Geron Kees

Chapter Four -- JohnyG smiled, looking from Ed to Brian. "So that was your bunch we passed on the road, huh? You guys were just kind of amblin' along, a whole lot of you. You had every lane blocked. How else was I going to get around?" Ed frowned. "You coulda wrecked somebody, dude." JohnyG cocked his head to one side. "Think I'd chance trashing my car? I know how to drive." Brian smiled. The guy showed no evidence of being stoned or drunk, so the passing of the Alna horde on Route 5 had b

I suspect that a lot of guys and gals growing up in that decade have memories similar to ours, no matter what part of the country they lived in. The eighties were sort of the last decade before a large change in American teen culture took place, with the rise of social interaction via the Internet and phone in the late nineties. Cruising in the eighties was a form of social interaction in itself. Teens in my area did seem to separate out into those who frequented a certain hangout, and the mobile ones with cars that circulated among those hangouts. News was handed about very quickly that way. Party-going was a big deal, and where I grew up field parties were common. There were also a few wooded and mountain hangouts that were party places. Some of those parties got incredibly large. Word-of-mouth is a monster, when you're a teen. Glad the story brings back memories for you. That's what it's about, after all.

Hmm. I guess I was telegraphing too much here?!? Pot was fun as a teen, but by the time I went off to college I made a conscious decision to dispense with it. I never really missed it, either. Partying is a blast when the world is young and so are you - but growing up entails a certain amount of looking out for your own ass. That means being smart enough to discern entertainments from life choices. And yet, who doesn't look back on their teens with at least a little yearning? You can't go back, but, brother, you can certainly drop in for sit with it! Glad you decided to come along for the ride.

Shades of Tim Curry! Funny how working on cars and trucks is a bonding thing for guys, isn't it? And doing it with dads makes it extra special. I remember my dad showing me and my buddies car stuff - it's how I learned engines. This continues to be fun, and continues to get deeper, and closer. So many interesting people in one place! We ought to start a club!

Hmm. So Reznick had been in the area for some time, if he was the one that killed Denver's wife. At least for two years. Whatever his sense is that points him at shifters, it has a limited range. That's good to know. Now we have a second pack to consider. I am interested to see if two shifter packs interact like any two human groups that need to either work together or merge their efforts. Personalities tend to get in the way very quickly. Should be interesting. And, there is still Kellar's foster-brother and Adelin. Are you a star gazer? Vega is also half the age of our sun, but because of its size, also has half the life expectancy. Bigger and brighter, but for a shorter time. And back when men chased mammoths and ran from the Sabertooth tiger, Vega was the pole star. Bright, central, young. So what does that say about the new pack? Or, will there be no relation to the star at all?

Well, this looks like the coming together of several strings. Tobyn's mom looks like she will be a good leader. She is obviously willing to hear input from others and consider gambling a little to see if she can make things better for the pack. Toby and Kellar have kind of tied into a knot here - a good one. We aren't quite at the point where they are reading each other's minds, yet, but we are on the way. But the bond is forged, never to be broken. Now to see about Kellar's foster-brother. That is going to be very interesting. If anything can reform someone living on the outside, it's acceptance into a strong group that cares about one another. And if anyone can make that work, it is likely to be Adelin. She's had enough adversity in her life to get it. On with the show!

Thank you. As usual, you have excelled at peering ahead into the future...somewhat. Like you, I never wish to spoil the journey for a reader by saying too much - so I won't. It's always nice to have you along on any ride, along any road I am traveling. As Brian likes to think, it's not the vehicle that carries you on the road, it's who you share the journey with.

Well, every US teen was not like this, I'm sure you know. The 80's were an odd era, sort of a lingering of the 70's, with all these new things popping up all around that would lead into the '90's. What surprises me more than anything now is that the culture surrounding 60's muscle cars has survived for fifty years. There are still modern teens cruising around in these cars. In many cases, were you to follow them home, you would find another hot '60's car in the driveway or the garage - dad's car. Then you would understand that this was a case of the love for something being absorbed by a child from a parent. Likely, it was something they shared while the kid was growing up, and still share today. Cars, car shows, cruising, racing - it is a very American thing among a certain kind of people. In retrospect, I absorbed a lot of my own car culture as a kid from my dad, and I passed some of that on to my son. In high school, he drove a black '66 GTO with a juiced up 428 in it. And today, it is every bit the memory for him that my car was for me. And, like me, he soon grew out of owning the cars, but never stopped loving them. Thanks for the nice review!

Chapter Three -- They cruised up Route 5, an energetic, metallic mob long on noise and short on restraint. At every stoplight, a new green meant a chorus of squealing tires and roaring engines. Brian, out front, kept the Bee down to fifty, doing his best not to draw the attention of any cops that might be lurking along the way. But the truth was, any lawmen in hiding as they passed would have to be blind and deaf not to notice them. Their group had all the subtlety of a tank brigade rolling int

This is a very, very clever tale, and I loved it! This is about the pains and anxieties of being different. And maybe the wonders of it, too. The feeling that one is an outsider, somehow, is probably one of the hardest things for a person to deal with - especially a young one. Anyone reading this tale will not only be entertained, but will be heartened to see that the world is truly a mixture of every kind of human being - and faeries. Let's celebrate our differences, while cherishing the things we share in common. Thanks for sharing a very sweet and magical tale. And for Garin. Spelled differently, but pronounced the same way as the name of another slightly different person you may know.

I liked seeing Linda again, but I have to frown at her decision not to let Bobby in on what she knows about Zane. Yeah, talk is crummy. Nothing can hurt more than gossip, especially if it turns out to be unfounded. Talking about people is like silently chipping away at their foundations with a chisel. But she and Bobby had a relationship, and the thing that got in the middle of that was Zane. For her to know what a rat he really is and not cue Bobby in is giving the power to split them up to Zane. If it were I, and I cared about Bobby, I'd make an effort to get back with him. At the same time, her stance that family is more important is admirable. I grew up in a family where we all looked out for each other like that, and I know how important it is. Because we still have that today. Too many families dissolve, or split over really very minor or stupid things, that could have been avoided had they seen that looking out for each other was more important than looking out for selfish interests. The sense of family (and friendships) I get from everyone in this story is what makes it so special for me. “From now on, Jay Beckel, I want to see what you stick in my mouth.” Great line. And the whispered gibe about it being too small - yeah, you never try to explain that stuff. Especially over pizza! That was a funny scene, and sure reminded me of incidents like that from my own teen years. Isn't it just great to remember the oddball rules we all lived by as teens? I mean, some of them follow us into adulthood - but some sort of fade away. I love being reminded of the ones that I'd sort of forgotten. Thanks for another wonderful chapter.

Okay. This is kind of an interim chapter - prep for the next big step. Reassurances all around, and a feeling that everyone is onboard. Kellar and Tobyn continue to redefine their closeness, and we continue to learn more about the shifter mentality - both towards themselves, and towards humans. Great! We are on the road (heh) to some interesting events here. As Schwarzenegger once said, "I'll be back!"

Whoa. Talk about a curve ball with wings! Warren, the prick foster brother...Adelin's earth mate??? So I have to wonder then: is Warren a shifter? Or are you saying that a shifter can have a human earth mate? Either way, this suggests some pretty interesting additions to the plot. Man! Warren would have to not know that he was a shifter, if he was one. And if he was one, why doesn't he know at his age? If he's not a shifter, how can he be a shifter's earth mate? And if he is, will the offspring be shifter? I have to think that answer to that would be...hmm. Could go either way. If being a shifter was a dominant genetic trait, we'd all be shifters. So it is likely recessive in the human genome - providing that the human genome and the shifter genome are basically the same. They would at least have to be related, to explain the human half of the shift. Ouch! Headache coming on! I am impressed with your storytelling ability. So...what? You got a former life you aren't telling us about? I guess the only safe thing to do is take a few aspirin and go and read the next chapter!

Isn't it amazing how some things strike a chord with so many people? I know there are likely plenty of guys and gals that spent their Friday evenings at chess club or band practice, and I'm sure that would strike a chord with some readers, too. But the car crowd was evidently a widespread teen experience, though, and I was surprised at how much mail I got from readers of the original story when it was first placed on Nifty. That told me then how many minds had that same glorious little pocket of memories about cars, summer nights, and friends. So I decided to go back again. And here we are. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Yeah. Cruising becomes a lifestyle, when you have a car like that. The first thing you thought of when you climbed out of bed was where you were heading out to that day. Running the car (racing it)was the ultimate extension of the cruising part of it. I never ran for titles. I guess I had a streak of common sense there. I would run for fifty bucks, which isn't a lot of money, really. You blow an engine doing it, and what's fifty bucks? But for real, most guys with hot cars would race them at the drop of a hat. Someone pulls up next to you at a light, you're going, and no one had said a thing about money. It was for grins, and just to see who was quickest. A challenge was a choice, though, and so I put a price on it. Fifty bucks would pay for the whole night out with friends, and then some, in 1984. I was running over 500hp in a day and place where few others were, so I never really got beaten. I had some VERY close runs, though, and a couple of flat out ties. And, I had a blast doing all of it. And I want Brian and Jeff to have that, too.

Hey! Teen hotrodders bear little relation to crazy truckers...oh, say, wait a minute! You know, sometimes friends are so close we cannot see them clearly. Brian is at that point with Annie. He thinks he knows here he is going with her - what he wants; but he's young, and you know how that goes. Don't count out a resolution to that one just yet. A hundred and more years ago, people used to pay good money and line up along the tracks to see a good train wreck. That was before insurance companies and good common sense came along and shut that little entertainment down. So bear in mind that train wrecks are not entertainment these days, and you should do just fine.

Why, thank you! The eighties were pretty exciting for me, because those were my high school years. I guess those times of life stick in everyone's head to some degree. The eighties was a more relaxed decade than the seventies, and simply no comparison to the sixties (although I was too young to remember them). The eighties were a strange mix of cool and odd. The flavor was unique. I am only in the past year or so pausing to look back like this. I think everyone does this at some point. No one was more surprised than I to discover that I had not moved on completely from those years. And no one has been more surprised than I to feel the pleasure that comes with revisiting them.

Hi again. High school romances of any kind are ones that stick in the memory like they're glued in. Teens are so intense with everything, and the way they see the world still tinged with a little wonder at what might be next. At the same time there is no sense that it will really ever end, so the timeless quality of those relationships is quite special. Some couples have tumultuous relationships, and you wonder sometimes how they can say they love each other. Others, though, have relationships where the melding of personalities is so fine that the being together part is all that matters. Annabelle has a place in all this. Brian has yet to admit to himself that he cannot make up his mind about her, even though on the surface he feels he has. Only time - and chapters - will tell !

Chapter Two -- They stopped in the shopping center in Alna on the way home, and talked to Jim Van Pelt and Wade Tomlinson. Wade said he would tell Dave Routh and Mike Zurka about the party, and anyone else they saw before dinner. Jim said he'd swing by Zion Road on his way home and see who was there. Everyone would be told to be at the shopping center by six-thirty if they wanted to go to the party. "Fuckin' excellent," Ed said, grinning like a demon, as they drove off. "It's gonna be a wagon

Ah. The tension builds. Considering that the bulk of humanity is unaware of shifters, why does anyone know about them at all? Legends abound in human cultures. They can come from mistakes, misinterpretation of sightings (or from actual sightings, which are no easier to prove), and even incautious revelations by the 'legends' themselves. But legends are everywhere. What has turned this one into a war? What generates a breed of human dedicated to the hunting and eradication of shifters? Considering the ability of shifters to hide among the human populace, what senses might these hunters have that normal humans do not possess? How can Reznick, Jr. know that Kellar is there, waiting? And from afar? And it did look like he knew. With this chapter you have hinted at something that will certainly affect the way the rest of the tale plays out. Seems we are dealing with two interrelated legends here, instead of just one. More!

Very nice, intense chapter. The exploratory phase of any new relationship is fraught with doubt and decision-making as the two involved learn who their new partner is inside. These guys are doing very well, actually. That their bond has an added strength and significance due to their earth-mating only makes the extremes more interesting. I like the nuances: Their desire for each other, still a little of a puzzle to Tobyn yet, who is overly concerned with propriety. Kellar's insistence on waiting him out, without pressing him. Their mutual need and desire for each other pushing them together despite all doubts. This new moment, where the element of acceptance has finally taken hold in both of them. Very nice bit of lovemaking here, too. A waking dream, realized. Now to see what comes next.

I'm trying to think, if someone had told my dad when I was a teen, that I had been out milking cows - would he have laughed? I have to say 'yes' to that. Even though I grew up rural, like your guys, I somehow missed that little joy! I love Finn's support of his brother. I like the way you had him sense the new change with Cal and Benny, and instantly jump in there to give his brother a hug of support. Gotta agree with your other reviewer who said there might be a side story there. Then again, there seem to be a lot of potential side stories here. I would even enjoy reading more about Linda. She is definitely worth seeing more of. Another great chapter. Back for more!

Uh oh. Gary, you are in danger of making my head swell! Thanks for the kind words. Annabelle has her own hopes and dreams. She's being smart about it, and...I don't want to give anything away - so I won't! Jeff is just enjoying himself. Living a life run by fear is draining. He's come out of that, and he's a little euphoric. But he's also sensible, and has Brian there to help him adjust. We are just getting started. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just shut up now. Thanks for the moral support!

Hi CG. Good to see you again. If you liked the RV, I guess all I can say is for you to be patient. The quarry was fun. Nothing like having a place of your own when you're a teen. Car cultures are especially strong with having "hangouts" where they can congregate. The fact that the group is mobile usually means there's more than one. More to come. I'll get the second chapter up here as soon as possible. 2hanks for taking the time to visit with the guys.

A Roadrunner? Hi cuz! What's up? And a '68, too. I'm impressed. I loved those cars! I'm really happy to have a fellow traveler from those years (and a Mopar driver, too) come along for the ride. I'd like to think you'll find the journey a fun one. You can let me know as we go along, if you like. Thanks for the very nice review. Big block all the way!