Inspiration by Cole Parker

[Gee Whillickers]

I was looking out for this story, after being given a heads up by Cole. It was wonderful, Cole. Thanks for writing it. Yes, so many teens struggle mightily with the coming out issue. A few short years ago I watched my brother-in-law's sister's boy go through exactly this conundrum. And his parents are quite religious to boot (one of the religions that isn't exactly accepting of gay folks), so this made it even more of a struggle. It did not have quite as happy an outcome as your story in the immediate aftermath, unfortunately, but has since been settled out and reconciled. It was a difficult time though for this lad.

 

As always Cole, your story was well written and elicited exactly the right tension and emotions. Well done.

 

You can find it here. Go and read it.

 

 

 

[Cole Parker]

Thanks, Gee.  You deserve half the credit!

C

[ricky]

Another great Cole Parker short.

Honestly, this guy can get more mileage out of the fewest words of any author I know. Every word contributes to the story.

And this one was, like everything Cole writes, AWESOME.

[Cole Parker]

Thanks, Ricky.  You make me blush.

C

[Rutabaga]

If he hasn't already done so, Cole should put up a wall full of pictures representing all of the teachers who have been foils, targets, helpers, mentors, good guys and bad guys in his various stories.  Mrs. McHiggins would certainly merit a nice spot.

Great story.  My only question is what Sam recommended that his father say in response to a call from school:  "Shut up, you meddling old busybody"?

R

[Cole Parker]

As is easy to tell, I like to leave things for the audience to figure out.  Usually, like in the case of the camp fee paid for Aaron, the conclusion is either easy to figure out to the reader's satisfaction, or doesn't move the story one way or another.  If every blank is filled in, the problem isn't so much  that the story will be too long—it's more that many parts of it will be boring.

I do try not to leave important holes.

 

C