Geron Kees

My grandfather never spoke much about it, either, nor did his friends which we knew to have been in the same groups. In fact, most people that did these sort of things seemed not to wish to talk about them later. I always sensed this meant that those times had been somewhat 'put away' in memory, and that no one really wished to haul them out and dust them off again. As a boy I was interested in the history, and I did ask him about those times. He did relate some few, small incidents. But he would usually move on to something else quickly. As an adult I realized that, to review those times in memory also meant to remember the people, and in many cases, what happened to them. That is enough to cause me to understand that some things are best left to storage in the time in which they occurred.

I recall that incident in Norwegian history, and the sad loss of life that accompanied it. The sabotage at Vemork, and the later sinking of the ferry transporting heavy water produced at that facility across Lake Tinn were incidental to the war, although no one could have known that at the time. In that respect, both the Norwegian and the British commandos acted with great heroism. Not that very long ago, some of the steel barrels containing heavy water were salvaged from the sunken ferry. Many were still sealed, the cold water of the lake having limited corrosion. When opened and tested, the heavy water inside these barrels was found to be of such poor quality that it could not have aided much in the development of German nuclear weapons. Again, no one could know this at the time. But it does serve to illustrate that what we think is happening is dominant at times over what is really happening. War is just loaded with such incidents, which must all be treated as fact at the risk of defeat if not acted upon. Heroism arises from what we believe to be true, and what we do about that belief in the way of action. Thank you for your wonderful comment.

Thank you for the comment. That you remembered the story the next day is more of a compliment than you know!

That is a nice pat on the back coming from a great writer like you. Thank you for that.

Oh, it did, it does, and it always will. Children-as-soldiers is not a new concept, and still exists in the world today. Sad, but what about war is not? Thanks for commenting.

Hi CG! Oh, I don't know. High school boys in farm country are much the same everywhere. But for the war, Nils and Rune would have been two of the same. Also don't know what's up with your browser. The text displays fine in mine. Sounds like it is not wrapping correctly in yours, for some reason. Anyone else see that? Thanks for stop-and-visit, as always!

Thank you!

Thank you. Norway is a northern neighbor to the land where I was born, but I left Nederlands at age nine and have lived in the US ever since. Going 'home' twice a year does not a local make of me, and I realize that. My grandfather worked in Amsterdam during WWII in a group that helped to hide Jewish children from the Nazis, and to move Allied fliers shot down on the continent back to Britain. He was a very cheerful man, who didn't let anything get him down, and scoffed at the idea that what he and others had done was in any way special. He was never grim about it, and spoke of those times as just something to get through so that the war could be done. A great many people were like him, in that they did things that needed doing, and for no other reason that they did need doing, and because they felt that doing those things was right. I was talking to my mother earlier in the year about her father, and she recounted some of his stories to me, and that inspired me to write this tale. I really do consider war a terrible waste of time and effort, but especially of lives. Not enough people seem to view it that way, and so we still have them. My mother's cousin married a Norwegian fellow, and his name was Haalaand, which is where I appropriated that name from. So while you may be right that the spelling is off, it cannot be too far off! 'Eirik' was also appropriated from someone the family knows there, so I thought it to be the correct spelling. I do think you're correct on the usage of Prins Carl. I'm afraid that's an instance of me just being semi-American, and forgetting. Sorry about that! I'll have to see if I can fix it. Thanks for the great comments. And I do realize that Nils and Rune would have had a difficult road ahead of them at that time and place. But difficulty has never stopped lovers from being together in some way, and I doubt that it would have stopped them, either.

Charlie Boone was asleep, and he knew he was asleep. The blackness around him was deep, and oppressively close as only the dark of dreams could be. He turned his head, stared about, seeking any break in the uniformity of the night that held him, but could find no light to attach his gaze to, no safe island in the perpetual gloom. "Why is it so dark?" a voice asked, so close by that Charlie jumped. "Kip? Is that you?" "Who else would it be?" His boyfriend sounded sleepy, maybe not comple

Charlie and Kippy and friends find themselves drawn into helping their elf friend, Max, as he works his way through a problem - with The Big Guy, himself!

It was a fine, bright morning when the German soldiers came to the school. Everyone was there that day - everyone that was left was there, that is. In February, the hated Quisling Regime had approved the Lov om nasjonal arbeidsinnsats, or the Law of national work effort, which had required all men between the ages of 18 and 55, and all women between the ages of 21 and 40, to enlist in the work program for the benefit of the Nazi occupiers. That act had removed Anders Bolstad and Geir Eiken,

It is 1943 Norway, and the land lies under the iron fist of the Nazi conquerors. Two schoolboys embark on a dangerous quest to fulfill the last wish of a special friend, and learn about the importance of duty and honor - and each other - on the journey.

Okay. I never read the modern Hardy Boys books. The ones I read as a kid were hand-me-downs from my dad, who got them from some other family member when he was a kid. Most of them were the versions as originally written from the thirties and forties, and were a lot better (and longer) than the later, abridged and sanitized versions sold after 1959. To go back and read any of them now shows them up for the simplistic tales that they are. They were written for a young crowd, which many people back then equated with a not-too-bright crowd. A shame. I read The Hardy Boys side-by-side with Dashiell Hammet , Raymond Chandler, and Conan Doyle when I was eleven. Needless to say, The Hardy's were shown up for what they were. There was still something fun about them, though. That's what I recall best, was that there were some elements that were fun.

That would be telling! Prefer you tell me, actually. Looking forward to seeing where you are off to!

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I know this was chapter one. What I was asking was, have you written every chapter of this story already, and you are posting them over time; or are you writing it and posting as you go?

Interesting beginning. I love a good mystery! Is this tale complete, or are you writing the chapters even now?

Dank je. Het had nergens anders kunnen plaatsvinden! (Thank you. It could not have happened anywhere else!)

Nope. I'd like to have a date for you, but so far I don't. I ave been writing other things and have yet to get back to that. But I will. Thanks for your interest,

I've actually been writing for some time. I've just been writing slightly gay fiction for about two years. Who knew it would be so dang FUN!

I missed this stuff, and it looks like I missed something interesting. I'm a newbie to writing this type of fiction online. I've probably missed a lot. Can only say one thing about that: RATS!

Haha. I know you! We've talked about this already, but it was very nice of you to comment, anyway. Funny how an author's writing just strikes a chord with some readers (but not with others). I enjoy the comments from people who tend to view the world as I do, and am just glad that the hate mail seems to be absent! Got a Halloween story for you in that other place. By the time it gets here, the holiday will be done.

Makes perfect sense to me. Now, if we can only convince the rest of the planet that it's a natural sequence, and one to be respected by all...

Ah, you incurable romantic, you! I want to know how you keep up with all these romances going at one time? I mean, Linda and Bobby back together, and them supporting Jay and Mikey at the dance by carrying the you-know-whats with them (don't want any spoilers here); Finn and Lee, working through their initial angst at being together and trying to find the meaning in it all; and then Jay and Mikey again, finally getting their special moment. And everyone supports everyone else in some manner, and it all keeps going, and it all works out, and it's all just as sweet as it can be. Honestly, I want to move to Ohio and live in the seventies, because you sure make it look inviting. Even if I have to sit through Mechagodzilla...um, well, if you don't mind, we can skip that part! Looking forward to what comes next!

Hi Dael, Fancy meeting you here! As a matter of fact, I heard that there are about to be a bunch more darvils coming along soon. Maybe you can get to know one. Thanks, as always, for the cheerful review! Best, Geron

Looks like a demand here for more, Ivor. Considering where you left us, I think you can see why! Breaking up is hard to do. Getting back together, even harder. You've whetted our appetites here for more of this tale. So get to it!