Linda Z

OH! You mean LCM in the fake beard. Yeah, that's pretty darn weird looking.

Sprawled Out, Way Productions?? Schlocky?? Belle is a Southern belle, so a picture of Scarlett O'Hara's a rather fitting avatar for her to use, wouldn't you say?

You can also soak liver in milk in the refrigerator to eliminate the strong taste. Here's one of my favorites: Running cold water into a pan of hard-boiled eggs until they're cool will make them easy to peel.

Awwww, NIKA, he's so sweet. I live way too far away, alas. Tonto, my kitty gets along just fine with a yippy terrier and a 107-lb chocolate lab/chessie. Truth be told, Princess LardAss is the feline ruler of all the canines she surveys. When they behave, she gives them a sweet face washing. When they don't, she's quite capable of putting distance between herself and them.

Kat's pretty and has a lovely voice, but Taylor just steps up and owns it. I hope he wins.

Your words they do comfort me, Mr. Tom. Thank you. 'Tis true, they surprised a lot of people. I was proud of them. And Le Bron is saying he wants to stay here. This is a GOOD thing.

Permission accepted! (but I only had to cheat on Uncle Buck) Anna Chlumsky My Girl Dan Akroyd

I can't share your enthusiasm, being a Cavs fan, but congrats. You gotta admit the Cavs made the Pistons work for it. :)

Oh well. At least we made the Pistons work for it.

Watch it, Garthness. Them's fightin' words!

Okay, I'm invoking the 4-day-get-to-cheat rule to keep this thread from dying. Elizabeth Shue Adventures in Babysitting Penelope Ann Miller Next?

Thank you, dear Oeno. I haven't given up. I was just a li'l down after the whipping Friday night. The big game's at 3:30 today. Truth be told, I've never been a huge basketball fan. What got me engaged in this year's playoffs was Rasheed (sp?) Wallace's taunting of our team. It put me straight into the "We'll show HIM" mode. :)

Wayfer Not: Leaving my job was the beginning of the end, but it wasn't the end yet. I still thought twi was okay and that it was just HQ that had problems--too many people given too much power, the wrong people in charge of key departments, people too entrenched in their positions of authority. A couple weeks after I left HQ, give or take a week, I was on the phone hook-up and heard CG reading POP to the Corps for the first time. I hung in there for a couple more years ('86-'88), hoping I could help "fix the ministry," but my involvement was slowly dwindling. When I figured out that nothing I could do would fix anything, I told the people in my fellowship that I'd be happy to keep having fellowship if they still wanted to come but that I couldn't see going to HQ for anything or sending money there because it was all messed up. I continued that way for about a year longer and then cut all ties sometime in '89. I stayed minimally involved for that last year because I was caught up in the "how can we go on without PFAL to offer new people" mindset. Then I realized how stupid that was and stopped having anything to do with twi at all.

Ted and Moony: Let me add my hearty congrats! I just saw the photos IGotOut posted over in the 9th Corps thread, and I must say you are an adorable couple!! Moony, although I haven't met you, I think I've gotten to know you a little bit from your posts, and I couldn't be more thrilled that Ted found such a lovely woman to love him. I'm so happy for you two!!! May you enjoy many, many joyous and full years together! Love you, Linda

Thank you, John!

Sigh. After beating the Pistons on their home court, the Cavs came home only to suffer defeat in front of their own faithful fans. Why do Cleveland teams come sooooooo close and then *poof*, we're outa there? Indians go to the World Series. *poof* Browns: One word--Denver. *poof* *poof* I suppose it would be less fun being a fan of Cleveland teams if they never even came close, but there's only so much a girl's heart can take. I know, I know, the Cavs aren't out of it yet, but I so hoped they'd clinch a spot in the finals last night. Oh well, back to Motown. There's still hope, but it seems to be fading.

Safari's experience with LCM's former secretary raises another aspect of this staff discussion. The majority of staff were worker bees. They didn't enjoy any special privileges; instead, they had the "privilege" of working extra hours, eating an extra load of sh!t, and going the extra mile to "bless" the upper echelon staff. What made you "upper echelon"? Same as in the rest of the power-grabbing world: "It isn't what you know but who you know." In many (not all) cases, those who worked in top positions or in positions close to the Trustees (or who were married to someone in one of those positions) acted as if they were so much more special than everyone else. They got away with it because they had the protection of their highly placed bosses. PS was just one of many classic examples. Remember, I didn't say in all cases. I can think of some really loving, humble people who worked for the Trustees who didn't use their position to lord it over the rest of us. But they were few and far between. I thank God for the day I went on HQ staff. It allowed me to see both the best and the worst of the inhabitants of twi's "root" firsthand and up close. It gave me the chance to spend time with people like Ira H and other long-timers of his caliber and heart, but at the same time I got to see what spoiled brats some of the "pillars" of twi really were and what power trips some of them were on. Seeing the "dark side" was the beginning of the end of my affiliation with twi, and I'm thankful for that. God only knows how long I would have stuck around if I'd continued to see HQ and its honchos only from afar. Classic example of the contrast between the staff and THE Staff: I had scheduled some vacation time around Thanksgiving and planned to pick up my son from college in Columbus so that we could spend the holiday with our family. The day before my vacation was scheduled to start, my son called. He was really sick, and his two roommates were hanging around their dorm room smoking pot so he couldn't get any sleep. He asked if I could come a day early to pick him up. I explained the situation to RFR (who was my boss) and asked if I could take off to go get him. She said absolutely not. We weren't in some colossal work crunch, and there were plenty of other people who could have covered for my absence. I should have walked that day. I didn't. I put in my resignation a few weeks later and even then got guilted into staying four more months. Idiot! RFR, on the other hand, could go jaunting off to Scotland on shopping and sightseeing vacations with her best "friend" Donna whenever her little heart desired. She could have the department receptionist lie about her whereabouts when VPW called to talk to her. She could badmouth LCM behind his back. Later, years after I left, she could have cats when there was a staff ban on pets . She was special, alright. This dichotomy between the lifestyle of top executives and the lot of average workers is the norm in most of corporate America, but in a Christian organization, where everyone supposedly was devoted to a life of service, that great divide told me that something was stinking up the place, and it wasn't the pond or the dog kennels. Come to think of it, my time on HQ staff was my first glimpse of what much of corporate America looks like. My parting words were, "I wouldn't take this crap in 'the world,' and I'm certainly not going to take it here, where people are supposed to be loving each other." I've never, ever, not for one second regretted my leaving. I couldn't be happier that I'm not one of those poor souls who are still working there.

Signs of life! Thank God. I thought I was going to have to send a St. Bernard after you all. Linda Lurker

I understand not wanting to rehash it all, Mo. Okay, then I'll take a different approach. I'll assume I'm one of the people who prompted this thread, since I've frequently (ever since Waydale) advocated for fighting fair, arguing opinions but not turning arguments into personal attacks, etc. I've never said people don't have a right to express their anger and hurt over what happened to them. I've never said we all have to sit around holding hands. I've never said that the handful of people (and that's all there are) who think twi was 99% wonderful can't or shouldn't have their rosy opinions debated or questioned. Is that how you're interpreting the "Throwing Stones" thread? I'm sorry, but I don't see anyone there saying any of these things.

Abi said, "Whether it were 6 million or 1 million, I can't see admiring someone who did what Hitler did." That's how I've always seen it, too, Abi. Also, whether the people slaughtered were Jews descended directly from the Biblical Israelites or not made/makes no difference to me. Regardless of religion or ethnicity, everyone killed was a human being who was senselessly, brutally murdered, and there were many, many of them. I don't care if it was 6 million or 1 million or 100,000, or "only" 10. It never should have happened. Safari, I watched a PBS special on the Holocaust in which one segment focused on the euthanizations. All of Hitler's reign of terror was horrifying, but I have to admit, that part gave extra tugs to my heart strings. Being killed just for being sick or mentally handicapped or old--my God. Oldies, forget all the books and articles for a moment...just set them aside (for 3 months, maybe?) Put yourself in the shoes of a young child in Germany during the Hitler years. Think what it would be like to be in a concentration camp and see your father led off to a place you'd seen people led to before, never to return. Think of seeing your mother wasting away from starvation until she looked like all the other skeleton-like people around you. Think of the HUMAN side of this discussion, rather than the "I'm right/you're wrong and I'm gonna prove it" side.

Congrats, WW! I know it took a lot of hard work to get there!

I'm late to this thread. I haven't had much time in the last couple weeks to spend time here. (My responses are in bold.)

sir, I wish you well in your endeavors. I'm sure you'll bring great comfort to people. david, your mention of the bird reminds me of something: When my aunt was in a nursing home years ago, I was allowed to take her two cats to visit her. Living in the nursing home was an elderly eastern Euroipean woman. Every time I went for a visit, she was sitting alone, staring silently, blankly ahead of her. I never saw her interacting with other residents or the staff. She always looked so sad. My impression was that she spoke no English (or, as is common in people with cognitive loss, had reverted to her native language). On the days when I took the cats to see Aunt Casey, we would stop and visit with anyone else who showed an interest. That silent, sad woman would light up like you wouldn't believe. She would break her silence as she reached for one of the cats to hold on her lap. She would grin and chatter to him in her language, in what sounded like baby talk. It's amazing how the human heart can be awakened from what seems like a deep sleep by the simplest things.

Awwwww, congrats, Mr. & Mrs. P-Mosh!

Thank God Christine moved! You're taking this amazingly well. I'm just glad everyone's okay.