Stories

The story of two young men, and how the Vietnam War affected their lives.

Thiago Zeca Baravento, the son of an American woman and a first generation Brazilian father, rises above the expectations of many for a black man born and raised in the predominantly minority Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Anacostia. After graduating from Howard University with a doctorate in pharmacology, and looking to provide his son Fabricio with a good life, Thiago leaves the District of Columbia, promising to one day return to his hometown.

A little over a year after graduating from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, the State department posts CJ Abelló to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. CJ, his husband Owen Liston, and their daughter, Elizabeth Liston Abelló, immediately make themselves at home south of the Rio Grande.
Until disaster strikes and their lives are forever altered.

Geoff and Pam Liston, Owen’s parents, fly to Washington for a visit. It’s the first time they see their son and granddaughter since the fiasco in December 2020 when Pam wanted to baptize Liebe behind CJ’s back. Although therapy and drugs have helped her deal with anxiety and depression, the girl’s kidnapping in Mexico has negatively affected her behavior.

Richard Leonard Peterson wanted to fly for as long as he could recall. His father, an Air Force pilot, was the inspiration. When his parents died in a boating accident, Ritch moved to Washington, D.C. to live with his brother and his brother’s fathers. A month before turning eighteen, he becomes a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. If he can safely navigate the subsequent four years, he will be commissioned as an Air Force Second Lieutenant upon graduation

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Liebe, a young girl living in the Florida Keys with her two fathers, helps clean a beach and in the process learns how dangerous plastic can be for the oceans and the animals who live in them.

CJ has spent his first few months in Washington, D.C. living with his father and surrounded by a group of gay men who have become his mentors.

As he begins his sophomore year in high school at School Without Walls, the traumatic events at the end of summer linger. And over the next few months, he begins to explore his new life with visits to Chicago, Miami, and New York City.

With a wedding on the horizon, CJ Abelló and Owen Liston are determined to make it a celebration their guests will not soon forget. The months leading up to it are full of emotional events and travel. Come join them as they share their journey with friends and family.

Reaching fifty can be a turning point for many. For a particular Key West man, it leads to renewed interest in riding his Harley. Each day is an opportunity to explore the highways and byways; each night brings the possibility of making new friends.

Unlike my other stories, this one will be updated whenever I feel the need to write new chapters.

A religious fanatic releases a chimera virus during the Haj. In its aftermath two survivors travel the United States seeking a place to settle.