Parker Owens

A close call, indeed! How truly you speak in these thoughts. We often assign more evil and malice to the old and creepy, but in truth, the scientist is just as awful as our Predator was. Perhaps the greasy scientist was far less subtle than TP, but the end result would have been pretty much the same. Cabrera did what I hope any one of us would do...and I agree that Cabrera made it possible for Wally to sustain the changes he has made. Many thanks for your thoughts and for reading!

Can I thank you especially for this review? Sometimes, it seems that the slow, barely discernible 'refocusing' and rebuilding and process of change is the most important part of a person's story, and one which is often left out in tales...possibly because it is a bit dull, even if it is essential. Wally is experiencing a nearly normal kind of interaction and existence, one in which he is not driven to be in control. And yes, I like the scratched behind the ears metaphor. Thank you so much for your thoughts, and for reading the story!

Awesome interview. The Pledge question that comes to mind is how did Lord William's plans go so wrong? He is painted as a masterful, far-seeing creature, but in the end he is just as fallible as any human. Also, what sort of Brit shows are your favorites? So so very glad for this interview!

Thank you for sharing this. It was unfamiliar to me. It reminds me of Beethoven in its character; meditative, deliberate, somber. So perfectly apt. A wonderful piece.

Have binge read a whole bunch of chapters, but have had not time to comment. They want, but can't...circle each other warily...mate passionately....and in this chapter, and the last, it is good for us to see some form of weakness, some indecision in the masterful facade Travis has built up. You show us this so very well, in tension filled chapter, after tension filled chapter. Your story lives up to its name, as there is so much dissonance in all the lives these two men touch. Maybe I can detect a few strains of harmony, but that may be a trick of the music Yiu are playing for us so very well.

You have helped chip away at my fear of hospitals in this chapter. Hooray for the love of Peter and Parick!

Edging into a new life, and a new way of living: that is a very good way to look at it. Wally is lucky, for life on board a ship is built on routine and habit. It becomes a foundation. Wally is no longer the hunter, but he is a creature carried along on a current, on a gale of wind. He has alighted on the ship for now. Your response is very kind, and I appreciate it very much.

The joke is probably in Cookie's mind. I remember having a neighbor who called me by a nickname which I found completely mysterious, until I grew older and figured out it was the name of a famous jazz soloist. Oh. You and Wally both are wondering what the hell he is in for. One thing is for certain...he is well out of his usual comfort zone now. Many thanks for your I very kind comments and for continuing to read the story,

Marc's form of help may seem unusual and a bit hurried, but then, perhaps this is a good course for the predator to take. If nothing else, it gets him away from campus for a while. Thanks for your continued reading!

Since the moment he chased after Marc and Lee, the predator has been re-living and rethinking his life and it's direction. In their quiet, devoted way of living, Marc and Lee turn out to be very powerful as individuals and as a couple. Thanks for reading so far into this story, which I know has not been easy.

Thanks for your thoughts and response. I am sorry for being so shockingly slow in my own return. Events got in my way, and I lost track of what I had written. I do apologize. I agree with you...the decision not to head downtown was important, and it is the direct result of what Marc and Lee have shown him. They are truly powerful people, though one might not have known it to look at them. I am not at all surprised at your wait and see stance, though. Many thanks for reading this chapter!

I am sorry to have missed responding to your review. Life has intervened,and I somehow lost track..I do apologize. There is some real grace here, and perhaps the will to change. Whether the Predator can change, whether he can follow through with his ideas is another matter. But he has made a decision to try, at least. It is an awakening, as you say. I am no master, but I thank you for your kindness and forbearance.

The Predator may choose a new path. It is possible, at least, and many others in real life have chosen such changes. But can he do so? Thanks for reading!

I am enormously impressed by your analogies...empathy and sympathy not grown in poor soil by lazy farmers...not having a strong enough mirror in which to see...many thanks for these ways of looking at the Predator's inner mind now, and at Lee and Marc. It appears that in Lee, the ground is fertile indeed. I am very grateful you have read the story to this point, and have let yourself be carried beyond the boundaries of campus. Thanks for your response.

Truly, your comments made me smile and I appreciate your kindness. Marc surely wants nothing to do with the predator. His life, at least, is very different now.

Your comments are astute. The Predator has done some brutally cold and heartless things. It seems possible that these could be a product of his nurture, or part of it, anyway. The brain is a very strange thing, and our badboy's certainly seems to have been operating differently from most people's. His current career has been truncated. Now what?

The Predator may yet discover his still, small inner voice. He has been through a harrowing experience. If it had no effect on him, that would be less believable. Perhaps for the first time, he understands fear. Hope your neck recovers. Many thanks for having read thus far. I know it has not been easy.

'Some sick shit' comes from someone who was possibly half stoned, probably bemused, opportunistic, but also possessed of a scrap of active conscience. 'Like' is such a hard thing to ascribe to this chapter and the previous three. Yet this is a story that has actually been played out in the dark smoky Saturday nights on campuses here and there. And yes, I think your observation is spot on...they are all predators and carrion birds, each of them. Very well spoken. Many thanks for your encouraging words and comments.

You are most kind in your remarks. It is hard to make something as unpalatable as this story readable. Ted and Red have got the Predator trapped and beaten down. Some readers have likened this to karma; others are unsympathetic. But I feel as you do, that it is hard not to feel badly for anyone so abused and hurt, no matter who they are. Many thanks for continuing to read this story. I appreciate your comments and remarks.

No, this wasn't exactly my first pick for a subject, either. But the idea wormed its way into my head: can such a person as the Predator be redeemed? Thanks for continuing thus far into the story.

Thanks for starting this tale. I appreciate it.

I blush at your kind words. Thank you for reading this, and for your constancy in encouragement. In another time, Michael could have been badly hurt by Wally. Now they are friends, instead.

Thanks for reading this story. I truly appreciate your doing so. Wally has replaced the Predator, if not entirely, at least substantially. That he dresses in front of Michael is not a ploy. He feels the need to do so. Maybe Wally would have good advice for Michael, but right now he feels anything he says is tainted by his previous life. He might be right. God knows what could happen while he chaperones...

I think Salmagundi will stick with me for a while. Your collection of images and snapshots had me thoughtful and smiling by turns. I admire the way you turned your phrases. Some specific thoughts: Sunday: Though you and I have led very different lives, we share the same feelings about Sunday, especially the afternoons, which mean back to work by Sunday night. Monday: The sun, that fleeting and infrequent visitor to the cold, white north country, makes us all the more its lovers by its absence. Like the sun, your words brightened my otherwise snowy morning. Tuesday: "…Like happy friends out on the town" is an image of snowflakes I shall cherish. This is one of your gems. Wednesday: I enjoy the visit of a good and happy dog. Thursday: The morning alarm in winter is one of the most trying parts of our modern life experience. My covers aren't thick enough to drown it out, alas. I wish I could join you for that cuppa instead. Friday: Friday made me grin, both with joy for you and for the love expressed in this Day. "The Devil was in that smile…" was such a wonderful line; as was the very last. Saturday: And yet you produced one of your frequent poetic masterworks. "…naked maples and evergreens…" are etched into my visual brain. I think you presented your Salmagundi extraordinarily well.

That is one hell of a way to end your summer. But with Jeff and Brian more firmly attached to one another, then the last year of high school could be wonderful, unforgettable. I loved the analogy of roads, all running, merging, separating. And while Brian may be right, some roads run a long,long way. US Route 20 comes to mind. Maybe he and Jeff need to travel that... many thanks for the story.