Total Word Count: 23,748

Warning!—Spoilers to this story may be in the notes below.

This story was originally posted in the CWE #9 compilation in honor of Amy, Down with Cancer, Long live Amy!. Some scenes have been cut from this version posted here on my site and are only available in the compilation, at least for now. I reserve the right to change my mind later. ;)

There is one new scene that has been added to this version of the story. One of the scenes that was cut was a kitchen scene with Honey and Rose Diamond where it was mentioned that Dan was at the beach with Neil. That short scene with Dan and Neil has been include at the end of chapter one. There may also be other minor changes—a paragraph or two added or cut—to the previous version.

I need to thank my "Subject Matter Experts", CarrieLynn and Deanna! They confirmed my sketchy research on keeping kosher in regards to specific incidents mentioned in the story. I really appreciate their help, especially as they didn't even get the privilege of reading the whole story, but maybe just a few paragraphs here and there.

CarrieLynn, thanks for all the information and always getting back to me so promptly. You rock!

Deanna, you were wondering who was kissing whom in the kitchen, and who was drinking coffee and getting teased ... well, now you know. *g*

Julia should get full credit for noting Dan's repeated use of "Dad"—I hadn't even been aware of how much I had him using the term, but she noticed and commented on it, so I ran with it. *g*

Julia, thanks go to you as well for keeping Mrs. Wheeler's way of speaking a bit more formal when called for and not so formal when it was okay to do so. I also appreciate you pointing out the pouting, smirking, grunting, etc. I have a tendency to always say 'looked' and then try different things, but still get stuck in other ruts.

And, Julia, that a Honey with Brian fan such as yourself can really get into my Honey being with Dan, that you like the relationship (and especially the fact that they're not joined at the hip, that they can be connected without being together), that means so much to me. (((hugs)))

Mary, you do so much to try to help me improve my writing! I really appreciate your suggestions throughout these chapters.

And you rock at finding those small inconsistencies—like who was working on the shower nozzle and where all the other adults were at the time. In thinking about it, I changed my shower nozzle before, was able to do it by myself, and it only took me ten minutes, so in the end I left Harvey to it on his own! Of course, that scene isn't actually posted here yet, but I kept this note in for consistency on notes. ;)

Oh, and Mary, of course all the back and forth on artificial limbs and amputees and what would or wouldn't have been available in the time frame specified in this story—it was such fun researching all that and I'm so glad you shared (or at least seemed to, lol!) my enthusiasm for it all.

But most of all, thank you for the improved wording suggestions. I may not always use them, but they definitely make me think and I end up choosing a different word all together in hopes to better get my intentions across.

On to actual story notes ...

The esplanade between Brighton Beach and Manhattan Park Beach was not privately owned until far after this story. Hurricane Donna destroyed part of the esplanade in 1960, so I had to use a bit of imagination/literary license to decide how accessible it was and what it was like.

Regan running away at such a young age and his encounter with Mrs. Oleksiuk is first mentioned in Don't Know What I Thought I Would Find.

Hippotherapy was first formalized in the 1980s, but I figure Regan, being Regan, would figure riding horses was therapeutic long before any formalized studies on the matter. And yes, an above-the-knee amputee can ride a horse without a prosthetic.

Speaking of prosthetics, Tim's leg is a 'Henschke-Mauch' hydraulic model developed in 1953 or 54 that he picked up in Hong Kong. It does not fit him all that well, but it does the job for now.

PP-shas, aka pe-pe-shas, pronounced pee-pee-shaws, refers to the PPSh-41, a Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina North Korea Type-49 Automatic Soviet submachine gun used in the Korean Conflict by North Korean soldiers.

Korean POW camps tended to be either logging or mining camps, and given Dan's history in the books, I thought it more fitting for him to have ended up in a logging camp. I'm eeeevilll that way.

Han Dali (한 다리) is a nickname given to Tim by a fellow prisoner, Kwang-Sun, and is Korean for 'one leg'.

I don't know Korean, but according to what I was able to google, michin namja hopefully means 'mad (as in crazy) man'

Sam-shib, sam-shib-o, sa-shib, sa-shib-ee: thirty,thirty-five, forty, forty-two yuk-baek sa-shib ee: six hundred forty two

jeojubad: damned/cursed

señorita: young woman. Technically, Regan should've referred to her as a señora, but he doesn't know that. He also didn't mean to be derogatory and was just repeating a word heard in a favorite song of his or something. I know Marty Robbins, who was popular at the time, used it quite a bit.

Abuelita, déjalos tranquilos: Grandma, leave them alone

deben tomarlo: they have to take it

ten cuidado: be careful

Story and chapter titles are all from Neil Diamond songs.

"we're thankful for the time we're living" is from Leave a Little Room for God
"I worry inside" is from Face Me
"you're not out there alone" is from One More Bite of the Apple
"join the family" is from Surviving the Life
"Bills and pills" is from Talking Optimist Blues
"haunted all my dreams" is from I'm a Believer
"to repeat again" is from We
"and I thank God I'm alive" is from I'm Alive

What I Believe In Sleepyside Apartments

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