Applause and Feedback

RosieAnnie - You had me wondering who was in the grave, and it somehow didn't surprise me.  There was something about the character who always seemed headed down a bad path.  Beautifully written, you play with the emotions various emotions in such an effective and understated way.  Wonderful.

RosieAnnie:  I loved the last drink with their old comrade.  Too bad he wasn't better at receiving advice than giving it.  Nicely written, too!

RosieAnnie:  An apt piece for this day and at the end of the year.  Touching and I liked the last lines. It's how the boys keep going.

Silverkelpie 1
Can imagine Heyes huffing and puffing in bed on Christmas Eve – eager but not eager to share his surprise. Having misgivings about what he’s brought. Would it be okay? Was it good enough? Would she like it? So important to him that day. Sometimes the simplest gifts are the most precious and the most memorable. Think his gift proved that.


Keays
I think Kenny made Heyes think about what the gift of being a father could mean. The talk and the letter brought it home to him that he had a reason to go on living.


Inside Outlaw
Wow, IO, this is such a powerful, intense piece of writing. Uncomfortable to read but mesmerising all the same. So well written – hats off to you. I hesitated to post my bit of fluff immediately afterwards as it just wasn’t worthy – had to wait for another post in between!


Silverkelpie 2
So many good lines in this one. A walking hug. Contagious mischief. The vision of the blown up outhouse. Here we see Heyes at his most mean and moodiest. No choirboy, he - indeed.


HannaHeyes
A cheeky Heyes justifying himself to Santa. Even gets himself in Jed’s letter. Totally believable.


Cal
I remember Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and yes I can really see Heyes as the mischievous Marty Hopkirk. This could take your stories off into a whole different direction, Cal. Here’s hoping ….!


Riders57
Miasma of gloom! Brilliant description of how Heyes would react to the price on their heads being dropped. It’s a matter of professional pride – it’s serious stuff! However, being discounted in the January sales – perhaps I can afford them now ….!


Remuda
The time between Christmas and New Year does seem to blur into one. Then New Year’s Eve comes and goes and that’s it – back to work and usual grind. However, this time is often one of reflection on the past year and the year to come. Liked the way you organised Heyes’ thoughts around the song lyrics.


RosieAnnieUSA
What happens to rest of the Gang after Heyes and the Kid split isn’t often discussed. I guess we knew Preacher was on the slippery slope in the episode “Never Trust and Honest Man”. Liked the way they considered what might have happened if they’d all stayed outlawing and whether their decision to quit influenced Preacher.


MoulinP – Footnote
Nobody realised at the time but there was no present for Lobo. That turned up under my tree! Anyway have sent it on using the (U)nwanted (P)resents (S)anta Division Service and he should get it by New Year. I had a good feel – felt like a medical kit to me.

Silverkelpie: (Spoiler alert!) A great read yet again. I always enjoy your descriptive narrative and you wide range of knowledge on so many topics. It was fun to get a refresher on the scene that inspired Heyes to give Abi the little cat charm as a Christmas present many years later. They certainly did have a long, and shall I say, interesting relationship. Sometimes it seems that Abi got along better with the Kid than she did Heyes, but then again, what does compatibility have to do with passion?

Thanks, Keays.  So far the Kid is just being charming and straightforward; where the other two are equally suspicious and competitive.  It does change and develop - as you know.

It's December 31st! How did that happen??

Silverkelpie: A sweet and beautiful Christmas morning. Wish I'd had some nice ones like that, but I'm glad our boys, and Abi and Anya, did.

Keays: I remember this. Parents will live do anything for their children, won't they? They'll even choose to live.

Inside Outlaw: I feel like you really got into Heyes' mind and spirit here. Nice conversation between our boys about the amnesty, and logical how this frightening incident only reaffirmed Heyes' decision to stick with the amnesty.

Silverkelpie: You hit a double this month! Pearl is a pearl of a character! Vivid image -- "a cloud of perfume drifting behind her." Another favorite line: "We're outlaws, you numbskull." Duh! I'm wondering what kind of story the sheriff is going to make up.

Moulin P: Love Legolost! He sounds like a perfect candidate to join the Devil's Hole Gang. And Tinkerbell, a hussy? What a fun story for the holiday season!

Hanna Heyes: Very enjoyable look at our boys when they really were boys. I do like using the letter format to tell a story myself sometimes. When the characters speak for themselves, they say more than they realize. That may sound a little weird, but I feel sure you understand.

Cal: It's the cycle of life, isn't it? The wheel of the year turns, bringing endings and new beginnings. Even though your story involves a character death, it is not about grief, but about change and hope, and carrying on. You packed a lot into a short story.

Riders57: Fun story. I can see how Heyes brooding would set Kid off. The loss of his reputation made Heyes wonder if he'd given up glory for a humdrum life. It took Kid to remind him that humdrum was pretty darn good.

Remuda: My brief takeaway from this story is, if you've got a friend you can rely on, you are wealthy indeed. Hope for the best in the future, and be grateful for what you have now.

Silverkelpie1 - Even when thinking simple Heyes is a genius.  This was simply beautiful and touching.  It was beautifully written and captured the uncertainty of a man needing to impress a little girl perfectly.  I love that he nailed it with such originality.

Keays - The other side of the coin to SKs, and this was a harrowing tale, but you gave Heyes a glimmer of hope here.  Yes, children are truly a reason to carry on when we are at our darkest points.  Poignant and beautiful

InsideOutlaw - Dead or alive always meant that some would take the easy way out to get the reward money.  Thank goodness the Kid arrived just in time.  The conversation at the end was very clever too.  The way the whole incident focussed the mind was surely a gift, but it took a great mind to see it.

Silverkelpie2  - I read the longer version of this, but this part fits the prompt perfectly.  Delivering the fake Devil's Hole Gang to the law was definitely a gift.  The whole countdown was very tense, but you still managed to inject humour into it when the privy got blown up.  I loved it.

MoulinP - Legolost?  What a great name.  You give us the perfect festive tale full of magic and humour.  I absolutely loved it, and the gifts were all spot on.

HannaHeyes - Two letters to Santa, and of course Heyes' is the most wordy and full of excuses.  I loved the science experiments and the poor teacher who couldn't get into the toilet! Jed's is also right in character, with him being influenced by Hannibal and not being in the least sorry about pouring the ink over the boy's head.

Cal - Oh, Cal.  You squeezed a tear out of the this hard old stone.  This was wonderful and ticked all the boxes for the perfect seasonal tale. You bring hope out of horror and show us that love never dies.  Perfect!

Riders - How lovely for the Kid to be the one with the gift of the gab for a change, and it's so right.  I always thought he was taciturn but had a way of getting to the point.  I loved the reasoning in this one, and the hope in the future.  Perfect for this time of year.

Remuda - The perfect seasonal tale.  How clever of you to take the traditional song and weave it through this introspective piece of outlaw repose.  Very apt, and very seasonal.

RosieAnnie - A very poignant tale.  I love this line.  An eternal truth in the world and pertinent even today. "“I seen plenty of men who were called good, who had a lot of bad in ‘em. It was just a matter of luck that the law never caught up with them.” This is full of emotions all bubbling just under the surface; anger, regret, sadness, and injustice.  Beautiful writing and very skillfully keeps the boys right in character.

Distant Drums - Oh, you got a whole story into this little poem, and a chance meeting with Heyes gives the girl the confidence to tell her cheating fiancé to sling his hook!  Loved it.

Distant Drums: Wow!  You did this running out the door??  Loved it.  Heyes isn't the only one good at getting revenge.  Maybe he's met his match.

Thank you, and yes, InsideOutlaw.  You can tell I did it in a hurry because I had to just edit the currency.  Wrong country, oops! 

Oh dear... did you ever think you've written and posted the feedback you wanted to share...just to come back and find you must have pushed delete not post....DOH!   I'm blaming the flu... I'm definitely swamp headed at the moment.

Well...

Riders57... This one made me smile.... Heyes' moodiness and Kid prising out of him he was upset because they got discounted....then the mercurial spin to imaginative enthusiasm as soon as Kid pointed out it wasn't a bad thing... It was a fun read and rang very true to character for me.

Remuda... Another read all the way to the end story showing just how their lives were and how they coped... Adding the lyrics to the old song was perfect. I particularly enjoyed the confusion about passing days.... seems very real to me just now too.

RosieAnnie... Aw a sad day for the boys with more than a bit of heart searching... And a big risk to visit the grave they'd paid for... the last drink was just the right tribute.

Distant Drums... OOOh love a bit of poetry... and narative ones are my favourites... love a story in verse.  This spoke to me in pictures.  Heyes was at her shoulder as she gained the gumption she needed.  Gift indeed. hope I get to read more of your verses ...sometimes what comes to us all in a hurry is the best stuff.

I'm glad I jumped in with a story for Christmas and New Year... what a fabulous set of tales at the turn of the year...

RosieAnnieUSA:
What struck me most about this well-written story was our two cowboys's unflinching loyalty to their friend. Even though Preacher had become a hired killer in his later years, an occupation the boys held in disdain, they still counted the man as a friend. They still saw the "good" in this "bad" man, and even considered how their own actions may have contributed to his downfall. Their friendship didn't depend on Preacher always doing what they considered the right thing; he was their friend despite his flaws. Loved this very touching story.

Distant Drums:
This is one of my favorites that you have done. It's an entire love story, complete with some comeuppance! I can't imagine doing this in a hurry, great job!

Well, I'm going to try to get through and comment on all the wonderful stories from last month, but it may take me a while.

Silverkelpie I:  this snippet was very fitting to the season and the prompt.  Excellent writing as always.

Keays:  Yes, Kenny gave Heyes a gift that day, a day full of gifts regardless of the surroundings.

InsideOutlaw:  There's a good feel to this story - the few lighter moments provide necessary relief.  Such an event could easily have happened to them; you made it very realistic.

My New Year's resolution is to try to keep up with commenting...

I did eventually get to finish all of last month's stories and let me just say I loved them all! Wonderful job to everyone, especially the poll winner.

Now, on to the new year and month...

Silverkelpie - I loved the line that proclaimed Seth 'looked like a constipated bulldog'. LOL! That's a great comparison. Who knew that Heyes was one of the first people to ever 'use Photoshop'. I use that particular program a lot in my line of work and it's a wonderful way to blackmail people ;) (not that I would use it for such a purpose...)

MoulinP - You can't stop there! I want to know what happens! I was really pulled into your story. The sadness and grief Wheat's going through, coupled with anxiety over the future now could be overwhelming....I'm not going to say anymore. I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I just hope you continue it soon!

Cal - Loved the tension you wrote in this story. I was nervous myself about the jump, especially when it was said the other side was a tad bit higher than their starting point. So is this the beginning of the reason they split up for a while? Enjoyed this!

MoulinP - You can't leave it there!  No fair.  You skillfully built it all up as a hopeful and poignant piece until you sprung that on us.  I'm really enjoying this story, and that is the most original take on how they got amnesty I've read. 

Cal - You write the spiralling tension and the action beautifully.  You had me on the edge of my seat with this especially in wondering if they'd make it over.  No wonder they split up after this.  It explains a lot about their early careers.

Continuing with December -- I will finish, slowly...

SilverkelpieII:  "We're outlaws, you numbskull.  It's what we do."  LOL (reminds me of a commercial)  What a gift for the sheriff and I can guess who our Irish lass will be.

MoulinP:  Love the moniker -- Legolost.  Ah a good explanation for the gold ring.  Cheers to the return of the Outlaw Appreciation Society.

HannaHeyes:  I do like these letters.  A nice tradition you have created for a month steeped in tradition.  The two personalities shine out from the letters.

Silverkelpie:  It may be an oldie, but it's a goodie and definitely fits the prompt.  Clever Heyes is studying up again, huh?  Love his solution but now I want to know more about Seth.

MoulinP:  That was a heckuva cliffhanger!  I remember from the pilot Heyes offering to try to get Wheat an amnesty and enjoyed seeing him bring that to fruition.  Good characterizations here and I especially liked Heyes realizing that he and Wheat could work together.  The horsey part seemed very realistic to me.

I'm enjoying the Zero challenge stories as they are posted.
SilverKelpie:  Heyes being clever as usual. Liked the science aspect.
MoulinP:  I like the relationship between Wheat and Heyes in your story. It's sad to have lost Kyle, but it allows use to see more dimensions in Wheat.
Cal:  What an exuberant ride and interesting end.
Pambaze:  Very touching and heart wrenching.  I cheered when Heyes "Hey Kid."

Pambaze: Loved it!  You gave us a realistic glimpse into the Kid's interior landscape as he waited for his partner.  He was restrained in his anxiety but you made it very clear how upset he was and how unprepared he felt to face the future. The conclusion was perfect, too.  No drama but the relief was palpable.  Thank you for a well-written tale.

PamBaze - Congrats on posting your first story! And it was a good one. The way you wrote it made me just feel the nervousnous and indecision Kid was experiencing. Then being stuck without any way to get any news, that'll drive anybody crazy. I liked the way you wrapped the story up though. Don't want to say much so as not to give it away to others. Just know that I enjoyed this :)