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. 

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Bob Davidson

I was once part of a wedding party (not the groom, or bride for that matter) where one of maids of honor started a betting pool at the rehersal dinner on when he would leave her.  I told her I thought it was a bad idea, tried to talk her out of it, and didn't participate, but I think I was the only one besides the happy couple.  The woman wasn't an RHS alum and was really horrible -- before the ceremony the best man pulled out a bottle of bourbon and we all had enough shots to get us through the ceremony, including the groom and his mom and dad.  The poor sucker did stick it out longer than I estimated so I wouldn't have won anyway.

I'm wondering now if anyone else has a good guess on how long it will take our new President to get us into a war.  My guess is June 1 of this year -- I think the aggressor nations will take a while to believe that he is really as stupid as he seems so it won't be immediate.  Anyone else have a guess?

Bob Davidson

Lance -- my particular church is a unicorn among the Espicopalians:  a large, growing church with a dynamic, scripture-and-tradition basis.  Our rector and his associates are actual Christians, the way we learned about them growing up.  Of course, this is most likely why we keep growing while the rest of the church sheds members like Scouting BSA or the poor Disciples of Christ. 

My former Scout troop is sponsored by a very, very woke Methodist church.  The pastor and the choir director are "roommates" in the manse, but somehow no one appears to notice their relationship.  I like the pastor and used to enjoy joking around with her, while the choir director looked daggers at me, and found excuses to get her away from me, like a jealous wife.  I am friends with the two Republicans in the congregation (who are both slightly younger than us) -- they both keep their opinions to themselves and stay with the church because their wives' friends are there.  The rainbow flag isn't in the sanctuary, but is on the wall of the fellowship hall and flies on the flagpole in front of the church.  Over the past twenty or so years, they replaced their old people (as they died off) with my young, woke neighbors and GBLT folks from all over town, and had a parking lot full of Subarus and Priuses, Mercedes and Audi SUVS, and Lexuses before they shut down for the Wuhan flu. 

I know how they were going to go on the upcoming Methodist split (the woke clergy and their followers are divorcing themselves from the actual Christians so that there will be two versions of the Methodist Church in America --  the split was postponed by COVID, but will take place).  My guess is that most of the clergy will go one way and most of the congregants the other, with the exceptions of ones in places like where I live, Karenland Heights.

Steve Keene

Lance

Shame on you.  There you go reading the Bible again and assuming what it says is true.  Don't you know that is frowned upon in this administration.  

Of course, you know I completely agree with you with a few minor differences like a rapture.

Bless you for the insight God has given you, but it is evident you still have a little to digest.

My 6.45 shekles worth.

My only problem is your timing.  You haven't allowed sufficient time for the AntiChrist to be revealed, for the tribulation to be greater than all the tribulation since the beginning of the earth and even your so called rapture would be awful short.

David Cordell

Bob, my church not only has a few identifiably gay couples, we also have had two gay rectors. One is from England, so I guess that's redundant. 

More important to me -- my wife's nephew Scott Salter passed away today after he was removed from the ventilator. He was a handsome, tall, strong man -- only 51 years old. It is hard to comprehend that he could be cut down by COVID-19. Well, I guess it isn't.

I'm much more anxious about getting a vaccination now.

Lowell Tuttle

All your claims of divisiveness amongst the Protestant faifths have arisen as the culture has grown to accept the homosexual lifestyle....both from within the congregations and clergy. aso  well as new membership coming into those churches. 

The existing membership is too non accepting of that lifestyle as part of their congregation and clergy.  Hence, they choose not to give or tithe to such an inclusiveness. 

So, other sects are formed.   Seemingly inclusive, but the root of the separation is intended to exclude the gay culture especially from the clergy.

I know the Presbyterian Church has had many rifts.   My church split from the Presby Church USA with an over 66% vote, while First Presbyterian in Houston as well as Dallas failed to get that vote.

It is too bad because many gays are spiritual and believe in Jesus' forgiveness as part of the overall Christian faith.  

There are agnostic gays.  But there are many closeted and out of the closet gays who want to live a faifthful and church going life.

Lowell Tuttle

Mike West has been sent home and is getting hospice care (Park Lane/Greenvile area.)  Several ailments have culminated in a poor prognosis.   Anyone interested, give him you caring thoughts.   His buddy, Rusty Shields (RHSer) who lives next door and a cousin of Judy Livings are helping out with the hospice care.

Steve Keene

Lance,

You said a mouthful.  Maybe you can go to church with Lowell.

Steve Keene

Bob D. and Lance,

This election and your posts bring to mind the H. L. Mencken quote:  "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

His other prescient quote is:   "On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will get their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

Steve Keene

Lance,

Can't decide if you are a bow legged chicken or a knot knee'd hen!

Whoever put stairs is your room and then posted the fall warning sign is trying to kill you.

David Cordell

Still valid.

Lowell Tuttle

Lance, don't turn around.

David Cordell

Quiz: Who wrote these words?

"I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday."

Steve Keene

David,

Cheat sheet   Merle Haggard

Lowell Tuttle

Without looking it up, I remember them as lyrics in Me and Bobby McGee written by Chris Kristopherson...but he could have stole them from Merle...

Well, google says written in a song by Jenny Carsen in 1947.

Holly Hobby

All Hail to Thee, RHS1969: MEN  (David, Lowell excluded. Yes, Lance too; don't ask why). 

What would our great country do without each of you, proud Americans, patriots to the core, each of you categorically denigrating the “dims” unequivocally certain every “dim” or remotely moderate subscribes to the narrative in your tiny mind?   

What would our great country do without  RHS1969,  classmates, wannabe badasses, who can't even spell the word.  Men whose name calling, insults, veiled slurs, and suffocating self-importance anchored not in anything remotely resembling good, right or unequivocally true instead of something antithetical to it?

Better question:  what happened to real men? You know, men with kahumas.  

What happened to real men,  you know, men  smart enough to understand the difference between enjoying conversation and metaphorical murder of imaginary enemies and anyone who dares disagree? What happened to real men, you know, the kind whose intelligence matched a certain eloquence, “class” if you will.

Oh dear God. What would our great country be without RHS1969 men, self-ordained theological scholars; gun owners,  buffoons whose need to tell the world “YEE HAW! I GOT ME SOME GUNS!  LOT’S OF “EM!” is somewhere between redneck comedic and questionably psychopathic. 

What happened to real men, you know, mature men.  Men whose courage doesn’t need to be advertised.  Men of sound mind and off the Richter Scale high IQ cool-headedness.

Rhetorical question: “what happened boys?”  Were you always like this?  Juvenile delinquents disguised as grown-up men?  Grow up. Not for my sake. Grow up because it’s the right thing to do.  

 a compliment. ©

Kurt Fischer

Holly:

I'm a conservative, periodically write on the forum, and am male.  Therefore I feel like I'm one of the subjects of the concerns you raised.  Unfortunately, your comments were rather broad and I am not sure what the particular issues were that concerned you so much.  I will say your method of showing disagreement by calling names (pussies, wimps, buffons, men without balls, etc) did not add content to your statement of concerns.  Sometimes this might be called an ad hominem attack rather than an attack on the specific positions of individuals writing on the forum.

Let us know what specific positions you disagree with and I'm sure your friends on this site will be happy to talk about them with you.

I look forward to hearing back from you and engaging in what you might label as conversation with a certain eloquence.

Take care.

David Cordell

OK. I was shooting for Kris Kristofferson. I never heard of that 1947 song, but the lyric is slightly different - "I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday." Now, we all know that "just one" and "single" are entirely different concepts (ahem), so I'm stickin' with Kristofferson!!!

Lowell Tuttle

Yes David, I was a little disappointed the lyrics in Me & Bobby McGee might not have been all original.  Kristopherson was a custodian in Nashville when he started writing songs, I think at some nightclub.  So, he may have had those lyrics in his head from some reference.

Still is a great song.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Wasn't there a Sadie Hawkins Dance one year during our 4 year stint at RHS, which was also a Computer Data Dance, that, after we had submitted our personal preference information and our personal personality's descriptive information, our info was submitted to a computer, analyzed, and our "ideal date" was tabulated, so that we could learn of our "perfect RHS date possibility?"

I remember that I went to that dance in our cafeteria, or maybe it was two separate dances, and had a great time, dancing the night away to "the top 40" hits of the week, but I can't remember exactly how it all was designed. 

Am I confusing two different dances, or was it one night of fun, on the 29th of February?

I remember that I was matched to a Lebanese(?) guy, (possibly) named Gary Barab, a very sweet young gentleman, who danced with me for our special dance introduction, was a good dancer of practiced style and form, and was focused on our special moment, as was I, but then afterward, we went to our favored areas of the cafeteria, with our familiar friends, and we didn't see each other for the rest of the night.  We were both having lots of fun with our special friends, (at least I know I was) but on opposite ends of the meatloaf-smelling room; not that we really cared about the lingering lunchtime odor, or the opposite areas of the familiar room.  I seem to remember that the place was dimly-lit, but there was one of those flashing disco balls overhead, that can sometimes cause headaches, when our eyes are strained from trying to focus across the way.

It was a delightful evening, even though I don't know of a single person there who made any lasting relationships with our "supposedly IDEAL guys or gals!"

Do any of you posters remember that night?  Or those two nights?

Lowell Tuttle

I remember a Sadie Hawkins dance in 7th grade.  Bobbi Donnelly asked me.  Her dad picked me up in his VW bug.  I rode in the back seat.   The dance was in the cafeteria.   They played basically nothing but The Beatles, so it must have been Spring of 64.   After the dance, her dad took us to the Waffle House 24hour restaurant which was where the Chase Bank corner at Central and Belt Line was.   She and I went inside and ate and then her dad drove me home.   It was a whole Jr. Hi dance.  Some of the older kids laughed at my dance moves.

i remember a computer card dance later in school...but not as a Sadie Hakins day dance.

I also remember Gary Barab.

My memory is now closed.

Holly Hobby

Only for David, who didn't ask.  Only for him, did I slightly edit my masterpiece.   But that doesn't mean it won't be published in it's orginal form on another platform or medium.   Of course it will be.   And should be. 

As within any population  are abusers; some of them serial abusers.  Our class is no different.  Whether due to intimidation or efforts to humor the abuser(s) people   people just pretend to like them.  There comes a point when I'm no longer willing to "pretend to like them. "  This is one of them. 

Steve Keene

Holly,

Did it ever occur to you that some of us post just to see what kind of responses we elicit?  Then we sit back and enjoy the fallout as a source of amusement.  Some of us have a few more serious posts on matters of life and death and the afterlife.

Please let me know how you categorize me, since I have represented myself as a conservative, a redneck, a sophisticate, a cowboy, an offroad funseeker, a taker of paths less travelled, a wordsmith, a world traveler, a GQ dresser, a highly intelligent individual, a libertarian, an avid reader of historical and ancient literature, a gourmand, a possessor of vast vocabulary, a dive and stripper bar connoseur, a ladies man, a father of successful progeny, a friend of the Mafia, an engineering and technical expert, an oil and gas company CEO, a lessee of large western ranches for oil gas and mineral exploration, an investment savant, an expert fisherman, a lay pastor, a Bible expert, a compiler of family genealogy, a sometime Republican, a former drunk, a gun owner, a Second Amendment defender, a right to lifer, a hopeless gambler, and a wannabe comedian.  Pray tell me which of the former offend your sensibilities. Then ignore all of those and concentrate on my other qualities.  If you appreciate me for nothing more than my personality, my sarcasm and lack of humility, then I guess I could bear to live with just that.

David Cordell

Steve, from what I've read, none of that stuff matters. "Girls" love your "bedroom eyes". Not sure if your bedroom eyes actually lead to the bedroom with any of the girls who love them.

Lowell, I was disappointed with the lyrics situation, too.

Janalu, I think Gary Barab's step-sister or half-sister was Jan Seale, who was in the class of '68. I went out with her a couple of times in high school and college. She liked to dance, too. I think she might have been an instructor at a dance studio.

I seem to recall that there was a Sadie Hawkins dance, but don't remember it. Maybe I wasn't invited! Or maybe it occurred before 9th grade, when I started at RHS.

However, I do remember the computer match. I was matched to three girls. I can't remember who one of them was, but the other two were Debbie Sholtess and Ann Bickers. Those two don't seem to have much in common, so I'm not sure how good the algorithm was. I actually dated Debbie for a few months, but ultimately we weren't a good match. Ann Bickers, who was very bright, passed away a few years ago, and Debbie seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I'm pretty sure that neither of those events has anything to do with me.

Steve Keene

David,

Unfortunately my bedroom eyes have been offset by my barroom gut.

Jerry May

The dance I remember was in the Eagles' Nest. I forgot who I was paired with. Seems as though the dance was in the fall. Had to be near Halloween. Or it could be I wanted to see if I was recognized. (wore a red shirt, red-striped bell bottoms, fake "mutton chops and mustache") Either that, or I went to the wrong party! Kind of like this guy.......