Love in a time of hatred vol 2

This caused me to pause, but curiosity won out.
The more I read, the more interested I became. I like a work that challenges me.

This is worth the read.

1 hour ago, Topher Lydon said:

This caused me to pause, but curiosity won out.
The more I read, the more interested I became. I like a work that challenges me.

This is worth the read.

Thank you so much, Topher!  My partner grew up under Franco and was a bit of a rebel - throwing red paint over the statue of Franco in his village, etc. etc.   His mother came to Valencia to help her sister whose husband was in the local monastery- basically an extermination camp - and stayed after he was executed.   All war is awful, but civil war…. Warm regards

1 minute ago, Gary L said:

Thank you so much, Topher!  My partner grew up under Franco and was a bit of a rebel - throwing red paint over the statue of Franco in his village, etc. etc.   His mother came to Valencia to help her sister whose husband was in the local monastery- basically an extermination camp - and stayed after he was executed.   All war is awful, but civil war…. Warm regards

This gave me the vibe of someone who knew it intimately. There's a power in that, and you convey that onto the page very well, keep going I am loving it.

1 minute ago, Topher Lydon said:

This gave me the vibe of someone who knew it intimately. There's a power in that, and you convey that onto the page very well, keep going I am loving it.

Thanks. It will get a bit darker, now.  There are 10 chps, all written, something @Thirdly taught me!   

On 6/21/2026 at 6:33 AM, Gary L said:

Thank you so much, Topher!  My partner grew up under Franco and was a bit of a rebel - throwing red paint over the statue of Franco in his village, etc. etc.   His mother came to Valencia to help her sister whose husband was in the local monastery- basically an extermination camp - and stayed after he was executed.   All war is awful, but civil war…. Warm regards

I thought Paolo must have lived during these times @Gary L because it does not read like an historical account of what occurred in Francoist Spain from a purely objective viewpoint.

The story thus far, particularly the latest chapter 5, reads as an intimate account of events experienced during this time. I cannot imagine the horrors, even footage of mass exterminations and mass burials of Jews and others in Nazi Germany, does not fully convey the magnitude of the horror I don't think.

You are doing a fine job in conveying even a fraction of the terror and horror.

1 minute ago, Summerabbacat said:

I thought Paolo must have lived during these times @Gary L because it does not read like an historical account of what occurred in Francoist Spain from a purely objective viewpoint.

The story thus far, particularly the latest chapter 5, reads as an intimate account of events experienced during this time. I cannot imagine the horrors, even footage of mass exterminations and mass burials of Jews and others in Nazi Germany, does not fully convey the magnitude of the horror I don't think.

You are doing a fine job in conveying even a fraction of the terror and horror.

Thank you.   Paco and I watched ‘Nuremberg’ the other night.  It captured something of the horror, but there was a BBC film of the infamous meeting outside Berlin where the administrators did their worst- all the time checking that it was legal!  No torture, no bodies or camps, just the sheer awfulness of servants of the state obeying instructions.   Must find it again.

Just now, Gary L said:

Thank you.   Paco and I watched ‘Nuremberg’ the other night.  It captured something of the horror, but there was a BBC film of the infamous meeting outside Berlin where the administrators did their worst- all the time checking that it was legal!  No torture, no bodies or camps, just the sheer awfulness of servants of the state obeying instructions.   Must find it again.

Fuck. First I get Lilibeth's name wrong on several occasions, now I have named Paco as Paolo on several occasions. I am usually good with names. I will have to try to remember by associating him with Paco Rabanne.

The first time you mentioned him by name was when you referred to him as your 'Joan' after one of your earlier stories. I had never seen that name for a man before, but have seen it several times since for Spanish "celebrities". Joan I would likely remember because of Joan Rivers and Joan Jett.

I guess it could be worse. I could keep referring to you as Harry, Larry, Barry or Greg.

Or Gazz 😱😱😱

Just now, Gary L said:

Or Gazz 😱😱😱

Or Gazza? In Australia you could well be addressed as Gazza, just as Barry is Bazza, Darren is Dazza and Sharon is Shazza. I would never do this, and it is perhaps a stereotype, but stereotypes are so often based on a significant sample.