Gee Whillickers

Ow, that was a major kick in the gut. So very well done, thanks for that, Bruin.

Well done story. It would definitely be interesting for a kid to have a birthday on Halloween. I knew a guy a while back who's birthday was on New Year's Day (the inspiration for Northern Lights, actually), and I remember his stories about when he was a kid feeling a bit shortchanged on his birthday when he compared himself to other kids.

Hey Lugnutz! You're famous! Cute little story. I was glad BO, err, Bobby, didn't end up in the devil's hands at the end.

Yup, that was the challenge. Writing about it clearly, but never, ever once in the entire story actually *mentioning* what it was or even anything too related. Thanks for your comments!

Thanks guys. And yeah, donairs are amazingly delicious when done right.

Just finished this one. As always Mihangel, absolutely incredible. Believable characters engaging in realistic actions from well thought out motivations, all set in a wondefully written environment that taught me and enthralled me at the same time. Well done.

Thanks guys. This one was inspired by a weird noise my plane made just before landing a couple of weeks ago. It popped into my head pretty much complete.

The flight attendants were going through the safety routine, the same one they always did at the beginning of a flight, only this time everyone was paying rapt attention. The plane continued to lose altitude, my ears popping unmercifully. I looked out the window but still saw only the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, much closer now. The pilot continued to drone on over the speakers about how everything was going to be fine. Even his practiced casual tone seemed stressed. I looked across the aisle at my parents. They were huddled together holding hands. Dad looked over at me and smiled what seemed intended to be a reassuring smile. It came across as more of a grimace. It's funny what was going through my mind. Intentions, regrets, sudden perspective. My worries about going into grade nine after summer holidays seemed pretty stupid now. The rest of my worries seemed pointless, trivial. I pulled out my phone and turned off airplane mode, but naturally there was no signal. I looked through my text messages feeling regretful and maudlin as I read the last message from Terry two weeks ago. “Have fun on your holiday! See you soon!” is all it said. But I knew now he wouldn't. It was too late. I couldn't help thinking about it. It was too late now. He'll never know. I never did have the courage to tell him, I knew I never would've. There was too much to lose. And it was too late now besides. Knowing it was useless, I composed a text message anyway. What I wanted to say, what I needed to tell him. An exercise in futility. Somehow though, it gave me a sliver of peace. The noise changed. I felt my sweat pour out, my heart hammering. I looked out the window. The ocean was very close now. One engine only was making noise now, but I realized there was more to it than that. The noise was familiar. I looked out the window again, at the wing. The flaps were coming out, and I realized the other noise was the landing gear. Strange that the crew was putting that out for a crash landing in the water. Five seconds later I saw a shoreline through the window. Buildings, roads. Five seconds after that the engine noise roared and I felt the lurching screech of the plane dropping down much too hard onto a runway. The window now showed the runway flying past, it was twice the speed it should have been. The noise from the one engine and brakes rose into a crescendo, a grand finale of regret. And the plane stopped. A wild cheer broke out. The emergency slides popped out and all the exits opened. The attendants did their best to help everyone make a more or less orderly exit. Weirdly, the slide was almost fun. But I landed way too hard on my left hip, I knew I'd have a bad bruise there later. Mom and dad were hugging me too hard. Mom crying, Dad giggling like a kid. I just trembled. I realized why my hip hurt so much. I landed on my phone. Crap, the screen must be shattered. I pulled it out of my pocket. Sure enough, the screen was spiderwebbed with cracks, but amazingly it still lit up when I hit the power button. I swiped into my home screen, and that's when I saw the notification. 'New text message from Terry' the notification said, then underneath, Terry's text, “Josh, we really have to talk,” is all it said. My throat felt tight, it was hard to breathe. I opened up my texting app and mashed Terry's name with my finger. The back and forth recent texts were shown in their balloons on the screen. Just above and to the left of Terry's cryptic message, I saw it. My text had gone through.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/school-hides-student-mural-of-2-boys-kissing-after-complaints-1.2938988?cmp=rss One of the more interesting lines from the article, after the administration covered up the mural with a bulletin board: "Students ripped the bulletin board down to reveal the mural by midday on Thursday." Times are changing, for the better.

Yes, in fact I strongly believe that my very best writing is from those experiences. So much so that I find myself setting a story aside and thinking that it's not worth it when I don't have a glimmer of this feeling.

I've said this before when the topic has come up, but I find that I'm writing fewer and fewer sex scenes in my more recent stories as compared with my earlier ones. Like others, when I'm confronted with writing one because it's an inevitable and necessary part of the story at a given point, I find myself stopping and struggling. Everything seems repetitive and shallow. So I find myself writing around it, even when the scene would work very well in the story if written well. I agree that focusing on the entire writing toolbox when writing a sex scene is important and necessary, probably more important and more necessary in some ways to avoid the boredom and repetition. Especially the part about focusing on character's reactions, emotions, thoughts, sensations, etc, rather than an IKEA manual of how it all fits together.

Yes. I should really write a Sanitaria Springs story. I have little excuse now.

This was riveting and wonderful. A great read! This one and the others I've read so far are really knocking it out of the park this year. Well done BoyHowdy!

Excellent story. Glad the kid remembered his Halloween candy!

First one I read and wow what a start! Great Halloween story! Well done and lots of fun!

Okay, now I've gone and read this story for the second time, thanks to your post. I needed to become a blubbering mess today. :) It's an excellent story, so very heartwarming.

Well, that was a wonderful ride! Another excellent story by Cole. Colourful characters, lots of action, and some great twists and surprises. Well done Cole!

Yes, they covered that in the news last night. Thanks for bringing it up Freethinker and thanks to all those who set that up and participated in it. A wonderful thing to do.

Kevin Vickers, the Sergeant-at-arms who, still wearing his ceremonial clothes, shot and killed the terrorist, returns to work this morning. You'd think he would have earned a day off, but not him. Vickers spent 30 years in the RCMP, and retired without once ever having fired his service weapon on duty, despite winning numerous awards for marksmanship. Here he is this morning, just like any other day, in the House of Commons:

Cpl. Cirillo's dogs, awaiting his return home....

Toronto vs. Montreal: https://i.imgur.com/CEKrmFR.mp4

This is the man who fatally shot and killed the terrorist in the parliament buildings and is being hailed as a hero. Kevin Vickers, Sergeant-at-Arms at the House of Commons: No doubt not exactly how he planned his day to go when he got up this morning. It is very, very rare that the people employed in this job over the past few centuries ever need to do what the job was invented for. When he was called upon, he did his job perfectly. This photo was taken by a tourist just before Cpl Cirillo was killed. His last photograph.... And here's Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who lost his life earlier this week to a different Islamic terrorist after being run over by a car. After a police chase in which the perpetrator rolled over his vehicle and attempted to escape, he was shot dead by police.

Yes, the shooter has been identified as Canadian born radical Islamist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Reports continue to circulate that despite no official confirmation, there were multiple gunmen at other locations. The victim at the National War Memorial has been named as 24 year old Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a reservist serving in Hamilton as a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada regiment. His weapon may not have even been loaded, according to comments from other members serving in these type of capacities, all he had to defend himself was a bayonet. No doubt he smiled and prepared to answer another tourist's questions as the gunman approached and shot him dead in an act of supreme cowardice. Downtown Ottawa is a ghost town at this hour.... Edit: confirmed that Corporal Cirillo's ceremonial rifle was not even loaded. He was the father of a young child. His girlfriend found out in the worst way possible, she saw him receiving CPR by the paramedics during the news coverage.

Yup. Poutine is a very popular Canadian dish. Fries, gravy, and cheese curds (not melted cheese, not grated cheese. Cheese curds only, please. They need to squeak when you chew them.) Fast food places everywhere have poutine, though usually the version they offer is horrible. Real poutine made properly is absolutely incredible. Not to mention extremely unhealthy. Plain old fries and gravy is also very, very popular. As it should be. Best with vinegar poured on top. Yum!!!

Yes, I agree. To be fair, he attends a quite progressive private academy rather than a public school, so the social climate there apparently makes things considerably easier. I haven't seen the boy for probably a year and half, so this was news to me, though honestly I can't say I'm surprised that he asked a boy out. I was a bit surprised he was able to get up the nerve to do so, he's kind of a shy kid without a lot of confidence. Good for him.