Conner

You didn't skip a beat at all, Mark. Great opening chapter. Sexy Jack is back! Sweet! Exit stage right for Neil couldn't come too soon. What a jerk! Mind you, given his looks and body, he'll always have someone to whine at for sometime to come.......so long as it isn't Robbie. Brad has matured rather nicely....still has his edge, though. The younger Brad would not have allowed Neil to live. My only regret is that I missed the last two years of Brad being "single". Conner

I enjoyed the ending immensely. It was definitely realistic. Two young men in love, not in the best of times, wanting to be together but doubting their own ability to get through the next 4 years with a 4-hour drive or so between them. It will be the biggest challenge that either has faced so far. It is going to be tough...and, yes, they are both going to fail. Will there be more deals and compromises? I don't know. Hopefully, Armand's words to Brad about forgiving and love will help both of them give their best. I'm curious if Robbie will find Ace a support or not at Stanford. Maybe Ace will be too busy sampling all the east coast goods. I hope to see sexy Jack and Claire in the next story as well. You're right, Mark, you can't have a story in the 80's without dealing with AIDS, gay male characters or not. I hope you've noticed that I'm talking about "when" the next story comes out and not "if" it comes out. Thanks for Be Rad, Mark. It's an excellent piece of work. Conner

I get that this story is not going to go out "like a lamb." That's a good thing. What's that line...so many men, so little time. I guess this had to be in the cards for Brad and Robbie. What's surprising was having Robbie be the instigator. I'm glad that Robbie was honest about it....well, I guess he should have come clean a little sooner. As always, Brad's on the offence. He's never been the "wait and see" type. I'm trying to decide if Brad has some sort of strategy in mind or whether he's simply doing the goose/gander thing. Conner

...and to think I knew you when... Congrats, Mark!

That was a tough one. There'll be no reconciliation now between Brad and Billy. It's times like this when you look back to see if you couldn't have handled things differently. Frankly, I'm surprised at Brad's lack of reaction. Billy's dead. It's a good time to stop hating someone. I'm thinking Brad will eventually regret not having "completed" with Billy. I hope Mouse can walk by the next chapter.

Eric messed up, plain and simple. Why "mother" him? All I'm hearing are excuses for his behaviour. Excuses speak to "sentencing", not to innocence or guilt. Eric clearly knew that Jansen had feelings for him. Eric's state of mind was "I need to know." On top of all that, given the agreed upon buisness relationship, Eric was in a position of trust, if not in fact a position of authority vis-a-vis Jansen's dancing career.

Eric was a total dork. Jansen is not one of his female groupies. And that's exactly the way he came across to Jansen. "let's f**k, I need to know if I like this." Why didn't Eric talk to Chase or Brandon first? I'm really pissed.

Brad's 18. Pay attention, Mark. Ok, a quick review of the 15 second battle: Brad starts with a sucker punch to Billy's jaw just as he (Billy) turns around; then Brad knees him in the balls...twice. Billy adopts the fetal position on the floor and Brad gets at least one kick in while he's down breaking his nose. It was not an honourable battle, that is for sure. It was retribution, plain and simple. Brad also admits that, given Billy's broken arm, he was dealing with a weaker opponent. I'm satisfied that this sort of fight is not beyond a 17 or 18 year old, especially given the circumstances. This reaction was most certainly not beyond Brad. His ego is more than healthy, in spite of being gay in 1980. He has JP to thank for that. One of the hitches is Billy is family. Brad has a strong sense of family. Yet, it doesn't seem that was taken into account before he acted the way he did. Brad's hurting. I get that. But even Brad acknowledged to himself (several chapters ago) that he needed to spend more time with Billy. Billy was a loner. Also, there was no way that Brad was able to divorce himself from how Billy was treating Mouse. There's no doubt that he wanted Billy to pay....and pay dearly. Once you throw in his mother's actions vis-a-vis him and Billy, Brad's fight with Billy was inevitable. Brad hasn't shown any remorse whatsoever for the way he injured Billy. He seems immune to having any recriminations of any kind. The end justifies the means. Frankly, I'm surprised Ace didn't take a tougher stand toward Brad when it came to the nature of the fight. Maybe that's still to come. I hope so. I also found JP's reaction to Brad's actions very disappointing. Billy is also his son. The sad thing is Brad's developing an attitude that he can do no wrong; and that includes bearing any reprecussions or consequences resulting from his actions. Ace needs to kick his ass.

This is not CJ. I can vouch for that. Trust me. Besides, this particular goat has just jumped up onto a rock from about 4 or 5 feet below. That's right, there is no cliff. I happen to know this particular area. Trust me. Look at it, what goat in his right mind would be so perched on an actual cliff. The goat is going forward...exactly where did he come from? Goats never jump backwards. Trust me. I got you back, goat-buddy!

I was really dreading chapter 34, back to school and all for Brad and Robbie. By the end of that chapter things had turned out much better than I thought they would....particularly the last paragraph. You know things are better when your libido returns. The last several chapters have been tough as far as the story line goes, especially Mouse. Apart from that, I'm still enjoying the story immensely. The great dialogue and humour are ever present. Kudos to Lark for his teasing line to Brad...not too eloquent, but insightful. Conner

Geez, I voted ages ago but didn't post my favourite. :wacko: Savage Moon is my fave. GFD is a close second. Billy Chase is very entertaining.

I was going to suggest that Jane be thrown into the volcano, but that might just make the volcano more eruptive. Helen showed excellent tolerance in not ripping her a new one. Actually, I found that whole scene sad. I understand that she's anxious, but she's gone totally neurotic. Her behaviour is what I call "crazy-making". I'm hoping Helen will get her alone at some point and talk some sense into her before she totally blows it with her sons. Who cares what Scar's plan is, I'm still trying to figure out what the lemons are for. :wacko: I'm also wondering if the media people scrambling to get to the island will catch on that the band is there. I hope not. They'll end up interviewing Jane. Of course, that's when Helen will cause her excrutiating pain. Conner

25 was a sweet sweet chapter. Great dialogue, sex, cute stuff. a touch of violence and some excellent lines...who could ask for more! I really liked (both from Brad, of course): and I'm enjoying Claire's character. She's a sweetheart! Conner

Needless to say, it was a pleasant surprise to see chapter 24 posted so soon. I hate having to hold my breath. When Robbie exits from JP's study and announces the good reverend's proposition, I damn near died laughing. Who cares if it's true? Good one, Robbie. I'm glad that Frank got his priorities straightened out. It's cool to have straight sex in the story. Obviously, the gay dudes aren't the only ones getting laid. Superb chapter!

Well, you did say that you had plans for Jake. Poor dude. It's hard not to be sympathetic with him despite his messed-up behaviour in recent chapters. He needs serious support right now. It's great that Robbie grew a pair and stood up to his parents, something he couldn't have done without Brad's support. I really enjoyed watching Robbie's mom go nuts with her anger and frustration. All things considered, though, I was surprised at Frank's behaviour. It seems he's a wee bit pussy-whipped. The story's going great! Conner

Ok, so I have my torch...and let me tell you, this torch would make Olympians green with envy. So what's the address, eh? Uhhh....is she really a goddess! She doesn't have, like powers, does she? :wacko: Well, you know, I have very high "secuity of the self"needs. I mean, will she kick my butt! Conner

Thanks for chapter 19 so quickly. It was worth the blitz novena I did while waiting! I particularly enjoyed listening to Brad speak to Robbie and then sensing that Robbie had kissed him back. Yes, Alcatraz was fantastic. It was so totally cool. My excitement doubled when the guide said Al Capone did time there. He also said that one of the main corridors had been nicknamed "Broadway". Thoroughly enjoyed it. Conner

Happy B-Day, dude!!

Chapter 18 was great! They've all been great. Suberb dialogue. So, seeing as Be Rad started in 2008, I hope you realize you can still be nominated for "King of Cliffhangers" for the GA awards. That was a nasty one, particularly if Robbie's unconscious. I did that Alcatraz tour eons ago. I've been trying to remember how rough the water was, but can't recall. I'm sitting here until chapter 19 is posted. :2hands: Conner

This is a great thread!!! I think Robbie has the best post from the point of view of expressed enthusiasm over having a nice set of wheels. I used to drive this 1991 Chrysler van, that's right, a soccer mom's car. I really liked this vehicle. (Why? Robbies asks.) Well, I'll tell you. It was #1 on the stolen car list. It was easy to break into and very useful during burglaries. I had it stolen 3 times. Each time it was stolen, the insurance company would fix it - but not only the door lock and the ignition, but other mechanical things too, things that were there before it was stolen. They's also completely cleaned the car and shampooed the seats (no, Robbie, the seats weren't leather.) It would always turn up in 3 - 5 days so I wasn't inconvenienced too much. Besides, I could always rent a vehicle and chare that to the insurance as well. Who could resist a deal like that? Now, I must say that I never intentionally left it in a high-risk area. Btw, here in BC, we have mandatory provincial car insurance - basically a government corporation running the whole show. Mark - you should start a thread on car seat activity - front or back. I can just hear Robbie's answer now, "What? And possiblty stain the leather???" Conner

Happy B-Day, Robbie!!

Happy B-Day, David!!

Brandon and Chase are married. How about devoting an entire chapter to the consummation of the marriage? I guess that may have to wait until we get the volcano/earthquake/sunami out of the way. But it is important, I suppose, to take care of these small details before getting back to the main themes...weddings, pool parties and strippers. Great chapter, CJ! Conner

It's ok, CJ. I know how hard it is having to use hooves to count. I would have used peanut butter jars myself. Conner

Chapter 13 was superb. My fave so far. I particularly enjoyed the scene between JP, Brad and Robbie. The shower scene with Brad and Jake deserves an honourable mention. Conner