Ttessa

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So the monarch offered him freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question: What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and, to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the princess, the prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people advised him to consult the old witch--only she would know the answer. The price would be high; the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged. Finally the last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no alternative but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to accept her price first: The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend! Young Arthur was horrified: She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises... etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend to marry her and have to endure such a burden. Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He told him that nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table. Hence, their wedding was proclaimed, and the witch answered Arthur's question thus: What a woman really wants is to be in charge of her own life. Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was. The neighboring monarch granted Arthur total freedom. What a wedding Gawain and the witch had! Arthur was torn between relief and anguish. Gawain was proper as always, gentle and courteous. The old witch put her worst manners on display, and generally made everyone very uncomfortable. The hour approached. Gawain, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But what a sight awaited him! The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen lay before him! The astounded Gawain asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she'd appeared as a witch, she would henceforth be her horrible, deformed self half the time, and the other half, she would be her beautiful maiden self. Which would he want her to be during the day, and which during the night? What a cruel question! Gawain pondered his predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his home, an old witch? Or would he prefer having by day a hideous witch, but by night a beautiful woman with whom to enjoy many intimate moments? What would you do? What Gawain chose follows below, but don't read until you've made your own choice. ---------------> Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose for herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time, because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life. What is the moral of this story? scroll down..> The moral is: if a woman doesn't get her own way, things get ugly!

Robi - Good to see your post, gal! I've missed you. If you have the mIRC software on your computer, you have to set it up with the Server information I gave above. If you have PIRCH software already loaded on your computer, then contact Joel (cuz I don't use PIRCH, and don't remember how to use it). I'm sure he'd love to get your e-mail and will help you with anything you need. I can't give you a link here, to connect to any IRC chatroom, because you can't get to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) through web browsers (Internet Explorer or Netscape). You have to get the IRC software - the most popular, are mIRC or PIRCH. IRC is not another website. It uses the Net to function, but it works differently- that's all I know. IRC is a different animal - it opens a new window, kinda like aol IM opens a different window. The IRC Network = XWorld The Server = (one of the 3 servers I listed above): Buffalo.NY.US.XWorld.Org The Channel (chatroom) = xway. It's sorta different than you're used to, I know - but keep trying, it's worth it!

For anyone who might want to start learning about IRC - try this link mIRC Installation Guide It will take you to a beginner's guide. Overall, using IRC is easy, once you get familiar with it. It really is much better than all the alternatives I've seen so far. The software that you download is called a "client" for IRC and it is shareware (meaning the author of the software program requests that you voluntarily send him $20 payment, after a trial period. The trial period is completely free - I think it's 3 months) mIRC is a "client" for using a huge network of chatters. There are folks from all over the world using IRC for chatting. That means there are a few dangers but the benefits are great, and there are safeguards you can use to protect your computer. Something called "a firewall" is pretty smart for folks who stay connected all day using DSL or cable. I am a dial-up subscriber to my ISP, so I dont use a firewall ( don't know much about them, only know OF them). Mostly, you if you follow basic Internet precautions, you'll be fine - like: do not use your real name anywhere in the setup, and be selective about who you reveal it to, when chatting. NO personal info like address, or phone number (although, your connecting city & state will be able to be seen by anyone using IRC). I've been using mIRC for chat for over 3 years, and NEVER had a problem with intruders or bad files or anything like that. This XWAY chatroom is no longer moderated by Mrs. Rat/BikerBabe, although the moderator does invite her to join in the chat sometimes. She's fun and knows more about IRC than anyone else I know. The Moderator is "Onegod" here, on the GS Forum and from Waydale. He posts occasionally, but not often (hmmmm....he must have a LIFE, huh? LOLOL). Anyone needing more help than I've detailed here, can email me at FemNavyVet@nxs.net ......I use the nick "Ttessa" in the IRC chatroom and in the Yahoo chatroom. -------------------------------- You can download mIRC from : http://www.mirc.co.uk Then, to set up (just two things, actually) for chat: 1. SERVER To add the XWorld Server - click on File then Options, in the "IRC Network" slot, click the arrow to get the full list of networks. Scroll down to "XWorld" and highlight it, to bring it into the slot. Then click the Add button, put "XWorld" (without quote marks) in Description box, Put "Buffalo.NY.US.XWorld.Org" in the IRC Server box, click OK. (The password is NOT necessary.) Now is a good time to put in the other two Servers, too - but you can do that later. They are Chicago.IL.US.XWorld.Org or Wollongong.NSW.AU.XWorld.Org 2. CHANNEL Slowly move cursor over icons under menus, the 3rd icon says, "Channels Folder". Click that. In the "mIRC Channels Folder", click the Add button. In top box, put "#xway" in the box, be sure to click the OK button. (don't use the quote marks, but the # is necessary). ***TO CONNECT*** Either (1) click on the leftmost icon( the lightening bolt) to Connect, or (2) click File, then Connect. Automatically, a Channels Folder pops up, once you're connected to the Server, . Scroll down (alphabetically) to the entry for "#xway", click on #xway to highlight it. Then click the "Join" button. [This message was edited by Ttessa on October 23, 2002 at 21:58.]

Every event can be seen differently by any of the participants, but some folks in chat have asked how the weekend went, and this is my version. What a great time! Healing, loving, peaceful, entertaining, laughing,connecting, fulfilling, comfortable, sweet, restful,....... The drive I thought would take 3 hours, turned into 4 (mostly because the remnants of hurrcane Lily rained on my city as I was leaving, which slowed traffic) I was first to arrive at the cabin - Hawk had already begun to set up his tent at the campsite. What a pleasant surprise! Hopefully the pictures we took will be clearly evident that the little cabin was pleasant, clean, light and comfortable. The lake was right outside the balcony. It was a bit too warm to light the fireplace, but just having it there, was nice. Around 10 pm, Friday night, we were standing outside and two deer jumped past us, maybe 15 yards away. They were close! Saturday morning, Rascal arrived in her van with 7 beautiful little people. We all met, and the children didn't seem at all surprised that I had to repeatedly ask them their names over again. Little Aaron and I hit it off, instantly, since he loved to be to tickled. The adults drank coffee out on the balcony, the older kids got to watch cartoons like they ought to, on a vacation. We all (thirteen people) filled up on breakfast of scrambled eggs and biscuits 'n gravy that Rascal cooked using homemade sausage that Hawk supplied, and hazelnut coffee (Yummy!). I KNOW it might seem hard to believe that 4 adults, 3 teenagers, and 6 children, and 3 dogs might meet for the first time, gather together peaceably, and all get fed and satisfied -- but it happened. And clean-up didn't take long at all. Just to show how the small wishes still get answered (and one of the funny things that we all laughed about) while breakfast was being prepared, 13 yr. old Jessie joined me on the balcony to drink in the view. She and I found common ground in that, we both love to swim. She said she couldn't wait to go swimming in the lake...... The kids went out to the boat dock to fish and play on Hawk's boat. I hung back and pondered what just happened, then took a nap. While the cabin was quiet, Mike caught up on much needed sleep, I went outside to retrieve something from my car. And not far away, two cabins down, 2 wild turkeys were gobbling and wandering around in the grass. I thought of snapping a photo for later posting here, in the forum, but my camera wouldn't have done them justice. Back inside, I played my Brubeck CD softly, and luxuriated in the closeness I felt to God, thankful for making the trip safely there, thankful for the pretty cabin and surroundings, thankful for the absence of egos & attitudes, thankful for .......Oh gosh, mere words just aren't big enough. When they, Rascal, Hawk and all the kids came back to the cabin for lunch, I heard the report of how Jessie fell between the dock and the boat, into the lake. She thought it was funny (although, she was a bit embarrassed)...BUT she got to go into the water! The young boys were asking (politely) how soon they could go back fishing, as soon as their little feet hit the cabin floor. They had a great time and had caught some fish! At dusk, driving from the boat dock to the campground area we saw several groups of deer. Four of them gently approached the road, we stopped our vehicles, and they scampered across to meet another group on the other side. Then later we saw quite a few deer in tall grass farther down the park road. We all met at Hawks tent-site where he had a big, blazing campfire burning as well as a couple of camp stoves. The venison stew cooked and was waiting for us. The children provided laughs and entertainment (just being themselves). And Always-Prepared-Rascal directed the children to tasks in preparation for dinner. All of the children had a purpose (whether setup, fetching, or counting heads to make sure no one wandered off). It was an amazing sight to see. And there was plenty of fun and laughter, teasing, hugging, and later....eating. Two year old 'Zee' occasionally got her feelings hurt and whimpered, but all in all she was easily consoled, and was adorable. ....and there were no bugs except for few chigger bites on my ankles. Aaron and Ben took charge of cooking hotdogs on a stick in the campfire (Jessie admitted that she NEVER eats anything the boys cook, and I thought her advice was prudent, given their love for practical jokes- but they heartily ate what didn't fall on the ground) The charcoal-grilled hamburgers and the stew were delicious. S'mores were a big hit with the kids - almost as fascinating as the campfire. Hawk produced a treasure box of goodies including Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes that were a big hit, and his son Cory broke open a sweet watermelon into chunks. And we headed back to the cabin for the night, leaving Hawk & Cory to a peaceful sleep in their beloved woods. I didn't want the day to end, so I made a pot of coffee and put a pan of brownies into the oven. And the Family Machine went into precision action again (here, I must admit, I couldn't constantly watch how Rascal made things happen, I was too tempted to add my viewpoints or step in where I thought I might help - but their system was so finely tuned, that an extra hand could throw off their momentum - and result in the very chaos that were my fears. They didn't need my help, more often I needed theirs. So, I stayed out of their way.) I went to my room to take care of some personal things, and when I came out the living room was transformed into a makeshift dormitory. Every square inch of the living room floor space was utilized, but it was all contained within the living room boundaries leaving unobstructed the kitchen, dining alcove, foyer, and hallway to the bathroom and bedrooms . The young children and toddlers were very tired but the older children were looking for more activity (I mean, I know at least 3 big bags of marshmallows were melted for s'mores) We just HAD to do something, we were driven to make the most of each remaining moments - but we had to do something relatively quiet, so I asked if we had playing cards. Ben, with a gleam in his eye, produced a full deck of cards. We all declined on playing Old Maid or Go Fish, so I offered to teach them how to play Poker. We diveyed out matchsticks for betting, and I explained the basic premise of draw poker as best I could remember (I haven't played often or recently). Then we launched into 7 Card Stud, while I explained ante, bidding, and risk. All in all, it was lots of fun, because the kids find humor in everything, and each of us won one game each. That's just the way the cards fell! It was pretty cool, but at 10:30pm, we were ready for sleep. Sunday morning we all expressed a need to move on to other commitments that day, but resolved to get together again. Some ideas that were tossed around the dining table were: meet again in six months (making this a bi-annual event), possibly meeting in other locations, adding more people, staying longer....... it was SO hard to say goodbye. Rascal made biscuits. She couldn't find her sugar, so she substituted brownie mix to sweeten the biscuits. Then we "found' a plate of biscuits left from yesterday morning, and those of us who didn't have an appetite for "chocolate biscuits" had regular ones heaped with sausage gravy. But the chocolate biscuits were a hit to the kids. Everyone worked to get us all packed and cleaned and out of the cabin with intermittent moments of play and laughter.......did I mention that there were 3 dogs too? Oh, heck, there's no way to tell everything that happened, but it was all sweet and peaceful and fun. Aaron would often spontaneously come to me and wrap his little arms around my neck, which melted my heart and brought tears of joy. Abby's gentle smile and soft voice was a sweet pleasure. And even Steven, the oldest boy of Rascal's family, would make eye-contact with everyone, always checking to see where he might meet a need. Herbal's son, Cam and Hawk's son, Cory were both 14 years old (and both were over six feet tall!) and the most courteous, confident young men I've seen in a long time. I miss them all, already.

Bringing this back to top for any last minute Takers. Please e-mail Herbal ( addy above) or FemnavyVet@nxs.net so we can coordinate food for a cook out together! It's gonna be a very good time! [This message was edited by Ttessa on September 27, 2002 at 12:23.]

Soooo excited! Oct 4,5 is just about two more weeks! I'm looking forward to meeting a few posters, and having good times & good food. Don't forget to let Herbal know, if you're planning to try to get there! herbaljuankanobemike@yahoo.com

As the great, and mighty Herbal knows - I'm gonna be there (at the First Annual Greasespot Southern Comfort Weenie Roast- or GSCWR fer short), not with kids, but my companion, Xena (who is a sweet cocker spaniel). If I'm up to date on the developments so far; Herbal has volunteered to be the GSCWR Pick-aSpot and Advertise-It Coordinator, Sudo has volunteered to be the GSCWR Supply Officer (for Bloody Mary's...and mebbee more) Rascal is the Tent Authority and will supply the kiddos, ...so, I'm, thinking along the lines of what I kin do in the Food department (no, I'm NOT gonna supply food for 3 days for everybuddy - just a dish for one meal together, mebee). I got iders (along the lines of plant stuff, i.e.veges). Positions Still Open: * TP Folder (experience in making precise paper points is a plus) * Entertainment Coordinator (no Singing Ladies CD's allowed, please) * Campfire Builder * Marshmallow Distributor * Kazoo Conductor No applications necessary, just show up and don't expect a salary. Tim's Ford State Park should be really beautiful in Oct - maybe the colors will be changing. If you need the link for info, here tis- http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/timsford/index.html Call the free 800 number now! to reserve your cabin! [This message was edited by Ttessa on September 04, 2002 at 23:04.] [This message was edited by Ttessa on September 04, 2002 at 23:08.]

Just how private is this "Private"?

hmm..I want anuther choice! That being, "I don't care." cuz I've mostly stopped caring what others do ('cept Garth- he still irritates me)...as for my editing practices, like Pam I'm much more concerned about my own grammar & spelling. Oh, and posting the links correctly. And that's about all I can remember editing in a post of mine. If unlimited editing flies, then I'll be happy. If a time limit is the choice, I'll STILL be happy ( won't be my fault, if I screw up in grammar or spelling - evry body does at some time or nuther). BTW I try to read all of Garth's posts. They are worth reading, even if I don't agree