MK>>> Errrrr ... sort of ... from your perspective it would be less,   
    MK>>> but from my perspective it would be more ... too much really.   
    MK>>> ;-)   
      
    SC>> I guess that idea just went out of the window then, huh? :-)   
      
    MK> I'd say that was a good idea gone bad.  If I had any extra I probably   
    MK> wouldn't mind but don't hold your breath on it.   
      
   Maybe one day either you or I or both will be rich. Like you said though,   
   "don't hold your breath".   
      
      
    SC>> My oldest daughter has a digital camera and doesn't have a   
    SC>> computer. She takes her pics to one of those machines where you   
    SC>> put the disk in and can print out the pics. The ones I've seen   
    SC>> turned out pretty good and didn't cost too much either. I know   
    SC>> that one way you would really lose if you had a lot of pics   
    SC>> to print is the ink. I don't even have ink here most of the time.   
      
    MK> That is the big thing with those kind of things.  You end up spending   
    MK> more on special ink cartridges and paper then the thing is worth.  I   
    MK> don't take that many pictures these days to bother with that.  Besides   
    MK> there are places that already can do it for me and also make different   
    MK> sizes.  For what it is worth I think that is the way to go.   
      
   I took enough pictures but unless I had a windfall, I sure can't print them all   
   out. Right now they are on either floppies, CDs or my hard drive. I did print a   
   few out on regular paper, which doesn't come out as good, but I still have a   
   copy of them.   
      
      
      
    SC>> Not really, I was talking about people's attitudes about the   
    SC>> divorced person, not how the "system" handles things.   
      
    MK> Ah!  Yeah all my married friends no longer are 'allowed' to hang out   
    MK> with me.  I think their wives think it might be contagious.  :-)   
      
   Women must be more sensitive to these things. When I got married my single   
   friends kinda went on their way except for one, but my ex's single friends   
   still hung around. We were the first to get married with both sides of the   
   friends. After the divorce it seems that my ex hung onto a couple of his   
   married friends, but I didn't. I don't think it is so much that divorce was   
   considered contagious, just that both the men and women were afraid that the   
   divorced one might introduce their spouses to others to cheat with.   
      
      
    MK> Yeah things definetly change, some of them definetly not for the   
    MK> better, once seperated/divorced.  Although it is tempting to blame   
    MK> someone else for what happens after it really isn't fair.  Over time I   
    MK> got used to all the bad stuff that goes along with not being paired   
    MK> off.  I guess neither of us will make it to the Ark eh?   
      
   Hey, maybe they will allow us on the ark together. ;-)   
      
      
    SC>> This is funny because most people I know, even getting half,   
    SC>> doesn't get much because I don't know any rich people.   
      
    MK> I used to but I am not really sure they were really that much better   
    MK> off given the higher maintenance it took to keep up with appearances   
    MK> and also the divorces there were REALLY messy in comparison to those   
    MK> who never really had anything to speak of.   
      
   Exactly. When you don't have anything to fight over the messy divorce is out.   
   With me, both of my daughters were already out of the house, which left me and   
   my son. He was 16 and stayed until he was 30. We lived close to my ex so my son   
   saw him almost everyday, which was more than he saw him when we were together.   
   My ex only had to pay child support for 2 years for my son and did it   
   faithfully. Once I had a steady job, I had my ex give him the money for things   
   he needed. My ex still helps the kids out when they need it. I just wish I   
   could do the same, but they understand.   
      
      
    SC>> My ex and I didn't even have anything to split in half.   
      
    MK> We did but handled it differently then most.  Possessions were sort of   
    MK> obvious whose were whose due to differing interests and as far as   
    MK> property went I signed it over to her and the kids since it was   
    MK> considered a family thing.  I would have never bought into real   
    MK> estate, or at least not in suburbia, had it not been for a family.   
    MK> Later when she moved she sold it and after all the legal mumbo-jumbo   
    MK> and real estate agent fees etc. there wasn't much left anyhow but it   
    MK> helped out with the move so it all worked out in the end ... sort of.   
    MK> Best it could anyhow.   
      
   My ex was the one who moved out but we rented so neither of us made out on   
   that. He moved into a smaller place since I needed the space for me and my son.   
   My lawyer wasn't very happy because my ex and I set our own child support and   
   never spent a day in court, which would have been more money for the lawyer. I   
   ended up paying him almost $400 for his secretary to type up the papers and him   
   to present them to a judge to be signed, then send them to me and ex for proof   
   that it was over. My ex didn't even get a lawyer. I told him that it would be   
   dumb for both of us to pay a lawyer since we could do everything ourselves.   
      
      
    SV>> In fact, *I* was the one who got the debt because of   
    SC>> my own   
    SC>> stupidity. We separated for a couple years at which time I put   
    SC>> all the utilities in my name. We got back together and I didn't   
    SC>> see the point of changing the bills back to his name. My dumb ass   
    SC>> lawyer didn't tell me that I could give him half of those bills   
    SC>> to pay, and that could be done legally per the gas and electric   
    SC>> companies. It was too late though by the time I talked to them.   
      
    MK> I hear you.  That really sucks.  I feel for you.   
      
   I got it all straigtened out eventually, so it wasn't real bad.   
      
      
    SC>> My situation is the same as yours. Well, I wouldn't go back   
    SC>> because of the drinking, which although it drove me crazy living   
    SC>> with him, doesn't bother me now. He has a heart of gold and is a   
    SC>> great father and grandfather.   
      
    MK> Me too except I don't drink that much.  Not enough that it is a   
    MK> problem, especially to anyone else.  It certainly wasn't a reason for   
    MK> either of us splitting up.   
      
   Well, the drinking wasn't the only problem really. I think it takes more than   
   one problem for a marriage to end. We just ended up wanting very different   
   things from our lives and it was best for both of us to not live together. I   
   still worry about him, especially with his battle with cancer, but I swear he   
   is going to outlive all of us. Like my sister said, he must be a cat and only   
   went through about 3 of his lives so far with 6 more to go. hehehe   
      
      
    SC>> I've always had more male friends than female ones, even as a   
    SC>> kid.   
      
    MK> Depends what age, but as I got older female friends became fewer.  Not   
    MK> sure why.  The ones I did have were excellent though, minus a few   
    MK> girlfriends which is different.   
      
   I don't have as many male friends now either, but I also don't have as many   
   female ones either. Life goes on and people go in different directions. I got a   
   thing in email about how friends pass through your life and it is very true. If   
   I can find it I'll post it here for everyone to read. I even have pretty much   
   different online friends now than I did when I started out many years ago.   
      
      
    SC>> Females have   
    SC>> a tendency to want "girl talk" about husbands, kids, how to   
    SC>> decorate the house, etc.   
      
    MK> Same with guys except the 'how' part tends to be a bit more technical   
    MK> then the women's 'how'.   
      
   True.   
      
      
    SC>> and although I love talking about the kids and grandkids, I'm   
    SC>> just not really into the other "girl talk".   
      
    MK> Same with guys.  :-)   
      
   :-)   
      
      
    SC>> With all the friendships I've had over the years with men, I don't   
    SC>> understand why you think it is difficult.   
      
    MK> Perhaps you and I would make great friends but you sound very much   
    MK> different then most women I meet.   
      
   Thanks!! I'll take that as a good thing. ;-)   
      
   Sharon   
      
   ---   
    * Origin: Shar's Wildlife (1:3613/1275.7)