Watered Garden

That is just too neat! I always like the song "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King...same theme, it's all connected.

I think Chloe has a classic "teacher look". Can't you imagine getting that look when you're messing around in computer class????

What was your favorite moment? Mine was the look on Martha's face as the US Marshalls led Charles away... Or maybe when Martha and Aaron almost kissed. I hope she dumps Charles Logan's sorry butt and she and Aaron live happily ever after! Did anyone else notice that when Jack shot Christopher Henderson the one surviving sailor saw him do it? And he lied about Henderson being armed - there were no bullets in the handgun Jack had given him.... And....where is Wayne Palmer? And the Secretary of Defense, Audrey's father, who survived the car crash? Keifer Sutherland signed up for 3 more seasons. I'll probably be on heart medicine by then! WG

A long, long ways from "Harvard on the Hocking", eh? God bless your heart! I just can't say enough great things! Congratulations! Ye-Ha!!! Whooppeee! Yabba-Dabba-DOOOOOO! WG

What the heck is the little thing at the bottom of Safari-Vista's last post that keeps giving me smart remarks and my own address or something? It is very scary and I wish it would stop. :unsure:

Hey, let me welcome you here and now! That is a very insightful and well written letter. You are certainly honorable and kind and honest. I hope all concerned read it and take it to heart, then act upon it. WG

HB, JL, from WG!

We were told in Family Corps that little children are very susceptible to devil spirit possession, and they must not be allowed to cry and get out of control of their emotions. Therefore, even when a child was crying because they just received a painful and severe thrashing, they were not permitted more than one or two squawks. Then, we were to put our hand firmly over their mouth and tell them "Be quiet. Get control of yourself!" and not allow them to cry, or they would get possessed! Two things amaze me about this: (1) it was said in the first place, and (2) I was stupid enough to stick around after I heard it. I really, really hated FWC. It was the most miserable 3 months of my life. Those poor kids! (By the way, I flatly refused to carry a spoon and I really did not want other people beating on my kid, though I think he got walloped on a frequent basis anyway.) WG

Exactly what I was going to say! A couple we knew who were WOW's in Lima, OH had problems with their child, who was later diagnosed with ADHD. The then trunk coordinator told them: 'Use the spoon. If the spoon doesn't work, use a belt. If the belt doesn't work, use a 2 x 4!" I wonder how he disciplined his own kids..... :unsure: WG

Dot, honey, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Find another facility and get them done! My first several were horrid, and I had one like you describe at the hospital in the town where we used to live. Now, I go to the hospital where I work, a cancer hospital with top notch equipment, and women who specialize in mammography. Also I'm totally off hormone replacement therapy now and she said that was what made it so much better for me. And no offence to the young'ns, but I personally am leary of chipper young girls who do mammograms. Since they don't have to get them they tend to be basically unconcerned about the agony they are causing. Every technologist who performs mammograms should have their breasts squeezed before starting their work. IMO of course. WG

Gee, I always thought the Prime Directive was "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, soul, mind and strength." Too bad Jesus didn't have PFAL to peddle. :blink: I've been starting to study the Bible again, due to a Ladies Bible class on Proverbs. The class on Pride, the sneaky sin, really hit me between the eyes. So I thought when I read this thread, pride and hate, versus humility and love. Seems I have a lot of work to do...on ME. The 90's were blatantly about pride and hate. Probably well before that, too, but it was more subtle, to me anyway, so I'm just now realizing how far away from love I really was. But I strongly believe in God's mercy and grace to teach me to be what He wants me to be.

Tootsie Dippinshorts!

Most people don't understand that obesity is not always caused by overeating. There are a kazillion factors, including genetics. Medication itself can cause weight gain, especially, ironically enough, those taken for diabetes, including insulin. I've gained about 25 lb since becoming diabetic. Add a generous serving of job stress, a 37 mile drive each way to work, and losing it ain't all that easy. Some hapless souls actually cut their insulin dose to lose weight by going into ketoacidosis on purpose. Of course, that's bad for their entire physical body. To have the unique combination of amazing ignorance and unbelievable stupidity such as Bill's boss displays amazes me. I'm so sorry CW. You deserve better. WG

We attend a Grace Brethren church. They are conservative in some ways, they teach from the Bible, and this particular church is a new "church plant" filled with loving, kind, genuine, sincere folks who just want to love God and do His will. We really try to take care of each other. There is no pressure to meet an impossible standard of perfection. We try to understand and apply the true meaning of grace. I've been very scared to let go and get involved. I've felt like I would never, ever commit myself to anything. However, these guys are not like TWI at all and would be horrified if I told any tales about my previous experiences. But they just melt my heart. WG

Allan, I trust you got a whole big rock pile to choose from when you so blithely cast the first stone. If you use that particular F** word one more time, I hope a kangaroo bites you on your a**! Allan, all this attention to being slim, trim, fit, etc. is just perfecting the works of the flesh! I actually heard someone call it the "Youth and Beauty Cult". There isn't one woman on this forum, unless your wife posts, who owes it to you to model your false perception of perfection! Leave these ladies alone! I always liked you when we were in Fam. XX. What happened to make you so hateful? I pray you learn to love others who are not like yourself. We aren't all perfect yet. Love & Prayers, WG

1. What time do you get up? 5:30 a.m., 8:00 a.m. on Saturday & Sunday >2. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be? My husband. > >3. Gold or silver? Goldd > >4. What is the last film you saw at the cinema? The Passion of the Christ > >5. What is/are your favorite TV show(s)?NCIS, 24, CSI 6. What did you have for breakfast? Scrambled eggs with feta cheese, toast with black raspberry jam, coffee. > >7. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? Anyone with real bad breath/body odor. >8. What is your middle name? Alice > >9. Beach, City or Country? Country, preferably wine country. > >10. Favorite ice cream? Graeter's black raspberry chip. > >11. Butter, plain or salted popcorn? Butter and salt > >13. What kind of car do you drive? Honda CR-V > >14. Favorite sandwich? Cheesburger with onion, lettuce, mustard, and pickles> >15. Favorite flower? lillies > >16. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Alaska inside passage cruise >17. What color is your bathroom? new house with vanilla bathroom. > >18. Favorite kind of clothing? St. John's Bay, Eddie Bauer > >19. Where would you retire to? right here. >20. Favorite day of the week? Why? Sunday. go to church and lunch with daughter-in-law & grandson. >21. What did you do for your last birthday? Out to eat with husband. > >22. Where were you born? Indianapolis >23. Favorite sport to watch? Figure skating, Ohio State Football >24. Who do you least expect to respond? ????? >25. Person you expect to respond first? ????? > >26. What fabric detergent do you use? Why? All. Habit. >27. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Dr. Pepper with Cherry Vanilla > >28. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning. > >29. What is your shoe size? 6 to 6 1/2 >30. Do you have any pets? Two dogs, a labrador retriever and a cocker spaniel 31. Are you happy with your job? Yes and no. Great boss, much stress. 32. What is one thing you want to do in life that you have not done yet? See the northern lights. 33. If you had the chance to get married again- would you? n/a. 34. if you won the lotto what would you do? I don't buy Lotto tickets. 35. If you had three wishes - what would they be? 1. Son to straighten up and fly right. 2. Son and daughter-in-law to remarry 3. Grandson to grow up to know and love Jesus and have a blessed life. 36. What are your hobbies? Perennial and vegetable gardening, reading, cooking. 37. What are some things you always hope you get for christmas? Family around and happy with one another. Earrings. Gift cards.

HB from WG!!!! And many happy returns!!!!!

A lot of times, reading what others have posted will bring back a memory, a thought, an incident, and suddenly I realize that here is one area of my past that I haven't dealt with and it still hurts like the very devil. It's as if a wound that had healed and made a nice scar is suddenly open, raw, bleeding, infected and hurting me all over again. A long time ago, I wrote of an incident in my life and I'll never write about it again, but the recent threads on rape (NO I wasn't raped) brought it all back to me, shocking as ever. So, gee whiz, I'm not "over" that at all. Someone once told me, and I don't know if it's true for sure, that the human brain retains everything and it just goes deep deep down into our subconscious. And also I think if I just ignore everything in the past and act like it never happened, how am I supposed to help someone whose wound is new and fresh and bleeding? WG

It's billions - trillions by end of May if not sooner. Columbus, Ohio City Schools are going broke. The tiny town of Utica, Ohio will lose several teaching positions if the levy they are asking for doesn't get passed. This past year alone there were NO field trips due to lack of funds. Almost every school district las "pay to play" meaning if your middle school or high school age kids want to play a team sport, a fee must be paid; for some, it's over $100/kid/sport. My health care benefits, through one of the largest medical colleges in the country, suck like an open chest wound. And eventually, we're gonna bail out of there anyway, leaving in our wake only a few MORE million people who have dedicated their lives, and the lives of their sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, for generations to come, to destroying utterly The Great Satan. WG PS: Please understand that in spite of the above gripes, I have only admiration and respect for the US military, past, present and future. It's not their fault they are where they are. There's a lot of government waste out there, but not on them.

Ex Cathedra, I wasn't talking about VPW.

Whether the "alleged" rape victims were actually forcefully raped or eager participants in the act is irrelevant. LCM was an ordained clergyman, a minister in a position of spiritual authority over these women. Many believed that each and every sacred word without exception which was granted the honor of issuing forth from between his totally sanctified and utterly holy lips was God's very Word and Will for their lives. And he used this authority and this belief to take advantage of these women. He had no more business having sexual relations with a parishoner than he would have with one of his own children. In fact, I once had a foster daughter whose father had had sex with her under similar circumstances, using his position of authority and her innocent trust in daddy who knows all and only wants good for her to ruin her young life. He told her that he wanted her first sexual experience to be with a man who truly loved her and only wanted the best for her, so that she would always enjoy sex and not fear or dislike it. Force is not the issue. If a 14-year-old girl willingly has relations with an 18-year-old boy it's statutory rape, even if she was the aggressor. LCM had no business having sex with a parishoner, even if she paraded into his office nude, threw herself on the desk and said "please!" WG

How wonderful! so glad everything worked out with Star and the baby. Nice looking foal! I know next to nothing about horses, but mom and baby look gorgeous. WG

for Lorna Doone: The little girl was actually close to 2 years of age. I think her birthday was in September. Her mother is a graduate of the 6th Way Corps, her father is a graduate of spouse corps. They were twig coordinators in Everett Washington. This happened at ROA 1993. A** had thrown some of those tiny white pebbles they put around the electrical outlet posts at my son. He asked her to stop after the second time. She did it again. Her mother told her to stop, made her put the pebbles she still had in her hand back, and told her to apologize to my son. She whacked her several times on the calf with her spoon. She cried but refused to apologize. The father took over. He beat the crap out of that kid. Her mother later privately showed me her legs, which is when I could see the swollen flesh, early bruising and blood running under the skin. She asked me if I thought V***, her husband, might have hit A** a bit too hard. I told her she was going to bruise pretty good and she might want to put long pants on her on the drive back to WA so outsiders wouldn't see the kid's legs and call the authorities. I had know this couple since 1978, when they met in a college town in Ohio, and eventually got married. Mrs. R**** was thought of as a most exceedingly great and mighty woman of God. Her husband was a very strict disciplinarian. Once I saw him make their oldest boy, 9 at the time, bend over in front of him then he kicked him hard in the buttocks, sending him stumbling across the room. The child gave his father a look of pure hatred for a second, which fortunately his father didn't see. I'm sorry if you find this hard to believe. I choose to not think you are calling me a liar. However, you were not there, and I saw it happen. Children were required to LISTEN, REMEMBER, OBEY from a very young age, less than a year, usually. First time, no questions asked. If you want to PT or e-mail me, assuming you still think t his is "over the top" I will tell you who they are, but not on an open forum like this. I did not use their names. They are still standing boldly and fearlessly with TWI, poor fools. WG Oh, PS: Whacking the child on the calf, thigh or upper arm, and NOT the buttocks was recommended by DLM, who said hitting the buttocks "makes for bad backs." WG

A family legend is that my great-grandfather cured my mom's dog of killing chickens. He took a chicken that Buster, a mostly beagle had killed, and tied it around the dog's neck! By the time the chicken had rotted off, Buster was totally disinterested and never so much as looked toward the henhouse again. WG

When we got Maxx as a puppy, the folks who bred him had three pups for sale out of his litter. One, the cutest, was very timid and ran and hid. One was very bold and climbed all over us. #3 sat back, looked us over, and apparently thought, Hey these guys are okay. Think I'll say hello. That was Maxx. However, our Lab, Sophie the Wonder Dog, was 6 when we got her. She was very overweight, emotionally neglected and started off being very aggressive. One day she pooped in our front room and I had just had it. I yelled at her. She growled at me. I punched her HARD under her jaw, yelled at her to lie DOWN, and scared her so bad she rolled onto her back. Whereupon I slapped her from side to side, not as hard, but screaming, "Im the alpha bitch in this pack and don't you ever forget it!" This is called the alpha wolf roll and is in the book I mentioned. Only time I've ever used it on a dog, but she never did that again, and has been very nice. She wouldn't look me in the eye for three months after that one time, but now is just the greatest dog, and my grandson uses her for a speed bump.