Former Member

Well it was interesting to see how Brady & Ember interact with Linda & Gordon. Brady certainly has a lot of unresolved issues! His relationship with Novy is the only one that doesn’t seem to fit in that category. ;–) Either Katie is seriously ill (ie cancer) or she’s pregnant. There aren’t a lot of other explanations for her behavior. Unless she’s struggling with Coming Out as a Lesbian! ;–)

Once is more than enough! ;–) OMG! Adam is pregnant and the baby’s already kicking! ;–)

I hope those stomach pains aren’t the sign of something more serious. Does the pain from appendicitis come and go like that? We’ve already been in the hospital too many times! ;–)

Were some of Peter’s ancestors among the Viking raiders in the 9th Century? Or were they part of the army that invaded England in 865? There is a history there! ;–)

Thanks for giving my re-worked prompt a tire-kick and test run, Mike. You gave me some good feedback about the info I provide, and really respect your Tanka

No, not a dumpster fire at all But, the new prompt challenges should be rolling out pretty soon. When it's up, I'd be honored if you check out the new version. Hopefully I've improved the proper amount of background a person needs to start their study of poetry.

"Poor flowers, the jewels of the meadow, born only yesterday, today you are dying, like the promises of a faithless heart!" Olivero performs Poveri fiori live. One of the greatest actresses of the opera stage, ever.

Some homophobes never have an epiphany. I suppose being shunned is a way to kickstart that process. But I’m surprised Mason didn’t talk to his football buddies, they tend to be less evolved… ;–)

My mother had an Instamatic when we were growing up. My dad usually took slides (less expensive). Film was very expensive (for my parents) in the ‘60s and ‘70s. They took lots of pictures during special events like holidays and birthdays. ;–) But when my first nephew was born, we all went overboard! He was the first great-grandchild on my maternal grandparent’s side of the family. When we’d visit, we’d sometimes take 3 or 4 rolls of film in one afternoon-into-evening visit! There are tons of pictures of him just sitting there! Of course, it eventually slowed down and by the time his sister and his cousins came around, things got back to normal with pictures only being taken occasionally. ;–) My first nephew was such a gentle and loving child (with both a Gay Uncle, me, and a Gay Great-Uncle – his mother’s Uncle) that I thought he might be Gay too, but he’s got a wife and two daughters. I never hear about who any of the others might be dating, so I suppose it’s possible that one of the other three is LGBTQ. Unfortunately, my younger brother is even more religious than my older brother, so that might cause conflict if my younger nephew is Gay. But by the percentages, they’re probably all straight. ;–)

But you write so poetically and descriptively that we can all picture exactly what you’re describing! ;–)

Yes, but we’re talking about Texas here. Any time Texas can steal something from California, they do (jobs, Pac Bell, etc). Texas courts do unconstitutional things all the time! ;–)

Is he trying to convince himself by saying all that? ;–) Fundamentalists think they know better than anybody else and think they should be able to dictate that to everybody else too! People with money think they can pay to get their way no matter what the law says. When the fundamentalists have money, they often twist and bend laws to get their way!

You forgot the magic word! ;–)

Maybe @empresslovesreading could wear inline skates, then it’d be kind of like Iditarod! ;–)

Even if you had them all on leashes, they’d all be pulling in different directions – Levi would probably be doing it on purpose! ;–)

I’d forgotten about that! ;–)

All those kids running wild. Sounds like the proverbial herding of cats! The trick is knowing what the youngest will think is better than what they can’t do anyway. ;–) The going pale, limp, and dropping the phone sounds extremely ominous! It can’t be the evil parents who are both locked up in jail. I’d say it has to be a downturn in Lily’s health.

When I was homeless, it was particularly difficult. The rescue mission I was staying at one christmas requires you to check in too early to visit relatives and return in time. And although it’s run by a fundamentalist group, they cancelled their usual Sunday morning religious service in favor of holiday celebrations for their live-in 12-step-like Program participants. Everything else in town was closed, so it was a long and boring day with a hygiene kit as my only gift that year. The following year, I was staying at a different shelter and it was entirely different. Because the shelter had a separate section just for Vets, there was a Vet-associated charity group that provided all of us with a large number of gifts that included an odd, but warm coat with no pockets; a very large backpack; a sleeping bag; and two random gift cards for various nearby businesses (ranging from McDonald’s to Starbucks to Target to movie theaters). Normally the shelter kicked us out during the day because other groups used the space, but since the other groups were closed for the holiday, we were allowed to stay in all day! ;–) Berkeley also has a christmas in July holiday meal in Berkeley High School’s very large cafeteria. They had a nice selection of used books available for free and I was able to get unused-looking copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass). They had quite an extensive selection of tasty food too. ;–)

I wouldn’t be too worried about that, Geron RR Kees! ;–)

I think I’ve really only read Charlie Boone and the Second Hand Store stories. It’s not so much that what I’ve read was predictable as much as other writers are way too predictable! I’ve had two different authors accuse me of ‘reading ahead’ in stories that might not even have been written yet! ;–)

Robbie was a surprise. I was kind of hoping for a new love interest for Annabelle! But now we need to find two guys – I don't think Brad & Casey are the right ages to match up with Annabelle and Robbie. ;–) This chapter was a nice way to end the story. Most of the ends are wrapped up and there's anticipation for the coming school year for almost everybody. At least Brian didn't have to ‘dance’ with Robbie this time! ;–)

I'm hoping that the chop shop and counterfeiting are just artistic license. ;–) I really felt like I was exploring the cellar and tunnels with Annabelle and the boys! ;–)

So Charlie Boone isn't your only unpredictable story! ;–) And if this is Scooby-Doo, I'd nominate Ed as Shaggy – unless you think he'd be better as Scooby! Many people read Daphne as a Lesbian. And even this version of the Mystery Machine would be no match for any of the cars in the story! ;–)

I really liked Brian's solution to the panic that the two boys in the pizza shop felt when they were seen! It was reassuring as well as reaffirming. And the response made it clear he was understood and that his gesture was appreciated. ;–) The descriptions of the diving were beautiful. ;–)

Grandpas who raise the baby? ;–)