Mark Arbour
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In a sense, the British use of opium was a reaction to Chinese trade practices that still cause problems today. China was a net exporter, sucking the wealth out of other countries, back in those days. Seems nothing's changed.
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That was too funny.
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Some thoughts: 1. Sharon is awesome. 2. I think that the degree of misfortune a person experiences (as in degrees from normal) is pretty significant, so in Will's case, even though he leads a charmed life, the crises that he deals with are pretty intense compared to his normal existence. 3. My intention is not to show Claire as a person who has suddenly become evil (she hasn't), or to have her seem completely out of character by suddenly becoming this uncaring bitch. Ponder your own lives, and how you may get locked into a pattern, or a group, or whatever, and it becomes the norm. That's what I think is happening with Claire. She's been immersed in the elite world of Palo Alto and has become part of it. In a sense, she has lost some of herself to it.
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What a wonderful summary. That does help to explain why some of the characters I've created turn out so warped. Maybe you can do the same thing for Tony for PrivateTim's benefit. There is one other thing to consider, and one which will ultimately come up when Nana chimes in down the road. Will told Nana that if it weren't for Claire and Isidore, he wouldn't really have women in his life who loved him (in Paternity, when they were riding horses). That may explain even more his volatile reaction.
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Well Ricky, I tried to post it in time for your journey. Sorry about that. To Westie: Thank you for your wonderful summations on both the prize money situation and the rules in the Lords.
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December 1797 “My lord, there’s a man requesting to be allowed to come aboard,” Humphreys said, the irritation in his voice palpable. “Who is he?” Granger asked as he looked up from his desk, almost as annoyed as Humphreys. It was dawn, and they were preparing to begin their trek across the Pacific. Granger had a headache that made it seem as if his skull was pulsing as a result of his attendance at the Viceroy’s farewell dinner yesterday. And wit
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Thanks. It was good to have your perspective on this. I was wondering how that worked. You did a nice job of summarizing the differences (from my perspective) of being wealthy in a big town/little city vs. a big city/metro area. I suspect that with the Dot collapse going on there are a lot fewer uber-wealthy people in Palo Alto. Not that they're all paupers, but that took a pretty big hit.
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I like your comments. I think that John's attitude toward Will is symptomatic of the problem. There seems to be an "us vs. them" attitude in the subtext, so John's going to stick with his sister. At least until he figures it out.
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I'm so glad you liked in mm!
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Thanks for a really interesting review. Jeremy usually pokes me about generational things and helps to keep me on target, so I owe a lot of that to him. I think that Will, with his drive to be his own person (and in control of his own person) fits into his generation perfectly.
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I think you're right. Will is very mature, but he's still a young teen, and has trouble curbing his emotions, and sometimes gets a bit, uh, dramatic.
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Yeah. I actually mention that in chapter 8, that there's this great dinner no one bothered to eat.
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I really enjoyed your review, and found myself tracking with your train of thought. I do think that Will's extensive contact with the Mission would have perhaps given him more perspective. I'll expand on my thoughts more in the forum.
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I see Brad staying in the background and letting this situation work itself out. He's a control freak, so he'd be tempted to jump in, but jumping into a battle between his son and his sister (and niece) is not his idea of a fun time.
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You know, the problem here is that Will is so used to fighting his father that when he gets into an argument with someone, he treats that person like they're Brad. It's an all out, throw down the gauntlet, fight to the death. Will needs to learn that it's possible to approach people in a more positive way...people other than his father. :-)
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I wrote this story line because one of the traits I detest in people is the unwillingness to admit mistakes. So we're seeing me vent my annoyance with those people by writing them into the story. :-)
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No one is perfect, and that includes Claire. As I said below, I think she's been living in this world and not really paying that close of attention to it. For example, I could see her and Isidore going through the guest lists and leaving Erik and Carter in, assuming that the fights were just teenage boy scuffles, and that was no reason to exclude friends, just because their kids are having a spat.
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I think that Marie is going through a princess complex, which probably isn't all that unusual for a young lady her age. I don't see her personality ultimately landing there.
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Thanks for the kudos. See, I think Will was immature and abrasive, but I also think he was right. That's what JP was trying to convey to him.
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I would suspect that JP wants to send a signal to those families (and to others) that he is not going to tolerate violence against his grandsons. Leaving the entire family out (and not just the son) would make that point. But maybe he'll relent.
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I'm sure Claire will eventually figure things out. She's a smart lady. She is human, and she does make mistakes. Let's see if she handles that better than her daughter.
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I think that sometimes you wander through life and lose your way a bit, and I think that's what has happened to Claire. I think she's been doing her thing, being a society doyenne, and the role absorbed her, and pulled her away from what's really important.
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Claire supported Will emotionally but never took him in. I think she would have, though.
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I'm betting that Brad will let Will handle this himself. He won't want to tangle with his sister if he doesn't have to. Unless things get out of control...
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June 29, 2001 The sun forced its way through the gap in my curtains and into my eyes, or so it seemed. It was like there was some major conspiracy to wake me up early. I rolled over in my bed languorously, so happy to be back home at Escorial. Today I was going to do the same thing I’d done since I’d gotten back from New Jersey: have a relaxing day, probably indulging in a ride, a workout, and some video game time. If I was lucky, there would be something going on tonight,
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