Summerabbacat

I remembered it from After We Danced, but had a vague recollection (obviously wrong) there was a similar discovery in Beyond Salvation. Maybe because of the age of Salvation and its abandonment I "dreamt" it.

"There were three headstones, weathered but still legible, sitting inside a low wrought-iron fence, the grass grown tall around them. Celia Adams. Born 1867. Died 1904. Beloved wife of John Adams. James Adams. Born 1895. Died 1896. William Adams. Born 1897. Died 1915. " I remember this scene, quite vividly @Mark Ponyboy Peters, primarily because of the age of the children. It may be testing your memory, was there a similar discovery in Beyond Salvation?

Yes, yes, yes. My two favourites, Jack and Skarg, united in healing and foretelling. Brilliant @Anton_Cloche.

Lieutenant Collins aka Foxy Collins visits Loretta and Bernie and butt kicks “Burnie” from Maine to Albuquerque because she is one badass when dealing with wife-beating homophobes.

I didn’t mind at all that the story did not progress; we got to hear first hand what the Major’s opinion was about a 14 year old boy, recently evicted from home and who may or may not be his son, spending Christmas with his dog in a crappy motel room. That in itself moved me, but the nervousness felt by the Major and his greeting to Kurtis AND Dusty, which we had admittedly observed before, did me in again. Nothing like a nice little weep at 8.00am on a Saturday morning (way earlier than usual for me to be awake), to start the weekend. This is definitely your best Lee Wilson lite to date @Lee Wilson. If I may borrow a @chris191070 favourite, it is awesome.

I’m not on Facebook either @Lee Wilson and I could see the photographs, and they could be twins.

You could always aim even higher. Dame Mark Ponyboy Peters?

Off to bed now as it is 2.30am on Saturday morning. I worked today, non-stop with no lunch break from 10.25 to 19.55 and I am somewhat tired. Frida is lying next to my laptop snoring and her sister, Missy, is already upstairs in bed.

Or a thoroughly good "dicking" to sort him out. He's a twat.

Even if they had fur I still would not like human babies. I believe Stu' does not know how Dickoless treated Richard and does not know he is being used by Dickoless himself.

🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉 Congratulations @Vcs. This story has ascended to the top spot. #1 in the Most Read Westerns genre for the month ending 04/09/26 (or 09/04/26 in American date format). It moved to the summit from #2 for the month ending 07/08/26 and #4 for the month ending 03/07/26.

🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉 Congratulations @Mark Ponyboy Peters OAM. This story has reclaimed the top spot. #1 in the Most Read General Fiction genre for the month ending 04/09/26 (or 09/04/26 in American date format). Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi. It is also your 54th top 10 placing and your 4th #1; the first time you have had a #1 placing for the same story more than once.

Bastien unknowingly found Lawrence's flash point or should that be his 'flesh' point. Lawrence does not need a little blue pill, a dose of horny goatweed or a "life affirming", or should that be a "life firming" steel ring, he just needs to witness his man wallop a thug in the face, single-handedly, without so much as raising a sweat. Woof. Not quiet an 80's hit @Laura S. Fox but mid-1979 is close. The song is about sex and fighting,

@Cane23 is not fond of disco (which I love), and particularly dislikes Boney M. (so he says) who I thought were wonderful. They were enormously popular here in Australia, the UK and much of Europe, even in the former Soviet Union, and possibly in your homeland too @Laura S. Fox. A little good natured ribbing from time to time, but if he ever dares to criticise Donna Summer's music or ABBA, it will be WAR. LOL.

Will this be this story's destiny tomorrow @Mark Ponyboy Peters, for the month ending 04/09/26? 🤞🤞🤞🤞

I don't have any sympathy for Dickoless at all. He is totally oblivious to his hurtful behaviour and judgment of others because nothing matters to him in the grand scheme of things, but Dickoless.

Darren, a closet case. It is possible, but I suspect he is possibly just parroting what he has heard from his parents or other family members. His father may be a hard arse, who labels his son a poofter or pansy if he shows any sign of what he considers "weakness". He could be a real misogynist too, which is why Darren treats females the way he does. Then again, he might naturally be just a total arsehole.

At least Levi dialled '000' and not '911'. I suspect many Aussie millennials would probably dial '911' as what they would be used to seeing this on American movies, TV shows etc.

Lack of hot showers is as close to roughing it as I would be comfortable with @centexhairysub; and if the temperature was below 22-23°C at night and I did not have my doona (comforter or duvet in USA), I would be a total sook, a real "princess". As for sleeping in a tent, not bloody likely. I don't mind sleeping in a caravan in a proper bed, albeit a single bed usually, but in a sleeping bag on the ground, no just no. I am more than happy to "converse" with nature, so long as it is not cold, but at the end of the day I want to be clean, well fed and have my creature comforts. I could probably chop firewood and collect wood, twigs or whatever to make a fire, but would not trust myself to start one and keep it under control.

I like Emmer too. Given what Evan said about him, that he has been "dealt a shit hand by life", I wonder if he has something like MS or Parkinson's disease which causes his tremors, such that he can no longer do what he loved to do. I suspect he will derive much enjoyment from teaching Neil what he knows, becoming a mentor. If he is gay, which is certainly possible given he is a friend of Evan's, he may also just enjoy the company of Neil and Alex, something he may have limited opportunity to do if his tremors make it difficult for him to leave his home, or if he is embarrassed to be seen in public because of the tremors. Emmer, another interesting character created by you @Robert Hugill. And, as an aside, I look forward to the release of the top 10 Most Read listings for the month ending 06/09/26. I won't be at all surprised if this story has another top 10 placing. If so, it will be your 40th appearance in a top 10 genre listing; and the 4th consecutive month for this story.

If I was Richard I would make no further attempt to contact Dickoless. Let him stew. Dickoless appears to be getting his comeuppance. Hopefully he is shitting bricks thinking Darren is going to beat him up. I won't be at all surprised if it was Stu' who wrote the graffiti in the boys toilets outing Dickoless. He may have done so to force Dickoless' hand. Speaking of Darren, what a moron. I would have left him in the alleyway, lying on the cold hard road. He may have found himself nibbled on during the night by rats, or peed on by feral cats, or crapped on by flying foxes. I don't understand his violent homophobia; even when not hammered he is still a homophobe, the alcohol just makes him more brazen and irrational. What he needs is a couple of large "bears" to knock some sense into him. I'm with Vicky. There is no way I would ever want to nurse a baby. Kittens, puppies and non-human babies are invariably gorgeous, but human babies. No way, nada. Not quite as much humour in this chapter @Richie Tennyson, but it still had its moments.

I envisage Levi will receive kudos from several more quarters yet e.g. Matt’s and possibly Luke’s parents, Tim and Guy, and Father Costas, for his bravery in a difficult situation. With such widespread praise it must surely make Levi feel proud and boost his self-esteem. It will almost certainly be a weekend he will not soon forget.

I don't believe it @Paladin. Natasha stooped to lows even I did not think she would stoop to. I am so livid that I am going to sleep on it before I make any further comments. I have not been sleeping well, so am even less tolerant than usual. She, Natasha, is a CFB, an acronym I picked up from another story recently, and it does not mean College Footballer and the C is not Canadian in this instance.

The only reason I mentioned Dorrigo is because the Wikipedia entry for the Nymoboida River states: "The Nymboida River rises in the northern foothills of the Barren Mountain, on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, within Bellinger River National Park, west of Dorrigo. " I have just looked again and it flows north to the Mann River which is between Armidale and Grafton, and it then flows into the Clarence River near Grafton.

I am an unforgiving, hard arse, but on face value, it appears to me the friendship between Richard and Nicholas was one-sided. Richard made himself available, a convenient sounding board, dare I say someone to be used for experimenting with, to answer Nicholas' sexual curiosities.