Parvenu: [5] Son & Heir/Sun & Air

Chapter 17 - Frakish Vallum

As the train began a slow arching turn, G and Lex simultaneously looked outside with identical expressions of concern.

"Is something wrong?" Paul asked cautiously.

"I think we just passed the cutoff for the rolling hills. Dad must be taking us to 'The Crag'." Lex said uncertainly.

"Why would he do that?" Paul asked curiously.

"I have no idea. I only went there one time before and it was horrible." G said anxiously.

"If that's where we're going, it's about to get very dark." Lex warned.

"No problem." Paul said as a cloud of Wizard's Lights dispersed through the train car.

"It's not the dark inside that I'm worried about." G said anxiously as he looked out the window at the picturesque scenery speeding by outside.

"Think of it being like when you looked out the door and saw the Meayithan realm instead of Brynnhollow. The thing that your logical mind told you should be there wasn't anymore." Lex tried to explain.

"Yeah. I guess I can see that being a little disturbing." Paul conceded.

As he said the words, the train passed from day into night in an instant.

After a moment to adjust to the dim glow of Wizard's Lights, Paul finally said, "Even when you know it's coming, it's kind of a shock."

Without a word, G walked to the nearest wall sconce oil lamp and briefly performed the spell to light it.

"Your horse is glowing." Paul said uncertainly, taking note of the gentle rainbow hue of light emanating from Zephyr.

"Yeah." Lex confirmed, then slowly added, "I guess he can do that."

Paul hesitantly nodded.

Zephyr bucked a little and turned himself around on Lex's shoulder before coming to rest.

The rainbow aura that Zephyr had been projecting now enveloped Lex and radiated out from him as well.

"Um, okay." Paul said uncertainly.

"That's better." G said as he stepped away from the final oil lamp.

Paul glanced at the absolute blackness outside the window and fought not to mention that the light of the lamps only made the darkness outside seem that much darker.

* * * * *

"How long does this go on?" Paul thought to ask as the train showed no signs of slowing.

"I have no idea. The last time I was here, I was a little too freaked out to keep track of time." G admitted.

"Even though I can hear and feel the tracks beneath us, somehow it still feels like we're flying." Paul observed.

"Not helping." G said past gritted teeth.

Paul recognized G's distress and moved to his side to envelope him in a firm hug.

"Are you okay, Lex?" G asked from the safety and security of Paul's arms.

"Yeah. I think I am." Lex said uncertainly.

* * * * *

"This is weird." Paul said quietly.

"What's that?" G asked curiously.

"I'm getting a feeling, it's like the Vinculum, but it's not." Paul said slowly as he struggled to put his feelings into words.

"So it's not a point of multi-location?" Lex asked cautiously.

"No. Not that. Something else." Paul said quietly.

"Is it a pocket of folded space, like the Nevermore protectorate?" Lex guessed.

"Not folded. No. But... we could be approaching another realm." Paul said speculatively.

"That's just crazy. We can't have a doorway to a foreign realm right in our own backyard." G protested.

"Think about who they called when there was a problem that dealt with protecting secret realms. What made Dad so qualified to deal with it?" Paul asked reasonably.

"Just like Steven was the caretaker of the Waxell Vinculum gate, Dad may be the caretaker of this... whatever it is." Lex said speculatively.

"If that was true, why wouldn't he tell us?" G asked reluctantly.

"Maybe he tried to tell you, but when you reacted so negatively to crossing the void, he changed his mind." Paul carefully suggested.

"Or he decided to give you some time to grow and learn before trying again." Lex quietly offered.

"Yeah. The last time I was here I freaked out so bad, the next thing I remember was us coming out of the dark and going to the rolling hills." G said distantly.

"It sounds like it could be some kind of security spell on the passage that won't allow you to enter if you don't meet some kind of standards." Paul cautiously suggested.

"But now, since we've been through everything at Brynnhollow, we should all be able to handle whatever this realm has to throw at us." Lex reasoned.

"Except Lucky, maybe." G said frankly.

"He's a Child of the Sun, he should be okay." Lex said confidently.

"Maybe it's because I was raised mundane, but I don't have any idea what that means." Paul said honestly.

"I was raised as a witch and I don't know what it means either." G said simply.

"I'm still figuring it out for myself, but as far as I can tell, it has something to do with his mimicry. In fact, it might even be the cause of it."

"Yeah. But what is it?"

"He copies magic, which is a common enough specialty for a witch to have. In fact, when you look at his mom's ability, his mimicry thing almost makes sense." Lex said honestly.

"You two got evaluated this morning, didn't you? What did Dr. Williams have to say about it?" G asked curiously.

"Basically, he confirmed that it's a thing. It happens. He didn't really tell us much more than that."

"Somehow I expected him to be more helpful." G said honestly.

"It's probably one of those things where it could go a few different ways, so they don't tell us too much so we don't feel pressured or something." Paul said speculatively.

"Yeah. We make much better decisions when we're stumbling around in the dark." Lex said sarcastically.

G looked out the windows at the statement and Lex immediately regretted his choice of words.

"Like I was saying, Lucky can also cast new spells that he made up all by himself, like his spell for Zah Zah. I don't think there's any way, no matter how hard they tried, that some other kid would be able to bring one of his drawings to life like that." Lex said reasonably.

"It's called animation. Have you met Dad? That's kind of his thing." Paul said with a grin.

"Okay. But even then, the animation does what you tell it to. It doesn't think for itself. There's something more going on here and I have a feeling that understanding it is the only way that we're really going to be able to help Lucky with his problems." Lex said frankly.

"You say that, but then you've got Zephyr, who you created and who seems to be able to think for himself." G said in a leading tone.

"I'm not sure how that happened. I summoned a cloud of mist and got a Nuggle, but it ended up working out great. He's smart and he helps me when I need it and he's not afraid to tell me when I'm doing something wrong. I can't think of anything more that I'd want in a magical companion." Lex said honestly.

"Do you mean 'familiar'?" G asked cautiously.

"Yes and no." Lex responded, then explained, "Even though Zephyr and I work well together, we don't have a contract. Until we do, I'll call him my magical companion."

"Mah Zah and Ginh Zah can probably help with the contract if you wanted them to, since they've been through it." Paul said seriously.

"We might end up doing that, but not yet. It's too soon." Lex said decisively.

Zephyr bobbed his head in agreement.

G once again looked nervously outside the train at the infinite blackness.

* * * * *

"Yeah. There it is. We're entering another realm." Paul said abruptly into the silence, causing both Lex and G to startle.

"What can you tell us about it?" G asked anxiously.

"We just crossed a magical boundary. We're not in the Earth realm anymore... I really don't have a point of reference to tell you where we are except to say... somewhere else." Paul said reluctantly.

"Can you tell if it's heaven or hell?" Lex asked cautiously.

"It's neither, as far as I can tell. But it doesn't feel like pure nature to me, either." Paul said uncertainly.

"You don't think it's an elemental plane, do you?" G asked anxiously.

"Not really. Nothing's screaming out at me about it." Paul said honestly.

"Well, I'm sensitive to the air element and I can tell you for sure that it isn't that." Lex said confidently.

G nodded his agreement to Lex's assessment.

"What about you, Zephyr? Do you feel the water in here?" Paul thought to ask.

After a moment to consider, Zephyr tilted his head sideways, indicating his indecision.

"Yeah, me neither." Paul confirmed.

"What do you think it is?" G asked as he looked out the window longingly, desperate for any clue.

"Zephyr and I can sense water, but not just water. It's not a pure water realm, that much is for sure, but it could be a quasi-elemental realm, like mist or steam." Paul slowly explained.

"Or ooze." Lex said unenthusiastically, letting his displeasure with the possibility be clearly heard in his voice.

"I doubt that Dad would take us anywhere too extreme. We're not exactly equipped for extra-planar travel." G said anxiously.

"When you consider the magic level that we're at and our recent experiences, we're actually fairly well prepared for something like this." Paul said frankly.

"And if we needed to, there are some charms that I know of that we can enchant to help us adapt ourselves even more." Lex added.

"I know where you got that idea from, and I can't believe that you'd want to use spells the same way that she did." G said bitterly.

"I'm not interested in following in your mom's footsteps but it won't help any of us if I refuse to use my abilities because they might bring up a painful memory for you." Lex said seriously.

"Guys? Do we have a problem?" Paul cautiously interrupted.

After a moment to consider, G reluctantly said, "No. He's right. I just remember the charms that Mom wore all the time. A lot of them were like what he's talking about using, they had to do with adapting to different realms."

"Why?" Paul asked curiously.

G puzzled over the one-word question for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Why what?"

"Why would she carry charms for travel to different realms?" Paul asked insistently.

"I... I don't know." G finally admitted.

"Now that you mention it, that does seem strange." Lex agreed.

"What was your mom's big magic?" Paul asked curiously.

"She could do high-level charms, way beyond the stuff we're learning about in Basic." G said seriously.

"But she always had charms on her that had to do with different realms?" Paul asked to confirm.

"Yeah." G said slowly, then added, "I guess it doesn't make much sense, when you stop and think about it."

"Maybe she just wanted to be prepared for whatever was going to happen, like people who always carry an umbrella or a flashlight, just in case they might ever need it someday." Lex said speculatively.

"Or maybe she received some kind of warning in an augury or something that let her know that someday she'd be shipped off to another realm... possibly not of her own free will." Paul quietly added.

"Do you think she could have had some kind of a ward or something on her to let her survive in a hell dimension?" G asked suddenly.

"Yeah. I do." Paul said simply.

G looked at him curiously, surprised by the immediate response.

"I heard a rumor that she's still alive. Mah Zah and Ginh Zah could probably dig into it and try to find her if you wanted to make contact." Paul said hesitantly.

"How long have you known?" G asked cautiously.

"Just for a day or so." Paul answered quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" G asked in a low pained voice.

"I found out while we were all up to our eyeballs in magic, performing the biggest spell that any of us is likely to ever see... I guess it slipped my mind." Paul finished with a shrug.

"So you think that she wore all those adaptation charms because she knew that she was going to be banished to another realm?" Lex asked cautiously.

"It's possible. I mean, that makes more sense than her just having some kind of weird hoarding compulsion for that one particular type of charm that she just happened to end up needing one day, all of a sudden." Paul said reasonably.

"Maybe, but the hoarding thing is possible too. I mean, along with all her other charms, she even had an Earth realm adaptation charm that she wore all the time." Lex said uncomfortably.

"I remember that one. It looked like a little multi-colored leaf made of tin." G said distantly.

"If that was an earth adaptation charm, that could mean that she's not native to the Earth realm." Paul cautiously suggested.

"She's my mom. If she wasn't a witch, then I'd be half a non-witch too." G said dismissively.

"Except that the Earth realm isn't the only place where witches live. I can think of at least five other realms that she could be from, right off the top of my head." Paul said frankly.

"This realm that we're crossing into... What if it's hers? What if this is the realm where she came from?" Lex quietly asked.

Before anyone could answer, the train started to slow as a burnt orange dusky light began to reveal the world around them.

* * * * *

The scenery was bleak.

The vast wooded area surrounding them looked as though it had lost the will to live or perhaps the hazy stagnant air had slowly choked the life out of it.

What few leaves remained on the trees threatened to fall at the slightest hint of a breeze, which seemed unlikely to ever come.

As the train continued to slow, the boys saw that they were coming to a stop in front of what looked like a building, a desolate, abandoned train platform.

"I don't think anything lives here." G said quietly as he looked out the window.

"The industrial area is usually down by the tracks. All the people are probably nearer to the city center." Paul said half-jokingly.

"I have a funny feeling that this may be the city center."

As the train finally came to a complete stop, there was a sudden hiss as the pressure of the engine released.

G walked across the train car to look out the opposite window at the vast ocean of barren trees surrounding them in the strange dark amber twilight.

"If there's nothing here, why are we stopping?" Lex asked as he stepped to G's side to join him in his distant gaze.

"For dinner, maybe?" G guessed.

"I don't know if I feel like eating now." Lex said anxiously.

"Not feel like eating? Is that really a thing?" Paul asked with a grin.

G smiled at the words, then said, "It must be something elementals can do."

Lex finally started to smile, then turned suddenly when the door to the outside opened.

"Dad? What's going on?" G rushed to ask.

"I thought you three would be ready for dinner. I know that Lucky's hungry." D said frankly.

"No, I mean, where are we? What are we doing here?" G asked urgently.

"You must really be upset if you want answers more than you want food." D said seriously.

G stopped and considered for a moment, then admitted, "I want both. But if we stop to have dinner, will you tell us what's going on?"

"It'd be kind of pointless for me to bring you all the way out here, then refuse to tell you why we're here." D said honestly.

"Okay. Then I guess we're ready to eat." G said as he looked at Lex and Paul to verify that they were in agreement.

"What happened to this Coke?" Lucky asked curiously as he tugged on the mound of ice to test its strength.

"Lex was enchanting an ice charm, just to see if he could do it." Paul answered simply.

"I take it that your test was a success." D said speculatively.

"After a little fine tuning, yeah. I think it was." Lex weakly proclaimed.

"That thing nearly drained all his magic in one go." Paul added frankly.

"Be careful of that. Charm magic can be unforgiving in that respect. There's something to be said for spellcasting where you can stop or change tactics midstream when you notice something going wrong. With most charms, you're committed to the enchantment until the spell has run its course." D said sagely.

"Like a curse." Paul said simply.

"They're cut from the same cloth." D confirmed, then started walking toward the door to the dining car.

"Yeah. It was scary for a minute, like when the spell was done, there'd be nothing left of me." Lex said as he followed.

"Given how you came to be with us, that's not impossible." D said frankly.

"I already took care of that." Paul said seriously, then explained, "Zephyr and I have made it so that Lex is more than a pure element. He's an actual instance, a being. What would disperse or dispel a pure elemental won't hurt him any more than it would the rest of us."

"Good work, Zeph." Lex said tenderly to his little friend.

"Hey! What about me?" Paul asked with playful indignation.

"Thanks for anchoring me to this world. I probably wouldn't have noticed that there was a problem until it was too late for me to do anything about it." Lex said sincerely.

"Well, this is one of those things that come with my demon heritage. I don't know how I knew about the danger or what to do to fix it. But just like before, I trusted that the instinct that was guiding me, was telling me the right thing to do." Paul said seriously, as D led the group to a large dining table.

The table was already set with silver, linens and even filled glasses of water. All that was missing was the food.

"Be careful of that, Paul. It's possible for your... connection to that part of yourself to be interrupted. You need to be sure that you're able to reason things out for yourself and be confident in your own decisions, independent of what your demonic instincts tell you." D said sagely.

"So you're saying that my demon heritage might fail me someday?" Paul asked curiously as he watched D go into the kitchen area of the dining car.

D emerged a moment later with steaming hot plates of food as he said, "If your demon heritage gives you an advantage in certain situations, then it wouldn't surprise me if someone found a way to circumvent that advantage."

As soon as the plates were placed before Lucky and Lex, D withdrew into the kitchen to gather another load.

"I know he's right. I just don't want to think about people plotting against me all the time." Paul said honestly.

"Not thinking about it won't help you to prepare." D said as he stepped out of the kitchen with two more steaming plates.

"But always worrying about someone trying to take me down sounds like a miserable way to live." Paul said honestly, as D placed a plate of food before him.

"Obsessing about it is a miserable way to live. But taking reasonable precautions can actually help one to sleep better at night." D said before ducking back into the kitchen.

"What is this?" Lucky cautiously asked as he examined the food that had been placed before him.

"Stroganoff, mixed vegetables, and a buttered dinner roll." D said simply as he walked to the table, carrying his own plate.

"I don't think I've ever had this before." Lucky said as he poked at the stroganoff with his fork.

"Take a taste and see if you like it." Lex said encouragingly.

Lucky looked around to see that everyone else had already started, then gathered a small bite onto his fork before tentatively taking a bite.

"So, what do you think? Do you like it?" Lex asked hopefully.

"I think so. Is this mushrooms?" Lucky asked as he hesitantly pointed with his fork.

"Yeah. At least, I'm pretty sure that there's some mushrooms in it." Lex said cautiously.

"My mom doesn't like mushrooms, so she'd never feed us something like this." Lucky said before taking another bite.

"You've never eaten mushrooms before?" Paul asked curiously.

"No. I've never eaten this before, because it's something that has mushrooms in it." Lucky explained between bites.

"Hopefully you'll find lots of new things to try this weekend." D said with a smile.

"So, where are we and what are we doing here?" G asked firmly.

"I assume that you've already deduced that we've left the Earth realm." D said cautiously.

"Yeah. That train ride through the twilight zone tipped us off." G said impatiently.

"You didn't figure it out last time we came here." D said in his defense.

"Where are we?" G asked firmly.

"You see how he treats me? I try to provide a weekend getaway adventure and he's short-tempered and demanding with me." D said in a wounded tone.

"Dad!" G said in exasperation.

"Alright. Enough games. The realm that we've entered is called 'Frakish Vallum'." D said seriously.

"Chaos Trench?" Paul asked uncertainly.

"Yes. I'm sure it's something like that. I'm not aware of there being an exact translation of it." D said carefully.

"Why did you bring us here?" G asked insistently.

"Do you think that I was too permissive with him? Should I have worked a little harder to teach him proper manners before trying to take him out into the world?" D asked distantly, in an agonized tone.

"Dad! You took us to a whole other realm! Isn't that enough of a reason to freak out a little?" G demanded to know.

"I think he knows his manners just fine, but maybe you could have taken him out and exposed him to different places a little bit more so he wouldn't have such a freak out about switching realms." Paul said speculatively.

"We'll have to make a point of doing that with Kay." D said decisively.

G closed his eyes, then took in a long slow deliberate breath before carefully saying, "If you wouldn't mind telling, maybe you could explain why you've brought us here."

"I thought that after the week you've had, that it might be nice to do something a little out of the ordinary for rest and relaxation." D said pleasantly.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not telling us the whole truth?" G slowly asked.

"Because you're distrusting and defiant, I suppose." D said simply.

G's eyes went wide at the surprising words.

"Which is just the way you want him to be." Paul added confidently.

"Yes. I suppose so. Although there are times when someone more gullible and compliant would be easier to deal with." D said with a grin in G's direction.

"Just say the word and we can make a bunch of mindless mannequins for you. And with your magic, you can even make them do whatever you want." Paul said before returning his attention to his plate of food.

"Be sure to eat your fill because you won't be able to eat or drink anything while we're there." D warned the boys.

"Where?" G asked cautiously.

"I asked Beth to see that all of you had something warm to wear, so you should have coats and the like in the sleeper car waiting for you. You'll need them." D said seriously.

"Do one of you guys want to try asking him? I don't seem to be getting through." G asked plaintively.

"Where are we going, Dad?" Paul cautiously asked.

"Oh? Didn't I tell you?" D asked with a grin at him.

"No. Not yet." Paul hesitantly responded.

As Paul was answering, D got up from the table and walked out of the dining car.

"Does he mess with you like this very often?" Paul asked uncertainly.

"Not really, but I don't think it's something to worry about. I think Dad just wants to get things a certain way before he puts his plan into action." G said speculatively.

"So he's getting everything put into place?" Paul asked cautiously.

Before G could answer, D walked back into the room with a large canvas bag.

"You're going to be needing a little spending money in case you want to go off on your own at some point." D said as he started taking pouches out of the canvas bag and handing them around the table.

"Where are we going?" Paul asked firmly without sounding too demanding.

"It's kind of a carnival... in a way." D said reluctantly, obviously not happy with his description.

"So the place we're going is having a carnival this weekend?" Paul asked to confirm.

"Something like that, yeah." D said evasively, then quickly added, "Be sure that you don't eat or drink anything while we're there."

"You said that before, does that mean that the food from this realm will make us sick?" Lex asked anxiously.

"Certain realms have different rules. The food here might not make you sick, but it can change you." D said reluctantly.

"We'll become part of this world. We won't be able to leave." Paul said speculatively.

"If events unfold a certain way, yes. That could happen." D confirmed.

"Then why are we here at all? If it's so dangerous, why not just stay home?" G asked seriously.

"And what will you do fifty years from now? Will you look back on all the nights that you were safely tucked away in your bed at home, or will you look back on the slightly dangerous adventure that you were able to have in your youth with your father and your brothers.?" D asked, his playful tone conspicuously absent.

"There's still more to it than what you're saying." G said suspiciously.

"There's more to it than I can possibly tell you, and much more than you really want to know." D said honestly.

"Is this where Mom's from?" G finally dared to ask.

"In a way." D answered.

"That was a 'yes' or 'no' question." G told his father firmly.

"Don't eat or drink anything while you're here." D said quietly.

Looks flashed amongst the boys as all but Lucky concocted likely scenarios from D's answer.

"There is one other notable thing about the place we'll be going to." D said in prelude as he looked around at the boys to gauge their preparedness.

Paul was, as usual, somewhat subdued, yet confident. D had noticed that being true of his nature.

G, on the other hand, was cocky, sometimes to a fault, allowing his bravado to hide his occasional insecurity. While his braggadocio would sometimes write checks that he was unable to cash, it likewise served to force him out of the cocoon of safety and security that he typically enjoyed.

In contrast, Lex seemed to know his capabilities and limitations very well. If he professed to be able to do something, then he honestly believed that he could do it. He wasn't averse to taking risks, but appeared to be reasonably secure in his abilities before he tested them.

Lucky was... fearless, at least when it came to trying new spells and testing his limits. He was willing to trust and believe to a point that none of the other boys would. And while that held its dangers, it also had the potential to open doors for him, many of which were inaccessible to the timid.

"G, just so there's no misunderstanding later, your clown transformation will be looked upon favorably here. You can feel free to wear it openly as much as you like." D said seriously.

"You've never told me that I can 'clown out' in public before." G said hesitantly.

"The last time we were here, you didn't seem to be in the mood." D said frankly.

G could only nod his acceptance of the statement as his mind raced.

"Paul, you can feel free to display your demon form if you like, and of course you can bring your familiars... except it would probably be best if they wore their native forms. I don't think earthly forms would be appropriate here. They might be looked upon as food." D said honestly.

"What about Zephyr?" Lex asked anxiously.

"You can take him with you if you want but be sure to keep him close. If he looks too cute and cuddly, he might trigger someone's appetite."

"How about Zah Zah?" Lucky asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'm sure Zah Zah will be just fine in her natural form. She'll be the belle of the ball." D said with a smile.

"So, if we can let the helpers and familiars out, does that mean it's okay to do magic here?" Paul asked speculatively.

"In most situations, yes." D reluctantly answered.

"Are regular humans not allowed here?" Lex guessed.

"I'm sure that they'd be welcomed warmly enough..." D trailed off with a pained look.

"Welcomed with lots of food and drink?" Paul asked speculatively.

"Exactly." D confirmed.

"So, is this realm some kind of a trap?" G asked curiously.

"No, no... not really." D assured him, then reluctantly continued, "Well, yes. In a way. At least it can be."

"You eat or drink something here and you become one of them, don't you?" Paul cautiously asked.

"It begins the conversion process. Not everyone survives it, and not everyone who completes it ends up being human, or even humanoid." D said slowly as he watched for their reactions.

"Which, I guess, would be another good reason not to eat their food. You never know who you'd be eating." Paul said frankly.

"They tend not to have a lot of luck with agriculture here." D reluctantly confirmed.

"Why are we here again?" G cautiously asked.

"Not only did I want to share this part of your heritage with you, but I'd also like to show you off to your mom's family... at least, the only family that she ever knew." D said hesitantly.

"So Mom got trapped here and you got her out and married her?" G asked speculatively.

"It's funny to hear it summed up so succinctly. The whole process of finding a way to get her out of here took years of research and struggle." D said distantly.

"So you weren't trapped here?" Paul asked to verify.

"No. I was introduced to Frakish Vallum by my father and helped him to maintain and regulate the gate." D said quietly.

"Is that why we have the train?" G asked curiously.

"The train can be used to access the gate, but if we didn't have it, there are other ways." D explained, then thought to add, "And there are times when this realm intersects with ours, all on its own."

"So, what are we doing now?" Paul asked curiously.

"If you're finished eating, get your coats on so that we can go." D said simply.

"If it's so dangerous, why are we doing this?" Paul asked seriously.

"To expand your world, I suppose. Plus, one of these days I'll want to retire, and I'd like it if one of my children would take my place as the protector of Frakish Vallum."

To Be Continued...

Editor's Notes:

Sometimes, it seems that D can be a bit difficult to comprehend,

It seems he has some expectations he would like to bring to light.

It makes me wonder if D is considering the idea of having one or more of the boys involved in his quest for a replacement, when such time might come to pass, that a replacement might become necessary.

Perhaps it will require more than one replacement. Sometimes, I know that a person is so skilled at a particular job, that when it comes time for that person to leave that post, the job will need more than one person to follow in their footsteps.

A friend of mine used to work for a radio sports network. He had access to all the NFL games from the various local origination sources. He listened to all the feeds at the same time and took turns reporting the play by play on that network.

When he was injured and had to give up that job, the network had to hire six people to do the job that he did all by himself. Sadly, he has since passed away.

He never took a vacation during football season throughout his entire career.

His name was Bob Greenberg, and if you ask any sports fan that enjoyed radio football broadcasts, they have probably heard of him or heard his broadcasts.

I believe he reported on at least four games every week, and the interesting part was that even having four people try to do his job, they needed two more besides the number of games he reported on.

Anyway, now we may have a clue as to what has happened to G's mom.

That would be nice if she could be found.

I hope things work out well.

As always, I am waiting for another chapter, soon, please

Darryl AKA The Radio Racher.