I've lasted quite a while, this go round, but I bring you this new lovely. His name is Frank Roberts, and he's based on a character in the song "Highway Patrolman" as sung by Johnny Cash (written by Bruce Springsteen). There is a movie, starring Viggo Mortensen as Frank (And David Morse as his brother Joe), but I've not seen it, and thus my interest in Frank is solely based on the song.

Frankie is a troubled young man, and my take on that is he's so sensitive, so emotional and so touched by the plight of man (and, more to the point, the indifference of men) that he lashes out, often violently, because he has no constructive way to channel his feelings. He is fundamentally a good guy, but he acts out of fear and anger and frustration. He has a rap sheet a mile long, and a few years ago, his father forced him into Service, and he's just off a three year stint in Iraq. (The song has him coming home from Viet Nam, but I wanted to bring the character up to speed in modern times.)

If you're familiar with the song, Joe narrates the lyrics, and tells us he keeps an eye on his little brother, tries to keep him out of trouble, teaches him to walk that line. At the end of the song, Joe gets a call on the short wave, and when he responds to what appears to be a bar fight, there's a kid on the floor, and a witness tells Joe it was Frank. Joe chases Frankie over the state line, and pulls over, letting his brother escape, because "A man turns his back on his family, he ain't no good".

This is when Frankie will arrive in the new universe. He is a bit rough around the edges, but he doesn't mean to be that way. He needs people to understand him, reach out to him. Fill the void left where his brother should be. And of course, if anyone wanted to pick up Joe, or even Joe's wife Maria please do so. They're essentially OCs, and the place where both Ray and Greg live in my headspace would beg you not to use David Morse for Joe XD.

For the record, I'm using Keith Urban for the PB, because after sreeing the man in concert Thursday night, Keith Urban rules my world. XD.

And, Highway Patrolman Lyrics for your reading pleasure. If there was enough interest, I could try to upload the song online somewhere.