Clancy59

It may have answered the overheard conversation, but that just led to a whole lot of other storylines! 😉

You’re already over 80 chapters! You’re going to have to go with more than 100 in order to not bring this to a screeching halt if you don’t want us to revolt! We still have the Faire and the wedding to go, after all. You wouldn’t shortchange us on those, would you? And the comeuppance of the Trustees and the previous Admin and the aftermath of the laundry service’s attempt at extortion. You wouldn’t leave us hanging there with a side note, would you? No, I didn’t think so. If the school has been only at 30% capacity, the tuition must have been astronomical in order to afford the things they did (aside from kickbacks). If…no…when they get more students, the tuition will be more affordable (although I know that is not a consideration for many of these families) and/or the school will have even more funds to work with to improve/upkeep the building, enhance the curriculum, bring in the best educators, etc. It will be a win-win for all. Too bad Arlene and her greedy cohorts couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

I don’t know about the others, but I don’t think there is anything here that says ‘ending’’ at all!

Oh, Jackson is angry because his plans have been cleverly thwarted. He HAS been made to look like a fool. The boys took this ridiculous demand and took it to the extreme, thus prohibiting Jackson from having his fun. Good on them! (BTW, I loved the parents’ reactions. ‘Trying to look like a Marine?’ Just showed Wayne how much he was accepted by Ethan’s family. I can just see their wide-open eyes and hanging jaws on seeing those bald heads, LOL!)

As a teacher, or mentor of any kind to children, if you do the kind of job where they give you a nickname and call you by it consistently, I think you know you have their hearts. I had a group of kids many years ago who did this and called me by this nickname for 3 years while they were with me. They even made me a little doohickey with the name on it that I had hanging above one of my doors until I left for another school.

Since a number of the boys may be in similar situations, maybe their various countries could contribute to the security plans for the schools. If just a few of them do this, it would ameliorate the costs a great deal so that it would be a minuscule cost of their education and would accommodate everyone. It could be included in their tuition costs.

It’s easy to see the big ones (i.e., food, supplies, etc). It’s the little puddly things that are easily overlooked, like the laundry. These are the necessary services needed to survive daily, but they are not the first things people think of after food and shelter are taken care of. It’s a good thing Adam has his team looking out for those details.

Duh! Of course he was! I think I was half asleep when I was reasoning this out. I think, maybe, the corporal punishment aspect really skewed my thinking. It is so hard to believe that in today’s world such a thing still exists, although I know it can still be found in little pockets here and there.

This is obviously in the pre-Civil Rights days and in a very conservative Texas. There was a time when corporal punishment was allowed in some of the schools, especially in the Southern states. This also smacks of the ill-conceived notion of ‘assimilating’ Native Americans into white culture because their traditional culture is considered too primitive and backward compared to the superior whites. Ethan came from California, which was more liberal in its attitudes, even back then. That was how he grew up and how he thought. His mom’s reaction to Wayne was simply because Ethan brought him home without warning and he was not the ‘usual’ type of person he had related to before. Wayne was readily absorbed into Ethan’s household, which says a lot about the character of Ethan’s family. When they find out what is happening to Wayne, they will be going to bat for him. I wonder if Wayne’s mother is aware of any of this? What is the story with his father? That could be anything from an absentee, runaway father to a father who died too early for some reason. We have no information yet as Wayne hasn’t talked about him.

The Librarian could look up and learn the many stories of King Arthur and his Knights. There are many which make good fodder for storytelling. If she’s any good in her profession, she’ll be able to make quite a show of it. She’ll need a costume, of course.

Adam may want to think of putting up an additional small cabin for the supplemental personnel who accompany some of his young guests. They would still be able to patrol the property, but not be intrusive to the boys (or Adam’s family) who enjoy the time at the cabin. That idea on how to use with the rolling horses is so clever! It will be interesting to see how he plans to ‘dress’ the jousters. I wish I could come and visit the Faire. I love Renaissance Faires! Don’t forget the turkey legs, LOL! They are traditional at the faires. I hope there will be things for the boys to try, like archery or wrestling. It sounds like a fun weekend. Will there be troubadours or storytellers? Just thoughts to add. The Librarian could be the storyteller—she just needs to research some stories (I know I could/would do it.). I can hardly wait! I hope some of the parents will be able to attend with their sons. It would make it even more special for the boys.

Adam has a big heart. He’ll come up with a fair system so that everyone gets a chance to visit. I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes I am getting confused as to who is talking, and this rarely happens to me. For example, in the last discussion about the dads making a deal about their kids marrying, I thought Marie had suddenly popped up. This wasn’t the first occurrence of confusion, either. Please, watch the discussions so we can tell who is taking part and who is saying what.

Yes, I agree with Chris191070. However, I am more alarmed at how quickly he is going through his money. How much could he have possibly made as a tutor? Did he have tens of thousands of dollars? Because that’s what it sounds like. Not only does he need his GED, he needs to make money and find a place to shelter safely.

What a great story! I was sad to see the word ‘Epilogue’ in the list, but you wrapped things up satisfactorily. I was worried I had missed a chapter about the trial, but you covered that to my glee with the outcome. Mike and the Jacobsons will have to start from scratch with no community support, and, in fact, with enmity from the community. Fair trade for what they tried to do to Seamus. They really underestimated him and his support team! (What a trick with the coffee supply company!) When they eventually get out of prison, they would be better off moving to another state! And the Jacobsons are probably old enough that, unless they were granted some immunity, they won’t have any kind of savings or investments for their Golden Years. Mike will never have a position of trust again in his life. It’s good to see how happy the guys are and how well their lives have turned out. Carson! Happy, happy! And Aiden isn’t jealous! More happy! Now we have to have Jay and Loe’s story! Thanks for the wonderful read. It’s been a joy.

I would also have an inspector in to check the facilities. It’s not that I don’t believe that the previous admin closed down the gym and pool facilities for their own selfish, greedy purposes, but they have been locked away for who knows how long. Adam needs to make sure there are no problems with the area, especially with the pool, before they fill it. It may not just be physical. Critters could have found their way in and made themselves homes down there. Better safe than sorry.

Kids are surprising…to many adults who don’t deal with them on a daily basis. They are bright, insightful and inquisitive. When they feel, they feel deeper than many realize. When Adam gave them the Square Table theme to relate to and they understood everything it meant, their internal pride and self-esteem soared. They want to make Adam proud of them, too. That showed when they presented themselves to the guests (I wonder who they really were, other than the owners). The love they are developing for Adam is becoming so deeply entrenched within their psyches that they will probably think about how he would react to whatever they do for the rest of their lives. We already know they will have a major impact on the wedding and any children who may come along (can you imagine growing up with literally hundreds of uncles?), but on that unfortunate day in the future when they receive word that Adam has passed, there won’t be a venue large enough to hold those who attend. The initial members of the table have the badges as Badges of Honor. Adam will need to come up with something for subsequent members. Everyone will want to be a member of the Table, even if it is held for the elite (which may be a bad idea). There needs to be some kind of recognition for them, just not as special as those who were first. Maybe a bracelet, like an ID bracelet with the Oath? Or, at least, a shield? Everyone, including the Founding members, could get those and wear them forever.

Yes, they lost a lot due to Thread. But I still think they were planning for a basic non-tech (electrical/computerized) society after getting themselves established. They did bring enough for a couple of generations, but never planned for things like the sleds and lasers (the devices they used to dig out the first 2 Weyrs, Fort and most of Bender) to last forever. Medicine, on the other hand, they didn’t want that to go backwards as far as it did. Their feeling was that the high tech was what got their original society in trouble to begin with. They were willing to utilize it to get to Pern, but were only planning on going so far.

Interesting way to introduce a storyline.

Richard CANNOT be falling for this! Again!! I am positive SHE is the one who was driving the car aiming for Devyn. It was too much of a coincidence that she would be in the right place at the right time. Now she gets to play ‘hero’ by taking care of the boys. BALONEY! Wasn’t there a restraining order? GET HER OUT OF THERE!

I had no problem with it. I was called twice (2 weeks both times), but only served on a jury once. My mom got called one time. She reported and later told us they asked if there was any reason she couldn’t serve. “Yes,” she said. “I work for lawyers and know what shysters they are.” She was immediately dismissed and was never called again!

That may be true, but it doesn’t preclude a little revenge tease on Mom’s part! Adam and Marie need a little of their own back from her!

Ugh! Been there. Done that. I was on a jury several years ago and just as we were about to render our decision, they settled. We had asked a question for verification and we think the two sides saw the direction we were heading and decided to make their own deal.

The more that is discovered about the perfidy of Arlene and her minions, the angrier and more disgusted I become. These kinds of blatant abuses of power are what give any group of people bad names, but even more so for educators. As one myself, I am furious at this behavior.

A lot of people hang onto the little bit of life they can until they can say goodbye to that one person. My mom did that. She hung on until I could get there. She passed within 30 minutes. (We knew it was coming. I had spent weeks with her in the spring at her initial diagnosis of terminal cancer in hospice until they dismissed her for improving so much! I then had to go home to start the school year, only to be called back on day 2. We talked so much, we left nothing unsaid.) M’rell really loved Rina and will need his friends over the next sevendays. It always did amaze me about the low level of technology and technical knowledge the society had devolved to, considering their origin as colonists traveling from another planet. However, they did come as agronomists seeking a simpler life, free from the demands and problems a technological society presented. They carried enough to help get themselves started for about the first 25-30 years, but then, the plan was always to get back to an almost medieval-type lifestyle, I think. The stories of the early days (Dragonsdawn, etc) were extremely helpful in establishing how their society’s hierarchy came to be. Anne and Todd did an amazing job setting up this world, the culture and its history. The foreshadowing for S’brin is getting very heavy. I don’t remember D’Gar being this intuitive in the other stories! I was almost surprised when S’brin made it through this Fall.

A lot of people hang onto the little bit of life they can until they can say goodbye to that one person. My mom did that. She hung on until I could get there. She passed within 30 minutes. (We knew it was coming. I had spent weeks with her in the spring at her initial diagnosis of terminal cancer in hospice until they dismissed her for improving so much! I then had to go home to start the school year, only to be called back on day 2. We talked so much, we left nothing unsaid.) M’rell really loved Rina and will need his friends over the next sevendays. It always did amaze me about the low level of technology and technical knowledge the society had devolved to, considering their origin as colonists traveling from another planet. However, they did come as agronomists seeking a simpler life, free from the demands and problems a technological society presented. They carried enough to help get themselves started for about the first 25-30 years, but then, the plan was always to get back to an almost medieval-type lifestyle, I think. The stories of the early days (Dragonsdawn, etc) were extremely helpful in establishing how their society’s hierarchy came to be. Anne and Todd did an amazing job setting up this world, the culture and its history. The foreshadowing for S’brin is getting very heavy. I don’t remember D’Gar being this intuitive in the other stories! I was almost surprised when S’brin made it through this Fall.