TheHighWay

If you are still feeling uncertainty the horse may well be picking up on that and responding with uncertainty. I've had better luck urging a horse forward by doing more of a squeezing motion with my knees/legs than a nudging/kicking one. You might try that next time and see if you get better results. (mind you, I am NO expert here... I've just ridden on friends' horses from time to time)

Well, if you mean NORMAL like most people in our society think is proper to behave, um, no. Is it normal twi behavior? Ooooh yeah!!!! See, protecting the household of God from evil copouts is their driving force these days. They even teach records where God's people lied to unbelievers and God blessed them for it, to bring home the point.

Ecathedra's comment got me looking, and I found this: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...89824-1,00.html Interesting to me that I had never heard that so much of his book was being called into question, even though this article was written years ago. The only other mention of this controversy I found online was a site put up by the family members disputing his book. Normally, I would find myself siding with the person being attacked and not the family squabblers, but in this case it does look like there are all kinds of folks barely involved with the family who have evidence of falsehoods. Hmmmm.... At least it appears that his methods are not what is in question here... they usually work on most horses. But yeah, my appreciation of the man Monty Roberts has just taken a heavy hit. The list of "questionable" anecdotes and the later changes and especially his final comment, ""Don't take this wrong," says Monty to a reporter who has grown skeptical, "but if everything I said was 100% false, look at the good it's doing." brought a picture of DocVic himself to my mind. Double Hmmmm.... We now return to our original thread topic... Rottie... what made you decide to take horseback riding lessons in the first place?

Rascal... I read that book years ago... really, really fascinating stuff. Made me look at all critters differently.

Wow, I love that guy's stuff, too!! Makes me just want to go visit the beach or walk along the river to look for driftwood...

I always thought they came in one temperature range: HHHHHOT !!!! I wonder if yours is giving out? I didn't want to derail the "coming out" thread but wondered if you had seen the way this gal uses driftwood: http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm I have a few small pieces of driftwood around my own house (love the shapes and colors!) but I don't "Do" anything with it. Can you post any pics of your own work?

Actually, the hardest thing, (in my humble opinion) is just getting it into your head that the horse isn't looking to hurt you. It may be a lot bigger than you, but it has spent it's whole life being handled and taught to cooperate with humans. Listen to what you instructor tells you to do, and treat your horse with a kind but firm manner and you will be a terrific rider in no time!! Color me "jealous"!!

I saw an interview with the guy who does the chalk art. He says he takes photos of them because somehow the pic accentuates the 3D-ness of the art. And while these particular truck designs may not be real I have recently seen (in person) some real looking art on big rigs that is VERY distracting the first time you see it (one looked like one of the side-load doors of a soda truck was open so you could see the stacks of soda sitting inside.

In my state, they have a program separate from Medicaid, where the state basically provides health coverage for any child where the parents have none. It coveres eyes, teeth, and medical, and prescriptions, and the parent pays very little out of pocket. It's called "chips" here but it may have another name in other states. And signing up for it doesn't automatically put you onto the welfare system. They are separate. I used it a couple of times as I was transitioning between jobs and had no insurance myself. It was a lifesaver!!

Catcup, Whew! gal, I knew you were smart and amazing, but I had no idea the amount of credentials you had backing you up!! Thanks for posting this summary. I have seen many of the symptoms you describe in acquaintances who had been abused and never got help, but now I feel like I understand more of what was driving those symptoms. THW

That's terrific!! Enjoy being out and home again! Keep us posted!!

I cannot tell you how many times I had this very conversation with folks while in twi... it isn't just enough to have a knowledge of the scriptures. If you don't understand or practice the heart and intent of them, you are way off base with God.

Wow, Socks... thanks for sharing... there is so much to be understood from these beginnings!!

WordWolf, I think that was a different situation. They tried to make the Security guys at HQ into their own police force, with uniforms, badges, and vehicles, until the local authorities said "Uhn-UH, nothing doing!" At Emporia, I don't think they ever did try to make it official or hand out badges, etc. It was just the Corps and College Program folks roaming the grounds in pairs all night speaking in tongues and praying. (or sneaking into the coolers for a snack, or finding a dark corner for a nap) Amazing how naive we all were... while there were times I was really afraid, walking around in the dark, it really never occurred to me that we were stupid for doing it. I just figured I needed to conquor my fear.

Imagine, Rascal... right there with ya!!!!

I don't know that she is contradicting herself here. When the secret-keeper dies, at that point, all who knew the secret, still know it, but nobody else. In the book she just expands that to say that now each one who knew the info, can TELL the info, which they couldn't before. They knew exactly what it meant. They had decided Snape was definately working for Voldemort (after killing DD) and they not only vacated HQ but set a tongue-tying curse on anyone who entered. It describes Harry, Ron, and Hermione experiencing said curse, and implies that Snape had already rummaged the house, therefore was subjected to the curse. I believe it is Lupin that later says Snape obviously didn't tell because the death-eaters are simply hanging around on the outside hoping to see someone coming or going. They didn't know it was HQ for the Order, they just knew it was Sirius' residence and had been willed to Harry, so they thought he might show up there.

Sounds like fun... I'll give it a try and get back with you...

Well, I certainly won't argue the point that JK's writing is even, it isn't... never has been. And I certainly wish her editers had taken a firmer hand in some cases to make her style a little more well-balanced. But as you mentioned, neither was Tolkein's writing even (some HORRIBLY long and boring passages in Two Towers and Return of the King) and I still love his work. I would love to know what your list of promised things was that you say she left out. Personally, I think if you go back over the books, you will find that the ending makes a great deal of sense. (However, I do plan to go back to the beginning and re-read them all, so I may find some discrepancies I'd forgotten about.) Did I get frustrated when the main characters seemed to spend chapter after chapter wallowing around at a loss? Oh yeah. But I think it emphasized how much Harry had relied on others to direct his path, and that he had to make that all-important transition to trusting his own instincts (not just in the spur-of-the-moment decisions but in the long term). I was also a bit surprised at how many deaths there were, but good grief, this is the first book where all-out war has broken out. Previously it was a cat-and-mouse game. Now it's all out in the open and shows, if there was ever any doubt about it, how imperative it is to stop Voldemort.

Whew! Finished late last night. What a great ending to a great story... still kept me guessing and wondering about things until the very end. Can't wait to re-read book seven, then start back at the beginning and re-read them all through once more. A treat, indeed!!

It's interesting that you say that, because it was all the little details that impressed me. I had never seen anyone take so much time to talk about the specifics of the Bible, having come from one of those churches where the paster read 2-4 verses, closed the book and talked for 45 minutes on the "life lessons" of those verses. However, I'm with you on the rest: There are only so many times you can sit through it without wanting to curl up and take a nap!!

Wow, I'm so sad at this news... he always seemed a gentle and genuine soul. May he rest in peace.

To me, judging a book by its cover would be walking past someone and making a snap judgement without even saying a word. A five minute chat isn't judging a book by its cover, it's reading the cover jacket and maybe even the introduction; looking at the chapter titles; reading a random paragraph. Much information can be gathered in just those few moments: what is the subject of the book? the intent of the author? the style of art accompanying the story? is it a mystery, comedy, drama? is it modern or set in the future or past? Speed dating might tell you: do you like the way the person conducts themselves with others? do they look and smell clean? what do they want to talk about? what do they find interesting? do they engage you in the conversation or just talk about themself? do they have kids? pets? a job? do they have a sense of humor? Just these few bits of info can tell you if five minutes is all you care to spend with the person, or if you'd like to get to know them better. Just like flipping through a book tells you if you want to put it back on the shelf or check it out of the library. I repeat: I like the idea. I'd love to hear some peoples' real life experiences with it. Who pays for lunch? And doesn't that tell you something about the person as well? (lol)

Interesting thread... I, for one, tend to be one of those that feels that any good done by the programs/activities/twi is far outweighed by all the evil and harm done. But do we, as a general GSC populace, really clamp down on folks who tell us about their good experiences? I really hope not. I want this place to be where I can hear all sides, and many opinions. I think most of us did have good experiences threaded through our time in twi. But, I think those good times and fond moments are what kept us thinking that any bad times we might be going through were just temporary or aberrations, not the norm. I think the good times gave us just enough hope to keep us hanging. And that is a shame. I think telling about our good experiences helps remind us that we were not completely daft to have joined twi in the first place. There were reasons we joined. There were reasons we stayed. There were good people and good experiences that added positively to our lives. There really were. It's just that looking back, with the wisdom of age and experience on our side, we see that there were not enough of those moments. Not nearly enough of them compared to all the bad stuff. And I suppose that is why some of us bristle when we read about a good twi experience. We don't mind that you had a good experience, as long as you acknowlege that we didn't. The question is, does that 'tip of the hat' need to be in every post? As for LEAD specifically, I think that it should have been voluntary. And I think it should have been directed by actual professionals. In other words, I think it should have been run like Rodeo School was run. Were there injuries there? Oh, yeah. But people signed up KNOWING it was going to be a risk, and the cowboys let them know it was SERIOUS, and when there were accidents, it wasn't HIDDEN or covered up like so much of the LEAD stuff was. From what I saw, people were not ostracized for being hurt because they got thrown off a bull, they were praised for facing their fears and having tried in the first place.

As always, Oak... extremely well said!

That's exactly my point... if I can't stomach the first five minutes with you, I'd rather not spend an hour or two with you. But, if I like you well enough in the first five minutes, then, yes... let's make a lunch date and talk some more. I don't think you should ask anything too deep at a speed dating session. I've always assumed it was a lot more about that immediate "click" or "eeewww" you get with someone.