Biff Spork

@SummerabbacatThanks for your kind words and perceptive observations. Cougars, pumas, mountain lions, catamounts, etc. — according to Wikipedia, this animal holds the world record for the greatest number of common names - over 40. It's probably due to its wide range — it's found all over the Americas from Alaska right down to Chile. River's taste in poetry - however much River develops, it's clear his literary sensibilities need work. Mind you, at his age, I thought the limerick in question was pretty clever too.

@scrubber6620 Right on! Yes, things get better with David and his family but troubles with Jude and River look to be ramping up. Thanks for your comment.

@scrubber6620As usual, your reading of the situation is quite accurate. I might differ a little with your description of Sol/Zhiv as "oversensitive" - I prefer to think that he's surrounded with people who are relatively insensitive. @SummerabbacatReally, your comments make me blush! Thank you!

When David rolled out of his bed on Sunday morning, it was dark outside. Pink dawn light colored the sky as he pedaled out onto the road, but the sun had yet to climb above the horizon. It rose and warmed his back while he sped over the pavement. So much joy filled him that he had to burst into song, though he laughed at himself while he sang. When he pulled his bike into the trees at the park’s edge, Zhiv, Erg, and Berky were waiting for him. “Let’s get you out of these,” said Zhiv. H

I laughed when Nurse Dorothy gave her son's name.

@MattyboyHey, congratulations. Lots of people have read this book, but you're the first who picked up on that. Bravo!

David jerked awake from a half-dream. He squinted at the sun and tried to calculate how long he had lain with Zhiv. “I should check the time.” Zhiv sat up beside him. “First, tell me what you saw. Did any pictures or feelings seem real strong?” “There was one,” said David. “I saw it two or three times, and it’s nothing I recognize. It was a stream of clear water flowing over stones and making a tinkling sound like small bells. It was really nice. It came with a weird feeling, like I ad

@Summerabbacat Thank you for your kind and perceptive comments. Regarding the musical, "Oklahoma" — it was immensely popular when it was first staged in the 1940s and became even more popular when the academy award winning film version came out in 1955. It has remained popular ever since and is still staged hundreds of times every year in the USA by high schools, little theatre groups and touring companies. In 2023 the film will be offered by streaming services on the Disney and Criterion channels. I'd venture to guess that it's one of those dramas that every living American has seen at some time. I imagined that "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" appealed to David because it's such a joyous song, with simple lyrics that match perfectly with the catchy melody. Yes, David's mother, Doreen, is a force to be reckoned with. River's father I see very much as a product of hard-scrabble necessity. As American agriculture shifted from family farms to monstrous factory farms, I think many small farmers got squeezed into a business model and lifestyle that was neither comfortable nor profitable. I don't think you can do the work he does without becoming brutalized. @scrubber6620 Thanks for your comment. Your reading of the situation is pretty accurate. River's evolution in the story was fun to write - particularly his relationships with Jeremy and with David. @Mattyboy Thanks for your comment. Yes, the Jamesons (father and sons) are an important part of the story from page 1. As for the "spork in the road," heh heh, I have tried to keep the story twisting and turning like the Jana Mountain logging road with its swtchbacks and hairpin turns.

Zhiv and David hiked through the pines scattered atop the ridge. David sank into the dreamlike quality of the day. Striding ahead of him, the tanned, naked boy seemed to be part of a vision. The puma, the bear and a coyote keeping pace nearby added to the feeling of being in a different reality. When David thought about it, he felt faint and over-excited, so he attempted to experience it without analysis. That could come later. Zhiv led them down from the ridge to a large cleft an ancient e

David rolled out of bed as soon as he awoke and pulled on shorts and a T-shirt in the cool air of dawn. In the kitchen, he packed a lunch and left a note telling his parents where he was going and when he would be back. Outside, the sun was peeping over the horizon. Once on the road, he set the pedal-assist motor to its highest setting and pedaled as fast as he could. He was so full of excitement and happiness that he couldn’t help singing as he raced along the highway. The song that rose t

The specific case I was referring to was in the UK but I am sure such things happen elsewhere as well. One survey showed that 42% of vegan kids were bullied at school.

@scrubber6620 Thanks for your comment. Yes, David and Zhiv will soon be getting closer to each other. You're right about David being consistent regarding what he eats and what he wears. As for the horses, they play important roles in the story starting a few chapters down the road.

@Summerabbacat Thanks for your comment - so full of interesting information. Regarding vegan leather - I had David buying some mushroom leather shoes because that is the only kind I knew about - I have a pair, and like you, I find them very comfortable. I must look into corn and pineapple leather. I'm sure we'll see the development of many products like this as people begin to move away from animal agriculture. The force-fed bacon bullying is unfortunately based on several actual cases where vegan boys committed suicide after their classmates forced them to eat meat. One boy was regularly tormented at lunchtime with other boys throwing bits of meat at him.

@scrubber6620 I'm happy to read that you enjoyed this chapter. It's interesting for me to read your predictions and speculations. Sometimes you are quite accurate but I think you will also be surprised by the directions the story and characters take.

@Summerabbacat Thank you for your kind words about my writing. Regarding Jude's and River's concatenation of homosexuality and veganism - that's just one example of the bundle of prejudices that makes up toxic manhood. In Euro-American society we were all brought up with it - Real men are tough. They like rough sports like football and boxing, and hunting and fishing, and fast cars and loose women. They eat steak and drink beer and whiskey. They love nature because they can go out and kill animals in it. It's very hard to convince people that these are learned behaviors, not innate. You mention feral cats and neutering pets. While I'm an advocate for animal rights, there are certainly areas that are problematic. I always think of the mongooses introduced to Hawaii that have laid waste to many species of local birds, and there are many other examples. Yet it doesn't seem fair that individual members of introduced species should be punished for a problem caused by humans. These are knotty ethical problems, but I don't think they need to be resolved until humanity has put a stop to the monumental cruelty and environmental desecration that is the factory farming of animals. When we have solved the monstrous problem, then we can look for solutions to the lesser problems we have caused. In the meantime, I think you set a good example for us - try to find solutions that we can live with while recognizing that animals have rights.

On Thursday morning, Deputy McAdam again forgot his spy thriller in his desk drawer. When he had parked behind the billboard to trap speeders, his mind turned once more to the enigma that was his son. It wasn’t only the food. There was all that other vegan foolishness. A few months after David had stopped eating meat, Pete had noticed something. He was loading the thrift box into their SUV to take to the charity store in the mall. The thrift box often held something the boy had outgrown. Ev

At supper with his parents, David described his ride up the Jana Mountain logging road and how well his new bicycle had performed. “You weren’t the only one went up that mountain today,” Pete said. “I heard a strange story from Aaron Jameson. He said he got attacked by a bunch of birds up there. You see anything like that?” “He drive a red pickup?” asked David. “Yep, a little red 4X4 with a gun rack in the back window.” “He just about run me off the road. I don’t know if he w

@JohnnyCD Happy to hear you enjoyed the story when you read it elsewhere. It has been revised considerably since then. Thanks for resisting the temptation to drop a spoiler.

@scrubber6620 I'm glad you're "hooked" - that's what every author wants to hear. I'm happy you like David. Later you will meet some characters you will love to hate. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It means a lot.

@Summerabbacat Thanks for your kind words and perceptive comments. About David's "pursuit of ignorance" - mostly I was thinking of my own disappointment when I finished my baccalaureate and realized that what I had learned was stuff that other people already knew. It wasn't until I was a few years into grad school that I finally came to the edge of what was known (in my field) and could look into the unanswered questions and mysteries that lay beyond. David seems precocious because he knows that he wants to be out there on the cutting edge, where the known fades into mystery, where great discoveries are yet to be made. At the same time, I think he's typical of many boys who want to "go where no man has gone before."

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all beings are created equal, and have a right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of their Happiness. (The Declaration of Animal Rights, Article 1) It was a sunny morning in early summer when thirteen-year-old David McAdam turned his electric bicycle onto a bumpy logging road. The rutted track, barely wide enough for a single vehicle, zigzagged up the side of Jana Mountain in a series of switchbacks. In the past, the road had climbed thro

A runaway orphan boy loses himself in a primeval American forest and, on the brink of death, is saved by the animals living there. As he recovers he finds that the animals have saved him for a reason, a reason that makes his life worth living. It seems like a fable that might have taken place in Africa, or India, a hundred years ago, but although this boy was not raised by apes or wolves, his story in contemporary America is even stranger. Be warned, however, that although this tale has many joyous moments, there is sorrow here as well, sorrow for the boy, and for the many who came to love him.

@gdaniel I'm happy you're still reading. Comparing me to Comicality is high praise. Thanks. This site doesn't appear to have a chat facility but it does have a personal message function. I'll send you a personal message - all you have to do is reply and we can back-and-forth nearly instantaneously as much as we want....

@gdanielI'm not too big a fan of the "I'll be dead soon, so it doesn't mean anything to me" idea. I've got great-grandchildren. I feel terrible that they might never get to see an elephant or a whale in the wild (I've seen both). We're part of a machine that is causing a mass extinction. I guess I'm an absolutist - you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. Your solar panels are part of the solution. How you vote is another part. What you spend your money on is another part, a big part - consumers have immense immediate power in their hands every time they walk into a supermarket. I'm fairly new to this site - I haven't explored all its many nooks and crannies - but it doesn't look like it has a chat facility. Click the little envelope icon next to my name on the top right of the page to send me a personal message.

@gdanielThanks for your kind words about the story. Bravo for your solar panels - that's more than most people are doing these days. I agree the changes needed are in the hands of people still engaged in the governing process, not us old gaffers (I'm older than you are!). The younger generation, those with the awareness of the problem and the convictions to make big changes, still do not hold any power. By the time they do, it may be too late.