Duck Duck Goose

[Altimexis]

Hmmmmm . . .

When chapter 24 concluded, I thought to myself, how the Hell will Matt get himself out of this one. After all, Cole would never resort to something as clich? as having someone show up at just the right time, now, would he? I mean, that's the sort of stunt I might pull, but not Cole, but real life isn't like that, so I had mixed feelings when Brent happened along in chapter 25. However, what in the world would ever possess a few kids to attack someone on school grounds in the first place. Sure, it was after hours, but there were lots of other kids around getting out of extracurricular activities, so Brent happening along actually wasn't totally unexpected at all. Stuart and his cronies don't seem all that bright, but really. I do find the idea of the kid who was probably Stuart's brother pulling a knife to have been a bit far fetched, but Cole doesn't introduce things without a reason. We're going to be hearing a lot more about this kid, and about Stuart, too. You can count on it.

I loved the presentation of the concert scene. Cole really outdid himself there. He really captured the atmosphere - the feel of the performance. I was really surprised that Matt had an unintentionally prepared an encore, catching Mr. T off-guard. That was great! It's not clear yet that Matt wants to be a professional musician, but he clearly has the skill, the command of music and as would surely come as a surprise to himself more than anyone, the leadership skills to pull it off. He might even be able to be a conductor some day. Something tells me, though, that Matt might be happier being a plain old music teacher like Mr. T.

Finally, I'd like to consider the interplay between Matt and Kevin. It seems we're getting closer and closer to breaking down that final barrier - if that's even the direction Cole is taking us. I still wouldn't put it past Cole to wind up matching Kevin with Timothy or even Matt with Becky, although I seriously doubt the latter. Seriously, though, we saw Kevin get himself in serious trouble and willingly serve a week of detention just to demonstrate to Matt the seriousness of his love for him. Honestly, if Matt didn't know it already, I don't know how this would have made a difference, but Kevin certainly has never been anything but bold. He was right - Matt should have called him. Matt should have called Becky, too - they're both his best friends.

At the end of the concert, however, Matt came so close to handing his bouquet to Kevin, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Was it because he couldn't acknowledge his love for Kevin, because he couldn't admit to himself he was gay, or because he didn't feel is was proper to give a boy a bouquet in public? As the reader, we were already inside Matt's head, but not far enough inside to figure that one out just yet. Matt didn't have the nerve. But Matt's mother noticed the interplay. She saw it in Matt's eyes and seemed to acknowledge it as she looked at Kevin. She knows the score. The question is, will she leave it for Matt to figure it out on his own, or will she finally confront him on how he's hurting Kevin now in trying to avoid hurting him in the future.

Great writing, Cole, as always. Looking forward to 26. How many chapters are there in DDG, anyway?

[Insomniac]

I was gonna say something but Altimexis already said it all

At first I found Cole's style a little different from what I was used to, but now I find myself saving his latest chapters for last out of the current serials so I can be sure that I won't be disappointed. More please

[Tanuki Racoon]

saving his latest chapters for last out of the current serials so I can be sure that I won't be disappointed.

You won't be disappointed.

[Oliver]

Chapterrrrrrrr 26!

Why do I have the silly feeling the whole "Drama Queen/kick in the butt" discussion is going to be started again?

[Lugnutz]

Dunno....... there is progress, positive at that. Kevin is getting his ducks in a row and Matt is coming around.

We'll see what the next chapters bring.

[Altimexis]

All I can say is, the story keeps getting better and better. OK, I can say more . . . a lot more

As tempting as it is to say, Matt, what the Hell are you doing? You have this fantastic, bright, wonderful kid who loves you to pieces and is willing to practically kill himself to cram 4 years of high school into 3 or maybe even 2 1/2 for you, let's back up a minute. Matt is 16 or maybe 17, but Kevin really is only 14 going on 15. He's been home schooled all his life and he's finally convinced his parents to let him attend high school so that he can get some socialization skills and what does he do? He falls madly in love with the fist boy he likes and decides to rush his way through high school so he can catch up with this boy academically, all based on a wealth of social experience . . . NOT. Call me a spoil sport, but I think Matt really does have a valid point, here. Take it from someone who finished high school in 3 years and college in 3 years - as much to avoid socialization as for academic reasons - you can delay socialization, but you still ultimately have to go through it.

All of that said, I tend to think Kevin really has found someone special, and vice versa. Matt may have had his problems, but he's really grown up a lot in the past year and I think Kevin's on to something. He's clearly after Matt for the right reasons - valuing him as a friend first and not for sex. Likewise, Matt values Kevin as a friend first. I think their love really has what it takes to go the distance. I just worry that Kevin's plans might be the wrong moves for the right reasons.

Cole, you're a masterful story teller as always.

[DesDownunder]

Chapter 26:

I was tempted to highlight certain sections of the text and make comments about how good this or that is, in terms of the psychology, the characters, the depth, the writing, the story-telling, but then I realized that I would have to highlight the whole chapter.

So many questions being raised in not just the characters' minds but the readers as well.

The marvellous thing is that Cole is letting us mature alongside Kevin and Matt, without lecturing us.

Cole makes it all seem so easy to write like this, it isn't, and that makes it,

Wonderful!

[Camy]

W00T!!! 27's up!

[Oliver]

W00T!!! 27's up!

Seen it. Read it.

Waiting till wednesday.......

[Lugnutz]

Seen it. Read it.

Waiting till wednesday.......

Cole might just wanna piss people off and make you, and everyone else wait longer for their fixx.

[Cole Parker]

No, the chapters are in Dude's hands.

If they don't post on schedule, blame him, not me.

I did my part. I wrote the damn thing!

C

[Oliver]

I wrote the damn thing!

C

it is yours, so make him to post on time.

Nah, just kidding. It comes when it comes.

Like Laika; not regular, but I really enjoy it!

To get more into the subject; you did, again, a great job with the last chapter.

And you're a cliffhangermeister again.

Not for the excitement of naked bodies to come in sight, but I am curious about how this will work out between the three. Matt and Kevin, Timothy and Kevin?

I am experiencing the nervous jealousy of Matt allready, to be honest.

I'll be brave and wait till wednesday.

[Insomniac]

You know, everyone has been assuming that little Timmy is gay. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's straight and his 'looks' are just those of admiration. He obviously has no friends and the attention he is giving could just be that of wanting some friends.

Just a thought

[Trab]

Nice guess, Insomniac, but that doesn't explain the looks at the guys only.

[Cole Parker]

Nah, just kidding. It comes when it comes.

Like Laika; not regular, but I really enjoy it!

Oliver: But it is regular. Regular as clockwork. Dude is doing a magnificent job, and as I'm usually the only one who has something to post on Wednesdays, he's going the extra mile just for me. I've thanked him for this before, but do so here again very heartily.

Thanks, Dude!

C

[DesDownunder]

Oliver: But it is regular. Regular as clockwork. Dude is doing a magnificent job, and as I'm usually the only one who has something to post on Wednesdays, he's going the extra mile just for me. I've thanked him for this before, but do so here again very heartily.

Thanks, Dude!

C

We all thank his Dudeness.

[Oliver]

We sure do.

Cole,

I think it was a misundestanding, I think I said it in English words but in a way we say it in Dutch.

What i meant was that, if there would be a delay, I won't be mad and like it just as much.

Like I like Laika.

But it is like clockworks.

Thanks to the Dude!

[Cole Parker]

We sure do.

Cole,

I think it was a misundestanding, I think I said it in English words but in a way we say it in Dutch.

What i meant was that, if there would be a delay, I won't be mad and like it just as much.

Like I like Laika.

But it is like clockworks.

Thanks to the Dude!

It is strange and rather wonderful how that works. There are so many idiomatic phrases in English that I have no idea how someone that didn't grow up with the language could possibly either learn or understand them all. I sure it works the same in other languages as well. I've seen several Nordic expressions written literally in English and they don't compute with me. When they're explained, they do. I think mulling over the translations, we start to get the barest feeling for the culture that created them.

C

[Trab]

As an experiment, I am working on translating one of Oliver's stories directly from Dutch to English (Canadian). It is amazing to me, how challenging this actually is. I read the Dutch words, and they make perfect sense to me, then, as I try to write it into English, I realize that the whole structure of the sentence is completely different. It's not as simple as just substituting words. In fact, some words don't even have English equivalents, or none that I know of. Then it becomes a matter of choosing a word or phrase that is at least similar in meaning, but however hard one tries, the meaning shifts subtly. I'm finding it a real eye opener, and frankly, I'm learning more Dutch as I go along, particularly the 'naughty words' my mother never taught me.

Just for a laugh, I tried two different translation services (online: google and Alta Vista) and they absolutely butchered things. There is no way to make out what was meant, and worse, because they 'guess' at words the meaning is so lost that I cannot even use that as a basis for the translation. So, I'm enjoying this project, but it is also quite exhausting.

[Oliver]

Naughty words?

Me?

I warned you, it is slightly diffrent from what I normally write. I also have my weak moments.

I am working on an other story of mine, translating that into English.

I am half way the story now. When it is finished, I'll send it to Trab. When he promised me not to laugh, that is.

I really have no idea if I have been falling in those traps of translating.

I must have. Just don't know where and how....

But a challenging project it is.

[DesDownunder]

Naughty words?

Me?

I warned you, it is slightly diffrent from what I normally write. I also have my weak moments.

I am working on an other story of mine, translating that into English.

I am half way the story now. When it is finished, I'll send it to Trab. When he promised me not to laugh, that is.

I really have no idea if I have been falling in those traps of translating.

I must have. Just don't know where and how....

But a challenging project it is.

Even if you have fallen for the traps of translating, the rest of us will have to cope with Trab's translating.

[Altimexis]

Ahem, getting back on topic, Chapter 28 is out!

Well, sorry to disappoint some of you, but there is no game of dick tag. Yeah, I know, it really looked like they knew how to have more fun, but all they could think of to do was to sit around the pool on display while pretending not to care. How boring is that?

So, we still don't know if Tim is gay or not, and we don't know if he's going to end up in some kind of love triangle with Matt and Kevin. It's interesting how Matt called Kevin in his game of trying to use Tim to make Matt jealous. He was right, I think that's exactly what Kevin was trying to do, and Matt wasn't falling for it. Interesting . . .

Now, on to Matt's first day on the job. Matt was great! Man, I wish I'd had a counselor like Matt when I was a kid. He really worked to make the activities fun and he listened to the kids to get their input. I think that was a great way to gain their trust. As Matt said, the other counselors seemed to just boss their kids around. That's pretty typical of camp counselors.

Cole, I'm curious. The four books Matt selected to read to his group of kids are all books that came out in the mid to late nineties and that would have been age-appropriate for him around the turn of the century. Obviously, you didn't read these books for yourself when they first came out (at least I suspect you didn't), and I'd never heard of them before, so how did you come across them? They sound like they're perfect, so I'm guessing you have first-hand knowledge of them, perhaps from volunteer work, classroom experience, children or even grandchildren. Sorry if I'm being nosy - I just like to pry.

[Trab]

"Sorry if I'm being nosy - I just like to pry. "

Doesn't SOUND like you're sorry.

It's a really good question though. I've had similar thoughts when other authors have put in references: just HOW do they find those sometimes obscure treasures. I keep thinking that almost everyone must be more well read than I am.

[Cole Parker]

Those four books are perfect for young readers, and older kids who haven't learned the joy recreational reading. They are absorbing stories where a kid, especially a boy, will identify with the protagonist and will read all the way to the end of the book. I would heartily recommend them to anyone who knows kids who like to read, or should be reading. They can be read by a mature fourth grader, and certainly enjoyed by older kids. They're simply marvelous.

As for knowing to recommend them, I've read three of them and the fourth was suggested to me when I told someone I needed another book for a story I was writing, a book that would entrance 9-11 year-old boys.

C

[Trab]

Chapter 29 is up.