Former Member

If Isak gets tired of Elias, could you introduce Elias to me? ;–)

I used to collect keychains. I used to buy a new christmas ornament every year. I buy a new Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival t-shirt every year – I collect Frameline Festival catalogs too. I’m trying to reduce my collection of junk and clutter, but it accumulates anyway. ;–)

I just realized that Don Vincent Costa recognized Jenoah in one of the pictures! He’s another possible source of information that has no clue how valuable he could be to the guys! So many missed opportunities. You’re cruel, Wayne! ;–)

Not Mariah? ;–)

I think the most important thing to remember about Elias is how much he’s grown and changed in the very short time he’s known Orson! When we first met him, he shied away from being touched. It’s almost weird to think back on how frightened and anxious he was! He’s in a much better place and is stronger than he ever imagined he’d be. At this point, Greg, Clay, and Orson have no idea that Harlan has a connection to Don Corbin. Orson’s not going to find anything about ‘this Corbin Blackwell guy.’ And it’s unlikely that Greg & Clay will discover the connection between ‘Diana from the Art Institute’ and Don Vincent Costa. I cannot imagine Joseph will have any additional insights to offer. It does sound like Gary is getting restless, but I don’t think he’s getting out of the hospital anytime soon. That means that Harlan is likely to be remaining in San Francisco. This keeps Harlan from assisting Greg, Clay, Orson, and Joseph in the task of protecting Elias. How will Wayne keep Elias safe? ;–)

Perhaps they should have Rauf should speak to a therapist to help him understand that Stephen & Anton won’t abandon them. Probably a group therapy session with his two dads. It was very traumatic for him to have gone from a comfortable life with his family to homelessness and orphanhood as a very young child. I’m sure Rauf will just soak up all the love and attention of all twelve men who are gathered to celebrate christmas. Kieran, Kennedy, Tom, and Marcus all have experience with kids and would have no problems pampering Rauf. I think he will end up with eight more uncles! ;–)

I love catching up with Martin & Gallagher! I’m hopeful that Martin is just being pessimistic (he’d probably say realistic). But I understand what he said about not going through further chemo if there is a recurrence. My father was in his late seventies when he was diagnosed with cancer in his throat. He had surgery (including the removal of his vocal cords) and chemotherapy and they thought he had beaten it. It recurred, but he decided he didn’t want to undergo any further treatment. He survived the predicted 6 months, but pulled the emergency cord at the assisted care facility he was living in at the time. He had a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), but for some reason the EMTs were not informed, and he died anyway. He lived a long and productive life.

;–)

Spring Rolls, Won Tons, Lumpia, and Tamales are all very labor-intensive, but very tasty treats.

Real friends won’t let you isolate yourself in depression on a special day. Real friends know all your tricks even when you try to fool them. Changchang and Liam are true friends. ;–)

When I worked retail, we often had potluck holiday celebration meals, especially when I worked with middle-aged or older women. Everyone used to be impressed by my Impossible Pie, a coconut custard pie (you greased and floured a pie plate and poured in all the ingredients which had been processed in a blender*) – they couldn’t believe that a teenaged guy could bake a pie! I decided to up my game at a later store where most of the staff were teenagers or in their early twenties. I made Won Tons. My mother made the filling for me, but I filled and formed them. My mother had learned the recipe* from a woman who made them look fancier than just your standard triangle, she was inspired by tortellinis and they looked like little boats! What I forgot was that young kids don’t understand how much work is involved and they just inhaled the Won Tons like they were McDonald's french fries! * I lost the recipes years ago, so please don’t ask.

Knowing how this story proceeds, I think you should keep reading. ;–)

I didn’t realize that their Church Camp was a recurring weekly event with new students arriving every week. I guess because the churches my father ministered were all small, they only needed to do a single week to cover all the kids. That must be a massive church! ;–)

When you read Mike’s Rothenian Tales here on GA, you have the assurance that the stories are complete and have been well edited and spellchecked, plus you get to Comment on what you’ve read and view what others have thought of each chapter and story. You aren’t going to get stuck waiting for the author to find inspiration or time to write. You’re going to get regularly posted updates on a regular schedule you can count on. The Rothenian Tales are a whole series of stories usually set in the fictional country of Rothenia in Central Europe and often featuring Henry Atwood. The barrier between worlds is thinner in Rothenia. Supernatural events occasionally occur there. But the primary reason to read these stories is the interactions between the characters. You’ll meet unique characters with distinct habits and, in some cases, unusual manners of speaking. You’ll visit locations that you’ll wish you could visit in real life. You’ll be glad you took a chance on reading them (but you’ll want to start with The Heart of Oskar Prinz). ;–)

Except for the new story on Awesome Dude, all of Mike’s stories are completed. There are more stories there than here, but then you miss the Comments right under each chapter. ;–)

So Paul finally made an honest man out of the Don! ;–)

I opened a tab with this chapter in it as well as a few other things that popped up in my Notifications. I went to check the Reactions in the other tabs first, but noticed ‘Epilogue’ as I passed the tab. I was thinking, it’s way too soon to have an epilogue when we still haven’t found out what Don Corbin intends to do with the Raven! And then I realized that I got the two stories mixed up in my often confused brain… ;–)

I vaguely remembered a female actor with that name, I had to search to find that Merle Oberon was her stage name. It’s weird what odd tidbits of trivia float around in my head. I’m certain I’ve never seen any of her movies. ;–)

Have you read the others that are posted here on GA? I first read the Rothenian stories on crvboy (where Mike mentions that the stories are posted there first, but apparently that isn’t true anymore). Awesome Dude has a new story that’s old chronologically. iomfats also hosts the Rothenian stories. ;–)

‘Mark Tolmie’ seems familiar. Did we get to read more of his story earlier (chronologically) or am I remembering something from the (chronological) future? I certainly remember Damien & Mattie!

Typical teenagers! A bunch of self-sabotaging drama queens. Everybody talks, but nobody listens. ;–) Just like I was when I was their age (and, no, I’m not still self-sabotaging anymore – I stopped that years ago, I swear). ;–)

Obviously a quarter century ago was shortly before Dayton Hudson bought Chicago’s better-known Marshall Field & Company and changed the name of all their department stores to Marshall Field’s. Before the corporation took on the name of their most profitable division, Target. Before Target Corp sold all the department stores to the May Company. And before May Company was acquired by Federated, eventually renaming all the remaining stores Macy’s. Federated did the same thing on the West Coast, although they long had Macy’s stores in the SF Bay Area. I have not shopped at Macy’s in several decades.

It took me until I read the recipe to figure out what Mos and Bos were. I’d write the words out, but there are sensitive types around who still react the them. A long history of nasty name calling that cannot always be erased by claiming the words for ourselves (and I’m only one of the two). ;–)

I think it’s interesting that the ‘L,’ the first ’n,’ and the ‘r’ all have serifs, but none of the other letters do (although there are possible serfs on part of the second ’n’ and on the ‘h’) and most fonts that have a two-story ‘a’ also have a curve on the bottom of the ’t’ (as with the font this is written in). ;–)

I’ve read several others on another site, including one set in the past that’s brand new (to me at least). ;–)