I'm saying it half in jest, but everyone is possessed by some palpable(sp?) fear. If you've spent any time in the city you know how crowded it can get, and with all of the tension recently, its beginning to feel a little like...you know how it is when you have the roomate that you just wish would give you some space? You can't talk about it and your at the point that you just want to explode? Its like that in the subways. Theres this weird undercurrent of violence and fear in everything. Does that make sense?
<b>backwardhead</b>: That is certainly not the network news version of NYC that we are getting. What you are citing does not surprise me. NYC was ravaged by violence.
My experience is pretty much limited to the working class though. I live in Queens and work in the city and the people I commute with and eat lunch with and hang with afterwork are not those with big bags of money or expensive therapists. In the beginning everybody was real quiet. I imagine that was the case nationwide. It was like we were all at a funeral, some of us closer to the deceased than others. Now those emotions are starting to break out. For people who whined about life before 9/11 just whine 10x more now. Those who were loud and pushy, more so. Everything feels very taught and emotionally unpredictable.
I would just like to say: GOD bless everyone here and I love you all... I really appreciate people who don't share my views because it adds real diversity to this bbs. Even posters who don't agree with me and my beliefs still respect my voice and I respect theirs...special props to: Rocketman 95 Shanna Achebe Haven outlaw (I'm forgetting someone, I know.) Thank GOD for this site. p.s. I almost forgot Jeff.,....Even though I disagree with him on so many ideas and thoughts, I can't help but think of him as one of my favorite posters. The reason? Well, when I first came here, he made me feel welcome by his responses and posting style...No offense to the other admins., but he is probably the friendliest admin. person or crew person as they call it now. Also, whether he does it intentionally or not, Jeff tends to take a middle-of-the-road approach on nearly everything. He is pretty intelligent, articulate, and keeps his cool (for the most part ). I like the fact he covers a broad range of topics and doesn't concern himself with only a few areas. Furthermore, whether I want to agree with it or not; alot of what he talks about makes sense and I find myself agreeing with him even though I thought I didn't agree with it (did that make sense?). Add to that he speaks of peace, caring and good in people and it all adds up to a unique poster and person.....also he agreed to have bar-b-que with me a few months back!!!! Jeff, I hope this doesn't offend you, but GOD bless you and thanks for being involved.
ROX: That is exceptionally nice of you. None of it offends me at all. I'll take all the blessings I can get! I do intend, in fact, to take a middle-of-the-road approach. That's my nature despite the fact that many of my beliefs are pretty far left of the road. I appreciate everybody and I think we all are unique in the way we approach things. That's the great thing about the BBS. I'll also admit that I always read your posts despite my agreement or disagreement with them. They are always a good read! As for the bar-b-que, I'll bring the veggie dogs, veggie burgers and fake chicken as long as you have the baked potatoes and the squirrels remain spectators only!
Non-Religious Story: When I was in college I took 'Ancient Cultures of the New World' one summer. The professor only taught in the summer, because he was an anthropoligist, and spent all winter in South America. Anyway, one day he relayed this story to the class: One year, he spent some time studying a tribe high up in the mountains of Peru. Up there, there is very little that grows, so the diet is very limited. There is a little groundhog like creature that they eat, and they also have some wild-type potatoes. Most people know that the fresh shoots of domesticated potatoes are poisonous. Potatoes are part of the family 'Solanaceae', the same family which bring us Deadly Nightshade, and any number of other toxic plants. The new stems of domestic potatoes contain chemicals called 'Solenoids', whereas these chemicals are distributed throughtout the entirety of wild potatoes, and the only way to deactivate them is by exposure to light. Therefore these natives take the potatoes, mash them up with their feet, put them in a stream, and let the sun kill the poisons. After this is done, they can eat them. My professor only had one problem with this. It seems that various people traded potatoes unequaly with eachother. A's potatoes might be worth 2 of B's potatoes. My professor couldn't figure out any pattern and it drove him crazy. It seems that a major rule of anthropoligy is that you should never, never ask natives about why they have any particular traditions as they might freak out and kill you, but my professor was overcome with curiosity. He asked. It turns out that when the people mush up the potatoes, the bacteria on the bottom of their feet transfer to the potatoes. They then tend to affect the potatoes imparting a unique flavor. Therefore, those with the tasty bacteria on their feet produce potatoes that have more value. That was just about the most disgusting thing I'd ever heard. Also, he let us know that Chiuaua was specificaly bread by the Inca to be free of hair. It made them easier to prepair for cooking.
Jeff, you got a problem with God? How about them Yanks? I guess you should win when your payroll is $40 million more than your opponent.
