paparazzi stalking him? Will Chef Andy be and Chef Andy's? Will Greg run into the girl and guy again? Will Greg meet a third and fourth hot guy? What secret abilities does Mrs. Winterbourne have? How quickly will Greg surprise the many that seem to underestimate him at the Company? Who is Courtney/Trish? Can I come up with more questions? Probably---

When in college, I was fortunate to see The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro performed at the college I attended by a traveling troupe of players. Good and funny!

What @VBlew said is often true in this mortal world, as well. Persons often are so quick to guess that wrong assumptions are all too common. And what @chris191070 mentioned, I agree with. Hopefully future meetings will go more smoothly. I also like @Thirdly's images of characters. Fascinating. Good story, @BendtedWreath.

@Enoch -- could this be what you are looking for? https://www.wattpad.com/4150522-things-that-go-bump-in-the-night

The problem is that the guy is NOT hanging off the cliff! Instead he is sinking. Will Greg be in time? Will Justin or anyone else help?

Those are very good stories. My favorite non-series stories include "The Party of the Third Part" (here on GA) and "An Admission of Guilt" (over on IOMfAtS). "Third Part" has a lot to say about peer pressure, parental pressure, and "elite" expectations. "An Admission of Guilt" talks of party pressure, parent-progeny, and several other things. Some of my favorite lines from "The Party of the Third Part": "Let me get this right," Jerry Masters said, smiling at Amanda Burke. "You want to hire me to be your boyfriend?" Amanda was new in school, having just moved with her family a week or so ago from West Prior. She was an attractive, dark-haired senior, not unlike Jerry himself. She nodded. "All you have to do is go with me, and just act like a boyfriend. Hold my hand some, give me a kiss on the cheek when people are looking - that kind of stuff. Nothing too involved." "And you'll pay me fifty bucks for this?" "Yes. That's not bad for two hours in the evening, is it? And you'll really be helping me out." "Uh huh." He leaned closer. You know I'm gay, right?" Amanda frowned. "Yes, I do. So what? My brother's gay. I'm not concerned about gay. The people over in West Prior don't know you at all, anyway." The frown turned to a smile. "You're good looking and smart. That's all that matters to me." And the story gradually gets better from there....

I always enjoyed the stories written by Geron, In my interactions with him through email and responses he made in the comments, he always had an active and agile mind. He had many projects started or in mind, including: A. He had started writing a horror story -=- something different for him. B. He had notes for a third Road story. C. He had notes and a small start on a fourth story in the series which started with The Odd, Onward Door. D. He was starting to make notes for sequels to Journey Beyond the Sea and The Case of the Short, Short Prince. E. He was thinking about an eighth Charm story. F. He was considering a fourth story in the Mooi series. G. He has two short stories on IOMfAtS which he and I discussed and felt would be too political for GA. Those short stories are "An Admission of Guilt" and "A Rainbow for Jack". H. He was thinking about another story on the order of "The Third Clue: A Pacha'ka Adventure" -- where other characters than Charlie Boone, Kippy, Rick, and Adrian would be featured from the Charlie Boone universe. I. His story, "Z is for Zombie" takes place in Minnesota, instead of New York state or The Netherlands. J. He was considering a third "Thrift Shop" story. K. He also had ideas for a sequel to "The Stolen Dream." L. He said he had a lot of ideas for others stories, but needed more time to write them. One of those ideas was for a sequel to "The House of Storms." A great talent has been stilled. However, we have wonderful stories to read and enjoy and remember. Rest in peace, Geron.

I have noticed that when I click "Follow" on a particular story, I then get notices for EVERY new story that author publishes, not just the story on which I click follow. Is it supposed to work that way?

An excellent story with a number of plot surprises. Beautifully written and the story unfolds in a gentle fashion yet keeps moving along. The interactions among Dr. James Carson, janitor, and Silas, and an additional character later, keep the story moving as they try to unravel a seemingly somewhat tangled mystery. I recommend this.

Excellent story. Many surprises. Loved it.

I was going to mention the eye patch, but @Dathi beat me to it. Way to go, Dathi. We must have some of the same questions. I look forward to learning more in the next installment. Good work, Tim.

Well done, @Wayne Gray.

To quote Commander Spock, "Fascinating." I look forward to reading more and more. How many chapters will there be if all goes as scheduled, Tim? Did James leave sperm with a sperm bank? SILAS reminds me of AIVAS from one of the later "Dragonriders of Pern" series by Anne McCaffrey -- except AIVAS did not have an alternate body to go to. I think SILAS is being truthful and as helpful as possible at this point. Whether the memories of SILAS were so completely erased that the current tech cannot retrieve them remains to be seen. The situation regarding SILAS also reminds me of Difris from Geron Kees' Doorways series, also known as "The Odd, Onward Door" series, and available here on GA and on IOMfAtS. And a bit also of Athena and Oracle from R. Eric's Ark II series here on GA. While the situation is considerably different from this in each of the other stories I mentioned. I do see a few parallels. Very much looking forward to reading more, Tim. Thanks.

Fascinating, @Jason Rimbaud. And yes, it is usually true what Greg said and what Mrs. Winterbourne said in the last few paragraphs. Edit: I'm surprised that I am the first to comment on this chapter, it is so good.

On very rare occasions, the term "plunger" has been used as a symbol for what is called "maypole" in this story, according the the AI Copilot. So, @Al Norris and @drpaladin -- another term for possible use.

I agree with @chris191070. Thanks, @Myr. I see some stories I need to read.

Love it! Looking forward to more. Just looked at the "Stats" tab at the landing page for the story. You mean we've got to wait until July 27 for the second chapter, "First Burn"? How many chapters will there be. Ben? And does a dhampir sometimes have traits neither a vampire or a human possesses?

Yes, it counts as skinny dipping if you are on a nude beach and go swimming. If you are not skinny, I've heard it called "chunky dunking." I have been skinny dipping with other guys in creeks or in a swimming pool. Fun!

Sam and Leo are gaining in confidence and competence as they chronologically cascade catastrophically along. Caution could increase concentration on concerning cases. Good work, Chris.

Interesting, I have some tentative guesses about some of the characters mentioned so far, but not quite ready to put the speculations out there.

There is a park within 50 miles of my domicile with that name as part of the park name. Here it is pronounced FEW-kwa.