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.

David Cordell

Debbie, 

Prayers with you and your husband. The vast, vast majority come through it just fine. As Steve said, get good medical care.

Wayne Gary

David C.

I just talked to Jon Bol, one of my former Scouts who is a refugee from Sudan and will be graduating ihis semester with a Finance degree from UTD.  He did  not have you as a prof.  When I asked him what type of job he is looking for and he did not have an answer.  He is the first in his family to go to college. I wonder if you might get with him and give him some direction as types of jobs he could be looking for. He is a really good kid.

Wayne Gary

Lance,

The most valuable cover is one that ws sold as the cover.  They glueded a different picture on most of them which are not worth as much after the glued cover is removed.

Lowell Tuttle

Mike West and I would go to Doubleday in Northpark and shop for odd ball albums. 

He bought Two Virgins there.

He has the butcher album.  He also saved a bunch of valuable dolls from his mom's extensive collection...It is in pretty good shape.  I know he's had it since he first moved back to Dallas after marrying in Houston so that would be about 1972 to 1975.  I don't know if he bought it brand knew...may have just added it as a collectible.

It is very valuable, from what I saw the other day.

David Reha, I knew there was a site here in Houston and they also gave me the address of the site when I received my ballot (and Susie's.)  I lost the address, but I looked it up on line.

I am in Harris County.  I don't know about Collin County.

I think I googled it and it said Harrisvotes.com/tracking

Debbie Cathey (Havens)

Debbie Cathey (Havens)

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Debbie,

Hang in there Debbie and take early meds.  Ask your doctor for the best he has, 'cause starting early with good meds seems to be the key, as you've no doubt heard.

All the best to you and your husband!  You two are 'East Texas Tough' and will beat that darn commie bug!

Debbie Cathey (Havens)

Jerry May

I rarely look at commercials on television, but the current Allstate commercial's song did catch my ear.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Why can't the Black students and all Black folks understand that they of course must matter, because in spite of the history of this nation, and all nations, THEY ARE STILL HERE AND ARE PROSPERING, living amongst Whites as equal CITIZENS, with EQUAL RIGHTS AS SAID CITIZENS, and are JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ALL OTHER CITIZENS since without them, we can't continue as a united country as we have been continuing so far.  If our Black students won't play their instruments in the band, then the band can't function properly.  If the students won't sing the song when played, or if football players suddenly leave the field feeling they have no proper respect as Black players, then does the team not suffer as a whole?  Of course the team suffers as a whole, therefore, the Black team members MUST MATTER!  They matter as part of the whole, and when they leave the field, there is a hole in the team, and the team is no longer a cohesive team.  They stand as a fraction and cannot function properly.  Obviously, a team MUST be together as a whole, otherwise it is not a team. 

It seems ludicrous to me that Black students suddenly FEEL they don't matter and are stressed to a point of turning away as necessary participants, unable to understand that they are now ingrained in our society, and have been given the equal rights of that society.  If they can't put the past IN THE PAST, then they are being foolishly stubborn, wanting instead to INSIST that THE PAST is more important than THE PRESENT, of which they are participating CITIZENS WHO OBVIOUSLY MATTER!

Put the past IN the past and BE WHO YOU ARE!  YOU ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO MATTER AS AMERICAN CITIZENS, and you have survived THE PAST!  You are STILL HERE!  You are survivors, which says a lot, and you are AMERICAN CITIZENS with EQUAL RIGHTS.  Stand and be proud of who you are!  Be proud to be part of the whole!   The song is JUST A SONG and is a part of a tradition.  Most  Texans never associated the song with past slavery or any derogatory slap at Black people.  They just enjoy the old tradition of singing it and hearing its familiar melody.  The song, the way I understand it, is about Texans---"The eyes of Texas are upon YOU"--You Texans--"All the live long day"---You cannot get away"---You Texans cannot get away from your responsibilities as Texans, not 'You cannot get away from your slave overseer.'  

It seems to me that Blacks are 'seeing' Whites in a negative way at all times, day and night.  I would say, it's high time to learn that YOU CITIZENS are FREE; make your way in life being free and able to go forth with plans to improve yourself in whatever way you choose.  Take advantage of your opportunities and seize the day!  Leave the past in the past.  Rehashing the past every day wastes your time and energy.

Bob Davidson

Re the Longhorn Band:

When I was in graduate school, I had a girlfriend who was working on a Ph.D. in musicology.  She lived in the German House, which was (is?) a co-op for people who wanted to practice their German and there were a lot of international students who were not familiar with American culture living there.  Allison had a peculiar sense of humor -- one of the things she did was to tell the Europeans that the Longhorn Band was a group of fanatic facists in American paramilitary uniforms.  I thought the idea that those nerds were dangerous political extremists was absurdly funny -- now I realize that maybe she was on to something.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

I think a military style band would be the Aggie Band, and the Longhorn Band wears orange and white band uniforms, (not military camoflage uniforms) with the addition of western style fringe on their jackets.  The Longhorn Band also wears western hats.  I don't quite see how the lady deduced any military style image from the Longhorn band, other than rigid line formations used all the time by school bands.  The enthusiasm of the band is called "team & band spirit," the way I see it.  If she thinks the enthusiasm is an example of fanatical antics, well, I suppose there might be a little of that shown, but only in the context of student's spirit, pride and jovial enjoyment, which is the whole idea of the stadium's mounting fervor, at the beginning of the game, and as the game continues.

Her sense of humor was probably not understood very well by the Europeans.

Wayne Gary

Janalu,

Most people do not know or care about historical facts. Most people believe "the Immancipation Proclamation" ended slavery in the US. It did not free slaves in the slave states not part of the Confederacy.  It was actully unlawful seiving of property without compensation.  It was the 13th amendment that ended slavery which was fassed by congress on Jan 31, 1865 and ratified on Dec 31, 1865.

The civll rights leaders of the 60s like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot change their mantra that Blacks are victims and need their leadership.  They ask for repariations and never mention the African tribes that enslaved other tribes and sold them into slavery.

The BLM tells about missteps by police but never mention police officers killed and injured in the line of duty.  Far more officers killed than civillians. They do not mention all of the black on black crime.

President Clinton had a commision look into the belief that the "death Penality" was racially unbalanced because the percentage of Blacks and Hispanics on death row was greater than the population.  When the commission looked at all of the statics they found that the system was not biased because it the number of blacks that commited homicide wer out of propotion to their population. The percentages were consistant at all levels from justifable to manslaughter up to capital murder.

Now to keep ther victim mentality the liberals want to distroy anything negative in the history. Distroy all statues and reference to anyone that was a member of the CSA.  Even though after the war they did many great things.

Steve Keene

Janalu,

It is funny how each of us looks at the Longhorn Band from their own skewed perspective.  As, I watched the band perform, I thought the purpose was to be able to get everyone in the band on the field without running into each other in an organized way.  I imagined that it was an extremely difficult task because of the multitude of students at such a large university that were band nerds.  I imagined a mathematical department within the band that solved complex spacial trigonometry problems that would look entertaining to the audience, combined with the the necessity of of keeping a spatial distance between the individual members, and the ability of a human to move at a finite pace while using his instrument (able to walk and chew gum at the same time).  I awaited the total failure of the complex computer system one day that would result in a great big pile of band members tangled up in the middle of the field.  I guess that is how an engineering mind like mine would see the situation.

Kurt Fischer

I've found it funny at more than one occasion for Europeans to express wonder at our marching bands and drill teams.  From an outsider's perspective, they view the uniforms as representing some form of para-military organization.  They kind of understand the concept of spirit organizations, but cast a doubtful eye on the use of uniforms.

David Cordell

My wife gets an email from TriviaToday.com every day. We both got this one right!

Question: What Spanish word meaning "flat", is also the name of a city in the United States?

Answer: Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located approximately 20 miles north of downtown Dallas. European settlers came to the area near present-day Plano in the early 1840s. After rejecting several names for the town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), residents suggested the name Plano (from the Spanish word for "flat"), as a reference to the surrounding terrain. With a population of more than a quarter of a million people, Plano is a city on the rise. Many corporate headquarters have located to Plano in recent years including Dr Pepper, Pizza Hut, JCPenney, and Toyota.

Wayne Gary

I just got this from a friend.

Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys, and other things, thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good. 

Then God saw there was another need. In His wisdom He made seniors lose coordination so they would drop things, requiring them to bend, reach, and stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good. 

Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature, requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise.  God looked down and saw that it was good. 

So if you find as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it’s God’s will. It is all in your best interest even though you mutter under your breath.   
  
Nine Important Facts to Remember as We Grow Older   

#9 Death is the number 1 killer in the world. 

#8 Life is sexually transmitted . 
  
#7 Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

#6   Men have 2 motivations: hunger and hanky panky, and they can't tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich. 

#5 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks, months, maybe years. 

#4 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing. 

#3 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism. 

#2 In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal. 

#1 Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow.   

Please share this wisdom with others while I go to the bathroom.

Ron Knight

Politics and Religion - Part Two

Today I came to the conclusion that as long as there are exams, there will be prayer in schools.

Ron Knight

Wayne

Thanks, I enjoyed those. I think I resemble some of them!

I have to tell you a story of a great friend of mine, Frank Hudeck, who passed away a few years ago. He was a true Aggie through and through. Back then, we were both in the Wholesale Furniture Industry as Independent Sales Reps. He was in South Texas (Houston) and I was in North Texas (Dallas) and  later Oklahoma (Norman). We were roomates in High Point, North Carolina at the National Furniture Market for a few years. He was older than I and a bit of a father figure/older brother type. He would always "gig" me about my Oklahoma Sooners. I don't know why he hated Barry Switzer so much and then when the Big 12 started, he hated Bob Stoops, too. Frank spent a lot of time getting ready for the National Furniture Market digging up as much dirt as he could find on Barry and the Sooners and would spring it on me every day with something new. My revenge was telling Aggie jokes to get back at him. He hated Aggie jokes and NEVER laughed at a single one, he would just mumble to himself afterwards. We'd have in between Regional Furniture Markets in Dallas and go at it again. In Dallas, Frank would bring his wife Betty with him for the show. Betty would always apologize to me for Frank's behavior to me. I told her it was OK, because I knew he hated Aggie jokes and it was the only way I could get back at him. The following is an example of our constant banter.

 Frank to Ron - (This was in the early/mid 1980's when Switzer seemed to be losing control of his players and they were getting into trouble with the law a lot)

"I heard that Barry now has gotten control of his players and they are on the honor system, as in - Yes Your Honor, No Your Honor! "

Ron to Frank -

"Did you hear the one about the two Aggies after the oil embargo that decided to try and lower the impact on our dependence to Middle Eastern Oil? They decided that in a show of defiance, they would ride camels to the game at Kyle Field. To make a statement they were the first to arrive and heard all kinds of comments as they rode their camel through town. After the game they went back to the parking lot to ride their camel back home. To their surprise, the parking lot was full of camels. One asked the other, "how will we be able to find our camel"? The other took off and started lifting each camel's tail up one-by-one. When asked, " what are you doing?", his friend replied, "remember when we were riding through town, I heard someone say, look at those two assholes on that camel"!

Only mumbles from Frank!!!

Wayne Gary

Ron,

I heard of the Sooner at a fine resturant.  the waiter asked him if he wanted white or red wine with his dinner.  the Sooner replied "It does't matter, I am color blind"

Lowell Tuttle

For Ron and all you other 70's life chasers...   RIP  JJW

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Lowell,

Danny and I saw Jerry Jeff live along with Jimmy Buffet in Fort Worth in or around 1975 at the Convention Center.  We got seats very near the stage about 10 rows, as memory serves.  In front of us was a cowboy (his hat gave him away) and his cowboy buddies.  They left the concert a few times (to drink outside, probably from their car) and then return.  They were gone most of the concert and a hippie and his girlfriend kept their eyes on the seats and decided to move up and get a better view.  Well, the cowboy and his buddies returned and forced their way in.  The hippie and his girlfriend would have none of it and stood their ground.  To further inflame an already tense situation the cowboy would clap his hands very wide, which would strike the face of the hippie sitting (mostly standing) beside him.  Well that didn't last long and fist fight ensued.  The whole row of seats in front of us was turned over and for a short while pandemonium ensued.  The cops showed up and carted all away.  About 20 minutes later the drunk cowboy and his crew returned.  The hippie never did.  I guess the redneck mother kicked the hippies' ass after all.  A memory I will never forget.

Hull Barbee

A great story Sandra ......... and that dear friends is what Texas is all about !!!!!!!!!

Ron Knight

 Lowell, Sandra

Good ole Jerry Jeff. He used to get so drunk that he would fall off the stage when performing. Now, that song was written by my long time friend from The Rubaiyat days, Ray Wylie Hubbard. Ray was known to be a heavy drinker, too. Back in the early to mid 1970's around the many different bars Ray would frequent, he became known as "3 Fingers Ray". That had nothing to do with a malady with his fingers, it simply meant to the bartender he wanted a triple shot of whiskey. Ray fortunately got clean and sober after meeting his wife, Judy.

In the summer of 1969, Sam Stevens (RIP) and I were in Red River, NM. Red River was a place where a lot of Texans went to play music. Ray was living in a cabin in Red River and Sam and I rented the cabin next door to his. It was in that cabin while Sam and I were there that Ray wrote the trademark song of his career, Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother. Sandra, I'm going to send a very interesting songwriter in the round video of Ray explaing how he wrote that song. He is sitting next to Jerry Jeff talking about it. Pretty funny. perhaps you could post it on here.

Wayne

I thought I had heard every Sooner joke there was. I stand corrected! Good one!

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Here you go Ron!  The story: