Will Hawkins

When I was a teacher in a Community College in suburban Seattle, WA. (fifty years ago), I opened my home to several foreign students (Korean and Brazilian). It took about a week until they got into the American pattern, barefoot in the house and sleeping in shorts, coming to meals barely dressed, etc. But they did unbend to a great extent- It was nice for me, as a gay man to have half-nude men at my dinner table, I never took advantage of it (damn it), but I must have done something right because they all returned the second year and I still communicate by email with several of them. I found out they liked my cooking and the fact that because I spoke slowly and clearly, they could understand my English pretty well. So boarding with me was not a burden to them.

Mothers like Jenny deserve to be adored, they are so good to recognize their son's sexuality and realize it is not a failure on their part, it is just a part of their boy.

Perhaps Alejandro inherited (or absorbed through exposure) some of his father's approaches to life and death. He certainly seems very relaxed about the death of Bitty.

I agree that drugs are a green-eyed monster. They do more to ruin lives than any other single thing. Many people in the USA have enough resources to buy addictive drugs and that creates a market for them. That being the case, criminals are not going to let dollars flow freely without scrapping off a share on the way by. Drugs are in much the same area as was booze during the restrictions on its sale. If money is going to move from one place to another, criminals are going to get some of it.

I have several points to make. 1. Of all the authors on GA I enjoy your writing the most. I guess for two reasons, it is a great pleasure for me to read chapter after chapter of an author's work without being drowned in grammatical errors, and 2. By connecting your characters with historical events, you increase my interest (frequently in eras with which I should be familiar as I am old enough ((especially in reading the CAP series)) that I was alive during those periods. (No. not the Bridgemont series, but that does cover periods taken from a history of my ancestors, and therefore draws me in). Time after time I say "Self, you remember those events." and I rush to Google to renew my recollection of that event. It is probably because JP is a historian that he finds himself in a place at the time of some event of import in world history. Whatever the reason, it makes reading your work the top event of my day. You have mentioned that your health is good and I praise god that is so and wish you continued best possible health. I am looking forward to many hours of top-notch reading as your stories flow from your fingers through your computer screen and onto the net! . . . misterwill

All of your commenters are guessing it was Marcel in the darkened bedroom. An interesting twist to his personality. Well, we will read on at any rate.

I was pleased to read about JPs negative tests, he is an important character in this book. Marcel is going to be an interesting addition to the list of characters as well The reaction of his mother is certainly true to life -- she has been living a lie for sixteen years and is just NOT going to release it.

A mistake of seventeen years past has long ago passed its shelf life. It is a shame that a woman cannot admit that she once, so many years ago, had an affaire.

I am somewhat sorry to see Bitty's slide down the slippery slope of drug addiction. True, she is a bitch, but that anyone takes that pathway is a great loss. According to reports I have seen, there are currently 1.5 million American victims of that curse. When one compares the number of addicts to a total population of 327.2 million, the number of addicts doesn't seem so overwhelming, but that still means a huge number of lost lives. Unfortunately our government did not learn much from the error of Prohibition -- it seems that making something illegal just adds to its attraction as far as some citizens are concerned, and it certainly adds to the income of criminals. I consider myself fortunate that I have never been tempted by drugs or excessive use of alcohol. I just wish there were some magic key that could free those who are addicted from their curse and, as well, prevent others from entering into that level of Hell. Just as a side note; it is estimated that 14% of Americans are addicted to excessive alcohol usage. That, too is a huge number. I am sure the bare statistics do not convey the great loss to our nation by just these two addictions. I think that addiction to sex is far more exciting (and pleasurable) than the entire list of other addictions available to mankind!!!

There are a number of what I call 'throw away lines' in this chapter that demonstrate to me again, what a superb word-smith you are, Mark. It is just these 'throw-away 'lines that move you to the top of the GA heap, For example the byplay about 'blowing the entire football team' adds just a touch of humor in a somber moment, and another, the comment about the force of the organ in "The massive organ pipes blared out, practically shaking the Stanford Memorial Church." I call these 'throw-away' lines because they don't contribute to the progress of the tale, but are so meaningful in establishing an atmosphere. And too the cut finger on the shards of glass in the painting -- all of these are examples of a superior skill as an author.

Once again I have to compliment you, Mark, on your writing style, in this case just the simple thing of shifting from correct or adult speech patterns to teen-age vernacular depending on who is speaking. Beautifully done.

I am a creature of two different worlds. On the one hand, I am gay, I love men, their strength and even their smell all sweaty and hot. On the other side of the coin, I developed my inclinations very late in life. I was even married, quite happily for 20 yers and it was only the passing of my wife from an exacerbation of asthma that destroyed that marriage. I have never had the teen-age trauma of openly declaring my gayness - I guess I just oozed into the queer lifestyle so late in life that being gay was no big deal.I never had to 'come out' as did so many young men of my era. But now, very late in my life, I am lonely. I have no warm man to snuggle up to at night.

I have found out that someone else could understand me when I use a foreign language only in my case it was German. There was one incident where a friend and I were in a beer garden on New Year's eve in Stuttgart, when an motherly woman leaned across the aisle and asked if I wanted to sleep with her in very poor English, I replied that I would rather sleep with her son, but I did it in German (Okay, adequate, but not perfect). She started telling her friend that I "walked on the other side of the river", which is a German idiom for being gay. I interrupted with a question about how old was her son, she replied twelve, so I said for her to tell him to come to see me in about five years. We had a good laugh at that and she told me that my reluctance was too bad! No, I did not sleep with either her or her son, but we had quite a laugh over it.

I see that Tonto is back -- I'm so glad, she is one of my favorite characters. She comes on like an old grouch, but her comments are so cool. She makes a real contribution to the book.

At this point, having finished another Mark Arbour series, I feel the absolute need to tell you how much I enjoy your authoring. I am either famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) as a person who snaps at the toes of authors (and by extension; their editors) for publishing works on DA with repeated or frequent grammatical errors, especially when, for a cost of less than $50 they could purchase a program that would prevent this (Grammarly Professional may be a nit-picker, but it does its work very well). Your work, Mark, shows a care and attention to the mechanics of authoring that is sadly lacking among many, while still paying attention to the creativity, characterization and pace that marks you as truly a professional. To me, this creates a degree of enjoyment that is somewhat lacking in my reading of the works of other authors. Please keep writing -- as long as you do, I shall continue to enjoy your works.

Since then I have visited other architectural 'masterworks' (including some by Frank Lloyd Wright) and found similar faults with most of them. It seems that great designs have many faults in common. The designer is so interested in designing an appearance masterpiece that he forgets that a building should meet the requirements for which it was built as well as being a monument to his creativity. I am pleased, Mark, that you have mastered a story genre that has escaped many GA authors: you can incorporate sexual innuendo into your chapters without it turning them into pornography, The mention that something took place without the inch by inch descriptions is beautifully handled and a relief from the explicit descriptions that so many authors rely upon to spice up their work.

There may also be a fear among coaches that a soccer player who is not supposed to touch the ball, but does so while playing basketball, might forget and goof while in a critical spot in a soccer game. Muscle memory is a very important effect in sports. In soccer: most people realize that players cannot use their hands to control the ball on the playing field. Please keep in mind that the no hands rule, actually includes the whole arm. So for example, a player cannot touch the ball with his bicep or forearm to control the ball either. The only player on the field that can use his hands to control the ball is the goalie. The goalie can only use his hands inside his team’s penalty area. If a player touches the ball with his hands and it is to his to his team’s advantage or it’s intentional use his hand, a foul is called and the other team gets a Direct Free Kick where the foul was committed. If a player touches the ball with his hands inside the penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded to the other team and he is given a red card.

There is a lot of dancing in this chapter, but that is so typical of relationships at this entry level. I have been in this sort of conversation before, but now, at a later age, I just feel say what you want to say and mean what you say. Life is too short, if I upset you or make you angry, I'm sorry, but yata, yata, yata, this is how I feel. By the way, I think the two unicorns in your headline are totally beautiful.

Because all the Chapter postings and Comments are from several years ago, I will be reading but not commenting. It has been my experience that, by the time a story is this age, the author is so sick of it he never wants to see it again. If I am wrong and you have an alert signal posted, I can make comments or not as you wish. Just get back to me and I will shit all over your work -- Okay, not true, I try to be generous with new authors, but I am famous (or perhaps 'infamous') on GA for bringing up grammar issues, That is just the old school teacher coming out. It is hard for me to avoid, even though I am retired now. misterwill2@live.com

I just finished reading 'Spark & Stone' nd was looking over the list of your stories, found this one and thought I would try it. I will comment infrequently only, but you will see mu continued interest in my appearances by clicking on the thumbs-up symbol for subsequent chapters. I am interested so far in seeing where this tale goes.

Now that we are nearing the end of this story, I feel it is about time I learned how to spell Aidan., I have been using Aiden by force of habit -- my apologies.

Aiden passes the folder with the writen proof (we guess, of the lies that Healthy Shakers had been publishing about their sport drink) to Heath on the assumption that he will undertake the exposure of the lies the company has been telling. My question at this point is where was the FDA during all this lying? After testing a product once at its initial offering, don't they test again from time to time to make sure that the original standard are upheld? Or am I expecting too much from a government bureau? Heath exposes the lies and Healthy Shakers is forced to recall all its product from the store shelves and ends up going bankrupt. Aiden loses his job, but what happens to Heath -- he either loses all credence as a health guru or is touted as a hero for exposing Healthy Shakers, but Aiden needs a job.Does he get hired by Heath's friend? So many questions and so few chapters left to answer them!!!

We men are taught all our formative years to 'suck it up and put on a brave face, boys don't cry, etc.' It is no wonder that we have difficulty in expressing our feelings sometimes especially out more tender feelings. We find it easier to communicate with our fists rather than with our hearts. I remember to this day my feelings when, 60 years ago, I was in the hospital room at the time my mother died. The nurse, a very gear motherly woman wanted to embrace me and offer her condolences. Hell, I had known it was going to happen and I did not want to be hugged by a nurse, I pulled away from her and went to my father to hug him. Just at that time we two men needed each other's hugs, not those of some well meaning professional.

1- I love you Heath -- ✔︎ 2- I love you Aiden -- ✔︎ 3. Meet Father -- ✔︎ 4. Meet Mother -- ✔︎ 5. Meet Brother -- ✔︎ 6. Boned under Oak Tree -- ✔︎ 7. It would seem that all that's left is a ceremony attended by thousands!

I believe that sudden overwhelming relationships are a brief flare in the night, like lightning, but are not rated to last. Life-long relationships are built on more firm foundations. The 'I love you' slip was an expression the foundation that is building and can be, therefore, a longer lasting one.