--Mark

Mark,  don't feel to bad,  one of my sisters finally got her act together about 6 years ago, when she was 40 years old!!!!

That kind of hits a familiar note. My mom's best friend has a daughter my age (actually a few months older), and I'm continually hearing about this "girl" who has zero financial sense, occasional lapses of honesty in professional and private matters where honesty ought to be paramount, and little understanding of responsibility in general. When I was a youngster, this girl was as sharp as they come, a whiz in school, dedicated to her goals, and I was more than halfway in love with her. To think this is the same person is more than a little suprising and certainly disillusioning. You can bet I'm hoping my young'un will straighten herself out before she's 44.

--Mark

My older three went through that rebellous teenage stage early at age 13 and 14 and got it all out of their systems, and this one never gave me any trouble whatsoever, but now at age 17 she starts??

My daughter had a very bad spell at 13 and 14, then straightened out to where we thought we had the worst of it licked. She did very well in college... and then boom. Now, at age 22, she's having some god-awful reversion to 13. The problem now is that she has adult issues to deal with and they're building up to where the hole she's in is very deep indeed. We can't -- and won't -- dig her out of it. All I can do is hope that everything we've taught her over the years about actions and consequences is going to get through to her before the worst happens.

Many is the day I wish I had stuck to raising cats.

--Mark

Aw geez, now I have to find another way to swear besides "damn Ed Rodan!"

Nah, this is a perfectly legitimate expletive. In fact, I strongly encourage its use.

--Mark

Mark Rainey...not sure...but is your avatar GODZILLA??

Neg, that there's Rodan. Apart from being a diehard daikaiju nut, Rodan is my handle on the Aces High Combat Flight Sim that I play online. The Damned is the name of the squadron I fly with, hence my email "DamnedRodan."

--Mark

Now that was very cool. I -really- like you what did there, Stuart. Got any more such things up yer sleeve...?

--Mark

There was a chat with someone at DCP several years ago; mid-90s, when DC was having one of his usual "I'm going to do DS again" flings. This was before I was ever contracted for Dreams of the Dark. (Someone here may remember the event better than I do.) I specifically brought up the point that, if DS were to come back, wouldn't it be a better idea to NOT rehash the original Barnabas story again? I was pretty much dismissed, with DC's proxy stating, "Oh, no, Barnabas and Josette are the foundation of Dark Shadows, and real DS fans would certainly prefer to see that story."

I was not enthused, to say the least. I'm sorely afraid that if a new series should ever come to pass--which I frankly doubt--it would be another retread. There's also the fact that DC is getting up there a bit in years, and if he really plans to do DS again, I suspect he would have to do it relatively soon if he intends to be personally involved in it. Look at it this way; if he were to get approval for a DS TV project tomorrow, it wouldn't surprise me if it took two full years before it ever saw broadcast--which is just reason, as far as DC is concerned, to fall back on the original story; it's already written, thus less new territory to forge into.

--Mark