Geron Kees

Aw...Charlie and the guys never get into any trouble. Well, much!

Thanks for taking the time to visit! Charlie and Kip always appreciate your company. Me, too!

Bob looked around Charlie's bedroom, and gave a little sigh. "So, this is where the magic happens?" Kippy smiled at that, and gave Charlie's bedspread a fond pat. "I always thought so." Bob's eyes widened, and his face turned a light shade of red. "Uh...I meant...you know, this is where you guys hatch your plans with the elves and all?" Charlie smiled sideways at Kippy, and nodded to Uncle Bob. "Yeah. We do kind of think of my room as control central." He pointed at the laptop on his

John Varley's novel Red Thunder and its sequels used a bubble drive. There is actually a genuine theory behind a drive that uses 'warp bubbles' for power, creating tiny warped bubbles of space-time and then popping them more or less on a specific side in a specific direction, loosing a rather insane amount of power. Even NASA is interested in it. But the engine that drove the delivery truck in this story was probably something else, altogether! Think Fizzies! This story will be presented in seven parts. Part Two is, um, rather larger then the others, because there was no good place to break it in half. But the others should all be manageable, with the last posting just after midnight on the morning of the 23rd. I have noticed that a number of authors here lately seem unconcerned with the rules about two chapters per day, and eight hours between them, but I know if I stepped out of line I'd get caught! I have been an embarrassment to people before, but riches were never involved!

Thanks! It's always great to see you!

That's very kind, Gary. I admit to being in the same boat as you. I have little free time, and it's either write or read, usually, and that makes it hard to keep up with other's stories. We just got back a week ago from 10 days in Amsterdam for Sint Nicholaas Day, and I spent most of the week catching up with my business. I was lucky to get this story done early enough to post for the holiday! There are seven parts, with the last posting at 12:01 AM on the 23rd. Hope you enjoy!

Bob Travers put down the drill and stepped back to survey his handiwork. The box was taking shape nicely, really starting to look like something he'd be proud to use in his act. He'd come to enjoy designing and constructing his own props, basing them upon ideas he'd obtained from his immense library of magic, but always adding his own touches to make them special. It was much more fun than buying props and just customizing them, as he had mostly done when he'd first started performing. To his ve

Charlie, Kip, Rick, Adrian, and Uncle Bob are invited by Frit and Pip to spend a different sort of Christmas Eve on the other side of the portal between worlds. And different is exactly what they get!

Okay! Both sounds fun!

Very warm! I feel the snow melting, even now!

You are building quite an intriguing mystery here, CG. So far, the answers lie in that same warehouse that holds the Ark of the Covenant, the remains of Ameila Earhart's plane, and - one might presume - the REAL Maltese Falcon. You have been jingling the keys to the door in front of our eyes - but I am still waiting for it to be unlocked! Does this Matthias have a key of his own? One that actually works? I love a good mystery, and this one is a lot of fun. We're at the point where I want some answers, but also don't want it to end! There's something a little scary about that! You're a mean, mean, man, CG!

Interesting poetic form. Seems to look good on you. Fascinating year!

Frightening, but with a happy ending. Wish the world worked like that more often!

Happy birthday! Sorry I missed the party. Just back from ten days away. Liked your reminiscence on the past. Memory is who we are. Sounds like you have always been just as fun as you are now!

A small play, with just a limited cast, but representative of the divide in thinking among the religious in many places these days. Another fine, thoughtful, and inspiring work, Gary. Bravo!

Best wishes to you, too!

Thanks for the good wishes. I was born and lived in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, outside Amsterdam, until i was nine years old. The language is set in me, and I will never have a problem with formal Nederlands. But the slang is crazy, and I can hardly keep up with it. Still, it's fun to learn more each time we go home for a visit. Thinking in English is important to using it. German and Nederlands share a commonality in form, but English, while related, is ordered differently. You really need to conceptualize in English to write well in the language. Seems like you are doing that! I have a feeling you will keep writing, too.

Yes, All Out does good work, and I've been happy to help with that. So far we have not needed their assistance here in the US (or Canada). Let''s hope it doesn't come to that. I was basing what I said about young people being more accepting then their parents (and certainly more accepting than their grandparents, for the most part) on my own son and his friends, and the kids of people I know. I suppose much of that has to do with their environment, but it''s an established fact that young people are turning away from the the religious-based hate in the US in droves. It may take years for this to shake out in a way that will mean less overall hate, but the trend is more positive than not. Yeah, Charlottesville. Can't say what I'd like to here, so won't say anything more at all. For now!

Ohhhhh! Never mind!

I've seen that line about Brazil worded just that way before, in an email from All Out just the other day. I support them, too! Hey, eastern Europe is every bit as bad as Brazil. Poland is the new place 'not to be' if you are LGBTQ. But there are still plenty of accepting places, and Eastern Europe (and Brazil) are not exactly on the cutting edge of human thinking. What is most important is that we do not let the areas of the planet that accept us revert. So far, that war is staying won, though here in the US, battles are still being fought to drag us backwards. I do believe that this is a problem caused by older people clinging to the past. Younger people will eventually be in power, and they are not so easily swayed by the past. So I feel I have reason to be optimistic for the long run.

This was fun. I did read this one before, but enjoyed it again! Don't listen to DQ. He'd be AMAZED if he knew how you'd started your 'career'!

I grew up in a bilingual household, with an American father and a Nederlander mom. So I speak both languages, though with living in the US I have gotten woefully behind on my straataal, which is an important constituent of the everyday language in Nederlands. We are leaving at the end of this week for Amsterdam, to be there for Sint Nicholaas day on the fifth, and I will again find that the slang has passed me by. Locals will smile at me, and some will ask if I have been away for a while. Your English syntax is very good. The more you use it, the better it will become. But it is already good enough to write in, so do keep at it!

I have to say that your English is very good. Where you learn a language is not that important. Learning it by using it is always the best teacher. Gib niemals auf!

I agree that the world is sometimes like a ship heeling over in a hurricane, first one way, and then the other. But this is not new; it's always been that way. And yet we do march forward, slowly, stepping backwards occasionally, but still reaching higher with each step. These are pivotal times, where an older generation is getting in some last gasp tries at reverting to what they think the world should be like, while the younger generation is watching and waiting for their turn to move forward. The people in the middle, that remember what it was like just thirty or forty years ago, see their new freedoms threatened by this attempt to bring back the past, yet it seems plain by the evidence that the attempt by many at stepping backward is failing, and that the future may be better than we hoped for. It's amazing what changes a year can bring. Well worth waiting for, I think!

We all have slow periods when it comes to anything we enjoy doing. The main thing is to keep at it, and not let it fade away! I can understand the difficulty of writing in a language that is not your own. It's a challenge, and one you have handled very well. Keep at it!