Mark Arbour

Some of you may have noticed that I changed "Poor Man's Son" status from "in process" to "on hold." I'm at a point in my life where I'm hellatiously busy, and have precious little spare time as it is. I've been struggling with how to end PMS, and that's made the last few chapters difficult. And quite frankly, I'm simply not motivated to work on it right now.

Connor, I just figured you were having a bad evening, or maybe you drank too much, and was going to blow the whole thing off. The comments were pretty out of character for you. Most of what you post here actually seems pretty accurate. Adults appear when it's convenient because it's a story, and if I had them appear all of the time, it would get rather long. If they appear stupid, that's probably spot on, since we're seeing things from a 13/14 year old perspective. Most adults look like idiots to kids that age. Similarly, it's entirely reasonable that the teenage psyche would blame adults for their problems. Try raising one of these demons. I pointed out that Will is Stefan's grandson (not nephew) because I assume he's bound to inherit some of the traits of one of his favorite people. Whether he will emulate Stefan's free love attitude remains to be seen, but my guess is that he won't. Right now, he's just trying to figure things out. But what really shocks me is how you perceive Robbie has been treated. I think Will has shown a lot of affection and understanding toward Robbie, and actually seemed to develop a much bigger appreciation for Robbie and his relationship with his father. I think of the conversation they had in Hawaii, where Will tried to prop him up, or at the restaurant in LA after he got back from Europe....there's really no question that the guys really do love him. Teenagers as masters of their own universe: They usually think they are.

Thanks. It appears that not everyone agrees with you. ;-) I agree with you, that some of these situations can be dangerous, and can end up badly, but I think that as long as the individual in question has a decent head on his shoulders, things should work out alright.

Uh. Ok.

Alright, I get your perspective on this, but really? Brad can't do shots in front of Will? Really? I suppose a beer is out of the question too? You sound like those stupid f**ks in the Moral Majority. Wow. Just Wow.

I think that's it, and I think with Tony he's also obviously attracted to guys, so it's a closet-case issue, tied in with his father's history. That's probably how he's manifesting all those internal conflicts.

Tony came out to try and get on the soccer team. He left his car and stuff in St. Louis, and is flying back out to get them and drive back. Stanford won't start until near the end of September (they're on quarters). Brad was doing the shot of Jaeger, not Will. When Will did the shot, he was out on the patio with Gathan and Kristin. And being realistic, I don't see Darius as Will's cop. He'd be more likely to look on disapprovingly unless Will did something really stupid, then he'd intervene. Ah, but people rarely change that fast. Epiphanies take time, and a few more chapters. Will is (almost) fourteen. I think "bitchy drama queen" is part of the job description for a fourteen year old male. You don't like Jaeger? Evidently I'm not as picky about what I drink.

Dude, Stefan is his grandfather, and you think "keeping it in his pants" is one of Will's values? :-) He's young and stupid, much as most of us were way back when.

You read the characters so well, just as I planned them. It's not usually an issue of who's right or wrong, it's an issue of two guys bringing all of their issue and baggage to the table and then having a conflict because of it. And true to form, both of them end up even more confused in the end.

Even smart people do stupid things when it comes to sex. I'm not sure that Tony has serious problems, but I think he needs to work things out.

Why thank you. I think they're both just young guys trying to figure things out. That can be pretty toxic.

This one had some ups and downs, and ups and downs, and ups and downs..... ;-)

August 26, 2000 Escorial Palo Alto, CA Will “Is John here tonight?” Dad asked me. I gave him a dirty look. I couldn’t believe he’d bring John up when I was in the middle of partying with Tony. “He’s at a lacrosse camp. He’ll be back next week, after I’m gone.” “You don’t sound too upset about that?” he asked, digging. “Are you going to do that shot, or am I going to have to do it for you?” I asked, pointing at the shot of Jaegermeister Gathan had

More like a creepy, groping hug.

LOL. We'll hope they cleaned up after themselves.

I think that what Will is doing is not unusual. He thinks he's so mature, yet there are these parts of him still struggling to find peace. I'm wondering if he's not the kind of guy who will do this all of his life in a constant quest for that perfect relationship. I think that Gathan and Kristin are going into this thing with their eyes as wide open as they can. Unfortunately, that's still pretty myopic.

Some challenges ahead for all of them. Thanks for the review/comment!

Ah, but young lovers are usually blind to reality.

And he's been pretty busy lately. It's that whole real life thing. What an intrusion it can be.

What she said. Happy Birthday!

August 21, 2000 San Francisco, CA Will “This city is sweet!” Tony declared as we walked around San Francisco. We’d spent the weekend at the beach, pretty much just surfing and hanging out. At night, he’d wanted to watch movies with his father in them, but then afterward he’d be depressed and escape back to his room. Then the next morning, he’d be his normal, pleasant self. “Yep,” I said with pride, even though as a Southern Californian I wasn’t supposed to be all that

January 1, 1797 Winkler prodded Granger several times before his young captain responded. “Sir, it’s almost dawn. The Dons will be arriving shortly.” Granger finally let Winkler’s words penetrate his brain, but let his eyes open slowly, adapting to the light of the lantern. He was hung over and disoriented. The last he remembered, he’d had Gatling sprawled across his body. The thought of that made him smile, and made his morning erection throb a little bit more.

This discussion has been so enlightening and interesting! Thanks so much! Now do you see why I like the forums instead of the reviews?

You're so adorable. :wub:

Happy Birthday Robert! You're a gem!