notinKansasanymore

It's a small world, folks. Murphy Price's niece is in my composition class! I told her that her aunt is one of my heros. I meant it; she really is. Athletes of the Spirit being weird had nothing to do with her; it was just her co-star who was "out there." Murphy was the real deal. love, niKa

"Natural Man" meant a person not (yet?) born again. "Babe" meant a new believer. "Yo, BRO!" : "Hello, my brother." "Dr." always meant "Dr. Wierwille." "Tick" was Dr. Wierwille's first (? that I knew of) German Shorthair Retriever. This Tick was old and fat and sweet. He'd mooch hamburgers shamelessly after Sunday Night Services. "Tick Jr."was Dr.s' last German Shorthair, a skinny, hyper, trained attack dog. Was trained, among other things, to sit on the Twig Hopper and guard it. In New Bremen, Ohio. Where nobody even locked their front doors. Where people sometimes left their cars running (and unlocked) outside the stores in the wintertime. "Twig Hopper" was a candy-apple-red Harley, all tricked out with custom stuff, sidecar, etc., that would make your head spin. Gift from "the household" to Dr. "The Household" meant all active believers, of all levels. "Mantle" meant the shawl around Dr's shoulders that he passed to Craig, when Craig became the leader. "Townie" was any local who lived in a town where a root location was, well, located. "Root Location" meant HQ, Gunnison, Indiana, or Emporia. "BRC" meant the original building at HQ. Stood for "Biblical Research Center." Before the OSC (Office Services Center, I think . . .) was built, the Corps and Staff at HQ met in the basement of the BRC for all three daily meals. It was a multi-purpose place; we had church upstairs on Sunday mornings, Corps nights on Wednesday nights, and snowball fights (but Ralph sure got in trouble for that one!) on the side lawn in the winter. Ermal and Dorothy Owens' house (actually a remodeled mobile home) was just across the driveway from the BRC. "Tertiary Pond" was where we fished in the summer, and had ice dances in the winter.

Hi, Dana! May I buy you a cup of coffee? Welcome. We're glad that you're here. niKa

A handkerchief waving contest? Why, he'd win, hands down. He's so full of the Holy Ghost, he could lick any man in town tonight. I'll bet that his handkerchief is fire engine red. Let's all join the First Church of the Navelites. Maybe I just need a nap?

Well, if God is watching over the birds, He must still be watching over us, too. Sounds like the birds are doing pretty well at your place. If it's 75 degrees, I'm considerably jealous. Unfortunately, we lost a few songbird chicks out in the yard, this year, due to the heat and the drought. Two cardinal chicks just this week. I don't think that there are "the normal number" of bugs out there this year. We had a few days that were only equaled or exceeded by the records that were set during Dust Bowl years. Let's go play in the sprinkler.

Yo, BelowThe EquatorDude: Go easy on magic Simon; he's obviously going through some kind of soon-to-be-empty-nest syndrome. Hey, she's moving to New York - that's an even more eccentric place than Australia. Throw him a bone here. Rhino, are you going to send us some of your wine? I could send you a Rose Rock (we're right next to Noble, the Rose Rock Capitol of the World). Simon, you should take your sofa sleeping bag and help her get set up; that would be a heckuva place to visit.

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my children. Glory be to God. At this moment, they're in the living room, playing some kind of stir-crazy-I'm-so-excited-I-can't-sit-still game. Tomorrow is also my first day back at work (darn, darn, darn), and Tuesday is the first day of teaching. That makes this the last evening of Summer. Anyone care to dance?

I'd surely love to find Edie Donatelli, if anyone knows her whereabouts! She was my WOW sister. Amazing person. niKa

Happy Thursday, everyone! Tom, sorry about the Atomic Summer in your back yard. We lost most of our garden to the heat a couple of weeks ago. Rhino, it was interesting to talk politics with you, over on the other thread. Fellowshipper, you're getting ready for Spring, right? Simon, you still getting full use of that Lazyboy? Ex, are you ready for school to start? Where the heck is Wild Bill? And where in the world is Tuttle? Karmic, you still there? I go back to work tomorrow. Happy end of Summer, everyone.

Oh, I was SUCH a DWEEB. I had housing off grounds, but a couple of days into the event, I wrangled housing in one of the dorm rooms (or whatever we were all staying in) so that I could WORK MORE. AAAAAAUGH.

Oh, Tommystrange, thank you . . . SO very much . . . for mentioning that darling student. All of the talent, and none of the character or judgement. This is not the first time he's been in trouble, but I'm proud of Stoops for getting rid of him. If kids without character are what it takes to win, I'd rather lose with my head up. I'd like to throttle him, and the guy who owned the car dealership that paid him $120 per hour for NOT working. Of course, the guy sold the dealership to somebody else before the story broke, so it was an innocent owner who had to take all of the angry phone calls. There's no place like home, there's no place like home. Even if it's the armpit o'Texas, Wichita Falls. Clicking my heals together is not working today . . ..

Sooo, are you guys really gonna get together? In The Woodlands? What weekend were you thinking? I was just down in Katy, two weekends ago. Not sure that I could get away again so soon. But if you do this each year or two, I'd be able to make one eventually. (Native Texan, and all.) Anybody here from Wichita Falls?

Thanks very, very much, folks. In the interim, I happened across an advertisement for a new drug called "lyrica," which was developed especially for the pain that lingers after shingles sores heal. <www.lyrica.com>. However, there are quite a few health warnings, including that it could hurt a person's kidneys. But if anybody else is reading this thread looking for relief, that might be one option, with a doctor's close supervision. I have forwarded all of your answers to my friend, and he is grateful for your advice. Thanks again!

Good morning! I see that we have helped our 8th Corps brethren and sistren with their little posting problem. Well, you know what they say: it doesn't really matter if you do well, if you aren't also doing good.

Oh, there you go, now, blaspheming against the Thread of Threads. Don't you know that you have to take it line by line, word by word, to get the greatness of it? It's a walk.

I have a friend in another state who's looking for an effective treatment for the pain of shingles, which evidently lingers even after the sores have healed. Have any of you got leads for effective treatments? He needs some relief. Thanks, niKa

Happy Friday! (Except Fellowshipper; it's almost Sunday there?)

Still cleaning out the office; I just found a housing roster for the 9th Corps. Cool. Today I get to go with a churchfull of children to a skating rink. Save me. :blink:

When I heard Tom speak to Exie that way, "my estimation of him as a man went up a hundred percent." :blink: (geez; why didn't we see veepee for what he was, back when?) At least he's where "millions are now smoking."

You and me both, buddy.

Hi. I'm cleaning my office at work, in preparation for the new semester. Just found my Corps diploma. It reminded me of something I'll never get back: four years. At least nothing is given in vain, that is given to God. To heck with them. This is between me and God. And you guys.

But we still need to see it in the original or it's . . . no deal. Oh where, oh where has our Fellowshipper gone?

Tom, you have far too many good qualities to fit into a monologue . . . Back to the subject, I remember knocking on my St. Marys upstairs neighbor's door at 11:30 at night, or maybe midnight, to ask them to please turn down their loud music, as we had a festival going on, and I had to be back at work by 5:30 am. They were very nice about it. Whatever 5:30 am gig I had, it was in addition to my office job, which started at 8:am. I think that I was doing some kind of drink tent that year. My assignments varied so much that the only thing consistent was long, long hours. I do remember that Clark Ratliff (6th Corps?) ran one of the Coffee tents that I worked on, and he did a great job. Very, very nice guy. I have wondered whether exhaustion from working so much might have contributed to Harry Cox's death in that auto accident, on the way to breakfast one Corps Week morning, but I don't know whether Harry had been working late the night before, or just visiting. I'd only seen him briefly, when he'd first arrived that week, just long enough for a quick hug. Does anybody know?

Be well, Rumrunner! We're praying for you. love, niKa