[One of Cody’s missing emails dealt with a fight at school. All I have is my reply plus a couple of his comments. If memory serves me correctly, it was about that time that a friend of mine gave me a used comp, one that was built from various bits and pieces, and that had MS Office and Windows 95 installed. Finally, I had the tools to be able to learn webmastering and become INDEPENDENT! Well, almost. Hello, Halien. :) MrB] 
Cape Town, South Africa
Part 16
Convo between G and me:
“G’day Hero :)
“Well, you’re still my main man even though you might get into trouble with your mom for tangling with that senior [at school]. He had no right to say what he did, but you had every right to retaliate. That’s my boy! You’re made of pretty good stuff in my book. I’m proud of ya.
“You’re a pretty special kid in so many ways. Not only do you have the spunk to stand up for yourself and those you care about, but you also have a special place in your heart for things that really matter – like the Devil’s Chimney [on Table Mountain] where you and Paul did your thing. I’m touched by the fact that you hold it sacred, and that Steve isn’t a part of it. [Cody had taken Steve up the mountain but decided not to show Steve the place where he and Paul had blown each other shortly before Paul left for England. MrB]. That’s the way it oughta be and I’m glad you explained it.
“In the time I’ve known you, you’ve never used the word ‘love’ to describe your feelings towards Paul. You’ve only used the word ‘special’. But I know that your choice of words is immaterial. What you have in your heart is all that matters, no matter what you wanna call it. Believe me, Daniel has learned a helluva lot from you. Not only that, he’s passed it on to a very large audience, so I guess they’ve all learned from the ol’ Captain Cody. :)
>I loved the ending of that Daniel ep[isode]. It was way damn cool.
“Yeah hehehe. I pinched that from your last email. God, I’m bad. :) But what you said about Steve standing behind you and feeling your shoulders and chest really got to me. Kids aren’t supposed to have sentimental feelings, but you and Steve disprove that. There’s a gentleness about the relationships you’ve had with Steve and Paul that is very moving. The special moments. The closeness. The telepathy. And you know something? That’s what comes across after peeps read a few chapters of Daniel. They see through the sex. They see the real kid. They don’t know it, but they see Cody. :)
“I hope the meeting with the headmaster [after the fight] goes OK for you. In any case, you and I know that you acted honorably. If you get detention, all I can say is shit happens. What’s important to remember is something that Daniel fans keep telling him: don’t change. Ultimately, self respect is the best kind of respect. Self respect is something nobody can take away from you. You did the right thing, dude.
>so there – that ep of Daniel sorta made my day a whole lot better. See? Like I said – Daniel rulz!
“He rulz cos you rule! You and Daniel might not be twins, but there sure is a helluva likeness. :) Thanks for being my friend, Cody. I admire your spirit. I’m sure there will be many people who will cross your path in years to come who will benefit from knowing you.
>seeya Gary
“Seeya awesome…”
G was focused on getting the Daniel site happening again, but this time he was gonna call it MrB Stories ‘incorporating Daniel’s Diary’. He’d already prepared the home page and a bunch of introductory text, which he asked me to comment on. He quoted a line I’d written in an email a while back: ‘You’re the greatest story teller ever!’ He said he liked the ‘story teller’ title – he didn’t feel comfortable being called a writer.
ANYWAY
I had an awesome day at the school swim comp and I couldn’t wait to tell G all about it!
Hiya Gary,
I’m just getting ready to leave school and I can’t be too long cos I’ve got a friend waiting outside. J
I’m gonna write a quick note to Paul after this as well.
I wore Paul’s Speedos at the [swim] comp. I think I toldya that he gave me his old ones. I won the 100m and 200m freestyle. The big race, though, was the 200m butterfly cos I was [competing] against Ross in that one. I knew it was gonna be hard cos I watched him cream the guys in the 100m. NOT THAT KINDA CREAM, GARY! Hehehe.
Anyway, just before the race I saw Steve arrive. I was so damn stoked to see him get there in time to see at least one race. I’m not gonna describe the whole race to ya except I musta touched the wall about a split second before Ross did. I was on top of the world! He was happy too, though. Well, he congratulated me and said ‘well done’. Got a hug from him. Shit, I’m glad I was in the water. I’m feeling totally stuffed, and my arms and shoulders are like jelly but it feels so damn good.
Steve is totally over the moon – says to me that he’s got this buddy who could win any swim race. So I asked him who and he says, “Some smartass named Cody.” Hehehe.
And, hey, G – I thought of you afterwards as well. Really!
I read Ron [the story]. It’s damn cool. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Kurt, but it was still damn cool. It’s just that Kurt got me more involved with the story. I think you did a rad job of Ron describing the surf [green room]. That was awesome! [Cody seemed to have forgotten that Ron’s description of the green room was based on what Cody told me about his own experience. :) MrB] I hate to say this but I think the MrB stories are gonna be as popular as Daniel, which might mean that Daniel won’t be back for a helluva long time.
Hey, I’m off now. Thanks for all the help this week, Gary. Have a rad weekend.
Cya
Hugs
Cody[Cody’s mail from mid October to late November 1998 is missing, as are my replies. Apparently, I’d helped Cody through some dramas but I can’t remember what they were. The subject line of Cody’s mail on November 25, 1998 was, “Thanks – so damn much”. In my reply, Cody mentions something about a certificate he received as a ‘little Cody’ at school. Can’t remember what it was for. But then he mentions a second certificate, and I think he was referring to the fuss I’d made about him in my intro to the new MrB site, and the fact that I’d dedicated the site to him. Here’s that reply. MrB]
“Yeeeeeeeeeeee *cough* uuuuuuuuuuuuuu *wheeze* mmmmmmmmmm!!!! :)
“Now listen up, you little scallywag, stop making me cry like that! Damn, that was such a cool email. You’re one special dude.
>First off, let me tellya that I think the MrB site is gonna rock big time and I hope that you get a shit load of bucks cos you deserve it.
“Well, you’ve been right so far. :) It’s been your encouragement and inspiration that’s gotten me where I am. Yeah, I think the site looks OK. Not too busy with clever graphics but it does its job. Did it take long to download? That’s the secret. Fast download and fast info.
“So you like the pics on the second page? Well, mate, you should see what I cropped from them! Hehehe. I’ve got soooo many pics it’s unbelievable. Of all the hours I’ve spent checking the newsgroups over the years, I guess I’ve downloaded 1 in 100 pics. So, what I’ve got is the absolute cream. The pics I chose for the second page had to be ‘croppable’ – the rest are too hot. They’re the ones I’ll use in the stories.
>I got a certificate from school when I was still a little Cody.
“That’s the sweetest thing in the world. And in many ways you still are that little Cody – that cute little face in the pic you sent me, the one where you’re eleven years old. You’re a very special person, believe me. I know – I’ve been around. If somebody had told me that it would take until I was 54 to meet the best kid in the world, I would have told them the wait was too long. That’s why it’s not a good idea to know what’s in store for the future. Now that I’ve met you, the wait has been well and truly worth it. :)
“Cody ol’ mate, I know that you’ve said we won’t meet in this life, but I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna buy my beach shack and dedicate one room as the Captain’s Room. And I’m gonna put a bed in there and some other furniture, and a surfboard. When you’re 18 or 19 or 20 and independent, you might wanna visit the ol’ fossil. Who knows? I won’t expect it, but maybe you will. And I think you know me well enough to know that there won’t be any funny business. If you hit on me, I’ll break your arm hehehe. Don’t write back and comment on this. Just let it ride and see what happens.
>I got another certificate today. It’s on a web page for a MrB or somebody, and it made tears come to my eyes when I saw it. And it means the world to me.
“It took me a while to figure out how to dedicate it to you. If I’d said Cody I’d get peeps asking why not Daniel. So I thought of Captain – there’s only one Captain. :) And your comments have brought tears to my eyes, too. We’re very lucky. We share a friendship that’s pretty damn special. I’m so glad you appreciate your ‘certificate’. Believe me it’s my great honor and privilege to award it to the most awesome dude I know.
>loveya Gary
“You’re just saying that cos I’m handsome.” :-P
I didn’t often give G hugs or tell him that I loved him. Didn’t want to give him a big head – hehehe. But he’d earned a pretty big piece of real estate in my heart. I was totally blown away when he dedicated the whole damn MrB site to me.
Hiya G,
Sorry for not writing yesterday. We had a huge pool party at school and it was great. We finish school early today and the guys and I are meeting to find out about the last minute things we need for the start of the hike tomorrow. Steve is talking about nothing else. He is so damn excited! It is so damn rad taking someone new who’s never been [on a hike] before cos there’s so much to show him, and so many things to see and do.
Remember Kevin? The guy who was so shy that I told you about? Well, he’s going as well and he’s just as excited. The weather looks like it’s gonna be damn hot, though. Hope the [mountain] pools are still fulla water.
Had a look at the new setup for that Daryl page [on MrB]. I kinda preferred the other one with the pics set out all over. I don’t think it’s important for the pics to show an action from the story – like with the Daniel stories. Even if it’s just a pic of the person being repeated is cool.
Got a note from Dave [MrB’s old webmaster] saying that he’s posting the hike story [on his site] that I sent him months ago. He was asking if it was OK cos you’d told him that I hadn’t written for months. Jeez, that was a while ago, too. His timing sucks cos the next hike is already starting.
I’m gonna try and get on [the net] and write to ya later if I can. If I can’t, I’m gonna miss ya this week. PLEASE STAY OUTTA TROUBLE AND DON’T PISS ANYONE OFF! :) Nah. Don’t do that cos you wouldn’t be Gary then. Hehehe.
I’ll think of ya – promise! But I’ll try and write later.
Seeya Gary
Hugs
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