Backwoods Boy

#122 has great potential as a comedy short story - if one has any familiarity with the environment, which I don't. I may have to consult with @raven1 #121 I like too - it could either be a thousand-word short story - or, though I haven't read Thrift Shop Nation yet, the start of a new 23-story series by @Geron Kees 😈

An outstanding addition to the Charlie Boone universe. The best yet, in my opinion. And though reading the others would undoubtedly be an enjoyable experience for anyone, this story doesn't require that - it only encourages one to do so through encounters with some of the more memorable earlier characters.

Thanks for a wonderful addition to the Charlie Boone world, Geron. I would have a suspicion at this point, though, that thanks to your skwish, it's really Charlie who directs the plots and writes the stories. You're simply the conduit at the keyboard.

I could post a picture if you like

Better start working on the plot, @ReaderPaul.

Well, this is going in an interesting direction. I hope they get to take a trip south to see this place. And perhaps return the wood-dweller to his home.

Thank you, @Cia. I think I have my anthology material under control. I have a second issue upon which I will PM you.

Well, this sent me off on a quick study of the history of Tierra del Fuego. The time period during which Tasker lived involved decimation of the native population and the isolation of the rest on a very specific island. Familiar-sounding history, perhaps? Now I'll wait for Charlie to do the same research... perhaps... maybe.

I find this instruction confusing: Make sure the story is unpublished by clicking BOTH the publish sliders, one for the chapter and one for the story itself. There were no sliders during the creation of the "story". The only slider I can find afterwards says "Publish Now", which of course I didn't touch. There is also a button that says "Publish", which I also didn't touch. So, where is the slider we're supposed to click? I'm somewhat paranoid, because my last "story" seemed to publish spontaneously.

He may have more useful information to share, methinks

Thanks. I'd missed that. Makes it more likely he'll show up again later

LOL! There's something else he "didn't" do, but I can't remember right now what it was. 🤔

How you manage to remember all of these historical details never fails to astound me

Even though he didn't have a name immediately, I hope we haven't seen the last of the informative pizza cook. He sounds like a helpful sort of guy.

Didn't they just recycle the same footage?

@ReaderPaul You gotta stop having these late-night pot parties

Well, this is a nice surprise. A Christmas present and it's not even Christmas - or Halloween.

Zwieback (along with rye-crisp) was a non-perishable staple taken on hikes when I was a teenager - usually consumed with canned sardines. Maybe I had too much of all of that stuff long ago, because these days I find the combinations to be... 🤮

Excellent perspective on moonlight I hope you look at it away from city lights. It shines brighter in the dark of the backwoods - of course that's my personal bias

A very enjoyable chapter. Like someone else mentioned, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, as they say. I'm always impressed by the educational detail you bring to the story. I must not hike at high enough elevations to have experienced the pressure-release issue. Oh, and those folks who hike without any supplies, even water, are known to me as "search and rescue material". So, is that a common expression I hadn't heard of, or is it a Wolf original? It made me laugh out loud, probably because I related to it too closely for too many years

I was visiting my cousins one summer, and my aunt served zucchini in some form every day. One day she served Swiss Chard, and I quite innocently asked if it was zucchini leaves.

I've found following @Mancunianto be helpful, and it was particularly so today. I've been wishing to read some of your stories, and this encouraged me to get started. Like everyone reported four or so years ago, a few tears were forthcoming. And inasmuch as I'm from the same era as Alan, I could completely relate to the attitudes of the era. The skinny jeans era came in college for me, and I didn't stick with them long. I preferred a looser feel, the look didn't matter, and they weren't that popular at a "cow college" anyway. But I do recall a relevant saying from the late sixties: "If you can get your pants on over your boots, you should throw both of them away." Thanks much for a great story

I stumbled onto this blog by @Mancuniansort of by accident this morning, but this topic raises four thoughts which I'd like to share: 1) I, too, cringe at the errors - and often at the missed opportunities. As to the stories, the further back I look, the more I cringe. But no story will ever be perfect, and one finally needs to learn to live with that. 2) Usually, when I'm done writing a story, I'm so sick of proofreading and editing it looks like bathwater to me and I wonder if it's worth posting. Which is one reason why GA is so great, because the feedback makes one feel a lot better 3) A while back, I read through a story I had written a couple of years earlier in order to make sure my "facts" were right in a sequel. It's the longest story I ever wrote, and about fifteen chapters in, I realized I was so absorbed in the story I had forgotten my mission. So, rereading can sometimes be a positive experience. 👍 4) In my opinion, an editor is vital - someone to catch the typos, grammar problems, and to perform a reality check. I've worked with and without, and with is always better. In particular, @Brayonwas extremely helpful a few years back encouraging me to get a little sensory information and emotion included, and to quit writing like a computer programmer. For a couple of more recent years, @MJChas caught the errors I've missed, made sure my descriptions make sense to others, and kept me in line when I moved from improbable to impossible.

Loved the chapter, and laughed my ass off over the Carlos endorsement. Paying your editor's fee? Or is there some other reward involved

So, what era of history did this come from? The ad and the price are reminiscent of "Parr of Arizona", from whom I acquired a somewhat-suggestive thing or two in the 1960s. Not that I ever wore them in public of course