Linda Z

I love you too, StrangeTom, and it won't be the first time I don't make sense. I'm just unaccustomed to stuff vanishing with no "edited by" note, like you said. It happened in Open too in the past 24 hours. Annoying. Hahahahahahahahaha Cynic. Clue's one of my favorite games...maybe I'll get one (ba dum dum).

Let me clarify. I went back and re-read pond's posts. There wasn't much I agreed with in her first post, but she's stating her opinion (and that's all it is) in her typical blunt way. She has just as much right to her opinion as anyone else, and everyone else has the right to disagree with her. But people would do well to do just that, rather than assuming things about her life and concluding that her motives are evil and heartless. In her first post she did say something I agree with: I think for many people that's absolutely true. The drinking is a symptom and stopping drinking only scratches the surface. It's a VERY good place to start, but that's what it is, a starting point toward getting healthy. It also appears from her first post that pond thinks that we all have the same level of temptation to drink. Tha's her opinion, but I think she's wrong. I also don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution, as pond appears to. Some people DO need a support group like AA, and there's absolutely no shame in that. Other people, equally addicted, wake up at some point and decide they've had enough and they tough it out and quit on their own, never to look back. That doesn't mean everyone can do that. I see something similar with quitting smoking. I know people who have quit cold turkey. Last time I tried that I wanted to pull my hair out or pull someone's arm off and club him with it. So I used a crutch--nicotine patches. I wanted to quit so badly that I decided I'd use all the help I could get. Those who quit cold turkey and those of us who used the patch all got to the same destination. Hooray for us! :) Hooray for anyone who quits drinking, no matter how they do it, if it's interfering with their being their best. In a subsequent post, pond said: I think there is a a lot of truth in that, and I don't mean that in a hard-hearted way in the least. I think AA is great for getting a leg up on the problem. I applaud the program for giving people that opportunity and the AA members for facing their problem via AA. But it can become (note, I don't say it always or even usually does) simply a new addiction. I've seen it in friends and family members. After many years, they're obsessed with drinking. They're obsessed with AA. They think their poo doesn't stink and that anyone else who has a couple drinks is an alcoholic. They can become extremely judgmental. I'm sure clay won't fit into that category, but I have seen it. I see so many parallels with this and with recovery from abuse at the hands of clergy and with people recovering from eating disorders or any other addictive behavior. For example: I used to go to Weight Watchers because I wanted a support group where I could learn to make better choices and for mutual encouragement. All they talked about was food! I know the discussion varies from meeting to meeting, because I've belonged a number of times over the years--but the last time food was the constant topic. And not just new, healthy ways to prepare it so it still tastes good, but stuff like, "I went on a cruise, and here's a photo of all the food I couldn't eat." I left there wanting to eat! We're all different in how we deal with challenges in life. And I'll tell ya what. Within the mental health field there are plenty of detractors of 12-step programs. They just state their opinions more diplomatically than pond does. I guess the reason for my post is that it seemed to me that a lot of people were ganging up on pond, and that usually gets my goat. Like I said, I sure as heck don't think she's always right, but I do think she has as much right to her opinion as anyone else in this place.

One question for you, WTH. What's it to you?

As a result of invisible censorship, my comment to Cynic makes absolutely no sense now. I know Friend Tracker isn't the place to vent about former twi leaders, so I get why the comments were removed. But why not SAY something was removed so that everyone isn't confused?

Y'know, everyone, Pond is extremely blunt and frequently she is wrong when she generalizes her experiences to represent truth for all of mankind. But if you can get past the knee-jerk reactions to her directness long enough to ponder what she says, you'll often find pearls of wisdom mixed in there. I had to learn to put anger aside for a minute and read past the parts that pi$$ me off to be able to spot those gems. This doesn't mean I agree with the sweeping, uninformed statements you're prone to making, pond, cuz I don't. But I also don't think you're the heartless, compassionless shrew so many GSers have perceived you to be. Like I said, you're blunt. Sometimes wrong, but sometimes right and almost always blunt. And you must have thick skin, because you keep coming back after people say things to you that would devastate me. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I understand blunt but, personally, I seldom go there in cyber communications because being extremely direct is so easily misconstrued in this medium. It hurts people's feelings and makes honesty sound like arrogance when it's not intended that way. Just my thoughts...feel frree to lob rotten tomatoes at me. I'll just duck behind my sign.

Chas, if you want the sparkly sugar to stay on, just beat an egg white a bit, brush a little on each cookie (you can use a pastry brush or even a paper towel for this), then sprinkle away. Voila, the sugar stays put! Bow's method works well, too. :) I like to use the canned (white) cream cheese frosting and sprinkle it with the colored sugars and little silver balls and cinnamon drops, etc.

TempleLady said: TL, I think this should be engraved on a brass plaque and hung over the entrance to the About the Way forum.

Pond, alcoholism certainly is a physical as well as a mental health issue. Where do you get some of this stuff? cman, I wish you all the best in your fight to beat this thing. It's worth it because you and those you love and who love you are worth it! I quit smoking about 5 months ago for the umpteenth time, but I hope and pray and really think this is IT. I know exactly what you mean about seeing people drinking on TV. I feel the same when people light up on TV. In fact, I think it bothers me more than people lighting up in my actual presence! I keep the remote handy and change the channel. No sense being tormented! Oh and re: twi and AA, I was told many years ago, by someone who'd been around HQ in the early days, that VPW got an AA chapter started in NK or St. Marys. He probably should have joined. He must have thought he could "handle it." I never heard AA poo-pooed in twi except by one Corps friend who was in denial about having a drinking problem.

Suda (and everyone): It's not just Bounce fabric softener sheets. It's all of them. They leave an invisible waxy coating on the mesh of your lint filter. It's recommended that you wash the lint filter with soap & water and a brush every 6 months, to extend the life of the heating element of your dryer.

Yes, Garth, I guess consistent is one word for it. I'd say more, but I don't want to engage in:

Garthness, would it be okay if I started calling you Madeline Murray O'Garth? If you'd been such a zealous proseletyzer in twi, I'm pretty doggone sure there'd be a statue of you in the Wowzah Auditorium. The plaque on the base would read, "Garth, King of PFAL Sign-ups." Now, seriously, come on. Is anyone is making you celebrate Christmas? Can't others simply enjoy it without it bothering you? Or do you just like to stir the pot?

Thanks, Bow. I printed the page and filed it with my 2006 tax stuff so I won't forget.

Garth says: No. The test wasn't designed to (nor does it claim to) detect bigotry. It was designed to detect bias, or preference (race, gender, age, etc.). You're right that it doesn't exactly address the issue at hand, but that has nothing to do with its validity. It has more to do with the above writer's using it to make his point.

Bumpety bump

Happy birthday, my friend, to a fellow left-hander. Many, many more!

Tom Strange said this in the Michael Richards thread, but it could apply in oh, so many places!! Heh heh, you crack me up, Mr. Strange.

Linzee heads to Greasespot Gems!

Yes, JAL's books were published by Amer. Christian Press.

Dennis Quaid Switchback Danny Glover

Once again, I guess it depends on when you were there. I was at Rome City in 78-79 and 80-81. I never owned or carried around a wooden spoon. Nor did I ever spank anyone else's child. Tell them to stop doing something, yes, but spank them, no. I think being a kid at Rome City, at least when we were there, had both positives and negatives. It sounds like things got worse there over the years, too, as with all aspects of twi. Greg B. came on staff our last year in rez, and I didn't like the way he treated the teens and said so. He was a bully and, IMO, unqualified to work with children. I complained about him, as did others, but he stayed in his position. That should have told me something!

Happy b'day, whenever it is or was!

Without thinking. Ah, there's the rub. If that "N" word is in one's mental vocabulary, if not his publically spoken vocabulary, then I could see how it would slip out. I think maybe that's the point Richards was trying to make when he said it alarmed him that that was even in him. (I forget his exact words, but that was the gist I got out of it). I think what we witnessed in Richards's rant was some kind of mini-breakdown. I was embarrassed and ashamed for him. I don't think he was trying to be funny. I think he was in a maniacal rage. Scary to watch, especially from the close range of those who were actually there. Perhaps also scary to snap out of the rage and realize what the hell you've done. I don't mean in terms of consequences...I mean in terms of realizing you had anything like that kind of rage within. Worth a lawsuit? I don't know. I can't judge the motives of those two guys.

A little habit I've picked up is to dispense the paper towels in a public restroom before washing my hands rather than after, so that once they're clean, I'm not touching the button or lever that less-careful hand washers have touched. That sounds a bit OCD-ish, but it's a tip I got from nurses.

Humphrey Bogart African Queen Katherine Hepburn

Dot and Bow, God bless you both for going to such lengths to provide a good home for that little sweetie dog. My vet once told me he thinks there's a special place in heaven for people who go out of their way to help the critters. I hope he's right! Looks like you all had a great time together. Suda, I love your sofa!!! It's beautiful.