LG

Not so much a joke as something to be scoffed at, Raf. Read this.

I'll have to come to Washington and introduce myself, so I can feel safe. Wouldn't want to wind up in the soup.

Kansas.

That's good! We're at 15 in a row.

For anyone interested, Link to streaming video of Lyndon LaPlante's big moment. BTW, if anyone knows how to convert the streaming video to a file, preferably one that will run well on a fairly slow (500 Mhz) computer, and would be willing to do so and get the file to me, I'd appreciate it. I'd like to share it with someone I know.

You think a monkey paddle would sell well in Australia?

Krysilis, I wouldn't presume to say that the homeowners weren't lax, possibly to the point of stupidity. I don't know. I have nothing but contempt for what the reporters did, though. The most charitable thing I can say about it is that it was a dumb stunt. Had they rang my doorbell, they'd have gotten a good tongue lashing, an order to leave my property immediately, a visit from the police within minutes, a telephone call to the station that night, and harsh letters to the station and to all local newspapers (only one, in my case) the next day. They might have gotten more than that, depending on specifics of the situation. BTW, although I lock my doors, I also know that door locks provide very little protection against burglary. Windows are easy to enter.

Didn't Pirate cover that a week or two ago? Making a squawk over this is silly. It's probably intended as a gag for adults. As such, it's dumb and perhaps in poor taste, but harmless enough. What would worry me would be any parents who might buy the gift for their children.

If the residents were awake, with lights on in their houses, then the stupid people were the reporters who thought that would be a good test.

I guess I should explain the original contents of the post I edited out and why I did it. First, I'll explain why I posted the original story. I was browsing the Dallas Morning News website today, as I do almost every day. I saw a story about something that actually happened just this Friday night. I thought that some people at GS might enjoy reading it, so I posted it as what I considered it to be, "Just a nice story." I didn't intend it to convey a lesson, and certainly not the lesson of the Shaya story. The story from Snopes irritated me for two reasons. One was that it was from an urban legends site, which seemed to suggest that the story I posted might be of questionable veracity. Yes, I took that as an insult, though I see now that Sudo did not intend it as such. The other thing that irritated me was its lesson. Even as a child, such lessons said more to me about God being cruel than about people "reaching their level of God's perfection" by showing kindness. How in the world would God's cruelly causing a child to be born disabled teach anyone about His kindness? It didn't make sense when I was a child and no priest, nun, or lay teacher could ever satisfactorily answer that question. Even TWI's take on such things (which I don't agree with, either) makes more sense to me than that. After reading the story Sudo posted, I wanted to respond, but I couldn't seem to compose a civil post, so I settled (briefly) on simply posting, "Not the point." Sudo asked what I meant, in a post that has since mysteriously vanished. At the time, I didn't feel like discussing it, so I just replaced "Not the point." with "-". So now I offer my explanation. Sudo, I misunderstood your intent, and I was initially offended. Now I am not. I like the story you posted, but I don't like the lesson it seeks to teach.

-

Senior with Down syndrome fulfills dream Sunday, October 16, 2005 By TIM MacMAHON / The Dallas Morning News The home crowd at Keller ISD Stadium rose to its feet as soon as Lyndon LaPlante jogged onto the field during the fourth quarter Friday night. The fans went wild during LaPlante's 99-yard touchdown run, which ended with him being mobbed in the end zone by his Keller teammates. Never mind that the pre-arranged play didn't count. It fulfilled a dream for LaPlante, a senior who has Down syndrome. He maximized the moment by flashing a Heismanesque stiff arm as he crossed the goal line and hamming it up on the sideline after play resumed in Keller's 35-21 win over Richland. "Man, it was awesome!" said LaPlante, who was still cradling the game ball when his mother, Genni, woke him up Saturday morning. "Everybody said, 'Lyndon! Lyndon! Lyndon!' I was crying with chills." Keller coach Kevin Atkinson had planned for three years to get LaPlante a carry his senior season. He hoped an opposing coach would agree to allow LaPlante to take a handoff and run over to the sideline to hug his coach. Atkinson mentioned the idea to Richland coach Gene Wier, who suggested LaPlante should score. They agreed it would happen on Keller's first offensive play of the fourth quarter and notified the officiating crew before the game. Perhaps it was fate that a Richland punt pinned Keller on its 1-yard line, giving LaPlante as much glory as possible. Moments earlier, LaPlante had called his father, Don, to the guardrail behind the Keller bench. "I'm goin' in! I'm goin' in!" he said. LaPlante has been a part of Keller's program since his freshman year, when he served as the freshman team's manager. Atkinson, smitten by LaPlante's upbeat personality, promoted him to student assistant head coach the next season. LaPlante specializes in motivational speeches, which usually focus on how much he loves Keller and his teammates. "His heart is as big as Texas," Atkinson said. LaPlante's unofficial duties also include greeting college coaches on campus to recruit. He'll introduce himself, title and all, and chat away. "I've played y'all on PlayStation," LaPlante has told a few coaches, "and y'all aren't very good." Atkinson allowed LaPlante to pick a position before his sophomore season. LaPlante chose to be a running back. He dresses out and goes through noncontact drills with the backs at the beginning of every practice. He's been known to then retreat to Atkinson's golf cart for a nap. LaPlante, No. 1 on the roster, has suited up for every varsity game the last two seasons. He gets two carries during pregame drills every week. He usually removes his shoulder pads once the game starts and concentrates on taking pictures. With some help from his mother, LaPlante has made a photo slideshow for the team at the end of each season. One ended with a mug shot of him accompanied by four words: "Put me in, Coach."

It "gives away" a clue that Evan has probably read the first verse of the chapter from which you quoted. 1 Corinthians 12:1: "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." It also "gives away" a clue that he may have read in verse 8 of that chapter the words immediately before the list of what Wierwille called manifestations, "is given by the Spirit," and concluded that something "given by the Spirit" can reasonably be called a "gift of the Spirit" and that more than one thing "given by the Spirit," when considered together, can reasonably be called "gifts" or "gifts of the Spirit." Evan should be careful about giving away clues like that, or he'll expose himself as someone who reads the Bible, can understand what he reads, and can draw reasonable conclusions from what he reads. From other clues Evan has given away (accidentally, I'm sure) it would seem that he actually believes the Bible, reads it more for insiration and spiritual enlightenment than for "inerrant accuracy," but can also hold his own in a scriptural debate, should he deem it fitting. I'd further conclude that he thinks that the overall message of love, goodness, etc. is more important than most doctrinal quibbles. And he has the nerve to call himself a Christian! Regarding what you quoted, it doesn't address Evan's questions or comments.

At this point, that's the level I'd require to even bother delving into a reported incident. It would take more to convince me. I realize (at least I presume) that neither you nor Jerry are trying to convince me. Nor am I trying to dissuade you from your beliefs.

Better watch out for her, tcat. Oh, wait. She was talking about "people who LITTER." You're probably OK, then, even if she does the right thing and gets a gun. BTW, I hate litterers, too. And I'm not too fond of cats, unless they can type, but I tolerate them better than I do litterers.

You'll find that in any state. With Texas, though, the likely reason is that those who never left Texas talked to those who had and found out that there's nothing much to speak of outside of Texas. (Well, Louisiana has some pretty good food, but you can get much the same in SE Texas.) Now why in the world would anyone want to go to Oklahoma? I remember meeting a bunch of them in Texas in the eighties. Didn't seem tough to me. Just rude. But there were a few who smartened up and eventually became adopted Texans. My ex-wife, who was from Connecticut, used to tell me that I thought that Texas was the only State in the Union. She was right about that, at least.

No, Jerry, that's not even close.

The 50+ inches is the yearly average in Erie, PA, laleo. The particular year I was there (1976-77) the total snowfall was about 80 inches. Either is way too much for me. I do have a large house that's about 100 years old, and not at all energy-efficient. It's expensive to cool in hot Texas summers, and it's pretty expensive to heat in winter, but my highest winter gas bills are only about half my highest summer electric bills.

Those are some beautiful pictures, Cowgirl. Did you take any/all of them yourself? PS: Sorry for my vain attempt at humor above. I had just paid an electric bill of over $400.00, so that was was on my mind. I'd have deleted the dumb comment, but for the editing limits. I've lived in Texas all my life, except for a year in Pennsylvania and about a year and a half in Arizona, so I've only personally seen colors like that once, in Pennsylvania. They're sure nice, but I didn't care for the fifty-plus inches of snow that came shortly afterward, so I'll just enjoy Texas bluebonnets and other wildflowers in person in the Spring and enjoy the Autumn colors through pictures like yours.

That "no spoilers" line is strange. If you're not going to say what the heck you're talking about, then why even mention it?

Mike's mission in life seems to be mastering PFAL, which he says that he has not yet fully mastered, and advocating that others do the same. Perhaps he is using this thread to demonstrate his partial mastery of PFAL. Panic Fright Alarm Perhaps he has the first three letters mastered, but not the fourth.

Ah, a nice baptism in cool, clear water. Very peaceful. :)

I am inspired to set forth the Word of the Lowered. He who hath eyes (and the requisite elementary education) to read, let him read. He who giveth not a damn about what I write, let him continue giving not a damn. Or let him be inspired to give many damns. I give not a chit. Having possibly offended several people with that prologue, I will now likely offend a few more, though giving offense is not my intent. Translation: I’m not about to consider the possibility that the people (most of whom I don’t even know existed) upon whose words my entire belief system is based were frauds. Bible says that Noah was warned about big flood. Bible says that Joseph was warned about big famine. Bible says lots of things. People who claim to receive revelation from God say lots of things. Big picture is that anything can be “foretold” after it happens or in a fictional story, but there is a curious lack of evidence of any documented foretelling of known events before they happened that resulted in actions to prevent calamity. I know many people who were “supposed” to be various places at various times. On any given day, whether “fateful” or not, in a building with many thousands of workers and several thousand visitors each day, there will be hundreds, if not thousands, who were “supposed” to be there at a particular time but weren’t, for some reason or another. Apparently, the assumption is that of the “many [who] were God’s children that perished that day,” none were “listening.” Of course, that doesn’t apply to those you knew who “for some reason (God’s voice) … didn’t go.” Many people feel uneasy about going to work every day, don’t go, and nothing spectacular happens. Many other people feel uneasy about going to work every day, but go anyway, and nothing spectacular happens. But since nothing spectacular happens, they don’t bother giving accounts of their uneasy feelings. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll say that I don’t even believe in a personal God, much less in the revelation that people like to think they get, and that charlatans love to claim that they get. I’d give the notion some more consideration if someone could produce a documented account of someone intending to board one of those four planes, being told by God not to, and attempting to warn the airlines or the government of the hijackings. A documented account of someone intending to go to the WTC or the Pentagon, being told by God not to, and trying to warn the airlines or the government would do just as well.

I agree, but even if Wierwille had multiple doctorates from the most respected institutions in the world, "Dr" wouldn't identify him. To use "Dr" as a substitute for the man's name is both poor communication and just plain wierd. In this case, it is a sign of worship, and I do NOT mean "respect."

I understand that Paw prefers calling that two by four a stud. (Whether that's a delusion of grandeur or not, I don't know.)