Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 01:34:02 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel- book 4 chapter 8 Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com. * * * * * * * * Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel-Book 4-by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2000 by billwstories Chapter 8 - Doing what we could. March 2001 On Friday evening, Sally showed up with Richard from the group foster home. He was going to spend the weekend with us, waiting for his prospective parents to show up tomorrow to meet him. I think he was a bit nervous and apprehensive about this visit from the moment he arrived, and he was a bit on edge since Sally and he had pulled in our driveway earlier. After they parked, Sally helped him carry his things to the house and then we tried to make him feel at home. Richard said hello to my Ricky and me, but I think he was a bit overwhelmed by the new surroundings and all the older boys. Timidly he came in to the house and looked around, then I led them into the living room to sit down and talk. Only a few of the boys came in to join us, seeing he was a bit shy, and Richard eventually went over to sit by my Ricky on the sofa. A few minutes later, Sammy and Andrew went over and joined them, soon breaking the ice. Richard had just started to loosen up a bit and chat with the other boys when Sally announced that she had to leave. This seemed to unsettle Richard again, so I got up, picked him up in my arms, and told him that I'd make sure he would be all right. He looked at me a second, then a grin began to emerge on his face, and he gave me a mighty hug about the neck. I knew at that moment that things would be fine. I gave Richard the choice of helping me finish fixing our dinner or going off to play with the other boys. At first he didn't seem sure which he wanted to do but, after a minute or so, he started getting some outside influence about what he should do. My Ricky and the other boys soon convinced him to join them, and off they went to give him a tour of the house and then decide on something more fun to do. As I watched the boys disappear down the hallway, I stepped into the kitchen to prepare our meal. About an hour later everything was ready and I called all the boys to come and eat. Richard asked if he could sit between Ricky and me, so I told him that would be fine. He took the seat on the corner of the table, next to my place at the head, and Pat sat on the other side of me. Everyone else shifted their seating accordingly, so this would work out. Over time the boys had all come to expect to sit at a certain place at the table, claiming squatters' rights, so to speak. They were willing at various times to break this rule and change places, especially when we had company who wanted to sit by someone in particular. During the meal, I could feel Richard's leg touching mine during the entire time we ate, and I could see him frequently staring at me, even though he was talking to Ricky or some of the other boys. When the meal was over, a few of the boys started cleaning up and I went into the family room to read the newspaper, while the rest of the boys watched television. Richard sat on the floor, next to my chair, and I knew that something was going on in the little brain of his. When I finished reading paper and put it down, Richard stood up, got right in front of me, and began to speak. "Mr. Currie, how come you adopted all of these boys?" "Well, that's hard to say. You see, I adopted each one of them for a different reason, but basically it was because they didn't have anyone else they could live with. They were either orphans, thrown out by their families, or had been taken away because of various problems. I started out as their foster father and then things developed from there. I just figured that it seemed like the right thing to do." "Wow, you sure do have a lot of sons. There are almost as many boys here as there are at the group foster home." "Well, I don't think there are that many, but we do have a full house. Are you excited about meeting the couple who might want to adopt you?" He looked at me, studied my face, and I think he was debating about how honest he should be with me. Once he had made up his mind about what he was going to do, then he took time to search for the right words to say to me. "Well, I am a little excited, as I've been hoping for the past few years that someone would adopt me, but I'm also kind of scared. I mean, I've never met these people before and I just hope that we all like each other." "Yes, I can see where this could be very scary for you. I'm sure some of my boys went through similar apprehensions the first day they came here to meet me...well, maybe except for Ricky." "Why wasn't he scared?" "It was probably because he already knew me. You see, I was the principal at his school when I found out he didn't have any place to go and he came here to live with me. He was my first son and, for a little while, it was just the two of us." Richard looked over at Ricky, who was watching television and hadn't been listening to our conversation, and he spoke to him. "Ricky, you were really lucky to know Mr. Currie before you came here to live. That's why you weren't scared, right?" It took Ricky a short time to get the drift of what Richard was saying but, when everything clicked into place, he devised his answer for him. "Who said I wasn't scared? I was terrified," Ricky announced with an evil grin emerging on his angelic face. "Wouldn't you be scared if they announced that you were going to live with a mean old principal?" Richard looked startled by that proclamation and he knew he would need some clarification to understand what Ricky meant. "But he isn't mean, is he?" Ricky's grin broadened. "Oh, I guess you don't know about all the paddles and whips he has in his office at school. He uses them on the kids when they get into trouble." Richard turned toward me, a look of horror etched on his face and his mouth hanging open. Pretty soon he heard some of the other boys giggling, so he turned to look at them. While Richard was trying to figure out what was going on, I thought it time to set the record straight. "Ok, you little monster," I addressed my Ricky. "I think you're giving our guest the wrong impression here. I don't want him thinking I'm the Marquis de Sade." "No, I'm not!" Ricky quipped back. "I'm just telling him about the side of you that most people don't get to see." He could hardly keep from laughing, as he finished his comment. "Well then, maybe I should give Richard a demonstration of how this works then, using you as my target." As I said that, I grabbed my Ricky by the arm, pulled him toward me, and threw him over my left knee, using my right leg to pin his legs in between. I placed my left forearm across his back, so he couldn't lift up, and I immediately began to smack him playfully on the butt. Ricky began to scream, as if he was being tortured, and he could have been nominated for an Oscar for his realistic portrayal of a victim. Richard's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw me do this and I thought his jaw was going to hit the floor, and he stayed like that until all the other boys began laughing and cheering, urging me to give Ricky a real licking instead. Finally Richard realized this was all in fun and he joined the others' chants, urging me to hit Ricky harder and make him hurt for pulling that trick on him. I did give Ricky one real good shot to the butt, one that cracked audibly, and Ricky jumped up and grabbed his backside when I released him. "I guess I can see that I don't have any friends in this house, not even the new kid," he announced. "Only cuz you were trying to trick me and make me think Mr. Currie was a meanie." Ricky feigned a hurt expression on his face. "Well, he is. Didn't he just prove it?" "No way. If he was mean, he'd have given you more than one hard smack and your butt would be all red and you wouldn't be able to sit down at all." "Well, my butt is all red. Want to see?" Ricky began to undo his jeans. "I think we can do without that," I told him forcefully. "We've already scared the poor kid and there's no sense making him sick by showing him your rear end." At this point the other boys started teasing Ricky about his ugly butt and Richard was really laughing hard as the other boys continued to rag on Ricky. After letting it continue for a while longer, I finally called a truce, for Ricky's sake, and the boys reluctantly agreed. They loved seeing him squirm like that, especially after all the pranks he had played on all of them, and they really didn't want to give up this golden opportunity at revenge. Instead, they started to fill Richard in on Ricky's background, to explain why they had been so relentless, and Richard began to laugh again, as the boys relayed some of the tales about the imps of mischief. When it came time to get ready for bed, I passed the word that clothing was required tonight. I wasn't sure that Richard was ready for a nudist convention. When I gave him his choices about where he could sleep and then asked him his preference, I thought he might bunk in with Ricky, as I had noticed how he idolized the older boy. Instead, he asked me if he could sleep with me. This shocked me a little, as it was possibly the last choice I would have expected, but then I assumed it was because he was in a strange place and wanted to feel protected and safe. I gave in to his request, but only after making sure that this was what he really wanted to do, and then I decided that I had better turn in when he did too. Pat agreed to sleep on the sofa-bed in the family room, and Dustin offered to sleep with him and assist him with whatever he needed during the night. Pat gratefully accepted, and Dustin seemed pleased that he would be allowed to help. When we first got into bed, Richard was talking a mile a minute, asking me all kinds of questions about how each of my boys came to live with me, but managing to slip in more questions about Ricky in between. When he learned all he wanted to, for the time being, he said he hoped he was as lucky at finding a nice home and that he prayed these people were as nice as they sounded. He was somewhat optimistic, as Sally and the staff at the group home had told him a great deal of information about this couple, and that's why he thought this might work out. He was still a little apprehensive about the first face-to-face meeting with them, which was only normal, but he still had his dream of finally being adopted to cling to. I tried to reassure him about tomorrow and let him know that things would work out for the best, so I reached my arm out toward him, wrapped it around his shoulder, and told him everything would be just fine. Just as if some electromagnetic force had been activated, he rolled on his side and cuddled up tightly against me. He joked a little about my body hair tickling him, so I told him that he didn't have to lie that way if he didn't want to. He quickly told me that he would be fine and that he was already getting used to it, and then he slung his little arm across my belly. We lay that way for a little while and then I looked down at him, ready to say something about the morning, but I noticed that he was already drifting off to sleep. For that reason, I decided to forgo any more conversation and just gave him a gentle squeeze. I spent the next ten or fifteen minutes watching him give in to his exhaustion and fall asleep, praying that he would find great parents and be as happy as every child had the right to be. Saturday morning he woke me very early, being excited about the possibilities that awaited him, and we got up, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to fix him some breakfast. As he sat chowing down, we waited for the others to stir back to life and join us. We were still alone in the dining room when the doorbell rang. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet! I went over and opened the door, not exactly sure who I'd find there, only to be greeted Richard's prospective parents. I guess these farm people do really get up with the chickens. We introduced ourselves and shook hands, and they told me they were the Beckers. I called Richard over and introduced him to them, and both adults commented on how glad they were to meet him and what an adorable little chap he was. I don't think this was quite the politically correctt thing to say to a young man who was nearly a teenager, but Richard took it all in stride. After that, I let the three of them go into the family room, where they could talk in peace and get to know each other a little better, knowing some of my boys were probably awakened by the door chimes and would soon be heading downstairs. Richard didn't want me to go, asking me to stay with him, but I explained to him that I'd just be in the other room and that everything would be fine. I told him that they all really needed the time to get to know each other, and that they could do it better without anyone else there to distract them, but he still seemed unconvinced. After a little more cajoling, he finally gave in. Richard's concerns were probably due, in part, to the fact that the man cast a pretty imposing shadow, especially to someone as small as him. No matter how the man looked, I could tell the guy had a warm heart, just by the way that he looked at that little boy when they first met. It was as if he had just awakened on Christmas morning, discovering the one present in the world that he wanted more than anything else, in this case an adorable son. I learned later that this man was of Dutch descent, but it was his physical size that was imposing. He stood about 6' 2" and weighed somewhere around 220 pounds, but it was all solid muscle. Even the casual onlooker would be impressed by the muscles rippling in his arms and under his colored tee shirt as he moved, and the sight of him would probably have given a lot of street-wise punks second thoughts before they attacked the likes of him. In addition to his build, he was completely bald, obviously shaved that way for some unknown reason, and he had a moustache that he had allowed to grow long on each side. Those hairs hung down toward the sides of his chin, though he could have easily waxed them and made them into a handlebar moustache. When he spoke, he spoke with authority and I knew almost instantly that he was probably a man of his word. I also got the feeling that he was a gentle giant, just observing how his wife looked at and adored him, and I would have wagered that his bark was much worse than his bite. His wife was much shorter than him, maybe 5' 7" in heels, and what the old-timers would have referred to as a buxom beauty. Even though she was physically attractive, I could tell from her calloused hand and firm handshake that she was a hard worker and probably as valuable as any man on the farm. She had a vibrant and outgoing personality, a musical giggle, and a smile that could melt an iceberg. When I peeked in later to check on them, Richard was sitting on the sofa between the couple and everyone was all smiles and talking excitedly. I gave them an hour more before I went back in to speak with them, only to offer the adults my room for the evening, thus saving them the money they would have had to spend on a motel room and allowing them to spend more time with each other. They did accept, but only after some give and take, and only after I agreed to let the wife fix tonight's dinner. That was solely her idea and I think it was her upbringing and her attempt at having them paying their own way. I finally agreed to her demands, but only if she would allow me to assist her. Now she was satisfied that she would be able to pay her debt for spending the evening in our home. I got up to leave again, but everyone urged me to stay, and Ricky quickly filled me in on everything he had learned about the Beckers thus far. He told me they were renting a farm, on which they grew various crops, but primarily corn, and he lit up when he told me they also had some pigs, chickens, cows, and horses. I could see from the twinkle in his eyes that he liked that idea of having animals around and I could see from the way they interacted with each other that they were already taking a distinct liking to each other. We chatted a while longer and then Ricky asked if he could show them around the house and introduce them to the other boys. I told him to go ahead, but not to get lost, which was my little joke about how large this place could seem to outsiders. Richard looked at me funny and then he started to laugh, saying 'that was a good joke, Mr. Currie'. They were probably gone more than an hour and I was beginning to wonder what had happened to them, when they came back in the room to join me. They quickly filled me in on what they had been up to, commenting on what they had seen. Richard had given them a tour of the whole house, including the attic bedrooms, and the couple was very impressed by the size of the house, the number of boys I had, and how well behaved and basically neat they were. They had said 'basically neat' because I did have a couple of boys who tended to be slobs now and then and I only wondered about how their rooms must have looked. I do believe the Beckers were just being polite and diplomatic. We continued talking about different things, quickly changing from one topic to another, and I could tell that they wanted to ask me a question, but they didn't want to do it in front of Richard. Picking up on this, I told him that he should go play with the boys, so we adults could spend some time together too. He didn't give it a second thought and raced off to find the others, though I would be willing to bet that I'd find him with his namesake later, if I went to look. As soon as Richard had left the room, Mr. Becker turned to me and spoke. "Thank you, but how did you know we wished to speak to you in private?" "When you have as many children as I do, you learn to pick up on the non-verbal signals too." He looked at his wife and grinned. "I guess we're going to have to learn to do that too." After saying that he turned back to me and continued our conversation. "When we first came here, we were a little worried that we might be biting off more than we could chew, by taking on a teenager. We had really wanted a younger child to begin with but, after seeing you and all of your boys, we're more at ease now. In fact, now we're even considering telling Mrs. Swarthout that me might be willing to take a second boy, so Ricky wouldn't be alone and would have someone to help keep him company. We do live pretty far out and there aren't many neighbors." "That's terrific," I responded. "I bet Ricky would probably enjoy having someone else close to his own age and Sally will be thrilled at the prospect of having a home for another boy, but I think you should take some time to get to know each other before you make that decision. If you do adopt Ricky, spend some time just getting to know him first. After you have had a chance to bond, then you might ask him what he would think of that idea and take it from there." "You're probably right. I guess seeing all these boys and watching how well they got along with each other just caused us to go a little overboard." "Oh, I'm not saying you're going overboard, I am just advising to go slowly and not rush things. I think you'd all do well with taking on a second child, but it's just that you all need to get to know each other first. Things happened kind of quickly for us, and I sometimes regret that, as Sally had boys that needed a home then and there. I was very blessed that things worked as well as they did, and with so few problems, but I didn't get the chance to know some of the boys as well as I wished at first. I'm not sure I'd advise anyone to try to do things the same way I did though. I guess my biggest advantage was that I worked with children all day long and had a pretty good understanding of what I was getting into." We all smiled at each other at this point, and I saw them relax considerably. "He is an adorable child, and so small for his age," Mrs. Becker stated. "I think my husband and I are already looking forward to taking him in, if that's what he wants." "Oh, I think he's taken a shine to you too. I could see it on his face and in his eyes when you were in here by yourselves. I peeked in a couple of times, to see how things were going, and it looked as if you were all enjoying yourselves. I think after a few more visits, the three of you will have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do." "I really didn't know what to expect," Mr. Becker said, "when they told me they had a boy who was nearly thirteen. I guess I was thinking that he'd be nearly growed and maybe a tad bit of trouble to boot. I didn't expect to find this somewhat small, sweet-faced boy who is eager to please." "Yes," I responded, "he really is a special young man. I've only met him twice before myself, and I'm pretty taken with him too. He can certainly worm his way into your heart in a very short time." His wife giggled and looked at me. "That's almost exactly the same words I whispered to my husband when we were alone for a second upstairs. I think I've fallen in love with the little devil already." "I could tell that by just looking at the three of you together. I think I've seen almost an instant bonding here, but you've got the rest of this weekend and the next to make sure." "And we're both looking forward to it," Mrs. Becker added. "Just out of curiosity, is someone taking care of your farm while you're away?" "Yes, our hired man and the hired man from the farm next to ours are taking care of everything for us. We offered them extra money to do this favor for us." "Well, the charity will cover that cost for you and I'm also going to contact the landowner to renegotiate your rent for you. Sally told me that you were just getting by and I think I can use some leverage to get you a little better deal. It just happens that I know your landlord. I had his children in school a few years ago, and he still owes me a favor or two, for some things we were able to do for them at the time. I know he bought that property on a hunch about thirty years ago, thinking that the state was going to construct a new highway through that area and he concluded that area would be where the exit would be located, to give access to the nearby communities. He thought he could make a killing selling some of the land to the state and the rest to businesses who would want to set up shop there. The highway never went through though, so he decided to recoup some of his investment by renting out the various properties. I think he owns several of the farms around you." "Yes, you're correct there. My neighbors and I all rent the land and buildings from him. It's the only way most of us could have afforded to get into farming, as it is quite an expensive investment to purchase a working farm. The funny thing is that he bought that farm from my wife's family, before we were married, and we used her inheritance from her parents to buy the farm machinery we would need to make a go of it. We hoped some day that maybe we could buy the place back from him and then leave it to our children. Unfortunately, the good Lord has not seen fit to let us have children in the normal way. That's why we're adopting." "Although it may seem harsh or cruel that you could not have your own children, this may be God's way to let you have a family after all. Like our minister told my one son after his accident, 'when God closes a door, he often opens a window'. This may be your window, so make the best of it." They nodded in agreement and I knew that they understood my message. It was now getting late, so Mrs. Becker suggested that it was time for her to start fixing dinner, and I told her that I'd show her around while I gave her a hand. After informing her of what meats I had in the freezer, she decided to use the chicken and make chicken and biscuits. I thawed the meat in the microwave and then got her the items she needed, as she asked for them. She did everything from scratch, no shortcuts or mixes for her. She seemed puzzled by my knowledge about the kitchen and the ease I showed while helping her. She gave me a curious little glance, as if she didn't think a man would be that proficient, so I asked her, "Who do you think cooks for my family?" "I guess I just figured that you had a cook working for you or you ordered out. Do you mean that you prepare all the meals?" "Not entirely. The boys have been helping me and they are getting quite good at preparing different dishes." "I'm impressed. The men that I've known would all have starved without a woman to fix their food for them, even with a pantry full of supplies and a smokehouse full of meat." "I often helped my wife fix the meals when our children were growing up, though I didn't do much of it after she died. It's just too hard to cook for one, so I ate most of my meals out during that time. After I got my first boy I started cooking again, and I've been doing it ever since." "Good for you," she responded, emphatically. "I wish there were more men who didn't consider the kitchen a woman's world and think it demeaning to do anything there." "Well, I don't think any of my boys will feel that way." Soon the house began to fill with the aromatic smells of a good homemade meal, and the boys were running downstairs to find out what we were having to eat and when. I asked a couple of them to set the table, which they did with enthusiasm, and soon we were sitting down to partake of one of the most incredible meals we'd had in a very long time. She was a genius with an oven, a few bowls, and some raw ingredients. Everyone continually raved about her cooking, in between cramming his mouth full with her savory delights. The biscuits were golden, flaky, and very tasty, and the chicken was moist and just melted in your mouth. I think everyone had at least seconds, and some even came back for thirds, and I told her I was impressed with her ability to feed so many. At that point she burst into laughter and told me that she was one of ten children and that she had learned to cook, feeding her siblings, her parents, and several hired hands, most of whom could pack away more than my boys. She said her biggest adjustment was in learning to cook for only her husband, their hired man, and herself. We all laughed at that, but I knew that she had scored some more points with Richard with her culinary talents. Food is not only the way to a man's heart, but a growing boy's too. After dinner, I took everyone to the movies, knowing this was a rare treat for the Beckers. I let Richard and the Beckers pick out what they wanted to see, and they discussed this for quite some time before they settled on one. They chose the film 'Gladiator' and it was full of action and suspense. Everyone had a great time, although the realism could sometimes be a bit much for some of the boys to handle. Richard sat between the pair, but sometimes I saw him sitting on one of their laps or the other. By the end of the movie he was cuddled up against Mr. Becker's chest, both to calm his fears from the more graphic parts of the film and for a bit of security, and both seemed to be enjoying the contact. It was a very touching scene and just another example of how close they were already becoming. That night I gave the Backers my room, and Pat and I slept on the sofa-bed in the family room. Richard decided to sleep with my monster Ricky that night, and they used Pat's room up in the attic. Nothing went on between the pair, but they did get to know each other a little better and, in Richard's case, the hero worship was beginning to take even deeper. Sunday morning we had a big old farm breakfast, with Mrs. Becker assisting me in the kitchen, and the boys were stuffed by the time they needed to start getting ready for church. I asked the Backers if they'd like to join us and they jumped at the chance, explaining that they were a deeply religious family. We all sat together during the service, with Richard tucked cozily between the couple on the pew. Today's sermon just happened to be entitled 'Living as God's People', and the minister talked about living a life filled with Christian virtues, such as loving, caring, sharing, and faith. As I listened to the pastor preach from his heart, all I could think about was that the people who best exemplified this concept were spending the weekend with us. If there was a couple 'living as God's people', it had to be them. I wonder if God had suggested this topic to our minister during one of his prayer sessions, or if this just happened to be another miraculous 'coincidence"? After the service ended, we took everyone home to change and then we went to spend the day at the park. The boys were in charge of the activities and they organized many different things to do, always including the adults in each event. The Beckers got their first chance to play kickball since they were children, then they got to go on a boat ride, rowing a rented boat over the large pond/small lake that was at the heart of the park, and then they had a go at playing 'capture the flag' with the rest of us. This wasn't some little game, as you might have expected. Instead, the boys put the flags on either side of the small, forested area, so they could use the cover of the trees to sneak up and take the flag from their opponents. The game lasted for over an hour; with each team setting up many diversions and taking many prisoners, until finally one team captured the other team's flag and made it back safely to their own area again. Most of us were quite tired by the time it was over and we dragged back to the Suburban, eager for the chance to catch our breath and looking forward to going back to our house. When we returned, I urged everyone to clean up and change again, so I could take them out to eat before the Beckers went back home. We went to our favorite restaurant, had a wonderful meal, and then the Beckers left, before it got too late. Before they departed, we gave them a chance to say their good-byes with Richard in private, but they all knew they'd be back to see each other again the following weekend. After they had left and things began to settle back into our normal routine, Richard came to find me, so we could sit and talk for a while. He asked me if he could sleep with me again tonight, and I told him he could, then he began to tell me that he liked the Beckers and thanked me for helping to make all of this possible. Then he made another small request. "Mr. Currie, I really feel that I know you well enough to call you something else, besides Mr. Currie, but I don't know what I should call you. What do you think?" "Well, some of my boys' friends call me Pop, and you could too, or you could call me Uncle Josh or just Josh. Whatever you decide, it's your choice." "Just calling you Josh would seem strange and I'm not sure that I should call you Pop, so I think I'll call you Uncle Josh. Okay?" "Sure, that would be fine." When we went to sleep that evening, Richard slept with me, and Pat slept with Dustin on the sofa-bed again. We hadn't been in bed very long before I felt him inching his way over, like he didn't think I'd notice, and soon he was cuddled up beside me again. I heard him giggle a few times, but he said nothing about my body hair tickling him, and it wasn't long before I heard the gentle sounds of his breathing and knew that he had fallen asleep, worn out from a weekend full of activity and discoveries. Monday morning Sally showed up while we were eating breakfast. She inquired about how things went and then she loaded him and his belongings into her car, ready to drop him off at his school. She would then take his belongings over to the group home and drop them off before she returned to work. I think we were all looking forward to his return visit the following weekend. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.