Bill W

Chapter 14 – Returning to Campus The following evening, Devin and I fixed supper for my parents again, because I wanted to make certain they were in a good mood when I sprung the news on them about our summer plans. Mom was thrilled when she realized we’d done this again, and my dad enjoyed both the food and dessert we’d provided, and during dessert I broke the news to them. “Devin and I talked to his grandfather on the phone today about an idea that we’d discussed with him briefly

The word prate may have several sources, such as the Dutch/Low German word praten, the Danish word prate , or the Swedish word prata, all of which mean to talk/chat.

Knave was also the term used for the jack in a deck of cards.

I had to think about these poems for a while to absorb their full impact. The others have pretty much described the raw feelings your poems evoked, so I'll merely add to what they've already stated. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks you Val and the Anthology team. You did a great job, as usual! And thank you to all those that shared their wonderful variety of poems about the topic. Kudos to all!

Thanks, Al, and it's better a little late than never.

If your looking for a poem that will leave you feeling a bit nostalgic, this is the one. It won't take you long to read and you'll find it well worth the effort.

Brilliant! I believe you took us all on a trip looking back at our past. I loved your descriptions as you went through the various seasons and the images you evoked were ones that many of us could identify with. It left me feel a bit nostalgic after I finished reading your poem. Thank you for sharing this wonderful verse

Gary, "Breathless" is beautiful and erotic. It draws you in and fills your mind with countless images. "Mendacity" is powerful, and even scary, because it honestly expresses the 'sign of the times' . Its what many of us have to deal with on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing these two vastly different poems.

An interesting look at the 'four seasons', Adi, and each one brought vivid images to my mind as I was reading them. Your title, "Changes" reminded me of the song "Changes" by David Bowie and the catchy lyric - ch-ch-ch-ch- changes. I'm still humming that tune. Wonderful job!

A wonderful collection of poems, Tim. I really enjoyed them, especially your final poem. Thank you for sharing.

A beautiful collection of poems about the apple, although you went a little afield with "An apple Eve knew not" and "The apple of my eye is passing fair", but I loved each and every one of them. In fact, "Where the flagstones end" made my stomach growl, so now I have to go and get a snack - I believe I still have some Fuji apples left.

After a brief pause, we pick up where we left off. Attack!

I'm glad you enjoyed the families getting together for New Year's Eve and they found a gay friendly establishment so the boys could be themselves. Yes, I believe that may be what the boys are thinking, doing something like what Gramps had done that took care of the family thus far. There might be enough to take care of them as well, but I believe they're hoping that they don't have to take that chance.

A lamb to the slaughter? Or the FBI Agent Lamb?

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the prank and pleased that you're looking forward to the summer. The boys go on their first adventure.

Both the New Year's celebration and Devin's prank seem to be well received by everyone so far, and I'm glad you enjoyed both of them as well.

I'm glad you enjoyed Devin's prank, because I got a kick out of writing it as well. The families probably celebrated the New Year together when the boys were younger, but the boys might not remember it because they weren't able or not allowed to stay up so late. Some people remain friends for a lifetime, even if they aren't always in physical proximity to one another, as was the case with these two families. As far as the father's interest in college basketball, we'll have to wait and see how that works out. I'm aware of the legends about Confederate gold as well and had considered it, but I thought the idea of the Mayan treasure and being pursued by conquistadors was more interesting. I'm eager to see what the readers think of it as the story plays out.

It might be a remote and unpopulated area, but there might be plenty of hungers in the area, since different game is in season at different times. I'm happy to consider any suggestions, though, even if I might find a flaw with them, they might make me think of something else.

That's an interesting idea, but I think you forgot a couple of things. First of all, where they find the treasure may be up to 100 miles from where they left their clothes, so if they land and find treasure it might be a little awkward to remove the treasure from the cave at the time. And since those types of birds don't nest on the ground or live in caves, anyone observing them may want to know why they're so interested in a cave and go check it out. They could get to the treasure first, and then our gang will end up with nothing. Not only that, but seeing large birds flying overhead with a bundle of clothes might attract attention as well, so it's better they do the search as something less conspicuous. I think you'll see that I may have thought the situation out and come up with a suitable option - at least I hope the readers agree.

I'm glad you enjoyed the New Year's celebration. As far as the treasure hunting goes, who knows what they might find. The basis for the search are the stories that some of the Spanish Conquistadors were chasing some Mayan warriors that Montezuma had removing some of the gold from his palace and hiding it so the Spanish couldn't get it. Although most people believe the gold was moved to Utah or Nevada, if they were being chased by the Spanish they could have headed in another direction to lose their pursuers. Since there was Spanish armor found in a cave in Missouri, then possibly the treasure is around there as well.

I object to your comment about 50s music. I might have been young in the 50s, but that's the music I learned to dance to - early rock and roll. And many people that weren't even alive in the 50s enjoy dancing to that music, since it has a good beat. Hell, I enjoyed dancing to the Big Band music of the 1930s and 40s, and I wasn't around then, but a Tommy Dorsey or Benny Goodman tune will still get me up and dancing to it, especially if you liked to jitterbug (go ahead and look it up). And don't knock old folks either, because I know people in their 80s that still like to get up and 'cut the rug' (You can look that up as well). I'm glad you enjoyed the New Year's celebration, and Devin does have a devious sense of humor. I'm glad you enjoyed his prank. As far as the History channel show "Skinwalker Ranch", I have watched it and on occasion they've discussed the origins of the term and the possibility that one or more may be there from time to time, especially when one of the cattle is mysteriously killed. Mainly, they discuss all the unusual occurrences on the ranch, including sightings of UFOs and possible other worldly incidents they've encountered. I enjoyed watching it.

You're right, Mac will be very suspicious from now on, especially if they tell him they found bodies or skeletons somewhere!

Yes, Devin has sort of a warped sense of humor and now Mickey/Mac won't know if a real law enforcement or other official is confronting him or if Devin is just playing another of his pranks. I'm glad that you enjoyed how the families celebrated the New Year.

Chapter 13 – Another New Year Two nights later, around 8:00, the phone rang and my dad answered it. He then called for my mom and me to join him as he put the phone on speaker. I was surprised to hear Pa’s voice after my dad stated we were all there. “Have you found any place where they’ll be having music on New Year’s Eve where we’ll all be able to dance?” “Yes, but I want to make certain that all of you agree with that option first, before I make the arrangements.”