The Box

[Mark Arbour]

Oh talk about a slam! You have a pretty good point though. I think the rationing would have totally sucked, but it was necessary. I think eating horse meat would have been one of the worst parts of the whole deal though. It does not strike me as something that would be tasty.

 

No, the worst thing would be what the Donner Party had to do.

[ricky]

No, the worst thing would be what the Donner Party had to do.

 

Definitely! Do you have any idea how gamey that mush have been? And not even any A-1 sauce!

 

And horse meant isn't bad. It is a little sweeter than beef. I'm rather fond of Kangaroo beef. In the US it was considered a USDA Grade A beef. And in fact the Sizzler Steak house was litigated over it. They stopped the practice. I thought they were pretty good myself.

 

But oh, Donner hash must have been tough.

[davewri]

I really enjoy a good tube steak with cream sauce. I'll take a pass on the Donner cuisine.

[mmike1969]

So I have this Dallas-Dynasty like Conspiracy Theory about Amphion...

 

Brian called Max's dad (the Grangers, who is a stockbroker, along with Max's sort-of-str8-non-boyfriend boyfriend Lark) to form a VC firm and gave him info on what companies what Steph was looking at.

 

(With Max going to UCLA at the end of Bloodlines, that is going to be an interesting sub-plot since his parents live close by)

 

Amphion need funding... So they get Professor Whilst, Nick Schluter and Bruno (who's out of jail by now) to put up capital.

 

If Nick got involved, he can get Brenda Hayes with idiot husband #2 what-his-face involved...

 

Of course, I just can't figure out where real $$$ was coming from though...Most VC firms are not like a mutual fund where small investors can pool their money...

 

Neil's parents? No, he lived in a trailer park...

Neil's mysterious BF in Paris? Who was he?

Wade's mom? She was the one with the $$$

Cole's parents? (that is coming out of left field I know...)

Brian does not have cash because that's why he went to JP in Feb 1999... About the time Amphion started to interfere with Steph's firm.

 

I think it would be messed up if Brian did somehow managed to get $$$ from JP and then used it to invest with Amphion. Like by blackmailing JP by saying something to the lines of "JP? Does your brother Jim know about me?" I say that because nothing from If It Fits to Bloodlines indicate that Jim even knows about JP's half-brother, let alone anyone else with the Crampton name in Ohio.

 

Well I am off to read some more and I will come back with more wacko conspiracy theories!

[methodwriter85]

I can't imagine Wade's mother being in on it- it's not her kind of politics, and besides, she already made her peace with it. I do think that the Grangers are involved, though.

[Tiger]

Wow, Chapter 12 just pisses me off. Aaron is so hellbent on leaving. More than anything it seems that he's running away from who he is. It's so sad, because that means that it's over for them.

[rjo]

I am not sure why Aaron wants to enlist so bad. Maybe its just getting out of that house and away from his father. My feeling for Steve however, only continues to grow. He is a good friend, lover and partner. He is willing to sacrifice himself and his happiness for Aaron. That is something some people never learn. Steven at 17 has learned it. It will cause him great sadness in his short life. Stefan can be truly proud of his father. Something is still hidden in the background, JP knows what it is. We will just have it wait. Waiting to so hard sometimes.

[paya]

I'll be needing some big happy story after this one is over! This chapter was one big tear jerker.

 

I've been thinking... Should it be why old Hayes was such a jerk (at least I think old Hayes was a jerk in CAP) because he lost his first and beloved son? No matter if it were for being queer or in war, he just lost his son, his heir, his everything...

Edited April 18, 2010 by paya

[methodwriter85]

Aaron doesn't want to enlist to get away from his father. His father is still a nice guy at this point. He's leaving because he wants to fight the Japs for bombing his country. It's similiar to guys who wanted to fight in Aghanistan because of 9/11. He's still kinda an ass, though. Steven could do so much better.

[Tiger]

Aaron doesn't want to enlist to get away from his father. His father is still a nice guy at this point. He's leaving because he wants to fight the Japs for bombing his country. It's similiar to guys who wanted to fight in Aghanistan because of 9/11. He's still kinda an ass, though. Steven could do so much better.

It's understandable to want to fight the Japanese, but he is too headstrong. And of course, I think there's more too it. He wants to fight the Japs no doubt, but he also wants not to get any closer to Steven than he already is. As far as Steven deserving better, that may be. However, things may have turned out differently if they had survived the war.

[Mark Arbour]

Aaron doesn't want to enlist to get away from his father. His father is still a nice guy at this point. He's leaving because he wants to fight the Japs for bombing his country. It's similiar to guys who wanted to fight in Aghanistan because of 9/11. He's still kinda an ass, though. Steven could do so much better.

 

That's a good analogy. The latent rage that pushed many young men to enlist is often hard to understand for those of us living the lives of peaceful civilians.

[paya]

Well I know I'm going against the flow but I like Aaron. I wasn't sure about him before but after this chapter I really like him. He's more like Jeff but he has it much harder than Jeff had. They didn't live in a period that would be favourable to man-man relationships.

 

You guys should give him some slack. He said it in this chapter. He's not running away from his gayness, he's running away from his pain, pain caused by the love he feels for Steven. It's the only defence he has - attack. Sure, it's going to be tough for him, the farewell and all, but it would have been much worse if they went together. They would be separated no matter what. Now he'll be alone, he will need to take care of himself, to learn how to survive - that's what will distract him from his pain caused by losing Steven. I bet he dies some big heroic death like Andre, saving some men of his crew or something. He's just that good, I'm sure.

 

 

[Hermetically Sealed]

I guess we know probably why Aaron's dad started beating his mom; I'm sure he blamed her for his son dying. Sad to see how one event destroys their whole family for generations.

[rjo]

I think you are right. What if Aaron's home was happy but poor. What if Aaron loved Fred Hayes. Maybe Fred enlisted in WW I. Part of Aaron's desire to enlist is to live up to the image of his father. Fred saw men get killed, gased, injured. He wanted to protect his oldest son. It not because he hated Aaron but because he loved him so much . Why was Aaron not talked about? Maybe it was too painful. Maybe the pain caused Fred to drink and became abusive. Aaron death cause a lot of pain in the Hayes family. I talked to my friend Tom who was 9 in 1941. He said many young guys during that time were mad about the attack on Pearl Harbor. They enlisted in droves. I think we have been too hard on Aaron is he only 17. He loves his country and young guys think they are immortal. Sadly he was wrong.

[ricky]

Patriotism during that time was a measure of manhood. Facing his true inner self probably made him feel that if he didn't then people would find out about him for sure. Remember that at that time being gay was considered a mental illness. Shock treatments were a favorite treatment and considered "THE" cure.

 

Joining would convince everyone including himself that he was all man.

 

Mark the mental makeup for Arron is perfect.

 

To the rest of you, ya, this was a real tear jerker. It is the sign of a really gifted writer who has the ability to flesh a character so well that you can smell their breath, feel their touch and gaze into the portals of their soul.

 

Well done AGAIN, Mark. Thanks for making your gift so freely available to us.

 

Cheers,

r

[ricky]

Damn, what a tear Jerker that was.

 

Well done Mark. But nothing on the 1999 foe among thieves.

 

Who is doing the dirty deed? You didn't forget that thread did you?

[paya]

Damn, what a tear Jerker that was.

 

Well done Mark. But nothing on the 1999 foe among thieves.

 

Who is doing the dirty deed? You didn't forget that thread did you?

 

Yeah, a real tear jerker... it was not very wise to read it during the lunch break... one has to control emotions more at work

[rjo]

JJ is Jim's son with Bitty. Nick and Bitty were Billy's kids.

[ForLoveofZion]

Very sad parting/chapter. Even more so to remember that neither of them live for very long after this.

 

 

[On a side note, though: I'm really curious about the use of the word punk at this time. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I've never heard it used to mean sissy or gay as it seems to connote whenever it comes up. So, if you know, where does that word come from?]

 

 

[Adam Phillips]

Well I know I'm going against the flow but I like Aaron.

 

 

Yeah. Me too. I don't know what kind of stick Jeremy has up his ass about Aaron. He's a great guy. I like him better than Steve, even. Not that I have anything against Steve.

 

Chapter 13 was nicely written, Mark. I enjoyed it a great deal.

[Tiger]

I think Aaron is too headstrong for his own good, but that doesn't make him a bad person. What's really going to be sad is if and when we find out about his death in the story, or will we? Is it possible that they somehow faked their deaths and are living on some tropical island somewhere?

[Mark Arbour]

Very sad parting/chapter. Even more so to remember that neither of them live for very long after this.

 

 

[On a side note, though: I'm really curious about the use of the word punk at this time. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I've never heard it used to mean sissy or gay as it seems to connote whenever it comes up. So, if you know, where does that word come from?]

 

 

 

 

In the '40s the word "punk" was a slang word for gay. Interestingly enough, "Dude" was a slang word for gay in the late '50s/early '60s.

 

Yeah. Me too. I don't know what kind of stick Jeremy has up his ass about Aaron. He's a great guy. I like him better than Steve, even. Not that I have anything against Steve.

 

Chapter 13 was nicely written, Mark. I enjoyed it a great deal.

 

Thanks! We got Jeremy a stick that vibrates, so now he's a little happier.

 

 

I think Aaron is too headstrong for his own good, but that doesn't make him a bad person. What's really going to be sad is if and when we find out about his death in the story, or will we? Is it possible that they somehow faked their deaths and are living on some tropical island somewhere?

 

 

Don't go there.

 

 

[Adam Phillips]

Tiger, on 29 April 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:I think Aaron is too headstrong for his own good, but that doesn't make him a bad person. What's really going to be sad is if and when we find out about his death in the story, or will we? Is it possible that they somehow faked their deaths and are living on some tropical island somewhere?

 

 

Don't go there.

 

 

 

Oh, man!

 

Yeah. Of course. That's the ticket!

 

And also, Jeff's there too!

 

Like...he discovered the box first, right? When he was back at Claremont disgusted with what he'd become. And he read the journal, and the very last entry was about Aaron and Steven faking their deaths and moving to a tropical island. Steven also left a map in the journal, and Jeff realized that he needed to start over fresh somewhere...so he took the last pages and the map with him and put everything back just like he'd found it, so nobody would know it had already been opened...and he decided to go to that island and meet Aaron and Steve, who were by now much older and would be living that life that Aaron had promised Steve. So, inspired by the boys' ingenious deception, he also faked out Sam and what's-his-nerd by staging a "suicide." Got one of his friends from back in HS who worked for the ME to drive the ambulance that transported his "body," etc., etc., and then when no one was looking...

 

I mean, this kind of shit happens all the time in soaps! Right?

 

I'm so relieved. I thought Jeff was dead this whole time! Wow. I didn't know you were that clever, Mark. I'm liking 1968 better already!

[Tiger]

Don't go there.

Why not? It is an interesting theory, is it not? Your stories tend to have happy endings, so why would The Box be any different. Besides, people DO fake their own deaths, so it's not like it's totally unheard of. Rather it's an unlikely, but so is being in the midst of uprisings and/or riots in the US, France, and Russia (all three within one's lifetime). Oh, and I suppose that they'll be in the midst of the 9/11 attacks in the next story, no? See? All of these things are unlikely, so we should expect something unusual like people faking their own deaths. And didn't Tonto say she was hiding his secrets? What bigger secret than the one that Steve and Aaron are actually alive, albeit very old and likely to croak soon.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Tiger

[Mark Arbour]

Why not? It is an interesting theory, is it not? Your stories tend to have happy endings, so why would The Box be any different. Besides, people DO fake their own deaths, so it's not like it's totally unheard of. Rather it's an unlikely, but so is being in the midst of uprisings and/or riots in the US, France, and Russia (all three within one's lifetime). Oh, and I suppose that they'll be in the midst of the 9/11 attacks in the next story, no? See? All of these things are unlikely, so we should expect something unusual like people faking their own deaths. And didn't Tonto say she was hiding his secrets? What bigger secret than the one that Steve and Aaron are actually alive, albeit very old and likely to croak soon.

 

Being in the heart of all the action sometimes requires some strenuous leaps of faith, but that's nothing compared to resurrecting people.