The Navigator by Cynus

[Cynus]

One mark of a good story is the nit-picking that it will engender! (Ask Cole for a confirmation of this.)

I do enjoy it, honestly. :) I'm not afraid to admit that I'm sometimes starved for attention!

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

Brady does have a title coming up. Someone will call him "The Soul" later, but I won't say any more on the matter. :)

I'm just loving it. It is totally different from Cynus's normal writing and totally captivating, can't wait to see how it will all come together,

I really felt good about writing this story. It was nice to break away from fantasy and to try writing a novel that is set in our real world. I don't know what the reaction will be when we get to the end, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that everyone will still be so generous with their comments.

[Paul Wren]

I really enjoyed this story so far but have a worrying feeling that there is going to be something very unexpected round the corner.

[Cynus]

I really enjoyed this story so far but have a worrying feeling that there is going to be something very unexpected round the corner.

Hopefully that something unexpected hasn't turned you away. :) More unexpected to come on Wednesday.

[Lugnutz]

An edge of your seat story is good.

[Rutabaga]

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

[Cynus]

I have to admit I'm as puzzled as Chelsea about Silas's reluctance to have contact with Ian

He's had two years of conditioning to think that no one loves him. He's scared, and scared to admit that he's scared. :)

On another note, here's how Adelaide would be if she were an inside dog.

[Rutabaga]

Clearly a need for more dog-friendly appliances!

R

[Rutabaga]

And Adelaide saves the day.

Is there a special place in Hell for the Pastor Simms of the world?

R

[Rutabaga]

I was just thinking . . . does the concept of Child Protective Services even exist in Utah?

R

[Cynus]

And Adelaide saves the day.

Is there a special place in Hell for the Pastor Simms of the world?

R

You'd imagine that they'd create a separate hell altogether for people like Pastor Simms. Normal sinners, as bad as the are, shouldn't have to put up with that level of awful.

I was just thinking . . . does the concept of Child Protective Services even exist in Utah?

R

Barely. But this is Colorado, so it's not quite the same thing.

[Lugnutz]

Welcome to Colorado, where you can do anything.

[Rutabaga]

Barely. But this is Colorado, so it's not quite the same thing.

As usual I got ahead of myself in my thinking without explaining my train of thought. The reason I wondered about Child Protective Services in Utah is that here we have a family that has abused and then thrown out two sons (Silas and Ian). If either of them had sought help from a Utah CPS agency I have to wonder whether they would have gotten any.

Which led to another train of thought (and a fairly obvious one) -- if and when the Colorado CPS official shows up to inquire about Chelsea, how long will it be before Silas is scrutinized for whether he is in a proper home situation? If Officer Higgins shows up and reports on the story that Silas told her, that will quickly prove to be false. Hopefully Ian and Jenny would step in and say that he is with them. What Silas really needs to do is to become officially emancipated.

R

[Nigel Gordon]

What I really love about this story is seeing Cynus writing in a totally different way to what he has done in his previous work. Much as I have liked his other work I think I prefer this more.

[Rutabaga]

Seems like (at the moment) Brady is doing a lot more thinking about Silas than vice versa. I think we're all hoping that will change.

R

[Rutabaga]

It seems apparent that for all the walls that Silas has built up around himself, and all his external self-sufficiency, it is not necessary to scratch the surface very much at all to find a very fragile and vulnerable soul underneath. I think Silas instinctively recognizes this, which leads him to avoid situations that threaten the frozen state in which he has placed himself.

Believing (with justification) that his parents reject him, and also believing (apparently incorrectly) that Ian had rejected him, would be a colossal emotional burden to carry for two years starting at the young age of 14. By bottling up his emotions he has not grieved the loss of his parents. I think Brady is absolutely correct that Silas needs time to thaw, to reconnect with his emotions, and to develop a genuine capacity to feel where now he experiences only numbness. It promises to be a challenging journey.

R

[Cynus]

As usual I got ahead of myself in my thinking without explaining my train of thought. The reason I wondered about Child Protective Services in Utah is that here we have a family that has abused and then thrown out two sons (Silas and Ian). If either of them had sought help from a Utah CPS agency I have to wonder whether they would have gotten any.

Which led to another train of thought (and a fairly obvious one) -- if and when the Colorado CPS official shows up to inquire about Chelsea, how long will it be before Silas is scrutinized for whether he is in a proper home situation? If Officer Higgins shows up and reports on the story that Silas told her, that will quickly prove to be false. Hopefully Ian and Jenny would step in and say that he is with them. What Silas really needs to do is to become officially emancipated.

R

Because of the situation as it stands in chapter 10 I wanted to delay responding to the second paragraph. Of course now we know exactly how Silas and Ian worked out his situation.

As to the point your raised . . . I know there isn't as much support here in Utah for children kicked out for that reason. It's as if half the culture seems to support doing that, and that makes a social worker's job very difficult. I doubt that most people would report it if they knew that it happened. Statistics alone seem to indicate otherwise.

What I really love about this story is seeing Cynus writing in a totally different way to what he has done in his previous work. Much as I have liked his other work I think I prefer this more.

I'm trying to keep it up. Hopefully this means I've learned a few more things. Being here at AwesomeDude has taught me a great deal in just a year and a half of committed writing. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Seems like (at the moment) Brady is doing a lot more thinking about Silas than vice versa. I think we're all hoping that will change.

R

Silas has quite a bit to think about at the moment, but I'm sure he'll get around to it. :)

It seems apparent that for all the walls that Silas has built up around himself, and all his external self-sufficiency, it is not necessary to scratch the surface very much at all to find a very fragile and vulnerable soul underneath. I think Silas instinctively recognizes this, which leads him to avoid situations that threaten the frozen state in which he has placed himself.

Believing (with justification) that his parents reject him, and also believing (apparently incorrectly) that Ian had rejected him, would be a colossal emotional burden to carry for two years starting at the young age of 14. By bottling up his emotions he has not grieved the loss of his parents. I think Brady is absolutely correct that Silas needs time to thaw, to reconnect with his emotions, and to develop a genuine capacity to feel where now he experiences only numbness. It promises to be a challenging journey.

R

I think that your observation is an extremely accurate one. Silas comes off as a very strong person, but that's all a front to protect his cracked and broken spirit from further damage. Brady, who is so in tune with everything(almost), just saw that from the beginning.

The good thing is that Silas has a lot of people looking out for him that are gentle with his vulnerabilities.

[Rutabaga]

I wonder when the subject of Demons of the Crossroads will come up between Silas and Tara, and Tara will learn of Silas's past connection? Maybe after she hears an interesting new song on the radio and mentions it?

R

[Rutabaga]

Hurrah for Stacey. She's as much a philosopher as Brady.

R

[Cynus]

Hurrah for Stacey. She's as much a philosopher as Brady.

R

I'm pretty fond of her myself. :)

[Rutabaga]

And Amy gets Silas to smile. And even talk. Seems like there's hope, as difficult as both tasks were.

R

[Cynus]

I was just thinking . . . does the concept of Child Protective Services even exist in Utah?

R

I thought about this post from you, Rutabaga, when I was digging through some of my old bookmarks.

There's a program in Northern Utah called the OUTreach Resource Center who specialize in helping LGBT youth.

http://www.outreachresourcecenters.org/

Since our beginning in 2005, Outreach Resource Centers has been focused on helping youth. A decade ago, the wonderful people of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden took notice of the incredible amount of rejected and often homeless LGBTQ youth and they took action. It was this action that grew into Ogden OUTreach. Since then, Ogden Outreach has expanded to become the Outreach Resource Centers and we now operate drop-in centers from Logan to Clearfield.

We provide programs and services to more than 500 youth each year, addressing the needs of underserved youth at three levels:

Prevention (Community Forums and Ally Trainings):

At the community level, we offer ally and advocate training to groups who work with and support youth, and hold events to educate the public. The safe schools initiatives we participate in also act as prevention.

Intervention (Resource Centers):

At the intervention level, our drop-in centers offer a variety of services to not only meet the basic needs of youth, but to increase their self-efficacy, and provide them with knowledge and skills needed to become self-sufficient, healthy LGBTQ and allied adults.

Crisis response (Safe and Sound):

Crisis response for underserved youth in Utah who are homeless, suicidal, or have been victimized, have lacked until now because of legal barriers, and lack of resources. These barriers are being addressed now in ways they have not previously, and our ability to help youth in crisis is growing. After a careful evaluation of the Safe and Sound Host Home Program, we have decided to make key changes to the housing services model. This change reflects both our desire to reach more youth in need and recent changes in Utah law regarding sheltering youth overnight. Through collaboration with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and several other local partners, OUTreach is working toward creating a 24-hour line for youth who are suicidal or experiencing housing or family crisis, and a system for transporting youth to safe sanctuaries. In addition, due to recent legal changes that we helped push, it is now possible to establish youth shelters in Utah.

[Rutabaga]

I thought about this post from you, Rutabaga, when I was digging through some of my old bookmarks.

There's a program in Northern Utah called the OUTreach Resource Center who specialize in helping LGBT youth.

http://www.outreachresourcecenters.org/

Several things are striking about this.

1. This is not a government program but a privately funded charity.

2. The driving force behind it is a church.

3. Apparently, until recently, it would have been illegal for someone to take in a homeless, thrown-out-of-the-house gay kid for overnight shelter.

Meanwhile, according to news reports, the incidence of homeless youth in Utah has been skyrocketing in recent years.

Maybe the Mormon church should step up and take some responsibility for the situation it has created.

R

[Nigel Gordon]

Several things are striking about this.

1. This is not a government program but a privately funded charity.

2. The driving force behind it is a church.

I notice it is a Unitarian Church, most of the mainstream Christian churches and even oddballs like the Mormons believe that the Unitarians are a bunch of heretics. This is I understand because the Unitarians believe that there is only a single aspect to God, however, it might be because unlike most other Christians, with the possible exception of the Quakers, they seem to think they should being doing what Jesus said and following his example, i.e. offering help to the outcasts of society.

[Rutabaga]

What a lot to happen in one chapter. Seems like the walls are coming down, ever so slowly. Being able to face the reality of things is a sign of maturity. Or should I say, being able to face the pain of that reality.

R

[Lugnutz]

Wow. Very intense and finally being able to accept help. Kudos to Silas.