Linda Z

God help us. OM has a twin.

Or it could be....because they're weenies!

Allan said: First, could you post a link to that "latest" and "comprehensive" report? Second, you're showing your ignorance here. One of my best friends doesn't even weigh 100 lbs soaking wet, and she has high cholesterol. Genes play a big role in both obesity and hypercholestrolemia. I've struggled with my weight my whole life. I come from a long line of overweight people and have pictures as far back as my ggg-grandparents as proof. Do I overeat sometimes? Of course I do, but certainly not always. So do some of my thin friends. If I ate like they do, I'd weigh 800 lbs! I read a study once (can't post a link--it was years ago and wasn't online) in which thin people and fat people were kept on the exact same diet, the exact same exercise regimen, under controlled conditions (i.e., they all stayed in the same place and were closely monitored so there was no chance of cheating). The thin ones stayed thin and the fat ones got fatter. Genetics. That doesn't mean we should just give up, eat everything in sight and say, "Oh well, it's in my genes." But it goes a long way toward explaining why losing weight and keeping it off is so difficult for so many of us. (I think if I had a dollar for every pound I've ever lost, I could be retired and sitting on a beach somewhere sipping iced tea and reading a book.) And sushi, in one of my many forays into the world of Weight Watchers, it was a standing joke how we women hated how much easier it was for the men to lose weight. Because of their higher ratio of muscle to fat and, typically, their higher rate of metabolism, they ran circles around us in terms of pounds lost each week. Women would say, "I lost 3 lbs this week," and we'd all applaud. Men would say, "I lost 10 lbs this week," and we'd applaud for them too, but the applause was usually accompanied by an audible groan. :) I wish you well in your efforts, though, sushi. Diabetes is nothing to mess with, and I'm glad you're working at being healthier.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SOGWAP HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Cool, I think you do fight clean and fair already. I've seen you reason through things with people you've disagreed with lots of times, even when it's gotten a bit heated. An example of fighting dirty, to my way of thinking, is telling someone to go to a shrink or take his meds--and not in an "I want to help you" way, but in an accusing way. Fighting dirty is picking some minor statement out of context and blowing it all out of proportion. I don't see you doing any of that. Those are just two examples off the top of my (pin)head. So you are hereby awarded the first-ever, premier, much-coveted... GS Fair Fighter Award. Display it with pride. :)

Wasn't it the son of the guy A Beautiful Mind is about who was in twi? This came up a long time ago, and I'm pretty sure it was.

This isn't in response to anything in particular that's been posted since Shell started this thread. I'm just going back to what I perceive to be one of her reasons for starting it (and forgive me, Shell, if I'm wrong)... Why tear each other down over differences of opinion? Good grief, we're all in the same boat to one degree or another. Why all the "biting and devouring"? It's possible to disagree, vehemently even, without resorting to calling those who disagree with us liars, mental cases, obfuscators, so-and-so worshipers, and worse. And, to me, it's perfectly acceptable to say, "What you've said really pi$$es me off," but without all the name calling and accusations. We've got everything here from someone who thinks PFAL was God-breathed to people who don't believe that there was one good word spoken in that class. We've got people who refuse to believe other's stories, both the good and the bad. We have some who still believe all the twi doctrine, some who believe a lot of it, some who believe a little, and some who believe none of it. We are, collectively, a perfect "mixed bag" poster child if ever I've seen one. So it's no wonder there are frequent disagreements. But my Lord in heaven, must we attack each other over them? A lot of lip service is paid around here to "helping people get out of twi." But when actual "innies" show up, they'd better have their asbestos underwear on, because unless they say they're only still in because of a spouse or family, or unless they very quickly agree that all the twi horror stories were true, they often get bombarded with accusations and pointed questions. So I say, go ahead and fight, but fight clean. Fight fair. Go ahead and question what an "innie" believes, but do so remembering that you probably once defended your twi beliefs just as adamantly.

Maybe they're not still saying you'll be a greasespot by midnight if you leave. Greasespot Cafe, and Waydale before it, as well as several (dozen?) twi offshoots filled with living, breathing exwayfers, have pretty much shattered that myth.They got caught in that lie and had to adjust their PR message. So the message has changed, but I see no indication that the messengers have. What makes anyone think that the judgmental, self-righteous, legalistic thinking that generated Donna's rant against the parents of Naomi Poling is gone? If I, God forbid, ever got convinced of and said such horrid things about a brother and sister in Christ and later realized I was wrong in my thinking, I sure as hell hope I'd be woman enough to say, "Oh my God. I was so wrong. I'm sorry." But nooooooooooooo, they just "send out a new press release" about a "kinder, gentler" twi and carry on as if nothing bad ever happened. Sorry for this graphic analogy, but to me it's as if someone pooped on the floor of a bank lobby and then covered the evidence with a Kleenex. Covering it up and pretending it's not there doesn't cut it. The poop's still there, and it still stinks to high heaven. Has anyone heard Donna say that what she said about Naomi was wrong? No? I didn't think so. Then she hasn't corrected her error. How much more obvious could it be?

I have to wonder if LCM just spun VPW's version a bit--that the original sin was Eve pleasuring herself. Wasn't that how VP taught it? I remember thinking, HUH??? So maybe LCM just took that up a notch to correlate with his antigay tirades--or perhaps as a warning to his wife and her special friend.

The Toy Jackie Gleason The Hustler

Exsie, your sp is fine, and sometimes it seems so, doesn't it? I know there are emotions that run deep and hot here, but sometimes I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a field full of stampeding buffalo that are charging at each other instead of just slowing down and listening and reading between the lines a bit--in a good way. Not a very good analogy, but I'm tired and it's all I've got right now. As one of the people who has the most to be pi$$ed off about concerning twi, you never jump in while others are piling onto someone with an unpopular opinion. It's one of the things I love about you. And you generally have the good sense not to argue with a rock--another thing that makes you the you we love. 'night

Brilliant, Shell. Thank you. I'm up past my bedtime or I'd say more, but I didn't want to go to bed without acknowledging your words and the heart behind them.

Two keys, in my mind. First, he hosted a kkk rally which, to me, indicates more than a casual, passing interest. Second, it was only 20 years ago, roughly 1986. If it were my club, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a thumbs-down. But then, I'm prejudiced--against bigoted hate groups who wear stupid pointy hoods to hide their stupid faces. When I was a WOW in Wheeling WV, 1979-80, I encountered a kkk rally near where I worked. These yahoos were standing out by the street in broad daylight with their hoods and their robes, waving to passersby to come join in. I waved back, but with only one finger extended on my waving hand. Seeing them made my skin crawl. Just seeing those three initials makes my skin crawl. I guess you know which way I'd vote, eh?

Freud, thank you for posting what you have. I've often wondered how Craig is today, and I appreciate hearing from someone with firsthand knowledge. My sadness for the people he hurt (and I know he did) doesn't diminish the pity I feel for him. But sometimes a man has to get to the knot on the very end of his rope before he'll turn to God to pull him up. I can only hope for his sake that that's the case for Craig. I'm no big defender of LCM. I was around him for four years ('82-'86) while I was on staff at twi's headquarters in Ohio and wasn't a big fan. I found him to be hot-headed and intimidating at times and warm and endearing at other times. He could be harsh and judgmental one day and then quiet and reflective the next. But I've heard from several people, as Evan has said here, that he was a pretty nice guy before he gained so much power in twi. I've also heard he had a genuine passion for God and the Bible and was tireless in teaching and sharing. It's a long way down from the heights of power and control LCM once attained to the place where he apparently finds himself today. Life is a humbling experience for most of us, and I imagine life's lessons are even harder to take when you have had an inflated opinion of your own abilities and importance. I harbor no ill will for the man. If you can help him, great. You sound like a man with your head screwed on pretty straight. I'm sure you'll use your own judgment and follow your heart. Regardless of what action or inaction you decide on, thank you for coming here and sharing your observations. Karmic, thanks for what you shared, too...great heart and honesty. Ditto to Papertrained (welcome!) and sogwap (good to see ya here, kiddo!). Great poem, too, laleo...so poignant. I love Auden.

Thanks, Betty Boop. I never would have thought of the reasons you gave as reasons for switching names. I understand better now. If it were me, I just wouldn't tell my friends my screen name if I didn't want them bugging me about my posts. I made my self scarce to quite a few exway friends years ago because they thought they had a right to tell me to "listen to this tape--it'll change your life" or "do this," "don't do that." Something to consider. I hope you'll stick around as BB so we can get to know ya better.

Since I voiced my opinion about multiple names, I want to emphasize that I'm not accusing Betty Boop of being deceptive. I know that for some people, posting on Internet forums isn't taken too seriously and they feel it doesn't matter if they have multiple personna. It's sort of a game. Others here have had several name changes but have let us know when they changed, so it's not always done to deceive, obviously. I want to make it clear that I was just curious, not accusing Betty Boop of anything.

I have no idea whether LCM was/is gay or not, but I see a flaw in the logic here. Just because some people who are in the closet or in denial about their sexuality are often vocally anti-gay doesn't mean that everyone who is vocally anti-gay is in the closet or in denial. WW, I was long gone before he made the "San Francisco, Fire Island, and Pittsburgh" comment. LOL--Pittsburgh??? He really included Pittsburgh in his list? That just cracks me up. I've known since my youth that San Francisco was one of the cities with a large gay population, and even as a teenager I knew that Fire Island was shorthand for a place where gay men live/hang out. But Pittsburgh??? That just cracks me up. I've never heard any reference to Pittsburgh as one of the "gay cities"--never, and I lived very close to Pittsburgh for a couple years. Now, if he'd said Key West, I might have thought he knew what he was talking about. I agree with those who've said he probably ranted about homosexuality because of his wife's relationship with the current twi prez.

Hahahahahah Modcat and Cynic!

Betty Boop, I have to ask: Why do you keep changing your name? One thing I enjoy about sticking around this place for so long is getting to know the personalities and views of my fellow posters. Serial name changing sorta puts a money wrench in that, it would seem. So I'm curious. Why do you feel the need to keep changing your name? It's your privilege, of course--just wondering. Maybe I'm a stick-in-the-mud, but I stand by my words (and on a few occasions have had to apologize for their errors or hastiness). I don't see how I could do that if I kept changing my name without letting anyone know. I could say something outrageous or mean or inflammatory, then come back the next day as someone else and no one would be the wiser. I'm not saying that's why you do it, but it does happen. Also, if Paw posts under another name so that "Paw" can remain a neutral entity, I doubt that he'd reveal the other name(s) here. Wouldn't that sorta defeat the purpose?

Anjelica Huston Prizzi's Honor Jack Nicholson

Goey, the little feathered beasts at Rome City were free-range chickens. They had a huge barn (you couldn't call it a coop--very big) to sleep in at night or for shelter in bad weather, but otherwise they had a really big yard to run around in. It was kept quite clean, considering how much chickens poop all over the place. Dunno why the teenagers were so mean. When I'd reach into their trough to wipe away the slimy residue that forms in the bottom, they'd come at me with their pinchy beaks pecking at my exposed arms (I felt like "Clarita"--"bitten by devils"!) In fairness, I think Big Daddy Rome City Rooster took a dislike to me when I was looking over a hen who was acting sick. He went at me that day and from then on, flying at me with both feet, wings flapping and trying to lunge at me with his beak. The farm supervisor, who was an honest-to-goodness farmer from Kansas and a great guy, said Mr. Rooster probably thought I was hurting/stealing one of Big Daddy's "women." Now that I think back on it, I was afraid of my grandfather's chickens as a child, and I really hadn't outgrown that completely by the time I worked on the RC farm. Maybe the little beasts just smelled fear.

WG: Gross!!!! Reminds me of that verse about "who shall deliver me from this dead body" and what it was supposed to mean. I'm not surprised that it worked!

I'm sorry you lost your chickens, Goey, and sorry your neighbor lost his dog. I understand your having to kill it, but it still saddens me, as I'm sure it did you. Poor dog was just doing what comes naturally in the animal kingdom, I guess, but I've heard that once they get the taste of blood, it's impossible to keep them from killing livestock again. Aside from your financial, egg, and fried chicken loss, I can't bring myself to grieve for the chickens. I'm not too fond of the little beasts except for eating them, having had to fend off attacks from the Big Daddy Rome City Rooster on more than one occasion while gathering eggs, and having had my arms pecked like mad by the "teenage" chickens while just trying to clean out their stupid water trough. Krys, I'd imagine losing her dog would be all the lesson the neighbor girl needs about the consequences of not paying attention.

Just loafing raises a good point. My little terrier mutt is extremely aggressive toward other dogs when she's in her fenced yard and they come anywhere around the perimeter of the yard. She's guarding her turf. When I have her out walking on her leash, she's totally different. Friendly and docile. I've only seen her act aggressively toward one dog in that situation--she just didn't like him for some reason. The other place you described her as being aggressive was at the vet's, where lots of other dogs were around. In that setting, she was probably just stressed, both by going to the vet and being closed in with so many dogs there. I'm no expert by any means, but I wonder if there's a neutral, nonstressful place you could take Pumpkin for socialization? Are there any dog parks in your area, for instance? Or could you and a friend take Pumpkin and friend's dog to the park and see how she does in that seeting? Another possibility is dog obedience class. A good trainer should know how to work with her and help you work with her. I hope you can find a solution, because Pumpkin sounds like a sweetie otherwise.

Correctamundo, suda. Then whoever posts the next one will start with the title of a movie that Bonnie Hunt was in.