Rutabaga

Definitely a cute story. R

Clearly a need for more dog-friendly appliances! R

Probably need to take the kids out of Iowa. R

Sounds like Chelsea and Tara may be more than just friends. I have to admit I'm as puzzled as Chelsea about Silas's reluctance to have contact with Ian R

Just finished this re-read. What a lovely story. R

Just wanted to mention that I'm reading this story AGAIN. it's even better this time. R

Saw him at the Playboy Jazz Festival in the early 90s. It was electric, and the audience was totally captivated. His band was awesome as well. The guy playing an ancient Hammond B3 was getting sounds out of it that don't exist in nature. Very sad to lose him. R

If Silas is the Navigator, it seems like there ought to be a comparable kind of name for Brady and his role in all of this. Something like "the Philosopher." R

[accidental post deleted]

I think it would be good for the characters, in some way, to at least acknowledge the coincidence, even if they can't explain it. Answers could lie in how Ian ended up in that town. Maybe comparable factors were at work in both cases. Maybe something about that diner served to draw both of them toward it. Or maybe Rod Serling is going to step out of a doorway at any moment. Nobody seemed to question how Ilsa could have ended up in Rick's café (except Rick himself). But it was kind of a Mecca for lost souls and people passing through. R

Meanwhile, reasons why both Silas and Ian were better off to hit the road: http://m.dailykos.com/story/2009/01/05/680293/-Trapped-in-a-Mormon-Gulag R

I could have sworn I posted a comment in this thread recently. If so, it vanished into the blue. Anyway, great story, as everyone above noted. R

Oregon is poised to become the third state to ban gay conversion therapy for minors. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7235838 California's ban has withstood court challenge. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3837922 R

Some good and some ominous developments in chapter 7. Here's a link pertinent to one issue that came up in passing (and, in the case of the story characters, apparently won't be an issue): http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/01/us/california-gay-therapy-ban/ R

I can't help wondering if a certain character from the first chapter is somehow going to reappear. R

Seems plausible to me. R

It's a matter of degree, I guess. R

I had to trace back earlier in this thread to see just how it had morphed into the current discussion. R

You can be certain that you wouldn't want to know. R

And, correspondingly, if I heard you say that you were having Swedes for dinner I would assume you had invited some international dinner guests. R

You could always substitute rutabagas. R

We root vegetables don't let grass grow under our feet. R

Here ya go. http://www.awesomedude.com/nickturner/tim_comes_home/index.htm R

Here's a story that warrants inclusion as a Dude's Pick from the Past some time. It's a very cool story, and yes the bad guy is especially bad, but you can't put it down. R

So, did Silas actually know who he was going to run into in Crow's Lake, or was this one of the more amazing coincidences in modern history? Or is that what "navigator" is all about, in some spooky sense? R