Cynus

Those that don't have one should be one. Hopefully it'll catch on as the next popular trend.

Those that don't have one should be one. Hopefully it'll catch on as the next popular trend.

There's plenty good in store for Silas, but I wouldn't say it's all good.

I'm glad that it touched you. Adelaide is really everything that Silas has held onto . . . You know, I'm going to go ask a question on the forums that I'd love the readers' input on. Hope to see you there.

Indeed.

Don't you love how I keep adding new ways for Silas to hear the song? You're all going to feel mighty surprised when it blasts from the speakers of an ice cream truck! I'm kidding, of course. But the question remains, now that Silas has a home, how long will his healing take?

Silas as a parent . . . I hadn't considered that, and now I have to. Well, we'll see what the sequel has in store for him now.

The trees were a blur as they sped down the highway, and Silas lost himself in thought. The discussion with Amy about abuse had been interesting, and left him with a lot of questions to sort through. He had never thought of himself as an abuse victim, and he wasn't sure that he could perceive his upbringing in that light. There was pain, sure, but as far as he had understood his parents had done the best they knew how. Their best just hadn't been good enough, and they had been consumed by a

My Cinnabon experience. Believe it or not, there's a big reason I used Cinnabon in The Navigator. I didn't even think about it at the time I was writing it, so I'm sure it was largely subconscious, but it relates so beautifully to the plot line that I feel I have to explain it. When I was a kid my family was poor. Not dirt poor, but we didn't really have any play around money. Christmas and birthdays were modest. I'm not complaining about that. Growing up with those financial constraints taught me some very valuable lessons, like how to survive on less and make your money stretch. We were never really in need, but sometimes things got a little tight. There was this large mall in downtown Salt Lake City known as the ZCMI center. When I was a kid in the late 80's and early 90's, my mother took my siblings to the ZCMI center once a year by bus to look at everything. It was supposed to be an exciting trip, and at the end they would celebrate by sharing a Cinnabon. I was so excited to go the first time I went with them. I was five or six, and it was my first bus ride that I could remember. Riding to downtown was an almost magical experience for me at that stage in my life. The only other times we went downtown was during Christmas time to see all the lights that lit up the city. Salt Lake City is famous for its Christmas Lights on Temple Square, and when I was young it always seemed like i was walking into a completely different world when we were there. To put it simply, traveling downtown was practically the most exciting thing imaginable to my young mind. I don't remember what we saw that day at the mall. I remember the feeling of being there, the childlike wonder with which I viewed the world. And then I remember the last part, when my siblings mentioned the CInnabon and begged my mother to take us there. When we arrived and shared the large cinnamon roll, I ate it with all the childlike enthusiasm I could put behind eating this thing that I had been told was the best dessert there was. It was amazing. I can't remember the taste anymore, but I know from the greatness of the memory that it had to have been awesome. Whatever expectations I had made about how good it was going to be had not been let down on the taste of that Cinnabon. The disappointment came later. The disappointment began when we went home. Of course I understood that we had to leave the magical place, but I still didn't want to. Then came the promise that we would go the next year, and I had to hold on to that. The next year came, we scheduled a day that we would go and I came down with Step throat. Rather than rescheduling, my mother and siblings went without me. I was crushed by that, but I was even more crushed the next year when we didn't go at all, and the year after that . . . and suddenly, this childhood memory of awesome family togetherness was crushed and disappeared into nothing but memory. I could still feel the magic, I could still taste the deliciousness of childhood dreams come true, but I was never going to feel it again. The reason why I chose the Cinnabon in The Navigator is because of that experience. This probably seems a little weird, especially that I ended up putting this much thought into it, but I really didn't figure this out until after I wrote it in there. The Cinnabon is a symbol to me of what it was to be part of my family. It was a symbol of the greatest part of my childhood; the dream that was shattered in later years. So, I suppose I gifted it to Silas as a sign that, maybe things are going to be all right. Maybe trusting someone who is reaching out to you isn't such a bad thing. Maybe it's time to let go of trying to be an adult all the time and just let someone take care of you. You might not be disappointed. You might just find yourself loving it as much as you hoped you would. And you may never have the opportunity again if you let it slide by you. Thanks for reading. I'm happy that you all could be a part of this experience. Here's to you, the reader, who helps make the whole writing process worthwhile.

I was guilty of generalizing, I apologize, because my views on music really aren't that different from yours. I've found something I've liked in every genre, and it's really a matter of two things; if I can stomach the sound of the music, and if there is true emotion behind it. The latter is the most important of the two, which is why I said that all I have to be able to do is stomach the sound (I don't have to like it) if the emotion is real. Herbert Spencer said that "Music Is the Language of Emotion". I first heard this quote in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus, and I've always latched onto it as my compass for understanding and relating to music. I seek for the emotion in a piece, and if I can find it then I normally find the music redeemable. But there are a number of genres where I find that emotion more difficult to find than in others. Or sometimes it's an emotion I'm not very in touch with, like a country singer who only wants to sing about his truck. I'm just not a car guy, sorry.

I am so excited for you all to read the next few chapters that I'm going to keep my mouth shut for the most part. Your insights are wonderful, Dr. I look forward to seeing your reaction when the rest of the story reveals itself. Silas is doing a lot of growing in this section of the story, and Amy is determined to help him continue to do so. It's like all the other characters are landmarks on Silas' path through life, helping him Navigate to where he's trying to go. I'm going to post something on the forums before the end of the day about the Cinnabon experience. I anticipate it's going to be a funny read, but I haven't written it yet, so my words might take a completely different path.

And there is plenty more to come. The next few chapters are going to affect a lot, so stay tuned!

And there is plenty more to come. The next few chapters are going to affect a lot, so stay tuned!

Thanks! I'm trying to adhere to the philosophy of "Write so your secondary characters think that the story is about them". Don't know if I'm doing a good job or not, but that's the goal!

I wanted that line to resonate with Silas, and I'm glad that it did for you. In essence, The Navigator is largely about Silas' path home, though the nature of that path and that home are both still in question, and i'll not give any more spoilers. Silas Drake's future is fairly set in my mind, and although I won't say exactly what he becomes in the future, that was one of the potential options.

I am so excited for you all to read the next few chapters that I'm going to keep my mouth shut for the most part. Your insights are wonderful, Dr. I look forward to seeing your reaction when the rest of the story reveals itself. I'm going to post something on the forums before the end of the day about the Cinnabon experience. I anticipate it's going to be a funny read, but I haven't written it yet, so my words might take a completely different path.

It was funner to write than I had anticipated. I admit to being a bit scared of responding to the prompt when I first received it, but once I got into it the story practically wrote itself. I'm glad it was able to resonate with you.

Well what have we here? Interested to learn more about the connection between Mithras and Andrew. I'm ready for Chapter 3. Is it done yet?

I'm psyched to learn what happens in this story. There's so much going on and imagine it is going to be a very complex plot once we find out more about the characters.

http://www.outreachresourcecenters.org/ The OUTreach resource center is one of the things that inspired me to write The Navigator in the first place. This is a group that started in Utah in response to the significant number of homeless LGBT youth in the state. Since our beginning in 2005, Outreach Resource Centers has been focused on helping youth. A decade ago, the wonderful people of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden took notice of the incredible amount of rejected and often homeless LGBTQ youth and they took action. It was this action that grew into Ogden OUTreach. Since then, Ogden Outreach has expanded to become the Outreach Resource Centers and we now operate drop-in centers from Logan to Clearfield. We provide programs and services to more than 500 youth each year, addressing the needs of underserved youth at three levels: Prevention (Community Forums and Ally Trainings): At the community level, we offer ally and advocate training to groups who work with and support youth, and hold events to educate the public. The safe schools initiatives we participate in also act as prevention. Intervention (Resource Centers): At the intervention level, our drop-in centers offer a variety of services to not only meet the basic needs of youth, but to increase their self-efficacy, and provide them with knowledge and skills needed to become self-sufficient, healthy LGBTQ and allied adults. Crisis response (Safe and Sound): Crisis response for underserved youth in Utah who are homeless, suicidal, or have been victimized, have lacked until now because of legal barriers, and lack of resources. These barriers are being addressed now in ways they have not previously, and our ability to help youth in crisis is growing. After a careful evaluation of the Safe and Sound Host Home Program, we have decided to make key changes to the housing services model. This change reflects both our desire to reach more youth in need and recent changes in Utah law regarding sheltering youth overnight. Through collaboration with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and several other local partners, OUTreach is working toward creating a 24-hour line for youth who are suicidal or experiencing housing or family crisis, and a system for transporting youth to safe sanctuaries. In addition, due to recent legal changes that we helped push, it is now possible to establish youth shelters in Utah.

Taoism doesn't really touch on the afterlife, but I believe that if it did, this would be similar to what would arise. I wrote this from the perspective of a Taoist who was given a prompt about Christ, and this is what came of it. I'm sure the fact that I recently wrote a long philosophical blog post has something to do with it as well. I'm glad that this story was able to connect to you. We're all in this together, and we all need each other. Be well, LadyDe.

Amy closed her book as soon as Silas was awake. He looked at her, blinking to clear the sleep from his eyes as he sat up straight and glanced at Adelaide who was sitting at Amy's feet and enjoying Amy's fingers rhythmically scratching her behind her ears. "You were waiting for me to get up?" Silas asked, and Adelaide left Amy at the sound of his voice and walked over to put her front paws in his lap. "You're usually not up this early." "Something you only know because you're always leavi

Stacey is her own brand of philosopher. All four of them are, really. Brady is the deep thinker, Jack is the eternal optimist, Stacey nurtures, and Theo is the protector. They all have their modes by which they lift each other up.

Stacey is her own brand of philosopher. All four of them are, really. Brady is the deep thinker, Jack is the eternal optimist, Stacey nurtures, and Theo is the protector. They all have their modes by which they lift each other up.

Wow! Thanks, Stephen. I appreciate the kudos. It took me a few days if that helps, haha! "White space" is actually a meditation technique I use sometimes that involves creating the empty white void in my mind and then using it as a backdrop for whatever I need to meditate on. It seemed logical to use it as a basis for the afterlife as well.