Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 15:08:29 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-Book 8, 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 Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with
this chapter, and Art, the real Vinnie and John for their additional input
on each chapter.

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 8-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2004 by billwstories
Chapter 8 - Many changes.                         March 2004

Even though I have enough birthdays to acknowledge with the boys, as March
17th rolled around I realized I was missing a birthday I wished I weren't.
Today, my grandson Jordan would be turning 11, but I wouldn't be there for
him.  I thought about calling, to wish him a Happy Birthday, but I wasn't
sure how the phone call would be received or if it would end up creating
more problems than it was worth.  Instead, I made an appointment with my
attorney, figuring I'd correct another situation I had been contemplating
for quite some time.  When the appointed hour came, I went to his office.

"Josh, what is it you want me to do for you?" my lawyer asked me.

"I want to make changes to my will," I advised him.

"How so?"  He looked confused.

"I am eliminating all but one of my older children from the will and
replacing them with my grandchildren.  Their shares are to be set up in
trusts, which they can draw from for their educational expenses, but they
won't be able to withdraw completely until they reach twenty-five.

"The only one of my older children I am leaving anything to is Robert, but
I also want you to make him executor of the will and the administrator on
all the trust accounts.  That way, my other older children won't be able to
get their grubby fingers on even one penny of my money."

"That's a pretty drastic step," my lawyer warned me.

"I know and I don't make it lightly.  I won't give you the details behind
my reason for doing this, but I feel it's imperative that it gets done."

"It's your will, so I'll change it however you request, as long as you are
aware of what those changes mean and the impact they'll have on your heirs.
>From what I can tell, you understand those things completely, so I will do
as you ask.  I'll have my secretary call you once I have the new will drawn
up, so you can come in and sign it."

I thanked him and then left his office, feeling satisfied about what I had
done.  It wasn't that I hated my older children now, but I had finally
determined that if they didn't feel I was good enough for them to associate
with while I was alive, then I'd be damned if they benefited from my death.
Instead, I'd leave their share of my money to their children, but make it
so they'd have no way to get their hands on any of it.  I don't know if
this will bother them, and it may not matter to them at all, but if it
does, then possibly they'll understand about how I felt when they turned on
me like they did.

Now that issue was settled, I could focus on the next event in our lives.
In two more weeks Frankie would be leaving for Missouri, for his basic
training.  He was excited, yet nervous about this move, but he'd been
working out frantically to make sure he was in good shape to start his
training.  He'd talked to others who had been in the military, hearing
horror stories about how the overweight and out of shape trainees are
treated, so he was determined he would not fall into that category.
Actually, he was probably in the best condition I'd ever seen him in and
Frankie has never been in bad physical shape, no matter whose definition
you were to use.

I took the time to discuss other issues with Frankie too; because I knew
there probably wouldn't be a great deal of contact with him during his
training period.  Therefore, I wanted to get his reaction about whether he
wanted me, or any of us, to come to his graduation ceremonies at the end of
his cycle.  After thinking about it briefly, he answered me.

"I don't want you to go to all that expense, so you don't have to come," he
advised me.

"I didn't ask you if we could afford to go," I corrected him, "I just want
to know if you WANTED us there.  I'd love to come see your graduation
ceremony, but I wasn't sure if having a bunch of us there might embarrass
you or anything."  His face began to brighten.

"Heck, that could never happen," he said, grinning.  "I love all you guys
and I could care less if anyone else might have a problem with that.  You
could bring them all, if you wanted, but that may get expensive and I'm not
sure if all of the guys will be home from college by then."

"Well, I'll promise you this," I told him.  "I'll be there no matter what
and maybe I'll bring some of the others, but I'll try to keep them under
control.  I'll do all I can to try to prevent them from running out on the
parade grounds and trying to march with you," I added with a laugh, "or
keep them from sitting in the stands and harassing you."

"Oh, don't do that," he joked back.  "I'd like to see how the Army and the
M.P.'s would handle that.  Besides, it might be fun visiting my brothers in
an Army prison camp.  Heck, I might even try to get assigned as one of
their guards, so I could torture them a little."  I was glad to see him in
such a good mood, because I wasn't sure if he wasn't getting nervous about
this big career move.

"You might have an idea there, and it might give me a little peace at home,
but do you think the Army is ready for your brothers yet?"  Frank laughed
again.

"You may be right about that," he quipped.  "They deal with some bad-asses,
but I'm not sure even the Army is ready for the Currie assault force of
bad-asses.  Besides, I'm not sure any of the generals are ready to have
their beds short-sheeted or find oatmeal in their boots."  He had a point
and we both had a good chuckle.

"Okay, maybe I'll come alone then, but I WILL be there," I informed him.

"You know, I'm still not sure WHY you do all of this for us, but I for one
am sure glad you do.  Thanks, Dad.  I'm really happy to be your son and
part of this family."  Frank gave me a hug, as his way of showing me his
gratitude, and I thought to myself, 'who needs my older children when I
have boys who appreciate me for who I am, and not WHAT I am.'

The next thing that happened was I received another email from Nick.  It
was almost time for him to come home, but I suspected he had to fill me in
about his last trip before he got back.  Eagerly I opened his email, to see
what he had to say.


Pop,

Man, I'm going to hate to leave here, but I'm really looking forward to
coming home too.  I hope Shannon is excited about my coming back.  Anyway,
I just got back from my trip to the Foz do Iguacu or Iguacu Falls.  They're
on the border between Brasil, Argentina and Paraguay.  I think I told you
my host brothers, Will and Marcos, were going to go with me, because they'd
never been there before either.  Mom and Dad made sure I had enough money
to take them too and it was great.

The Cataratas do Iguacu is a series of 275 falls, covering almost two
miles, and the water from the Iguacu River cascades over a gorge.  The best
view is from the Brazilian side and it's really neat how the spray makes
permanent rainbows around the falls.  We even took a boat ride and a
helicopter ride to see the falls, but I was disappointed because the
helicopter ride didn't last long.  It was over in about ten minutes.  That
sucked and was a rip off.  Well, it was a great view, just way too short.

Anyway, they said two-thirds of the falls were on the Argentina side, so we
went there too.  That was really neat, because there are walkways you can
follow that go right under the falls.  We got wet from the spray, but it
was a blast.

We all shared a room together on the trip, so, of course, we fooled around
some, but we were all careful.  I'm going to really miss them.  They've
been a lot of fun.  Do you think maybe we can bring them to stay with us
sometime?  Pleeeeeze.

Well, I've got to get going.  We're ready to head back to their place now
and I'll spend one more week there, before I catch my plane home.  Can't
wait to see you and show you all my pictures and stuff.  I've got loads.

Love you all, Nick


It always amazes me how upbeat he is about things and he has made the most
of this experience, though I still worry whether he truly heeded my advice
and was careful throughout his multiple escapades.  I will make sure he is
in good health when he returns, and the various appointments are already
set.

Getting back to matters closer to home, I talked with Sally and she
informed me she had talked with the couple she hoped would supervise the
other house.  She explained that after telling them about the opportunity,
they both seemed excited about our proposal.  They were looking forward to
being able to raise more children and the husband was thrilled that he'd
still be helping to run a farm.  Sally told me that the day after she spoke
to them, the husband gave his notice at the farm he was working on, to give
his current employer time to find a replacement.  They were already packing
up their belongings and would be ready to move into the other house, as
soon as renovations were completed.  I thought to myself, 'this is coming
together very nicely.'

Sally was also excited about the changes we made.  With two sets of parents
and two homes, this would allow her to make additional placements and would
almost double the number of children she could assign to the farm.  She
informed me that she was going to select some of her more reliable cases
from existing foster homes, children who she felt would do better where
they could have a chance to enjoy the country living, work with animals and
possibly even learn some skills.  That would open up room for other
children with the current foster families, but she wouldn't take children
from homes where they were happy and things were going well.

Renovations on the two farms were moving very swiftly.  The Becker home was
totally revamped and set up to accommodate a dozen or more young men.  The
five upstairs bedrooms were redone and furnished to house two to four boys
each and there were now 3 bathrooms on that level.  Except for the large
bedroom, which was designed for four boys, the other bedrooms would share a
bathroom, so there would be a maximum of four people assigned to share each
of these facilities.  The boys would have either a single or double-bed,
but the larger bedroom designed for four boys would have two sets of bunk
beds, with the lower bunk being a double-bed and the upper bunk a single.

A master bedroom and a full bath had been added to the lower level, for the
house-parents, and some of the rooms were combined, to make them larger.
For example, the dining room and the old den were made into one room, now
furnished with a long dining room table, so everyone could eat together.  A
family room was added on to the rear of the house, to provide a large area
where the children could watch television, play games or do homework.  We
even had a large-screen TV set up in that room.  There was also a smaller
television in the old living room, for the house-parents to use or to give
an alternative area for those not interested in what was being watched in
the family room.

The barn was also reconditioned and updated, with more milking stalls being
added, equipment updated and a new milk house added.  The milk house would
provide for adequate storage of the milk, until the shipment was picked up
by the dairy co-op's tanker-trucks.  Some of the smaller buildings, once
used to house the hogs and chickens, had been converted into storage areas
or made over to accommodate the horses that would be kept at this farm.  In
addition to all of that, all the fences were checked and repaired or
reinforced, to make sure they would be able to contain the animals that
would graze there.

Similar types of work was also begun on the other farm, to bring it up to
similar standard, except there would be no milking stalls or a milk house
there.  The cattle kept at the other farm would be raised for their meat
instead, so no milking would be done.  A large chicken coop was also built
there, a two-level structure built into the hillside.  The first floor
would have ramps leading out to a fenced in yard in the front, which the
chickens could use to get out for exercise or to eat, as the food would be
placed in troughs there.  The lower level would be for multiple laying
hens, with nests built into the wall along three and a half sides, and
hopefully they would provide enough eggs to take care of both locations.

The upper level would be for the chickens being raised for eating purposes,
and there would be ramps leading from that area, going out in the back.
Those ramps would lead out into a fenced in area on top of the bank,
against which the chicken coop had been constructed.  That way the laying
hens and the other chickens would not intermix.

In addition to the buildings, there were four older tractors between the
two farms, which the Foundation put up for sale.  They were bought by some
of the other farmers in the area and then two newer, larger tractors were
purchased, one to be kept at each farm, to take over the workload.  A new,
smaller tractor was also acquired, and it would be used as a back up and
for performing the less demanding duties.  It would be kept at the Becker's
old farm, which had a larger barn and more area to store it in, but could
be used at either location.  Everything was falling into place nicely and
both farms would be up and running at one hundred percent in no time.

Not everything was going that well or that smoothly, however, as March also
brought us one final winter storm.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a
very bad ice storm, and it created some very hazardous conditions around
the area.  The ice not only coated the ground and roads, making traveling,
and even walking very treacherous, but the ice also weighed heavily on the
telephone lines, power lines, and even the trees.  The weight of the ice
brought down many wires and caused numerous branches to snap from trees or
even worse.  You could actually hear the limbs cracking and breaking off
throughout the day, in the woods behind the house.  Even as bad as that
was, we were still in for one more unpleasant surprise.

We were eating dinner, which we had to prepare on our outdoor grill.
Seeing the power had gone off, we had grabbed as much of our camping gear
from storage as we thought we could use.  We set out the lanterns to give
us light and then we wheeled our gas grill into the kitchen, so we could
use it to cook on.  I even had the boys get out the sleeping bags, so we
could sleep in the rec room around the kerosene heater, in case power
didn't come back on right away.  It was a good thing we had all of these
items to use in such an emergency, and I hoped others in the community were
faring as well.

Anyway, as we were sitting and eating our meal, we heard a very loud noise,
which almost sounded as if a very large gun had been fired.  Immediately
after that, we heard a tremendous crash and felt the house shake and
shudder.  Everyone jumped up from the table, but I spoke very loudly and
told them to stay where they were, until we knew what had happened.  It
would also give me time to investigate and figure out what our options
were.  After making sure the boys were doing as they were told, I suggested
that Jake and I would go and determine what had happened and then come back
to let the rest of them know.  Even though I felt something terrible had
occurred, I was not prepared for what we found.

The large, old maple tree, which used to stand next to the driveway and off
to the side of the house, had succumbed to the weight of the ice and
toppled over.  The noise we first heard must have been the sound of the
trunk snapping, after the ice caused it to bend precariously to one side.
Eventually, it reached a point where it could no longer support the
additional weight and it gave way, toppling over.  As our later
investigations would reveal, the tree was diseased and much of the center
of the trunk was hollow, eaten away by whatever malady or vermin had
affected it, which made it vulnerable to any number of phenomena.  The
worse part was not THAT it fell, but WHERE it fell.  The tree had landed
across the roof of the family room, collapsing it and totally demolishing
the room completely, but that wasn't all.  The branches had also broken
through the outer wall of Little Ricky's bedroom and one of the
second-floor bathrooms, but it also poked holes through the walls to Vinnie
and Kevin's bedroom on the first floor and their adjoining bathroom.  Not
only had those two floors been damaged, but some of the upper roof had also
caved in as the tree struck it, leaving gaping holes above two of the attic
bedrooms as well.  Our home was a mess, to say the least.

After Jake and I felt it was safe enough to do so, we took the boys around,
so they could see what had happened for themselves.  We were all very
grateful that we had been eating at the time, on the side of the house
farthest away from the tree, and no one had been in any of those rooms when
the tree came down.  Quite frankly, if any of us had been in any or those
areas, we most likely would have been seriously injured, or possibly even
killed.  The house can be rebuilt, but not the boys, so after looking at
all the damage, we took a minute to thank God for keeping all of us safe
during our little disaster.

After we finished the prayer, I pulled the doors to the affected rooms shut
and then we stuffed towels and blankets against the cracks under the doors,
to seal them off from the rest of the house.  We were totally cut off from
the outside world, because not only were the regular phone lines down, but
the cell phones weren't working either.  It must be the cell towers were
covered in ice and the signals couldn't get through.  Once the ice melted
and our phone service was restored, I would call the insurance company to
report the damage and then arrange for various contractors to fix the
damage.  This might not happen for a couple of days, because it didn't look
like this cold snap was going to end soon, but we would get it done.

Of course, a state of emergency had been declared, so schools and most
businesses were closed, so we just settled in to wait this out.  Although
Jake and I had experienced hardships like this before, this was definitely
something new for most of the boys.  All of their usual forms of
entertainment, such as the television, computers, their electronic games
and such, were all useless now, seeing there was no electricity to run them
on.  Other than the battery operated devices they might have, they were
totally lost for something to do.  I sent some of them around to dig out
some of the old board games we had stashed in various closets and I dug up
several decks of cards, including an Uno deck.  Once we had all these items
in the dining room, Jake and I quickly organized some low-tech activities
to entertain and occupy our troops.

At first, the boys claimed these types of activities were lame and boring,
but soon they began to get caught up in the competitiveness of the games
and they forgot about their simplicity.  The Uno game became an immediate
favorite, as the boys loved being able to dump on each other with the 'Draw
Four' and 'Skip' cards.  Soon we were referring to the game as 'You
Asshole,' because that's what various boys would call the person who used
one of those types of cards against him.  This was mostly just good-natured
kidding, but not entirely, as certain boys began to feel the boys on either
side of them were unmercifully singling them out.  We did manage to keep
tempers under control, by constantly reminding them this was just a game,
and overall we all had a good time.

After that, the boys wanted us to teach them how to play poker and Black
Jack, which some of them referred to as Twenty-One.  Even though they had
some basic knowledge of these games, they wanted us two dads to help them
increase their understanding and skills in this area, so we played a few
practice hands.  We explained the various types of winning hands, letting
the boys know which combinations beat others hands, and soon they wanted to
start gambling.  Seeing none of them had much money on their person or
lying around, they decided to play strip poker instead.  It wasn't to see
the others' bodies, as that was a common occurrence around our house, but
mostly to get someone else naked in the 'cooler' room, so they could watch
him shiver or watch the goose bumps form on his flesh.  Somehow, these
masochists thought watching their brothers transform into a Smurf (that's a
blue-skinned cartoon character for the uninformed) would be quite humorous.
Jake and I saw no harm in it, so we let them proceed.

Although we had planned to just sit back and watch the boys play, they
weren't about to let that happen, as I think our warped sons were eager to
watch us suffer more than anyone else.  What they didn't count on was that
Jake and I had played a lot of poker in our time and not only could
calculate HOW to play the various hands, we were also quite good at
bluffing too.  Needless to say, we weren't the ones who ended up bare-assed
and shivering when the game concluded.

When we decided it was time to go to sleep, I had the boys go grab a bunch
of quilts and blankets from their rooms, and then I had various pairs zip
their sleeping bags together, to utilize body heat as well.  For the
couples this was an easy decision, but we matched up the others as well.
Everyone knew that Trey and Dion would be together, but we had an odd
number of boys at home now, with Nick still being away.  The boys solved
that problem on their own, as Sammy and Andrew decided to pair up with
Graham, as they felt the three of them could fit into the double-sleeping
bags more easily than any of the others.  Vinnie and Cole paired up too,
and Frankie and Mark did as well, even though I wondered if those two might
choose to try to go it alone.  Of course, Jake and I shared our sleeping
bags too, so everyone was set.

After crawling into their sleeping bags, Jake and I placed some extra
blankets and quilts over them, to help keep them warm, and I think everyone
was quite comfortable that evening.  It was tough getting out to go use the
toilet during the night or to get up the next morning, because once you
left the comfort of the sleeping bags, the house seemed quite cold.
Although it wasn't easy and we all regretted having to brave the cold, we
all survived.  After eating a quick and hasty breakfast, mostly cold
cereals, we settled in for another long day stranded at home.

Today, Jake and I suggested we play some of the board games we had dug out
the previous day, to help pass the time.  We played Monopoly, Sorry,
Rack-O, Life and Clue, even though some of these games were leftovers from
when my older children were little.  Again, we had a great deal of fun, but
as the day wore on, the temperatures began to rise and soon the ice was
beginning to melt.  By late afternoon we could hear the plows and other
emergency vehicles going by or we could see crews driving up to begin work
on restoring power or trying to reconnect phone service.  By nightfall, we
had our electricity back, so Jake and I went down and restarted the
furnace.  That evening we had a normal meal, but the boys still chose to
sleep together in the family room again, although Jake and I opted out for
our own bed.

The schools were still closed the following day, as not all areas had their
power restored as quickly as we had, and some of the more rural area roads
were still ice covered or blocked by fallen trees or limbs.  We used that
time to our advantage though, as I contacted my insurance agent and
reported the damage, but I also had him send an adjuster out to get the
appropriate pictures, so we could settle this claim as quickly as possible.
I also called a tree removal company and several contractors, to get
estimates on repairing the damaged areas, including totally rebuilding the
family room addition.

To my surprise, the adjuster came out that very afternoon, but I later
discovered my agent had pushed them into greater haste, because of all the
various policies I had with him, and he managed to get results that
quickly.  Due to his quick work, I could schedule to have the tree cut up
the next day, but I was donating most of the wood from the tree to the
farms, as both places had wood stoves as a secondary heat source.  The boys
would help cut it up and split it, and then we'd rent a van to load the
wood in, so we could take it out to them.  It would be a good experience
and great exercise for us all.

The contractors gave me their estimates fairly quickly, as they really
wanted the work, and Jake and I took little time in deciding whom we would
assign each job.  Giving out the assignments and getting the appropriate
paperwork signed, work began on the house before the end of the week.
First we started with the clean up and removal of the debris and damaged
furnishings.  These items were tossed into a large trash container, which
had been delivered and unloaded in our driveway from the bed of a
tractor-trailer.

I also worked with an architect to redesign various parts of the house and
we added a secondary exit from the back of the attic and second floors, in
case of another emergency.  We also included some improvements to the
various areas, including building another bedroom on the first floor, off
the family room.  This was done so there'd be a bedroom that could be used
by guests, but also in the event we should take in another disabled person,
who might have trouble getting to the bedrooms on the upper floors.  Both
damaged bathrooms also were improved, by adding a larger shower stall in
each of them.  We felt that was appropriate, since many of the boys never
showered alone any more.

We had shifted the boys and their belongings around, while the construction
was taking place, putting the boys from the damaged rooms into the rooms
now sitting empty, because their occupants were away at college.  During
this time, Frankie was also getting prepared to leave, and we had planned a
big going away party for him on the weekend before he was scheduled to
leave.  His party also gave us an opportunity to show our guests the damage
done during the storm, the changes we opted for during the rebuilding, and
it gave us a chance to catch everyone up on what had been taking place on
the farms.

All of our friends and family seemed to enjoy themselves at the party,
especially Frankie, who was just thrilled that everyone came to say
good-bye to him and wish him luck.  I don't know why Frank continued to
think of himself as an outsider and the least deserving member of the
family, because he had proven himself many times since those rough early
days.  No matter how much we tried to convince him that he was a valued
family member, he still acted surprised, yet pleased, by such simple
acceptance.  I hoped that would change, once he returned, after his
enlistment was up.

We also had a special cake made for him, which read, 'Best wishes and good
luck, Private Currie.'  Frankie thought that was funny, but I told him he
better get used to answering to private or 'trainee,' because that's about
all he'd hear now, at least during everything except for his off hours.
Even though he kind of understood that before, thinking about it now had
more of an impact, and I think he began to realize how much his life was
going to change over the next few weeks.

"Are you having second-thoughts or regretting your decision?" I asked him.

"No, not at all," he responded, quickly.  "It won't be easy, but I'm sure
it will be more than worth it, especially if it helps me get a job later."

"I'm glad you feel that way," I told him, "and I'm sure you'll do your
best.  I know the son I've grown to know and love would do no less."  He
smiled at me after my words sank in, and I had added that, because I felt
he could probably use a little boost before going.

"Thanks, Dad.  That means a lot to me, especially coming from you.  I'll do
my best to not disappoint you," he added.

"There's no way you could disappoint me," I told him, "as long as you don't
change from the person you are now."  He smiled again.

"That's a really sweet thing to say," he responded, touched by the
sentiment, "and I promise I won't do that."

"Somehow, I knew you wouldn't," I added.

Throughout the party he stopped to chat with various people and accept
their good wishes and words of encouragement, but his brothers seemed to
have something else planned - something to bring him back down to earth.
Soon they were marching around the house dressed in various camouflage
outfits, with one clearly labeled as 'Private Flunky.'  We all caught on to
the fact that person was supposed to represent Frankie, and while Drill
Sergeant Dion shouted out commands, Private Flunky seemed to manage to mess
every one of them up.

Frankie really got a kick out of this, and I think he was impressed that
his brothers went to such an elaborate effort on his behalf, even if it was
just to make fun of him.  Our guests also thought it was quite amusing,
laughing heartily at the boys' antics and making sure to compliment them
when it was over.  Even though I feigned distress over those compliments
and jokingly tried to keep our friends from encouraging the boys into doing
future demonstrations of this sort, I was still impressed by what they had
done.  Still, what would any of us do without this good-natured ribbing
that the boys were so prone to resort to, especially when they thought
someone needed a little lesson in humility?

The rest of the month of March was spent fixing up the house, finishing the
changes on the farms, and sending Frankie off to active duty.  There were
just the two of us on that trip, as I wanted to spend some time alone with
Frank.  I actually shed a few tears that day, when I dropped him off at the
airport to catch his flight to Missouri, and Frankie noticed that fact.

"Dad, I'm only going away for a little while, not for good," he playfully
joked with me.  "You won't be able to get rid of me so easily."  I
immediately gave him a hug.

"And I wouldn't want to," I assured him.

"I'll keep in touch, don't worry about that," he added.

"That's good," I advised him.  "I don't know what they allow you to do any
more, but they used to encourage you to write home, using 'old fashion'
paper, envelopes and stamps."  I teased.  "Do you think you can figure out
how to do that?"

He grinned.  "Oh, I think I'll be able to figure it out somehow, even if I
have to ask my Drill Sergeant or another trainee to help me out."  He
winked at me, to emphasize his point.

"Okay.  I'll check the mail every day, and I'll write back to you, just as
soon as I get each letter.  If they let you have access to computers, then
I'll do the same with your emails, and I'll post your messages for everyone
to read, if you don't mind."

"If there's anything personal, which I don't want shared, I'll put that in
a separate letter and mark it accordingly.  Okay?'

"Yes, I think that will work just fine.  Let me know if you need anything
too.  You did remember to bring the traveler's checks, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did.  I am smarter than that," he added, with a twinkle in his
eye."

"I know, but that way you'll have money and I won't have to worry about it
getting stolen.  Here's a little something else for you," I told him, as I
handed him a gift I pulled from behind my back.  He unwrapped it
immediately, to discover a stationery kit, complete with carrying case.
Inside it was a very nice set of stationary, matching envelopes, two pens,
and I'd put in four sheets of self-adhesive stamps.

"Guess you thought of everything," he joked.

"I tried, but there one more thing."  I took the carrying case from him,
showing him an interior pocket, originally designed to keep his incoming
mail in.  "Keep your traveler's checks in there, along with the letters you
receive.  If anyone breaks into your footlocker and goes through your
things, I doubt they would go through that and discover them there."

"Great idea, Dad, and thanks."  Frankie hugged me again, before he left to
go to his departure gate.  I waved at him, when he stopped to look back,
just before he disappeared from sight.  I did sit in the parking lot and
watch several planes depart, pretty sure that Frankie had been on one of
them, and then I left, making my way home.  It was a long, lonely trip, and
no matter how many times I said good-bye to another one of my boys, whether
it was to go to college or on another life-changing experience, it never
got any easier.  That thought made me begin to wonder if maybe I was
getting a little too old to continue doing this for much longer.

                 *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
at 'BW's Rainbow Youth Connection,' at http://bwsryc.gayauthors.org/

You can also locate my stories by clicking on the Nifty author link and
scrolling down to "BW".  This will give you the links for everything I have
posted there.

I also love to hear from my readers and get their reaction to my stories.
If you don't mind, please share whatever information you feel comfortable
with, because it helps knowing my readers better when I decide what to
write or how to gear it.  Please email me at bwstories8@aol.com and let me
know what you thought, so I can do even better in the future.  Thanks,
Bill.