Didn't he say he was an architect? Anyhow learning how to tell the time is probably something he was exposed to at some point.
Luciaphil

    Yes, he said he studied architecture but between the 5 years in college, doing an internship, and taking the state licensing test he would have been howling at the moon long before he could ever call himself an architect.

    I know it was Willie's job to empty the chamber pots.
Gee, that poor man got some sh*tty jobs to do.
    Chris could not have gotten a degree in architecture.  It takes 5 years.  He said he was 21 when he graduated.  Draftsman, maybe.  Licenced architect,
no.
    BRAVA, Luciaphil.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I will read it again.

    My husband has a copy of a will that was written during the Victorian period.  My husband's ancestor is left nothing.  The way the will is worded is very funny.  Here is a paraphrased quote " Since my son, XXX, received a generous portion of my personality he needs nothing more from me".
    Along those sentiments, can you imagine what Edith would have written in the will about each child?

Congratulations, dom.
    Global and dom sound kinda scary together.  Do we have to call you sir?  Sir dom or Lord dom, which do you prefer?  Best wishes!:-*

Bravo!  Angelique's undiscriminating and unchecked cruelty always repulsed me, and even though she occasionally put her powers to good use, I could never ignore what a brutal stalker she was at the core.

I also have to concur with sheenasma.  Angelique may be a hateful character for doing hateful things, but Amanda Harris is an insult to the species for being such a shallow, worthless whiner.  I'm not too crazy about PT Roxanne either.

    Well put ProfStokes, I could never get the romantic angle to Angelique.  I was stalked once and I did not find the attention romantic just scary and unwanted.
    I agree with your opinion on Amanda Harris and could not have said it better.  Roxanne was just an odd choice to put with Barnabas.  He came off looking like a leacherous old man.

It's good to be home, if only to get attacked by four attention-starved wildcats, who managed to mangle quite a few of the house's fixtures while we were gone. Our daughter came in to take care of them, but the cats apparently wanted to let us know that leaving for a week is not wholly convenient for them.

--Mark

    I am enjoying your story. Thanks for staying interested in it for your many fans.
    I am glad you had a great time. Everything sounded wonderful except the storm.
    A word of advice from one cat owner to another, my husband and I always give our cats brand new catnip mice when we return.  They go into a state of bliss long enough for us to unpack.  No advice for vacation damage prevention.  If you figure it out, let me know.

Why Thank You!!
I was thinking of deleting it now that Halloween is over, but it suits my personality so well I might have to keep it!

Rainey

    I hope you keep it.  It is apropos for a DS discussion board and it looks good, too.

I had to suffer for years knowing Sci Fi was airing Dark Shadows while my stupid cable company didn't even carry that channel. Not until I moved to another county was I finally able to see the show. I suspect this is the case with many other viewers and potential viewers.

    I was in the same boat.  My cable company kept sending out questionaires.  I would always request the Sci-Fi channel.  Finally, I got the Sci-Fi channel.  They completed that run of DS and then dropped it.  I wrote both my cable company and the Sci-Fi channel.  I do not care for Sci-Fi programming for the most part.  If it were not for DS, I probably would not watch it at all.