Daddydavek

Saw this article on nbcnews.com Here's the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48969102/ns/health-mens_health/#.UE4Ny65kjyI

Happy Birthday Conner! From an even older goat! I hope you have your best day of the year!

Thanks for sharing. And don't you ever complain about bad luck again because you've described having the best luck about one of the most important aspects in your life.

After all the drama, shouting, arguing, scheming and planning, I can see where the latest chapter did strike some as anti-climactic. However, I think it was somewhat expected on my part. Brad is hardheaded, but he does love his son and I think like most parents he worries that Will is too much like him and lord knows Brad didn't always have an easy time of it. Therefore he wants to protect Will, even from himself. Working through all that and dealing with the fact that Will would not be coddled took him some time but eventually he had his "aha" moment and smelled the coffee. The chapter had some interesting tidbits in it too. Brad's assertion that the emancipation would not have happened unless he agreed to it was explained along with Brad's confidence that Will would not go public. Also, Brad revealed to Will that Robbie wasn't as upset with Will as he was trying to be supportive of Brad until he worked through it. Will even tweaked his dad and mouthed off that it's a good thing he had someone so understanding and it worked to break some ice between them. The road trip was really masterfully crafted. It explained things without going into a bunch of psyco-babble details like I probably would have. I was really impressed with it. Brad also likes the drama and played the scene in court about like I expected and shocked the shit out of everyone, probably even his lawyer. Don't think for a moment that he didn't relish doing that. The interesting thing about the characters in the CAP saga is that most of them are smart as whips. They don't suffer fools gladly. It sure keeps the story interesting. Mark has indicated the cupboard is now bare and I think he wonders where to go forward at this point. My guess he will focus on Wade and watch him deal with the fallout of his mother's latest machination and deal with the accusation that he made an obscene amount of money off the land deal at the expense of others.

I love happy endings and loved your story Mike!

Somehow I think it would be interesting to see all the rough drafts and changes as they occurred in sequence of the genesis of this chapter. But in the end, it all worked out about as I expected. Somewhere along the way, Brad had his "Aha" moment and surprised the hell out of Will and his family. And probably his lawyer. The drive was an important journey for both of them. Well done!

"Sea Witch"?

Since Will really loves his dad, I suspect that Brad did more than just teach him how to surf......

I almost thought you were going to end the chapter with the phrase: "The beginning" Well done. Hopefully, they can have a little "fair weather" in their relationship!

If their profiles are correct, Pvt. Tim and Herm. Sealed are 35 & 36 and from my perspective, coming to grips with the hard fact that their "twenties" (e.g. their best years) are behind them. Somehow their lack of empathy for the character of Will as written, seems to reflect more on them than on the believability of the character. Their castigation of the rest of the CAP family for failing to see things their way is particularly revealing of their own arrogance. The story is not finished. The insights into the stances of the family have yet to be fully explained. And further, that may never happen. Life is not always fully explicable. I particularly agree that raising a "high spirited" teenager is an experience that can be daunting. Balancing trying to guide them while keeping them under some modicum of control without actually breaking their spirit is a journey without guideposts. Parenting is a behavior modification skill. Successive approximations are employed. Some work. Some do not. But you keep trying. That is my main gripe with the character of Brad. His approach of total control and final say in all matters is just doomed to failure. It wouldn't have worked with J.P raising him and it certainly isn't working with his raising Will. That he is blockheaded and can't see that simple fact as of yet is why he has lost the support of his family. Will is a work in progress going through the teen years. The adults sometimes forget that they are still a work in progress as well. Age doesn't always bring wisdom but if you cannot apply your experience, life surely will be difficult.

This story started out well, got better and ended happily. Job well done! Thanks for sharing.

Isn't it time for Bridget to have a run of bad luck?

Poor Lisa and Joel; always stepping in it. The trip through the rip was not nearly as overwhelming as Trev's rocket ride across the southern ocean with insufficient clothing, little to eat and little to navigate and control the boat with....

I voted that he can be redeemed. He is a total block head which makes it more difficult. However, in the greater picture of the total CAP universe, Brad has been a major figure for a long time and while that may change, I just can't picture Mr. Arbour casting a character in whom he has invested so much time, completely aside. Of course, the author does like the unexpected......

The latest chapter is up and clearly lays out why Will is so sure he will prevail. The threat of trial by the court of public opinion is too dire a threat for Brad to even consider dealing with at any time. Of course Brad is hardheaded and will take it to the brink in pursuit of his own agenda. However, that is why he is losing standing within his larger family and I still don't think he gets that.

I think this chapter pretty well explains why Will is sure he will prevail. The threat of going public with the details is the deciding factor. Brad being bull-headed, won't concede and deal with it until the last minute. His prior failures and his current hardheadedness is why he has lost face with JP and Stefan as well as the rest of the family. Good job. {When Will moves north and has access to riding more, joins the water polo club and finds he likes it, will he also try out for regular polo?---Just speculating....}

I sometimes wonder if Mark's students give him as much grief as his fans in this forum? Just curious!

Pacing was perfect and a great start with a minimum of words and dialogue! Willie Sutton and the urban legend about his robbing banks because that's where the money is came to mind as I read the first chapter!

In a noisy world, silence is perceived as golden. In a completely silent world, silence can be awful lonely! Great story with insight into another perspective.

Tibial is so conflicted! Despite being deeply hurt, deeply in love and deeply determined not to be hurt further, he appears to be ready to move on and thus preserve his deeply divided psyche!

As I've posted elsewhere, I think Jeanine should have her parental rights terminated. Brad should have his parental rights suspended and JP should be appointed Will's temporary guardian contingent on Brad and Will working out their trust issues. Being an adult and faced with all that entails, from contract law to taxes etc is more than any 14 year old should have to consider. Of course I'm really older and have looked back to my time in highschool as a time to be carefree and enjoy being a teenager.

Ticks are abundant almost everywhere in MO. We have too many deer which serve as hosts and spread the critters everywhere. The following link shows the deer harvest totals for 2011 by county but it still isn't enough. I live in suburan St. Louis County and have seen 7 deer in my subdivision in the past three days. Two were in my back yard which is less than 3400 square feet! http://mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/hunting-outlooks-and-reports/deer-reports/deer-harvest-map

Couldn't have said it better!

I'm still hoping that reason finally prevails. I'd really like for Brad to have a real discussion with someone (overheard by Wade so we can be in on it) discussing calmly and rationally some real alternatives to take to Will and discuss before they ever got to the hearing. Jeanine's rights will be terminated. Temporary guardianship could be handed over to JP until Brad and Will can rebuild their trust issues. Will would have to cede a lot of his "all or nothing" attitude and Brad will have to cede his control. After some suitable interval, Michael would accidently meet his demise. Of course, as that is what I would expect to happen in a so-called "normal" soap opera type story, Mark probably has something entirely different planned....

Well this chapter clearly describes Will having an epiphany but not Brad. However, Will did leave Brad with some real horse apples to chew on at the end of the chapter. So perhaps, he too will still come to his senses before the court hearing. Another riveting chapter!