GeorgeStGeorge

I find it amazing that you guys stuck with TWI as long as you did! Whenever our branch was called together to prepare a house for a class, or whatever, the BC and his wife always pitched in. I did help clean a yard for a friend of mine for his wedding (I, too, was the best man); but I would have done that, TWI or not. On the other hand, stupid things said to me in confrontation could fill a book. It was like a Bill Cosby routine: "Keep silent! ANSWER ME!!!" George

I don't claim that Illinois has had the best program over the last few decades. They have, however, been a consistent winner; and this year, I (and apparently all the coaches and sportswriters) think they have the best team in the nation. It is a shame that the only ACC team they have had the opportunity to humble was (the former #1) Wake Forest. It seems likely, however, that they'll meet one or two during the championships. In the meantime, let me enjoy their present success!! George

Dude, just leave the glass FULL!! George

Hmmmm... sounds like TWI! George

Your odds of winning the lottery are zero if you don't play. They're essentially the same if you do! Take the Texas Lotto (Please)! Originally, you picked six numbers out of fifty. This made the odds against you almost sixteen million to one. When people were starting to catch wise and quit buying tickets, the lottery commission raised the payouts, but also added five numbers, so now the odds are almost THIRTY million to one against. The radio ads always say something like: "There were twenty thousand winners in last week's lotto." They don't mention that most of those were two-dollar winners and that there were twenty MILLION losers. Our governor at the time the lottery was insituted "Queen" Anne Richards, touted how wonderful it would be to help schools. How much better it would have been if people had just given their money to the schools instead of the lotto! (Of course, the smarter people get, the less they play the lotto, anyway.) Out There, how many tickets did your friend give you? If it was more than five, you would have been better off being handed the money. If you have to gamble, you might pick something with a better probability of winning. Slots probably aren't a good choice, thoughI imagine the odds an those are in the thousands to one range. Most casino games have a reasonable cost-to-benefit ratio. If you play roulette and play even-or-odd, you only give up a little. (The payout is 2:1, but because of 0 and 00, the odds against winning are 2.13:1.) George

Perhaps I misread the stat on the Sports Illustrated website (and, of course, I can't find it now -->), but the implication was that no other Division I team has had 25 or more wins in the last five years. Perhaps NC wasn't counted because they haven't done it this year (yet). George

Yeah, Dot. Miss your posts. Come back, please. Happy Birthday George

28-0! An almost embarrassing drubbing of hapless Northwestern. One point of note: Illinois is the ONLY Division I team to have twenty-five or more wins each of its last five seasons. George

Matilda, that probably happened (and still happens) a lot. At least, it was probably the nicest reason NOT to get asked! George

Congratulations! I think we finally understand true love when we hold a baby for the first time. :)--> George

I wonder what would have happened if "Confrontee" gave the (correct) answer: "He would forgive me." (I have a mind picture reminiscent of the healed blind man asking the Pharisees if they wanted to be Jesus's followers!) :D--> George

Yep. Went to the prom with a lovely, young (well -- I guess that's obvious!) lady I knew from band. Actually, it was a double-date. My sister (a sophomore) was dating a junior. (It was a Junior-Senior prom.) It was the first time I heard Vince Vance and the Valiants. (I wouldn't hear them again until I came to Texas fifteen years later, but I've been one of their biggest fans ever since.) Prom was the same night as graduation, so we would only have to rent one tux -- what a deal! After the prom, we went to the beach (Lake Michigan) and waited to watch the sun come up. I saw the young lady a few times after that, but we've long since gone our separate ways. My high school only has reunions every ten years. A lot of folks looked pretty worn after only ten years, but some looked great even after thirty. My only disappointment was that most of my closest high-school buddies didn't show. George

Interesting, Belle. The standard joke about the tragedy/comedy of marriage is that the woman expects the man to change, and he doesn't; and the man expects the woman not to change, and she does. In your case, it sonds like the man expected you to change, and you did; and THAT was the tragedy. Please check your PT's. George

Suz, The point of my post is that one goes into marriage with a certain set of "prerequisites" in mind. They differ from person to person. I did NOT mean that I thought Corps should only marry Corps; AC and AC, etc. I certainly meant no offense. I like George a lot. :)--> George

Seriously, though, it sounds like Vickles's problem (as well as those of some other posters) is taking care of itself. Rascal, I don't know what to tell you except pay special attention to your procedures. I don't know what you do for a living, but it sounds that there may be real opportunities for a safety incident. Are there WRITTEN procedures for you to follow? (If your business is ISO 9000 approved, there have to be written procedures for critical operations.) George

I can honestly say that no one ... living ... intensely dislikes me. :D--> George

Oh, and Gladtobeout, Yeah. EWWWWWWWW! There are @ssholes in the "real world" who might have pressured you for sex; but at least you wouldn't have his pimp to deal with the next day! George

Rascal (and any others among you who feel you were only proposed to becuase you were "the best available"), Is it so bad to be "the best available"? I don't know how old the men in your corps were, but for some of us men, there is a logic to choosing a wife that may seem unromantic, but it makes perfect sense. I wouldn't buy a car or a house just because it looked good; I'd want to get the most value. Certainly, when I looked to make a lifetime commitment to someone, I had several criteria that were important, the most important being agreement with me on spiritual matters. I dated a lot of women in my single days. Some were better-looking than my wife; some were more intelligent; most had more money. But none of them loved God more than Lucy. (And Lucy IS beautiful and intelligent; and we do okay $-wise! :D-->) Was she my IDEAL woman? I don't know if such a person exists. But I know I'm very happy with the choice I (and she) made. From your post, I infer that you and your husband HAVE made a good marriage of it. (And 'fess up -- didn't YOU have a mental "checklist" of what you wanted in a husband?) I'm sad for those who felt pressured into marriage and suffered for it, but I congratulate those who HAVE grown to love their spouses more and more. George

27-0! The Illini have now tied the '60-'61 Buckeyes for the third-best start in conference history. With Northwestern, Purdue, and Ohio State left, it's quite likely that the Illini will finish the regular season undefeated. They'll have three games to play in the Big Ten tournament before the NCAA tourney. :)--> :)--> :)--> George

26-0! Penn State really wasn't expected to have much of a chance. Twenty-six straight wins is an Illini record. They had twenty-five straight in the 1914-1916 seasons. (They were unbeaten -- 16-0 -- in 1915.) On to Iowa this Saturday George

All those years I kept refusing to go Corps. I could have been part of this!! It must have been great! Oh, wait, let me check some of the other threads... George

Apparently, the "sidewinder" move was known on the field, as well. Unfortunately, for guys like me who tried to kiss someone on the cheek, it usually meant getting a mouthful of hair! Eventually, I just started targeting lips, figuring I would probably get the cheek. (And occasional lips.) "Slipping the tongue" to someone I wasn't romantically involved with didn't even occur to me. Though I do remember JAL (on some old "leadership tapes") telling women to keep their mouth closed: "I like to think of myself as a biblical man, BUT I'M NOT JONAH" :D--> :D--> :D--> George

Or maybe Houston? George

Okay, so I exaggerated a little. UNC had a good come-from-behind win today, so we could be seeing the national championship teams in preparation (barring some embarrassing early-round upset, of course). I'm surprised that Kansas and Duke followers haven't chimed in! George

I agree. We've never met, of course; but what I've learned about you from GS is that you're a wonderful person with a big heart. It drives me nuts that the only mental picture I have of you is that horrible blue face! How about posting a real pic somewhere? Happy birthday, and many more (at least until the Lord returns). George