Geron Kees

Yes, but those are on the order of automated functions. Door ajar, trunk ajar, low washer fluid, embryonic alien creature gestating in the glove box. I see that stuff all the time. What I mean is that one day, I expect my car to say, :"Whoa, man! You don't wanna go that way! They're digging up that whole stretch of Route 8, remember? Hell, we'll be stuck there for twenty minutes if you go that way? Here...don't do that...no, no, turn here!. Oh...just let me drive!" I have yet to want to strangle an automobile. But the orderly nature of human progress assures me that one day I will want to do just that.

I have talked to every vehicle I have ever owned. They have yet to speak to me, but I am sure that is coming, some day!

When I started driving in 1983, there was a rowdy muscle car culture where I lived. We were kind of backwoods, and everyone had these 15 year-old factory hotrods. Some were even older, but if they were built between about 1962 and 1972, they were considered COOL. A lot of dads were involved with their son's cars, in some way, too. Mine helped me build an engine for my Dodge. The basics of Rules of the Road all happened the way they are related in the story. Cops out are way were few and far between. Most were county deputies then, and they just didn't concern themselves too much with the car culture. Half of them got off work and went home and brought out cars of their own! The state boys were the ones we had to look out for. Humorless as all get out! They are still that way today.

I think you may be correct!

I was lucky in that my dad was a car guy, and in his opinion, every teen guy should have an opportunity to own at least one rocket-powered form of four-wheel transportation. He wasn't crazy about me buying a MoPar, because he was a Chevy guy. But he let me do it, and he wound up at least respecting that Super Bee. I didn't own a car built outside the US until i was almost 30 years old. The period 1976 - 1988 was just terrible for US-built cars and trucks. Junk, is the word I can use in polite company. I struggled to remain loyal during that period, and by 1993-94 I decided to try something German. I have since owned several German cars by BMW and Mercedes, and currently own a Japanese Lexus. And my other half drives a Swedish SUV, a Volvo! But American cars are much better these days, and I would buy one again, if I found one I really wanted.

I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Reading the earlier tales is an option, not a requirement. It just makes it easier to understand certain references. I also expect I am a member of the third group we discussed over your story, The Horse on the Iceberg. It's really the only way to go! Geron

I always thought that, should there ever be an apocalypse, there will always be those who give in to it, those who deny it, and those who accept it and do the best that they can with it. The first group are the pillagers and the killers, out to survive at any cost. The second are the victims, who fall quickly, unable to embrace the new, savage land. The last are the ones that deal with it, but who refuse to lose their humanity, no matter how deeply it may be tested by those around them. Only the third group will ever live to write about their experiences, or want to write about them. Only the third group will ever rebuild a world. I don't know your history, but from your remarks in these comments, and those of others, I have a feeling you are a member of that last, third group. Bravo.

It's worked out okay so far. It just makes it hard for the reader to pause and come back to the same spot. If i do present something in chapters, I will likely post one each day. As I will not post until a story is complete, all the chapters will be available at the first posting. so there should never be a delay. But...again, I'll have to see how it goes.. Thanks for the input!

Haha. Do the different series have to mix? I think that would actually limit each of them, although it would be fun to get the characters together. But...I don't see that happening just yet. The guys in the Doors series come from a slightly different Earth than do Charlie and Kippy. C & K have a little bit of fantasy in theirs - more so than do Derry and Cally. No elves on Granddad Mike's place. Your star rating system is great! I don't think it's physically possible, but it makes me smile to hear about it. Thanks. Good to know that the stories present correctly to you. I haven't been able to replicate the widescreen effect that CG saw, so I don't know what happened there. I have another slightly sci-fi story I am working on just now that you may also like. It's not in any of the previous series and will probably be a one-off. But you never know about these things, either.

Haha! Don't let me stop you!

Was it a novel? I hadn't noticed! I will be experimenting with breaking longer stories into chapters in the future. One of the problems with a story in many chapters is that it takes more time to both post and do the upkeep, and I am sometimes very pressed for time. I go through periods where I don't get over here much. I took most of this week off for the holiday, so I have been able to get here quite a bit the past few days. I really don't want to find myself in the position of long delays between chapters, or long delays in responding to people that take the time to comment. So, I am being careful with what I decide to do. I want this to remain fun for me, and for readers. Up until now, posting the entire story at one time has served both the reader and myself, in that readers don't have to wait for anything, and I don;t have to squeeze time out of a day to get here. I don't think George RR would appreciate the comparison. J.R.R is dead, so he probably doesn't mind. But I can always go to Engris and ask him!

Quite a departure from anything I have read lately. The story was enthralling from beginning to end. Very well-written piece. I enjoyed it immensely! Thank you for sharing.

The thank you note was a nice touch, I have to say. Adam and Troy together are really good for each other. Adam might be a mess, otherwise. There are few things that cannot be assisted by the love and support of another. Adam may find down the road that he needs to talk to someone about his past; but not everyone needs that. People are all different inside, and some have the ability to move on from hard times, especially when those that follow are good ones. And it does seem that these are good times, for both of the guys.

What a nice comment! Thanks so much for taking the time to say so. Hope to have another installment before too long.

Actually, I have always lifted the text directly from BlueGriffon to paste into the GA editor...except for these two stories. As I was in a hurry to get them up (and as they are web pages on their own), I displayed them in a tab in my browser and copied the text from there instead. It's entirely possible that that introduced something odd to the HTML. Still, I would think that the specs in the GA reader would force the text you view to conform to the standards of the site. So I just don't know. But next time I post here I will lift the text directly from my HTML editor. If it then displays normally to you, we may assume we have found the culprit. Once the current challenge is over on IOMFAts, I'll post that story here, and you can tell me how it looks to you.

Okay, I will! This series has a life of its own now, so all the gang will be back. It's a lot of fun for me to write, and that makes it even better. Right now all the stories have been tied to holidays, but I have an idea for one that can fly without requiring a specific holiday to drive it. So let's see what happens! Thanks again for your interest.

You are welcome. Thanks go both ways, of course. Without a reader or two, what use is it to try to be a writer!?

Hey Boo! Glad you enjoyed this one. I guess you did, anyway, as you are not very clear that you did! Thanks, as always, for your continued and very vocal responses!

Thanks, Ivor! Don't know what is happening for CG. I know what a pain it is when the screen is wider than he viewer. That shouldn't be happening. One of the many mysteries in Charlie's and Kippy's universe!

I don't know. I am unable to replicate what you are seeing in any of my browsers, so I do not think it is showing this way to everyone. The reader here at GA has all of its own display settings, and anything I upload should be made to conform to local criteria. That means that, even if my HTML is spotty somehow, the reader at GA should still display it according to the specs set by the site. I really think you should ask Myr about it. In the meantime I'll look at my HTML and see what is to be seen.

Haha. I don't think I am ready to mix series just yet. But I am having a blast writing on all of the ones I have thus far. And, I have a couple of others in the works, too. Once you catch the writing bug, it sticks with you!

Well, if you are secretly a Hollywood agent looking for a screenplay, give me a call! I appreciate the great review. The guys will be back again, definitely!

Ivor made the exact same comment in an email to me about Difris! Haha. I grew up reading fabulous space adventure, so something must have rubbed off. I thought something was itching me while I was writing this one! Thanks for the kind words, as always, CG. Hey...how did the formatting in this one look?

I haven't changed anything, either, so I don't know what it can be. I have posted my stories here the same way since day one. Gotta be gremlins. You can ask Myr about it. Tell him what you are seeing and in which stories, and let him have a look. I think he will be interested, just to see if he can reproduce what you see. And if he comes back and tells you my stuff is all screwed up, you can tell me, and I can try something else.

I block everything, too. Heard something the other day about Armageddon, but it was blocked, so I didn't pay attention.