Clancy59

Oh-oh. 😥 Just thought you’d be interested, after our various discussions. https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/newport-cliff-walk-damaged-again-by-winter-storm/

But Oz plays as a hobby. He’s not a professional. He isn’t looking to ‘beef up’ in order to bring his team to the top of the league like a pro team would. This is fun time for him. Some people simply hide their muscles better than others. I have a nephew who was drafted to the all-state b-ball team at 17 because of his skills (his height didn’t hurt, either), but he looks like he weighs 120 lbs soaking wet. He’s tall, lean and lanky and unexpectedly strong. I think Oz looks just as he should.

Especially considering CJ’s history with Rubio!

Yes, but the city was very reticent about it. It’s going to be costly because of the location and the extra shoring up they’ll need to do. I think the public had a fit about it, especially the Tourism people, so they had to find a way to find the funding. I forgot this was the Clambake day.

I can just see them ‘borrowing’ the boat for their own escapade! The picnic was lovely, but was quite sedate for these active people. Maybe the wedding consultant was trying to be ‘upper crust’ and show how she can provide elegant experiences, but these are not local people. She doesn’t need to impress them for future employment (although she didn’t know who would participate). Oh, well. They made their own fun! The Chanler probably has the easiest access to the Cliff Walk as it is located right at the start. The thing that surprises me is how FEW people actually walk there at any given time! It never gets overcrowded on the Walk! (Which is probably a good thing after last spring when there was a partial collapse of the Walk near Salve Regina College. Luckily, it was overnight and no one was on the Walk, so no one was hurt. They still haven’t repaired it, however, and don’t know if they will due to costs.). The views are beautiful! Next is the Rehearsal Dinner, right? More backlash from Mr. Fanning’s tirade!

You may have written this as a short story for the Winter Solstice, but it is a great start for a wonderful, more complex story. As @raven1 commented, what about his sisters? How did Jophiel’s existence affect them? Were either of them Dyrpaths? What about his mother who did try to protect him? What about his father? No mention has been made about him. How did he feel/react to his child being a Dyrpath? I, and others, am using a masculine pronoun here, but we still don’t know for certain whether our hero is male or female. What about his avatar? Other people have already raised other questions that I won’t bother repeating. Yes, it is a wonderful short story, with lots of magical elements incorporated in Winter Haven. But it opens the possibility of so much more! Please include me with the others who would love to see this story continued.

I agree with the others who felt so bad for Molly when her father decided to make a fool of himself at her rehearsal dinner, but she was the one who warned CJ about his attitude. Paul also goaded him a bit with his mentions of the past Presidents attending CJ and Owen’s wedding 4 years prior (although he had superb timing—“Oh, did I mention…”). Paul wasn’t afraid to let CJ have a go at Mr. Fanning, either. He knew CJ would be able to hold his own. Maybe they just wanted to get any trouble he might cause over and done with before the main event. That way, they could just enjoy themselves without worrying about what he might do. He’s already done it and gotten himself in a whole lot of BIG trouble with his wife!

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like an exciting year! A couple of those titles are intriguing and I’m happy to see “Chemist” coming back. Will that finish that story? If you need any help again, I’d be happy to help.

Wow! Fairytale Feminism!

CJ and Oz?

It definitely sounds like jealousy from those who who can’t for those who can. The people who don’t have this powerful magic hate that it is unavailable to them, so they’ve made it into something to scorn and hate and those who do have the power should be downtrodden. And while Mama may not have believed such tripe, as evidenced by her actions to protect her child, she was unable to completely shield him/her from the hatred. Unfortunately, the only option, since it seems it is impossible to hide the ability, is to become involved with other magic folk, who seem to be inordinately jealous and greedy of the ability. These Drypaths then become even more victimized by those who should, in fact, be more understanding and protective of them. It sounds as if these 2 (?) owls have managed to direct our hero/heroine into a legendary safe haven. Maybe they’ve been trying to do this all along, but because of the ‘brainwashing’ society has provided, their ‘charges’ have run away from them. We don’t really know what the ‘bad luck’ that is claimed to have befallen previous hideouts actually is at this point. Now that we have arrived at Winter Haven, we’ll find out more details that will help.

Love the twist with the father/beast. The branding of the charm is also a unique idea. Great storytelling.

(…thought that segment sounded familiar…) I hope you had a Merry Christmas, although I think I heard you were treated to some of our arctic temps. We have temps in the teens yesterday and today. No white, however. Friday we had 2” of rain (50s), which could have been 20+ inches of snow in the right circumstances, and gale force winds, so we were lucky. The only problem there was that the temps plunged that night and some wet car doors froze shut! It took some tugging to get them open again. We had a lovely afternoon and evening with family and came home to a very happy pup. We then collapsed in bed. I was exhausted! 🎄🎁🎅🏻 Now to clean up the mess from getting ready to go! Yuck!

We have a local place I really like called Brewed Awakenings. I don’t drink coffee, but the have a good selection of chai and hot chocolate and make great sandwiches and pastries.

According to the news this morning, it’s the Starbucks baristas on strike across the country. No skin off our noses here. We’re Dunkin people. Every time I pass or enter a Starbucks, it smells like the beans, or something, are burning. Yuck!

All I said was that I hadn’t expected to see the story today. If you indicated it would be published today in your commentary yesterday, I missed it. I was a bit busy. It took most of the morning just to read the chapter in bits and pieces! I actually snuck time in to write what little commentary I did! Same today! So there!

I hadn’t realized the epilogue was coming so quickly, so it was a surprise seeing it this morning. No, Grandma Pam may not totally approve of how the kids are being raised, but she does have to agree they are not her children. She may offer opinions and advice—judiciously—which may or may not be taken into account. She also has to agree that these kids are better behaved and demonstrate more, shall we say, adeptness at dealing with the world than the majority of other kids, even those older than them. They are protected and loved, but far from sheltered. They are quite aware of many things that are happening around them. They can’t help it. Look who their fathers are and what they do. The three of them also know that if they don’t understand something, they can trust the many adults around them to explain it at their level to the extent they need to understand. They also understand they don’t need to know everything going on around them. They’re kids and are treated as such, while not ‘babying’ them. The boys want ‘Daddy’ to stay with them, even while ‘Papa’ will be with them. They know they are safe and secure, but they are 4-years-old. It’s not surprising. They just spent a solid week reveling in their full attention. They just want BOTH of their parents! It’s breaking CJ’s heart to separate, but it’s necessary. They’ll have to do several FaceTime or Skype sessions, I guess. It will help everyone survive this separation (for what—a month? I can’t quite remember.) In the meantime, I am looking forward to Newport! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year and anything else I may have missed! Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful time with family and friends during the festive season. Here’s looking to a better year next year!

It’s not just Christians. Think of the atrocities being committed in the name of Allah all over the world. People fear the different. They don’t/won’t try to understand the ‘others.’ That’s the sad thing. Then there are those who look for someone to blame for all the bad things in their lives and those who exploit those emotions for their own purposes and power grabs. Unfortunately, greed and narcissism are a part of the human psyche and some have it in stronger proportions, whether intentional or not. Most people are able to control those desires, but some let those emotions control them, although they deny it.

Thank you all for the well wishes. I realized last night that I don’t really need the pain meds anymore already. It’s been 2 days. This seems to be average for me from past experience. I did take some to sleep, however, because the wrist itches and the meds stop that. I was able to sleep, except when the dog tried to push me off the bed! And she weighs all of 12 pounds! Oh, well. She loves to cuddle Mommy, so I guess I’ll put up with her! Now off to the dentist!

Well, I have a husband who is 82 years old who takes the majority of my time, but I also do handwork like crochet. Although that has fallen to the wayside for a while due to carpal tunnel. That is, hopefully being taken care of now. Had the first surgery on Friday. The second will probably be sometime in January or February.

Good luck, Gary! I remember getting to this point and being filled with both excitement and trepidation, especially at the point of officially turning in my papers. It was surprisingly difficult to actually do that! I was looking forward to it and scared of the change at the same time. I’ve never been sorry I took this step, however.

I’m not worried about Oz with the kids on the long flight. These kids are experienced travelers and well-behaved, compared to many kids out there. Yes, they will get tired and cranky. They’re young kids. They will be sleeping for several hours of the flight. Oz will make sure they have plenty of their favorite quiet-time entertainment, whether it be reading or electronic gaming, to keep them occupied. If they don’t like the onboard entertainment (read movie/travelogue/sitcoms/news/etc), they will have movies on their own devices, complete with earphones. They know better than to disturb those around them with extraneous noise or kicking the seats. They’re probably flying First Class anyway! Liebe is old enough to take one of the boys for a short walk in the aisles when he becomes restless. One suggestion is maybe he could get each of them journals and colored pencils and they could write and draw about their trip on the yacht, their flights and with their visit with their Aussie grands. They can look at them in subsequent years and remember their trip. No. I’m not worried about them at all. (Sheesh, do I sound like a mom or teacher?!)

It’s funny! I think everyone knows of someone like this. It can be annoying at first, but then, it becomes a joke that everyone laughs at. I love that Ozzie has been pulled in, also, as his recognized partner/spouse/buddy or whatever you want to call him. Will his Aussie family see this happen and smirk? I think it’s hysterical!

A fun night. And, of course, CJ is known by someone there!