BJean

LrBloom8: I probably misunderstood your earlier post. I rarely check the dates and times that things are posted. But you made a post that Green was responding to about the mention of corporations. You said we should speak about individual people instead of lumping them into coprorations because of the overuse of the term "corporate greed" - at least that was the way I interpreted the point you were making and that was what I was responding to. I had forgotten that you told us you are in the medical field. And your post is really scary for me. We are getting ready to move my in-laws back home because my MIL hates the assisted living home where they've resided for the past month. We would like to have a full-time live in caretaker, who has some medical training of course, because my MIL has has had a couple of strokes and is wheelchair bound with all the attendant problems that presents. My FIL is too frail to lift her from the chair to bed, bathe her, and cook for her. Which is why we suggested assisted living in the first place. Now I'm scared about what kind of person we might place in their home with them. I appreciate the information you shared and we will be very careful to not only carefully check out the service who provides the person(s), but we will do our own background checks on the individuals. I do not understand your last sentence in your next to the last post where you said you don't like to see people complain about a country or president that gives them (cheaters) the ability to live as well as they do. I'm usually pretty tired by the time I'm at LBT, and that went right over my head.

Princess: That's hilarious! laurend is not a newbie! She's been here for a really long time. Since early last summer, at least. Just because she was just now able to get her surgery doesn't mean that she's new to participating at LBT. She's on vacation so that's why I'm clearing this up for her. I've been known to stir the pot from time to time and you're so right... it's lots of fun! That's why I thought that was what Lee was doing. If he's a racist punk, then so be it. But I tend to want to give people the benefit of the doubt until I read something that makes it pretty clear that they have their heads up their butts or they're just mean. I definitely think Lee is opinionated and I also think many of us here have very little in common with him. He communicates in a different way. He's a single father. He's a veteran. He's new here. He obviously has some thoughts to share that are quite different than what we're used to. His communicating skills remind me of that right wing guy a while back, whazisname... Corso? Most everyone was very tolerant of him. His thread went on for weeks. Can't we just read and learn from Lee? I mean if he's that disgusting, we will undoubtedly eventually drum him out of the corps (actually it looks like maybe we already have.) :paranoid

Elena I disagree. I believe that the love you feel for your children is explainable. Besides, some people do not have that unexplainable love for their children that you say you have. Why don't we just let people post whatever they would like instead of telling them that they should only post if they fulfill certain criteria. You may have never felt that you didn't want children so how can you possibly know what it means to someone else? This is an open forum. It isn't a coffee klatch where we're all just dying to get along and impress each other. We're bound to have differing opinions and those differences are what make the world a fascinating place!

Hi ya'll. I am down 1 lb. for the week. Karey, my original weight has a dash instead of a 2. Original starting weight for the chalenge was 182. Thanks. Everyone is doing well. I just did 30 min. on the recumbant bike and about 20 min. of floor exercises and 3 lb. weights. I wish I could do this in the morning, but I just haven't been getting up in time. If I'd stay off this site late at night, maybe I'd be able to get up earlier!! :embarassed:

LRBloom8: There are definitely some well-run corporations that are marvelous to work for and that contribute to the betterment of our communities. As I mentioned before, Hewlet-Packard has enjoyed a great reputation of taking care of its employees and I know for quite some time it was very difficult to get a job there. Ben & Jerry's in Vermont also did a great job of taking care of their own people and using vendors in Vermont whenever possible. The list goes on. In fact, we just started our own company and our goal is not to just make ourselves rich. We want to build a company where our employees can depend on us to provide a healthy and pleasant work environment and more than fair wages. As a company, we will do all we can to support our own community as well. But when you're talking about corporate greed it is difficult to use the names of individuals because as in the case of many of the savings and loans, the tobacco industry and other companies, the name list is way too long. In many cases it took a team effort to conduct business on such a grand and greedy (in many cases unethical and even dishonest) level as some have in the U.S. Once again, I certainly did not intend to lump ALL corporations into one big greedy bunch. But greed generated within the confines of large corporations does exist today in America and that was what I was talking about when I referred to corporate greed. I honestly don't think you would want me to list the names of many of the ones who have actually been prosecuted or fined for their corporate behavior. And btw, I wonder how many specific people you were referring to when you said: ..."people who openly and knowingly exploit the weaknesses in our welfare system to increase their wealth, or to keep from working. There is nothing physically or mentally wrong with them, they just want to get additional income without working for it. On a side note, many of these people are very open with their political views: they hate George Bush because "he hates poor people." Because that sounds like a pretty good job of lumping one class of people together to me. Besides, your phrase "increase their wealth" makes me scratch my head a bit. You think there are wealthy folks who are getting rich and richer on welfare? Or do you mean one or two people that you know of? Or 50 or 100? Or Thousands? :paranoid

IndioGirl: You sure didn't have a typical experience! At least from what I've read here and learned from other bandsters in my doc's office. That sounds pretty uncomfortable and very unfun! I don't know why your doc made you have the pre surgery colon cleanses or the upper GI post surgery? Your hospital sounds very poorly managed, and money grubbing (the epxensive phone charges) But you sound like you are able to be very active and are doing just fine now. I certainly hope so! You certainly paid your dues. Things should all be much better for you once the swelling goes down and you settle in with your new friend. Keep us posted. We're all wishing you a great result from your being banded!

Your description of the MIL's fare left me in stitches. But also reminded me of how I prepare green Beans (not to be confused in any way with haircourt verts.) I come from a long line of Oklahoma canned green bean eaters. Recipe: Open the can and dump out most of the Water that the beans are packed in (to make the can heavier.) I must interject here that the green beans must be specifically Del Monte Whole green beans and no other brand will do, nor are cut green beans acceptabe. You dump the beans in a pan with about a quarter inch of the liquid they were packed in. Give them a serious shaking of garlic salt and turn up the flame. You allow them to simmer for as long as it takes to heat the beans through and through and for all of the liquid to be cooked off. Hopefully you will not wind up scorching them because you're busy tending to the chicken fried steak. You add about 1.5 tbs. (yes, tablespoons) of butter to the pan, cover the beans with a generous dose of pepper and once the butter has melted and the beans are coated, they're done! People from other parts of the world are never quite sure what this dish is supposed to be. Are you absolutely certain that your MIL doesn't have some roots in Oklahoma? P.S. eggs Benedict is one of my favorite dishes. I do not order it often though, and only at upscale restaurants. It's a dish that can be sublime or it is one that can gag a maggot (if you'll pardon the expression.) The dish you described is all too commonly passed off as Eggs Benedict in these parts. :faint: I love poached eggs, but too many cooks just have no idea how they should be served. Fortunately I do have a restuarant that we frequent where I can depend on the quality of both their eggs benedict and their plain poached eggs. Nothing is worse when you're sporting a band, than to have decided you're going to splurge on a favorite dish and then have some incompetent clown ruin it for you. I truly feel your pain, dear.

I agree Carlene. Well said. It does take a village today just as it did in our parent's and grandparents' times. Our village has just become too global. Most of us no longer live in a little town of (fill in the blank) population 1000. Back then, everyone looked out for each other. When someone in the community had a problem, they knew it was a community problem and everyone pulled together to solve it. We're a country of transients. We move wherever the highest paying job is. We don't live in small communities anymore. We've become anonymous. Within that anonymity, we feel invisible. And because we don't know the people across town whose house burned down or whose child is on drugs, most of us close our eyes and look the other way, toward things that are more pleasant and appealing. Many of our churches do a good job of helping others in the community, but many do not. Many focus their resources on missions in other countries which isn't a bad thing, but when they ignore needy people in their own community, I think it is a disservice to their parishioners. Many individuals help others by volunteering and by giving money or raising money for others. Most people do not. That's why we must all pull together for the greater good. That's why we established certain government programs in the first place and that's why we continue to need them today.

In my 3rd paragraph I meant to say lace confiscated drugs with arsenic and then recirculate them and it would get rid of the druggies, etc.

LRBloom8: I've always thought that you must be a genuinely nice person. One of my very best friends in the world is a very hard core Republican. We've had some extremely heated discussions. She is completely against the government giving "hand outs" to the down trodden in our country. She thought that the war in Iraq was the right thing to do because it would give the rest of the world a taste of what they can expect if they cross us. She even believes that we should lace confiscated drugs with arsenic and then we'd be rid of all the druggies that are committing crimes to feed their habits. She thinks all Americans should own guns and be able to carry concealed weapons. (She does.) Her husband was a special ops guy - very secret - and has photos of himself with 5 presidents signed with things like "Thanks for a job well done for America." She thinks that we don't use capital punishment enough. She's all for the three strikes law and thinks that it should be adopted everywhere, but instead of incarcerating the culprits, she thinks we should remove them from the face of the earth. Sort of a 3 strikes and you're dead policy. I could go on, but you get the point. She's very conservative - rabidly so. And I love her to pieces. She actually has a good heart, hates injustice and she's very smart. I couldn't disagree with her more than I do already, politically. But we respect each other and most of the time we just steer clear of political issues. I should probably do that here at LBT, but I keep coming back to it and getting involved because I believe just as strongly in my own thoughts and ideas and ideals, and it is great to be able to have a voice, at least somewhere, and state my opinions. I do find it very interesting to read opposing viewpoints. :rolleyes

I believe intimacy is another matter. You can be intimate without sex. But if someone isn't interested in sex, they're not usually wanting to get too intimate because their partner might push them for sex. So it's a lose/lose situation.

Fran life can be so unfair sometimes. When we're at the stage of raising our children and getting up with them at night, and much of the time we're running on empty, that's when the men seem to be most interested. Once we get the little darlings pretty much raised, we find our own sexual needs kicking in. That's about the time they are more interested in a beer, a good meal and some sports action either on TV or on the golf course. :cry What we learn is that sex can be simulated, but a good man is hard to replace!

Green you might have tried the survival guidebook to living in the wilderness by eating the nutritional little critters. Catching them would have kept you busy and they might have been better than the conventional food presented. What did they serve, anyway?

I'm sayin'! Whut tha?

Green I have been engulfed with so much rage from time to time that I have gritted my teeth so badly in my sleep that I have cracked some jaw teeth. It is a very painful experience and I now have 2 crowns over what were perfectly good teeth. I don't know whether you're ahead of me on understanding this stuff, or if perhaps I'm a little ahead of you. Whatever... we're both on meds and although I worry about taking W. too long, and about the long-term effects, right now I don't think I can do without them. I love your openness and how easily I can relate to many of your life experiences. You're a good egg, Charlie Brown. Oh I mean green.

Cool! Lucky you. Hope you have a great vacation!! Have fun!

Oh yes I completely agree, laurend. There have been many times that when people disagree with something I've said, they seem to read anger and hatefulness into my words when that's not what I'm feeling at all. I'm merely explaining my point. It is always shocking to me when people accuse me of saying things that are not even close to being what I meant. That used to happen to my sister a lot - even in face to face conversations. She would get so hurt that they accused her of being mean, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of explaining that she really didn't feel that way. I have wondered if that isn't what's happening with Lee. Sometimes I overuse commas because I am hoping that what I write will be understood better. But you know when people are wanting to think the worst of others, there's not much you can do to change their minds after they're already made up. I'm really signing off this time. Fun talking with you!

Ouch indeed! This is fun but I gotta hit the rack. The DH has been asleep for hours now and he's going to want to either take me to Breakfast or fix our breakfast early in the A.M. Aarrgh! You'll have to catch us up on how you're doing! I'm thrilled for you that you didn't have the bad gas deferred pain! :whoo: Nite!

Oh thanks laurend for showing me the quote. I actually HAD read that. I didn't think that was the comment she was talking about. Now I go back to my original thought that he's being picked on. I've heard perfectly great guys comment on how shockingly mature young girls are looking nowadays. That doesn't make them perverts. And I'm not a pervert for wondering about shoe size vs. pnuts size.

laurend I see where you were coming from. I just thought she was talking about NOT having race as an issue for marrying someone, just a guy's "size." But it does make sense if you consider the initial thread question. I had forgotten about that sterotype. In fact, I've wondered about whether shoe size relates to the size of a man's ---- in fact we discussed it in a different thread. But the race question didn't enter the discussion, but it might bring up the question of Shaq, whose shoe size is 26. :faint:

laurend are you feeling well? All over the shoulder pain and all that? Now if we could just get TOM and Jack back, the party could begin!

Carlene I am totally with you on this one! I was pretty surprised to see that someone thought that comment was racial in origin.

Jachut: Eeek. In a sexual context? That's not good. But still I suspect he's doing that sort of thing in order to get people aggitated. Only an extremely stupid individual would not know that a statement like that would generate a lot of backlash. Therefore he probably enjoys the rancor. Go figure.

Yeah, that's like saying that because I haven't had cosmetic surgery I can't comment on its possible value. Puleeeze. I am very impressed that there are some people here who are smart enough to know that they don't want children. Some of us have to have kids before we know if we really should have had them. That's pretty irresponsible if you stop and think about it.

Ok Green, I'm over it. Now I'm just fuming because I'm still a chunky monkey and you're all svelt and lovely and complimented and all.... some grrls just have their stuff together and I'm just not one of them, yet... dang it.:speechlesThis is what someone should do to my mouth.