From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0010E" ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 12:33:20 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: Couple of questions about Alt-Clark... In-Reply-To: <39FA15D8.AD5BAD68@bellsouth.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 07:55 PM 27/10/00 -0400, you wrote: >Just a few minor points... In Tempus, Anyone, did alt-Clark seem to >know about Krypton? Is there any evidence to suggest that he either did >or did *not* possess the globe? Pam, to the best of my knowledge, alt-Clark does know that he's from Krypton, but there's no evidence either way re the globe. I chose to have him have it in "Mirror" and he doesn't have it CPOV, so I think you can pretty much take your pick. :) Hazel, who thinks it's amusing that Wendy thinks she knows more about it than FoLCs who have seen the ep ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 04:19:39 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:48 AM 10/28/2000 -0700, you wrote: >LOL!!! > >I hope that you plan to post this to the archive. > >James I've forgotten how to do that *sob*! Debby :) huitziln@cais.net ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 06:47:25 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Couple of questions about Alt-Clark... On Sun, 29 Oct 2000 12:33:20 +0200, Hazel wrote: >Hazel, who thinks it's amusing that Wendy thinks she knows more about it >than FoLCs who have seen the ep Well, Hazel, since you've rewritten it twice you were the obvious choice for a FoLC expert on the universe of 'Tempus, Anyone?'! Wendy ------------ Wendy Richards wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 07:59:31 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >I hope that you plan to post this to the archive. > > > >James > > I've forgotten how to do that *sob*! > > Debby :) Well, luckily for you ;) it's very easy. Go to the main page of the archive, and look for a link titled "Written a fanfic? Send it to " For detail on the process, check out the Archive FAQ at and read the section for writers :) I enjoyed the story, btw -- interesting choice to have it almost all in dialog, but you still painted a very clear picture, and it was fun sorting out who was saying what to whom. Geckoboy, indeed -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." --Psalm 27:13-14 ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 15:57:59 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: Couple of questions about Alt-Clark... In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Wendy wrote: > >Hazel, who thinks it's amusing that Wendy thinks she knows more about it > >than FoLCs who have seen the ep > > >Well, Hazel, since you've rewritten it twice you were the obvious choice >for a FoLC expert on the universe of 'Tempus, Anyone?'! Yeah, well, we *all* know where to go when we need info on TOGOM! ;p Hazel ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 10:34:38 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Fanfic Recommendation: Out of Time Well, she's done it two weeks running: ML Thompson has written a story which kept me glued to the screen in spite of the fact that I had at least half a dozen other things I needed to be doing at the time! This is the perfect story for Halloween, and what a coincidence that both she and Pam (whose Tryst is due up next week, I think) should have been writing ghost stories at the same time! Anyway, Out of Time is poignant, heart-wrenching and angsty (my favourite - who'd have guessed? ) and with a perfect ending. :) If you haven't already, run over to the Archive *right now* and read this fantastic story! Wendy ------------ Wendy Richards wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 07:50:04 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 08:39 PM 10/28/2000 -0400, you wrote: >Debby, > >This was delightful. I just reread Carry Tiger to Mountain this week, so it >was a double pleasure. :) Thank you! I plan to tweak Tiger eventually (since I'm a better? writer now), adding more maybe. > >I hope that you are working on the next part of Dawning. This I'll do first :) >Ann Debby ftp://ftp.darkmage.net/pub/dstark ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 07:50:53 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 In-Reply-To: <39FBAC4C.5B4D9BBD@flash.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 11:49 PM 10/28/2000 -0500, you wrote: >Debby, >cute story thanks! >now please continue Dawning. okay >merry debby ;) huitziln@cais.net ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 07:55:49 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 In-Reply-To: <39FC1F33.AF2E7768@bellsouth.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 07:59 AM 10/29/2000 -0500, you wrote: >> >I hope that you plan to post this to the archive. >> > >> >James >> >> I've forgotten how to do that *sob*! >> >> Debby :) > >Well, luckily for you ;) it's very easy. Go to the main page of the >archive, and look for a link titled "Written a fanfic? Send it to >" For detail on the process, check out the >Archive FAQ at and read the >section for writers :) Well, that's simple! I'll be sure to save this faq-lette after I visit the site. >I enjoyed the story, btw -- interesting choice to have it almost all in >dialog, but you still painted a very clear picture, and it was fun >sorting out who was saying what to whom. Geckoboy, indeed Thank you! I figured narrative ("she said" "he hesitated" "she blinked" "Clark sighed heavily") would get in the way and dialogue alone could tell the story. Not that I dislike narrative, just in this case it was a story that had to be told fast, maybe all occur in less than 3 minutes. Maybe others can try telling stories in unusual manners :) (like leaving out all the "u"s or the "p"s or...) ;) >-- > >Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net Debby primary: huitziln@cais.net secondary: dstark@darkmage.net stories at: ftp://ftp.darkmage.net/pub/dstark Keeper, hand-run Nfanfic List ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 13:06:59 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Terry S. Horowit" Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 In-Reply-To: <4.0.2.20001029074920.008d7dd0@pop.cais.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Thank you! I plan to tweak Tiger eventually (since I'm a better? writer now), >adding more maybe. OH my - I loved Tiger and love it more each time I reread it (which is often) - tweaking it AND adding more?!? Be still my heart!! >>I hope that you are working on the next part of Dawning. > >This I'll do first :) Oh dear, what a dilemma - to beg for more Tiger or more Dawning... Can't you just do both at the same time? :-) (Who, me impatient?) Terry ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 22:56:37 GMT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Randi (akaEmily)" Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 (repost) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Debby, I just wanted to let you know that I *loved* this! It totally brightened up my day. Randi (still giggling over Geckoboy practicing his pig calls. =)) _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 23:13:52 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Marilyn L. Puett" Subject: OT: Great England Online Scavenger Hunt The business that hubby and I are involved with is doing a promotional trip to England next spring. And to keep folks motivated, they have a contest right now: The Great England Online Scavenger Hunt. Thanks to a furry little rodent from Scotland, I have 9 of 10 answers. But one has me stumped. I need a website that plays "Rule Britannia" when you load the site. Hours of surfing on my part have produced nothing. But I was hoping some of you, either those who live in the UK, or those with UK interests, might have run across a site that meets the requirement. You can either respond here or email me at the email addy shown above. My deadline is 11:00 PM (CST) on November 2. Thanks for your help. Ironically, I don't even know what the prize is; it's just the thrill of the chase than intrigues me! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Supermom ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 05:45:18 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Avia Tikotsky Subject: LAFF 2001 Apologies to everyone who receives this more than once: Hi All! We are trying to get things rolling with LAFF2001 and so we need some information. How many of you would be able to attend this summer, presuming the LAFF will be held on the first week of August? We need to get an estimate so we can start talking to the hotel, studios etc. Please e-mail me *privately* with your answers at: aviatiko@internet- zahav.net.il or aviatiko@yahoo.com or cp13607@aol.com Thank you LAFF2001 Crew ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 15:30:03 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 01:06 PM 10/29/2000 -0500, you wrote: >>Thank you! I plan to tweak Tiger eventually (since I'm a better? writer now), >>adding more maybe. > OH my - I loved Tiger and love it more each time I reread it (which is >often) - tweaking it AND adding more?!? Be still my heart!! Since it never won anything, why not have more fun with it? I love poking around in CK's head :) >>>I hope that you are working on the next part of Dawning. >>This I'll do first :) > Oh dear, what a dilemma - to beg for more Tiger or more Dawning... Can't >you just do both at the same time? :-) Send $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and I'll consider it ;) I just put a slightly revised D13 on my site. These revisions for Dawning consist 90% of typo fixes, 5% of grammar fixes, and 5% of continuity fixes. >(Who, me impatient?) Nah. Me somewhat lazy. Picture a relaxing Charlie on Monkey Business (on Cable, Animal Planet channel, Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons), my new favorite program. Too bad they only made 14 episodes :( You over there in the UK! Look for Monkey World near Wareham in Dorset! They saved Trudy the baby chimp (I read about it on the BBC site)! Superman would give them lots of $$, believe me! And Lois would help out, too! >Terry Debby huitziln@cais.net L&C & Monkey Business fan ;) ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 10:27:32 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: Fugitive 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit James, Better send this to Mobile.Richard's email directly. I'm not sure if she reads these. By the way, I agree completely with your comments ( Arrrgggh!) and intend to express that sentiment to her. I hope she has further plans for this story but I'm going to ask her if she has any such intentions. She said originally she didn't know where to go with this one. Maybe if we 1) keep encouraging her and 2) wait patiently we will get a satisfactory ending to what is a great start. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 10:33:34 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: 7 days MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Just thought I'd pop in with a non-comment here. I haven't had a chance to do more than glance at the last few installments of 7 Days, but as I said before I am enjoying it immensely. Sigh if only that new laser printer at work would settle down, maybe I can get a good, readable copy to read and comment on soon. Don't worry about a lack of response on the message boards just now. Sometimes people get caught up in other things (me - I just adopted a new dog and am busy getting him used to me) and may be delayed in commenting. That doesn't mean they aren't still following the story. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:16:17 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kathy Brown Subject: Re: Fugitive 2 On Mon, 30 Oct 2000 10:27:32 EST, Charlotte Fisler wrote: >Maybe if we 1) keep encouraging her and 2) wait patiently we will get a >satisfactory ending to what is a great start. I'd second that! I wrote her with similar encouragement after this story came into the Archive, and it sounds like she still has no idea where to go with it. She implied she only wrote part 2 because so many people asked for it, but as I told her, all part 2 does is get us more excited for a part 3. Maybe if we sent her brainstorming ideas, something would excite her muse. :) Kathy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:21:11 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Organization: http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam/ Subject: Re: Fugitive 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I wrote to Moby as soon as I read this (just had to say ARRGGH! :) After a few days, she wrote back ... she said that she's got part 3 more-or-less written, but she still wants to re-write it before inflicting it on beta-readers... which is great, but otoh, she told me not to hold my breath :) and that it might not be ready until early next year... And I *don't* know if that will be "the end" or not. But I encourage everyone to write to her -- she also said that she doesn't find writing that enjoyable, so the pay-off is getting feedback mail (kinda works that way for most writers, come to think of it) **so** we ought to work on encouraging her :) -- Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." --Psalm 27:13-14 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 16:27:35 -0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: Fugitive 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kathy wrote: > I'd second that! I wrote her with similar encouragement after this story > came into the Archive, and it sounds like she still has no idea where to go > with it. She implied she only wrote part 2 because so many people asked for > it, but as I told her, all part 2 does is get us more excited for a part 3. > Well, I edited this for the Archive, and made similar comments to just about everyone else - 'how can you do this to us' etc, and she told me then that she doubted she'd ever write the conclusion, and that this was why she refused to put 'To be continued' at the end. As Kathy commented, she said she just couldn't decide where to go with it. As I'd edited both this and Part 1, I even offered to beta-read/brainstorm with her if that would help. However, slightly more encouraging is the news that Moby wrote back to one FoLC saying that she was now trying to work on Part 3. So if we keep our fingers crossed... who knows! Wendy -------------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 11:47:51 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dennis Arendt Subject: Re: Fanfic Recommendation: Out of Time MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'll second Wendy's recommendation!!! MLThompson has done it again. Out of Time has a lot of angst but an ending that is new, fresh and waffy and will make you just "feel good." If you haven't, please, go to the archives and read this truly wonderful story. You will not be sorry. Brenda ----- Original Message ----- From: Wendy Richards To: Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2000 7:34 AM Subject: Fanfic Recommendation: Out of Time > Well, she's done it two weeks running: ML Thompson has written a story > which kept me glued to the screen in spite of the fact that I had at least > half a dozen other things I needed to be doing at the time! > > This is the perfect story for Halloween, and what a coincidence that both > she and Pam (whose Tryst is due up next week, I think) should have been > writing ghost stories at the same time! Anyway, Out of Time is poignant, > heart-wrenching and angsty (my favourite - who'd have guessed? ) and > with a perfect ending. :) > > If you haven't already, run over to the Archive *right now* and read this > fantastic story! > > > Wendy > ------------ > Wendy Richards > wendy@kingsmeadowcr.freeserve.co.uk ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:02:03 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kate Crane Subject: Re: Fanfic Recommendation: Out of Time MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I would like to add my hearty recommendations for this delightful fic. I found it had just the right amount of waffs, whams and a new twist on the L&C story. Usually when I read "angst" I groan, but this story, to me, did not have angst. It was fast-paced and I couldn't put it down (no, not the computer, I printed it out....it's a keeper that I will re-read). How did she do two in a row like that?? Kate ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:44:13 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Got this on a listserv for museum educators: > ANd for those of you who live in NYC, I truly didn't make this up. The address on the bottom after the job description was at the CUNY Grad Center. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 13:58:31 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Paula Roy Subject: Re: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >From my office in Times Square...... Yup - NYC is indeed called Gotham, and you can frequently see that reference in respected publications such as the NY Times. Gotta fly... Paula ------Original Message------ From: No Name Available To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Sent: October 30, 2000 6:44:13 PM GMT Subject: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? Got this on a listserv for museum educators: > ANd for those of you who live in NYC, I truly didn't make this up. The address on the bottom after the job description was at the CUNY Grad Center. --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 16:00:00 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wanda McCants Subject: Re: Fugitive 2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Noooooo, I'm sitting on the edge of my seat. I hope we get a follow-up on this story. Who is the real murderer, and how was Clark framed? "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" ......Langston Hughes Wanda ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 16:59:46 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? In-Reply-To: <382071220.972932311849.JavaMail.root@web621-wrb.mail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Furthermore, Gotham and Metropolis were both meant to be euphemisms for New York City but comic book enthusiasts on this list can probably respond to this item better than I:) Carolyn >From my office in Times Square...... Yup - NYC is indeed called Gotham, and >you can frequently see that reference in respected publications such as the >NY Times. > >Gotta fly... >Paula > >------Original Message------ >From: No Name Available >To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU >Sent: October 30, 2000 6:44:13 PM GMT >Subject: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? > > >Got this on a listserv for museum educators: > >search for the position of Teaching Coordinator.>> > >ANd for those of you who live in NYC, I truly didn't make this up. The >address on the bottom after the job description was at the CUNY Grad Center. > >--Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 18:07:09 -0500 Reply-To: Kath Roden Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Kath Roden Subject: Re: OT: Great England Online Scavenger Hunt MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Oops! wrong eddy... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOL, I can't believe I found one... Try this one... http://www.sub.su.se/national/kvik42.htm Kath Hey, what do you win? ----- Original Message ----- From: Marilyn L. Puett To: Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2000 11:13 PM Subject: OT: Great England Online Scavenger Hunt > The business that hubby and I are involved with is doing a promotional trip > to England next spring. And to keep folks motivated, they have a contest > right now: The Great England Online Scavenger Hunt. > > Thanks to a furry little rodent from Scotland, I have 9 of 10 answers. But > one has me stumped. > > I need a website that plays "Rule Britannia" when you load the site. Hours > of surfing on my part have produced nothing. But I was hoping some of you, > either those who live in the UK, or those with UK interests, might have run > across a site that meets the requirement. > > You can either respond here or email me at the email addy shown above. My > deadline is 11:00 PM (CST) on November 2. > > Thanks for your help. Ironically, I don't even know what the prize is; > it's just the thrill of the chase than intrigues me! > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Supermom > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 15:33:01 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Anne D." Subject: Test Email MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi! This is just an email test before sending a story to the list. I have been strongly encouraged by several on-line friends (Debby, Dawn, and LabRat) to post a story to this list that I was considering submitting directly to the archive. I hope you enjoy reading it and finding out Why Lois Stays Out of the Kitchen. Anne D. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 16:03:47 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Anne D." Subject: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Why Lois Stays Out of the Kitchen by Anne D. Rated G Submitted November 2000 _____________ "This is one of the rare times I'm actually dreading going to work," Lois remarked as she and Clark entered the elevator from the parking garage. "Well, honey, there's a chance, slight I know, that no one's picked up on what happened last night. I wonder which reporter was assigned to City Beat." As they stepped into the newsroom, Lois was disturbed to discover the answer to Clark's question. It had to have been Ralph because he looked guilty as he waited for them, snooping at their desks, but, fortunately for him, not touching anything. Lois cleared her throat menacingly as she approached, and Ralph turned around quickly. However, he didn't look nervous enough, not a good sign. "Hey, Lane, Kent, sounds like you had a hot time in the old town last night," Ralph snickered. "Your address was all over the place in Emergency Services." "Ralph..." Lois snarled. He scurried out of her way as she sat down at her desk. "Um, Ralph, we had a rough night, but nothing important happened," Clark added to his wife's abrupt comment. "All false alarms. Nothing for anyone to worry about." Perry poked his head out from his office at that moment. "Okay, you two, get in here now. After confirming what Ralph found out, I gotta know why the police, fire department, and even an ambulance reported to your home last night. This has gotta be good." Lois put her head in her hands and whimpered, "Oh, no..." "Honey, don't worry. I'll explain," Clark reassured her. Perry didn't close his door when he entered his office behind them, leaving Ralph to hear their explanation from his position standing directly outside. Ralph seemed leery about coming all the way in and facing the wrath of Lois. Clark understood Perry's action, knowing that since Ralph was apparently the one who found out about last night, he had earned the right to hear the whole story. But Clark would have rather done without that particular staff member in the audience. He wished they didn't have an audience at all, what with other curious staffers pausing to look in now. "Well, Chief, like you heard me say earlier to Ralph, nothing important happened. I had to leave right before dinner for an errand and Lois was starving..." *** The evening before, as Clark started getting everything out for their stirfry dinner, he heard an alarm begin shrilling across town. "I'll be back as soon as I can, honey!" he promised as he prepared to leave. "I know, but hurry, I'm absolutely famished..." After Clark was gone, Lois looked at the preparations, her stomach growled, and she promptly decided that she would at least start the dinner. Hopefully she wouldn't mess up the meal that badly and maybe even speed things up for when Clark returned. Remembering how Clark started this dish in all the times she'd watched him, she added a little cooking oil to the wok and turned on the heat. After waiting what she hoped was the right amount of time, she added the moist, bite-size chicken pieces. They sizzled and immediately the overly hot oil started smoking up the kitchen. The alarm directly outside in the dining room went off. "Crud!" Lois griped to herself. "I can't do anything right!" She turned the heat off, opened the windows and doors, and immediately went into the laundry room to get the alarm instruction book stored near the control box. Checking the number for the monitoring service, she grabbed the phone and started dialing. "Monitoring Service." "Hello, this is Lois Lane. I'm afraid I accidentally set off my smoke alarm... again. I hope you haven't called the fire department yet." "No, ma'am, we haven't. What is your password?" Lois gave it to the woman and was reassured that they wouldn't report the alarm unless it continued for 15 minutes. Lois thanked her, put the phone down and immediately headed for the smoke alarm, which was really getting on her nerves. Screaming at it didn't seem to help, so she grabbed a chair, pulled it directly under the alarm, and climbed up to the annoying device. Opening the cover and fanning didn't stop it from sounding. Lois was getting really frustrated and started muttering that she would never touch a stove again. *** Meanwhile, Clark had finished at the jewelry story, marveling at the stupidity of some crooks. As he approached his home to feed his starving wife, he heard another alarm and thought for a second Lois might have to wait a little longer -- until he realized the alarm was coming from his own home. As he flew in, he choked back his laughter at his wife standing on a chair, screaming at the smoke alarm. "Honey, looks like you didn't wait for me!" "It's not my fault! How was I to know that if I added the chicken when the oil was too hot, the alarm would go off and refuse to stop?" "I'm sorry. Let's see if I can help any." He floated up next to where she was standing on the chair and blew softly at the alarm. The alarm simply ignored his superbreath. After repeating this act with a little more strength to his breath, he realized Lois' dilemma. "I think the alarm is malfunctioning. We better call the company that installed the system and see what they suggest." While Clark made that call, Lois called the monitoring service back to request more time than 15 minutes. This time a man answered and apologized, but said that 15 minutes was the longest they could wait, since there might be a fire that Lois didn't know about. Despite her arguing, the man said he had no choice. "Clark, I think we are going to have some guests in a few minutes." "The fire department? How long has it been since the alarm went off?" "Closing in on 15 minutes, which is all they will allow, I'm afraid." "I had to leave a message on the alarm company's answering machine, so let's see if I can shut it off myself," Clark replied. "If I can just cut off the wire to the unit, then..." He looked through the ceiling, followed some wires and severed one with his heat vision, leaving a microscopic hole in the ceiling. The alarm instantly changed sounds in an ominous manner, but obviously didn't shut off. "Oh, I bet now the equipment thinks the fire burned the wires..." Lois said, resigned to the inevitable. "Oh, I didn't think of that..." As Lois headed back to the phone for her third call to the service, she complained, "Tell me again why we need a monitored system?" Clark could only give her an apologetic look. When she hung up the phone this time, she looked at Clark and grimaced. "Honey, the fire department is coming out because of me, but the police are coming out because you severed that wire." "Great, just great!" he replied, raking his hand through his hair, becoming frustrated too. "Just remember -- part of this is your fault now! Some little tiny part, I know, but it's not all my fault..." "Gotcha." "Glad we got that straight." Lois had to smile at her usually unperturbed husband. "By the way, why did you have to desert me in the kitchen this time? Anything newsworthy?" "A break-in at Larson's Jewelers." Clark waited for Lois to realize the implications of what he had just said. "Isn't that the store that shares an alley with a police station? Someone... Ralph? Didn't Ralph write a story about that last week?" "Yes, something about it being a great location for a jewelry store. Anyway, the crooks found that out too, since the police arrived there about the same time as I did! And don't forget Ralph mentioned in his article that there's a Metro Gym franchise right next door and apparently off-duty police officers like to work out there." "Good thing the crooks didn't read that story! Sounds like we aren't the only ones having a bad evening, but serves them right. It's just too bad we can't write that robbery story tonight and not have to be here for this." "Well, whoever is on call at police headquarters tonight will cover the attempted jewelry store robbery, not us." Surprisingly in the few minutes it took to discuss this, both the fire truck and a police car arrived, which interested the neighbors immensely and embarrassed Lois and Clark to no end. After having a good laugh and fortunately not asking how the wire got severed, the policemen left, but the firemen insisted on searching the premises, just in case. Meanwhile, a man from the alarm installation company returned their call and talked Clark through properly disconnecting the smoke alarm. The man promised a repairman would come out the next afternoon. Soon, the firemen left too and Clark could start salvaging what remained of the dinner. *** "Sounds like your fire alarm just broke down, it's all its fault, but that doesn't explain the ambulance coming out," Perry observed as Clark finished his narrative. Lois jumped in, "Oh, I can explain that." >From outside, Ralph added, "And don't forget the fire department and police came out two times." "Did they report that?" Lois griped. "That was completely uncalled for. There was no reason for them returning to our house, unless they were looking for more laughs! I'm sure they had more important work to do! Anyway, after everyone left and Clark started work on dinner -- mind you, I was still starving -- I returned the alarm instruction book I had taken out of the laundry room back to its place in the cabinet. I guess I was a little irritated about everything that'd been happening, so I might have slammed the door to the room a little harder than normal. Anyway, a few seconds later, the alarm went off again! There was no smoke anywhere! Even if someone was breaking in, the perimeter controls were off from when I opened the windows and doors earlier. So I went back to the control box to find out what was wrong this time. I couldn't believe what happened! The door to the control box had been left open and the broom had fallen from the wall and its handle was laying on a button with the letter A on it." "A for ambulance," Perry laughed. "I don't believe it!" "Believe it! Since it was a panic button, even though we called and tried to stop the report, it was too late. And the policemen and firemen who had just been out there heard the call for an ambulance and decided to come back to see which of us fell out of the chair. I will never be able to look at my neighbors again!" "Honey," Clark whispered, "you don't talk to them anyhow, so there's no loss there..." She glared at him. "Just be grateful I haven't had time to bake them a cake!" Perry just had to laugh, but he tried to reassure them, too. "Well, kids, I guess this really isn't newsworthy after all. I'm sure everyone will laugh about it, then forget about it just as quickly. You probably won't hear anything else about it after this morning." "I hope not." Ralph walked away, grumbling that he thought it would be a better story. In his opinion, the attempted jewelry store robbery last night was more interesting than this. He was pleased with how well that tied in with his article last week. As Lois and Clark left their boss' office, Jimmy looked up at them from Lois' desk. "Hey, Lois, what's up? Henderson's on the phone and wants to know why you were wasting our tax dollars last night!" "Oh, no... It's not my fault!" The End Author's Notes: I would like to thank(?) Debby for putting so much effort into editing this story that I felt so guilty that I had to submit it. I would also like to thank Dawn and LabRat for their support and encouragement. Any and all comments welcome. anned2000@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 17:04:24 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: 7 Days of Superman Part 28 Comments: To: 7days FanFic <7DaysFic@egroups.com>, BackStep Fiction , Tad Flowers , Dave and Debbie Harrison , Melanie , Backstep Operation , Vernon Terrell , Travel Time , Dad Tull , Danny Tull MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Title:Seven Days of Superman Author/pseudonym:Mr. D8A Fandom:Seven Days/Lois & Clark:The New Adventures of Superman Rating:PG-13 Status: PART 28 Archive: Yes E-mail address for feedback:mr_d8a@yahoo.com Series/Sequel: 7 Days/l&c:tTNAOS Crossover Other websites:BACKGROUND INFORMATION.SEVEN DAYS (Details supplied by http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/9329/SevenDays Disclaimers: Lois and Clark and the rest of the show's entourage are the property of DC, Warner, ABC, and Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson. Seven Days is the property of UPN. Summary:Superman fails to stop the nuking of Washington DC and gets some help from Frank B. Parker from Operation Backstep. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 8:17:25pm EST Gulf of Mexico Isla de la Juventud beach +++++++++++++++++++++++ The missile roared out of the portal with Clark riding on its back. It no sooner cleared the portal, melting it to slag, then Clark felt a familiar presence nearby. It was his brother, Lex! ((What are you doing here?)) ((Saving your sorry butt. If you don’t let go of the missile soon, you'll change its course, setting off the failsafe.)) Clark quickly let go, allowing the missile to speed away. A look of panic crossed his features. The combined stresses of being exposed to Kryptonite, super-speeding to the missile, taking out the force field generator, and emerging from the time window to find an inky black, moonless night, left Clark nearly powerless. His reserves were depleted. He started to lose altitude rapidly. Lex flew over to him, grabbed him, and gently set them both down. Clark couldn’t get over how good Lex looked in the royal purple suit with emerald green highlights. It had a stunning effect. He normally wore a diamond shaped emerald green mask to complete the look. Even though everyone knew he was Martha Kent’s son, he still wore it. He said that it looked cool. But he wasn’t wearing it now, which was unusual. Instead, there was a sad smile on his face. There was something about that face. It looked just like Alexander's when Clark had taken off to tackle the missile. As though lightening had struck him, he staggered under the memory so fresh in his mind. Clark understood. He remembered the darkness. The rotating faces. Everything made sense now! He looked directly into his 'brother’s' eyes. “My little man? Alexander? How? Why?” Clark’s face held nothing back. He was totally overwhelmed and confused. Lex’s eyes started to tear up. “Yeah, *Dad.* It’s me. Welcome home.” And then, Lex wrapped him in a bear hug. “Welcome home.” Something was nagging at the back of Clark's mind. After a moment, he broke the hug. "Oh Alexander! I never came back, did I?” The young man before gave him a wry smile. “Please, call me Lex. You’ve been doing it for the last thirty years, I don’t see any reason to change it now. As to never coming back, I have a theory about that but we really don’t have the time to go into that now. Let’s just say that when you first came through the portal I didn’t know if I should hug you or deck ya.” Clark laughed. It was strange knowing that his little brother was also his son. He was glad to see that his son had grown up to be a fine young man. Then it struck him. He grabbed Lex by the shoulders. “Wait a minute. Obviously Frank and Olga became Mr. and Mrs. Carper. You grew up as my brother. Where's your mother? Where’s Lois?” Lex's face fell. "I've wondered how to tell you this for the last decade or so. And I still don't know how. There's no easy way. She died…back in 1962." "NO!" Clark recoiled from his elder son. He reached out with every fiber of his being and found…nothing. Clark’s eyes took on a pained and hollowed out look. His voice was equal to his look. "She's gone." His knees gave out and Lex swiftly caught him, holding him close. They both cried. One for the pain that he had caused. One for the love he had lost. They stayed that way for a while before letting each other go. Clark gave Lex a questioning look. “How?” Lex turned and scanned the sky. “We don’t have time for this. We have to stop that missile.” Clark’s face darkened. “HOW?” Lex sighed. “It all started to go downhill after you left. I still shudder when I think about that time." ((Open your mind. This is going to be a rough ride.)) Clark steeled himself for the onslaught of the Lex's memories. The images washed over him like a tsunami, so intense the emotion and the speed at which it was delivered. ((Slow down!)) Lex didn’t let up. ((We haven't the time.)) @@@@@@@@@@@@@ Tuesday, October 23, 1962 Gulf of Mexico Isla de la Juventud beach @@@@@@@@@@@@@ Olga’s face fell and her voice trembled as she uttered a strangled cry. “The portal! How are we going to get home?” Frank placed his arm around her shoulders. He was worried, too, but he wanted to be strong for her. Then an idea struck him. "Tempus! He must still have his personal portal on him. We can us that to get home!" The four of them moved en masse toward the lifeless time traveler and their fallen comrade. They moved Keith to one side and placed rocks over the body. Lois' movements showed a definite loss of motivation by the time they had gathered enough rocks to cover him. She had even dropped a few clumsily. They decided that since Lois knew him best, she would say some parting word's over Keith. "Keith Jackson was a good man and husband. I don't know what he did to deserve us, but we were glab, err, glad to haf…" **Come on Lois, wake up!** "…*have* him for a friend." Lois' face looked very relaxed, but her eyes were terrified. She staggered once and started to crumple to the ground. "Mommy!" Alexander rushed to her side quickly, vainly trying to catch her. Frank did the same and together they were able to get her to the ground gently. Lois struggled to lift her head, but was unable. Her limbs wouldn’t respond anymore. Only her eyes moved. She found Alexander’s face and locked onto it. ((Sweetheart, I love you. I will always love you. You listen to Mr. Parker and Dr. Vukavitch, and do what they say. Remember, Daddy said that he would come for you. He always keeps his word.)) Tears where streaming down Alexander’s face. ((DON’T GO! DON’T LEAVE ME, MOMMY! First Nanny, then Mr. Jackson, then Daddy! DON’T YOU GO, TOO!)) Lois’ mind was beginning to shut down. It didn’t feel bad, sorta warm and comfortable. ((I don’t want to go, my little man. I…)) ((NO! NO! NO!)) “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!” And with that, Alexander took off running. Frank took off after him while Olga stayed by Lois’ side. Lois looked deep in her eyes. There was no need for communication of any kind. Olga understood. She gently stroked the side of Lois' face. “You know he loves you, he just can’t cope with this right now. Mr. Parker and I will take good care of him, no matter when we end up. And if we can, we will undo this mess so that none of you will have to suffer. I…” Olga stopped talking. The light had gone out of Lois’ eyes. She had joined Keith in the land of darkness. Olga laid her hand over Lois’ eyes and closed them. She slipped off Lois’ wedding band and engagement ring to keep for Clark. ~*~ Frank was hard pressed to catch up to the little boy. He only did so because his legs were a lot longer. “Alexander! Please! Stop!” “GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Frank grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around, and scooped him up in his arms, holding on as tightly as he dared. Alexander thrashed and yelled. He reared back and beat Frank on the chest over and over, all the while yelling how he hated his mother for leaving him. Frank knew he was going to be sore and bruised. There was the beginning of real strength in those tiny arms. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know if there was anything *to* say. He just let Alexander beat his frustrations out on him until the child gave out. Alexander slumped against Frank’s chest and continued to whimper into his neck. Frank reached up and gently stroked Alexander’s head and back, shushing him as he slowly made his way back to Olga. By the time he reached her, Alexander was fast, if not fitfully, asleep. Frank carefully passed him to her and began the task of finding enough stones to cover Lois. He took his time. They had all the time in the world. ~*~ Hours later, they had yet to figure out Tempus’ portable portal. It had been in Tempus’ right-breast pocket when Frank had shot him. Ironically, it was the device that had deflected the bullet enough to puncture Tempus’ lung. The bullet had made a simple dent with a trailing scar in the casing. Besides those incidental markings it might as well have been a polished lump of metal. There seemed to be no visible controls or seams on the outside of the little contraption. After a while, they gave up, laid it among their meager gatherings, and started to forage for food. About an hour had passed when they heard Alexander scream. ~*~ Alexander had tossed and turned in his sleep. He dreamed of beeping machines and explosions. He dreamed over and over again of Mommy and Daddy and how they were taken away from him. He dreamed about icky green needles and guns, people burning and dying. No matter where he turned, people were dying or dead. He didn’t want to be here anymore. The dreams just wouldn't go away. It was more than a little boy could bear. His thrashing caused him to roll over closer to the stack of supplies and materials that Olga and Frank had stacked nearby. Alexander jostled the pile that held Tempus’ portal device. He rolled far enough to have his face touch the cool, marred, metallic surface. The device issued forth a soft chime. ((TEMPORAL GATEWAY 453FVG HAS B-BEEN DAMAG…)) Alexander started to rouse from his fitful slumber. ((What?)) Unfortunately, he moved his head and broke contact with the mechanism. Silence reigned. He lifted his head and made to get up and stumbled a bit, causing his hand to land firmly on the inert portal. It issued another soft chime. ((TEMPORAL GATEWAY 453FVG HAS B-BEEN DAMAGED. SELF-DIAGNOSTIC WILL BEGIN.)) After the horrendous nightmares, it was no wonder that Alexander screamed. Olga quickly swept him up and carried him some distance away. Frank picked up the portal, but it looked no different than normal. There were no more chimes, but it did feel warmer to the touch. Frank put the device down and they waited in the distance. After several minutes Frank picked it up and it seemed to have returned to normal. Once they had assured the little boy it was safe, Alexander hesitantly touched the device again. It chimed. ((SELF-DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. MEMORY L-LOSS HAS OCCURRED. ID VALIDATION M-MODE ACTIVATED. STANDBY FOR ID S-SCAN.)) Alexander got a confused look on his face. “It’s thinking at me. I think its saying that it's broke." Alexander squirmed a bit and giggled. "Hahaha… that tickles!” Frank’s made ready to snatch the thing from Alexander's hand. “What tickles?” The small device chimed again. “The metal thing tickled my hand. Wait. It’s thinking some more.” ((ID S-SCAN COMPLETE. DNA DOES NOT M-MATCH N-KNOWN USERS. MEMORY L-LOSS SUSPECTED. WILL SCAN FRAGMENTS OF MEMORY FOR CLOSEST M-MATCH.)) The machine seemed lost in thought for a while. After what seemed like several minutes the device chimed again. ((SCAN COMPLETE. CLOSEST M-MATCH IS TO TEMPUS LUCAS LANE. M-MATCH TWENTY-TWO POINT NINE PERCENT. SECONDARY M-MATCH TO ANDRUS MARTIN KENT AT TWENTY-TWO POINT FIVE PERCENT. PLEASE CONFIRM ID S-SCAN.)) “It thinks I’m Mr. Tempus Lane or Mr. Andrus Kent. It wants me to pick one.” “Since we know that it worked for Tempus last, tell it you’re Tempus.” “But, isn’t that lying?” Frank closed his eyes for a moment. “Technically, yes. But this is only a machine. If it wants to think you’re Tempus, let it. There’s no harm in that. Especially if you cross your fingers behind your back.” Olga, who was standing out of Alexander’s direct line of vision, shot daggers at Frank with her eyes. Frank just grinned. Alexander had a tough time crossing his fingers using only one hand. Frank eventually helped him, when Olga adamantly refused. ((Yes, I’m Tempus Lucas Lane.)) ((THANK YOU.)) The top surface shifted to reveal three sets of controls: date, time, and location. “YES!” Frank picked up Alexander and twirled him around in a circle. He then attempted to enter the coordinates, but as soon as he took the control out of Alexander’s hands, it sealed over again. Frank was ready to chuck the thing into the nearby sea. “Wait! Give it back to Alexander. I have a hunch.” Frank handed it back, and it immediately activated again. Olga smiled, triumphantly. The ‘where’ was a snap, Metropolis. The ‘when’ was a different matter entirely. “Why don’t we just arrive when I was originally scheduled to arrive, Sunday, October 3, at noon.” “That would give us less than a day before your earlier self arrived. We cannot arrive before your arrival the first time Mr. Parker. We don’t know what will happen when your earlier self encounters you in the Sphere’s chronostream. Before, you have always encountered a slightly different you and *that* you has disappeared, presumably in his own Backstep. In this scenario, you and this universe’s Frank Parker will co-exist. It’s possible that he will disappear, you will continue to exist, and then your earlier self will arrive and we will have two Frank Parkers, something I would like to avoid if at all possible.” Frank grinned at her. “Why? Then we could have twice the fun.” Frank wiggled his eyebrows at his last remark. Olga ignored the innuendo and plowed her way forward. “It is also possible that the earlier you will not arrive at all, because you already exist here. That would set up a paradox of unknown proportions. We just can’t run the risk. Conversely, we can’t wait too long or we run into the problem of Agent Smith being killed and Alexander being kidnapped. We really don’t have a choice. We need to wait until after your earlier version arrives and then deal with the double Parker problem when the time comes.” Frank nodded in agreement and started whistling the ‘Double-Mint Gum’ jingle. Olga resisted the urge to throw her shoe at him. Frank told Alexander to enter October 4, 1999 at 9:00am, Metropolis, Central Park. ~*~ Frank and Olga gathered whatever they could carry in the emergency shoulder bags . Then they said their good-byes the eternal sleepers. All Alexander could do was cry. Frank and Olga both swore they wouldn't allow this to happen again. +++++++++++++++++++++++ Tuesday, October 23, 1962 1:53pm EST Gulf of Mexico Isla de la Juventud +++++++++++++++++++++++ Once everything was set, Frank had Alexander give the device a toss. It obediently opened into the by now familiar time window. However, Frank did notice an odd spark of electricity making circuits around the perimeter of the time portal. Frank grabbed Olga’s and Alexander’s hands and held them tightly. “Just in case, let’s step through together.” And as one, they hit the shimmering field in the center. The last thing Alexander 'heard' was ((W-WARNING! W-WARNING! POWER FAILURE IMMINENT! TARGET NOT ATTAINABLE. ENTERING EMERGANCY M-MODE.)) "Uh-oh!" +++++++++++++++++++++++ Tuesday, October 23, 1962 1:54pm EST Gulf of Mexico Isla de la Juventud - A bluff near the beach +++++++++++++++++++++++ A frustrated groan escaped the lips of the red-headed man. "You nit-slog! You waited too long! They made it through!" He turned to the blonde-headed man and barked an order. "You, check the historical matrix. See what changed this time. I am surrounded by flubbers!" The blonde stood his ground. "There's no need to be belligerent, Senior Peace Keeper." Red rounded on the man. "If you hadn't lost your portal, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." The blonde ducked his head and started checking the historical matrix. In only a few moments, he had the results. "Minimal damage done. We actually gained some ground, this time. Lane and Jackson have been put out of commission…" "I knew that." "…and Alexander is being raised by the Elder Kents again. Only now he's the 'younger' brother by half a year instead of being the 'older' brother by six, like he was in the original deviation. At least he's not crippled by that Kryptonite sliver anymore. As an added bonus, Agent Smith is saved by Lex at the last possible moment." "So…you're saying that losing Tempus, maiming Jackson, and having a pregnant Lois Lane in a deep coma is a fair trade for saving a Secret Service agent and getting an emotionally scarred Alexander back with the Elder Kents?" "No, Senior Peace Keeper. I was just saying since Agent Smith is Lex's soulmate, this just cements the future that they are supposed to have. He'll be a few years younger, that's all. The Senior Peace Keeper rolled his eyes. "You've always been the incurable romantic. *Soulmates*. Scan further. Make sure there are no hidden surprises." Blondie checked the matrix again. His mouth twitched to one side. "Uh-oh." ===== Phillipe: And what is your quest? Etienne Navarre: I must kill a man. Phillipe: Tell me--does this walking corpse have a name? -LadyHawke (1985) Smashing good movie. WIP for MR_D8A: 7 Days of Superman-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003005.html WIP for Elisabeth: Story of a Lifetime-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003563.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 23:01:47 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Marilyn L. Puett" Subject: OT: Great England Online Scavenger Hunt -- SOLVED Thanks to those of you who emailed me with sights (there are more than one!). I just wonder if my stodgy, stuffy business colleagues will understand the value of online friends. They all think chatting and message boards are so useless. HA! Thanks again..... Supermom ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 00:12:20 -0600 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Anne, cute story Murphy's Law in action keep writing merry ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 01:10:38 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: StarKitty Subject: Re: 7 days MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'd like to say "Ditto!" I've been busy struggling to get my dual operating systems to work (can't load windows and need to use a boot disk to load linux) and have been totally obsessing with that for a little while now ( I should've learned by now to not fiddle with it when everythings working all right, right? ) I definately want to see more of 7dos, though! Tara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charlotte Fisler" To: Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 07:33 Subject: Re: 7 days > Just thought I'd pop in with a non-comment here. I haven't had a chance to > do more than glance at the last few installments of 7 Days, but as I said > before I am enjoying it immensely. Sigh if only that new laser printer at > work would settle down, maybe I can get a good, readable copy to read and > comment on soon. > > Don't worry about a lack of response on the message boards just now. > Sometimes people get caught up in other things (me - I just adopted a new dog > and am busy getting him used to me) and may be delayed in commenting. That > doesn't mean they aren't still following the story. > > Charlotte > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 17:59:27 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Debby Subject: Re: Story: Saving Geckoboy, part 01/01 (repost) In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" At 10:56 PM 10/29/2000 +0000, you wrote: >Debby, I just wanted to let you know that I *loved* this! It totally >brightened up my day. Thanks! >Randi (still giggling over Geckoboy practicing his pig calls. =)) You can imagine they were really very sad pigs, too.... (my contribution to angst lovers) Debby huitziln@cais.net ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:24:14 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit What a fun story and 'gripping' to read. You wrote a full plausible scenario to boot. LOL Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:27:27 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Charlotte Fisler Subject: Re: 7 Days of Superman Part 28 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yeaaahhhh. Now if only the laser printer at works thursday night.... Anxious to catch up with this great story. Charlotte ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 07:38:20 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: Re: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >From a comic book perspective: Superman of Earth 1, when he was transported to Earth Prime, our Earth, identified Gotham as being part of the BosWash suburb area. --- Paula Roy wrote: > From my office in Times Square...... Yup - NYC > is indeed called Gotham, and > you can frequently see that reference in > respected publications such as the > NY Times. > > Gotta fly... > Paula > > ------Original Message------ > From: No Name Available > To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU > Sent: October 30, 2000 6:44:13 PM GMT > Subject: OT--Does Gotham=NYC? > > > Got this on a listserv for museum educators: > > History would like to announce a > search for the position of Teaching > Coordinator.>> > > ANd for those of you who live in NYC, I truly > didn't make this up. The > address on the bottom after the job description > was at the CUNY Grad Center. > > --Laurie ===== Phillipe: And what is your quest? Etienne Navarre: I must kill a man. Phillipe: Tell me--does this walking corpse have a name? -LadyHawke (1985) Smashing good movie. WIP for MR_D8A: 7 Days of Superman-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003005.html WIP for Elisabeth: Story of a Lifetime-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003563.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 08:53:42 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: JaT Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii LOL!!! The scary part is that we have a monitor system and that all sounds just WAY to possible for my liking! It was very well written. I bet it could win Short of the year. James ===== Phillipe: And what is your quest? Etienne Navarre: I must kill a man. Phillipe: Tell me--does this walking corpse have a name? -LadyHawke (1985) Smashing good movie. WIP for MR_D8A: 7 Days of Superman-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003005.html WIP for Elisabeth: Story of a Lifetime-TOC http://www.zoomway.com/boards/ubbhtml/Forum5/HTML/003563.html __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 15:21:00 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Anne D." Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi! Wow! I'll combine my responses to this wonderful feedback! truitt22@FLASH.NET writes: > cute story > Murphy's Law in action > keep writing Thanks for responding! Yes, I'm a big fan of Murphy's Law! Cdfisler@AOL.COM writes: > What a fun story and 'gripping' to read. > > You wrote a full plausible scenario to boot. > Um... wonder why that is? ;) mr_d8a@YAHOO.COM writes: > The scary part is that we have a monitor system > and that all sounds just WAY to possible for my > liking! > Yes, it is, isn't it? ;) Of course, in real life some of those events would take place on different nights, but for the Kents ... give to it to them all at once! > It was very well written. Thanks! A lot of that goes to my wonderful editor! > I bet it could win > Short of the year. > Wow! Thanks for the compliment! Anne D. (who only uses the microwave now) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? >From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 19:48:27 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Liz Berard Subject: Re: NEW: Metanoia (1/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Ohhhh, when will we get to see parts 4-10, , I'm really enojoying this series. Liz Berard No Name Available wrote: > > TITLE: The Martha Chronicles 3: Metanoia ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 17:54:05 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I thoroughly enjoyed this! Very funny! Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? >From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 21:17:57 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Dennis Arendt Subject: email MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit My email has been down for the about 20 hours......if you tried to email me, please do so again. I think, I hope the problem is solved. Brenda ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 22:23:18 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: NEW: Metanoia (1/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To be completely honest, I wasn't planning on continuing to post the story (Martha Chronicles 3: Metanoia). After posting parts 1-3, I didn't get any response, so I assumed no one was reading it, or if they were, it was so awful that they just didn't know what to say. There is also the added twist that I was posting some of the story to the MBs as I was writing it. So I figured perhaps I should return to the MBs and post the completed version there. I will post the rest of the story on this list if there's interest, though... Christy attalanta@aol.com << Ohhhh, when will we get to see parts 4-10, , I'm really enojoying this series. Liz Berard No Name Available wrote: > > TITLE: The Martha Chronicles 3: Metanoia >> ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 22:24:50 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: NEW: Metanoia (1/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 10/31/2000 10:23:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, Attalanta@AOL.COM writes: << I will post the rest of the story on this list if there's interest, though. >> Well, i didn't say anything because I just assumed the other parts would come along to this list shortly.... THey'd better, anyway! --Laurie ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 21:46:00 -0600 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: peabody Subject: Re: NEW: Metanoia (1/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Christy wrote: > I will post the rest of the story on this list if there's interest, though... There's definitely interest, Christy! I'm sorry that I didn't send out some very positive feedback sooner :) I'll blame it on being overscheduled, with Halloween and getting ready for the DSL installer (I can't believe that I have to move all the Superman toys and stray CD's away from the computer area just so he can hook up the modem ;) I've enjoyed every part of the Martha Chronicles, and am especially enjoying this section. You've shown us how Martha's experiences contributed to the adult she's become, and given us a very well plotted, well written story. Your writing style is interesting and very easy to read. This passage is a good illustration, and a favorite of mine: >A fledgling town, it was flat and barren, its trees plucked in favor of identical >tract houses. The streets all had names like Tulip Court and Sunflower Street, >assuring potential buyers that the town, despite its infertile appearance, had potential >for growth. It's not just the town that has that potential, though; it's a good metaphor for the characters and their potential, too. And I could picture those tract houses with no problem--that's exactly how the new suburbs, which seemed to be springing up everywhere in the late 50's and early 60's, looked. So, yes, there are any number of interested readers out here, waiting with baited breath for those other 7 segments! Pat peabody@mcs.com pattijean@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 20:06:33 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Anne D." Subject: Re: NEW: Why Lois Stays Out of Kitchen (Part 01/01) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii sirenegold@YAHOO.COM writes: > I thoroughly enjoyed this! Very funny! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! That means a lot coming from the author of one of my favorite series! Anne D. :) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? >From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 23:09:56 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: NEW: Metanoia (1/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Pat and others inquiring about Metanoia, I will post the rest of the story here, then. I was just getting quite anxious after sending the story out, then going four days without hearing anything, not even a grumpy "get this spew off my monitor!" to give me an indication of how it was being received. < Your writing style is interesting and very easy to read. This passage is a < good illustration, and a favorite of mine: >>A fledgling town, it was flat and barren, its trees plucked in favor of identical >>tract houses. The streets all had names like Tulip Court and Sunflower Street, >>assuring potential buyers that the town, despite its infertile appearance, had >>potential for growth. < It's not just the town that has that potential, though; it's a good metaphor < for the characters and their potential, too. And I could picture those < tract houses with no problem--that's exactly how the new suburbs, which < seemed to be springing up everywhere in the late 50's and early 60's, < looked. I'm glad you liked this section. IMO, it is important to the story, but oftentimes I have trouble writing what I think is important in a way that readers will also think it is important. I also imagined that some readers might think it was only peripherally related to Martha's relationship with Jonathan, and should perhaps be removed. I was prepared to fight to keep it, and I'm glad I don' t have to ;) Christy attalanta@aol.com ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 23:11:56 EST Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: NEW: Metanoia (4/10) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable TITLE: The Martha Chronicles 3: Metanoia PART: 4/10 AUTHOR: Christy Kubit (attalanta@aol.com) FEEDBACK: All comments are welcome, public or private. SUMMARY: In the third and (maybe) final part of the series, Martha returns=20 home to attend to family problems and tries to maintain a long-distance=20 relationship with Jonathan. * * * * * It had been a full day since I last saw my mother. My visit to Big Creek had= =20 taken longer than anticipated, and I didn't make it back to the city until=20 hospital visiting hours were over. So I arrived early the next morning, in=20 the company of my grandparents and armed with a thermos of soup and a tin of= =20 homemade blueberry muffins; the previous day Mother's doctors had okayed her= =20 for solid foods. "Hi, Mother," I called out as the three of us came into sight of her room.=20 "How are you feeling today?" Surprisingly, my mother was sitting up in bed, reading the Arts section of=20 the Boston Globe. Her hair was freshly washed and styled, and she was wearin= g=20 one of her own nightgowns, instead of a paper contraption distributed by the= =20 hospital. She even appeared to be wearing=E2=80=A6 was that make-up? "Hi, darling," she said, kissing me on the forehead. "I do feel better." "I knew it!" Grandmother said, patting Mother's head like a dog. She plopped= =20 Nancy's foodstuff on my mother's breakfast cart, next to an unfinished heap=20 of watery scrambled eggs and a pile of burnt toast rinds. "Dr. Mills came ou= t=20 to visit you yesterday, didn't he? I knew seeing him again would perk you=20 right up." My mother nodded half-heartedly at the mention of her personal therapist, bu= t=20 I thought I saw her roll her eyes skyward, something she used to do when she= =20 was exasperated, something she had done a long, *long* time ago. I smiled at= =20 her, but she was already prying open the package of muffins. "Did that other doctor come by yet, the one Dr. Graves recommended?"=20 Grandfather asked as he descended slowly into the plastic-coated chair next=20 to Mother's bed. "Yes, he came by last night, too," Mother replied before biting into one of=20 the oversize muffins, still warm from the oven. Grandmother let a stubborn harrumph escape from her nose, then shook her=20 head. "What was he like? Some youngster, fresh out of medical school and=20 eager to make mistakes, no doubt." "He was all right, nothing special but certainly competent enough. He was in= =20 his forties at least, so I'm sure he got all his rookie mistakes done with=20 decades ago." Grandmother nodded, as if Mother had just agreed with her instead of=20 contradicting her. "I knew that sweet Dr. Graves wouldn't recommend anyone=20 inexperienced. He has quite the bedside manner, don't you think, Martha?"=20 Grandmother asked with a non-obvious nod in my direction. "And well-bred, too; his people are from the South, Nashville or thereabouts= ,=20 which explains his gentlemanly demeanor. He was educated at Harvard Medical=20 School, as were his father, grandfather, and older brother." I nodded, wondering when Grandmother had had the chance to sucker Dr. Graves= =20 into filling out a personal history. But I let the thought flit unfettered=20 from my head; I had more important concerns, the primary one being my mother= ,=20 so I abandoned my grandmother's conversation and turned instead to my mother= ,=20 who had returned to her newspaper. She was now working on the crossword=20 puzzle, twirling her pencil between her fingers between words. Now that I was standing closer, I could see that she was wearing jewelry,=20 too, a watch and an engraved gold locket dangling from a long chain. I knew=20 the heart-shaped locket held a photograph of my father, taken on their=20 wedding day, and one of me as a baby. When I was a child I would snuggle next to her on the sofa while she talked=20 on the phone. I would finger the locket as she spoke, intermittently opening= =20 it to see my father's and my photographs inside, reminders of her love for=20 us. When she would talk to her sister, my aunt Opal, I would lean my head=20 against the phone receiver, straining to hear them. And occasionally she=20 would let me listen in, tilting the receiver so I could hear more than a=20 one-sided version of their conversation. I watched my mother finish off a muffin and neatly tap her mouth with a pape= r=20 napkin from her breakfast tray. This was my mother, the way she'd acted year= s=20 ago - decades ago - before my father died, even before my summer in=20 Smallville. She wasn't following her own mind or disobeying her mother, but=20 she was making life interesting with a roll of the eyes here and a wink ther= e. Just then Dr. Graves popped his head into the room. "Good morning, Mrs.=20 Williams, Mr. Williams, Miss Clark. "And how are you feeling this morning, Mrs. Clark?" he asked, fiddling=20 nervously with the stethoscope slung around his neck. "Just fine, Doctor. I'm eager to go home." "That new psychiatrist worked wonders, hmm," he mused, checking over the=20 chart he'd removed from the foot of her bed. I wondered what my mother's=20 chart said, but knew that I had no right - and more unfortunately, no=20 opportunity - to take a peek. And she seemed to be doing so much better this= =20 morning=E2=80=A6 Maybe it was the new psychiatrist she had seen. But all Mother said in response to Dr. Graves was "Mmm." "Do you think we'll be able to take her home soon?" Grandfather asked. "I would like her to get another session or two with that new doctor before=20 leaving, so I'd venture to say perhaps tomorrow afternoon. How does that=20 sound, ma'am?" he asked my mother, but it was Grandmother who answered. "It sounds just wonderful, Doctor. But we'll certainly miss you. You've been= =20 such a help to Elizabeth, and to all of us. How can we ever thank you?" she=20 fawned. "Oh," Dr. Graves stuttered, the tips of his ears turning pink, "no thanks is= =20 necessary, really. I'm just doing my job, ma'am." Grandmother smiled again, doing a fair imitation of the cat who'd not only=20 swallowed the canary, but also convinced the bird to fly willingly into its=20 mouth. "That's right; you're a doctor," she said, as if she had to remind us= .=20 "What a noble, *gratifying* profession. How did you decide on medicine, Dr.=20 Graves?" "Well," he stammered, dropping my mother's chart on his way to hooking it=20 back onto the end of her bed. It clattered to the floor and under the bed=20 with a metallic crash. Dr. Graves bent down to retrieve it, then straightene= d=20 up and smiled sheepishly. "My father is a doctor, too, ma'am, and so is my=20 brother and grandfather, so it wasn't such a difficult decision; it seems to= =20 be the family calling," he said with a nervous titter. "That's just *won*derful," Grandmother replied. "Medicine is such a secure=20 profession: well-paid, well-respected. I'm sure you and your brother have=20 made your parents quite proud," she said with a hint of a glance towards me. "Yes, ma'am," Dr. Graves said with a nod. "Well, good-bye, all. I should=20 really get back to my rounds." He shot a nervous look over to my grandmother= ,=20 who nodded and smiled as if guiding him. "Uh, er, Martha, do you have a minute?" he asked almost inaudibly. I glanced over at Grandmother, and then my mother, who was still working out= =20 her crossword. She appeared not to have given a second thought to the=20 conversation between her doctor and her mother, and didn't even seem to=20 notice that the former had invited me out into the hallway, possibly to=20 discuss her case. I nodded. "Of course." Dr. Graves waved to my family, and I followed him out into the hallway. He=20 waited a nervous minute, fidgeting again with his stethoscope and=20 straightening his white coat, until he heard a conversation resume in=20 Mother's room. "What is it, Dr. Graves?" I asked hopefully. "Please, call me Gordon," he insisted. "Gordon, then," I repeated. "Umm, Martha," he began, presuming his own familiarity. "Would you like to g= o=20 out sometime? We could have dinner and then see a movie, or go to the ballet= ,=20 or a play, whatever you want. A friend of mine has seasons tickets to the=20 symphony, too; your grandmother said you enjoyed music." I closed my eyes, wishing I was at the symphony that very moment, wishing I=20 was in Kansas, was somewhere, anywhere else. I pasted an apologetic smile=20 onto my face. "I'm sorry, but I have=E2=80=A6 I see someone." I could hear my grandmother give a cluck of disappointment inside my mother'= s=20 room, and I began to wonder just how foolish a decision I had made the day=20 before, going to Big Creek to visit Sophie and leaving Grandmother alone wit= h=20 Dr. Graves. Her apparently mild-mannered exterior was a great ruse; beneath=20 her expertly-coiffed hairdo was a reservoir of cunning and manipulation. "Oh," he said flatly, clearly disappointed. "Your grandmother said=E2=80=A6=20= Well, it=20 doesn't matter. I understand. Here," he said, passing me a folded square of=20 white paper, "in case you change your mind." Our hands touched as he handed=20 me the paper; his was clammy and cool. He turned and quickly walked away, taking quick, almost running steps,=20 escaping from the scene of the crime. I watched as he turned into the wrong=20 patient's room, then found the right one. Once he was out of sight I unfolde= d=20 the paper; on his prescription pad he had neatly printed his name and phone=20 number. * * * * * To be continued in part 5