ChrisR

Quite good, in fact. Interesting that it is written by the principal performer.

A narrator could use profanity if he had initially established that he was a story teller, particularly if it was a somewhat profanity-laden story already. The teller could well be building a sort of ambiance surrounding his characters. For example: "Holy shit!" yelled Bobby as he fell from his horse. Sure enough, he'd landed square on a wet cow pie. But what the hell could he do now, what with the sheriff's posse hot on his heels?

By the by, for those of you celebrating the occasion, Happy Boxers Day! Seems an odd custom to run around in your boxers all day, given the proclivity for cold rain, but what the heck? A few pints and you're perfectly limber. Enjoy!

Incredible craftmanship is obvious in this story. Although I anxiously await the book(s), I would also love to see the movie(s) that could be derived from it! Excellent work.

One must learn with you: Expect the unexpected. Well done!

A beautiful story, Colin. Thank you for listening to the "demand".

Perhaps the best Freudian keystroke I've ever seen!

Part of the issue must be "On whose authority have these lands been given to [fill in the name]?" The only time the whole world ostensibly agreed to resetting boundaries was with the UN's creation of Israel. How's that gone so far? Should we have carved the Jewish state out of the Nazi holdings? I'm not all that sure the Jews were all that interested in living there for starters, pretending the previous two decades hadn't occurred and saying "Guten Tag" to their neighbors. The Arabs as a whole had not been particularly anti-Axis, so punishing them by taking away miles and miles of nothingness seemed to be a minimal problem. But if we undo that 75-year-old pact (at the likely cost of a spasmodic nuclear conflict) then where does it stop? Who would care to redraw the lines of the Middle East, or Africa, or Asia, or the Americas, or Europe? If time is the factor, we need to reassemble the USSR and apologize for the thirty years of inconvenience. If time is no factor, then why stop with Georgia and the Cherokee? Let's give it all back, if the tribal remnants can prove their old boundaries. Of course the newly-displaced Americans will have to figure out which national ancestry they choose. I suspect Ireland is going to be one whopping crowded place. Come to think of it, doesn't North Ireland dissolve if we look at the cnquering done by those English bastards? ETC., ETC., ETC. The argument for everybody hopping onto the Wayback Machine may have its merits, but time and people change. Our focus needs to be on the future and, perhaps, the very recent past. Perhaps Israel should be told to pull out of its occupied territories and back to its 1947 boundaries. Mind you, who exactly will enforce such an order? And does Russia have to give up its chunks of Georgia ( the other Georgia!) and Ukraine? Should the US cede Hawaii? Do we keep Alaska because we bought it fair and square or do we surrender it to the local natives who never had a say? It's all a pretty specious argument unless it deals with something happening TODAY. Does anybody have a concrete suggestion? And please don't start off with "First thing we do..." unless you have a mouse in your pocket. Tell us who does it and how it's enforced. And let there be fluffy bunnies, purring cats, and peace on earth. Humbug.

Another golden nugget has arrived today! Thanks for the early Christmas present.

You're looking at page 2, Bruin. I'm pretty sure that the first paragraph on page 1 is a bit more open to controversy. :)

Petrificus totalis!

Do note that the article said that the book is not being removed from the school library, just from the required reading list. I'm pretty sure it's also in public domain and can be downloaded free for anybody who wants to read it. Perhaps there will be a "forbidden fruit" cycle that drives kids to read it because it's been declared bad. Time will tell. But for use in the classroom, I would submit that the school's decision to use Frederick Douglass's autobiography, coming from the same time period but written by a former slave himself, could provide exactly the educational benefits you're talking about. Sure it's not the work of the master of the written word, but Douglass did have a tremendous flair for public speaking; the subject of slavery and its end was the forefront of his thinking. And it's speaking to adults, which HS seniors are, or are about to become. If I were a parent in that school, I might also suggest that my kid and I read Twain together and discuss it. School should never be the only place your child learns.

It's amazing to listen to his speaking voice and contrast it to his singing voice. Quite a talented young man with excellent vocal control. Thanks for pointing him out.

First of all, I object to The Cat In The Hat because it teaches kids that it's okay to allow strangers in the house without dialing 911, that your conscience belongs in a goldfish bowl where it can be ignored, and anything you do all day is okay so long as you clean it up before mom gets home! Shame, shame, you nasty school librarians! But... Regarding Huck Finn, I find it a marvelous tale, and yes - I understand that it is a great window into the way things were in America during the early 19th century. (Actually, through the 1960s pretty much everywhere in America and still today in some places.) People casually used the title commonly. Then again, one also heard of Wops, Spics, Wetbacks, Kikes, Micks, etc. etc. Denigrating ethnicity, particularly during wartime and periods of social unrest, is American as apple pie. Look at the Krauts and Nips during WW2, Gooks in Vietnam, Ragheads and Camel Jockeys in the Middle East. The list goes on and on. But I can somewhat understand the concern of kids. We've been pretty well bombarded with the "Thou Shalt Not" law regarding "nigger" although it was in the common vernacular in Twain's time and certainly Huck's. Kids have grown up completely in a post-N-word world. It could indeed be disturbing to be reading a book in class and have to use a word that is particularly noted for its specific cruel meaning. I might find it tough to look a kid in the eye after reading the material. It would be akin to a book on the Stonewall riots where everybody could be casually referred to as faggots, queers, fudge-packers, etc. The terms don't really have a place in our common dialog and a gay student might feel unnecessarily uncomfortable during any related discussion. And the callous brutality of classmates can easily become a life-shattering event, be it related to sexuality, race, ethnicity...whatever. Perhas it would have been better for the school to present students with a reading list from which they are to read and report on 3 of 5 books or something similar. That would permit students the option to read for credit without mandating it. But to simply excise it from the list is just not right.

Ahah! Even the BBC is on to him in their article today entitled: Is Donald Trump a Democratic secret agent? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35066940

It is wonderful having these "old" messages hanging around. I had forgotten this gem and enjoyed reading it once again. Thanks for the refresher. And thank you, Caleb.

This one is bothersome in the extreme. As a society we've been able to accept a person as transgender only in the past few years, and people have now taken to demanding "rights" that didn't exist all that long ago. So is trans-ageism now the newest situation? And as we have had to accept "he says he's a girl" must we now accept "Robert, 40, says she's Roberta, 7"? There are some downright frightening legal implications that were barely even touched on in Finding Neverland regarding a man who decides to remain a boy forever. I frankly don't buy it.

So if sneak is the present tense and snuck is past tense, does that mean if we do it today it's known as feaking?

Trump's magic is a response to what people claim they want: a person who will say what he means devoid of the political doublespeak. As several of you have pointed out, this was a characteristic of Herr Hitler's speeches which indeed swayed the masses. No more "I have a 13-part plan" garbage. He tells it like he sees it. And while we're being bamboozled by what seems like unbeheard-of 'singlespeak', Trump is single-handedly rewriting contemporary American politics. Not the first person and/or place to have seen it happen. Here's the old master at his finest: (ya gotta love the little grin at the end)

Nah. Mariners kick butt. And even your character knew better than to go DLS!

It's interesting that suddenly it's politically incorrect to say hateful things about a particular religion whereas for years -- centuries even -- people have said hateful things and even fought wars over religions and/or the belief/non-belief therein. I have to wonder why the sudden turnaround, and why only on the behalf of this one particular religion.

Joe - I sympathize 101%. Back in the last millenium I learned to ride on a retired Cleveland police horse, a magnificent Morgan named Duke. He was absolutely imperturbable, even with an inexperienced youngster clinging to his back, and after we grew familiar with one another over the years he would take me on rides of pure joy. To have one as your partner, day in and day out, I can scarcely imagine the bond that develops between an officer and his partner mount such as yours or that of the officer in the photo. My sympathies to you both, and thanks for the service shown by all of you.

Stumbled onto this fun story of "life in the first day fast lane". Well written and definitely, as some folks have said, one packed first day in a new school. I look forward to reading much more of your work. (And you had a smart kid in your lead role - option for De La Salle? You must be kidding! Spartans Suck. )

um... WOW! Thanks once again, Cole. A truly wonderful tale. And I don't think I've ever before chuckled so much at the word "COOL!"

AARGH! Colin, you're Elliot and I'm E.T. following this trail of wonderful Reeses Pieces -- only I have no idea where this trail will lead me nor how long it will take to get there! The writing is great, the storyline intriguing, and the characters quite believable. All in all, a wonderful holiday treat. Carry on!