Former Member

Thank you, Dugh, that's very sweet of you ❤️ It's a pleasure to remember you read the FB tales. You may or may not know it, but Wanamaker's organ has a Saint Louis connection too. It was ordered by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company to be the largest, most complex pipe organ in the world. It was installed in the Cass Gilbert designed Festival Hall; or put another way, designed to be the centerpiece of the centerpiece building of the World's Fair. I believe daily concerts were given on the organ, and the hall was a concert venue seating 3,500 people at a time. Mr. Wanamaker was enchanted and had the tradition (along with the organ itself) installed in his new flagship store.

I wonder if Ross came up with any ideas. Woody doesn’t have any proof of Dewberry’s threats or attempted molestation otherwise reporting him to Mr Calloway might have been the best answer as to why Woody was trying to skip class. I wonder if Mr Lazarus might have been a good ally to talk to?

I remember liking the song when I heard it on the radio back in the ‘70s, but never really thought about the lyrics. It was a pretty song and I hadn’t experienced anything like that as a teenager. I’ll have to listen to it again with more than three times the experiences than I had back then! ;–)

Belated Happy Birthday, Tim! Sorry I’m late for the party. Is there any cake left? ;–)

The wise man may have built his house upon the rock, but wildfires burned it down anyway. The foolish man built his house upon the sand and FEMA has paid to rebuild it several times because hurricanes destroyed the barrier island it was built on. When will people realize that Global Warming is causing more exaggerated extremes in weather conditions? When will they see that it’s more cost-effective to slash carbon emissions and use cleaner technologies?

The problem I see with transportation involving cars suspended from cables is the same one with monorails: it’s extremely difficult to design effective switches/turnouts. This makes the systems much less efficient and useful. Rail has been around for more than a century and a half for good reason, although improvements are always possible. Abandoning flooded areas is a strategy used by Venice in the past. They built additional floors above the ones that had sunken below water level. It’s not ideal and rising sea levels make it less effective today. But there is extreme resistance to not just attempting to raise seawalls and build preventative measures in places like Pacifica, California where cliffs along the Pacific coast have been eroding at an increasing pace. Land owners fear the loss of property values and are fighting with elected officials. Those who own property with the best views (ie along the coastal shores) are usually wealthier than average and usually have more political influence. Even when it goes against the common good, wealth is often able to demand special privileges and services not given to those more deserving.

I’m sorry to say I’m one of the annoyed ones. I think Hagan is a very realistic depiction of how an alien race would feel about stupid humans who cannot take care of ourselves. But Gargoyles remind me too much of Dr Who’s Weeping Angels! ;–)

I only see see three or four theories… ;–)

You guys have a nickname for bisexuals? ;–) I’m not picky that way, I only expect monogamy from whomever I’m with. They can look at whomever they want as long as the stay with me. Look, but don’t touch! ;–)

I think you forgot to include the paragraph where Barry goes to Confession – aka the Catholic Reset Button! ;–) And @Ivor Slipper, could you send me Barry’s sperm donor, please? I’ve been a decent boy all year long. I didn’t blackmail anyone or send any ransom notes. I’m sure the sperm donor was only ‘experimenting’ and has realized he'd actually prefer a Californian who likes redheads! ;–)

There’s a British publication that ended up on the wrong side of Liberace’s Closet door! They lost a huge legal case and had to pay an enormous amount because Liberace “wasn’t Gay!” Millions of his hetero female fans ‘knew’ he was straight too! ;–)

Natalie seems to be there just for Zara. Jeremy acts very sketchy around Natalie. I hope it’s not a financial thing for Jeremy too! ;–) Or is Jeremy struggling with bisexuality? Finding Natalie when he was suppressing semi-dormant feelings for Alex only for them to reawaken when he saw Alex again? Or are they destined to remain platonic friends who are just extremely physical with each other?

Liberace was able to squeeze a Grand Piano complete with chandelier and boyfriend into his Closet! ;–)

Much like the lack of psychological help for the loss of Robbie's mother and the traumatic move to the wilderness of the Arctic frontier in Great White North above the 49th Parallel, there doesn’t seem to have been much, if any, followup care after he was released from the hospital into his adoptive mother’s care. His medical needs seems to have been forgotten in the chaos that is Alex & Luke. Don & Sue don’t seem to be able to concentrate on more than two or three kids at a time – which wasn’t a problem when it was only Nicola, Daniel, and Amy (we [aka @Dodger] seem to lose track of Amy and Luke pretty much the same way Donnie-boy does). ;–)

As far as I can remember, the attraction/lust was all one-sided, all in Robbie’s head. As far as I can remember, Fran’s brother is straight and unaware that Robbie might not have been completely smitten by his sister. Just the usual horny Robbie drooling over an unavailable guy! ;–) Robbie could go as Lady Godiva and kill two birds with one stone! He could finally fulfill his promise to pose for Fran to paint a nude portrait. As Lady Godiva, he could flirt with the brother – and maybe score! ;–) Don might not be a church-goer, but he clearly believes that a traditional male-female marriage solves all problems. Don seems to think the major issue that Robbie had was the lack of a father, not that his mother died and left him an orphan forcing him to move across an ocean to live with a family he didn’t know – but Donny is the sole, obvious, and perfect choice to resolve that problem. All the other issues Robbie thinks he has will melt away if only Robbie also subscribes to that philosophy. In your wildest fantasies Donny-boy – only in your wettest dreams! ;–)

It’s interesting to get a quick overview of this chapter just from reading (only) the Comments and Responses while knowing what happens all the way to the conclusion of the series. I’m not going to say any more because I could unintentionally reveal spoilers. I’ll just say that I still have suggestions about what I want to read about after @jkwsquirrel finished the final book. ;–)

Maybe Robbie can go to Fran’s party in drag and make out with her sexy brother! ;–) Joyeux Noël, eh, ya Rosbif Canadien! It’s sunny and the temperatures are in the mid-50s (F) in the other CA! ¡Feliz Navidad! ;–)

Some sort of stress-induced panic attack? Robbie seems to specialize in self-sabotage. Even when he knows people are on his side, he reacts blindly and attacks them. He finally has the two men who have his best interests at heart and he won’t confide in them! @Dodger, you are soooooooo cruel! You finally give us what we’ve been demanding and you turn it upside down on us. And just for good measure, you torpedo Team Rory! ;–)

My grandnieces are both older than your nephew at 2- and 4-years-old! ;–) And my parents were 30 when they had my older brother. He didn’t have my older nephew until he was 32. My nephew started ‘early’ at 29! My family takes things slow… ;–)

Or my off topic tangents… ;–)

Then it must be @Tiger since that’s who started the topic. ;–)

Apparently @Thorn Wilde. Your other main contributor. I’m following, but I barely participate! ;–)

Unlike the author’s Naptown Tales, the protagonists in this story almost have access to incredible wealth for mere teenagers. Several of them have an obsessive interest in very high-end audio equipment and esoteric audio formats. This was off-putting to me and distracted from the otherwise interesting characters and interactions. This story seemed less grounded than previous stories I’ve read by the same author. I wish I could have given this story a better rating.

Even if there are rumors about Woody reporting Dewberry, the rumors about Brandon would be much more devastating to Brandon’s reputation since Woody will have turned in Dewberry before anything happened.

When I was staying at the rescue mission, one of the guys in their 12-step-like Program claimed to be able to see the ‘Light of Christ’ in me – I’m Agnostic! He was kind of cute and in a different context, I’d have considered going out with him. But he’d have been kicked out of the Program for his ‘sinful’ behavior and I’d have been permanently banned from staying there. I think he was confused by the fact I was the only one there who wasn’t frowning all the time! ;–)