Parker Owens

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.

What strikes me most about this poem are the objects and images which appear, one after another. This makes the vision so very real to me, more than just a photo album of your farm. I can practically touch the tree, sit on the old bucket, look for a basketball to play hoops with...you have made your life tangible, and in doing so, made me hear the laughter and yearn for the same memories you bring to mind.

Comment 1: CJ, jealous? His eyes turned green? Perhaps our boy isn't perfect, after all. At least it's a good imperfection, maybe. Comment 2: Thanks for breaking the tension. Finally, CJ decides he wants Owen, who responds exactly as I did. About time, wanker. Comment 3: Fantastic, fantastic chapter.

You again have gotten inside my brain. Wally's inhumanity is falling away, and his humanity is recovering. He can see the plain difference between the Marquez world and the Cabrera world; and in the night, he chooses kindness and honesty with Michael. But what has he gotten himself into for the coming afternoon? Many thanks for your comments and insight. Cheers, back!

Things are patched up as best they can be. No triangles get set in stone, as Shawn does his best to crush Ryder's crush gently. I feel so badly for Dylan and Shawn for what they have gone through; happy for them, too for the hope that is theirs now. You've done this well. Now if Callen can manage to keep his own heart and Ryder's together too...

A lovely and interesting tale...although if I'd been Kevin, I would have freaked out. Hope you continue posting stories here for a long time!

As a teacher myself, I can relate intimately to the weariness, the time crunch, and the inevitable elusiveness of any kind of inspiration. Our Mr. Allerdyce knows all the things he could do, but cannot find the will to do any of them. Not at all surprising, really. This is the part he didn't understand when he signed up. The kids and the routine get under one's skin, but it does leave one feeling exhausted. It is the relationships one builds in the school community that make the job rewarding. Will the acerbic Mr. Allerdyce learn this?

I am overwhelmed by the reading list already. Mr. Allerdyce is going to be a challenging teacher. The kind kids find interesting and engaging. The kind they will go to the wall for. Not that he gives a crap about that right now...

May I summarize? Liam appears to be a nice guy. Nathan appears to be just as Liam described him: a saint. And a pleasant, cute and personable one, too. Alek was wonderful and sexy in his way, but unable to choose Liam. He has refused Liam, and Liam has told him to go away. So why can't Liam forget the big Russian and begin to think about someone else? Something tells me Nathan is too good to be true. But perhaps it is worth Liam's while to find out. Thanks for a great chapter!

If I'd been Rory, I might have been more (a) annoyed at being taken for granted as an alibi or ( crushed that Robbie has a girl...assuming what Nathan and Robbie think is true. Or both. But perhaps that just shows how much of a good guy Rory is, or how much of a crush he might have on Robbie. The wake up scene with Nicola was priceless. Beautifully executed. It is funny to watch Robbie and Nicola waging peace at each other, mostly. Never knew, um, yogurt, could be so dangerous.

Thank you for a very insightful commentary. Some moments in life - often those that change our lives - are only recalled in snippets of action and sound and sense. But as you say, we confront them more fully and completely ever after. Wally's experience surely changed how he is living, and may yet change how he will live. I am glad you have continued to read this story, and I appreciate your response.