Bill W

Harry wasn't the only one that was misty-eyed at the end of that chapter. I am pleased and proud that Michael showed so much caring to Harry before that happened or he may have just given up the will to live. I know my great-grandmother gave up hope and died of a broken heart when she was told she'd have to leave her home, since the highway was planned to run through it. I'm also becoming very attached to the two imps, Jason and Danny. They are comical at time, but both have good hears as well. In fact, I'm falling in love with the whole damn gang. @Mancunian it may be that I'm just late to finding your stories, but do you have medical training, since so seem to know a lot about the various circumstances and make everything sound so accurate? I know when I write my stories I have to to a lot of research to make it sound realistic, so I'm wondering if you have to do the same thing or if you learned about this during more formal training. Anyway, I'm loving this story.

@MancunianDid you mean Max and Stacy? Yes, I did. I guess I just had Brad on the brain. lol

Well, that's three chapters down. Charlie is in good hands with Max and Stacy, and he may have even found a boyfriend already. Michael is getting compassionate care and making progress in the hospital, but I was a little worried when the students were there and Dr. Gary said he was going to ask two of them for their diagnosis. I was afraid one might be one of the females and it might embarrass Michael - maybe even cause him to sprout wood. I'm glad that didn't happen. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

You had me confused at first, because I thought Charlie was the Charlie that worked for Aunt May. I guess I assumed this was a story written prior to Aunt Mae's Magic and Charlie eventually went to work for her, but then Charlie met Charlie at the cafe. Oops. I think Brad is infatuated with Charlie's good looks and Charlie was overwhelmed by his first kiss, since he mentioned he was looking for a relationship like Jason and Danny have. I also think Michael will be overwhelmed with the catching up he has to do when he gets out of the hospital. (Yes, those of us living in the US put 'the' before hospital.) Brad and Max fit their roles perfectly and prove a good juxtaposition to one another, and proof that opposites attract. I'd also like to agree with an earlier comment by someone earlier, although I don't remember by whom, but it's too bad that all homeless people couldn't be treated with the same caring and good intentions as in this story.

Ok, you've got me hooked and are reeling me in, just like a big-mouth bass. You can't helped but feel for Charlie and Michael, as well as to be impressed by how Charlie is looking after his brother. He was also willing to stand up to Max, who was much bigger than him, and I'm glad Max turned out to be a gentle giant. I've also been impressed by Max and Stacy's generosity, and I've already grown to love the imp, Jason. We haven't really been introduced to his boyfriend, Danny, yet, but I'm sure they're much alike. Now, on to Chapter 2.

You're in good hands with @raven1 and I've already started on The Baxter Boys. I wasn't sure what order I should read the stories in, but I guess it doesn't matter, since it appears they might all be self-contained, yet interactive stories.

This is a wonderful story and I truly enjoyed it. Jeffrey is correct, this is a great story for the Christmas season and I'm grateful that it was the Featured Story for December. Now that I've been introduced to The Boot Universe, I'll have to read the other stories, because I'm certain they'll be just and good and enjoyable reads.

@spike382 yo've piqued my interest and I will be sure to read this story by @Mancunian. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

If we named the planets after the Greek gods and Poseidon was also a planet.

Neptunium was named after the planet Neptune, which was named after the Roman god, Neptune was god of water and the oceans and is most commonly pictured carrying a trident.

It might be a million reasons to hunt down the inventor and show him what you think of his invention.

Thank you, and I hope I didn't care you too many tears. It's true that Eric didn't survive the brain tumor, but he was able to experience his parents love before that happened, and he showed how much he appreciated it by the little surprise he left behind the following Christmas.

@wildone don't despair, Steve, you've still got two weeks and things may change drastically by then. We'll all pray that you get buried in 2 meters of snow. 😈

When I bought my first house, we shared a driveway with the neighbor, so there was an easement that allowed both of us to use it. When the driveway reached the back of our houses, there would be a fork for us to use to reach our own garage.

Flesco, thank you for your kind words and I'm glad you were touched by this story. Too many children are in need of a loving and caring home, and there are also too many children that are dealing with life threatening illnesses. Eric had to deal with both, but thankfully he had two loving and caring parents to stand beside him and wrap their arm around him the entire way. My Christmas prayer would be that every child could find such love and support in their lives, and that would make this world a better place. All the best to you on this upcoming Christmas and may this New Year be better than any that preceded it.

I was in Junior high when I first heard this word in gym (PE) class, and needless to say it got the group of us adolescent boys snickering. I'm sure that since it used feathers at the time that the name was referring to the bird instead, but it led to a lot of immature humor.

Thanks for your feedback, drs, and I second your suggestion for those who can to donate to St. Jude Hospital or Shriner's Hospital for children. No matter how tight my budget is, I always donate to both every year, along with other charities.

Yes, and as I just told Chris, it was a good thing that Eric had Gavin and Danny in his life.

Thanks, Chris. And it was the love that made his life, and I'm sure his biological parents were both still in prison when he died, so it was even more important that he had Gavin and Danny in his life.

I'm glad you enjoyed this story, even though it was sad. I'm glad that your 'terminal' illness wasn't terminal after all. For one, I wouldn't have benefited from your wise collaboration at times. And I know there are many teens needing homes, especially gay teens, but are you trying to talk me into turning this story into another Castaway Hotel? Thanks for the feedback.

Thank you for your kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed this story. By the way, I went through at least half a box of tissues writing this, since I proofread it several times after writing it. It still got me every time.

@Valkyrie I wasn't saying you can describe clothing, but only if it is necessary or enhances a story. I don't want the story to read like a fashion show, though. In most cases we know the characters are wearing clothes, and sometimes we might not have to comment about what they're wearing, but there are times when it's necessary to, like you say, add texture.

And don't take me wrong, I think it's important to describe the setting of the story so the reader can visualize where the story is taking place, especially when the action is taking place.

I like the two challenges as well, if I can find the time to do something like that, since I'm busy working on my stories. Generally, it takes me a long time to write a story, because I proofread it several times myself before sending it to my editor, and due to my eyesight, I'm a slow reader.

In my humble opinion, descriptions should only be used to enhance a story, not bog it down. In most cases, I could care what brand of pants the guy is wearing or their color, of what brand of shoes he's wearing, unless I would need to know that information later. Those things may be important in a dectective story, where those details may be necessary for the plot, otherwise it just add more words, but no additional value. Some of my readers my question me about this, since I include many details in stories, mostly so the reader might learn something new while they're enjoying the story.