Carlene

You are so sweet! I ate M&M's yesterday, though....a LOT of M&M's. I'm mad at DH for letting me buy them in the first place. I told him, "Don't let me do that again." He probably thinks I have the worst case of manic depression ever. The last time he tried to tell me not to do something, I threatened to perform a vasectomy on him with an electric staple gun. We have a photographer coming Thursday evening to take Christmas pictures. I will post some of them when I get the proofs. I will be fully clothed in this next set, I promise.

Mine's Christmas Eve! I always thought my mom should have named me Holly or Noel or something seasonal and cute, but instead she let my grandmother name me. And my grandmother was very fond of a certain great uncle, whose first name was Carl. Oh, well....I had an Uncle Oscar, too. At least she didn't name me after him.

Gee, StrawartS, you should write bodice-rippers.

If you don't set a price, he will probably go out and buy the most expensive camcorder he can find to replace it. I once missed a plane and paid double time for a glass company to replace a door my son had broken at a friend's motel, out of state. It was Sunday afternoon, and I wasn't leaving there until I got that door fixed. My friends said, "Don't worry about it", too. But because I was their friend, I did "worry about it".

Wow! She's a big'un, ain't she?

I used to be a claims adjuster. There are two types of coverage: replacement cost and fair market value. Depending on what you paid for the policy (or you could say, how much you value the friend), ask for enough money to buy a new camcorder (top of the line, if that's what you had), or ask for fair market value (what the camera would bring if you sold it on e-bay). Don't ask for the amount you paid for the camera if it's more than a new camcorder costs. It's not nice to gouge your friends, only insurance companies. And StrawartS, can I borrow some money?

Nathalie... There are absolutely no hard feelings. As my mother pointed out many times, I would argue with a fence post. I've probably argued with half the people on LBT at one time or another. It keeps my brain cells from atrophying as a result of advancing age. Every single time we put fingers to keyboard, there is the potential for all kinds of bad Karma to start flowing back and forth. I understand that all too well. Admittedly, sarcastic come-backs and flippant one-liners aren't all that productive either, but it beats stalking off the thread in a huff. Initially, I did try and explain my OJ remarks, but you weren't having any of it and after that, everything I said became suspect, so I stopped. Anyway, the thread wasn't meant to be about OJ's trial or whether he killed two people or not, and I'm VERY sorry it ever went in that direction. It was about the book. I was outraged by the man's complete disregard for decency and for the feelings of everyone who ever loved those two unfortunate people - Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, including his own children. Even if he were truly innocent, the whole book idea stank like fresh road kill on a hot summer day. Unfortunately, I let my dislike for OJ's literary endeavor influence my choice of words. Believe me, they were not meant to belittle or demean the black race. I grew up in the 50's and 60's in North Central Texas. It was another world, compared to the one we live in now. I went to segregated schools. I lived in segregated neighborhoods. I was in my mid-30's before I was ever in a black person's home. None of that was a choice - it just was what it was. My children have always gone to multi-ethnic schools. They are very politically correct with regard to issues of color. They are very proud of themselves for that. But my grandchildren....they are truly color-blind. On the way to her other grandmother's one day, my granddaughter and I drove past a park where about half a dozen children were playing. "Look, Nanny," said Cheyenne, "Isn't that the cutest little boy you've ever seen?" "Which one?" I asked. "The one on the slide," she said. He was also the only black child in sight, but that's not what she saw. She just saw the little boy on the slide. I think that's progress.

You think the pro-quiver people are Liberals?

Nathalie... I really don't know what it is that you want from me. If I say I'm not a racist, that offends you. If I say I am a racist, that pisses you off, too. Would it be fair to conclude that you are just looking for something to bitch about? Or would that be offensive, as well?

Haven't you read all the posts? I admitted I was a racist, for crying out loud...and an anti-feminist. I am also guilty of posting disparaging remarks about chickens, George Bush, and Scott Peterson. In this one thread, I have managed to offend the NAACP, PETA, the entire Republican Party, the women's movement (whatever they are calling it now days), the Paris Hilton Fan Club, and probably the ACLU. It's been a great day for free speech! And your grandmother was right. May I point out, however, that "unreasonable" is a subjective term. Since there are two sides to every argument, there are always two potential pigs. So....if you can't take it, hon, you need to be very careful about dishing it out.

I love those little spontaneous utterances that turn into family-speak! Sometimes they last for generations. They are part of what defines the familial relationship. In my family, there are several. One of the best came from my daughter, the youngest of four and the only girl (can you say "prima dona"?). Her nearest brother in age was Kelly. When she was about 3, something went amiss and she was looking like the prime suspect. Protesting her innocence, she declared, "Kelly did it." Kelly, however, was at my mom's, and had been for several days prior. Busted! To this day, when there is a "who did this" question, the response from ALL my children and grandchildren is "Kelly did it". No one gets it but us, and it probably isn't even all that funny, but it never fails to lighten the moment for us.

More fun than US???? Bite your tongue, BJ!

Yes, "we" as individuals should all be respected. That's not the same thing as demanding respect for your particular belief system. And it's not respectful to call someone else a "judgmental hypocrite", by the way. (Yes you did...."pointing out" her so-called "judgmental hypocracy" is the same thing, and you are smart enough to know it, so I'm not letting you slide on that one.) Education does not make people smart. I think that some fundamentalists are anti-intellectual because they have a tendency to argue with history, but that doesn't mean they are uneducated. In fact, it's much worse. You can buy those people books and send them to school, but all they're gonna do is eat the pencils.

Like a computer's hard drive, these things are never truly deleted. If one person received the message, you can bet your sweet patootie that 10 more got it via PM....including me. Kind of makes you step back and take a deep breath or two before you hit the "submit" button, doesn't it?

Hmmmm....well, sometimes people post things "in the heat of the moment", only to decide later that they may have gone too far, so they delete the post. The message would still get thru to everyone who has signed up to receive e-mail notification, however. Is that what you are referring to?

I am a church-goer, a Christian, and a strong defender of free speech. You were not "trashed" by Sunta's post, IMHO. There was nothing personal in her message. She just has a different point of view and she has a huge problem with co-mingling church and state, hence her "horrified" reaction to the Statue of Liberty holding the Ten Commandments. Rants and Raves is an open forum. As long as there is no flaming of members, it's pretty much a free-for-all. My opinions (and religious beliefs) get battered on a regular basis. That's okay. I'm a scraper. As for respecting your beliefs (or mine)....no one has to. It's that simple. Not here, not anywhere. Maybe that's not making nice, but it's the way it is. So go ahead and tell all the godless heathens that they're going to hell in a handbasket. Vent your spleen. They have it coming! And you can tell me off, too. It's perfectly alright. I just love the smell of burning rhetoric in the morning, don't you?

Wow! That's strange. Sounds like someone posted a message, then decided to PM you instead. Is that a likely scenario?

I was just wondering the same thing myself earlier today. On vacation, maybe? I hope nothing has happened to him.

Here's the other one. Merry Christmas, ya'll.

And you're sweet to say that. It makes my little old grandmotherly heart feel all warm and fuzzy. My DH now believes I have gone officially off the deep end. He was watching TV, nodding off like old men in recliners so often do, when here I come, bounding into the den, camera in hand, wearing only a Santa hat, my undies, and a candy striped blouse. "You have to take my picture", I said, thrusting the camera toward him as I take my place on the hearth. "What for?" asks Mr. Carlene. "For my friend on Lap Band Talk," I answer. "But don't worry...it's a female friend." I'm sure that made him feel MUCH better. By the way, I almost froze my tush off posing for that picture. Those bricks were COLD!

I have a 6 lb Shih Tzu who thinks she is my Siamese twin. And I have young grandchildren. And up until a month ago, I had an 80 pound Lab who didn't know she wasn't a lap dog. None of them managed to do any injury to my port.

Remember, you asked for it.

Has it escaped your attention that neither you nor Nathalie are the offense police? I'm sorry, but contrary to what either of you might think, the two of you don't get to decide what's "offensive" and what isn't. You are, in fact, a minority of exactly two members who have posted to this thread. No one else thinks I was insulting the entire black race. Just you and Nathalie. Does that tell you anything? And it stopped being a civil discussion long ago. Now it's just arguing for the sake of argument. And tiring. You have to admit, StrawartS post about the chickens was really funny, though.

Just in case your chickens are thinking of suing me in civil court, I think they should wait until I've written a chicken shit book, so there will at least be some meaningful accumulation of assets for them to attach. As it stands now, all my worldly goods don't amount to much more than chicken feed.

I can't say that I blame your chickens. However, since Kari has expressed that SHE was offended by the mere mention of chicken excrement, we now both owe HER an apology. Someone get a pen and paper so we can keep score.