Summerabbacat

I almost rated this chapter with the 'ha ha' emoticon @mastershakeme for the swifty (an Aussie slang term for trick not a Taylor groupie) you pulled on we readers at the end. A cliffhanger to rival 'who shot JR?'. "I stood in front of my closet for twenty minutes. This was unusual because I’d never once in my life cared about what I was wearing. I owned jeans and t-shirts and one suit for funeral home events and that was the entire Owen Donnelly wardrobe. Fashion was not a thing I’d ever developed opinions about. Margot had opinions about fashion. I had a closet." Billy has his work out, but at least he will be starting with a clean slate, no bad habits to correct, other than Owen not caring how he dresses. It will be interesting to see what Billy is dressed in and what Owen and Ryder's reactions will be. I have a sense Ryder may have been raised in either a single parent household where money was tight, or by parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics where money was tight, or in foster care where he was not well treated. I don't know why I think this and it is terribly cliched, but it is my gut instinct. I think both Ryder and Owen are going to be pleased when they meet the other in person.

Yes he was in Ice Castles. I have not seen it (it was released when we were in Year 9 in high school), but was familiar with its name, probably because of the theme song by Melissa Manchester.

Fantastic song and suitably fantastic video @Philippe. I very much like Nancy as a singer, and she looked hot in those boots.

I remembered him and thought he was cute back in the day. I don't recall ever seeing him in a movie or TV show, so must only be familiar with him from magazines. I just Googled him and I think he is way hotter now, a very handsome Silver Daddy, who has aged very well. He has two children, a daughter, Lyric, and a son, Zephyr. He has had serious heart problems since his early 20's so it is a miracle he is alive and still looks so fine.

And I forgot to comment on Jeannie's (C. Riley not Barbara Eden) outfit and those Nancy Sinatra boots @Mark Ponyboy Peters and @weinerdog. She must have caused quite a stir herself, she was not dressed modestly like a "good" country female singer should have. She was dressed more like a hipster 60's chick. Looking at the entire ensemble and Jeannie's big ironed hair, I have to wonder if she may have inspired or influenced the early look the fabulous Kate Pierson from The B-52's adopted.

Unlike @Mark Ponyboy Peters I did not know this @weinerdog. I checked Barbara Eden's Wikipedia entry and noted it was also made into a TV series Harper Valley PTA , in which she also starred, which ran for two seasons in 1981-1982. I was aware of the song (I am not sure how) and have just played the Youtube clip. I am very surprised in that I am not sure I have ever heard the song before. I certainly like the message it sends.

Ryder is alarmingly perceptive. He either has a crystal ball, tarot cards or tea leaves to rival those which have been passed down through @weinerdog's family from his great, great, grandmother Madame Zelenska, a Czech fortune teller of mixed Slavic and Romany blood, or he is a very astute observer of people. I suspect it is the latter. Not bad for a construction worker (maybe he is related to David Hodo, the original construction worker from the Village People, whom I always thought was smokin' hot). I sense some possible conflict on the horizon with Margot, although my crystal ball, tarot cards and tea leaves are vastly inferior in their powers of prophecy to those in @weinerdog's possession.

Billy Porter may be able to give you etiquette advice on the "right way" to snort cappuccino @mastershakeme.

What makes you think that @drpaladin? The Blue Plate is a diner with a difference; a nude sex-on-premises dining experience, hence its name the Blue Plate. Ryder likes the missionary position best and the dining tables are large and have lube dispensers strategically affixed beneath the tabletop. Billy Porter will also be giving Owen fashion tips on sexy underwear and douching.

I just revisited the previous chapter and found "I told Mom I'd drive myself. She gave me a look but didn't argue. Dad and her left first. I followed a few minutes later, feeling the phone in my pocket like a heartbeat that didn't belong to me." I thought @drpaladin had made a mistake, but alas he had not. Owen really has no excuse now for having worn that appalling suit, shirt and tie to the funeral home. Billy Porter will be meeting Owen and Ryder at the diner in Cambridge to give Owen some fashion tips.

The only horse I was not familiar with was Torbino. The field had two prior winners, Tauto won the Cox Plate in 1971 and Abdul won it in 1970.

He was certainly an outstanding racehorse, a real showoff apparently. The year he beat All Shot and Magnifique in the Cox Plate was an exceptional field. Fuck, watching that stirred up my bloody "hay fever" again, and pissed me off with the fucking whipping. The run from All Shot was extraordinary. He was right off the track even before they came to the Valley turn where madness is the norm (and Kingston Town can't win, LOL). Magnifique was magnificent too. She should have won the Melbourne Cup that year. Was your mother and/or father a fan of country music? The reason I ask is how did you know about Tex Williams? I don't remember country music being played on the radio much, although if it had I probably would have taken little notice of it anyway. Neither of my parents were country music fans so I had no exposure to it from them. I do remember there was a country music show on TV, maybe on the weekend, with Reg Lindsay and Emma Hannah. I must have seen it once at my grandparents I think because neither was my cup of tea. My earliest favourites, pre-ABBA, were Suzi Quatro and Alvin Stardust.

OMG he must have borrowed that outfit from Liberace (and possibly his hair too). I thought I recognised his name, but a little research indicated I had him mixed up with Tex Morton, who I thought was an Aussie (he was Kiwi born), who sang The Goondoowindi Grey about Gunsynd. Such was his popularity, Gunsynd that is, that the song was a top 10 pop hit in 1973. Do you remember it @Mark Ponyboy Peters?

OMG Jeannie must have spent an age ironing her hair. Her hair would have been the envy of Jan Brady.

OMG could it be the proprietor(s) of the gallery are Danny and Jake, named after Jake's Sandman. If this be the case you had best give me a tissue warning @Mark Ponyboy Peters, actually it't too late, just thinking it might be the return of Danny and Jake has my "hay fever" burning hot like a Disco Inferno. Doodz is a great name. My brother who lives at Old Bar has been a surfie for 45+ years and I think the name would appeal to him.

"The afternoon unfolded gently, as if the town itself was in no hurry to reveal all its secrets at once. After lunch on the boardwalk overlooking the lake, Matt and Luke took Levi for a further wander around the streets of Thompsonville. They strolled along Main Street, where Matt pointed out the automotive parts store where he worked – currently closed at this hour on a Saturday – and the bakery, the Sandman Art Gallery and Doodz surf shop, which were all close by. Levi tried to picture his father working behind the counter in the auto store, helping people, and making his life here by the sea. Knowing where he came from, it still felt strange." What a delightfully languid opening to this chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Of course, it inspired a song, Summer Breeze. Take your pick which version you like best, the original by Seals & Crofts, or covers by The Isley Brothers or local band, Stylus. @Summerabbacat likes all three, but for me it will always be The Isley Brothers. And what a wonderful "shock". Matt, Luke and Levi explored the town on foot, rather than by car. Well done lads. I had to laugh at the name of the Sandman Art Gallery as I immediately thought of a gallery where all the paintings, sculptures and any other pieces of art were all of a Sandman Panel Van. And Doodz surf shop, what a great name. Although it is a fictional town, all the towns along the coast of NSW north of Newcastle have outrageously expensive housing now. My brother lives in Old Bar, a seaside village which had less than 1000 people when we were kids in the 1970's/early 1980's. A 2br apartment near the beach will set you back $1 million plus now. The further north you go, the more expensive the real estate. A beautiful part of the world though.

Geez, the mountain lion attack made Frida’s “attack” on me last year pale in comparison. I think I will stick to adopting DSH cats. Short and savage @Lee Wilson, with significant tension due to the non-human animals. What a shame you did not have a spare mountain lion or two when Kathy and Abel Taft were committing their heinous crimes; more environmentally-friendly than my “friend” the 18 wheel semi-trailer too. Well done as usual.

A truly horrid creature @Gary L, and so wholly believable.

You may have to “top” that abundance of testosterone yourself @drsawzall. If the Volvo’s a rockin’ don’t come a knockin’. LOL.

Hopefully not too pure @mastershakeme.

Bugger. I got it wrong @Robert Hugill. The General Fiction top 10 “charts” are published the first Friday of each month, therefore we should see another top 10 next Friday.

Some sensible suggestions for a compromise, but I don't think based on the displays of affection Levi observed, Tim and Guy should be asked to compromise. Perhaps Levi can discuss his discomfort with Father Costas as he seems eminently rational and open-minded. He can address the religious objections Levi has with more conviction and authority than Luke, Matt, Tim or Guy as he has far greater biblical knowledge than they do.

Or Gazza? In Australia you could well be addressed as Gazza, just as Barry is Bazza, Darren is Dazza and Sharon is Shazza. I would never do this, and it is perhaps a stereotype, but stereotypes are so often based on a significant sample.

"Faith isn’t always easy, especially when the world changes faster than some of our old teachings. But I’ve learned that God is much bigger than our fear and discomfort. He meets us where we are." Your experience with organised religion @Mark Ponyboy Peters has clearly not soured you, as you are capable of writing such profound and comforting words as those spoken by Father Costas to Levi. The words themselves entertain the existence of a deity, but I think leave sufficient "room" without condemnation for those who doubt or deny the deity's existence, to have that doubt or denial. I am not expressing myself well, but essentially what Father Costas said to Levi impressed me tremendously, even if I am full of shit and have completely misinterpreted what he said.

Abso-fucking-lutely not. They are equal-share owners of the home in which the four of them live. It is Levi's problem, not theirs. As you have correctly stated @centexhairysub, Tim and Guy's displays of affection were hardly overt. If the situation was reversed and Tim and Guy visited a home owned by Levi or one in which he lived, which had statues of the Virgin Mary on display, crucifixes affixed to the walls in every room and Sister Janet Mead singing The Lord's Prayer on repeat on the stereo, would it be "fair" if they asked Levi to remove all the religious imagery and silence Sister Janet Mead because they were offended. No it would not be fair, and they would more than likely just leave and never return, as would I, although I must confess I rather liked Sister Janet Mead's version of The Lord's Prayer. She was from Adelaide and it was a huge hit on the Aussie pop charts in 1974. I will concede Levi is being very mature about Tim and Guy's relationship, specifically their displays of affection, rationally stating it bothers him and that he is trying to address it. Many adults in his shoes would likely have been abusive, demanding Tim and Guy cease their ungodly behaviour and repent, or face the fires of hell. Utter nonsense from the Old Testament, where a man lived inside a whale.