Clancy59

And you’re leaving us with this cliffie while you head out of town with iffy internet connections and no next chapter!? NOT FAIR! Please let us know what happened before you go, at least!

Trying to, but got bogged down with doctor appointments (in fact, we have another one today!) and a visit to the ER when hubby fell and hit his head. He’s on blood thinners and we were told that if he ever hits his head to get to the ER STAT! Luckily, there were no clots or fractures., but we were there for several hours. You know what an ER is like. That’s not a complaint. Just a comment. They were busy, especially with a couple of people who were having cognitive issues.

I am unfamiliar with this place, but you have to realize that these estates are mostly huge properties and well-hidden from the street. They often have high walls and gates to keep the riffraff out. Watch The Great Gatesby or True Lies that was filmed at the Breakers a few years ago. Those were the real thing and not Hollywood sets. However, it would most definitely appeal to CJ with his love of architecture. That being said, if it’s on Cliff Walk (and the photo says it is), the views here will be incredible. You can see Massachusetts to the East and Block Island to the south (sometimes). Be aware that a part of Cliff Walk near the northeast end (near Salve Regina College?) caved in shortly before the time of your scheduled wedding, so people may not able to do this, but it was not uncommon for the residents to use the Walk to go from ‘cottage’ to ‘cottage’ without having to go on the street. A lot of the servants did this, as well. It was their hang-out spot! LOL! (They don’t know if/when they are going to repair it because of the cost, but personally, I think they would be stupid not to do so, as it is a major tourist attraction with people on it all the time.). If the guys were to stay here, they could conceivably walk to the wedding on the Walk! Just don’t drink too much for the return trip. People fall off that thing every year! https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/03/03/cliff-walk-newport-ri-collapses-closed-landslide/9364626002/

They are correct. It is illegal to deprive children of their lunches. In many states and cities, there is a program that provides free breakfast and lunch for students whose families are officially below a certain income. It can vary from community to community, but generally hovers around the poverty line. The orphans would certainly qualify. (In my last school system, so many qualified that they simply went to free breakfast/lunch for all elementary students, no matter what the income. It was easier since we were over 95% free lunch.) However, seriously, the lunches Armand and James are providing are providing are probably fresher and better quality, even if they are the same items. Armand knew Pat would have no problem with him feeding all the kids, but he should have notified the school, through her, that he would be doing so. He was trying to be his normal, helpful, generous self with those extra lunches, but he is a new entity to the school as he has never had any children there before, so the teacher was correct to be suspicious. However, she totally overreacted, in a totally inappropriate manner. Where was the principal in all this? Both needed to be removed after that fiasco.

Yes, that may be a bit young for the entire truth, but plenty old enough to understand some of it. I know you aren’t spending much time with these characters, who may almost be considered tertiary after the secondary parent characters, and will therefore be hardly heard from again, but I just had to add a few comments. Baby Girls, some bad people have taken your brother away and Elijah and Tyler have come to try to bring him home. We don’t know why. No, Neal may not be the same as he was. We’ll have to see. We don’t know how these bad people may have hurt him. We don’t even really know where he is. But he’s still our Neal and we love him. Let’s hope we can find him and bring him home. In the meantime, let’s keep sending him our loving thoughts. Maybe he’ll be able to feel them and that will keep him strong enough to come home. Kids in that age group are amazingly perceptive. They may not have all the details, so they could make up their own to fill in the holes. It’s better to be honest with them. They don’t need all the gory details at this point, but if they ask questions, be as honest in answers to them as possible without scaring them to death. Not knowing is scarier to them. They need to know they are safe.

How about 97 more, now?

Hence my comments about Neal’s little sisters. I think they are getting lost in the shuffle here.

Enjoy your vacay, wherever it is! It’s always good to get away for a while. In regards to the story—of course Dottie looked better after talking about her baby. She talked about her baby with people who are going to try to rescue him! It’s understandable that the pack is reticent to talk about Neal, They had no clue of how to track him and get him back. Elijah and Tyler are the first signs of hope they have. Of course she wants to tell them all about the boy. While I feel real sympathy for the parents’ anguish over their missing child, I also have to feel for the two little girls. You don’t indicate their ages, other than they must be quite young, if they come in holding Mommy and Daddy’s hands and need to be watched while they are meeting with the Alpha. They are, no doubt, confused by everything. Where is their brother? Why is Mommy so upset? They are old enough to know something is wrong, but people won’t tell them what or why. That makes them even more upset themselves. I’m sure they are being good girls, but this is hard on them, too.

Elena agreed. “But none of that information is really useful – other than all of it supporting Ervin Scott’s good judgment about Henry Chang.” “That’s pretty important,” Jae suggested. “But enough to eliminate him? Especially when you have no one else?” Why does it seem like they are trying to fit the crime to the person? They don’t even have proof of a crime yet, but they are looking for reasons to accuse this kid—or someone is! They are looking for a scapegoat, and someone has decided to use this kid just because he doesn’t fit into the ‘norm’ of the community. Their entire discussion is about fitting the crime to Henry without any serious proof or suspicion that he could possibly be involved. Talk about a hate crime. If you wind up making this kid guilty of any of these offenses, I, for one, will be quite upset. Henry has done nothing to bring attention down on himself—which has brought attention down on himself. How evil of him!

Ah, the fickleness of youth! No more flowers for Nona. The goats take precedence!

The boys were surprisingly calm in anticipation of their first international flight. What time of the year is it? It is kind of freaky, looking out and only seeing the darkness with, maybe, some moonshine on the ocean water. It’s almost a relief to see lights on land again! I couldn’t sit still at the gate while waiting to board before we went on our flight to Ireland. I kept going to the windows to watch the preparations of the plane (loading luggage, food, supplies, etc.). I remember sleeping on the flight (we left Boston at 7:30 pm and landed in Dublin at their 6 am), but to us it was our 2:30 am. It was so early at the airport that the only thing open was a tea shop. We got some tea and I had my first scone while waiting for the car rental counter to open a couple of hours later. When we got to our B&B that we had reservations at for that night, the lady got mad at us because we were so early! We just wanted to know if we could leave the car in her yard while we took the bus into Dublin for the day. By the time we got back, we were getting so wired from jet lag that we barely ate any dinner at a local pub and then finally collapsed! It is nice they provide the entertainment and travelogues. Oddly enough, airplanes are the only places I cannot read! So, it’s nice to have something else to occupy my attention during a long flight.

@ColumbusGuy, what you may be feeling as ‘familiar’ is the fact that every dragon name ends with ‘th.’ As in Ramoth, Mnementh, Rioth, etc. It was a protocol Anne established at the beginning.

A wonderful way to conclude this story—a successful Hatching! And Hortaimin got his comeuppance by not Impressing. Maybe he will have learned a few things between now and the next Hatching when he may have a chance to stand again. We all knew his father would be a pain! Thank goodness for Lessa’s ability to ‘influence’ people’s emotions and actions. I, for one, am looking forward to your next endeavor in the World of Pern. Hopefully, it will, maybe, entail a trip to Pinnacle?

I am so sorry about your loss, but glad she is no longer suffering. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are such cruel diseases, more so for the families and friends than for the person suffering from the effects. It’s so hard to see the person you love going through this dilemma, remembering the vibrant person she once was, but unable to help or improve the situation. 91 years is a good long life. Remember the good times and share them with each other. Remember the love she had for you and all the ways she showed it. Be there for each other.

There’s been a huge upset in CT and RI over the past couple of years. The Pawtucket Red Sox, the farm team, couldn’t come to an agreement with the city on updates on the facility, McCoy Field. They wound up move to Hartford, CT as the Hartford Red Sox. We hear very little about them now.

We understand, but it doesn’t mean we’re happy about it!

I was excited to see an extra CJ chapter. Oh, look! They’re headed for Providence! Wonderful! And CJ is starting to build his team for his runs for elected office already, especially the ultimate office! I love how after the initial shock (at the timing of the notification?), everyone is 100% behind him and eventually let’s him know, in some way, they always expected it. Then those dreaded words. That was completely unexpected! I know you’re prepping for the anthology, but, please, hurry with the continuation of the story! It’s like this was an interlude! On the other hand, I was very happy to see that Steven was handed a transfer. I’m assuming that, while on paper, it was a lateral move, in reality, it was a demotion due to his actions in Mexico City and his ‘performance reviews’ by the Ambassador herself.

Nice visit for the children. 2 buses? Wow. How many people wound up on the trip?! I don’t quite know where the zoo was, but that doesn’t matter. They could have been in New Have, Hartford or Providence areas ( both about an hour from New Haven) or at the Bronx Zoo (probably time prohibitive). Doesn’t matter, because everything that happened was plausible, including the gift shop (I’d hate to see that bill, however!). I agree with @mikedup. I think Tommy will have a sister in the near future. Not only did she share the petting zoo with Armand in particular, but she curled up and snuggled when she fell asleep on the bus.

I am very aware of the practice of using multiple embryos for IVF and the resultant possibility of multiple births. However, you had mentioned in previous stories that the boys were difficult to tell apart, I believe, especially as infants. While this can be true of single siblings (I have 2 nieces by my husband that it took me 2 years to differentiate), it was more likely that the boys are identical twins, like Rod and Randy

Nice company for a dinner party with a wonderful surprise for celebrating. At least they know to plan for 2! Oscar must have found it interesting that twins were in the family, and that helped explain why the embryo split once it was implanted. He must have been wondering why it happened otherwise. Sounds like Everhope is going to be a busy place! I only wish CJ and Owen were able to actually make a difference in real life. We desperately need someone like them. On to Newport! Weather reports for the area here for the next week are sunny and in the 80s. The real weekend of June 24, 2022 was picture perfect, also. (I have to keep remembering the proper time frame!) Nice time for a wedding! Be careful of the construction on the Newport Bridge and the idiots who drive at breakneck speeds in 40 mph zones over the bridge. It’s going to be crowded there that weekend with people starting their summer fun. Thames Street (shopping, touristy stuff and bars/restaurants) will be a bottleneck. But The Breakers is beautiful and the ocean view is incredible. Architecture junkie CJ will be overwhelmed at the ostentatious details. They’re going to really enjoy their time here! Maybe they’ll be able to come back and visit places with Liebe. There’s a lot of kid-friendly places to go with her.

The story may be from your imagination, but you used a real, well-established, world-famous institution. In that case, you need to acknowledge their reality, unless this is a totally alternative universe. If so, this needs to be explained. If you had used an imaginary institution or imaginary local library, this entire issue could have been avoided. Artistic or Poetic License can only go so far. If, as you say, the school is not real in your story, then give it another name. You could have still established it as a powerhouse (I probably would have still brought up the issue in that case, but may not have pushed as hard), but it would have been more flexible to accommodate your plot.

True, but it took less than 3 minutes to find the list of languages taught at Yale and count them. Take this as constructive criticism. You are writing a fictional story, yes. I can easily handle 99% of the storyline issues that result from this. However, when a problem like the one that brought this debate to life can be avoided so simply, I just feel it could have been handled better.

Whether I got up in a snarky mood or not is irrelevant. I didn’t say there aren’t some people who are not guilty of perpetuating the stereotype, or being absolutely miserable at serving the general public. Thankfully, they are few and far between. If you have had experience with such a vast number of these kinds of people, then your community needs to look into its hiring practices, HR and employee retention rules. (Mind you, I am a staunch Union supporter, but am also fully aware of when the rules need to be broken.). However, for the entire profession, either one, to be maligned the way it is is what I am upset about. As far as the early rules of how contact was handled during the pandemic, remember that hindsight is 20/20. At the time, no one truly knew how the virus was spread or how virulent it was. The death count was increasing by the hundreds every day. Everything was washed and sanitized. Schools and other entities were closed down starting on March 15, 2020. In April, people were still in panic mode. I was not complaining about poetic license, but to insinuate that an Ivy League university library would be so underfunded to the point of not having access to such basic information is beyond ridiculous. The same can be said for the language department. Italian and Spanish are basic Romance Languages. Yale teaches 67 languages, including Zulu and Sanskrit. Italian is number 30 in their list. No, they may not provide private tutoring for language learners, but Armand could have been given a list of people who are willing to do so for a fee. Many colleges have lists of tutors for their students. Colin could have signed up for a class. Ignoring realistic turns of events is not poetic license. I don’t know. Maybe I have to simply give up with this story. I am just finding things handled too simplistically and unrealistically. I have enjoyed other stories, but I am not doing so with this one.

Thank you. As I said, I think it just came at bad timing with the news stories filling the airwaves of how there are so many teacher openings and now some districts facing strikes. The lack of respect has been building up for decades, but especially in the last 20 years or so. It hasn’t helped when I heard of some states that are allowing people into the classroom without even a Bachelor’s Degree! (This is not some rumor—it was reported on the national news.) It has actually come to the point that I know of some people who actively discourage students from becoming teachers. I just felt as if my profession was being dismissed as inconsequential. Too many people think this. I know this has veered somewhat into teaching, but the same applies to the Library. Think of the stereotypical Librarian, either female or male. You come up with someone uptight, old-fashioned and out-of-date. Hair is worn in a bun on top of the head, glasses, pencil behind the ear or in the hair, etc. They guard the books and refuse entry because you may get your dirty hands on them. This is totally 180 degrees from the truth. I just wish people would get it right.

First, the comments: I can picture the panic on Colin’s face at the idea of learning multiple new languages at his age. Kids pick up languages like they would pick up a toy, adults not so much. How big is Tommy? I would have thought he was too big to be carried. I must be thinking he’s a bit older than he is. Yes, Colin needs a manager. He needs to spend time with his growing family. Tommy needs him, as much as Armand. Unfortunately, now comes the reprimand: Armand went went to the Yale University Library for the information he needed. We’re talking Ivy League, Top 10 University in the World here! Even if the Library didn’t have the exact information he thought he wanted regarding the endangered species, I can absolutely guarantee you (1000%) that the reference Librarian would have been able to locate whatever he wanted in a matter of MOMENTS! This kind of information is kindergarten make-work for a Librarian, any Librarian, especially at that level. They would NEVER have simply foisted him off onto another department. They will be able to provide him with more information than he ever even knew existed! Have you gotten the message that I, for one, am insulted at the insinuation that Libraries are useless? You bet! We work our TAILS OFF providing support for every aspect of society, in both the public and the professional realms. And how do people see us? We support the Book Club for the Red Hat Society ladies and read stories to pre-schoolers. Think about it. Between Teachers, who provide the educational foundation on which all of society learns and discovers and moves forward, and Librarians, who collect, catalog, archive and access the information, none of the other professions would exist. I’m sorry if you don’t like my diatribe this morning, but I am so very sick and tired of the disrespect both of my chosen professions garner. It’s the start of a new school year and the news has stories of teacher strikes across the country. People think it’s about the money. It’s about the respect and support, people! We were worth double our weight in gold during the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home and people discovered how difficult it was to control their own 2-3 kids, let alone 25-30. Now that classrooms are open again, we are the devil incarnate, again. I heard on the news today where one strike line was actually fired on with a BB gun, injuring a couple of the teachers! Ridiculous.