Linda Z

Mel Gibson Conspiracy Theory Julia Roberts

Belle, "old," at "almost 42"??? Get that thought out of your pretty little head. Vegas isn't the real world. Your senses are being assaulted with noise and lights and crowds and the little adrenalin rushes of gambling ("I won, I won!" "I almost won a lot!") And if you're not a smoker, you were breathing a LOT more smoke than you're probably accustomed to (half the cause of hangovers, in my opinion). I will say that in my 40s, I did slow down a bit in terms of my late-night stamina. I learned I could either stay up late or drink, but that if I did both, I'd pay for a coupla days. Now, if you woke up exhausted and feeling like crap every day, then you might have a problem. But I think what you experienced was normal given where you were.

Thanks for saying that, Catcup. I think it needed to be said for the few, who in their furor to expose everything twi, might forget.

Belle, I wish I could build you a "way-back machine" so you'd have more of a context for what some of us older-timers are saying. I can't fully comprehend what it was like for you in twi during the time you were in, because I was gone by then. I had glimpses, though, and the way twi had become by the time you got there was the reason for my leaving. I was "on the cusp," being on HQ staff when LCM was installed (sheesh, sounds like a plumbing term, doesn't it?) as president and for a couple years afterward. I saw the creeping legalism and the suspicion and the rage and the screaming and spitting, and I wanted no part of it. This isn't to say it was perfect before. Hardly. One only needs to read these forums to see that. But when I got involved (1972), no one told me what to do. No one condemned me at every turn. No one stuck their noses in my business. If anyone had told me I had to give them my schedule or reveal my finances to them or get their permission to go on vacation, I'd have told them to plant their lips on my behind. I don't think laleo was being "unwelcoming" toward you. I think she was just clarifying what kind of info she was seeking when she started the thread. I mean, it's not like there aren't any "everything about the way sucked" threads around here. :D--> :)-->

laleo, interesting thread you've started here, and I appreciate your valiant attempts to keep it on topic. Good luck with that! The number one thing I gained by my involvement was trust in God. Before PFAL, "God" was a pretty nebulous concept to me, even though I "believed in God," grew up in Sunday school and church, and had been led into SIT by some hippie Christian friends in California. After all that, I was still lost. My experiences had convinced me God was real, but I just didn't know what to expect from Him, or if I could expect anything remotely consistent from Him. I was sure He was there but didn't know if I could ever have a real, two-way connection with Him. In twi I learned that I could actually read the Bible and understand some of it, rather than depending on what someone else told me it said. I learned that it's just as easy to dwell on positive thoughts as to stew in doom and gloom. I still believe I can do all things (all things I should and need to do) through Christ who strengthens me. I learned that if God gave His son for me, it behooved me to quit letting people use me as a doormat and quit "lookin' for love in all the wrong places." I gained lifelong friends. My family, who all took PFAL eventually and got involved in twi fellowships, became much closer, much kinder to one antoher as a result. That benefit continues to this day. I learned about the importance of giving (and no, I'm not talking about ABSing to twi). In the Corps, I learned I could push myself a lot farther than I ever thought I could and could do a lot more than I'd ever dreamed--both mentally and physically. Although I was taught basic etiquette and good manners by my parents, I learned more in twi, to the point where there are few social or business situations I find myself in where I feel at a loss. Although I don't still believe everything I learned in PFAL or while in twi, ironically, it was there I gained some valuable tools for sorting through it all.

Oakspear said: It shouldn't have. If it did, that's the responsibility of those who decided to stay because she stayed, don't you think? I don't see much "hero worship" in this thread. I see affection. And you're probably right, for those who didn't know her well, that affection might be fondness for an image, for what she represented--but hero worship? Personally, although I was in twi for 17 years, lived at Rome City (during which time she frequently visited) for two years, and lived at HQ for 4 years, I never felt I knew her or that she knew me. When I left in '89, I was a little puzzled by her sticking around, but only a little. After all, twi owned her home, the place she'd raised her children--in addition to owning her ancestral farm. And maybe she thought, like so many others who hung in there, that by staying she could help turn things around. We may never know. I wish her peace, too.

tick, tick, tick....

I'm a sucker for cute-dog movies. It's on my "must see" list. Thanks for the recommendation, Kit.

Aw, not true, Raf (the third part). I know the answer but I'm not tellin', or Tom Strange will make me Google for photos, and I don't like Googlin' for photos. :P-->

Armageddon Steve Buscemi Reservoir Dogs

The Fugitive Harrison Ford American Graffiti

I can see Gerry. Do I have special powers?

I know the answer, but I'm not gonna google for pictures. Don't have that much time. I pop in here for a few and pop out. The answer is: Stepford Wives. I nominate Pirate as my substitute puzzle poser. -->

Rascal, I could see you were offering help. Dove, I don't get why this is generating so much heat from you. Rascal didn't say anything critical of CFF or the Bible, or anything of the kind. Have some cocoa or something. I see no reason why people can't do both...volunteer or join a club if they so desire and fellowship with CFF if they so desire. Seems simple to me.

Sharon, of course we forgive you. Your post was a break from straining our brains over Alice B. Toklas. :D-->

Thank you, dear Tom Strange-Taste-in-Movies. My head's still recovering from the bangin' I gave it last week. Raf, how 'bout we institute a rule of our own? If no one can answer in x number of days, you revert back to the post before the stumper was posted (in this case, Raquel Welch). Huh, huh? Otherwise I'm gonna be forced to c-h-e-a-t.

Sharon for president!! Hmmmm, Robert Wagner....

act2, just e-mail me your new address, and I'll send it to ya.

Okay, Tom, it's been 4 days now. Uncle!!

My respect for you guys in hurricane land grew immensely recently when I got caught in a strong, isolated storm while driving home from work. Winds were clocked about 100 mph, which qualified them as hurricane-force winds. It's the most scared I've ever been while driving through a storm. It sounded like someone was throwing baseballs at the side of my car. There was a lot of debris flying around, but there were no dents, so someone said it might have been the intense pressure pushing on and releasing the metal. All I could do was sit in the middle of the road with my car rocking like mad, praying that I didn't get flipped over by the wind. I watched the tires of the car in front of me come up off the pavement several times. About 1/4 of a mile behind me, along the road I'd just come down, two helicopters and several planes were badly damaged at the small commuter airport downtown. One of the small planes got tossed 500 feet! Scary, scary stuff. One more reason I'd never move to Florida!!!

act2, I'm embarrassed to say that I bought a hat for you back in November. I keep forgetting I have it. It's a 1920s flapper type hat. I don't have a digital camera, but I'll try to describe it. It's a very tightly woven straw hat that fits close to the head. Natural colored straw, like the one I gave you, except very finely woven. The edge is cut out like a curvy sawtooth pattern an embroidered in the same straw color, and there's a brown velvet ribbon woven through, closer to the sawtooth edge than to the crown, with more embroidery stitching around the holes the ribbon is woven through. It's in good shape, except for a little light soiling (nothing serious...I think just years of dust) in a couple spots. It was made by "Mr. Milton, New York," and was sold in one of Cleveland's finer dept. stores. If you want it, you can have it to sell, for free. I saw it at Goodwill and paid a whopping $2 for it. Couldn't pass it up at that price...someone wasn't paying attention! I figured you could either add it to your collection or put it in your next sale. Don't know if 1920s hats are popular or not. If you think you can sell it, it's yours. Linda

Tom, yes she is, and we're not tellin'. ;)-->

Words of wisdom from Oenophile:

And if they say, "None of your business," then tell them its none of theirs where your ABS goes, either.

How 'bout: Hooked on You