Ardith Hinton to James Bradley on 07-20-11 14:42 re: Behind the Scenes   
      
    AH>  You've been here longer than anybody else except for   
    AH>  Dallas & me... and you understand what we're trying to   
    AH>  accomplish. If others are team-teaching effectively he   
    AH>  doesn't need the big hammer.  :-))   
      
    JB>  As a blanket apology, I know how I was raised to push   
    JB>  boundaries.   
      
      
    AH>           I wasn't.  But I cheered inwardly for the teenager who...   
    AH> when asked how leukemia had affected his life... commented "I'm   
    AH> a lot mouthier now."  ;-)   
      
   I remember hearing of him, [From you?] or I had a few lucid dreams where he   
   figured prominently. If nothing else, our afflictions DID give us a voice. For   
   some, it may remain hidden but an internal dialog is better than none at all, I   
   suppose.   
      
      
    JB>  I pray I was never too far from the "spirit" of the   
    JB>  community you two built here, and if I was, I trust   
    JB>  I wasn't too hard to lead back to enlightenment?   
      
      
    AH>           Not at all!  Survivors recognize one another.  I   
    AH> see that in you.  I see it in Richard.  Yes, I do some   
    AH> gentle direction of subject matter at times   
    AH> ... but the apparent subject matter is a component of the larger   
    AH> picture.  :-)   
      
   Well, I'd like to think I can clue into topics omitted in discussions. I also   
   respect that others might not possess that distinction. I DO need to work on my   
   acceptance of others. Like AA I suppose, knowing I have that problem is always   
   step one. [giggle]   
      
      
    JB>  I talk in fido how I like to talk to the neighbours   
    JB>  across our fence, and how I'd like to be talked to.   
    JB>  "Don't be offensive, OR easily offended..."   
      
      
    AH>           Do as you would be did by.  Makes sense to me....  :-)   
      
   Actually, a terrible example considering the neighbour that has JUST listed his   
   house for sale.  Ah well. We'll see if he sells to a better person. ;)   
      
    JB>  I know I can be gruff and crass at times and I need to   
    JB>  be more sensitive to others, but I *think* of myself as   
    JB>  the guy too willing to lend my neighbour my garden hose   
    JB>  if his house is on fire, but I'm not above giving him   
    JB>  a hard time about it if it comes back all kinked up.   
      
      
    AH>           I call 'em the way I see 'em, just as you do.   
    AH> IMHO your heart is in the right place & you responded with   
    AH> awesome sensitivity to Shiloh.  :-)   
      
   [Wish I could remember now.] I think newcomers tend to overwhelmed with 300   
   messages, and never think they will keep up. THEN they hear me repeating myself   
   over and over....    
      
    JB>  ... And I need to work on my "Oh ya?" attitude.   
      
      
    AH>           A certain amount of healthy skepticism is not amiss AFAIC,   
    AH> and Steve would appreciate that too.  But he may be wondering   
    AH> what to make of us because we didn't run away screaming or   
    AH> try to correct his perceptions when he told us he's an   
    AH> atheist.  I see some evidence of a Wounded Child there...   
      
   As you, or other regulars might imagine, I gravitated early to an alternative   
   to the Judah Christian theology. I've always admired a N. American First Nation   
   take on their "Creator" from the first time I learned about their beliefs.   
   Lately I have found more information about it on the Internet, and have become   
   a firm believer in its suggestions. (I just "watered" the laptop where I saved   
   the URL, so it'll have to wait before I post it here.)   
      
    AH> as I imagine you do.  We've dealt with similar issues here   
    AH> in the past.  OTOH, I suppose he may be thinking... as one   
    AH> of our (now deceased) BBS users did... that we sound too   
    AH> much like the Care Bears to suit his preference.  Over to   
    AH> you, Steve.  ;-)   
      
   I would imagine that if we don't beat an Atheist over the head with a John   
   Smith (IF that's the Book Of Mormon, "author"?) book of fiction, that we   
   couldn't be spiritual people.    
      
   I'll paraphrase a new found text:   
      
   The Red Road has four laws.   
   Respect the Great Spirit.   
   Respect the earth.   
   Respect your fellow man and woman.   
   Respect every persons' right to freedom provided it does not threaten the   
   tribe, the earth, or the Great Spirit.   
      
      
      
    JB>  I hope your new readers here can feel half as welcomed   
    JB>  as you two have made me.   
      
      
    AH>           Thankyou!  I'm glad to hear you feel that way....  :-)   
      
   In the spirit that I have always found fido in, I hope to help even a PORTION   
   of how much I have been helped. That goes threefold here. (I KNOW the   
   proportions stay the same, but.... ;-)   
      
      
   ... Fox News was *not* used as a source of information for this message.   
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