centexhairysub

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" This just says it all...

Loved this chapter, family is such a big deal for JP. I have to say smart move all the way around for him and Isidore to marry. I know Jason is upset but he has to understand he never really had a chance. I do see this causing problems down the road...

JP, Jeff, and Isidore had a real connection. They fit seemlessly together in a way that few couples do, much less when you add a third. JP and Jeff's time in Chicago was so special. I loved how JP handled the situation with the lawyer, how upfront he was. The idea of gay marriage was so far out there then, it really was the punchline to a joke...

This was a great chapter... Isidore was in the US to stay with Ace and JP had a ready made family. I think it is great how far his father has come in regards to JP and Jeff. The scene with Carol, Stef, and Jeff at the end was just priceless...

This is one of those chapters that seeing JP and Jeff together makes me so sad... Stef is really growing into his own. He is learning that it isn't all about him. Tonto and JP's parents prove that in the end love does make the biggest decisions seem little...

Magnificent... The writing in this chapter was truly just first rate... I really felt as if I was there watching the battle unfold. The accuracy of the historical battle was weaved into the storyline just perfectly... Granger is in the thick of it where you would expect him to be. Nelson truly was a great commander. His inspiration made those that served him love him. What he spoke when he was injured is said to be the words he spoke in actuality at the battle, great touch. Granger is able to read and understand those around him. He seems to understand so much better than others what motivates others and why they do so much of what they do. This is one of the secrets to his success. The second part of the battle should be equally grand. The destruction of the Orient was said to be truly horrible... You are spoiling us rotten with this pace of posting but I hope you don't stop.... LOL...

The skill in making one feel part of the action is one that few writers actually have; Mark, you have this in all it's glory. I could fee the anticipation, fear, and even death as it happened in this story. Granger got to be part of the battle and played a pivotal role as well. Nelson got his peerage and was made a Viscount after this victory. I can't wait to see the rest of the battle. The destruction of the Orient was sad to be horrible. It is amazing how well Granger is able to analyze and understand those around him. This is one of the reasons he is so successful in all the does...

WOW, we are going to get spoiled; another chapter of this wonderful saga so soon after the last... I think this story just keeps getting better and better. I am so glad that Granger is going to get to be in the thick of this battle. This is one of the most important and decisive naval engagements of the last 500 years. Only Midway and the Battle of Tsushima are as important and as decisive as the Battle of the Nile; because of the nature of the attack, I do not include nor do most historians the attack on Pearl Harbor. Granger is going to have a front row seat and with the skill that Mark has in writing I think we are all in for a real treat. I am more concerned about the news from home than I am about Berry reaction. As dissapointing as Berry's reaction might be, the faith and loyalty that Nelson has for Granger will keep that in check. I am glad to see that Caroline is moving to regain her position and footing in society. The issue of her inability to perhaps carry another child is truly sad but may not be accurate. The fact that Freddie and Davina named the child George maybe because of the closer relationship the Earl as with the King, but it could also signify other issues ahead...

No, I am going to stand by my statement... Words matter and going over the reveiw and forum for the last couple of months the syntax and words used would set any good therapist on edge. I understand that we don't see as much of the supporting players of which Isidore is one, but some of what is being written would set of warning bells in any other setting... p.s. I love the French...

Another great chapter and so soon after the last, Mr Arbour is spoiling us all.... It seems that Granger will be in the thick of the next battle. This was really one of the three most important and decisive naval battles of the last 500 years. With Mark's skill, I think we will all be in for a real treat. The news from home was clearly a mixed bag. Glad to see that Caroline is moving to regain her position, but sad if it is true about her not being able to have another child. The fact that Freddie and Davina named the child George does have me worried but then the Earl is very close to the King. I hope once Granger is home, that we might have a story with him in England for the whole length of it... Maybe a turn in the Admiralty, Granger would hate it but...

It is amazing that when the chips are down how often family can and will come through for us all. The issue with JP and Jeff isn't so easily dealt with. Jeff is still obviously dealing with coming to terms with his own sexuality and then being told he was going to be a father well, damn...

It is strange but even today, the government is really afraid of the truth and those that speak it plainly and without fear. I have never understood why the truth should be silenced but many fear it and try to do so...

JP is such a slut but I love it... I actually got to meet Jackie Kennedy many years ago when I was in New York at a party. She truly was bigger than life. There was just something about the way she looked and spoke to you that really did make you feel as if you were the only person in the world....

“Love has been good for you,” she said. “It is worth the pain, worth the risk. Never be afraid to love.” This was Tonto to JP and nothing more true has ever been written or spoken. Love or the pursuit of love is what makes life worth living... I loved how JP handled the situation with all of those he had discussions with in this chapter. It is sort of funny that his biological father may have understood where his Father was coming from better than JP, of course being a father himself, had to help...

Nothing can compare to the grief of losing a child. There really is no loss that comes close to it. JP is there to help Tonto just as Tonto was there to help JP. Jeff would not understand about Carol. It is funny how guys are always okay with a guy sleeping around but when a woman does it, it is just the end of everything...

Well, from a purely theraputic standpoint; Brad's behaviour doesn't have to be intentional to make it cruel. His complete disregard for the negative impact it will have on others does that... One of the psychiatric tomes I have defines cruel as causing or being conducive to injury, grief, or pain. What Brad has done clearly fits within those parameters... p.s. I have been using my phone to reply to a lot of these lately as I am out of town and my grammar and spelling isn't always the greatest on this damn thing... Hope it isn't driving anyone else crazy...

Tonto and JP always made a great team. They were there for each other in the good times but always in the tragic ones. JP will be there for Tonto just as she was there for him following Andre's death. Losing one child is bad enough but to lose both of your children, especially the way they died is sad beyond belief. Some never recover, but I expect that Tonto will. Our first glimpse of Isidore and ACE... They made life so much more interesting down the road...

Jason has been kicked around so much that any power is too much. He wanted to be able to be in charge and to have the ability to hurt someone the way others have hurt him. JP would have been better served by ordering him to get some therapy but....

Well, now we all understand why JP's mom was so upset to learn about JP and Andre... It wasn't that JP was gay it was that a young man that she felt deeply for was giving up her for her son... That must have been a shock to her system. JP's performance in his classes are what great teachers do; they are able to connect to the students on a level that other just can't match...

Ronnie Boyd is like many other men, they really enjoy sex more if they are being punished for it. Many come from Southern areas that are very religious and the guilt makes it hard to enjoy sex, so being punished about it helps... Doesn't really matter if the one doing the punishing is male or female, it is about being punished for doing something that should come naturally... Religion can screw up a person's mind faster that almost anything else...

No matter what the boy did, that went to far. As I have stated previously, this is the one thing that just seems so out of place for JP. He is someone that always looks at the consequences and in this case he just completely ignored all the implication of what was done...

This was a great chapter. I love when JP is dealing with school and teaching. You can tell he has such a true passion for it. It take a really special person to be able to teach and inspire at that level, the college level. So many of the students are such cynics by the time they have reached it. JP is a rock star there... The only thing JP ever did throughout this saga that really bothered me was his non-consenual relationship with a couple of his students. He really even had good reason for all of them but I just sort of skimmed over it but it seems to out of place for him....

You have to stand up for yourself or in the end no one else will; JP came to that realization in this chapter and stood a little taller. The scenes between JP and his father just crackle with electricity. These are so well written and have such a depth of feeling and pain. Bravo...

It was women like Tonto and Vella that made it possible to be gay and still know that you were loved back then. There are always those remarkable people that seem to be able to overcome what society has drilled into them to let the love and acceptance come out. I think it has always been harder for men to do the same, but I am sure that JP knows that his father does truly love him; he just has to figure out a way to accept him.

I truly love Tonto... She was a remarkable woman for the time she lived and grew up in. I thought JP handled the situation with Stef and Jeff as well as could be expected considering everything else going on. The issue with his father won't be that easy. Men of his father's generation really had significant societal hangups about a man being a homosexual. It will take him some time to work through them....