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Post by jestress on Jul 10, 2014 0:46:00 GMT
I have to confess that I have a few stories written by other people that I've copied and saved as Word files because I liked them and was afraid that they'd disappear. I did it before I had an account at fanfiction.net, so I didn't have any way of contacting the author. I'm not sure now whether it matters or not. They're not for posting anywhere else on the Internet, just for me to read over again privately. If anyone wants to save a copy of any of my stories, that's okay with me. Just be sure to leave my name (or pseudonym) attached to them.
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Post by morley on Jul 10, 2014 2:43:30 GMT
Oh, I liked that, Jestress. Very well done. Thank you for writing that. I love it when we can fill in the gaps. You did that very well.
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Post by learjet on Jul 10, 2014 3:28:13 GMT
Read your story last night and loved it. I particularly enjoyed the baked potato/carbs explanation! Those were the days when carbs were fashionable... What children's books do you collect, Jestress? (I read your bio too ) I have still kept all the books from my children and do add to my collection every now and again. Sadly, my daughters don't seem to enjoy what I did.
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Post by jestress on Jul 10, 2014 5:19:01 GMT
Thanks, guys! Glad you liked the story! I have quite a lot of things in my book collection, Learjet, but I'm mainly interested in mystery stories. A lot of them are series books, but I've got some stand-alones that I like, too. The largest sections are series that I read when I was a kid, like Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children, and the Three Investigators. I also have some of the McGurk mysteries, all three books of the Third Grade Ghosthunters, some Encyclopedia Browns, a couple of TACK books (similar to Encyclopedia Brown), most of the Jo-Beth and Mary Rose mysteries by Eth Clifford, some Trixie Belden, and several of Phyllis Whitney's young adult mysteries (They're a little more on the serious side than the other series I read. Her characters often tend to be young teens who are struggling with something or on the brink of big changes in their lives. She has some fascinating insights about human nature.). I've also started looking into some older mystery series like Judy Bolton, Kay Tracey, and Robin Kane. The non-mystery books I have are fantasy stories, some humorous stories like the MacDonald Hall books and Wayside School, some historical novels (especially the American Girls books), and a bunch of Choose Your Own Adventure and similar type stories. On a similar subject, I've been trying to think what kind of books Lee might have liked as a kid. He's such an active guy, he might have been one of those kids who didn't like to read much, but I keep thinking that he should have a favorite book or series from his childhood like Amanda does. Right now, I'm thinking of maybe a western-themed adventure book or maybe something non-fiction like a book about famous explorers or something exciting like that.
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Post by learjet on Jul 10, 2014 5:44:26 GMT
Maybe Lee would have liked the Hardy Boys? Or the Lone Pine Mysteries? (or maybe they were more for girls)
I haven't heard of a lot of the books you mentioned, although my 8 year old loves the Boxcar Children. The American books I read as a child were the Bobbsey Twins (I suspect they wouldn't hold up to an adult reader!) and Nancy Drew. I grew up in South African and was exposed more the British authors. I have a vast collection of Chalet School books (I must have 45 of the 60 odd books) and ballet books by Lorna Hill (including some expensive first editions because I HAD to read the end of the series in my 30s). And numerous Enid Blyton books (Famous Five, Secret Seven, school stories) - which I can't stomach anymore.
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Post by jestress on Jul 10, 2014 6:12:04 GMT
The Hardy Boys would be a possibility. That actually plays into another story I'm working on right now . . . the one I've been banging my head over.
Most of my books are American stories, but I've got a few that aren't. The MacDonald Hall books are Canadian, I think, and I've got a couple of English translations of Erich Kastner stories and Henry Winterfeld's Roman mysteries, which were originally German.
If you can get a hold of any of the American Girls historical series, they're really good. I've been thinking of them lately with the new history thread on Nedlindger's. I've been disappointed that the franchise (a large part of which, I admit, was originally to sell doll versions of the book characters to little girls) has gone more to contemporary stories than historical. The historical books were really good and very well-researched, and I loved the pictures. Each book had some information about real life in the period the book focused on in the back, including information about things like food, clothing, and how birthdays and Christmas were celebrated during that period (there was typically a Christmas story for each set, although not all of them). The different sets followed a year in a girl's life during a different historical period. The Revolutionary War set followed a girl named Felicity, and she was one of my favorites.
I don't know the Lone Pine Mysteries. I'll have to look that up. I read the Bobbsey Twins as a kid, too, and I've got a couple of them. I was surprised to find out that the first couple weren't actually mysteries at all. They were just books about this family with two sets of twins, then it became a mystery series. I don't know the Chalet School books or Lorna Hill either, but I've got a couple of Enid Blyton books. I picked them up fairly recently and haven't read them yet. I was curious about them because someone said that there are other series that were kind of inspired by them, like Scooby-Doo.
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laura
Junior Member
Posts: 22
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Post by laura on Jul 10, 2014 7:09:19 GMT
Lee might have like the Zane Grey Westerns or the You Were There history books that went along with the tv show.
I also liked Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the Bobsey Twins. I have read all of Agatha Christie's mysteries.
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Post by learjet on Jul 10, 2014 9:48:02 GMT
If you can get a hold of any of the American Girls historical series, they're really good. I've been thinking of them lately with the new history thread on Nedlindger's. I've been disappointed that the franchise (a large part of which, I admit, was originally to sell doll versions of the book characters to little girls) has gone more to contemporary stories than historical. The historical books were really good and very well-researched, and I loved the pictures. Each book had some information about real life in the period the book focused on in the back, including information about things like food, clothing, and how birthdays and Christmas were celebrated during that period (there was typically a Christmas story for each set, although not all of them). The different sets followed a year in a girl's life during a different historical period. The Revolutionary War set followed a girl named Felicity, and she was one of my favorites. I fear that we have strayed onto another thread here, despite your attempts to keep us on topic, Jestress. Moving on - just a last query. I looked up the American Girls web-site and then tried to hunt for some of the authors on my friendly (Australian) public library catalogue. Most of the books there are published after 2000 so I may have to hunt further. Could you recommend some of the good American Girls authors please?
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Post by jestress on Jul 10, 2014 15:31:24 GMT
Wow, looking back on it, I think I might have actually touched on about 2 or 3 different threads at once. New record! To make things a little neater, though, I'll transfer the information about the book series over to the book thread later. I'd still welcome suggestions, though, on what Lee might have liked to read as a kid for fanfiction purposes. Zane Grey is a good suggestion. They're not kids' books, but Lee could have been a bit precocious in his reading choices, especially if his uncle liked them, too. I like the idea of the Hardy Boys also.
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laura
Junior Member
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Post by laura on Jul 12, 2014 3:30:26 GMT
I am thinking that Lee would have an interest in British fiction because of his Mother. Also since Lee did not have a typical childhood he might have had had an interest in books from the different places that his Uncle was stationed. I suggested Zane Grey as I did read his books before I was 14. I can picture Lee picked up books that the airmen had left behind in the mess hall. As long as Lee stayed in his room and completed his homework assignments and kept his room neat, I don't see his Uncle checking closer. Lee might not have put his best efforts into his education; however, I do believe that he was very intelligent.
On another note the history books and programs that I mentioned have slightly different titles. You Are There was a children's history program that aired from 1953 to 1957 and was narrated by Walter Cronkite. The books were We Were There and were published from 1955 to 1963.
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Post by jestress on Jul 12, 2014 3:51:42 GMT
I am thinking that Lee would have an interest in British fiction because of his Mother. Also since Lee did not have a typical childhood he might have had had an interest in books from the different places that his Uncle was stationed. I suggested Zane Grey as I did read his books before I was 14. I can picture Lee picked up books that the airmen had left behind in the mess hall. As long as Lee stayed in his room and completed his homework assignments and kept his room neat, I don't see his Uncle checking closer. Lee might not have put his best efforts into his education; however, I do believe that he was very intelligent. On another note the history books and programs that I mentioned have slightly different titles. You Are There was a children's history program that aired from 1953 to 1957 and was narrated by Walter Cronkite. The books were We Were There and were published from 1955 to 1963. Yeah, moving around as much as he did when he was young, he would have been exposed to books from many different places, and Britain would have a special fascination for him. My dad has some Zane Grey books. I should take a look at them. Even though I grew up in Arizona, western stories didn't have much of an appeal to me as a kid, although I think that the action and adventure would appeal to a kid like Lee. In one episode, he mentions having a cap pistol as a kid, so he might have liked playing cowboy. Those We Were There books sound good, too, and they were published at just the right time for Lee to have read them as a kid. He was supposed to have been born around 1950, right?
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laura
Junior Member
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Post by laura on Jul 12, 2014 4:37:39 GMT
Yes, Lee was 5 or almost 5 when his parents died in 1955. (Unfinished Business)
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laura
Junior Member
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Post by laura on Jul 15, 2014 11:06:34 GMT
I did a little more research into Lee's age.
In Unfinished Business Lee' parents were killed in 1955. Also in the book that they found in the basement there is a letter from his Mother in which she states, "Everyone thinks that we met in the States in 1949." So the oldest he could have been at his parents death would be almost six years old.
According to A Relative Situation Lee was seven years old when he came to the Colonel. Continuity problem?
Then in We Are Off To See The Wizard, Lee states that "It was ten years ago I worked with Paul." Later in the same episode Amanda tells Lee that he can't keep blaming himself for Dorothy's death. "Look you were 24 years old." The air date was 9/30/85. So 10 years earlier would be 1975. 1975 minus 24 equals 1951. This would made Lee 4 years old at the time of his parents death.
Finally we come to The Eyes Have It. When the NEST time arrived the doctor is giving them information about the patient and states that, "He is 36 years old." The episode aired on 2/17/86. 1986 minus 36 equals 1950. Later in this episode Lee asks Amanda if he ever told her that his Mother was British. He says that his Father was Army Intelligence. "They met when the NATO pact was signed in '49. I was 5 years old when the were killed."
So I am thinking that 1950 is right and that Lee was 5 years old.
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Post by jestress on Jul 16, 2014 1:12:59 GMT
I did a little more research into Lee's age.
In Unfinished Business Lee' parents were killed in 1955. Also in the book that they found in the basement there is a letter from his Mother in which she states, "Everyone thinks that we met in the States in 1949." So the oldest he could have been at his parents death would be almost six years old.
According to A Relative Situation Lee was seven years old when he came to the Colonel. Continuity problem?
Then in We Are Off To See The Wizard, Lee states that "It was ten years ago I worked with Paul." Later in the same episode Amanda tells Lee that he can't keep blaming himself for Dorothy's death. "Look you were 24 years old." The air date was 9/30/85. So 10 years earlier would be 1975. 1975 minus 24 equals 1951. This would made Lee 4 years old at the time of his parents death.
Finally we come to The Eyes Have It. When the NEST time arrived the doctor is giving them information about the patient and states that, "He is 36 years old." The episode aired on 2/17/86. 1986 minus 36 equals 1950. Later in this episode Lee asks Amanda if he ever told her that his Mother was British. He says that his Father was Army Intelligence. "They met when the NATO pact was signed in '49. I was 5 years old when the were killed."
So I am thinking that 1950 is right and that Lee was 5 years old. That makes sense to me. I've heard others remark on how they give Lee different ages for when his parents died or when he went to live with his uncle. Most likely, they just forgot what they'd said before, although I read a fanfic once (I forget the name of it) that suggested that Lee might have lived with his grandmother for a couple of years before going to live with the Colonel. No grandmother was ever mentioned in the series (not that I remember, anyway). So, as far as the books go, I was thinking of chapter books, the kind that he might have read around age 10 to 12 or so, although that's still negotiable. I kind of rejected the idea of picture books from his early childhood, partly because Amanda's favorite book was a chapter book and because I figured that the more complex, adventuresome stories in chapter books would likely stay with him longer. He could have had a fondness for an adult book like something by Zane Grey, maybe something he read in his early teens. The history books are still possibilities, though. British books are also still possibilities. I'm not as familiar with those, but if anyone would like to recommend some or if anyone has any other ideas about what Lee could have read c. 1960 (give or take a couple of years), let me know! I've decided that he probably read the Hardy Boys (something that comes up in the big, long story that I'm still finishing), but his favorite book is still up for grabs.
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laura
Junior Member
Posts: 22
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Post by laura on Jul 16, 2014 5:01:01 GMT
I liked the grandmother story also. It might have taken awhile to determine Lee's next of kin. Or the Colonel was on a mission where there was no way to communicate with him; there by, delaying his taking custody of Lee.
When you look at the number of different people responsible for the screenplays, it is a wonder that there wasn't more inconsistencies.
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