Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 11:43:53 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5, chapters 17 - 18

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 17 -- A New Ray of Hope.

**Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read
this.

The new foundation and my general duties of taking care of the family were
only a couple of the demands on my time now.  A few days after we arrived
back home, I received a phone call from a Boston attorney, who informed me
that Vinnie's parents' estate had been settled and everything now belonged
to Vinnie.  We discussed the particulars of what this meant and what should
happen next, and then I informed him I'd discuss the details with Vinnie
later that evening.  I also promised to get back to him the following day,
once Vinnie and I had talked this over, since the lawyer felt there were
some significant time constraints on how soon certain things needed to be
taken care of.  When those issues were settled, I waited for Vinnie to
arrive, so I could discuss all of this with him.

I had made a decision to take my time explaining the particulars to Vinnie,
since I wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to discuss each item
thoroughly.  I felt it was imperative that Vinnie understand what was
involved and what he was agreeing to.  Therefore, I waited until after we'd
finished dinner before I broached the subject with him.  As he was leaving
the table, I told him there was something we needed to talk about and he
immediately looked concerned.  After assuring him it was nothing bad and he
hadn't done anything wrong, he followed me to my room, so we could discuss
things in private.

"Vinnie," I began, once we were alone, "I got a call today from the lawyer
in Boston who was probating your parents' will.  He advised me that your
mother and father's estate had been settled and everything now belongs to
you.  Do you have any idea what you'd like to do with the house and
everything in it?"

"Actually, I do," he confirmed, without hesitation.  "I've been thinking
about this for quite some time and I have made up my mind about how I want
to handle this.  I think it would be best to sell the house and all the
furniture, and then I'll give the money to you, to use for the family."

"Vinnie, that is your money, not ours," I urged him, since I felt he had
made this decision because he believed it was what I wanted him to do.  I
had to make it clear to him this wasn't the case.  "We have enough money
for the family, so we can put the proceeds into an account for you to use
later, for such things as furthering your education or getting a clean
start on your own."

"No, I want to do this, I really do," he insisted.  "I want to help pay for
things around here.  You've done so much for me already, so I want to do
something back."

"I appreciate your offer, but it just isn't necessary," I persisted.
"Let's put the money away, in your mutual fund or even a CD, something with
limited risk, and then you can think about this some more and decide what
you want to do with it later."

"Please?  It's really important for me to do this for the family," he
insisted.  "You've all been so good to me, by taking me in and treating me
so well, so now I want to do something in return, since I can afford to.
Won't you please let me do this for you?"

"Let's think about it some more and we can discuss it again after you have
the money," I offered, as a compromise.  "I don't want you to rush into
anything or make any definite decisions just yet.  Okay?"  Reluctantly, he
agreed, but he wasn't done yet.

"But I want to give my parents' Toyota 4-Runner to you to use as another
family car," he offered, hopefully.  "It will be my Christmas present to
the entire family.  Okay?"

"All right, we'll use the car," I agreed, "but the money will go into an
account for you, for now.  What about the possessions in the house?  Are
you going to want to keep any of those things as reminders?"

"Maybe a few, but I'd have to go there to determine what I might want to
keep," he explained.

"That sounds fair," I conceded.  "What would you think of the idea of you
and I going there this weekend, to check things out and meet with the
lawyer?  Does that sound good to you?"

"Yeah, it sounds fine," he confirmed, but then hesitated briefly, before he
finished, "as long as Kevin can come with us."  He then smiled at me,
giving me his most pathetic, yet pleading expression, figuring that might
help to make me give in to his request.  "Please?  I really want him to see
where I lived and everything."

"Okay, as long as Kevin wants to go," I agreed.  Vinnie now beamed with
pride, knowing he had won that round, but I had kind of assumed his request
even before he had made it.  I had considered in advance of his suggestion
that he would probably want to include Kevin on this trip, so I had
previously decided it would be fine with me.

Now that we were finished, I could start making plans for our trip.  The
first thing I did was to call the lawyer back the next day, so I could
explain our plans to him.  He told me he'd have a car waiting for us at the
airport, which would transport us directly to his office.  At that time, he
would have Vinnie and I sign the paperwork to give him power- of-attorney,
which he would then use to handle the more mundane transactions on Vinnie's
behalf.  This way, we wouldn't have to mail or fax items back and forth,
nor would we be required to fly to and from Boston in order to clear up
trivial matters.

After that, he also informed me he had learned Vinnie would also be
receiving some monies from the 9/11 survivors fund, on top of everything
else.  He also hinted this might be a substantial sum, due to the fact that
Vinnie was disabled and had lost BOTH of his parents due to the events of
that horrific day.  We then discussed what else he might need to get
everything settled quickly, and once we'd gone over each detail we could
think of, I informed him I'd also be providing him with an account number,
which would be in Vinnie's name, so he could wire transfer the funds
directly. The lawyer said that would be the last item he would need and
then assured us he would see to it that everything was accomplished in a
timely fashion.

After concluding our conversation, I made another quick call, but this time
to make our hotel reservations.  When the boys got home, I notified Vinnie
and Kevin that I had called the school and advised the secretary they would
not be in attendance on Friday, so we could leave early that morning.
After we finished our business there, we would drive back in the 4-Runner,
after filling it with whatever items Vinnie wanted to bring back with him.
If he wanted to bring back more items than we could fit in it, I suggested
we could rent a small trailer, since Vinnie had informed me earlier that
the 4-Runner was already equipped with a trailer hitch.  Neither had a
problem with anything I'd mentioned, so I just had to finalize our
arrangements.

In fact, Vinnie seemed quite excited about all of this, yet I could also
sense he was a bit sad.  I think he realized this trip would officially
close one part of his life and he'd be leaving nearly everything he knew
and held dear behind.  Not only that, but it would also remove any faint
hope he might still harbor about some day resuming that chapter of his
life, because the house and nearly everything in it would be sold and
belong to someone else.  However, I suspected he was doing this
intentionally, in order to force himself to move on and not look back.

Friday morning, Jake drove us to the airport to catch our flight, and then
he returned home, after seeing us off.  Vinnie was a bit uneasy on the
plane, because he knew it was on a similar flight that his parents had
died.  I kept reminding him of the differences between the two events,
beginning with the fact that this was a smaller plane, carried less fuel
and many of the security measures we'd passed through had been improved and
tightened since then.  I think that once all of this sank in, it did make
him feel a little safer, but I could see he was still a little on edge
until we landed.

We arrived in Boston just after noon and quickly spotted the driver who was
waiting for us, since he was displaying a large, white card with our
surname on it.  Once we identified ourselves, he led us to a limo and drove
us to the lawyer's office, where we were immediately led into a formal
conference room.  After making ourselves comfortable, the attorney entered,
introduced himself and shook each of our hands.  Once we got down to
business, we hurried through the necessary tasks, which included signing
the appropriate paperwork and exchanging the needed information.  Once we
had finished with all of that, he gave us the keys to both the house and
the 4-Runner and wished us all luck in the future.  Not only did he seem to
be very competent, but also quite friendly and appeared sincerely
concerned, which made us feel good about him representing Vinnie's
interests.

Now that our meeting was nearly over, I told the boys I planned to take
them out to eat next.  The lawyer overheard me and told us the driver was
at our disposal for the remainder of the day.  He explained that we could
use him for whatever we needed, as the limo company was quite
accommodating, since his firm used them quite frequently.  I thanked him
for taking care of that detail, since it would definitely make it easier
for us, because I didn't know the area at all and didn't want to rely on
Vinnie's memory of how to get around.  Before we left, however, the lawyer
explained we could just leave the house keys on the kitchen counter and
lock the doors behind us as we left, because he had two other sets that
would suffice in the interim.

As we were getting up to go, he suddenly remembered something else, so we
sat down again.  The attorney quickly dug out some additional paperwork,
which he had Vinnie sign, after explaining this was to transfer the title
of the 4-Runner over to me, since Vinnie was a minor.  He said he'd have
the vehicle registered and have the new license plates before we returned,
since I had previously told him we were planning on driving it back home.
Now that the last item of business had been concluded, we left the office
and explained our plans to the driver.

Lunch was more than a bit strange.  Oh, the establishment was very nice and
the meal quite good, but the mood at the table was more than a little
bizarre.  For one thing, Vinnie was very quiet and even Kevin couldn't seem
to draw him out of his shell.  We tried our best to discover what was going
on in his mind, since we knew he was thinking about the task ahead of him
-- entering his boyhood home and going through every item in it.  At that
time, he would have to decide which memories he wished to keep and hold on
to and which ones he wanted to leave behind.  Eventually, we left him to
his thoughts, since our probing and trying to draw him out was doing no
good at that point.  Therefore, the rest of our meal was consumed in almost
total silence, although Kevin and I did talk about a few other topics while
we ate.

>From there we went back to the lawyer's office, but we had to wait about
thirty more minutes before one of his staff returned with the registration
and new license plates for the 4-runner.  We were then informed the car was
now ours and the title would be mailed to us within thirty to sixty days.
Relieved that we could finally get the rest of what we had to do over with,
we thanked the attorney again and then went back to the limo.  The driver
was going to drop us off at Vinnie's old home and would put the new tags on
the 4-Runner while we did what we had to do inside.

The ride to Peabody seemed quite long, but it was very interesting and I
was intrigued with the various areas we passed along the way.  First, we
went through some poorer areas, before getting to the nicer suburban
setting, eventually pulling up in front of the house.  After all of us
climbed out of the limo, I took the key out of my pocket and used it to
unlock the front door.  Once I'd pushed it open, Kevin and I stepped off to
one side and let Vinnie go inside alone.  We knew he'd need a few minutes
on his own to deal with the ghosts dwelling within, before we disturbed his
solitude.  Even after we entered, we still gave Vinnie plenty of leeway to
go off on his own or spend time by himself, if that's what he desired.  We
figured we had to let him deal with things at his own pace and in his own
way, but after twenty minutes of such private contemplation and
examination, Vinnie came back to get us.  That's when he suggested giving
us the official tour of his childhood haunt.

Vinnie seemed to nearly glow, as he filled us in about random memories he
had of things that had happened in the various rooms.  He was extremely
eager to share this anecdotal information with us, as we made our way from
one end of the home to the other, and was very animated whenever he pointed
out something he felt was important for us to know.  Along the way, he also
started collecting the items he wanted to take back with him, so we
gathered these belongings and stacked them in the living room, where we
would pack them later.  Most of the items he selected were pictures or
other personal effects from his youth, but he made certain to take the lamp
from his bedroom, since he had been using it for most of his life and
desired to use it in his new room as well.

After we had gone completely through the house, we made one final trek from
front to back, just to make sure he hadn't missed anything of importance.
Once he confirmed he had everything he wanted, we took the items Vinnie had
chosen, wrapped them carefully and packed them into the boxes that had been
stored there for our use.  Once everything was taped shut, Kevin and I
began loading the boxes into the 4-Runner.  When Vinnie decided he had
everything he wanted and was ready to leave, I made sure all the doors to
the house were locked, tossed the house key on the counter and then we all
hopped into the 4-Runner.

As we drove away, I glanced into the rearview mirror to check on the boys
and see how Vinnie was holding up.  They had asked previously if I'd mind
if they sat together in the back together as we made our way home, which
was no big deal to me.  However, as I looked at them, I could see a tear
rolling down Vinnie's cheek as we drove down the street, leaving his old
home behind us.  He had gone through much during this short visit, since he
had to deal with the mishmash of good and bad memories that resided there.

The visit had reminded him not only of the fun times he'd had with his
parents, but it also forced him to confront the reality that they were now
gone forever.  He knew he had to deal with whatever ties he felt to that
place, if he wanted to feel comfortable living with us, although I reminded
him he should never forget the great times he'd had there.  I explained
that those memories would always make him feel as if his parents were still
close by and remind him about how much they loved him.

It's never easy going through situations like these, even when you're older
and more mature, so I knew how difficult it must be for Vinnie right now,
especially since the loss was still fresh in his mind.  However, as I
watched him and considered all of the obstacles he had already faced during
the short duration of his life, it only served to reinforce the notion of
what an emotionally and mentally tough kid he was.  It probably had
something to do with the various situations he's had to endure just to
survive, but it was clearly obvious he was far stronger than most kids his
age.  If ever they gave Olympic medals for courage, Vinnie would definitely
deserve a gold.

The trip home seemed extremely long and solemn, even though Vinnie started
to liven up a bit the closer we got to our destination.  We spent Friday
night at a motel just outside of Albany, NY, with Kevin and Vinnie sharing
one of the two beds in the room.  Before we went to sleep, we all agreed we
wanted to get back sometime on Saturday, so we'd have Sunday to rest up
before the boys had to go back to school.

We still made frequent stops along the way, so Vinnie could stretch and we
could all use the toilet, and our meal breaks were quite long too,
considering there were only the three of us.  We finally pulled into our
own driveway well after dark, yet we still had a bunch of the boys run out
to greet us.  Well, I'm not sure if they came out to greet us or just to
check out the 4-Runner, but it was nice either way.

The boys helped Vinnie carry his things back to his room, so he could
arrange them as he wished or put them in storage, if that is what he
desired.  He seemed pleased to have these mementos with him and asked me if
I would put some picture hooks in the wall for him, so he could hang some
of these mementos now.  I was happy to do it for him and took care of it
right away, as I knew what it was like to have to wait, especially when
something means that much to you.  Once he'd finished placing things where
he wanted them, his new room had a homey feel and contained many reminders
of the good times from his past.  I was pleased it had all worked out so
well.

I think we all slept well that night, so I was refreshed when I began my
Sunday routine.  After taking the family to church and then out to brunch,
Frankie and I sat down to discuss the foundation.  As we got underway, we
both understood we'd have to walk a fine line between enlightening people
and giving them ideas about something new to try -- thoughts they might not
otherwise have.  Our hope was to keep people from getting involved in this
dangerous practice, while trying to ensure no one else would think it
sounded like a glamorous or fun thing to try.  Our biggest problem would be
trying to figure out how to walk this tightrope and provide the necessary
information, without causing more harm.  I could tell this wasn't going to
be easy.

We continued working on this over the next few hours before the Dean from
Frankie's college called the house, to share some additional information
with us.  It seemed he had verified the college had a policy that stated if
your roommate died during the school year you were given straight A's in
your courses, without having to meet the course requirements.  This was due
to the psychological repercussions such an event would have on the
surviving roommate.  He explained he didn't inform us about this us at
first, because he wasn't sure if this rule applied in Frankie's case, since
Tom had died at home during a break.  However, the administration decided
that since Frankie didn't learn about Tom's death until he returned for
classes, it should be applied in his favor.  I thanked the Dean for this
information, told him I'd discuss it with Frankie and then let him know
whether Frankie would be back to attend classes.

After hanging up, I went and looked for Frankie, so I could discuss this
possibility with him.  Once I'd told him the information the Dean had
shared with me, he asked a few questions and then spent a few more minutes
thinking it over.  When he decided what course of action he wished to
follow, he explained his decision to me.

"Dad, they can give me A's for the courses if they want, but I'm still
going back and doing the work," he insisted.  "I look at it this way, I
might need some of the information I learn in those courses and I wouldn't
want to have to think later that I messed up a situation or maybe cost
someone his life just because I took the easy way out.  Sure, Tom's death
has affected me and I may not be able to focus as well as I would have if
this hadn't have happened, so that's why I said they could give me the A's
if they wanted to.  The thing is, even if they do, I still want to go back
and give it my best shot, so I won't have any regrets about my actions
later."

After hearing his reasoning, I told him I was pleased with his decision and
he was taking a very mature approach to this situation.  He was not fully
relying on the school policy, yet he wasn't shirking his own
responsibilities either.  I reiterated I was proud of him and his
reasoning, and would call the Dean back and relay this information to him,
if that's what he really wanted.  Frankie said it was, so we left it like
that.

When I spoke to the Dean and explained Frankie's decision, he admitted he
was a bit surprised that Frankie didn't jump at the opportunity to use the
time to goof off, as many of the other students might have done.  He said
he admired Frankie's stand and would talk to his superiors about how they
thought they should handle this situation, but told me to tell Frankie that
he was enormously impressed by his judgment and reasoning skills.

Once we concluded that discussion, I told him we'd be leaving the house
shortly, so I could drive Frankie back to campus.  This way, he could
return to classes the next day, and the Dean said he'd see us then.  I
really didn't want to go on another trip, but I knew it was something I had
to do, and I wasn't about to ask Jake to do it, since he had to work early
the next day.

It was a tedious drive, but we made it there safely and I helped Frankie
take his things to his dorm room.  We hadn't been there very long before
there was a knock on the door and Frankie opened it and discovered the Dean
standing there.  He quickly informed us that he had made a few calls after
he spoke to us, to inform his superiors about Frankie's intentions.  He
then informed us that the powers that be were also impressed by Frankie's
stance and had decided to grant him A's in each of his classes, even though
he still wanted to take the courses.  They said they wouldn't tell his
professors about this until the end of the semester, so Frankie could see
how he fared without any assistance.  The Dean also added that his
colleagues were adamant that they weren't about to penalize my son for
choosing the honorable approach, hence their decision.  Of course, Frankie
was pleased to learn how this had worked out and was now eager to return to
his classes.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 18 -- Discoveries and Goals.

Shortly after I got back from taking Frankie to his college, Graham
approached me about another situation.  It seemed that Brent had appeared
to him again, but this time Brent was projecting impressions of Vinnie, a
picture in a decorative frame and, oddly enough, me.  Since neither of us
could figure out what these things meant, I decided to include Vinnie in on
our discussion, in hopes that he'd be able to shed some light on the
situation.

Once Graham explained about the picture and what it looked like, Vinnie
immediately announced he recognized what it was.  That picture had hung on
the wall in his room in Peabody and was currently on display in his new
room.  Seeing this appeared to be important, I suggested we all go and
inspect it carefully, to see if it might help to solve this conundrum.  It
turned out to be a picture of Vinnie's mother from her first teaching
assignment.  I looked at the picture, studied it carefully, and then turned
to Vinnie.

"Your mother was a teacher?" I wanted to know.

"Yes, she taught fourth grade," he told me, and Graham and I could see how
proud he was of her.

"Do you know where she went to college and got her teaching degree?" I
followed, wondering if this might play a part in solving this puzzle.

"Yes, she went to Villanova," Vinnie told me, without hesitation.

"What was her name?" I pressed, thinking I had discovered the key.

"Rita," he responded, simply.

"No, Vinnie, I mean, what was her maiden name?" I pressed.

"Oh, that was Callindona.  Rita Callindona," he informed us.

"I don't believe this!" I exclaimed, as the connection suddenly began to
form in my mind.

"You don't believe what?" both Vinnie and Graham chimed, almost in unison.

"That I knew his mother," I informed them, while noting the looks of shock
that readily appeared on each of their faces.  "She was my wife's roommate
at college.  Of course, she wasn't my wife at the time, but that's where we
met, and your mother used to join us once in a while, when we went places.
My wife and your mother were very good friends."

"Really, you knew my mom?" Vinnie asked, as if he were unable to believe
what I'd just told him.

"Yes, and my wife and I kept in touch with her for quite a while after we
graduated and even after we were married," I explained.  "I even remember
learning that your mother was engaged and we were invited to the wedding,
but my wife and I had two small children and another on the way by then and
were in the process of moving, because I had just received a better job
offer.  Unfortunately, that prevented us from going, and after that we just
kind of lost touch with each other.  Now, I am beginning to doubt it was a
coincidence that you came to my attention.  I think your mother and Brent,
and maybe even my wife, were all acting in collusion to bring us together."

"What do you mean by that?" Vinnie asked, confused.

"What I mean is," I began, "somehow your mother, along with my wife and
adopted son are working together to get us the messages we used to locate
you and eventually bring you here, to live with us.  I have my suspicions
that maybe your mother, in cooperation with my wife, selected me to take
care of you and then worked with Brent to pull it off."

Both boys looked at me for a moment, almost as if I had just lost my mind,
but I knew Graham was just startled by all of these connections.  However,
I was pretty sure Vinnie was wondering how dead people could have pulled
such a thing off and, therefore, I wasn't sure if he agreed with my logic.
After we discussed this a little more, and with Graham's additional input,
I began to persuade him to see it from my point of view.

Graham was very persuasive in getting Vinnie to agree with me, as he
explained some of the stranger things that had happened because of his
ability, but Vinnie wasn't as quick to come over to our way of thinking.
His first problem with our theory was with the fact that Graham had first
told us about this even before it had happened.  That's when I tried to
explain to him that the other side seems to view time in quite different
ways than we do.  Somehow, they are able to view our future, past and
present with equal ease, which allows them to have knowledge of events long
since forgotten or be aware of situations that had not yet happened.

It wasn't an easy concept for him to grasp, as it dealt with very abstract
concepts, and let's face it, it wasn't an easy concept for me to grasp or
fully understand either.  I think this idea might have had its basis in
Einstein's theory of relativity, so I wasn't sure if there were many people
who could fully understand how this happened, let alone explain how it
worked.  If there was, it was no more than a handful of the brightest in
the world, so how could I hope to explain it to him. Nonetheless, Vinnie
finally gave in and agreed with us, concluding that our coming together as
a family had somehow been the result of a cosmic insider fix.

Over the course of the next several days, Vinnie tried to wheedle out of me
all of the information I knew about his mother.  He wanted to know what we
had done, what she was like in college and my impressions of her, as he
tried to piece together what she was like before she met his father.  After
getting this information from me, he then confided that his mother and
father had waited to establish their careers first and for his mother to be
granted tenure, before they decided to start a family.  However, after they
had him and had dealt all of the problems he had suffered, they agreed not
to have any other children.

Over time, I guess Vinnie was satisfied with what he'd discovered and now
had a better understanding of not only his mother, but possibly even the
how and why we had been drawn together.  It was quite a remarkable time for
him.

During late-January we had another remarkable, if not unprecedented event.
Sunday afternoon, all the local radio and television stations were telling
us to brace ourselves for a major bout of bad weather, but they were unsure
as to exactly how it would play out.  The only thing they seemed to agree
on was that we were about to receive a massive amount of precipitation,
however they disagreed as to whether this would be in the form of snow, ice
or merely rain.  Let me see if I can explain the reasons for this.

The local meteorologists all agreed there was a major storm moving up the
eastern seaboard, which would bring a great deal of moisture into areas
even miles away from the ocean.  However, this was also playing into
another variable, which was a major dip in an arctic cold front that was
also anticipated to skirt the area.  Therefore, none of the forecasters
were certain if the two would touch, or maybe even collide, which would
make a major difference in the way we received the expected precipitation.
As it turned out, the two independent weather fronts did overlap slightly
and resulted in a major ice storm.

Sometime during the night the power went out, due to the weight of the
accumulating ice bringing down the power lines.  I became aware of it when
Andrew came in and crawled into bed with Jake and me.  When I asked him
what was wrong, he told me he was cold and the house was freezing, and
that's when I noticed the condensation of my breath as we spoke.
Immediately, I wondered it the furnace went out, but then I noticed the
bedside clock was dark and I wasn't able to turn on the lamp.  That's when
it dawned on me that we had lost power.

Hesitantly, I nudged Jake and explained the situation to him, so we decided
it might be best if we got a fire going in the woodstove and the fireplace
in the family room.  I must admit, we'd grown lazy and complacent and
didn't use either of them often any longer, since it was easier and less
trouble to rely on the furnace and central heating, but this was different.
I was afraid the dropping temperature might cause the plumbing to freeze
up, or worse yet, the pipes to freeze and burst, so we both got out of bed,
dressed warmly and went out to haul in some wood, much to Andrew's
disappointment.  I think he was hoping to share our body heat a little
longer first.

As Jake and I carried armloads of wood to each device and attempted to
ignite the logs and kindling, some of the other boys began to come
downstairs to see what was going on.  They had either awoken because they
were also cold or they had heard us moving about below them, so we soon had
some help bringing in extra wood to dry out, so it could be used later.
Within the hour we had two nice fires started, which were beginning to
throw off enough heat to warm up some of the downstairs.  Before long, most
of the boys were sprawled out in the living room, although dressed in
sweats or thermal underwear and bundled in blankets.  It was as if we were
now living in a single room abode and the boys were even hesitant to
venture out into the colder areas, even to use the toilet, which they only
did when they couldn't hold it any longer.

Since I wanted to know what was going on in the outside world, I asked one
of the boys if I could use his battery-operated boom box to listen to the
news, and he told me that would be fine, as long as he didn't have to get
it.  Understanding his hesitation to leave the warmth we were now
surrounded in, I left and went to his room to fetch the desired object.  I
hurried back to the family room, since there was quite a difference in
temperature between the two places, and came back in and turned it on.
Thank God some of the local stations had generators that kept them on the
air during such emergencies, so we were able to listened to stories of what
was happening around us.

Everyone was being advised to stay home and not go anywhere, as the roads
were very treacherous and most places were without power.  Schools had been
closed, most businesses were shut down and the traffic lights weren't even
working, which increased the driving hazards, if the icy roads weren't
enough to deter you already.  It looked as if we were going to be staying
put for several hours minimum, if not a day or more.

The boys cheered when the heard the schools were closed, but their delight
rapidly faded once they realized how little there was for them to do.
Without electricity, they couldn't do most of the things they enjoyed --
such as watching television, using the computer or enjoying movies, and
outside of this one room, it was too cold to go out and be affectionate
with their partner, or at least that's how they looked at it.  If only
they'd realized how much heat you could generate under a pile of covers
when making love.

They did eventually slip out a few at a time, to retrieve their battery
operated personal CD players, the handheld games and their laptops,
although they weren't able to get online.  A few even asked Trey and Dion
if they could borrow some of their books, when the pair went to their room
to fetch something to read.  Now that the sun was providing enough light
for this activity, I saw several of my sons with their noses buried in the
pages of various books.  Maybe this was the silver lining in this cloud --
getting them to read.

In due time the boys became hungry, so I encouraged them to dine on the
cold cereals, pop-tarts and breakfast bars we kept in the pantry.  We
certainly didn't have to worry about the items in the refrigerator or
freezer, since mother nature was taking care of keeping the foods in them
from spoiling, but we had no way of cooking anything.  Before long, the
boys came back into the family room carrying their breakfast, so they could
enjoy it in the warmth generated from the fireplace, although the woodstove
was now warming up some of the other parts of the downstairs.  However,
since there was no electricity to run the circulating pumps, the heat was
limited to the area surrounding its location.

By late afternoon, power had been restored to the main sections of our
little community, although some of the outlying areas wouldn't benefit from
the utility crews feverish effort for another day or two.  The local
schools remained closed for two days, since the superintendent was worried
about driving conditions in the more rural areas of the county and didn't
want to risk the lives of the students, staff or faculty just for the sake
of opening the buildings.  Therefore, we enjoyed a minor holiday, although
it wasn't totally festive.

Once that crisis had passed, we returned to our daily lives.  By the end of
January, we had some more excitement, but this was the type we were eager
to get.  It began when Danny received his letter of acceptance from Penn
State in the mail, followed closely behind by Brandon receiving his letter
from the University of Pittsburgh, and finally with Temple University
sending Kevin his acceptance the following week.  It was quite an exciting
time.

Danny had chosen Penn State, because he planned on being a pre-med major,
eventually specializing in pediatrics, and felt Penn State offered the best
course selection for his particular needs.  Brandon, however, was intent
upon pursuing a career in dentistry and felt the University of Pittsburgh
offered the best program for him.  Although Danny and Brandon had
originally considered attending the same university, they soon realized
that neither school offered exactly what each of them desired.  Since they
also realized their choice of institutions would greatly impact their
future and they would need to remain focused on their studies if they hoped
to achieve their goals, they eventually agreed that being together would
only be a distraction, which might prove more costly than advantageous.
They concluded it would be best if they spent this time apart and utilize
their vacations and summers to more than make up for missing each other
during the academic year.  They were both determined to do well in school,
and then in their chosen professions, and this would be the first step they
would need to take in order to attain this goal.

Kevin had applied to Temple University, because he wanted to become a
pharmacist.  After studying the programs at several different colleges, he
concluded the program at Temple best suited his needs and provided him with
the atmosphere he desired.  All three of the boys had always been excellent
students, with a special aptitude for the sciences, and they had
specifically chosen their majors so they could best utilize those
abilities.  Needless to say, I was very proud of all three of them.

After we had celebrated the news thoroughly and come down from the euphoric
feelings that had enveloped us, I started to think about other things as
well.  For one, I not only considered what this was going to mean to the
three individuals involved, but I also began to question how this was also
going to affect those left behind, which most directly effected Vinnie.
How was he going to react and handle things, once Kevin went away to
school?  The two of them had become extremely close and nearly inseparable
since Vinnie's arrival and Kevin had chosen to do almost everything with
his newest brother.  Kevin spent nearly every minute he had just to help
him and assisted Vinnie in doing his exercises, both in and out of the
water, and would spend the majority of his waking moments at Vinnie's side.

He also made it easier for Vinnie to adjust to his new school by showing
him around, introducing him to those he felt wouldn't make fun of Vinnie's
handicaps and finally by giving Vinnie the inside scoop on each of his
teachers.  Kevin even helped him with his studies, by tutoring him whenever
he needed it, and made certain that Vinnie kept on top of all his
coursework.  It didn't require a great deal of Kevin's time, since Vinnie
was a very capable student in his own right, but sometimes I think he would
ask Kevin to help him, just to provide them with another opportunity to be
close and make Kevin feel that he was doing something else special for him.
They had a very good relationship building here, which I felt also had some
very definite romantic underpinnings.

I also spent a great deal of time working with Frankie, as we attempted to
come up with the best way to honor Tom's memory and get this important
information out where it was needed most.  We also began to solicit
donations from corporations, using our notoriety as a family to our
advantage and by spreading word of what we hoped to accomplish, in order to
gain their monetary support.  As the foundation's funds began to
accumulate, we built a coalition of educators, medical personnel and other
professionals, to help work out a suitable plan of action.  After a couple
of meetings with assorted members from these groups, we had devised a rough
outline of how we were going to proceed and what we hoped to accomplish.

The first thing we were going to focus on was to devise an instructional
unit for the school curriculum, which would be sent free-of-charge to any
school district or college that requested it.  This would be designed to be
included in a sex education or general health course, where issues like
this were normally discussed and dealt with.  There would be three distinct
units -- one for middle school, one for high school and a third for
colleges, because we felt the amount of material included and the focus of
the discussion would vary slightly between these three distinct sections of
the population.

In each of these packets, we would include materials to explain the medical
effects that came about when AEA was used and the scientific explanation
for how and why it brought about these results, without giving the
specifics about how people actually did such things.  We hoped this would
enlighten the young people, without giving them too much information, which
might actually tempt them into trying such things.  We would provide the
unit plans, statistical charts and any other teaching aids we determined
might be needed by using the donations from our sponsors.  This would make
it available at no charge to any educational facility that wanted to
incorporate this topic as part of their course work.

The next dilemma was how we would spread the word about what we were doing
and let the various educational facilities know what we offered.  After
much discussion, we finally agreed to do this by sending letters out first,
to school superintendents, school principals, college deans and department
heads, as well as to the health/science teachers and professors.  We would
do this as part of a nationwide mailing barrage, which we hoped would
enlighten the various institutions and individuals about what we were
offering and explaining what they would need to do to get this material.
All it would require was for them to send back a written request on the
school's or colleges stationery, letting us know which level of materials
they were seeking.  Once we received this letter, the package would be
shipped directly to them, as soon as it could be arranged.

We didn't see how this program could fail.  Since educators love nearly
anything that is free and will save them time preparing lessons, we felt we
had hit upon a win-win situation for everyone involved.  We also realized
there might be certain groups that would view our efforts negatively, since
what we were trying to accomplish might conflict with their religious or
moral beliefs about either trying AEA or discussing it with others.  To
address this, we prepared other information packets for our critics, hoping
not so much to silence them, but to address their concerns and lessen their
thunder instead.  Along this same vein and with the hope it might give
added impact to the seriousness of our mission, the entire program was
going to be carried out under the sponsorship and direction of the Thomas
Cole AEA Memorial Foundation, which would be listed on every piece of
material that was sent out.

A special packet was assembled containing all of the items that had been
prepared and sent off to Tom's parents.  We not only wanted them to see the
good that was being done in Tom's name, but we also hoped they would give
us their blessing to continue.  Within days, I received a phone call from
them thanking me for my thoughtfulness and acknowledging their approval of
what we had done thus far.  It was a very emotional call for all of us.
Now that I felt assured that everything was in order, we waited.

Within weeks, requests for the materials began to flow in. All my sons
readily helped as much as they could, in order to make sure each order was
shipped in a timely fashion.  The boys eventually even asked some of their
friends and classmates to assist us with this endeavor, seeing our program
caught on more quickly than we anticipated and there was more than enough
work to go around.  I think everyone who participated felt good about what
we were doing.

Once these packets were on their way, we all prayed our effort would
prevent anyone else from dying or losing a loved one due to this dangerous
'high.'  I think our goal was most wonderfully expressed by Sammy, when he
asked me one day why anyone would have to try making an orgasm feel any
better, when it was already awesome enough.


E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com - but please put the
story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.