Anton_Cloche

Cal, I hope this finds you as well as can be. If things are causing your ability to write to slow down, I will keep in mind a couple of quotes of Abe Lincoln: "Good things come to those who wait" And second I believe this to be apropos: "I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me..." In my humble opinion Cal, you are a success with your writing that we have had the good fortune to read, and your have many friends who believe in you (because of your stories). Thank you! 🫂

Although I took a 'Gap Year' between high school and university, I missed out visiting Greece, Mykonos etc. While it remains on a 'bucket list', I know it would have been more enjoyable while in my late teens and early 20's. 😒

Every European adventure includes wonderful foods, but with all the children i think 'a movable feast' is a requirement. Marie and Mary Ann set off for their 'girls vacation' with Armand's promise of taking her and Colin to Greece me at times for a Daddies and Daughter trip. As for Arnaud's comments about the Penthouse Suite, given his 'position' (and wealth?), he would accept the best. His concern for Armand's finances taking a hit, aren't valid given his first hand knowledge of how much Armand's paintings are worth. Santé.

A lot happening in this great chapter that lays foundation for everyone's futures. Spring visit from Carlo and Alicia was short but good. Museum and fishing 'day trips' for all the children are great, but Zoo trip? More fun than 'a barrel of monkeys' (okay that was bad 🐒). Ivan bought a 65-acre farm, that with careful planning may supply The Home with produce, eggs, and possibly dairy, plus sales to local stores for income, that Colin (and lawyer / businessman-to-be Richie) will help with. Summer sees most of the family heading back to Europe. Marie going home to France for a visit. Carl (and other family members) receive guidance and direction from their personal Guardian Angel - GG. She will help Carl discover and develop his artistic talents as will proud Papa Armand. * Still trying to work out symbol or image to represent Carl's CRR monogram; one easily drawn or painted onto artwork and frame if he follows GG's 🐦 and Armand's ➳ . Carl ROWe-Roberts could be a CROW (hard to draw, easily mistaken a raven). Perhaps ❌ for Carl ROwe-RobertS aka 'cross'? On with the adventure!

💔Broken hearted at yet another tragic and senseless shooting, this time at 'Michigan State ' University Mon. Feb 13. MSU football 'Spartans' have a friendly rivalry with 'University of Michigan' Wolverines - that Ronnie plays for in this story). Thoughts and prayers 🙏🏼 for families of three outstanding students whose lives were taken and the five others critically injured. 🫂 Security features for Uncle's Home for children make sense, sadly.

Hmm? Well to quote Billy Joel: "You may be wrong, for all I know, You may be right" If I were betting, I'd say you might be surprised.

Wow, Colin scored a free jet demo flight from New Haven FBO (private airport) to Ann Arbor AVFlight FBO during 1/2 Time, on a game day? Betting Colin made future flights conditional on this trip. A fast private jet makes trip in just under 1 hour and lands only minutes from stadium. Plus jets have LIVE streaming TV, so Colin watched 2nd half of game in flight. Then quick trip home with their favorite Wolverine. What a surprise for Armand and the family. Colin is forgiven for disappearing. Armand needs to sell some more artwork to maintain this lifestyle.

I got the "But one was missing" figured out. Armand was thinking about their four original sons and their college schedules. Tommy and Ivan will be attending schools near home, Richie had come back with Armand after the day trip to register at Amherst (a week before he goes back). Ronnie is the "missing" one. But he will come home for holidays, at least the first year. @CLJobe thank you for another wonderful chapter. I rated this one a 🤞🏼fingers crossed, instead of a ♥️as there are changes coming that might include a 'hiccup' or 'bump in the road' (hopefully none serious, but football?). Grandmere Lavigne had a positive effect on Carl and a wonderful first trip outside France to U.S. with the family, ("our home was in the woods"?), teaching the younger Rowe-Roberts children to speak français as well as starting French lessons for the children in 'Uncle's Home', asking Armand to promise to keep them learning French so that "The next time I am here, I will want to see how they have progressed,” indicating at least one return visit. (Let's not forget Madame, while not as old as Nonna, is likely in her late 60's?). Speaking of 'Uncle's Home', the driveway gate "slamming shut" reinforces the security measures in place. Measures meant to lock people out to keep the children safe. But to children, they are still 'locked in' no matter how many acres are involved. Even elegant decorative 'Security' fences that do not resemble institution or prison barricades, still affect children'minds.

Most people don't know that the tomato 🍅 is a fruit and not a vegetable!

Wow Cal, you certainly throw out a challenge. In the first 5 minutes of searching, I ran across over 150 different versions of this. People paraphrase it, add to it and dare I say it embellish it. But there has to be any original somewhere. This challenge ranks up there with "which came first, the chicken or the egg"? Or the search for an honest politician (kidding?) 🔎

I don't know how @CLJobe continues to create such moving stories. And so many! This chapter is yet another wonderful example. A shorter vacation to Europe, with Greece and Eqypt delayed a year. But in 4 weeks, Armand, Colin, 11 children and Maria (thank goodness), manage a christening in Italy, visits to the village where Armand beings flowers on his visit to Nonna's grave and speaks with her. Somehow, in return, Nonna (and GG in dreams?) help Tommy convince Carl to trust Armand and Colin. Another visit to France in order to bring an old and cherished friend - Madame Lavigne - for a visit and brief stay in U.S. This trip weighs heavy on Armand's mind and heart as his first four boys grow up and head off to colleges, with Ronnie furthest away in Ann Arbor at Michigan State for his football 🏈 (and teaching degree). And while it's 695 mile / 11hr drive from New Haven CT (home) to Michigan State U in Ann Arbor, it's only 2 1/2hr flying, so Armand, Colin and family can go to many weekend football games, and Ronnie can fly home for important family events like birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. Never too far from home, but still a void in Armand's heart.

The Stingray, Jordan's Eco-Sail Sunseeker, stolen and at sea. Reward for successful recovery and arrest of 3 Pirates.

Wow! This chapter has me torn between ♥️💧and . In the end it was the actions of Tommy and his brothers that moved my heart, with their actions to save and protect Carl. Tommy for his immediate empathetic action at The Home and advocating for Carl at Court, Richie's courtroom legal actions and finally Ronnie aka 'bullet' for his 'Wolverine' tackle of someone trying to take Carl (nee Howard Wright), except it was Tommy. Ivan's busy digging holes in the garden ... to 'plant' in. GG has never steered Armand, Colin and the boys in the wrong direction. And Carl's interest in how Armand makes his paints, bodes well for Carl to show his hidden artistic abilities. As others have said, it's a shame that Armand and Colin have to turn a 'pastoral' safe home into a security zone, but that's the sad reality for too many children. Hopefully fencing, gates etc. will be done in a non-threatening way so as not to scare the children.

The solution is either fractional ownership (in concert with other lawyers or businesses) or buy 'time allotments' from jet services as needed. Armand telling Colin: “...we need a helicopter and you need to learn to fly it.” is a bad idea on so many levels. First, helicopters are much more expensive to buy and operate than fixed-wing aircraft. A 10-14 passenger Sikorsky Sea King costs $9 - $16 Million. Second, in the event of an engine failure, a helicopter needs to land ("controlled crash") NOW. In a plane you usually have 'glide' time to safely land. Another wonderful chapter @CLJobe. As the 'boys' prepare to head off to college (mostly CT and NH, but also MI) and lives beyond, leaving the safety of the nest Armand and Colin built, but they will always have a home to come back to. Plus GG, like a mother 🐦, will always watch over them and guide them home. More changes to come as Europe, Greece and Egypt beckon. Arrivals and departures.

I think a series of portraits: one when Tommy, Richie, Ronnie and Ivan first became sons; second 5-years later when Toby, John, Louis, Anthony, Louise and Mary Ann joined the family; third as the older 'boys' prepare to go off to college. These will give Armand and Colin a 'walk down memory lane'.

Everyone's back safe and sound and none the worse for wear. Well that may not be 100% true. Jordan has seen his dream of owning a charter sailing yacht business (with best mate Zac and brothers Carter and Jackson) dashed. Carter will likely have some PTSD issues from being kidnapped. Perhaps spending three months together as crew on 90m luxury SY (Sail Yachts) in the Med, before some (Northern Hemisphere) summer onboard much smaller 33m Brigantine STV's (Sail Training Vessels) in the Pacific Ocean off British Columbia and in/near Canada's Capital City of Ottawa, will whet their appetite to resume their own charters down under. Before that happens, perhaps Preston can dive deep and bring up another TSJ short story that brings closure to the fate of the piRATS who stole The Stingray? It would be nice to see them get their comeuppance. ⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵ FYI, STV Fair Jeanne (built in 1979-1982) is a copy of her sister ship STV Black Jack - a 1906 brigantine still sailing, and located during summer in Ottawa where I currently live, (it's -18°C and we just got 25cm of snow 🤬with more coming), and spends most Canadian summers sailing from her summer berth in Ottawa's Rideau Canal to the St. Lawrence Seaway & 1000 Islands region one hour south of Ottawa. The 'Seaway' separates Canada from the U.S. and leads East past Montréal to the Atlantic Ocean and west to Lake Ontario and the other 4 Great Lakes. STV Fair Jeanne near Brockville 1000 Islands. https://sailtraininginternational.org/vessel/fair-jeanne/ Thank you @quokka

You continue to amaize* me with each new chapter you write Cal. This one proves that yet again. Time marches on. Marcel returns to France to take over the cooking academy as his brother who runs it is ill. By my calculation it's about 8 years since Tommy was adopted, followed by Ronnie, Richie and Ivan. That means Armand and Colin are in their mid-30s when Toby, John, Louis, Anthony, Louise and Mary Ann join the family. Now GG is telling Armand that he needs to spend more time at The Home as there is a young boy who needs his help. But this takes him away from his own home and family? Colin has Armand now painting in a studio at The Home instead of at their home where his youngest 6 children can see him more. Yet Colin later remarks: “You need an occasional break from the Home. It would have absorbed all of your time to the exclusion of our boys and your painting.” Reflecting on this, Armand thinks: 'Am I cheating our boys if I spend more time at the Home'? Unless they're careful something has give, and children or their marriage may be hurt. GG? *Using fish heads, entrails and bones that break down into fertilizers is especially useful in growing corn (maize). Both initially plowed into soil before planting, then as a liquid fertilizer sprayed onto soil after intitial 'silk' starts to sprout on stalks.

As difficult as this chapter surely was to write, as usual Cal you've done a wonderful job of bringing us up to date with Armand, Colin, their family and their 'extended family' at The Home, because they do not see or treat them as 'orphans' or 'unwanted', but rather as children not yet chosen. Then there is their European 'family' in France, Spain and Italy. The time Armand spent with Nonna in their final visit allowed her to thank him and focus on happily joining her husband in the 'beyond'. At 98, she had lived a full life and Armand as an 'adopted' son gave her pleasure. Now, as time marches on, you reveal to us the paths they are taking, as individuals and as a family.. 'Thank you' does not seem enough! 🫂

Ahh, another chapter of the grand adventure (and with 9 children that's an adventure. Thankfully Tommy, Ronnie, Richie and Ivan are lots of help with the younger 5). 'Colin had a wash cloth and was washing Louise’s face, I wished we had Marie with us. She could have given Louise a bath'. Both dads haven't learned to give their daughter's baths? Geez! A short visit and dinner with Carlos in Madrid where Louise is the shy one. Barcelona and business with Alesander (that I know he wishes was a longer personal/friend visit with Armand and Colin who literally changed his life as a teenager). The boys go fishing with Alesander's Grandfather and while they don't get a 'big one', John gets a lobster that he wants as a pet. Later they have paella dinner at Marko's featuring lobster. At least they didn't see a whole cooked lobster. That would have horrified John. (maybe Tommy said they had to let 'lobster' stay in water and couldn't be a pet?). Now it's on to Italy, and "Nonna"!

Nothing Jake aka Spike the CIA functionary says or alludes obliquely to should be considered as "innocent", which CJ and Owen know all too well (and play the game accordingly). But Spike is an integral piece in this ongoing chess match. (care to choose which chess pieces represent CJ, Owen, Liebe, Spike?)

That "template bug" error is showing in 'masthead' in quokka's TSJ-5 today 01/19/2023 (and only this story): https://gayauthors.org/story/quokka/tall-ship-journey/5 Good luck with fix. FYI, my IT systems clear cache 'overnight' to avoid bad 'script' reloading, for the most part (but no system is 100% immune 🙁).

I suspect (hope) that Carter may be found soon, but hopefully not harmed physically in any way. He will likely have some mental distress as a result of being kidnapped.🤥 Glad that Zac had at least some brief time with Jordan after his ordeal, and that the two good mates and buddys can spend some time together after Carter is found and things settle down. I hope Mr. Sanderson and ALL the Australian and international authorities have contacted the wealthy Swiss father of these piRATS and stressed how much it's going to cost him to compensate Jordan, Carter and the entire family, and that there will be no leniency this time. But all of that hinges on the safe return of Carter and the yacht.

Short answer is yes. All commercial vessels and over 20m / 65ft in length are required under IMO (Maritime Law) to have AIS (Automatic Information System) on board to alert other ships within a 65km / 40mile range of boats position. BUT, as we've seen with vanishing Russian oligarch's mega-yachts, it can be turned off to hide from sanction seizure. By law AIS must be active on approach to shore, docks etc. There is a satellite version (S-AIS) which sends signals via GPS every 2 - 30 seconds which could be tracked by aircraft. There is also a method by which AIS reactivates every time a boat turns on. Hopefully the shite pirates don't know that. As for Carter, the pirates are (hopefuuly) keeping him on board to'captain' Stingray'. BTW, most yachts carry barrel-shaped 'liferafts' (LR) that inflate when they hit the water, and some are equipped with ziplocked waterproof Satphones with PLB (Personal Locator Beacons). If Carter can find the right time and place to go overboard with an LR, he might escape if piRATS can't come about (turn around) to catch him. 🤞🏼

Interesting visit to Arnaud's (chateau?), viewing Christen's portrait in the 'Hall of Honours', and meeting his bride. His request for a portrait of her (to hang next to his) is not unexpected, but the discussion over price? “Christen, my fee is 100,000 euros, or you name your first child after me.” “Thanks, I know what Dad went through with my portrait and I was hoping you would quote a fee. I cannot name any of my children after you. Dad can explain. I'm guessing Christen not being able (allowed?) to name an heir after Armand is a family thing? Love to hear Arnaud's reason. Glad to see the boys recognize GG's 🐦 'signature, and that Tommy didn't reveal that GG communicates with them from the 'beyond'.

Wonderful start to this European trip for Armand, Colin, all 10 children (age 3 to 16), plus extended family, but I'm not surprised that after only a few days Marie wants to return to U.S. with Mary-Ann. It's all a little too much for a 3-year old, and while her 'big' sister Louise can cope, with the help of all her brothers including 4 closer to her age, IMHO Marie's decision is right. Toby (who has freed his voice), John, Louis and Anthony are still shy around strangers (lingering effects of what may have caused their being orphaned?), but Dad, Pop and older brothers will ease that fear. 4 little boys at the Louvre pretending they were drunk (on grape juice) would be a funny video. Surprised Louise didn't cry when the sno-globe broke at the Eiffel Tower. Richie did not realize she wouldn't be aware of it's weight. But all good in the end. Coaxing Madame Laveigne into a trip to U.S. (in time for Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas) to teach the younger children french will work in the short term, but considering how close she is to Nonna's 'vintage' (age), it will likely be une brève visite (a brief stay) with her probably returning to France after a Joyeux Noel / Merry Christmas. Marie will continue the lessons, in the same way she taught Richie to parle français. Next, a visit to aristocrats Arnaud, Jean plus Christen and his bride Marie Therese to get more reactions to Armand's portrait of Christen. Then it's off to the airport and 'Benvinguts / Bienvenido a Barcelona' (the first 'welcome' is in 'Catalan', one of two dialects spoken in Spain, most especially in Barcelona). Colin and Armand's loving conversation at the end of this chapter sums up so much: "I’ll continue to adopt those that hurt the most as long as I live.” 🥲