Linda Z

Here's one: I like liver 'n onions. Next!

Exsie, I just got your e-mail today. Well, it was there, sitting in the e-mail box, but I don't check that address every day. You should have my private e-mail address, too, which isn't the one you used. I'll send the other addy when I answer, which will probably be tomorrow cuz I've been all over hell and gone shopping for a new car today and I'm pooped and a little grumpy (just ask my son!).

I told my son that when he has kids he should teach them to call me Aunt Linda. :D--> :D--> But seriously, when we were kids, it was just the standard "Grandma" & "Grandpa," on both sides of the family. My son, when he was little, pronounced Grandpa "Crappaw," and it sorta became a family tradition for my nephews to follow.

There's a label on the bathroom window in our second-floor office that says: WARNING! Open windows can be dangerous!

This isn't about gender bias, johniam. The woman has severe mental illness. The husband knew that, yet he insisted she keep having babies. He, being the one with a sound mind, should have discouraged her from conceiving again unless or until she had been successfully treated for her psychosis. Instead, wham bam, another baby. If you watch videos of her with her children when she obviously wasn't experiencing a psychotic episode, it sure looks to me like she adored them. Her whole demeanor was soft and tender and loving, and you can see the joy in her face when she looked at them. I hold the healthcare system accountable, too, for their part in this. To her husband's credit, he did try to get her help, but when it didn't materialize (at least not enough of it), he left his children with her--he probably told her to renew her mind! I agree with mj. This woman needs to be held responsible, but she sure as hell warrants compassion. I heard the saddest thing about this on one of the morning shows today. Apparently she drifts between being out of it and having no recollection of the horrendous thing she did and, when successfully medicated and functioning mentally, she is fully aware that she murdered her children and is absolutely tormented. I'd say that sort of hell is punishment enough. I can't begin to fathom killing my own child whom I love with all my heart. But then I don't know what it's like to be delusional and in a psychotic state of panic.

Hey, Frankee, welcome! Nice to "meet" you, and I hope you'll stick around.

Paw: :D--> Exsie: Isn't that just so typical? The electronic generation! I still remember my youngest nephew, who was barely out of diapers, explaining to me what I was doing wrong on his dad's computer when I couldn't log onto the ISP.

From our beloved curmudgeon, Geo: That one got my "spew Diet Coke on the screen" award for the week.

I've always found your above description to be the case. I've never seen you address anyone with disrespect; nor have I seen you allege that anyone's accounts were false. Thanks for posting LLP. I appreciate hearing your point of view, and I'm glad you're here. Linda

Paw said, "They also have things like the entire Republican and Democratic conventions downloads for free." This strikes me as about as exciting a feature as a doctor coming up to me on the street and saying, "Free colonoscopies!" The music sounds good, though. Is the iPod harder to work than my old 8-track?

Sorry, exsie. I think you're referring to what I edited out, about trying to wait for THE day and then missing it altogether. I don't usually cut stuff out of my posts, but I couldn't get it to come out right, and I was in a hurry. So here's my only New Year's resolution: In 2005 I'll post my birthday wishes early, before I forget to come back to the b'day thread on the right day! Sorry to derail your b'day party, Chuck!

Hahahah Socks. Happiest of birthdays, Chuck. May 2005 be a whiz-bang, jump-for-joy kind of year for you. I really like you and am glad you were born!

(((skyrider))) back atcha. :)-->

Thanks, Steve! You got what I meant exactly right. Sorry, Skyrider, if you thought I meant you. I didn't.

As a side note, my dad tried for years to keep the squirrels out of his birdfeeders. He rigged up all sorts of gadgets, like hanging the feeder from a wire with an old 33-1/3 record above it. The little rodents would go through the most hilarious contortions trying to hang down and snag the food. They succeeded no matter what he did. Dad's mellowed in his golden years. Now he just says, "Aw, squirrels need to eat, too," and buys extra corn and nuts. He's got them so darn tame that at his and Mom's 50th wedding anniversary party, held outside under tents, the squirrels terrorized the guests by running around under the tables and refusing to leave. Maybe I oughta give him a SQUNGEE for his next b'day!

All I can say, DMiller is... You need to get out more!! :D-->

Welcome, Joey. I'm sure you already know it, but I'll say it anyway: Your dad was one of the best men ever to walk on this planet. I have nothing but fond memories of both him and your mom. I'm sure you made him proud! Love to you and to your mom and the rest of the family, Linda Zinn (was in the Family Corps with your mom & dad at Rome City in 78-79)

Nicely said, STL!

Oak, does the book give numbers for the Family Corps? If so, could you post 'em? Thanks!

I'm with you, Ex-10. I had a mixture of experiences and have mixed feelings about a lot of them. While I hate what happened to some of us here and really feel for them, and the aftermath they've been left to deal with, I don't feel like having to deal with being accused of turning a blind eye to the bad whenever I acknowledge any of the good. So I just don't talk about it much either way. 'Tis a sticky wicket, for sure!

Vickles, thanks for the link. I've read similar stuff on other sites, pointed out to me by a gay ex-twi person whom I knew and respected and liked when we were both innies, and who is still a Christian believer. On your link I read a post that could be enlightening, for those willing to consider another point of view (my comments are in bold):

I can't come anywhere NEAR 500, much less passing it. The coach is gonna send me down to the minors, somewhere in Siberia, I'm guessin'. *sniff*

That's correct, Garth. Now in my posts I'm scolding a figment of my imagination. :D-->

Jonny, I don't "hate" you. I don't even know you, apart from your words in these forums. I often disagree with you, that's true, but there are lots of GSers I like who I disagree with on a regular basis. It's true that I don't like it when you charge around like a bull in a china shop tossing out words that are going to hurt people. You think my post to you was vicious? Blunt, yes; vicious, hardly. The apology is, IMO, a moot point, because the fact remains that you can't unring a bell. So my encouragement to you remains the same as before--to try thinking of others before you post. You can't "unhurt" someone's feelings just by saying you're sorry. You can, however, avoid hurting people again by taking my advice. It's free! Whether you want to consider what I've said or just react and make yourself some kind of victim is really up to you. But I didn't post what I did out of hate or viciousness.

And maybe what you need to do is to engage your brain before you open your mouth. You have a habit of saying hurtful things, then apologizing after being taken to task for them. Dmiller said it well, and there's another metaphor that applies. It says something about not being unable to "unring" a bell. Wouldn't it be better to think how you might be affecting people before you post, rather than just seeing what you can get away with and apologizing after you see the effect? I don't think you're oblivious to the effect your words will have on people before you post them. I think you know damn wall the effect they'll have and say them anyway because, after all, you can just apologize. At least that's the pattern as it looks to me to be playing out. Picture GreaseSpot as someone else's home for a moment. You might feel free let out a loud belch in your own home, but maybe you should think twice before doing so in the discussion "home" we all share. And your "apology" to excathedra was condescending as all hell.