notinKansasanymore

Yes, she was an opera singer. She just popped into my mind the other day; she's one of the countless really, really nice people in our collective past. I hope that she got to go back to her singing.

Does anybody know what Cynda Lee Cranor is up to these days? She was great.

Scarecrow: "I haven't got a brain. Only straw." Dorothy: "But how can you talk, if you haven't got a brain?" Scarecrow: "I don't know. But I suppose that a lot of people without brains do an awful lot of talking."

As I sit here typing this, I'm at work with my children. They're watching The Wizard of Oz for the first time. I was struck by an observation that my daughter made. Dorothy has been in Kansas, which is filmed only in black and white. Afte the cyclone, she wakes up in another place entirely. My daughter said, "Mom, it's in color!" Dorothy's next words: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore . . . we must be over the rainbow." Indeed. Life is simply so much more colorful these days. Geography aside, I'm thankful that none of us are in "Kansas" any more.

Hey, I do dial-up. What have we got here, a counterfeit?

Gawd, Simon. How I've missed your rapier wit. Whatcha been up to?

Where's the money? (It turned out to be hidden in the frame of their 50th anniversary picture; the funeral director found it, when scanning the photo for Dad's obituary.) That first one is sort of a joke, but we did have a time finding that . . .. Do you know that I feel you helping me, even today? Do you know that my son is very much like you, and very much not like you? Do you know that I seek your advice more now than I did when I could've picked up the phone and asked for it? Do you know that Mom still says that she was the luckiest woman in the world, to be married to you? Thank you for teaching me to be frugal, and also to be generous, and to mostly to understand that they're not incongruous ideas. Thanks for being such a hero.

Gonzo the Cat went home with his new family a couple of hours ago. They really like him. It's a single mom and her son; the boy is in my son's class at school, and he's a very sweet-hearted kid, who has a real compassion for animals. This could work out very well. Cheers, niKa

Gonzo went home tonight with his new family. I put him into the arms of his new best buddy, a nine-year-old boy. Thanks for praying for him, niKa

This is the 5,555th post on our thread. We may just be on a roll. I love you guys. You've really helped me through some situations, and helped me think through some things. And then there's the laughter; we can never get enough of that. Thanks.

Have a rollbar installed in the teenager's car. It will make you feel better, and make your teen safer. One of the sweetest babysitters on our block is only alive today because her Mom and Dad insisted on a roll bar. The accident wasn't her fault, either. Just wanted to mention this. It might lower the insurance rates, but I'm not sure. Good luck, niKa

Wow. A seventeen-year-old Labrador? You must have given her amazing care. What a blessing she must have been to you, and you to her. I'm sorry for your loss. niKa

Goey: that was a really good answer.

It's very important for us who were in TWI to remember just how good VPW was at one thing: alienating us from everything that wasn't HIM. We were efficiently alienated from our families, our old denominations, our loyalty to our professions (or just our jobs!), our old friends, and even our standards of keeping our word to people who weren't involved in TWI. If we had a bargain with somebody who wasn't in TWI, it was okay to ignore that bargain - that was the extent to which we were alienated. Yes, sometimes I still feel this way. But then I remind myself that I was manipulated into feeling that way by a master manipulator, back when I was too young to know the difference, or have sufficient defenses against it. To the extent that we still allow ourselves to remain inexplicably alienated from those from whom it is not healthy to feel such alienation, we are still allowing VPW to control us. Just that thought, alone, is often enough to make me "get up from the fire pit" so to speak, and go mingle with the crowd. Anyways, many of the folks in the crowd are really nice and interesting people, aren't they? I don't know whether this will help, NoLonger, but I do know that you don't deserve to feel alone in a crowd of sweet people who want you to feel included.

Tonto: Thanks for considering it, anyway! And thanks for the prayers. There's a woman here who might take him after the long weekend. She's thinking about it. Pray for "J." to feel the force! Linda: that's a sweet story about your cat!

Okay, who wants a really, REALLY good kittycat? We're fostering this little guy until he gets adopted. He's getting very bored in the big dog kennel in the kitchen. http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displa...i?petid=6349168 He's also the subject of the "Oklahoma Cat Needs Home" thread in the "Open" column.

Gonzo is now living in a huge dog crate in my kitchen, waiting to be adopted. Everybody who sees him falls in love, because he's so lovey. It was $8 per night to continue boarding him at the vet. In the dog crate, he's got a shelf to lounge on, and at least four or five times the room that he had at the vet's. But he's one bored kitty. I'm just getting this topic back up to the top. It's one of those wishful thinking things.

By the way, Heeeere's Gonzo! (or whatever you choose to call him once he's your kitty!) http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displa...i?petid=6349168 Cheers, niKa

Tonto: He has been an outside cat for at least the past few weeks, but I think he was inside before that. He was very thin before we began feeding him. Is there a room in your home to which he could retreat when the dogs are inside? He had a bad habit of dissappearing for several days at a time, and showing back up thinner and hungrier, so I'm not sure that he has a very good sense of direction . . .. If his food and water were in your daughter's room, and there were a nice, sunny window in there, I could surely see him making a beeline for her room when the dogs come in. He'd be sooooooo greeeeeeeaaat for a little kid. He's extremely trusting and gentle. Did I mention that he comes with a big bag of cat food? Feel the Force, Tonto . . .

We have come to know an extremely sweet, healthy young cat, who needs a home. Gonzo (or whatever you choose to name him) is about 8 months old, and wandered into our yard about five or six weeks ago. He has a strong collar mark, implying that he was someone's kitten who got loose, and that the collar finally got very tight before he got out of it. Yesterday, he was spayed, vaccinnated, and tested for (and vaccinnated against) Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids. He's vet-certified healthy. This is a little guy who is so affectionate that he let my children carry him around the yard, when he didn't even know them. He will roll over and beg you to pet his tummy, almost more like a dog than like a cat. He's looking for a home. I live in Norman, Oklahoma, and would be okay with driving him to meet you, if you live within driving distance, and would like to foster or adopt him. I know someone who makes frequent trips to the Austin, Texas area, who could give him a ride your way, if you're down that direction. Be warned: if you foster him, you'll want to keep him. He's a very lovey kitty. He's beige on top, and white on his tummy. He has just a touch of tiger-tabby stripe on the tip of his tail.

I helped with so many weddings in TWI that by the time it came to mine, I was quite sick of them! So often, today's brides seem like spoiled children with over-indulgent parents. Either that, or the parents seem to be trying to simply show off their ability to spend outrageously. I've also never quite been a fan of conformity for its own sake. My aunt said to me, "This is YOUR day. You can have WHATEVER YOU WANT." Inwardly, I cringed. It sounded as though she was speaking to a three-year-old. That conversation really cemented the Justice-of-the-Peace thing for me. I was extremely happy to go with Mr.niKa and his children, and both our parents, as well as three or four other family members, to the Justice of the Peace. We all pretty much eloped together. It was a blessing. More than ten years, and two more children later, I have never experienced even one moment of regret that we didn't have a big wedding. I do still enjoy the sense of relief that we chose a tiny, very private one.

What sweet pictures! Thank you very much for posting them, John. Happy Life Together to the happy and good-looking couple!

Almost a week, and nobody posted anything? We must be slipping. Last week was Finals. Over the past few days, I've graded about 4-1/2 feet of stacked essays. Handed in grades late yesterday afternoon. Exhausted. Done. It's Summer.

Well, keep it up, Man! Shields on full! I'm setting my decoder ring on Stun the Tornados. (That may sound weird to those of you who weren't brought up in Tornado Alley, but there just has to be a certain nonchalantly vigilant air to it, so that folks don't just sit around worrying all the time.) I did scope out which of my neighbors have tornado shelters in their respective back yards . . ..

Yo, DAVE! Thanks for the hello. It sounds like the wedding was wonderful, and like the Derby party was a great event all to itself. Have a nice trip back to Tennessee. Don't be a stranger on these our boards! love, niKa