Former Member

Since I’d read the Barbed Wire Heart, it didn’t take much time at all to read the other two! I knew I should have @Cole Matthews‘d my Comments! I did make sure to express my feelings after I’d read the two stories (they’re both just one chapter long, unlike the Barbed Wire Heart). ;-)

I can clearly see myself in this story. My brothers and their families, as well as my favorite Aunt & Uncle, a cousin & her family, and another Aunt, all live about 90 minutes away by car (3+ hours away by train). I see most of them on Thanksgiving and Christmas. But already, my nieces and nephews are drifting away emotionally and I haven’t seen the younger two (or their mother) in several years. I can see myself becoming the unwanted responsibility that someone is forced to check in with occasionally just to fulfill family obligations. My mother had a cousin who married, but never had children. For several years, I was responsible for picking her up and driving her to family holiday gatherings – that ended when I had to sell my car and later became homeless. While driving to the gatherings, I used the time to remind her who would be there and how they were related to each other and to her. She’d sometimes get confused and think I was her first cousin rather than my mother. She often conflated my brothers Dan and John, thinking that my (only) brother’s name was ‘Don’. My mother’s family has a history of having memory problems – my mother’s was due to her brain tumor. She was the oldest of five sisters and the next two sisters are experiencing increasing memory issues. I’m just anticipating that I’ve inherited the worst of both sides of my family – except that, unlike my brothers, I haven’t started losing my hair! ;-)

If you adjust the reference to hair color (or change it to black or dark), it could be even more universal. This story was more terrifying than most of the Halloween tales from last month! The sparseness of the wording emphasizes the harshness of the situation. This story reminds me of just how lucky I am to live where I live, when I live. Not just the US, but more specifically California, and in particular the Bay Area! Things might be worsening in parts of the US and at the Federal level, but California has been working to strengthen protections for vulnerable populations. The Bay Area has been a refuge for minorities in general for much of its history, and especially for the LGBTQ community for at least 70 years.

Internal homophobia aided and abetted by a homophobic father and a homophobic best friend are a horrible combination. It’s almost surprising that Gene didn’t run into Joey and Allen at the bridge! Gene could rebuild a few relationships, chiefly his brother and Star, and potentially come out of this stronger. ;-) But he’ll still have to deal with his father and Barry. Barry can’t do much more than he’s already doing, but it’s not clear what his father might do. On the one hand, Gene is his father’s biological son where Allen is just the step-son, on the other hand, his father doesn’t seem to have relented on his hatred and bigotry over these past 4 or 5 years.

They could have gone to Greece and met a friendly donkey… ;-) I think they should build a high-speed electric rail line to Germany. Maybe they could get the Swiss or Japanese to help engineer it is since they both have so much experience with tunnels and bridges through mountains and rough terrain. The French and Japanese have the technology for the trains themselves (TGV and Shinkansen, respectively). Or they could leapfrog all of that and get Elon Musk to build his Hyperloop System in Makarovia.

All I get is a Thumbs Up? That’s better! ;-)

Just two sentences? ;-) I think it’s a good thing for them to spend some time separated. It’ll give them a chance to grow, make new friends, and have new experiences. It’ll make them appreciate their times together all that much more. Besides it’s only London to Scotland – they’re just 52 miles/83 km apart*! ;-)

Paul McCrane, who played Romano, was in Hotel New Hampshire with Jodie Foster, Beau Bridges, Rob Lowe, Nastassja Kinski, Wilford Brimley, Seth Green, and Matthew Modine. His character, Frank, Comes Out to his brother (Rob Lowe) and sister (Jodie Foster). Jodie Foster’s production company is named after the character (Egg) that Seth Green plays. It’s based on a John Irving novel.

I’ve loved her ever since she was Dr Elizabeth Corday on ER! The Dr Mark Greene/brain tumor story arc really hit close to home for me. My mother had a brain tumor too, but hers wasn’t diagnosed until it got fairly large and affected her memory severely. They’d mention medications like Dilantin that my mother had taken. And the penultimate episode of ER’s 8th season where he pulls his daughter Rachel out of school and flies to Hawaii to relive some of his favorite childhood memories with his family before he dies was almost too painful to watch since I spent the first eight years of my life in Hawaii.

So far, I’ve seen three episodes with the Weeping Angels. Wikipedia says they’ve been in four episodes plus cameos in three others plus an appearance in Class, a Doctor Who spinoff that only lasted one Season. They were introduced in “Blink”, which featured the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones – but they were trapped in the past. The Doctor used Easter Egg commentaries on video tapes to communicate with Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale. The second and third time they appeared was in “The Time of Angels” & “Flesh and Stone” with the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond & River Song (I recognized her red heels immediately). Iain Glen (Ser Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones) was also featured – it took me a while to realize who he was, I thought his voice was familiar! I haven’t seen the other episodes yet…

I think the Doctor’s enemy that scares me the most are the Weeping Angels. The way they move when you’re not looking at them frightens me! They terrify me more than Daleks or Cybermen or any of the other recurring enemies.

BHopper2, who is known for his awesome Science Fiction tales, hits it out of the park with this horror gem, 'Hell's Vengeance: The Incubus.' From beginning to end this paranormal tale of vengeance left me wanting more. I highly recommend.

I suppose it’s theoretically possible (18+18+19=55), but it would be extremely unlikely and very dangerous to Nan’s health.

Who will Nan’s Plus One be for Benny’s grandchild’s wedding? (Since apparently she’s going to live forever.) Or will somebody try to keep the guest list below a thousand or so…

Antonio Soler, Keyboard Fangango, circa 1760

So Nan will get harmed ‘off camera’? Or will she ‘visit’ another story and be harmed (by Will’s mom, maybe)? Is that how you’ll get around your killing prohibition? ;-)

You love your caverns. And you love your private island in the Caribbean! I think Mitch has another market for the DelKenzie translation software, too! We already know that the paparazzi love taking long telephoto lens shots of naked celebrities in the Mediterranean. Nude photos of a King, a Prince, and the Prince’s fiancé would be extremely valuable! It’s better to avoid those potentially embarrassing pictures all together by going somewhere where the paparazzi can’t go.

To me, it sounds like a Finnish last name. But in the Comments for Boy River, someone mentioned that they figured out that Clay is Native American. I don’t remember reading anything that stated that, did I just miss the reference? ;-)

And how will character-Cole know that he’s named after @Cole Matthews rather than @Cole, @Cole Parker, @Colebph, @Coleman99, @colemsco, @Coler93, or @CoLeYy? I think the other Coles would agree (as would I)! ;-)

@Cole Matthews Well this story laid out a very clear explanation as to why Clay popped up in SWtW. Ben, Rush, and Clay are all very interesting characters with distinctly different personalities and motivations. It is a pleasure to read a story written by such a masterful craftsman. Your skills are obvious in the little details included and that they don’t slow down or muddy the pace of the tale. Of course, it also makes the confusion I feel from reading SWtW even more frustrating since I know you’re doing it intentionally! So devious! And confusing (again). ;-)

@Cole Matthews I missed this when it was first posted, but had to find it after Ben & Rush joined the case of So Weeps the Willow mystery. I needed to find out who Clay was. But now I have to read Morton’s Fork to find out how he ended up in SWtW too. ;-) Another group of LGBTQs who end up prostituting themselves are runaways and throwaways – some leave on their own and others are kicked out of their homes. They usually travel to large cities and then discover that there are no resources available to them and that they are too young to be hired. They struggle to survive on the streets and many turn to selling themselves. Something like 30-40% of homeless youth are LGBTQs. There isn’t enough funding or resources for any segment of the homeless population. Many areas have no services for young people. Most areas have no services specifically for LGBTQs. Transgendered individuals are particularly at risk because many service providers refuse to recognize their gender identity and categorize them by their biological gender. There are many stories of Transwomen being bullied or even attacked in homeless shelters. (I know one young Transwoman who was sexually harassed by multiple ‘straight’ men until she left the shelter.)

Seems like Nan is randier than ever! ;-) And hungrier! ;-) I wonder when the next Rudolph & Penelope shoe will drop…

Rush & Ben! I remember being totally confused by the Barbed Wire Heart! (I don’t think I read Boy River or Morton’s Fork, but I read so many different stories that I get confused – and that certainly doesn’t help with mysteries!) ;-)

Who signed off on the title? STD? Star Trek Intrepid (STI) would have only been marginally less problematic! Doesn’t anyone think about these things before they are produced? ;-)