The_Kansan Forum Posts (3,395)

RE: What moves you?

Keith,

Very good thread! And nearly impossible to answer succinctly; There are certain songs (vocal and instrumental) that thrill me. A beautiful sunrise or sunset (granted, I've never seen an ugly one of either!). Love in the eyes of a woman... The list goes on and on.

Ignorant drivers sometimes move me to flashes of anger - which almost immediately gives way to pity - knowing that they are endangering not only themselves, but everyone around them.

As I grow older, I find that so many more things move me and I suppose it is because I have gotten in the habit of noticing things more than when I was younger. Certain smells - coffee boiling on a campfire, a whiff of lilac on a spring breeze, a hayfield after a rainstorm - take me back to my youth in Kansas and times with my father. Walking with my lady in the woods and looking for mushrooms or sassafras also move me and make me feel like I am indeed part of a genuine partnership. Rugged mountains and huge old trees humble me because I know that they were here long before me and will remain long after I am gone and it gives me a sense of what forever must actually be like.

Great question, but no easy answer, although I do like what Goethe said: "There are times when, no matter what the attitude of the body, the soul is on it's knees."

...I find my soul on it's knees on a regular basis and that carries over into almost every aspect of who and what I am and how I perceive and present myself to the world...

...Don...

RE: having fun or discusing serious issues

Depends upon the situation and circumstances: If I'm chatting with someone in the grocery store, then it'll probably be light hearted and humorous -- If I were talking to someone at, say, the scene of a fire, I probably WOULD NOT say something like, "Whoa! Guess I shoulda' brought some hot dogs!"

In the past, as a living historian talking with both the general public and fellow historians, it's been a combination of the two. Lord knows I've suffered from "foot in mouth disease" on more than one occasion because I misjudged the "temperament" of the person/people I was speaking with at the time...

RE: Traveling

The short answers are: yes, Yes and YES!!!!

The slightly longer (personal) explanation is: I come from a long family line of travelers and explorers. My father's family spent the first 3 generations on American soil getting just about as far from Ireland as it was possible to go (My Great-Grandfather homesteaded in Alaska!) and the next three generations getting back - My parents, oldest brother and I have all visited the "olde country." - I, myself have racked up slightly more than two million miles in the past 18 years of driving a truck while trying to satisfy my wanderlust.

I am a Kansan, born and bred, (100 years and 1 day younger than my home state!) and a Westerner at heart. And I have, on several occcasions, made the statement that I could never live anywhere east of I-35, let alone, the Mississippi.

And then I met a wonderful lady from East Tennessee and realized that I had never felt as "at home" ANYWHERE as I did when I was sitting on her couch or roaming around her property or just holding her hand as we talked about absolutely everything and nothing. And this Western Kansas plainsman packed up bag and baggage (as well as tent, canoe and rifle!) and moved to the East Tennessee hills.

They say home is where the heart is and I believe it, now. It just never occurred to me before to look in Anderson County, Tennessee...

I'm still a Westerner and while I have friends all over the country, most of my family and closest friends are in Kansas. And I still travel. But I am at home in Tennessee. And, like the lady who's life I now share, I can honsetly say that the only way I'm leaving this East Tennessee ridge permanently is FEET FIRST.

Black Robbers - A true story!

Nancy, thanks for setting the record straight... This was sent to me by someone who should have known better and, now that you mention it, I'm surprised that she didn't catch it herself.

Still, you're right - It IS a great story!

RE: whats the best way to pick up a girl

Depending upon the size and dispostion of the girl you intend to "pick up" and your own physical abilities/limitations, I would respectfully submit that you could use anything from your bare hands to a small fork lift truck...

RE: Happy to be here

Howdy Ed! Welcome to the asylum! I met the love of my life here and know of several others who have done the same. Luck to you! And don't be too much of a stranger, there's good folks here!

RE: Marriage Counseling- Southern Style

And then there's the story about Bubba and Earl having a beer and talkin' over the back fence one day;

Bubba said, "Earl, if I was ta sneak over to yore house whilst, you was out fishin'... And make love to yore wife... And she got pregnant - Would that make us kin?" Earl took a sip of beer, scratched his head and replied, "Naw Bubba, it wouldn't make us kin, but it'd damn shore make us even!"

Black Robbers - A true story!

You're welcome, Ken. It's such a classic story that I almost felt compelled to share it here. (Glad everyone else liked it, too! )

Black Robbers - A true story!

By far the best e-mail I've received this year...

For anyone who didn't see David Letterman's take on this:(And it's a true story...)

On a recent weekend in Atlantic City, a woman won a bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the slots for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first she wanted to stash the quarters in her room. "I'll be right back and we'll go to eat,"she told her husband and carried the coin-laden bucket to the elevator.

As she was about to walk into the elevator she noticed two men already aboard. Both were black. One of them was tall...very tall...an intimidating figure. The woman froze. Her first thought was: These two are going to rob me. Her next thought was: Don't be a bigot, they look like perfectly nice gentlemen. But racial stereotypes are powerful, and fear immobilized her.

She stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious,flustered and ashamed. She hoped they didn't read her mind but Gosh, they had to know what she was thinking!!!

Her hesitation about joining them in the elevator was all too obvious now. Her face was flushed. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty effort of will she picked up one foot and stepped forward and followed with the other foot and was on the elevator.

Avoiding eye contact, she turned around stiffly and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A second passed, and another second,and then another. Her fear increased! The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her. My God, she thought, I'm trapped and about to be robbed! Her heart plummeted. Perspiration poured from every pore.

Then one of the men said, "Hit the floor." Instinct told her to do what they told her. The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms and collapsed on the elevator floor. A shower of coins rained down on her. Take my money and spare me, she prayed. More seconds passed. She heard one of the men say politely, "Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what floor you're going to, we'll push the button."

The one who said it had a little trouble getting the words out. He was trying mightily to hold in a belly laugh. The woman lifted her head and looked up at the two men. They reached down to help her up.
Confused, she struggled to her feet.

"When I told my friend here to hit the floor," said the average sized one, "I meant that he should hit the elevator button for our floor. I didn't mean for you to hit the floor, Ma'am." He spoke genially. He bit his lip. It was obvious he was having a hard time not laughing. The woman thought: My God, what a spectacle I've made of myself. She was humiliated to speak. She wanted to blurt out an apology, but words failed her. How do you apologize to two perfectly respectable gentlemen for behaving as though they were going to rob you? She didn't know what to say. The three of them gathered up the strewn quarters and refilled her bucket. When the elevator arrived at her floor they then insisted on walking her to her room. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and they were afraid she might not make it down the corridor.At her door they bid her a good evening. As she slipped into her room she could hear them roaring with laughter as they walked back to the elevator.

The woman brushed herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for dinner with her husband. The next morning flowers were delivered to her room - a dozen red roses.

Attached to EACH rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill. The card said:"Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years."

It was signed; Eddie Murphy, Michael Jordan

RE: Tax Refunds

Yep, got somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,700.00 - And I used the biggest part of it to move to Tennessee. (Last year, I bought the laptop that I'm typing on.) (Next year... Maybe something special for my sweetie! )

An epiphany of sorts...

...It occured to me today, while building a bookcase, that I was doing exactly the same thing that men have been doing since time began:

Making little pieces of wood out of big pieces of wood so that I could put the little pieces of wood together and make something big made out of wood!

(My apologies if this is a little too deep or profound for most to digest this time of evening! )

The only thing I know that's even CLOSE to an Easter joke:

(Disclaimer: This was told to me nearly 20 years ago by my then 5 year old nephew.)

What's invisible and smells like carrots?

























































Bunny farts!



HOPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!



The Kansan & Jackson

RE: Happy Easter from the Easter Bunny

Sorry Katers, but the Nestle Crunch bars don't last long enough around here to send anywhere but in-between my mustache handles. In fact, they barely last long enough to croak out "HOPPY EASTER" as they disappear down my gullet...

(I did however find some cute little sugar-coated chocolate eggs if you happen to get in a "nesting mood.")

RE: Story thread reborn

And the Kansas plainsman and the die-hard Southern Lady tossed some shaped flowers in the general direction of Texas, then acquired a few more critters and stumbled down-hill into the sunset...

RE: if i could

Sitting last night with my Lady and our "Youngest son" (an overgrown puppy of a pitbull named Spartacus) and messing around with a laser pointer. Spartacus LOVES to chase the little red dot and try to catch it and when I suddenly turn it off and he realizes (after a few moments of looking for it!) that it's gone, he always turns and gives us this incredibly perplexed look that just cracks us up!

I love my life!

RE: Thread to the Cs monitors

RE: ok country music lovers I need some helo finding a song

Hank #1 wrote it, Hanks #1 & #2 both sang it.

Sure wish Hank #3 would do more, he's at least as good as his Grandpa and probably better than his dad.

RE: ~°:.GUESS WHAT...:°~

Me too, Joel!

Wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that weren't true?

RE: how do you know?

Report him, block him from ALL e-mail sources, then forget he ever existed - Chances are that he doesn't!

RE: Daily Joke

RE: New Countdowm

Cool beans! We're so happy for you!

We've got several of our "countdowns" out of the way: Actually meeting for the first time and waiting until I could get back through because we realized that what we thought was true IS true. Then the decision to go to the "next level." Then figuring out the time table for the "next level" to begin. Then getting all my crap, er, uh... STUFF down here...

I guess the only countdown we have left is waiting for her best friend, "The Minister," to make a trip back to Tennessee from Oregon to make things official! (YAY!) After that there will be no more counting, only enjoying the rest of our lives together. Ain't this a great place?!!

Congratulations! Enjoy your time together!



(P.S. I told you so! )

RE: stood by vows, forgive or leave...

Me too, what you and Ken said!

RE: Love is not blind,...

Reckon I'd have to agree with that and maybe elucidate just a bit:

Love not only isn't blind, but it helps the heart see what is really important and true. It shades the things which glare too brightly and illuminates the dark corners of a lonely soul. It enhances visions of the future and helps blur unpleasant memories of the past. It allows one to see with their heart, thereby noticing things which weren't important before while allowing proper perspective on molehills which were never should have become mountains to begin with.

Love isn't blind. Hate and apathy are blind... And deaf and dumb as well!

These rose colored glasses that I'm wearing are the prescription that I've needed my whole life and only found recently... I'd like to give everybody a pair, 'cause they sure are exactly what the Doctor ordered!

RE: Whom did you meet on CS

I've met Dave and Linda and Rebecca... And the wonderful lady/split apart, who now shares my life and my hopes and dreams. (And we now share a mailing address, four dogs and a cat, a canoe... And pretty much everything else!)

I hope everyone here can find the happiness that we've found. I continue to love her more and more each day!

RE: How to catch a White Elephant

Why did the elephant wear red sneakers?

To hide in the cherry tree!

Ever seen an elephant in a cherry tree? (Of course not!)

See how good they hide?!!

RE: hi there

Two of us (Me & Jackson) just got back home yesterday, so I guess, technically, there are a couple of us out here...

RE: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!!

gibby6117 said, "What have you got that makes you so high and mighty????????///"

I believe I can answer that: Class! (Oh, and, um... typing skills!)

RE: Women and making up!

^
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^
^
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From one who smiles a lot and is very genuine!

(And is quite a beautiful, rare flower, herself! )

RE: Wild.........

Well Sis, I put my clothes ON and jumped into the yard... (Forgetting that here in East Tennessee the "yard" is pretty much a steep hillside and that if you don't happen to get lucky and catch a tree or two on the way down, you'll end up in the middle of the Clinton Highway! )

...Ok, so that wasn't really all that wild... But that's alright - I plan on getting "wild" a little later tonight... Heee hee hee hee heee...

RE: Would You ?

Hey, AB! Good to see you!

Of course I agree with you - We've always agreed on almost everything - But I'm gonna' add a little bit: Sometimes, belief structures do get shattered in the course of enlightenment and sometimes when the pieces are put back together the belief becomes even stronger and we find that "our god" and "their god" are one and the same, It's just that we've been looking from different perspectives.

Having said that, and in response to Leo's original question: Nope. It is all about free will, arguably the best and worst gift from God.
Nor could I force my will or belief system on another and demand that they "Accept my God or die!" My faith is strong, but I'd like to think that I'm wise to know that I don't know everything and each one has to take his/her own path to enlightenment and while my beilief system is right for me, it may not be right for someone else and vice versa.

Hope I haven't obfuscated things too much. LOL