Geron Kees

I have been migrating stories already written to this site from other sites. I have still a number that have not made it here just yet. Some of them I don't know will fly here, and might not make the jump at all. Or, at least, without some small revisions, which I do not have time to do just now. I'm glad you enjoyed this tale. It is also one of my favorites. There are other things to write about besides love and friendship, but few are so satisfying in the end.

Thank you, Brendan, for forwarding Jobey's review. I'm afraid my knowledge of Aussie car culture is limited to somewhat outrageous Mel Gibson movies (which I loved, by the way); but I do know what a Holden is, and I do know that there were some hot machines produced down under in the seventies and beyond. I knew a number of girls in the car culture of my youth, and they were just as accepted as any of the guys. Their cars were of the same caliber as everyone else's, as was their knowledge. When it comes to things like cars, that appeal to something exotic inside of us, there is no gender involved. Just stereotypes. Many (adult) people thought girls had no business driving hot cars. But I never went anywhere in that culture where a female with a hot car was treated as anything but an insider. Thanks for taking the time to go along for the ride.

Now that was a very, very nice review, and thank you. I know the story sometimes reads like a article in Hot Rod magazine - but in this story, the cars are characters, too. They had personalities, and the guys that built them and drove them and loved them thought of them as friends and even lovers of a kind. Humans are very quick to give personalities to inanimate objects they are fond of. It was necessary to show how close these guys were to their cars in order to understand how those machines stood between themselves and their relationships with other people. Yes - no one gave most of these guys anything. They worked and saved to build those cars. Often, it was a family affair, with father and son both working together to create something special - not the least of which was a bridge of understanding between them. For me, being a part of that car culture as a teen changed my life. Without that focus on creating something special, I might not be submitting stories here today.

This is one of my earlier stories, and I still felt the need to explain everything in detail. It's a car story, no doubt about that. It's about people, too, but that part of the tale doesn't seriously roll until the latter half of the story. Rules is only then chapters. I have posted five, with chapter six going on tonight. Chapter six begins the other half of the tale - the people half. I learned from the experience of writing this one. The sequel to this tale is about half written now, and it is about people. Cars play a part, but people come first. That's how it is in life, and how it should be, always.

I have had some comments from people on the overly technical nature of the story. This was one of my first tales, and I was still finding my way. I understand that stories should be about people - and this story is, underneath all the car talk. The wealth of tech is just to illustrate how these guys lived and breathed cars. Rules only has ten chapters. Starting with chapter six, it becomes a story about a relationship. It took some time to get there, but that was my intent all along. Thanks for sticking the course.

I'm glad to see that I am not the only one this occasionally happens to! Thanks for the intent, anyway.

Brian decided to keep it a secret. Ed was the only one that knew about it, besides Brian and his dad. Brian decided that he would just simply appear one day, with a new and improved Super Bee, and let things fall after that where they may. The fun that could be had this way seemed well worth sitting on the exciting news. His dad found another 383 Magnum, a low mileage engine from a wrecked Charger at the junkyard where he had been dealing for years. They took the engine to his dad's buddy Carl

You are mean and I hate you! Well...no. I guess I still like you. Despite the fact that you let me read a story that was a puzzle, and then not a puzzle, and then a puzzle all over again - and not over at the end! This is the kind of stuff that puts people into asylums! Actually, it was a great little scare-tale. I thought I was ahead of you a couple of times, but... Abomination, indeed!.

Better. Much better. Now maybe they can eat the chocolates.

Don't do it! I figure you won't, or the story would be over. But - nothing pains me more than a young person thinking about ending their life. That is never a solution to anything. Guess I'd better go for the next chapter so I can sleep tonight!

Stories like this one bring back memories. I never had a mystery interest - I always managed to fall over interested guys by accident. Maybe it was an arcane kind of magnetism. I can't remember having the term Gaydar around in my teens, but that sudden shock of recognition - I do know that. I'm having fun here. Be back to continue with the tale. Thanks.

Son, you remind me of the era in which phones were fun. Or, maybe it was when we were young enough to use them for fun. Either way, this was fun.

I found when I published this story elsewhere that it attracted a very broad audience. I was really surprised at the variety, in fact, as I envisioned the tale mostly appealing to old-head, pot-smoking, ex-muscle car drivers. And maybe the women that took care of them? I guess everyone kind of enjoys a look back, even if that look back isn't exactly at the world they knew. Some elements of being a teen are universal. Some people loved their teen years; other hated theirs. But we all lived through them, and maybe that's the bond the story shares.

The story takes place in New York. I changed some of the small town and area names simply to disguise exactly where in New York. Rules is very much based on events in my teen years, and many of the characters are based on friends. The cars are all real. I owned the Super Bee for three years. It is simply a consideration for all the people involved not to make it easy to identify them. As they used to say in that old TV show, Dragnet: the names have been changed to protect the innocent. On with the show!

The rest of the week went quickly enough. Brian and Ed made an appearance at the shopping center in Alna and were welcomed by the other guys. By the third visit Brian felt like he'd been going there his whole life. Even Jim Van Pelt was cool. Jim was a senior, and had what was considered the quickest car at Proctor - a Roadrunner like Colin's car, but a '68 instead. But where Colin had put a grand into his engine and another thousand dollars into his paint, Jim was the more practical of the two

Being a teenager is right up there with building moon rockets in complexity. Relationships attain a new level of intricacy as sex comes into play, and for some people those relationships are just baffling. It can be easy to hurt someone accidentally, and very hard to fix it afterwards. I like writing about teen relationships because few adult situations can be such as touching, funny, and poignant at the same time as those of young people. Being young is tough but wondrous; elating and fun and sad, all rolled into one.

I had a great time with my car as a teen. It prompted this story, which has a lot of fact in it. I haven't owned a hot car since I was 19, yet all that engine knowledge is still in there in my head to this day. I guess when I start to forget that, I'll know I'm getting old. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for the interest. And be careful what you wish for, as the future is never set in the world of fiction!

The next day was made of memory stuff. Brian's dad took the morning off from work, ran him down to the DMV, and they got the Bee's title switched over and acquired a new set of tags. After that, they stopped by his father's insurance agent and got insurance for the car, and Brian wrote his first check from his new checking account to pay for it. Up to then he'd just been a savings account guy; his dad told him straight up to get a checking account now that he had the car, because he was going to

I liked this story, too. Both of the Sellers males were hard to take in the other set of tales - but it is nice to see that love can prompt a change still. That Pete was willing to try shows his heart still works.Too bad it's too late for Pete's dad. Usually is, by that age. Thanks for adding considerably to my afternoon. Got to go, but I'll definitely be back!

Hmm. Interesting phone call. This is a different take on the teen years than I lived through, but it's fun. I always like to see how things were for others. I'll be back for more. Thanks.

Still reading, with a ways to go yet. Sorry Jay and his sister only seem to share elementary genes. Great that Jay knows his own mind and won't fall for her opinion. I realize I'm a year or so behind everyone else in reading this, but at least you get a new opinion that it's a nice piece of work! Thanks.

Okay, this is number three, but I read it last. Entirely my fault, as the pub dates were clear enough. Like I say, it didn't matter, as I can string pieces together in my head with the best of 'em. I really liked this little series. Sweet, great characters, a little mean around the edges (Sellers), and a happy conclusion. And just a really great line, when the two court bailiffs grab Max for jumping on Nate, and Max proposes: “Knock it off. They’re having a moment here.”

Okay, this is the ending. I haven't added on my fingers since 2nd grade, but isn't one missing? Didn't someone say there are four? I could happily spend all day here...