Summerabbacat

With names like Anaconda, Torpedo, Cannon, Stallion, Slugger, Holewrecker, Awristofist, Buttbuster and GapPhilA, Bernie will be a different man, inside and out.

Voracious @dboggs9700, with superhuman stamina.

Hear hear.

I hate to say it, but that's what you get for trusting a Thompson. I thought you would have learned by now.

An entire chapter devoted to "salad tossing". What an exquisite chapter @Laura S. Fox; Peggy Lee has given me Fever in the past, but in this chapter it was Theodore, Vince and Jack. WOOF.

I saw the movie for the first time a couple of years ago and it really was atrocious, but the soundtrack is fantastic. The movie does not have the same "it's so bad it's good" appeal as Can't Stop The Music, both of which were ridiculed by the critics, both of which were very popular in Australia. An interesting bit of trivia for you @Mark Ponyboy Peters, well I think it is interesting anyway. A mint copy of the 10" picture disc single of Xanadu manufactured in the USA, sold for $9,035.01 last year on Discogs. It was not you who purchased it was it Mark? If not, maybe Tony Scott purchased it.

I was very pleased to read your response to my comment on the last chapter @Josh Aterovis, particularly "we deliberately chose to not shy away from Jake's past in this rewrite. We wanted to explore his trauma more realistically, so between that the central will-they-or-won't-they love story". Now on to this chapter; it was a pleasure to read from go to whoa. Dad (Buttercup), Brandon and Charlie; what a great family Kody has. Dad, similar to Adam without the bitch troll from hell, ex wife, Eve; Brandon, the counteract to Dad's intensity; and Charlie, Kane's gay twin, with even more chutzpah. Loving Dad and Charlie already. The humour in this chapter was plentiful, primarily courtesy of Charlie, with a goodly contribution from Nick too. But, the pièce d résistance was the following summation of Payton, the cosmetic catastrophe who is Kody's RA: "She had short, severe bangs, and wore a pair of aqua, cat-eye glasses right out of the 1950s. Her bright-red lipstick appeared to have been put on while driving her car into a tree, and the rest of her makeup wasn't so much applied as it appeared she'd plopped her face in a makeup palette and just rolled from side to side until everything was covered. Her eyebrows were penciled-in crookedly, giving her an arched, permanently surprised expression." A truly exquisite description Josh, one which had me in stitches. A coulrophobic's worst nightmare come true. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My goodness @drsawzall; you must have been a busy lad in the late 1970's/1980's and possibly beyond. Your appearance in this video for Kim, the video for Willie Nelson's Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other and your thespian forays in adult entertainment as Randy Steel, must have kept you very busy. I must ask, is it you in the yellow singlet in the video for this song by The Skatt Brothers?

Mine too @drsawzall. I usually have some idea of what a never before seen word or phrase means because of the context in which it is used, but in this case I really had no idea.

I could have summarised both their comments in two words, corpulent bitch. LOL. Of course, this would not have been as much fun as dissing her more. Her largesse, both in stature and nastiness, warrants a fulsome explanation.

"The public acts of service were doing just what Father Costas had quietly hoped they would – showing the town that the boy who had been the source of all those rumours was still turning up and still trying. He wasn’t giving up." Father Costas is a crafty one isn't he? I thought he was merely encouraging Levi to assist him with the lawn and gardens at the church to help heal his troubled mind, but it appears Father Costas also had another motive, to showcase Levi in the best possible light so the townsfolk could observe and comment favourably amongst themselves. I too hope Levi accepts Aaron's offer of part-time paid employment as it will give him further sense of self-worth and some additional money to spend. He has already demonstrated he likes the type of work he would be employed for by working with Father Costas. I also hope he accepts Tony's offer to volunteer at the safe haven for homeless gay teens where he will no doubt meet boys who have been discarded by parents/guardians who wanted children free from the evils of homosexuality. His grandfather would pitch a fit knowing he was helping young heathens and harlots, which in of itself is reason enough to do it. I imagine Levi will discuss both invitations with Father Costas, particularly the latter. I imagine Father Costas will encourage Levi to accept both invitations, particularly the latter. Who knows, if Levi volunteers at the safe haven, it may even encourage Jimmy and Dan to do the same. "The distance between him and his father had not disappeared completely, but it had definitely changed shape, while elsewhere, his friendships were slowly finding their feet again, and the pull towards Casey had finally burned itself out. His questions about faith and attraction, and what sort of person he was becoming, were still there, but they no longer felt like they were threatening to drown him." Much growth for Levi in this chapter, with many pleasing achievements, none moreso than the achievement in bold text. Casey will not be pleased, which should only increase the pleasure Levi derives from it. More love and more joy @Mark Ponyboy Peters. What more could we readers ask for.

"She referred to them as ‘collectors of the broken, the waifs and strays’. She had suggested that after the rupture in our relationship, ‘Alex Hanson the moderately successful composer’ might have been less attractive to them than the unsuccessful pre-Evan version. (As you might gather, Mother wasn’t a fan.)" Mother (Hugill) becomes more appealing with each passing chapter. “Something Mum said. I corrected her, like.” “But…?” “You work from home a lot. Easy enough to look after a kiddie.” “Jesus! Really? I thought we were beyond that. What did you say?” “Bit difficult to do video teaching with a kiddie screaming.” He grinned." Conversely, Anne becomes more annoying with each passing chapter. How she ever managed to raise two sons is a miracle. The woman is clueless. "Evan couldn’t come; he had a medical procedure scheduled. “It’s nothing major, lovey. Just one of those annoying routine things.” But they wanted him in hospital overnight beforehand, and if he put it off then it would bugger everything else up." I wonder if this is code for "it is something very serious" but I am going to pretend it is not.

I assumed Gallipoli @Howzat and you may well be right about his actual burial site.

Definitely. She has repeatedly expressed negative sentiments towards Shirley, Mannly and Bass, either to their face or in her thoughts. She has made telephone calls to Uncle Buford and Cletus, and I am sure it wasn’t to discuss the weather.

Ladies or gentlemen or anything in between “of the night” perform valuable social, physical and/or emotional services, and for that alone should be lauded.

A cumdump, so long as she remains silent.

Not financially viable @Doha, although some men would perhaps pay for her services. She would only have to open her mouth to speak and spoil the effect though, but I guess her mouth could be quickly filled to avoid her speaking. I guess when all is said and done, a hole is a hole is a hole for a pole, and some poles are not renowned for having any discernment.

That is the third or fourth time I have now read the recount of Jo's entry into this world, and it still packs a punch. I think you did right @Vcs to have Jo developmentally challenged from birth @Vcs, rather than a victim of abuse of some sort later in life which rendered him so. He knows no other life and has therefore retained a positive outlook on life, despite his limitations. I imagine his poor in-utero nutrition may also have contributed to his stunted physical growth to some extent, although his mother was relatively small too. It is a credit to Jo's grandparents that he was raised as he was, and that they were so well respected by the Native American community he had a home for life when his grandparents passed away. I cannot imagine life would be easy for someone like Jo in the USA, particularly when surrounded by such "enlightened" residents like skanky Shayna, Uncle Buford and undoubtedly Dixie Mae. It is rather ironic, that apart from his speech patterns, Jo is quite likely as smart, if not smarter, than Shayna, Buford and Dixie Mae. He certainly has superior social skills and personal charm. I think Shayna may be skating on thin ice with Dr MacLarroy. I can only but hope the ice breaks soon and she falls threw and drowns, or at least finds herself subject to Dr MacLarroy's wrath. She is one dumb salope. River's anxiety for the part he believes he played in the recent attack on the ranch, is perhaps believable given he saw the Sheriff visiting and equipment being removed from the playroom. I hope Rhett is able to set his mind at ease sooner rather than later. Given he is even smaller than Rhett in stature, perhaps Rhett can donate his "Daisy Dukes" to River rather than disposing of them. It may bring the lad some luck, he may attract the attention of a "Frank" of his own. Perhaps Hank may take a shine to him, then the two R's, Rhett and River, could each have an Italian stallion of their own. Neighhhhhhhhh.

Quirky characters, vile characters, liberal lashings of humour, teenage angst and quite unconventional family structures. Throw in plenty of alcohol for several of the characters, a pompous school principal, a stuffy and ancient school board, and one batshit crazy art teacher, and you have Self-Portraits. Read it and rage, read it and laugh and read it and contemplate.

I suppose when all is said and done it was a happy ending. I am not one to hold grudges normally, I simply erase a person from my life who is toxic. If I am forced to be honest, I begrudgingly understand why Richard tried to retain Nicholas as a friend, but I still think it is far more than Nicholas deserved. He is still a thoughtless, insensitive, insincere prick, and I don't fucking like him at all. Richard's family life resembles Harriet's to some extent in that it is quite unconventional. The feelings that bind each of the families together are definitely genuine, even if the younger members are embarrassed by the older members as has been the case since time began. Cheryl is a drunk, a fire hazard. Rosemary at least supplies some comic relief, if nothing else. A most enjoyable read @Richie Tennyson. Hopefully we may see more of your literary talent on display going forward.

Oh yes, that is definitely it. LOL. I recall it was a woman whom I saw use this acronym in a story recently. The "c" word cannot be used by readers on this site, only by authors. The F and B are the same as a character from Fast Forward, Gina Hard F B. Natasha is a despicable person and a lousy mother. Her treatment of Noah did not surprise me, although I thought she may be able to treat at least one of her children with love and respect. Clearly, she possesses neither of these qualities. What a miserable bitch she is. I was pleased when Benjamin revealed his cousins do not like Natasha. It appears very few of her family do. I was very surprised Rick dropped the ball in this chapter, but pleased he rectified his oversight immediately when it was brought to his attention. "Nathan was pleased to hear this news. “Well it’s not over but so far well worth celebrating and we would if we had a glass.” Rick was mortified. “Shit I forgot you weren’t here when I served the drinks, but that's easily fixed.” Hopefully all were adequately compensated @Paladin with several glasses of Krug champagne, at a cost of at least $200+ per bottle. Pastor Gideon is a paedophile. How terribly unsurprising. Hiding behind a veneer of ultra-conservative respectability lies a man who is a true degenerate. With Noel on the case, and likely Patrick too, they should be able to have him charged sooner rather than later. For the sake of Mark's family I hope his father is not also involved in the child pornography racket, or if he is, his mother takes swift action to file for divorce. For Mark's sake, I hope his mother's olive branch is genuine, not a ploy to get him on side again before hurting him again. If her olive branch is genuine, and her husband remains a knuckle-dragging flat-earther, I hope she takes swift action to file for divorce. If his father is a genuine crackpot happy clapper, his mother may find herself in dire financial straits, with money funnelled to the Pastor's church/gambling account. Speaking of Pastor Gideon, I assume it was deliberate on your part to use this name for him @Paladin. Hopefully, Bertrand/Martin/Rick's companies that own hotels, do not have any of "his" free bibles there within. If so, I expect they will remove them post-haste. Indeed @dboggs9700. Falsely reporting a "crime", being a public nuisance, and most damningly, neglect of a minor (Noah). 🤞🤞🤞🤞 The irony would almost be too delicious @Philippe. Natasha placed in handcuffs, arrested at her workplace, screaming like a common fishwife. Denied bail, forced to wear harsh synthetic prison garb. The "godly Christian woman" exposed as a complete fraud. I don't think too many would be sorry to see her behind bars. Hopefully she would receive no visits from her children, so appalled are they by her hypocrisy and her vile crime. I must stop now @Philippe and @Paladin; the excitement is getting too much. And if this storyline does prove to be true, even if only in part, Martin had best not show her even a modicum of sympathy or kindness. Let her rot. Tremendous chapter @Paladin. Although Natasha is even more ghastly than I thought she would be, her behaviour is consistent. It would be so tempting and relatively easy to make her so outrageously vile that she becomes a caricature. Perhaps her most repugnant characteristic is that she appears to have no genuine love or respect for any of her children; they are merely props, to be trotted out and on display when convenient to flatter her ego. I have a mental image of her resembling that vile senator from WA whose family name rather appropriately rhymes with trash.

How very remiss of me, although I was only thinking of living Dames, which is why I did not include Dame Olivia Newton-John (not that de Havilland woman). And if Dame Edna was still with us, she could have been your "mentor", guiding you through the world of "Damehood". It is perhaps a shame you do not imbibe, you could get absolutely shitfaced with Dames Shirley and Joan, both of whom are legendary for their consumption of champagne, and it has certainly done neither any harm, being 89 and 93 years of age respectively. Talk about "pickle your grandmother" @Mark Ponyboy Peters.

You cannot rely upon being the heir to an ice cream empire forever. Now that you have added songwriting to your resume, you well may be in line for an OAM, AC or that extra special title, Dame. Just imagine the circles in which you could move; Dame Shirley Bassey, Dame Joan Collins, Dame Emma Thompson, Dame Quentin Bryce and Dame Elton John. Such exalted company. And if you are really lucky, you may be joined by Dame Kyle Minogue and Dame Molly Meldrum. They don't award them to just any old riff raff either; that's why you will never have to worry about Pauline, Michaela or Lidia getting one.

Unless it is for a Thompson; then I say, purchase them in bulk and hope for the best.

Once back in Thompsonville, the account of Levi's bravery and calm under pressure will no doubt spread amongst the populace. I daresay this will NOT harm his reputation. Who knows, Brooke may even speak to him civilly again, instead of behaving like a hard done by harpy.