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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Steve Keene

David,

A reporter asked Mike Leach of Texas Tech after a particularly troubling loss. "What do you think of your team's execution?"  Mike Leach said, "I think it would be a damn good idea."

A reporter asked Darrel Royal what he thought of an opposing team's running back.  Darrell Royal said.  "That boy's got more moves than a bucket of minnows."

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Yes Lance,

Our church service was about Giving Thanks, for some reason!

We took a 30 second period of silence, bowed-head break of thanks, to list in our minds from our experiences, those people who helped us so much throughout our lives.

I was still listing people from my life's experiences when our minister called, "Time has passed."

We talked about the late Mr. Rogers and the speech he read when being honored at the Academy Awards.  He was speaking of all the people in his life who had helped him become a successful guy.

We also sang two hymns of thanksgiving among other points of discussion, then took up an offering for teachers in our area to be served pumpkin and apple pies in the next few days, as gifts of thanksgiving for their dedicated service to our children, in the three local schools of our church's neighborhood.

We have a good, friendly and God-centered congregation, who enjoys Thanksgiving in many ways.

Thanks for your interest, Lancelot!

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

David,

Yes, it does seem that way, but we are not supposed to judge, we've been warned.  However, making an educated guess based on facts of the celeb characters' known records at hand, is logical.  It is difficult not to have an opinion based on appearances seen to all, and highlighted in press publishings.

The Floyd man, formerly of Houston, had a long police record of drug abuse, and some assaults on women, one woman being "with child," if I recall correctly.  So, even though he had moments of a clear mind, he needed more surveillance and psychological counseling, it seems.  His family could have given him more help, I would think, as well as keeping him in touch with someone to constantly record his daily activities, being watchful of his lack of willpower.  He needed help maintaining proper behavior, and he needed to get "dried out" long before he left Houston, going to Minneapolis, in my opinion.  Opinions are worth hearing, wouldn't you agree?

Steve Keene

Lance,

I would like to answer for David.  Yes he prays for you.

Wayne,

I hope you don't believe anything Tommy writes  about me.

Wayne Gary

Steve,

I do not believe 3/4 of what he says and the other 1/4 is very suspect. I realize he is a very vindictive person to anyone that questions him. I see now that Tommy does not want to accept the fact that his ancestors held slaves

David Cordell

No church for us yesterday. Martha is miserably sick. Appears to have caught whatever it is from me.

I must say that it is hard for me to pray for certain people whom I don't know personally. Sometimes I pray to have the strength to pray for people who seem unworthy of the prayers of others. (Save your criticism of that sentence, Lance.)

Lowell, many bad people started out as good people. Benedict Arnold was an excellent American general until he became, well, Benedict Arnold.

Steve Keene

David.

Tell Martha I hope she recovers soon. 

Lance,

After putting up with your insults and attacks for many years, when you leave yourself wide open like that it is difficult not to succomb to the temptation of a humorous retort.  God knows I am not perfect, and is undoubtedly capable to discern an earnest prayer from a knee jerk reaction.  If God only listened to the prayers of the perfectly righteous there would be silence in Heaven long before that silence predicted in Revelation.  If it is okay with you, I will decide who I pray for and God will decide to listen or forbear.

David Cordell

Lance,

Thanks for your comment about Martha, but your comments about Steve were ill-conceived and unwelcome on this site.

Lowell Tuttle

On the new episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm last night the issue of praying for someone came up.   One of Larry David's country club members had a heart attack while lunching in the dining room and was taken to the hospital.   Larry was later asked to pray for the man by the man's son, but  sheepishly told him to his face he didn't think it would help.   The son insisted and Larry replied he didn't think His prayer would help beyond what other prayers were doing....meaning somehow, his specific prayer would push the request over the top and God would save the old man to live sometime longer.   And, he said, he didn't believe in prayer anyway.  

The friend's son replied how in the world he knew prayer would not work.

Larry David yelled out, "Because I'm BALD!!!/"

Jerry May

More Football quotes.....etc.

" Theres three things that happens when you pass, and two are bad"  .....Darrell Royal

After a romp by Texas over O.U. Switzer was asked what he thought. "Little too much Earl"

After  a 3 or 4 year drought an O.U. player said, "I guess they (Texas) got to thinking it was their turn

(to win) ......I guess maybe we did too"

After Texas won the National Championship in 2005-2006 (actually the best National Championship I had ever seen) Pete Carroll was asked about the game: "Well, I thought we played a good game........we just couldnt

do anything about #10" (Vince Young)

On Monday Night Football.....instead of Dandy or Howad Cosell saying something funny it was Frank Gifford!

A Redskin Offensive guard was caught holding on three consecutive plays. There was some delay and Gifford

offered: "And, he's having a big night!"

Jerry May

One more, and this by fans of O.U.

After Texas' QB..... Peter Gardere had won 3 years in a row against O.U.;at his last last time to play them......there were signs

out on the O.U. side of the field: Each one said: Peter Gardere, "Please graduate!"
 

And he went on to win this contest as well, for a total of 4!

David Cordell

This story was forwarded to me by a classmate.

-----

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,

I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?

He must really be a nerd.'

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

 As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him...

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes     .

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.

They really should get lives.'

He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'

There was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

 I asked him if he wanted to play a little football    

with my friends.  

He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know

Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!

' He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years,Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors we began to think about college.

Kyle decided on

Georgetown and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never

be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.

 He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.   

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous!   

Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled....

' Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began     ...

'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends....

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story.'

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

'Thankfully, I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:

1) Pass this on to your friends or   

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.   

As you can see, I took choice number 1.

'Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.'   

 There is no beginning or end. Yesterday is history.

 Tomorrow is a mystery.

 Today is a gift.

 It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

 If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

David Cordell

The Virginia election and other events are encouraging.

I have decided that there is an antidote to being "woke".

It is being "awakened".

Ordinary Americans have begun to realize that the obsession with race, bias in the press, dumbing-down of education, failure to enforce laws, malfeasance by public servants/politicians, etc. are destroying this country. To quote Howard Beale in the movie Network, "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore." We have been awakened.

I haven't heard anyone use the term "awakened", but if it catches on, remember you heard it here first (unless you have already heard it). One other point -- it is more grammatically correct!

David Cordell

This Dallas Morning News article is about Lockwood Distilling Company, which is located in the 500 block of Lockwood in Richardson, one block north of Heights shopping center. Phil Dyer, Brenda Brown Dickey, and I visited it (before the change in business model) to see if it was appropriate as a reunion venue, but it was too small. Not sure if the link works for non-subscribers.

Lockwood Distilling

Steve Keene

Janalu,

I hope Tommy comes to his senses and quits fabricating falsehoods about me.  If he does not, I might be forced to post his Pecan Pie recipe that was given to me in confidence and that's a fact. His recipe has a lot in common with some of Joe Biden's speeches.

David Cordell

Steve,

The good news is that people who know you and who know Tommy are not fooled. 

I don't know why you go to that site if you are being defamed and lied about.

Steve Keene

David,

I have often wondered where Joe Biden got his dog faced pony soldier description.  Many may know, but I had not identified it's source until last night when I was watching a Vietnam War movie.  The quote is by R. Lee Ermey, a marine drill instructor turned movie consultant and then actor and voice actor.  The movie is "Siege of Firebase Gloria."  R Lee Ermey is a seargent tasked with defending the firebase after orders were given for him to take his squad to refuge there at the beginning of the Tet Offensive in 1968.  He is addressing the defenders who have put up a weak set of fortifications and he tells them they are a bunch of dog faced pony soldiers.  

You will remember R. Lee Ermey as the drill seargent in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket".  He was a military advisor for the role and Kubrick decided to try him as the Driil Instructor after hearing his authentic voice.  Ermey ad libbed most of the dialog in the picture as he recalled it from his Drill Instructor days at Camp Pendelton in San Diego.  That is where my Dad got his Marine Recruit training.  Ermey's first small acting role was as one of the pilots in a helicopter during the Ride of the Valkyries scene in "Apocalypse Now."

Bob Davidson

All,

I was downtown yesterday, that is downtown Houston.  Where I parked was near the elevated portion of  Highway 59 on the edge of downtown.  There were a number of city vehicles parked on the curb of the sprawling tent city under the freeway, along with several police cars and an ambulance -- and a mixed crowd of officially employed-looking people and hobo-looking folks.  I drove by, noticed the oddity, and went on with my business.

When I came back to the truck in the afternoon, the tents were gone, so were the homeless who have congregated there for the past few years.  A police car was still there, and some city workers were raking the ground and picking up trash from the site.  There were a couple of HPD officers in my parking lot who seemed approachable so I asked them what was going on.  They said the city is "decommissioning" the homeless camp.  Their word, not mine. 

The explanation was that they sent in social workers, with armed backup, to relocate the homeless to residences and into treatment that are funded with some sort of federal COVID funds, whether they want to go or not.  Then they give the former tent city dwellers trespass notices and city workers clean out the space and turn it back into a park.  The cops thought it was a good idea since it gets the bums out of the danger of living on the streets but didn't think they'd accept treatment.

I have never heard of this -- I googled the term and found that it is a real thing the City of Houston is doing. 

Has anyone else ever heard of this?  I'm a little appalled at what looks like authoritarian overreaching but really, really hate seeing all the homeless camps in parks and under freeways. 

I'm curious how others think about this.

Wayne Gary

Bob,

Dallas keeps clearing out encampments under the freeways.  They have tried giving tickets to homeless asking for money at intersections.

Many don't wamt to go to shelters or seek help.

David Cordell

Bob,

I am troubled by the existence and appearance of homeless encampments, and equally troubled by the process of breaking them up.

I wonder if the authorities can identify empty warehouse space, put in some bathrooms, and move the homeless in. I know that "warehousing" sounds bad, but it seems like they could provide services and keep an eye on the drug situation. 

Obviously, this is not an original idea. Has probably been tried unsuccessfully. Getting the homeless who like being homeless to stop being homeless -- not so easy, especially when addiction is rampant.

At the risk of being sexist, it is the women who concern me most -- single mothers and their children who have been abused and who have nothing.

I think I mentioned recently that one Thanksgiving when we lived in Philly, my wife had to go to Bay City because her mother was very ill. I decided to take my sons to a location that was serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless. It was an eye-opener that was totally unappreciated by them at the time, but I think they retained the lesson. 

We have so much, and so many have so little.

David Cordell

Well, it looks like David and Martha will share Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital. (Sniff, sniff.) Martha has been hospitalized since Monday morning with an infection. I would appreciate your prayers.

Steve Keene

Bob D.,

It is sad, but I think most of the homeless are in hispanic or black neighborhoods.  Some of this is the presence of public transportation, but I think more is because the hispanics always operate with cash and the blacks are on the public dole and have pinges of guilt if they don't spread some of those free entitlements.  A homeless person will starve to death in McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Flower Mound, Argyle, Keller or Highland Park. Same for Burleson, Cleburne, Kaufman, Midlothian, Waxahachie, Rockwall or Weatherford.

Bob Davidson

In response to the proprietor of the Tommyrot forum and his latest libels:

Again -- are they liberal because they are crazy or crazy because they are liberal?  I know I'm old and that my vision isn't what it used to be, but I just reread my comments and David's and simply cannot find the words "bums" or "scum" anywhere but in Tommy's nasty little imagination.  Shame, shame, shame on you, you creepy liar.

David Cordell

Bob,

I must acknowledge that I posted the question of whether anyone had noticed that so many of the cause celebre "victims" were low-life scum. All three of the Rittenhouse victims had violent records, and at least one of them was particularly bad. George Floyd, notwithstanding Lowell's post, had a lengthy record that included pointing a gun at a pregnant woman's belly during a robbery. 

I assume from your post that Tommy must have made some snarky comment about you, me, or both. I haven't been to his site in several years, and don't plan to visit it. His opinion is not a matter of interest to me.

Bob Davidson

David -- I know I should avoid that garbage, too, and intend to in the future.  I assumed he was referring to the homeless comments, but I really should know better than to assume that actuality has a close relationship to malice.

My favorite feel-good story of the day:  our local favorite professional football player, J. J. Watt, is paying for the funeral expenses of the victims of the BLM maniac in Waukesha, his hometown.  [To you liberals -- since your media don't report anything that doesn't fit the narrative:  a registered sex offender black racist career criminal deliberately drove his vehicle at high speed into the Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six people and seriously injuring over forty others in an eight-block rampage, two days after he was released on a low bond by a Soros-funded DA for a series of felonious attacks on one of his baby mommas, including running her over with the same vehicle.]