Rutabaga

I really liked this story, starting with the title. Straight and to the point. Well, maybe not straight, but you know what I mean. R

Every Hardy Boys book I remember had people "ejaculating" where the meaning was "exclaiming in surprise." I don't recall seeing that usage anywhere else until this story. I knew that because I met one of the ghost writers for Tom Swift books, Rick Sklar, who later became program director for WABC radio in New York in its heyday. I was sure the Hardy Boys books must have been produced the same way. That's why I have the author's name in quotes. I wonder how Stratemeyer came up with names like Franklin W. Dixon and Victor Appleton? R

I always felt naughty glee reading Hardy Boys books in junior high school, because "Franklin W. Dixon" had people ejaculating (exclaiming) all the time. R

"And in the end . . . . " R

This thread did not come up when I searched yesterday. Sorry for starting a duplicate. I felt bad when the bad things happened and good when the good things happened. There was much to cheer about, not least the determination and dedication of the boys. Excellent story. R

What a wonderful romance. R NOTE: This is a duplicate thread. The "real" thread is here: http://forums.awesomedude.com/index.php?showtopic=7227&hl=

This Pick from the Past was new to me. Covers some familiar territory with some new twists. R

Interesting Pick from the Past. R

We can see a spectacular confrontation coming. R

Thicker still. What scumbags. R

I still laugh throughout Young Frankenstein -- particularly "Put . . . the candle . . . back." R

The plot thickens. R

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Slimeballs. R

90%. Never heard of the "hump" one for being annoyed. R

Not sure this is really a spoiler, since it refers to something in plain sight, but . . . R

Damn. R

Finished. Not sure what to say about the story. It is a saga in the tradition of Foley/Mashburn or Sequoyah's "Special Place" or Joel's "Mystery and Mayhem" tales. Every such author tends to have quirks that annoy me, yet I keep reading. This one kind of stumbled across the finish line but on a sufficiently upbeat note. R

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Nefariouser and nefariouser. R

I am now through chapter 20 and there is never a dull moment. R

Has anyone tackled this lengthy piece now that it's a Pick from the Past? I have gotten through Chapter 14 but there's a lot remaining. It's a real roller coaster. R

Another scandal to be swept under the rug. R

I'm undecided about the shift in POV. The darkness is not unprecedented. I think of the "Summer Vacation" story where the young protagonist goes in and shoots admittedly very bad guys in cold blood in order to rescue someone. I would also include "On the High Plains of Wyoming," still one of my favorites. Corrupt government officials mistreating sons also seems to be a recurring theme ("One Summer in Georgia"). The first chapter of First Year certainly was dark. I'm OK with it. R

This tangentially implicates Mark Twain's admonition that the only people entitled to use the pronoun "we" when referring to themselves were royalty, editors, and people with tapeworm.