Guest034229

Thank you Ivor. I'm going to keep my personal experiences under wraps from now on so that I can focus on your fine story. 🙂

I accept my experiences were not the norm but having Irish parents and attending an English so called christian school (known for its discipline (read cruelty)) I experienced regular discrimination and punishments, especially when the IRA were in the news. Unfortunately it does happen and has happened with one of my children, until I got a teacher dismissed 🙂

I had to laugh at Wayne's grandmother's prescient assessment of the boys future. ”There will be storms along your path, but in the end you will both find happy site to pitch your tent.” That statement works on so many levels. Society will never be able to eradicate all wrongdoings. The best that can be said is that bad situations become an opportunity for great people to shine. And so we are seeing, with both Ethan's and Wayne's families. Lowlifes like Reynolds may never learn or receive their deserved punishment and so many abusive teachers never did. But it's the good ones that stand out.

Injustice and intolerance in any form is reprehensible. That some people in authority should abuse the trust placed in them, to act both fairly and impartially is a sad indictment of the way some organisations operate.

Interesting to see the parallels between the injustices perpetrated by the school staff and those given authority in the town. Both the sheriff and the judge are satisfied to operate a system of protocols without regard for truth and justice. It's easy for men of ill intent to exploit such a system for their own ends without proper checks and balances. In terms of the story, the best we can hope for, is Ethan's comforting hands until Jackson and his cronies are exposed. There's little that can be done for Waynes dad now as the onus has shifted from 'innocent until proven guilty' to 'guilty unless proof of a miscarriage of justice'. And yes, that bayonet is unlikely to make it into the show and tell. 😉

This was definitely a pivotal moment in the story. There's been a lot of dark stuff going on and I've just hung in there throughout. But had Wesley just used and sacrificed Isaac for a night of sex, I'm pretty sure that would have been a step too far for me. Ive been so far out of my comfort zone and so many times I've come close to putting this down, over the past week but it's like witnessing a massive train disaster. You simply can't take your eyes off it.

I can't help feeling that both boys can only see the benefits that have come from these paddling session. After all it broke the ice to Wayne getting his butt massaged by his friend. Small price to pay, I would say. Maybe Ethan will have to take over Mr. Jackson role now. 😉 I suspect that Mr. Jackson is already figuring out new ways in which he can discipline Wayne. At a minimum, this story needs Mr. Jackson paying for his abuses.

I could be wrong but I'm not sure the teachers will readily give up their disciplinary proclivities. But hey, I could be wrong.

It's quite shocking to hear that corporal punishment is still legal in 19 States. My faith got a real boost when I was 10. That's when I was just about to move into Tingy's class. He was renowned for dispensing a variety of painful punishments including pulling you off the ground by your hair and hitting the back of your knuckles with a metal edged rule amongst others. I prayed really hard that summer and sadly he had a heart attack two weeks before he could dispense his style justice on us. Looking forward to hearing more about the Windtalkers. Certainly, indigenous races the world over have been treated badly by colonialists that believed they knew better.

Well I was thinking the exact opposite Geron but for the very same reason.

It seems like Ethan likes them rough. Wayne's clearly a good sport but from a poor family. It hasn't taken long for that double bed to see some action. Good going Ethan. And Mr. Jackson and Mr. Reynolds seem like the disciplinarian types. I wonder if this was in the age where light corporal punishment went on. Not that i'm into that sort of thing. It would be so cool if the boys actually turned out to be girls but maybe that's another story. So looking forward to the next chapter.

They need to take pictures of the full extent of Carl's wounds before they start treating them. Evidence. Also they need to speak to Alex and John about welcoming a dog into their home. It's like Kevin and Cam don't have a clue how much commitment is needed to looking after a baby, full time and a dog. There will be trouble down the line. Hopefully, having rich relatives will help bail them out of their naivete.

Well I think Trevor will find it in his heart to forgive both his mother and father in time. Being the owner of not one but two Catamarans is surely going to help soften things there. I just can't believe that Lisa and Joel could have been stupid enough to go to the guesthouse again, having become suspicious about Bridget and then been wreckless enough to talk about their plans while they were there. The odd thing is why would Bridget loan them the cases and pack Lisa's for her? If they get caught with drugs Lisa simply has to say the cases were Bridget's and that she packed them too. Totally incriminating Bridget. Unless of course the drugs are going solely into Joel's case. Is George solely putting Joel out of inheriting the yacht whilst confirming just how sweet Bridget is, in looking after Lisa's packing. Witch!

I expect that the author was Catholic and enjoyed using this story to reconcile both his and the Churches views. Interesting read.

Did we just take a wrong turn, into a roller-coaster ride, three chapters ago? Surely it can't keep going at this pace? Incredibly exciting stuff!