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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Lowell Tuttle

lDavid, that was quite a game at the so called Field of Dreams last night.  Bob Cederberg (from Moline Illinois) and a White Sox fan should be happy.

I don't know when I started dis liking the Yankees...I was a fan in my kid days...but liked the Sox coming back and winning in walkoff fashion.

David Cordell

Lowell,

I've never been a White Sox fan, but I liked the Aparicio-Fox tandom. Was something of a Yankees fan, mainly because they were on TV almost every Saturday. Yogi, Skowron, Richardson, Kubek, C. Boyer, Lopez, Mantle, Maris, Howard, Ford, Tresh, Javier.

Really was a Cardinals fan. My father grew up half-way between Chicago and Saint Louis. He had great memories of listening to games during the Gashouse Gang era. For me, it was White, Javier, Groat, K. Boyer, Flood, Shannon, Musial, McCarver, Gibson, Brock, Sadecki, Simmons.

Absolutely loved the game last night. Fabulous setting. Dramatic intro. Players coming through the cornfield. Wished Costner would have thrown out the first pitch. Really loved the pregame show.

And how about the ending?? Reliever comes in and blows the save, giving up two two-run homers in the top of the ninth (for an ERA of 36!). Not only does he get bailed out by a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, he also gets the win!!! Somethin' wrong with that.

We watched the movie (for the thousandth time) before watching the pre-game.

David Cordell

Lance,

You're asking the wrong guy. For $1,800, I would expect ... well, never mind. But I just heard that the game had higher viewership than any MLB regular season game in the last decade. I think that even though only 8,000 attended, the gate was bigger than games in big stadiums.There are baseball nerds who have a lot of money, who wept at the movie, and who wanted to see THAT game. They got lucky --  lots of home runs, including the walk-off. All they needed was the musical score at the end of The Natural when Robert Redford hit a walk-off.

Lowell Tuttle

We have a lot of HEB's here in Houston.   I know they built some in Ft. Worth.   From what I understand they are building in Dallas.

Apparently, HEB does not go into debt to expand adding new stores.   So, their growth is pinned to actual store by store success...

I like almost all grocery stores, but recently have been hooked on HEB produce, except a few items I pick up when I go to Food Town, as they have ridiculously low priced paper towels and TP as well as charcoal, which I use a lot.

Have they put in HEB's in Richardson or Plano yet?   Isn't Central Market actually an HEB specialty store.

I even buy Creamy Creations HEB Ice Cream instead of Blue Bell.   Much better.   At least their vanilla is.

David Cordell

Lowell, as a matter of fact, they are buildng an HEB on the southwest corner of Preston and Spring Creek in Plano, two miles from my house. Yes, HEB owns Central Market, and there's a Central Market in Plano on Coit, just north of the Bush tollroad, about five miles from here. 

Lowell Tuttle

Fiesta had a large store in the Heights, here in Houston on Shepherd.   The area was dry.   Just a portion of Houston is/was dry...not like Dallas.   Anyway, they closed down and the lot was vacant for a few years.   Gentrification is going on there like crazy....2300 sq foot new homes built selling for 800 and 900,000.

Anyway, supposedly there was "a deal" that if the voters passed to end beer/liquor sales ban there, HEB would go in.   They built one with the parking downstairs, escalators going up to the grocery part....as the area would not support a huge store and outside parking.   

We have a Central Market on Westheimer at Weslayan.   I like to go there the 2 or 3 days before Thanksgiving.   Total insanity...

HEB and Central Market like to get people walking through their stores in a pattern...although that has started to change.

David Cordell

Lowell said, "HEB and Central Market like to get people walking through their stores in a pattern."

David responds, "Yeah, I hate that. You feel like a rat in a maze. There is one place in the CM near us where you feel like you are a grain of sand going through the tiny space in the middle of an hourglass."

David Cordell

Lance said, "Unlike my women, I prefer a full bodied wine."

David responds, "I see two meanings. First, your women prefer a less-than-full-bodied wine. Second, you prefer women with less-than-full bodies. Regarding the latter: I can only assume that your women prefer full-bodied men."

Steve Keene

David,

That was pretty obvious.  The women's taste in men's sane mental capacity remains in question.  I know why you were unable to go to the Field of Dreams this year in 2021 to see Kevin Costner toss out the ceremonial first pitch.  Yes Lance, you whiffed on the ticket pricing. The starting ticket price was $3000.   So much for the dreams of underpriviledged youngsters trying to see over the fence in the slum areas surrounding the inner city Ballparks.  So much for the dreams of a poor Iowa farmboy wanting to play baseball in a field of corn.  How many kids, I wonder, paid that price to lose themselves in the adjacent maze cut in the corn stalks?

Steve Keene

Lance,

You can get more that 20% savings on Hatch chili peppers if you go to the source.  Take I-25 north from El Paso to Hatch, New Mexico in the Hatch Valley.  The pepper produce there is especially fresh at Mercado Central.  It is just before you get to Truth or Consequences, N.M.

David Cordell

Steve,

They actually did invite (gratis) Little Leaguers from New York and Chicago to the game, and they played their own game on the Field of Dreams. That said, I know that you have been very generous in sponsoring youth groups to attend Rangers games in very nice seats! Good on ya!

BTW, I will be traveling through your old haunt (Amarillo) and through the northeast corner of NM on the way to Colordo. Will I find Hatch peppers on my path, so far from Hatch (not that I know anything about Hatch peppers)?

David Cordell

Well, finally! Some good news.

Lots of folks are getting annoyed at seeing the disappearance of white people in television commercials. I think 9 out of 10 commercials feature "people of color", mixed race couples, or gay couples. I get it. Advertisers know that we straight white folk will continue to buy their products, regardless, and they don't want to piss off the Black Lives Matter crowd by not having a black person in their commercials.

Here's the good news. Watching a golf tournament, I saw a commercial featuring a nice looking black couple. It was a commercial for Roman, an erectile dysfunction treatment. 

Myth dispelled!

Steve Keene

David,

I don't know when you will head for Colorado, but you will find that you intersect I-25 just North of Raton after taking U.S. 87 and U.S. 287 North of Amarillo and cutting across the Northeast Corner of New Mexico.  That is Union and Colfax counties.  Hatch is near El Paso and Truth or Consequences on the other side of the state.

When are you leaving?  My daughter is going to compete on Saturday the 21 of August in Frisco for Jui Jitsu again.  I am not sure when her match is yet, but I will find out a day or two ahead.  You said to let you know.

I am not sure how she will do as she has not been able to practice with her team due to the crazy Dallas County Covid-19 mask police.  She has dropped a lot of muscle mass and is having trouble maintaining her weight.

Lance,

I want to holdup my obligations as a Promise Keeper.  I promised my Dad that I would not marry a black woman.  I promised God that I would not be racist.  Please advise.  On my part, I tried to do the best I could under the circumstances.  I married a blue gum Italian.  If you are not familiar with those, they were the descendents of a rape and pillage campaign by Hannibal.

On a similar subject, I saw you enjoying your pork ribs at the biker bbq.  God said in the Bible  that you should not eat swine.  The Bible also says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Am I wrong in saying you think God changed to allow us to eat swine from yesterday to today?  No, you say.  I think, pig boy, when Jesus returns, I do not intend to have bacon from breakfast in my teeth.  I think that would be a bad move.

David Cordell

Lance. Really. Consider therapy. My point is not a criticism of black people, gay people, or interracial marriages. My point is that corporations are such virtue signalers these days. But mainly, I thought the commercial for Roman was funny.

Steve, unfortunately we won't be around to see your daughter's competition. 

Steve Keene

Lance,

The dietary laws you describe were not part of what was nailed to the cross.  Jesus and the apostles never ate unclean animals their whole lives.  Pigs are still filthy and retain all the toxins in their fat because they do not sweat it out.  Those that want to eat pork are like the original sinners in the Garden.  Nothing tastes as good as forbidden fruit.  

Promise Keepers works for a single who promises not to marry and make the same mistakes thrice or six times in your case   

The places in the Bible that address meats say that if you pray that God will bless what you consume in a case where that is all you have then anything can be made clean by Jesus.  It is also permissable to eat unclean food if not doing so would weaken the faith of your brother.  However, other than that, why tempt the Lord your God by making a regular habit of eating unclean food?  I agree with you that what comes out of a man's mouth is more likely to defile him than what goes in.

David Cordell

I don't think I'd worry too much about pork. Things have progressed since Biblical times when unclean was really unclean. The following is from this CDC paper:  https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6401a1.htm

During 2008–2012, a total of 90 cases of trichinellosis (trichinosis) were reported to CDC from 24 states and the District of Columbia. Six (7%) cases were excluded from analysis because a supplementary case report form was not submitted or the case did not meet the case definition. A total of 84 confirmed trichinellosis cases, including five outbreaks that comprised 40 cases, were analyzed and included in this report. During 2008–2012, the mean annual incidence of trichinellosis in the United States was 0.1 cases per 1 million population, with a median of 15 cases per year. Pork products were associated with 22 (26%) cases, including 10 (45%) that were linked with commercial pork products, six (27%) that were linked with wild boar, and one (5%) that was linked with home-raised swine; five (23%) were unspecified. Meats other than pork were associated with 45 (54%) cases, including 41 (91%) that were linked with bear meat, two (4%) that were linked with deer meat, and two (4%) that were linked with ground beef. The source for 17 (20%) cases was unknown. Of the 51 patients for whom information was reported on the manner in which the meat product was cooked, 24 (47%) reported eating raw or undercooked meat.

Wayne Gary

Steve, Lance and David.

The OT food restrictions and some are also in the Koran (Halal) come from their lack of knowledge as what would cause sickness but certain food had a greater rate of food paosing that others. Now we know about bacteria and parasites that cause various sickness so this was a way of trying to stay well.

Kurt Fischer

Lance (and Steve):

First, given that Steve is a really smart and well read guy, I think he is making a point that I am not fully comprehending.  As such, I'm not very comfortable with absolutely disagreeing with him.

Second, the thread of the argument in the New Testament is that we are no longer under the Law.  

In Acts 15, a crisis occurred because certain Jewish believers were requiring Gentile believers to be circumsized and follow the Law.  The so called Jerusalem Council (apostles and elders) met and reached an agreement that the Gentile believers did not need to follow the Law.  They provided two stipulations:  1) abstain from what has been been sacrificed to idols and 2) abstain from fornication.  Other than that, they did not command the Gentile believers to follow the Old Testament Law.

In Galatians 2, Paul makes an extended argument that it is wrong for Jewish believers to coerce Gentile believers to follow the Law.  He becomes a bit sarcastic in saying that the Jewish believers can't keep the Law in full, so why would they then require Gentile believers to keep the Law, especially since righteousness comes not by the Law but by Christ's sacrifice for believers.

Third, it is well to understand the precepts of the Old Testament Law and it is a good thing in general to keep these precepts, not to gain righteousness, but in a way that is wise in living in this world.  That said, I'm always careful about recommending others fully follow these precepts.  Why?  Because we tend to pick and choose which ones we want to obey.  Certainly the Jews developed their Kosher laws in reaction to certain portions of the Law, yet I don't see many Gentiles who keep Kosher.  I don't want to encourage any form of legalism about what is lawful and right in order to become righteous.

But I stick to my first comment.  I believe Steve is making a point which I fully don't understand and would welcome his further explanation.

By the way, I just broke my own rule about using this forum to discuss Christian issues.  I apologize to the other forum members and appreciate their patience.

Steve Keene

Kurt and (Lance,)

Kurt you hit the nail on the head when you clarified that those passages were for Gentiles.  The law continued exactly as before for the nations of Israel and Judah.  The Jewish people include the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and a fair number of the tribe of Levi who left their habitation in Israel and returned to Jersusalem when Israel began worshiping in a manner inconsistent with the Bible.  Israel was defeated and carried off by the Assyrians and placed on the far side of the Caucasus mountains.  The people ruled by the Assyrians in other places were settled in their former country and it became known as Samaria.  200 years later Judah was carried off to Babylon.  The other tribes of Israel became known as Caucasians since they came from the area of the Caucasus mountains.  They settled Northern Europe;Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, England and Scotland.  The tribe of Dan became the Danes.  The half tribe of the son of Joseph, Ephraim became the Scots and the half tribe of Joseph's other son, Manasseh became the English.  Therein lies the rub.  The dietary law changes did not apply to them as part of Israel.

Lance is under the misconception that he is a Gentile.  That is not so.  David as a desendent of Italians may be a Gentile, but Lance certainly is not. I would like to thank you for your kind comments and welcome you to ask what you will to me by private message.

Steve Keene

David,

For your information I was forced to quit posting on the other forum.  About a week ago Tommy began going into individual posts and making what he called Moderator's Comments if he disputed or disagreed with what they wrote.  I let that slide.  Friday he took one of my posts and added content, much like Ron Stocklas might say, which included hate speach of me advocating the assassination of Nancy Peolosi on January 6 during the White House protests.  

Making a hate speech comment coming from me can expose me to criminal charges as has happened to so many of the marchers that did nothing more than trespass at the Capitol.  For this reason, I can no longer trust the site and have lumped it in with hackers and sleezy pornograpy sites as things I will not support.

I regret having to post this on the RHS forum, but I really need to document that I was not a part of what was written.   Any friends of Tommy might suggest to him that he seek professional counseling.  He will not listen to me.

Bob Davidson

Lance -- almost every one of my lawyer friends absoulutely loves To Kill a Mockingbird.  My partner's cat is named Atticus; my late lamented standard poodle was Scout (my current one is Ari, short for Haricot Vert), as was her previous cat, etc.  Of course Atticus Finch is our not-so-secret imagined role model.

I was in court this moring at two actual courthouses.  I noticed a big difference between Harris County (Houston) and Chambers County (Anhuac -- due east of Houston on the other side of Galveston Bay):  in Houston, there were no courtroom lawyers of the generation older than us -- born before 1946 or so, and very, very few older than me, while in Anahuac, the local bar (excluding the East Houston and Baytown lawyers who appear regularly) is mostly in their late 70s or early 80s.  I'm old in Houston, youngish in Anhauc.

In the past two years, a number of longtime courtroom lawyer friends I see as peers have died.  Trial lawyers don't tend to live very long, the type-a business and all  Only one was from Covid, the others, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.  One thing I miss about being around those people is the humor -- they would kid around being outrageous, sarcastic, and a bit brutal.  Trial lawyers, sigh, what do you expect?  The older, now gone, generation was less outrageous, but a bit more mean spirited and didn't mind being much more openly sexist (both ways) or ethincly insensitive than people our age dare. With lawyers much younger than about 55, I totally pull my punches and kid with them like they are snowflakes or children -- none of the fun roughness I've always enjoyed.  Do you all think this is just the world of trial lawyers or is it in the general population?

Steve Keene

Lance,
 

When will you learn that volume of argument believed by the most folks does not prove what is righteous and what is not.  For your benefit, I do not believe that failure to observe dietary law is a salvation issue.  It is an obey God issue.  When you know to do right and do not, that is a problem.  Your ignorance is bliss.  The volume of Baptists that believe does also not make it right.  I am reminded of the passage that says: 

"Many are called, but few are chosen"  In Matthew.

Baptists also believe the rapture myth. Baptists also consider Sunday their sabbath day falling for the Roman Catholic change hook, line and sinker.

Wayne Gary

Steve,

I see you have had it with Tommy,  Earlier I stopped addressing Tommy as he was so out of touch with reality.

Steve Keene

Bob D.,

I just heard that Bob Dylan found out "The Times, They Are A Changin."

Jim Bedwell

Lance,

I don't know about a trial lawyer - but you ARE halfway there since you ARE a trial - hahahahaha!!!!

By the way, WAY TO GO JOE. Afghanistan is the first domino to fall. Taiwan is obviously next. Any bets on who number 3 is? Just weeks ago Joe was reassuring us that no way is the Taliban taking back over nor would there be any Vietnam-rooftop similarities. WRONG AS ALWAYS JOE!! Yet the Marxist left LOVES him, I guess.

HOW HUMILIATING!!! We let these brutal, barbaric tribal ruffians DICTATE ALL to us? All we're hoping to do is get our people out? LET THE EXECUTIONS BEGIN!! How could ANYBODY ever trust the US again after this latest BIDEN-HARRIS CATASTROPHE!!!

Henny Youngman: "Take my wife. PLEASE!".

Joe Biden: "Take my surrender. PLEASE!" (with a KICK ME sign on his worthless back). Next on the surrender "tour"? Iran? DUH in these BIZARRO times.

It may be the best thing to just pray that China, Russia ad nauseum realize that they won't have to take us out (before they are surrounding Israel) but just let us self-destruct with this crew. Why should they risk any blowback from us with military action at the rate we're going? They may be irretrievably evil but they're not TOTALLY CLUELESS AND FOOLISH like our current leaders are.