notinKansasanymore

well, maybe not, but I've got turkey in my tummy. We had the all-church Thanksgiving Dinner tonight. I don't know why they always do it a week ahead, but it sure is fun to have a preview of coming attractions. Tryptophan is setting in, and there's not a football game on - what to do, what to do. Oh, wait. I don't have a T.V., anyway. Okay, I guess I'll just grade papers, then. I'm pressing on to Higher Ground. In other words, I have to get back to work now. Love, niKa

Eagle's double CD, Long Road Out Of Eden It's about twelve dollars at Walmart. I know, I know. It's Walmart. But it's a great CD set. Favorite songs on there: Do Something, and also Too Busy Being Fabulous. The title track is an amazing protest song. I speak as someone in the heart of Petroleum Club Country. I have students who have been the soldier trying to make it to dawn. You'll understand when you hear the song.

Well, I'm just trying to keep my young people awake, you know. Whooops - didn't work. But I did call you "young people." Do I get points for that? 'night, ya'll.

I'm writing this at midnight. It's midnight, and I am a GREASESPOT!! Heh, heh, heh. Okay, that's funny. It was midnight on my computer, but it said three minutes 'till when I replied. Must be like the commas between the four crucified, or sumpin'. 'night, ya'll. Love, niKa

AAAhhh! What a great costume!! I can practically hear the theme music in the background!!

Back home, back at work, completely delighted at what a wonderful time we had at the BBQ! Thank you, Ex10 and hubby, for opening your gracious home to us. Your hospitality is truly "Texas style." The food was fantastic, the desserts (yea, Dooj!)unspeakably good, and the fellowship was pure love. "New old friends" indeed. At the beginning of the evening, I only knew very few from "back in the day." People were very welcoming and easy to talk to. Thank you.

Dmiller, so glad to hear that your Dad is better. We are here at the BBQ. Everyone looks great! Good cheer and good fellowship abound. It's a beautiful afternoon; some are gathered in the kitchen (naturally), and some are out on the porch, sitting in chairs and chatting. Lovely day for a BBQ! Love, niKa

It's a Super Secret Agent, you silly bunny.

I love Halloween at the elementary school. Little bees, Harry Potters, dinosaurs, ballerinas, ninjas. Definitely a Holy High Day in the realm of childhood. :ph34r:

Dave, praying for your Dad. There's a lot of that going around - my husband and I have each had a parent in the hospital this week. Both are out now, and doing fine. I will keep you and your Dad in my prayers. Love, niKa

oh, Thomas, mah blessed Tuttle, Ah see that you posted at 5:47 am. There can only be one reason for our Brethren to be abroad at such an hour. How was your run?

Suda, Thanks for the good information. I'd checked out a few other means of transportation, but hadn't considered a taxi because I'd thought that it was just too far to be cost effective. But $35 or $40 one way, twice, would be about 2/3 the cost of a rental car. Computing . . .

Best wishes, congratulations, and good luck, respectively! What wonderful news! Happy Life to you!!!

Haw! "very well thought of . . ." Where on Earth did you get that idea? I'm just trying not to mess them up too much. They think I'm crazy. It's pretty fun. Some of them send their younger buddies and cousins to my classes; some leave skid marks. It's largely private interpretation. It's an "exciting adventure."

Is anybody interested in sharing a ride to the Woodlands / Katy area from Houston Bush airport (airport code IAH) on Thursday evening? We'll get there at about 8pm-ish. PM me, if so. There are three of us, so we'd have room for two more. Thank you all, again, for your prayers and sweetness regarding my Mom. It's nice to know that she'll be back home today.

Hi, Vickles! I think it's a very good paper. It puts me very strongly in mind of an article that we used this month in my class, James Paul Gee's "An Intro to Discourse Analysis," which I've just attempted to upload to this response. If it didn't load, I have no idea what to do about that, not being very technical. But I'd be happy to send it to you in an e-mail. Gee says that we all belong to several different discourse communities, "discourse" being the general theme of the community. There is a proper "way" to be a skateboarder, a punk rocker, a soccer mom, a waitress. For each, there is a lexicon. For instance, in the Navy, it's a "head," in my house, it's a "bathroom," and in the mall, it's a "restroom." We have overlapping communities, and we know and follow the rules by which each community is defined. Our core identity (who we are when we're alone) goes with us into each discourse community. Anyway, I like your paper. Nice job. James_Paul_Gee__An_Intro_to_Discourse_Analysis.pdf

Well, I'm "throughly" delighted. Mom gets out of the hospital tomorrow. Thank you VERY MUCH for your prayers. Tonight, I bought the tickets for Houston. We'll see you there. Thanks again.

That's a great picture! Mom is much better, and is getting out of the hospital tomorrow. (applause for the loving hearts who prayed for her, thank you from the bottom of my existence) I'm headin' to the barbecue! Thank you all, really. Much more than I could ever say.

MomUpdate: She's better! They think it's a more minor infection (well, minor compared to blood sepsis). She may have some good days left. And for a bonus, she had a good day today, and knew us. This is waaaaay better than out cold, unresponsive, and ambulance to the ER, which is what happened yesterday. Thanks for your prayers and sweet thoughts.

Yo, Dudes. My Mom's just been admitted to ICU today. They don't know whether she's septic (A.K.A dying) or not. Sweet Mom is riddled with dementia, and it's pretty hard to know what to pray for. Loosing Dad so suddenly, not so many moons back, was very hard for her. So, I can't ask you to pray for her life to be extended, because the life she's been living for the past three or four months is not really "her" life; it's a shell of her. If she knew who she was, or where she was, I don't think she'd want to be there. Please pray for whatever is best for her to be the outcome. I really don't know whether she has any aware, happy moments left, but if she does, I want her to have them. If not, it may be time. At least, I think that's what she'd think. This is a bit difficult. It's hard to be sad at a possible impending release from this kind of imprisonment. I wish that things could be the way that they used to be, but those days have been lived, and they were good. I'm not dancing today. Not in the kitchen, not in the street; not with the cat. Not even to Aretha. Somebody tell a joke, or something? Thanks for listening; I love you guys. A week will make all of the difference.

TomStrange, you are the nicest StrangePerson I ever saw! Thanks for offering, but we may not know whether we're coming until we get into the car. She's in ICU; tests are being run; answers will not be known for another day and a half. Even after that, there will be days of change, either up or down. We will be fine, and will be thankful for your sweetness! We'll hopefully see you there.

Wow. My mom has gone into the hospital today; if she's not better soon, we may have to wait until next year for the BBQ. We'd appreciate prayers. We'll see you there, and now I have even more reasons for hoping so! Love, niKa

We are looking forward to it! ETA thirteen days, or so.

Pirate, George, I'm so sorry. Socks, once again, thank you for those posts. It's hard to answer to a topic like this. I've only been married for 12 years; just a baby marriage compared to some of you. We had babies easily, even though I was old for that at the time. A wise woman said that everybody is a blue plate special; if you want the meatloaf, you have to also take the brocolli; there are no substitutions. People are like that; I know that I am. You have to find someone whose brocolli is okay with you. After that, you can spend the rest of your life enjoying the meatloaf. Is that too weird an analogy? You have to know them well enough to know what you're going to hate about them; if that's okay with you, then there's a good chance. It helps to be courteous, completely honest with one another, and I mean about everything. If you can't do that with THIS person, then it's the wrong person. It has to be someone that you'd enjoy flirting with, whether they're young and beautiful, or old and wrinkled, because hopefully, during the time that you're with them, they'll be a bit of both. It takes time, and work, and attention to the relationship, almost like a garden. We go on a date every week, even if things are crazy busy. Especially then. We just go and sit and have a pizza and a carafe of wine, and we talk. About anything. Every day, after work, we talk. We sit. We ban the children for a short time, and we concentrate solely on one another. Afterwards, we go back to the crazy day, the impossible deadlines, the sick relatives, the dirty dishes. But there is a time each day when for me, it's just him, and for him, it's just me. I think that's important. You have to pick the right one, but not have unrealistic expectations. I'm not perfect; I didn't expect him to be. Thank heavens he doesn't expect me to be. After, like Indiana Jones, you "choose wisely," there is upkeep. You can't leave a marriage on autopilot. But it's one of those things that's fun to take care of, if you know what I mean. I'm not as wise as Socks, but that's my perspective. That's all I have to say about that.

I have to say that I've only just perused this thread. Don'tWorry - I notice that you speak in a regular "tone" to other Greasespotters, but SCREAM AND YELL when you address John Lynn and his group. Then, you diss them, still screaming your head off, for not answering your rants. Geez, man. Don't you have any valium left over from the sixties? :blink: