rlfj: Blog

Some of my editors and readers have asked if I was ever in the Scouts or a Scout leader. Much like Carl and his fictional son Parker, I was a Scout and a leader, and my real-life son was an Eagle Scout. I was in various leadership positions for about 15 years and did a lot of camping with the boys. I think the best job in Scouting is Cubmaster. You have one Pack meeting a month, one committee meeting a month, 2-3 short camping trips a year, and a few fundraisers. Very easy, much easier than the weekly Den meetings! I’m pretty lazy!

Of course, the very best job of all involves quality control and taste testing of Girl Scout cookies. Speaking of which, way back when, my daughters were in the Girl Scouts and had to sell cookies. Being the dutiful father, I took a list to the office, and posted a sign saying, “Happy employees eat Girl Scout cookies!” (I was the boss.) By the end of the day, the office joker had taken Wite-Out and eliminated the word ‘cookies’, necessitating the removal of the sign. I made him buy extras!

The reference in the last A Fresh Start blog post was to Lodge 26 of the Water Buffaloes, from The Flintstones. Extra bonus points were awarded to readers who got the correct number. Quadruple points went to a reader who reminded me of the Great Gazoo. Points were taken away from those who asked me if I remembered the Bensonhurst chapter of the International Order of the Friendly Sons of the Racoons. (Look it up!) Please, I remember! I really liked the question about whether Carl would become a Sith Lord.

My real family is nowhere near as nutty as Carl’s. I haven’t killed my brother; he still lives at home and helps take care of my 97-year-old mother, who hasn’t disowned me yet. My sister and her family live half an hour away, and I have several cousins and their families I see regularly.

I got several emails from various foreigners who are reading the story and were curious about my description of how Washington actually works. The general gist of the letters was that it sounded too bad to be true, but I was probably right. Now for the bad news – it’s actually worse! It would just take too long to write some of it.

The Reaper Saga ends with the last chapter and the epilogue. It’s been a long run, but it needs to end, and this seems like a good point to do it. From what I’ve been hearing, everybody seems to like the way it’s been going,

For the readers who want me to keep going, to tell Riley’s or Seamus’ stories, sorry, no. I was uncomfortable enough moving into the near future, 2020 to 2028. When I started writing nobody had ever heard of coronavirus, Black Lives Matter, or any of the other events we’ve seen. What strange events will happen in the future? And how can I even begin to wonder what will happen to the rest of the family in the next ten, twenty, forty years? What I wrote in the Epilogue pushes my imagination to the limits. I can imagine writing scifi set in the far future, but not in the immediate future.

Again, I can’t thank my editors enough. I’m nowhere near smart enough to do this stuff on my own, especially since I’ve never served or been a cop. RSC got a lot of assistance from grynslvr2, jjmcdonald7911, pdkrause, and Old Rotorhead. I could never have done this without their assistance.

In any case, the Grim Reaper saga is ended. We are back to Carl Buckman for a bit. Enjoy!

Chapters 36 and 37 show that Grim is like a delicious candy bar, with a hard coating and a soft gooey center.

As for the idiocy described in 36, just watch your local news sometime. This nonsense shows up every few years. There is no reason Matucket shouldn’t see it as well. A common response to Chapter 36: zero tolerance = zero common sense. True, so true, and yet so common. Unlike common sense, which is quite uncommon.

A reader pointed out that the Investigations Captain has the last name Holden, with the obvious curiosity about whether he was related to the notorious Holden family of the first book. All I can say is that I had completely forgotten that when I picked the name. Holden is not that rare a name. (Unlike mine - every person in America with my last name is related to me. Nine generations ago our ancestor had four sons, who had seventeen grandsons; I guess there wasn’t a lot to do on the farm at night in Colonial Maryland.) It’s too late now to change it, too. People have bought the book, and I can’t retroactively change it.

Another couple of readers commented that Brooks Brothers declared bankruptcy and therefore Grim won’t be able to buy his suits and uniforms there. That is not at all guaranteed. On filing bankruptcy, depending on the specific form, a company is given a chance to reorganize. During that period, they can continue to conduct business. Case in point, JC Penney has filed bankruptcy, but my local store is still in business. In the event a reorganization cannot be arranged, then the assets will be liquidated. The brand name, Brooks Brothers, is one such asset and can be sold to another company. Hostess Brands went bankrupt in 2012 and was liquidated; famous brands such as Dolly Madison, Wonder Bread, and Drake’s were all sold to other companies.

Anyway, enjoy!