Linda Z

If it were me, I'd take the money and run. Not to Texas maybe, but somewhere I wouldn't have to freeze my gotchies off 9 months out of the year. Which reminds me. Did you ever get the little 1940s Alaska postcards I sent you? You can use those to remember what the Great White North looks like while fishing and hiking and feeling the sun on your face. (If you didn't get them, I'll be pi$$ed at the US Postal Service.) You have to decide what will make you and your family happy. But as you get older (and trust me, that will happen sooner than you think), the harsh Alaska climate might have less and less appeal.

Yes, Evan, tell us. Is everyone okay, and how in the world did this happen? Your post reminds me of an old postcard I have: "Dear Uncle Bill. Someone cut the screen door and broke into our house last night. Love, Tommy." We need details!

I also have to retrain my brain to say Shellon's name correctly. I've always though it was pronounced "Shell-un," too, WN. As we were saying goodbye on that phone call I caught myself saying, "Bye, Shell-un." As soon as it was out of my mouth I knew I'd goofed. Sorry 'bout that!

Roy, have a wonderful, wonderful birthday and many, many more. You are special!

Add my congrats, too! Way to go, Miss Dooj!

Chas, that was my EmmaDog. A leaf apparently blew down the street 3 miles away and she had to scare away the marauding Huns. She's cute, but what a goof. I enjoyed the heck out of being part of "the experiment." I think highly of Abi and Shellon, and it was great to hear their perspectives in real time, with their real voices--and Paw's too, of course! It added a richness for me beyond just words on a screen. I do think Paw should get some kind of award for managing to get any words in edgewise with three women :D Thanks, Paw. I've only listened to Chas's interview so far and really enjoyed it. Some great insights, Chas, and so "you." I look forward to the others, as soon as I can find a block of time to listen. Keep 'em coming, Paw.

Awww Socksness, who sez you don't play nice? As for your stones, one word comes to mind: legendary. All that comes to mind now, after mulling this topic over for the past few days, is an old "shaggy dog" story. It's long, as shaggy dog stories tend to be, so I'll just cut to the punch line: People in grass houses shouldn't store thrones. Mo, you rock. You've shown great restraint and class.

JL, I'm asking this because I don't understand: Why would you post a comment like that after people have just opened up parts of their lives that aren't easy to disclose? I'm wondering if it's a nervous habit--are you trying to inject humor when things seem too heavy? I can tell you it's not simply "like, mean." It's like, brutal and cruel and criminal. From my perspective, your comment sounds flip and insensitive, like you're making a "what's the big deal?" joke out of the subject. I don't want to think that of you. Can you explain?

I can think of three movies Minnie Driver was in. One has been done to death here because it has so many well-known actors. But I can't think of a movie for the other actors in the other two. CRS is a cruel affliction. Doggone it, while channel surfing last night, I surfed right past one of those other two Miinnie Driver movies. What was I thinking? Where is my commitment to the Triple Links Game???

There's nothing like seeing what the grass on the other side of the fence looks like up close to make you thankful for your own "turf." I agree that supplementing with other programs is a good way to go.

{{{chef}}} You and your mom and family are in my prayers.

Anyone who focuses so consistently on love and loving is A #1 in my book. That means, you, Roy!

Yes!!!!! I'm so thankful to hear this. Thanks for bringing it to the Open Forum, NLL.

I don't believe Paw is asking anyone not to disagree, but accusing and blaming are not the same as disagreeing. In the case of new posters, accusing them of being fakes, trolls, or WAYGB right out of the gate is not going to bring much new blood into the discussions around here. As for disagreeing, there are ways to do it without relegating a thread to the "Soap Opera" downstairs. Let's try an emotionally neutral analogy: Someone comes here and says, "All Fords are excellent cars. No one ever has problems with Fords unless they don't maintain them properly." And let's say I had a Ford that was a lemon. I might respond in one of two ways: 1. "Why do you say that? I had a Ford that was in the shop every other week that cost me a fortuneo keep on the road, and I maintained it according to every requirement of the warranty. So I disagree with your opinion of Fords. Maybe yours is great but my experience was a lot different." or 2. "It's no WONDER Ford gets away with selling such crap cars, because crazy people like you continue to buy them. People like you who support such shoddy workmanship are the reason Ford owners get screwed every day. How DARE you come in here and say how great Fords are!?!" Response #1 might cause the poster to say, "Really? I didn't know that." Or he might stubbornly continue to insist he's right, but at least he's been given the chance to clarify and/or debate reasonably. Response #2 is almost guaranteed to put the poster on the defensive. Abi asks: If we had a way to know people's intent at the time of their first posts, I suppose behavior like this could be nipped in the bud. We don't. We can be cautious and see how they behave themselves. My experience is that people reveal plenty about themselves and their motives if given room to "speak." Also, it's important to remember that an opinion contrary to the majority opinion here does not automatically constitute harassment or cruielty. I think few people have come here with "no other intent but to harass, insult, or cause pain." But if someone rubs us that way, we can state our disagreement and then ignore them (and I don't necessarily mean with the "ignore" feature, although that's an option; I mean pay them no mind). Some people thrive on stirring the pot. But if no one's standing around the pot watching it, that game gets boring for them, don't you think? In this life we can't control our obnoxious coworker or the rude guy sititng next to us on the bus or our sarcastic sister-in-law. We can, however, control how we react to them. And GS is no different from life in general. There are many good people who hang out here, with diverse opinions. A couple or three people consistently express their particular opinions in a way that aggravates/angers most everyone else. Arguing is generally futile. In one case I can think of, scolding falls on deaf ears. So what can you do? I think back on how I dealt with a bullying coworker. I'm not easily bullied, so at first I butted heads with her. A lot. When I finally "considered the source," with the source being someone with extreme control issues and a hot temper, I simply stopped putting my share of the fuel on the fire. I wasn't going to let her goad me into being angry or upset. I stopped playing into her manipulation of my emotions. And do you know what happened? It no longer was a kick for her to push my buttons when she didn't get a heated reaction. We'll never be best friends, but things got a lot more peaceful around the office. I think that would work here in many cases, too.

Thank you, Paw. I know there are people who are hurting and who are flexing their "free to speak up" muscles. I get that. But sometimes discrection is the better part of valor, isn't it? "Wait and see" is often a better response than a knee-jerk reaction. Isn't it better to give people the benefit of the doubt? If we're being "too easy" on them, they'll reveal their own warts soon enough. If not, maybe we'll all benefit from something they'll say down the road if they're not run off in a cloud of suspicion and accusation. Who wants a "welcome" like that? I agree that censorship isn't the answer. Nor do I think the moderators should be called upon to intervene every time someone thinks another poster is annoying. But that's a whole 'nother topic, I guess.

sogwap, I can understand that what happened in that other thread might have made you mad or hurt your feelings. But come on, what do you hope to accomplish by tossing out a nasty comment like that? Just a suggestion, but if you're pi$$ed off or hurt or feel misunderstood, couldn't you simply say so, rather than verbally flipping off all the "patrons" of this virtual diner with one sweeping insult?

This is belated, but... Happy Birthday, ILB!

That's a sweet story, Tonto. Thanks for sharing it. outofdafog, I hear ya. Thank God I don't have to go to work right after reading this thread. I do have to go gas up the car, but passersby will just think it's the gas prices that made me cry.

{{{Abi, sushi and family}}} I know how hard this is. You do get to the point where you "just know," but I also know getting there can be a bit of a struggle. I know you'll do what's best for Scrappy. That's the important thing. You're in my thoughts and prayers. Sudo, I did the same thing with my Chester that you did with Abby. I took the day off work, took him for a ride, took him to Burger King for a plain hamburger and to Dairy Queen for a vanilla cone--his two favorite human treats. I took him for a last walk in the park where he loved to go. And when it was time, I stayed with him and held him in my arms and told him I loved him and that he was the best dog ever. It was hard, but I didn't want him to be alone and scared. Man, I'm with you, Sudo. This is still hard to talk about. I think Chester himself let me know when it was time. Our pooches put up a brave front, but I could see it in his eyes when his physical problems had gotten to be too much for him. {{{everyone}}} I remember each of your stories about having to say goodbye to your beloved companions. But I also remember that even though you were mourning, you knew you'd done right by your faithful friends. That's what it's all about. If they were in the wild, they'd probably go off alone and stop eating and the process would happen naturally. But since they're domesticated and they've become part of our families, we have to love them enough to help them go peacefully when it's time. {{{suda}}} Don't be hard on yourself. What really matters is how much you loved Abby and what a happy life you and Sudo and your family gave her.

On a personal note, I can only hope and pray that the nuclear power plants in the U.S. are maintained better than they were 20 years ago in Russia (of course I think so, but who knows?)! There's one about 40 miles east of me and another 50 miles west of me. Krys, did you check out the link Tom posted? I think it has some of the info about the duration of the effects on the land and water and such. I just scanned through it quickly, but I think so.

Tom, I spent my lunch hour looking at that woman's photos and reading part of her journal and looking at the photos on Belle's link. One of the morning talk radio guys yesterday said that he drove past Chernobyl when he was in Russia and that it was still a ghost town. I had no idea how devastated it still is (and maybe will always be). "Chilling" and heart-rending are understatements.

Yes, it is a good topic, Bagpipes. Playing is good for the soul. Pond, I'm glad I'm not the only one who still has coloring books and crayons. They sit in a drawer for years on end, but every once in a while, I just feel like coloring. So I do! And I love to do jigsaw puzzles and play computer games. One of the best parties I ever had was when my son was about 4 years old. He had some of the coolest toys. So I invited a few friends over for a "play party." We drank wine, nibbled on snacks, and played with his train and his blocks and his little gas station and Legos, etc. Everyone had a fantastic time. Grace, I hope you get to keep your property intact, too. Add me to the ones praying. Coolchef, do you know how to record your piano playing as a .wav file, so you can post it here for us to hear?

I tuned in late, so I only saw about half of Kelly's and all of Taylor and Chris's performances. CW, you thought Taylor looked constipated. I agree--or maybe like the cops were hot on his trail and he was hearing their footsteps getting really close. I think he was thinking too much about looking into the right camera and not just "feeling it." Chris was superb, and I agree, he is sexy (although my saying that puts me smack dab into the dirty old woman category!). I only saw the short clip of Elliot, but it looked like he did great. Kelly PickleSnickle [see Prof. PoopyPants thread], IMO, needs to go home next. She's a cute girl, but she's not up to par with some of the others. Everyone's a critic, eh? Lord knows even if I could sing, I wouldn't have the persistence and guts to get on that show and face the three judges. I have to give all the contestants kudos for that. (Well, maybe not all. Some of those people need to have friends and family who love 'em enough to tell them to put down the microphone.)

WG, I love yours. Tootsie Dippinshorts! Hahahahaha! Alas, I am Sloopy Farkledunkin (married name) or Sloopy Gizzardlips--ewwww! I'm thinking of changing my name so I can be Doombuh Frickenfrack or Sneezy Snickletush. They have a nice ring to 'em, don'tcha think?

MizMarple, that is hilarious. They'd really heard all those things?? I was at his burial because I was on staff at HQ when he died. I don't remember a whole lot, given that it was almost 20 years ago. There was a simple coffin that some of the Way Builders made, and there were pallbearers (some of the revs) carrying it across the patio by the Snack Shop and down the driveway next to the Wierwille's house toward the gravesite in front of the house next to the fountain. People stood along the driveway as the pallbearers passed by with the coffin. A few people spoke, Johnny and Naomi T, I think and some others. People cried. That's all I remember. After the Big Split, some of the former Way Corps "leaders" in my area, who were now followers of Chris Gearshift, predicted that the people at HQ would "go back on the 'dead aren't alive' doctrine" and would start claiming VP was talking to them from "the other side." LOL. I never heard that that happened, but it somehow strikes me as funny in light of what you heard from the NK ladies.