Agincourt

Thanks for the tip. It's rather a strange interlude of a chapter. A

I have corresponded with the author of "The Move" several times, and he always apologizes for the slowdown in postings. It sounds like he is still in school and has been pretty busy. He said that the last chapter posted actually sat about 80% finished on his computer for months, but for whatever reason he couldn't generate either the time or the mindset needed to get it finished until the end of the school year. A

You might want to talk to whatever support services WebTV has and see if there's some way they can assist a "mass migration" of your e-mails. You should also see whether WebTV will let you set up automatic forwarding of incoming mail to another account that you designate. I would suggest establishing a new account at GMail or Yahoo or wherever and announcing/posting that as your official contact address going forward, so at least the WebTV buildup will slow down. A

<tough-love font> You really, really need to move up to something more current than WebTV. </tough-love> A

A very happy birthday to you. A

I guess I assumed that Woody was so new to all of this that he never considered the possibility that there was a more private venue for what he was doing -- he may have assumed that this public chat area was his only option. I had the same concerns. It surprises me that Dewberry managed to carry out his type of activity as long as he did without detection. Presumably it was because the boys involved consented. Which raises the question, why did he suddenly turn to coercion in Woody's case? It was supremely risky for someone in his position. Was there any indication in the story that Woody was such an extraordinary "catch" that it would be worth the teacher throwing away his entire career and life as he knew it in order to pursue him? It's as though the guy went right off the deep end. Me too. As I mentioned originally, I think it shows much more range and depth than Ron's earlier stories, which is not to detract from them because I like them as well. A

The Nifty version of "Tree" is weeks behind the postings on the Mustard Jar site, where the story is finished. Maybe Woody kind of liked being seen by other people in the more public chat room . . . A

It's not finished, but the in-progress story The Move by Doug Smith is turning out to be quite a good yarn. A

When I checked the links just now they looked correct, but chapter 9 is here. If you end up at chapter 8 from his navigation page, just change the '8"' to a "9" in the address bar then press Enter. A The Cole Parker stories indexed here are all good. A

He's a very nice guy, and lives not too far from me.

As long as I'm mentioning stories, here's one that's very sweet: "Dinner for One" by Cole Parker. It's a short story and a fairly quick read. I won't say too much about it, other than to say (a) it's quite different from the usual internet fare, and ( you never know what you're going to discover when you visit a nice restaurant. A

As long as I'm on the subject, I thought I would mention the story "Door Number Three" by Ronyx. I think this is one I suggested to Comsie as a possible 5CBC selection, but it's also possible that I suggested "A Different Road" after he had initially proposed this one. I don't remember. Spoilers are likely in the discussion below, so be warned if you haven't read the story. This story has a number of elements that have become familiar in Ronyx stories, although the specifics are quite different and the overall story is far more complex than his earlier ones. Narrator/protagonist Zac Barnes is a high school senior. He is an avid track participant, running 100 m sprints. Across the street lives his classmate Kenny, who is a gifted baseball pitcher. The two boys have been best buds since early childhood. Kenny is good enough that he has a possible shot at a professional career. Zac is a good enough runner that he might have an Olympics shot. Zac has been dating classmate Rachel for two years, and to all appearances is "normal." Throughout this time Kenny often brags of his sexual activity with his girlfriend Alise, who is Rachel's best friend, and Kenny wants to see Zac get laid as well. Then Kenny introduces Zac to another athlete named Adrian. Adrian is also a senior, a popular athlete who played his final season of football in the fall and now plans to go out for baseball. Kenny recruits Adrian to be "his" catcher on the baseball team. Sparks fly between Zac and Adrian when they first meet, and Zac discovers feelings being awakened that he never acknowledged before. He is angry with himself for having such feelings. Zac's world falls apart when he finally has a chance to go all the way with Rachel, and can't perform. All he can think of is Adrian. Leading the charge of the forces of Zac's destruction, ironically, is Kenny, who is both racist and homophobic. Zac is quickly plunged into a fairly desperate situation. The story takes a number of twists and turns as Zac struggles to find his way through all of these challenges while maintaining the focus needed to do well in track. Karma shows up in a lot of the right places. Zac has to reach into the deepest parts of himself to handle what's happening to him, and even so it often seems as though that's not enough. In the mix we have a homophobic fire-and-brimstone preacher, parents who are supportive, parents who are assholes, students who are supportive, students who are assholes, and a volunteer coach who appears serendipitously and turns out to be a significant mentor to Zac. It is a brisk, fast-paced story that constantly surprises the reader. It's another one that I would recommend. A

This discussion is about A Different Road by Ronyx. While I don't think I am offering any spoilers, those who have not read the story should be warned. __________________ You ever had a best friend who was inseparable from you? Someone that if they got sick, you got sick, just so you could share their pain. Someone who you knew would come running if you needed a shoulder to cry on. Someone who would laugh at all your corny jokes. That was Brett. My inseparable other. Until yesterday. I don’t even know what happened. I didn’t even see it coming. One day we were best friends and lovers. Now he’s not even here to wipe away my tears. Tears that belong to him. Tears that have flooded from my heart, consumed my soul and now find their way to my eyes. He said he had to travel a different road. This one without me. He’s traveling a new road with someone else. Mine dead ends ahead. So begins this story, and the first five chapters flesh out the implications of this development. Somewhat like the beginning of the movie Sunset Boulevard, which opens with the image of writer Joe Gillis floating dead in a swimming pool and then flashes back to the events that led to this outcome, the initial chapters of "A Different Road" intercut scenes of the present with scenes of the past. We see Corey, the first-person narrator and protagonist, growing up with his best bud Brett. In their early (pre-teen) days they play around with a football, leading to Brett now being quarterback on the high school football team and Corey his star receiver. As Corey and Brett get older they start fooling around sexually, and Corey falls heavily in love with Brett. But this whole world falls apart after the episode described in the opening. There is other serious fallout in just about every aspect of his school and family life, as he suddenly comes to grips with things that apparently everyone else around him has seen for quite some time. He finds some interesting aliies along the way. I don't want to say anything more because of the risk of spoilers. The story is written in an economical, fast-paced style that moves things along quickly. Drama develops rapidly. A number of themes develop in this story that are echoed in other Ronyx stories. An excellent read in a total of 12 chapters. A

Hi gang -- I just wanted to give a quick shout-out for the story It's Not Easy Being A Tree by Ronyx. The final chapters were just posted today, so if you visit the above link, you can read the whole thing. I won't say too much about it because I don't want to spoil the story, but suffice it to say that the young protagonist finds out more than he ever wanted to know about the hazards of the internet, not to mention the challenges of being gay in a homophobic environment. The story has many remarkable twists and turns, and as I've said privately to Ron, the author, I believe it shows a lot more range than his previous stories. So if any of you find yourself at a loose end looking for an interesting story, this one will definitely serve your needs. A

Note sent. I hope he'll feel better and be back on track soon. A