Parker Owens

I’m so glad you read through Rick and Gus’ story. Simon will remember Rick, especially when he gets to be on his own in New York or Boston. Thanks so much for reading and for your thoughts throughout the story.

Thank you for taking time to read Rick and Gus’ story. I’m very glad you enjoyed it, and I hope the characters in Eagle Lake will inhabit your memory as they do mine.

Thank you for reading Rick and Gus’ story and for your many comments over its chapters. I really appreciate your very kind words with this Coda. There are many threads and ideas still worth pursuing connected to this story, and additional chapters might have been written. However, these seemed like detours in themselves, and it appeared that this was the best place to rest. Perhaps some time in the summer sun will be inspiring. Once again, many thanks!

You’re very kind and your words are excellent encouragement. Rick is a changed man, and who can’t say that Gus wasn’t a catalyst? By the end I hoped it was clear that they’ve both grown together. Thanks a so much for your comments and for reading.

I am very happy that you found this chapter, and this story enjoyable. Your comments are most generous, and I'm grateful. I wish I had mined your experiences for Rick's journey from LaGuardia to Carnegie Hall. Your descriptions sounded far too exciting! I imagine Rick was happy to let someone else do the driving. As for the Lovely Rita, I have wondered if she could ever be redeemed. It may indeed be possible. It's something I may take some time to think about under the summer sun, in any case. Thanks again for reading and for your comments.

I'm grateful you read the whole of Rick and Gus' story. Yes, it had to come to an end, but this seemed like a good resting place. Think of this as your well-earned summer vacation. Jared and Marta really made a deep impression on one another. The waited for one another - and she managed to escape whatever her parents had planned. As for Rita McKee's fate, I can confirm that her body does not rest at the bottom of Eagle Lake (or any other body of water). If there is redemption to be had, she may one day experience it. But that will require inspiration I do not currently have, alas. Thank you again for allowing this story to fill at least a part of your Thursdays for so long.

You and Rick are in the minority concerning pre-flight safety messaging, I fear. As for driving in NYC, Rick was treated the services of a person who has plenty of confidence, and the skills of a NASCAR driver. I hope the journey to Carnegie Hall didn't leave you feeling queasy. At least the concert delighted you, and I'm glad the descriptions helped you listen as you read. Were the links at the end helpful? Marta and Jared have teamed up on a more permanent basis; better still, because Jared appears to be working with Rick, that means Rick and Gus might be able to do more than go fishing together. It is not too late for Heinrich Senior to reconcile to his son, and it is to be wondered if he realizes his own mortality. Time for the old man is running low. Thank you so much for reading, and for all your many comments!

Thank you very much for the intracranial applause. Your words are most kind, and I appreciate your thoughtful reading of Rick's story. Rick would not wish evil on anyone, least of all his father, yet the old man had a stroke or a coronary coming. He could not seem to live into any other vision but his own. This not only led him to be a terror to his son, but also sent him astray into the schemes of Rita McKee. Her project was actually legitimate, though her means of fundraising weren't, and she rushed through her highly important environmental "homework." Many things have occurred in the years intervening between Rick's arrival in Chicago and the trip to New York, but one of the most important is Rick's marriage to Gus. I have no doubt that the event would have been greeted with many broad smiles in Eagle Lake. Again, many thanks for reading!

I am glad Rick, Gus and everyone in Eagle Lake will live on in your memory, as they reside in mine. Your comments are really very kind, and I have been most grateful to find yours every week. Marta and Jared will be a fun couple together - and given her contacts through her parents' network, her luthierie business is bound to take off. The Catch and Release name for the festival seemed just right for something Rick and Gus must have worked on together. I included Simon and his mother in the story because I have been struck by how many memorable encounters I have had with fellow passengers on various trips. I vividly recall some of these brief, never-to-be-repeated conversations. For Simon, a soon-to-be-uncloseted-freshman in university, his chance to talk with Rick must have represented a hopeful glance into a future he could not well imagine. Please accept my thanks for reading, and for your many observations and thoughts.

I'm very glad you found Rick and Gus' story enjoyable. Including those special guests at the reception was a great deal of fun. I'm certain Gus and Chipper had fun improvising. Thanks so much for reading and for commenting.

Thank you very much for reading Rick and Gus' story. By the last chapter, they have grown into the love and comfort of each other, and that seems to be spreading outwards from them both. Willy definitely ran out his string, and Heinrich rediscovered his human frailty. Unfortunately, that discovery did not include the ability to reconcile with the son was never quite good enough, and could not fulfill impossible expectations. Zoltan and Magda got taken to the cleaners, perhaps - but more, they have had to face their own fallibility. Simon's parents will probably have a similarly rude awakening. Once again, thanks so much for your comments and for reading.

I think I remember the main character...

You're very kind in your comments. While it was a bit of a leap forward in time, it was fun to see Gus and Rick fully alive together. While this story had to end, I'm hoping inspiration will arrive this summer for a new project. Thank you very, very much for reading Rick's story.

I've only got 20 more years to wait.

You are most welcome. Thank you for your many insightful and interesting comments. Marta knew her own way out of Zoltan and Magda's presdestination plan; graduate early and run to Eagle Lake. You're possibly right that more chapters might have been wrung out of reckoning Gus and Rick's new lives in Eagle Lake. However, it seemed better to let them simply be. Maybe there's a follow-on story waiting to emerge from a dream one day. Simon is not one of my old characters, and you're quite right; there may also be a story in him. His mother is quite as controlling as Zoltan and Magda, as you point out. In fact, there are lots of potential threads one could pursue - I kind of like Cash Lagrande, too. Many thanks for reading this story!

Thanks a million for all your patient and kind work with my drafts of Rick's story, making it turn out so well. Karma, indeed. Heinrich and Willy must live with their choices; Zoltan may indeed be humbled by events. Rita may one day bounce back, if she can put away her bourbon. Rick grew and changed, and Gus was the catalyst. It is indeed all about what love might do. Gus will be ready in 2041!

Would that I could carry your burden with you, even for just a few paces.

“Thanks for picking me up.” Rick settled into the passenger seat of the late model F-150. “No problem. You remembered your passport?” Rick patted his pocket. “Right here.” He’d made sure he had absolutely everything, twice over. “And your toothbrush?” “In my bag, back there.” He thumbed in its general direction behind the seat. “You need to go to the bank?” “Marta, this isn’t my first trip away from Eagle Lake.” “I know that.” The young, dark-haired woman at th

Magda and Zoltan have a different view of what it means to “manage” an artist‘s career. Helene really may have a few loose fasteners. She may feel eclipsed or threatened by Gus’ skill and mastery. Perhaps her temper is a sublimated response to a need to keep them on equal footing. Rick’s not going to let her within a country mile of Gus.

I had to get the last word in...

These last three were lovely! Each in turn delighted me. I really liked your take on Patience. The errata prompt was playful on my ear. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for these: too soon, April ended.

Days 22 and 23 appealed to me right away. How easily I form attachments to things - appliances, furniture, cars - it seems silly, yet your poem speaks to that. Day 26 was excellent. I felt poems swarming around my ears like a new hatching of gnats. Thanks for sharing all of these. They’re fun to read!

Thanks very much for your comment. I think the music they will make will be wonderful. I sincerely hope you get the chance to make your drive in the classic car you described.

I think you summed up the possibilities for redemption fairly well. I had to laugh at your comparison of Rita to the rest. Time, and some rest for my brain, may tell if any of these four may prove to be alchemical, so to speak. You are most kind to discuss these fictional characters at length. It is good to have another person’s perspective after living with them so long. Many thanks!

until then