Rutabaga

Finally got to this. I confess I was left with many questions. But what a way to go. R

And now a huge amount of events and history. And . . . poor Jonathan. R

Karma (or something) is powerful in this story by Cole: http://www.codeysworld.com/cole-parker/short-stories/nickels-and-dimes/nickels-and-dimes.php R

It is exasperating to see the paralysis of educational administrators, whose environment seems to detach them from common sense. Here is a hot weather streak that causes at a minimum great discomfort to the boys in long pants, undoubtedly ruining any hope for proper learning, and in the worst case poses a threat to their health and welfare. It's a transitory situation with an easy solution -- tell the boys that the rules against shorts are suspended while the heat wave continues. But the administrators can't see past the fact that "rules are rules," and start wandering into bizarre issues of fairness and equity because, they worry, not all boys can afford shorts and therefore it is unfair to allow anyone to wear shorts. I have confidence that boys who want to wear shorts can beg or borrow some if they don't already own them. The world will not end if the schools offer a practical solution to a rare and temporary problem. So why is it impossible for them to do so? R

I'm on board with the thoughts above, and write significant amounts of stuff on a computer as part of my work. I would say, however, that I still like to print out the current draft on paper and review it that way. It seems like both issues and ideas present themselves in that format that the computer screen does not reveal. R

Now in Chapter 12 we get the direct crossover of the events shared with Flip's Tale. R

Chapter 11 moves us forward a bit in Jamie's growing up. I would think he is already at or past the age at which he pops up in Flip's Tale, and I'm wondering when or if the crossover will evidence itself. R

This is one of those occasions when I believe everyone should lend a hand. R

I just want the record to reflect that I did my part. R

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Masturbation_Day R

I learned today that May is considered national Masturbation Month and May 28th is specifically designated as National Masturbation Day. Seems to me only appropriate to acknowledge this holiday. R

Glad to see that my concern about the paintings was cleared up straightaway. And how great for Nick in every way. R

I feel like I must have read this some time in the past, primarily because of the bold one-liners -- they seem vaguely familiar. But I don't remember what happens. R

I'm still troubled by all the destroyed paintings -- those can't be replaced. R

Luckily chapter 11 is posted on Codey's World as the link from the main site does not work. UPDATE: Link is working now. Before there was an error message. R

I can report from personal experience that beer and chocolate puddle by are better. R

Much intrigue here -- can't yet tell what mysterious forces are at work. R

"Hi there. The name's Cliff. Cliff Hanger." R

"Unexpected" hardly does justice to the impact. R

Another pertinent question is . . . how did Reggie go so dreadfully wrong in hiring Luther in the first place? (Is this what David is referring to when he observes, "No one can be right all the time?") And how did he remain so oblivious to Luther being such a jerk to everyone? R

Perhaps the idea was to demonstrate that Luther was not so scary after all. Kind of like the Boggart in Professor Lupin's class in the third Harry Potter book. R

Same browsers -- Firefox on Windows 7, Safari on the iPhone. Don't know if the iPhone cache can be cleared but I'll try on Firefox. R

In recent days this site suddenly requires logging in at least daily, even with "remember me" checked. it used to be that I would stay logged in indefinitely so long as I checked in every day or so. Now I am having to log in all the time. The old way was better. R

I think we also have to consider what may be going on with Luther. He clearly has some serious issues, and we don't know why. I doubt if he killed anyone, but something seems to have affected him profoundly. Cole remarked, in connection with Hec from the story "Ren," that he hates to think that people are irredeemable. Whether Luther can be redeemed remains to be seen. Readers also now have a chilling new perspective on David's earlier response to Luther's invitation to fight. Knowing what we now know, it is doubtful that any taunt or challenge from Luther to David would have goaded him into fighting. The episode with Nick came much closer, but fortunately David was able to stay in control. R

My "Whoa" was in reference to the flashback to David's military experience. I can't imagine having something like that weighing on my soul. It's akin to Mason killing the bad guy in "High Plains of Wyoming" but in this case the victim was not a bad guy. R