QuietThinker

Right, then... The Film is: Ryan's Daughter. I really didn't mean to throw up a stumper. I just really like Robert Mitchum films! OK, so...dialing it back in.... I haven't read back far enough again to see when/if this movie has been around the block, but, because I want off the hot seat...here goes! "Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is. " ~QT

Yeeha! Happy Birthday, GS! A mixed bag, for sure...but never dull! Celebratingly, QT

Speechless, but very thankful yours lovingly, QT

I feel a bit silly about now, Raf... I'm far too young to have seen it in theatres, but it's one of my favorite movies. I should have thought more carefully! Yours fumblingly, QT ok...I'll just post these last lines, probably the most well known of the flick...then, I'll just go hide my head in shame "Rose, you're mistaking a penny mirror for the sun. Do you not see that?" "I see you always digging a low pit for yourself...when you should be standing on a heap of pride." "You coming in here and saying what you did just now is the only cause I've ever had for pride."

No, Raf...Sorry...I'm beginning to wish I'd picked something easy and less obscure...you know...like something from Sweden :) ~QT

Hey Chef... Look above, at Greasy's announcement at the top of the twi forum here. There's a link to the obit and to the memorial thread. Cheers, QT

Thank *you* for starting this thread...it has turned out well, I think :-) Cheers, Nandon ~QT

OK, ok, ok.... Everyone knows that PurpleCow saved my computer. But, do you know how much I appreciate it? I'm writing this post from my laptop, revived and saved with the help of so many grease spotters...and I owe a special, public thanks to PurpleCow, for talking me through it all. If you have someone you want to thank for something, too...just add it on as inspiration strikes! Yours thankfully, ~QT

I'm a fan of rotties, too. So, right back atcha :) and...to answer your question about freshly-fed snakes... Well, first. Once the feeding instinct kicks in, snakes will tend to just strike first and ask questions later. So, you present a warm rat, and then 20 minutes later your warm hand...they will likely strike. Second, snakes don't move well on a full tummy. They like to relax and digest. But, if a predator were to approach (and a big ol' human is a threat to most snakes, even if you don't intend to eat them), the snake would "dump and slither" so to speak...and there's nothing more gross than cleaning up partially-digested, puked-up rat! So, discretion being the better part of valour...leave the cuddles for the next day! And thanks for the links and help, guys. She's been behaving normally all day. I do believe the lil girl will be just fine! Yours relievedly, QT

I looked up the same instructions as Chas before I saw this post. Found the same thing. I'd also heartily recommend NOD32 Antivirus. I use it everywhere. Unfortunately, it cannot stop my hair from invading my laptop! (But that's ok, as I'm putting PurpleCow on retainer!)

I feel awful about picking this movie, now...I'm going to try to post the most obvious quotes! How about this one, then...? "No, it's not a hanging matter to be young, but maybe it should be for an old man to take the youth away from a young girl. Especially a man like me and a girl like you. Rose, you were meant for the wide world, not this place, not this. Me? I was born for it." Yours thread-killingly, ~QT :(

Too right, David.... You'd never catch ME leaving my tiramisu behind for any reason. Which one glance at me should make obvious!

I just want to say thank you to everyone for your kind words. I will leave the post in hopes it may help someone else. thanks again, Everyone. And Rainbow'sGirl, PM will be heading your way from me. Yours thankfully, ~QT

*snirk* I have a similar list here on my wall by the PC, Greasy. Thanks :-)

I have debated whether or not to reply to this thread. While I have posted openly about my son's condition, and the general response to it, there are some things I've not said. Because they fit with the main thrust of this thread, I've decided to comment. The most hurtful and profoundly ignorant statement made to me, uttered by the BC/LC in the presence of my FC, their respective families and myself was simply this: "Your initial mistake, like Eve, was to question during your pregnancy that something could go wrong. Your second mistake was placing too much trust in the medical establishment. While it is good that you've acted on your believing and started to seek therapists to help, the fact is you are too knowledgeable about Autism and Biology to effectively believe in this circumstance. It is your pride that prevents his healing." To understand the context, then, I will explain that my son's diagnosis came at the end of my marriage, for practical purposes--a relationship that has only improved under the tincture of time, frankly, since separation. I, being familiar with twi lingo asked, "Why are you speaking to me alone about this? I assume you have no problem with then-hubby's believing. Isn't he the head of the family? Doesn't his believing cover?" The reply was: "You've done something, somewhere...somehow you've undermined him and made his spiritual effect powerless." These were things spoken to me, in my home. However, at meetings, especially Limb Functions I was bombarded with phrases like by the. very. same. people.: "Won't it be great when you wake up and your little boy is healed? We're all believing with you!" "Deliverance takes time, but I just know that if we all pray for healing now, by the time he's 5 he'll be in regular kindergarten!" "Don't really think about what his doctor's say; we have THE WORD and we can overcome them!" By the time he was 2 and I'd forgotten what regular sleep was, I think if one more syrupy-smiled, doe-eyed do-gooder had come up to me and said, "Don't worry, QT! I've prayed about this and God showed me that your son will be healed!" ... I would have punched his/her/its teeth out. Make no mistake, at first especially, driven by maternal instinct I'm sure, I wanted my son to be instantly "delivered from this affliction." It has taken me years of study and observation to come to the conclusion that while his different wiring and neurological functions make it difficult for the general society to understand him, that he is a complete, functioning, whole little person. He is not afflicted. He is not possessed (I never believed that crap). He is himself. No more or less anything other than. himself. Because he is not verbal in the sense that most of us understand, and because he is not interested in the same things most kids his age are, he certainly is different. The deficits and behaviors that he exhibits which place him toward the lower end of the Autism Spectrum mean nothing more than data points that taken together form a diagnosis. However, to be lambasted for my specific knowledge was cruel and wrong. To lessen my son's humanity, to make of him a non-person (because, yes, my LC called him "A little beast, he's an animal, all instincts and no brains, no reasoning") was also wrong. TWI, like many groups wanted uniformity and conformity. Many of the well-meaning, sincere people, with gentle and kind hearts motivated only by love were very happy to pray and "believe with me." None of them babysat for me once...not ever...unless I paid a teenager to do it. Of course, in paying them, I was "believing" to get a shower so I could wash my hair without worrying whether or not my son had managed to dismantle the door locks again. (He was an animal and apparently it must have been animal cunning that allowed him to work out how to do THAT, it certainly couldn't have been reasoning capability! ) I was asked, at first, to give progress reports...so that leadership could update the household on our believing progress. That stopped fairly quickly. I suppose my son wasn't a bright enough star to accomplish that, though. Please understand, many many people really wanted to see us "delivered" from what they saw as a terrible tragedy. The did care. I'm not belittling that. But...I saw those gleeful glances. Oh, yes. Oh, yes I did. Those expressions were very communicative. They said, "Here's our chance to activate the power of God and make this kid whole...then the WORLD will know! They'll know!" I also saw the relieved, nervous glances that said, "I'm so relieved that's not my kid. I could never live like that." Finally, I saw the less kind, more accusatory glances, and heard the words from top to bottom..."Poor kid, what did SHE do to make him turn out that way." Speaking as the parent of a child with what people call a disability, and pretty severe one, I can say that what bothered me most was that my son became a symbol. His innate humanity, his unique individualism was discarded and he became nothing more than an opportunity for greater believing and potential example of ultimate deliverance. Would I, a writer and science-geek, love to have long conversations in a language I can understand with my child? Yes. Would I like to know what's bothering him? Of course. Would I like to experience, even just one single time, the feeling of hearing him call me, "mom"? More than any of you who have not faced this situation will ever realize. When I left twi, and left behind the warped sense of reality it came with, I was almost instantly able to connect with my son in a profound way. He does not speak meaningfully apart from a few words, but his expression shows every human emotion we can all experience. I am aware of his love and his desire to be a part of my life. I can easily see when he wants to be around his sister and when he wishes she would just drop dead. I have seen his exultant joy when he discovers something new, like today when he realized how to dismantle the refrigerator lock so he could eat ALL the pudding in the house while I was, again, in the shower. When I left twi behind, I left behind the notion that my child is defective, broken, damaged goods. I've discovered that both of my children, without enforced way-robotics, experience the world in a unique way and, frankly, I learn more from them in what people might consider a "broken" state, than I would otherwise. My family was delivered, all of us, from people who marginalized our existence and insisted that we were in need of changing. Don't feel sorry for us. We're doing ok, and we'll keep on doing better...because we have each other. My daughter chooses this song for our family. I think it fits. Yours parentingly, ~QT If you read this far...I'm amazed. I am still of mixed emotions about sharing this. I may decide to remove it later. *edited to add The The tune

This is my little Colombian Red Tail, Connie... Last night, something happened I have never experienced before, and I've had snakes for a while. During feeding, she missed the rat-pup when she struck and caught her one of her teeth on her own skin. I watched her for a few minutes, as she extricated her jaw from herself. She was really very clever about it. Then, she struck the rat pup and polished it off quickly. I inspected her this morning. (I never handle a freshly fed snake). She seems ok. I used blunt forceps to remove the tiny tooth lodged in her skin. The hole left behind is extremely small, pinhead sized. I am not concerned about infection, really, though I have increased the heat and humidity in her vivarium. For any other reptile owners...has this ever happened to you? If so, were there complications? I think she will be fine...and I know many people are little more concerned with a snake injury than they are about swatting a mosquito. However, if there is anyone who's had this happen with a pet and had a subsequent complication, I'd be interested to hear. She's my little buddy...I want her to be ok. Yours herpetologically, QT