Mark Arbour

I don't know about the rest of you, but I like the new badges underneath our names.

Happy Birthday!!!

Yeah, because you worry about that, derailing threads. I'm curious to know why that is too.

And I was wondering when you'd chime in too. God, I laughed my ass off at that line. I'll probably get flamed for it, but I did.

I was wondering how long it was going to take you to chime in on this issue. You must be busy these days. I think JJ is ultimately going to fall into the "don't get caught doing it" category, because that's what damn near all those "Disney-type" clean cut assholes do. Just sayin'.

I laughed my ass off at that. Tony was short for Anthony.

John is masculine? Compared to what?

Thanks. I think that if Caroline Granger were to observe the US Congress she would be horrified by the power of the mob and the common people, and would point at the Tea Party as the reason for proper aristocratic rule. (SMILE)

I really enjoyed this latest chapter. It was amazing that someone in Winkler's position was able to pull off what occurred and thanks to Jacobs help was able to deliver all the documents that Granger sent with him. I am very impressed by both Winkler and Jacobs. It says a lot about both Granger and Caroline to have people like this willing to serve under them. Caroline was just magnificent. I was beyond impressed with both her handling of the situation as well as her grasp of what was going on and who and what was involved in all of this. Her handling of the Commander as well as her performance in front of Spencer was just pitch perfect. I can imagine her dismay when she discovers that Granger has been captured aboard the Leander and is in Paris. We can hope that Granger will be on his way home shortly after she finds out, or hell she may head to Paris to get him out... The government will trumpet the capture of a Spanish galleon. It would have been major news and heralded all over the country. By handling it the way they are going to do so, Granger will become wealthy beyond belief. Glad for everyone, yes, even Calvert but do hope he stays far away from Granger. Calvert and Gatling can sail away on some adventure before Granger makes it home. The government will be glad when Santa Clarita gets home but will hate the loss of the Bacchante. They will be glad that the letters are destroyed and I am not sure many will miss Maidstone. The government and the King will be glad at how Granger handled the situation and he will come out with more influence than ever. If the Earl can get a Marquisate out of this, all the better; Granger would never be advanced to an Earldom while the Earl was still at that position. Amazing work, Mark, thanks again.... A great review, and not much to say but to agree. I do think that while the Admiralty will be unhappy with the loss of Bacchante, they won't be surprised. They have to expect these things will happen, as the seas are hazardous, and running aground or afoul of the weather was the primary cause of lost ships in the RN.

I'll wager that once George makes it back, there will be powerful forces focused on keeping him home. And I'll bet that after he's home for six months, he'll be just as adamant about getting back to sea.

Actually, if the earl is advanced to a marquess, it won't have any real impact on Granger. His brothers would benefit, as presumably Freddie would get a higher-ranking courtesy title (an earldom), and Bertie would then be known as Lord Albert Granger, but George has basically launched his own chain with his own peerage, so he won't be tied to those advancements.

I'm so glad you picked up on that. Caroline didn't even question whether Winkler was right or wrong; she trusted him. I don't see there being long-standing issues with Spencer and Caroline. They're both too politically astute to let that happen. Spencer will probably assume that it was just Caroline's 'weaker sex' problems that invoked such an emotional response, and she'll probably assume that he learned his lesson.

Well, we left George in Paris, and the Santa Clarita enroute to England, so we'll have to see how long it takes for them to arrive. I think anyone who trifles with Caroline's children in their later years will be wise to remember that scene. (SMILE)

That cannot have been an easy trek for Winkler. He was associating with and defying those much more powerful than he is. Spencer is a politician, for better or worse.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I'm not going to let political correctness influence a story to the point that it becomes anachronistic, and that's why I've used non-PC terms throughout the saga. Whether it's "negros" and "coloreds" in Chronicles, "Japs" in The Box, or other sundry insulting terms, they belong in the era in which they were used. I don't think their use perpetuates attitudes, I think they form a valuable contrast for where we've been, and how much progress has been made. Looking at something in isolation is a lot less valuable than looking at a trend, IMHO. "Clean" was commonly used in the early 2000's, and quite frankly, it's still commonly used today. But back in 2001, that was a relatively low priority battle for the gay rights community. So when you (and other readers) are offended by it, I smile and ruminate on how cool it is that we are now addressing issues like that, instead of having to worry that gay people can't get married, or are getting the shit kicked out of them for holding hands in public. In fact, that scene was more about trust than anything. Will was really taking on a lot more risk (during that scene) as the bottom, and his acceptance of Carullo's assurances without question had to have an impact on the guy, at least at some level.

Kudos to you for the Martinelli prediction. It seemed like an excellent way to tie things together. Let me know how you do as we go forward!

Thanks, as always, for the review. I think that attitudes you saw at the school by both Brad and Will reflect a general post-9-11 desire to get along, as well as their own individual epiphanies about conflict. There's a lot of variables in Robbie's estate, and as I haven't written that yet, it's interesting to contemplate all of them. Claremont and his cousins/nephews/nieces are bound to be an issue.

I certainly didn't mean to offend you, but in this series, historical accuracy is going to win out over political correctness. "Clean" is a term that's still used, but was much more prevalent up until the mid-2000s. I agree that it has negative connotations, and that it is unfair. At the same time, if I use "negro" and "colored" in prior stories, among other politically incorrect terms, it hardly seems fair to change things now. I suggest that the best way to look at that is to think about it in the context of how far we've come. That we're worried about the connotations of the word "clean" in 2013 is pretty cool, considering that in the 80's AIDS was commonly referred to (by idiots) as the "gay plague".

The Bell Curve was a last-gasp effort to try and justify racism on genetic grounds. It deserves a mention, then a burial. I haven't even written Robbie's funeral, but it will hit around chapter 50.

Will was a mature kid before this, with adolescent spikes (especially of rage). What he's going through now is bound to change a person, and it seems that it just makes Will even more mature. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in school.

I don't think Cody really has to change his lifestyle all that much. He's not contemplating becoming a primary caregiver here, he's talking about being more involved. I think a "divorced husband" model (weekend visits) would probably jive more with what he had planned.

Cody is good at reading people, and he reads Will very well. I wouldn't be surprised if Cody wasn't a bit like Will when he was 15. I think that Mrs. Carbone was merely flying along on the gossip train, and once she realized there were some problems with it, she backed up pretty fast. Some people just enjoy talking about others. Sad but true.

You're right about 9-11. It impacts all of us daily, whether we know it or not. I'm guessing that you're right about Joey's firefighter pals, but then again, that's not where the conflict was; it was with his family. Your observation about Kai was spot on. I think he's a nice guy, but he's not going to challenge Will mentally enough. An interlude is great, but a long-term relationship would be tougher.

Well, improbable but not impossible is allowed in the CAP world. It also lets me advance another plotline (that of Tony). I really don't think Isidore will create a problem, as long as Maddy is being well taken care of. Then again, after the stay in Paly with her for a while, she may get more attached to Maddy.

Thanks for the review Kevin, but sorry about the tears. I can just visualize Wade and Matt's initial frustration that Will managed to bring some drama to this event too. :-)