The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion. 

Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument. 

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Response" button to add your entry to the forum.

Russ Stovall

David;

Glad to hear Christopher is getting better.  Prayers for continued good health.

David Cordell

Thanks, Russ. It's Christopher's birthday today, and I think he is on a good path medically. Now, if only he could get on a good path with the rest of his life!!

David Cordell

From Vivek Ramaswamy

TRUTH.

1. God is real.

2. There are two genders.

3. Human flourishing requires fossil fuels.

4. Reverse racism is racism.

5. An open border is no border.

6. Parents determine the education of their children.

7. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind.

8. Capitalism lifts people up from poverty.

9. There are three branches of the U.S. government, not four.

10. The U.S. Constitution is the strongest guarantor of freedoms in history.

David Cordell

Dolly "Let(s) It Be" with the help of friends.

https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/dolly-parton-releases-powerful-rendition-161000280.html

Jim Bedwell

Here are some interesting "famous memorials" at the Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Five members of Lynyrd Skynyrd are buried there, as is Dave Hlubek, cofounder & lead guitarist of Molly Hatchet. Note also buried there is the high school teacher, Leonard Skinner, whose OCD about hair length & other school rules was a precursor to the group's rehearsing OCD & his name led to the group's name later.

Famous Memorials - Find a Grave Cemetery

Jim Bedwell

David C,

Really enjoyed the 10 points of that Vivek Ramaswamy. Also really like him. I would LOVE to have Trump pick him OR Larry Elder as his VP choice. Either of those 2 would be a GREAT President 48 after the Donald's last term - can you imagine how hard it is for a systemic racist (as defined by the left) to support a guy from India or south LA for our next VP? Anyway, this is all assuming Dem voter fraud is no longer any problem whatsoever, a VERY iffy assumption in my mind. With Biden's total self-destruction (and not even realizing it) as President, that would be the only stumbling block to removing the neo-Marxists from power in D.C., I think. At least the Big Guy, Emperor Joe has REALLY COOL initials - JRB!!!!!!!!!!!!! Move over, Grover (Cleveland, the only Prez to serve non-consecutive terms), GO ORANGE MAN (in orange prison garb soon? doubt it)!!!!

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

One notable tenet of the Hindu faith I've noticed, is that the Indian Hindus seem to have no problem with other faiths, unlike the Islamic faith.  I've known folks from India, who I think were Hindu, and they made very nice neighbors of themselves.  They were always cooperative with all issues in the neighborhood, and were so friendly to all.  Considering this aspect of those Hindus, I believe that if Ramaswamy catches on with Americans as his favorability indicates at this point, I think Americans will consider his religion to be a non-issue. 

Time will tell.

I'm quite fond of Vivek R.  He foretells great ideas for America, in my opinion.  He has a keen business and financial mind, plus an entrepreneurial spirit.  He also understands the extreme insidiousness of the 'Deep State;' a manufactured and highly manipulated condition in the huge group of civil servants who never quit, or retire until they are usually elderly, ready for their ample retirement packages.  The Democrats refuse to acknowledge the existence of their (the Deep States') everlasting dedication and servitude to the Dems, and at that same moment in time, the Republicans observe the instantaneous launching into seething anger and scoffing towards any person who speaks of the duly named, 'Deep State.'  (They exhibited the same seething anger when Republicans tried to speak to them about shenanigans and irregularities after the 2020 election, as many of you recall.)  The DC civil servants have continuing corrupt powers infecting all aspects of Washington DC outcomes, since before FDR.  (One of the most 'deeply harmful for Americans' dirty little secrets of the shining city on the hill.)

Congress members have written tons of info on the subject of THE DEEP STATE in DC's often underground civil service offices, and anyone can read of what they have recorded, online or in libraries everywhere.  Seek and ye shall find.......

Mr. Ramaswamy has become very familiar with most all of the info available, and has talked with many Congress members about the problems occurring in DC for so long.  He wants to tackle the awfulness with fervor and determination to correct it all.  Hallelujah!

Lowell Tuttle

Janalu.  Actually there is quite a right wing (Hindu right wing) movement in India and there has been since MODI won the elections.   

Hindu nationalism is a very real problem in India.   

From my experience, it goes against what I believe Hinduism is, but it is there.

India politics is a mixed bag...to say the least.

David Cordell

I suspect that I have had more interaction with Indians and Indian-Americans than the vast majority of our classmates. Universities are amply supplied, both with faculty and students, and UT Dallas is loaded. All the Indians I have interacted with have been pleasant. Martha also had very good experiences with Indian students and parents, including being selected as favorite teacher in a ceremony of Indian students. I had a couple of not-so-good experiences with Pakistanis, though.

David Cordell

Jim B,

It is obvious to me that the indictments of Trump are more political than legal, but he brought it on himself.  

He is such a divisive person, and a dickhead in general. I like his policies and toughness, but DeSantis has them, too, without the baggage. Plus, DeSantis can serve eight years. That's important for trying to make changes in the bureaucracy, as well as in the appointment of judges. And I think Trump hurts the down-ticket. He has insulted and/or attacked half of the Republican office holders.

If Biden and Trump had any decency between them, they would withdraw their candidacies. Like Biden, Trump is too old, but he isn't in Biden's league of diminishing abilties. And Biden was starting from a pretty low level.

I think the press has been beating up on DeSantis because they want Trump to be the candidate. They think he will be easier to beat. I'd love to see a debate between Biden and DeSantis. Age 81 versus 45. DeSantis has a BA from Harvard and a law degree from Yale, plus he spent time in the service and has experience as an executive of a large state. 

As in 2016, Trump is last on my list of Republicans, but I would vote for him over any Democrat.

Note that Vivek Ramaswamy is also a  Harvard undergrad with Yale law degree. He is extremely articulate, but I wish he were older. I believe Kennedy was the youngest to be elected, age 43. I think Teddy Roosevelt was 42, but he became President because of McKinley's death. Vivek is only 38. Still, he has real world business/entrepreneurial experience, and I like that a lot. I am suspicious of lifetime politicians who have never had to deal with the laws and subsequent regulations they foist on business.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Yes, the Pakistanis, in general, do not like the Americans.  Sixty Minutes did a show a number of years ago, when they had a 'round table'  discussion with mostly Pakistani college students.  The anti-Americanism obvious in that discussion was loud and clear.  I've also heard that the US actually pays Pakistan large sums of money, basically to NOT attack us, so to speak.  They also are a nuclear nation, which is probably an incentive for us to try to keep some semblance of peace with them.

Jim Bedwell

Lady Lanajuju,

Did you notice that one time that Jan Alexander called you Janalulu? Probably she's just jealous that she wasn't named that instead of whatever her full first birth name is. YEE HAW!!!!!!

Vivek and the late brilliant economist Walter Williams are the only ones I know of, who keep/kept repeating the FACT that 70% of all US federal spending is unconstitutional. DUH.

David C,

The only problem I had with somebody from India in school was that one UT-D Indian T.A. who never had grasped the concept of deodorant. He must have had some French blood, as witnessed in this Mark Twain quip:

"In Marseille they make half the toilet soap we consume in America, but the Marseillaise only have a vague theoretical idea of its use, which they have obtained from books of travel."

Jim Bedwell

David C,

I hear you about all the Trump foibles (or worse). I don't know why the Donald doesn't bother me like he does other people on our side; the RHS jerks really got on my nerves way back then. Probably because I lived in New Jersey for 2 years as a kid, where I was molded into the person I am today; so I got used to rude Northeastern behavior, I think. I wouldn't mind if somebody other than Trump runs, but the only ones I would be VERY OK with as the nominee rather than Trump would be Elder or Vivek.

Kurt Fischer

Two items

First, thanks for the well wishing regarding my hand.  It's healing very slowly, but on schedule.

Second, for Janalu.  Alas, the Hindu population in India has a history of discrimination based on religion.  You can read about the number of riots against Muslims and Christians over at least the last century.  I had a friend who was a Hindu, but described the rioting, fires, beatings and deaths in his village.  (anti-Muslim)  We have never experienced the depth of religious hatred in our country.  Yet, on the other hand, I have found the Indians in the US to be uniformly nice people.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Hey Jimbo of the hills of TN!

How'ya been gettin' along?  Sounds like you're up to your old ways of mischief and messin' round!  Glad to hear from you in your cheerful mood.

I've visited India, and it is true the people don't understand the concept of deodorant.  They seem to be so used to their natural scent among each other, with lots of sweat equity, etc., that they don't realize their effervesence floating out on the breeze toward others.  The Pakistanis often have the same hygiene habits of the Indians, I think.  I guess they think WE smell like French whores, so to speak, don't you imagine?  HA!

The drifting ambience of scent can gag a visitor to the country, at times.  Yes, indeed! 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Thanks, Kurt, for your info about the Hindus' history from their country; of their negativism and hostility toward Muslims and some other tribes in their nation.  I guess I knew that from my past college courses, but had forgotten about some of it.

I was speaking, mostly, about what I've noticed of them as they present themselves in this country, and in how they seem to accept the Christian religion with no problems, at least ourwardly to us as they live side-by-side with us in our neighborhoods.

Good to hear from you!  Wish you would post more often.

Wayne Gary

Several years ago I was talking to a Sikh. They are from the Punjab region of India.  They are very accepting of all but the Muslim religions.  He said when the Muslems were incharge of the Punjab region the forced them to eat Halal which is the equlivent to Kosher.  As result Sikhs will not eat Halal.  There is a Sikh temple in Richardon and with their daily service food is served to all present.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Speaking of foreign scents earlier, coaxed a memory of a conversation I read, of a Viet Nam veteran talking with a friend of his, over lunch one day.  The veteran told of a gosh awful, smelly cooking oil used by peasants, in the Viet Nam countryside.  He said they saved the oil from the fish they caught, to use daily, at cooking hours. It permeated the air all around, he recalled.  He then told of how he had been with a tour group of folks, forty-five years later, as they visited Viet Nam along with other Southeastern Asian countries.  He said that as soon as he disembarked at the airport in Saigon, that gawd awful scent hit his nose, as he once again, had flashbacks of his ages old experiences there.  He wondered to himself if any improvements had been made among the people, but suspected that little had changed in their meager, peasant living conditions, even after forty-five years.

I know from watching YouTube videos of Southeastern Asian life focusing on current everyday life in those countries, you can watch the general population STILL traveling down the roads in the area, with little puppies or kittens, or older dogs and cats, tied to the tail-end of putt-putt pocket rockets (gasoline-powered scooters) or bicycles used by thousands there.  They are carting those adorable little animals home to kill and eat with their families.  They can't afford to buy better quality meat very often.

It is heartbreaking for me, an avowed animal lover since early childhood, to watch those videos to their end.  I usually turn them off and watch something cheerful at hand, which sometimes can't be found quickly enough to suit me. 

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Wayne,

Your post about "halal" got me to do a bit of research.  The word "halal" in Arabic means, permissable.  Haram in contrast means, forbidden.  There is an interesting artifcle about this on Wikipedia.

Wayne Gary

Sandrs,

In Richardson I know of 2 butchers that advertise they are Halal markets.  There are probably more that I do not know of since there is a fairly large Muslem population.  A lot of them do not abide to the restrictions.

David Cordell

One of the stops on our trip this summer was to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, where General Patton is buried. It remined me of visiting Audie Murphy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

Here is Patton's grave in Luxembourg.

Here is Audie Murphy's grave. Note that he is listed as a major, but he was an enlisted man when he performed his heroic deeds. The eventual promotion to major was controversial because he didn't didn't have the academic credentials. I believe it came later when he was in the National Guard. 

This is a photo of Murphy with my wife's brother-in-lawBill Barnard from 1945 when Bill interviewed Murphy. (Note: Martha's sister Julia is 13 years older than Martha, and the brother-in-law Bill was 25 years older than Julia!)

Here is a wonderful 19-minute documentary of Murphy's heroism. He was extraordinarily brave.

Here is the article that Bill Barnard wrote after his interview of Murphy.

Audie Murphy article

David Cordell

This was re-posted on Facebook by a classmate. 

I have never been present at the exact moment of death of a human -- only a dog. Martha has been present at the moment of death of two people -- her brother-in-law and an 89-year-old woman whom we called our family's adopted grandmother.

This seems like good advice

Love

When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breath away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Marty Fulton

David C -  you have made some really good posts lately.  As I reflect back on all of the war movies that I've watched, I never knew the exact story behind Audie Murphy's heroism.  So thank you for providing a good documentary to watch. 

Also liked your most recent post.  Lost my mother in 2006.  Although she didn't pass when I was at her bedside (apparently a few hours later in the middle of the night), she was listening to me, while unconscious, for the better part of an hour.  She was worth her weight in GOLD, which happened to be her maiden name.  Perhaps that was the most meaningful time I ever spent.... 

Lowell Tuttle

In between forced sit out of two semesters at UT, 1971, I became a phlebotomist at Wadley Blood Bank, next to Baylor.   I was a runner and stuck patients for samples to be typed and crossmatched, usually 8-10 patients a day, and I maintained the floor blood refridgerator, exchanging out the unused blood and taking it back to Wadley.

I was called, "Mr. Tuttle, stat CCU 5," or close to that and went to the room.   I got cornered in as the woman patient I was called on coded and I couldn't draw my sample, but couldn't leave the cubicle.   They performed CPR and shocked her several times, eventually she passed and recovered and passed and recovered.   Each time the body going slack.   Finally, they emptied the room and I left.

Only time I experienced the moment of death.   It's been with me a lifetime.   

Wife a nurse for 40 years including ICU I am sure has experienced dozens of times.  

Of course different for loved ones...but, even my momentary attendance that one time is memory'd forever.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

The exact moment a human being ceases to be alive.  I was there that moment for my mother in law, Eleanor.  She was just 66 years old.  Three days before she had had a brain aneursym.  They flew her by helicopter from her home in Mingus Texas to a Fort Worth hospital where they conducted emergency brain surgery to put a metal clip over the bleed.  When this happened Danny and I were in San Francisco at a Autodesk Developers conference.  We immediately called our airline to get emergency tickets back to Dallas.  American Airlines was rude to say the least.  They insisted on calling the hospital before they would issue us the very high priced tickets to prove it was a family medical emergency.  The airline knew of her medical status before we did.  Even at that we stayed at the airport for hours and got on a flight in the middle of the night.  To this day, I won't fly American.

When we got to the hospital she was in a coma and they were monitoring her brain activity.  We stayed at that hospital day and night for two more days.  We slept in these awful waiting room chairs. Finally, it was determined that she had no brain activity and she could not breathe on her own.  Her husband (not Danny's father) wanted to get permission from her three sons before he would consent to turn off the machines she was hooked up to.  The three brothers got together and all agreed.  Then her husband agreed as well.  Her sister wanted to see her before the machines were turned off, so we waited for her plane to arrive from Michigan.  Laura arrived just before midnight.  Danny, his brothers Richard and Joe decided they did not want to go into her room at her last moments.  So I went into the room, with my sister in law, Rita and Laura, Eleanor's sister.  Rita was off to the left of her bedside, I took the foot end and Laura was near her head and face.  The nurse then turned off the machines.  The only noise was the beating of her heart on the monitor.  It kept beating for more than 5 minutes, it could have been ten.  During that time, I stroked her feet and Laura talked to her and touched her face.  She told stories of their childhood.  Her heart slower and slower and then it just faded to a stop.  It was peace and love.  

Danny stayed with our then 12 year old son in the hall.  He was grateful I did this for him and her. 

Danny, many years later returned the favor to me.  When my father died, I was asked if I wanted to see his body one last time before the cremation.  I just could not do it.  He did it  for me, and Aaron was with him.  Mother and I sat together a waited outside.