Mark Arbour

Thanks. Some people find Will to be obnoxious. I think that's part of being a teenager.

December 1, 2000 Escorial, CA Will I walked into the Great Hall with Stef and ran into Wade. He was walking with an older lady who must be his grandmother. “Hey!” I said enthusiastically, and all but lunged at him. “Hey there, little brother!” he said, and gave me a really warm hug. “I heard you were coming up here.” “Thought I’d see you play hockey,” I said. “Will, this is my grandmother, Eulalie Garrett,” he said. “Nana, this is Will Schluter.” “Nice to

You, Delaware, and Pearl Harbor all happened on the same day. Makes sense. Interesting place? Really? Well, I guess to guys like us who live in Missouri, Delaware is interesting.

I hope you have a great day!

I thought this was a very good description (except for that part about Tim being right).

You mentioned some of this in your review. Here's my response, to complete the cycle: You raise an interesting point about JJ. As mature for his age as Will is, so JJ is immature for his. Take that, and put the poor kid into a total pressure cooker, and I think that's bound to squeeze the cheerfulness out of him. What is his life really like right now? He skates, but that's not really going all that well, at least in his mind, since he'll still be brooding over Norway. The competitive pressure in a sport like that, where JJ is a future Olympic contender, is crushing. His main support, his mother, is hospitalized. He's got Robbie there, but JJ really does seem to rely on one parent, so I think that while he's glad Robbie's there, he's probably not entirely sure he can fully count on him. (Robbie probably knows that, and that explains some of his over-the-top support of JJ). And he's got this brother who seems determined to completely screw up his life, yet JJ can't really escape him. He's at school. He's at family events. He could show up at home at any minute. Personally, I think it's amazing that JJ's not in the hospital with his mother.

The school environment will always matter to someone like Will. For him, as he moves into high school (HW freshmen are still with the middle-schoolers and below), it becomes as much of a social as an academic environment, and quite frankly, that will be a big change for him. And while freshmen are freshmen, some freshmen are cool enough to be accepted by upperclassmen. I can see Will falling into that category. I think the point Jeremy is making is that Will isn't as focused on projecting his power onto others as Brad is. He's pointing out that Brad was into controlling other people, and wielding power, while Will is less interested in that kind of personal power. At this point, as long as he's in control of his own life and destiny, he's not overly fixated on what other people are doing. It's quite possible that will change.

You have an interesting perspective on that exchange. I think that if WIll were going to be completely honest about that, he would have told Darius that he wasn't entirely sure where he stood with Darius. It wasn't long ago that they were fighting in the kitchen at Escorial. Will knows they're "OK", but he didn't really know how "OK" they were until he landed and Darius picked him up.

You raise an interesting point about JJ. As mature for his age as Will is, so JJ is immature for his. Take that, and put the poor kid into a total pressure cooker, and I think that's bound to squeeze the cheerfulness out of him. What is his life really like right now? He skates, but that's not really going all that well, at least in his mind, since he'll still be brooding over Norway. The competitive pressure in a sport like that, where JJ is a future Olympic contender, is crushing. His main support, his mother, is hospitalized. He's got Robbie there, but JJ really does seem to rely on one parent, so I think that while he's glad Robbie's there, he's probably not entirely sure he can fully count on him. (Robbie probably knows that, and that explains some of his over-the-top support of JJ). And he's got this brother who seems determined to completely screw up his life, yet JJ can't really escape him. He's at school. He's at family events. He could show up at home at any minute. Personally, I think it's amazing that JJ's not in the hospital with his mother.

Ryan's got a girlfriend. He's, uh, busy. :-) Nana and Will are pre-ordained to be friends, not just because of their link to Wade, but because of their personalities.

I try to keep you guessing. Besides, it's an Odyssey. I'm channeling Homer. :-)

This is what happens when a Bay Area boy writes about SoCal. Pat? Who's Pat? :-)

I suspect that you always know when he's around.

Will is determined to be in control of his own life. When he isn't, I don't think he can be happy and content. All these battles he's been fighting have largely led to that point, where he's responsible for himself. I think that now that he's got that covered, it gives him a sense of security and stability. I think the final piece is for him to make the move up to Palo Alto.

Here's what I find hilarious. Tonto was one of my more popular characters, and I've written WIll with much of her personality. She must have been a royal pain in the ass as a teenager. So is he. :-)

You make a good point here, but I think you need to give Will some credit. As his anger is fading, and as he's been able to get to a secure place, he's re-evaluating his feelings for his mother. And even if his feelings didn't push him to watch out for her, his sense of responsibility would.

I give Brad some credit for trying to balance a pretty tough situation. He's got his partner and one of his sons at odds with his other son, and he's trying to maintain the calm, and keep things peaceful. Good luck with that. :-)

You allude to something that's pretty key: all of these adults that Will outthinks make the mistake of underestimating him. Kind of like Elizabeth does with Wade. Gotta watch out for those smart young guys.

Maturity with a mix of adolescence impatience. Well said.

This is Paternity's 600th review! Thanks Edward! Unfortunately for you, there are no valuable prizes that come with that distinction!

November 29, 2000 Westwood, CA Will I sat there on the fire road eating my lunch, so ready to be out of this place. As usual, the two couples also here were completely absorbed in each other, and as usual, I was trying to eat my lunch as fast as I could so I could escape from their cuteness. “What does your schedule look like for next semester?” Shiloh asked Ryan. They proceeded to do a rundown on their various classes, getting excited when one actually happened to coincid

Rounding the Horn could be a significant challenge, but the good news is that they're doing it in the equivalent of Spring there, or close to it, anyway. Hitting it in July may have been a bit much. I don't know that Sir Malcolm will deduce from those instructions that Granger is on his way to potentially topple Sir Tobias. And as you noted, there were no cell phones in those days, so there's really no way to warn him. I think that Cavendish fills one of Granger's needs, but I don't think he's even close to as devoted as Calvert. I think that Calvert would gladly give up his life to save Granger. I'm not sure if Cavendish would.

Good points. It bears considering that the Spanish colonies in South America achieved their independence within 30 years of George's visit to Rio.

It's a good thing people matured sooner in those days, no? Although George certainly has his share of fun. :-)

Lucky day indeed! That's really the only explanation for their reluctance to surrender.