The message forum is an ongoing dialogue between classmates. There are no items, topics, subtopics, etc.

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Message" button to add your entry to the forum.

Mark Schweickart

Careful Frank, putting your philosophy down in print like this might get you an invitation to deliver the next commencement address at Harvard.

P.S.  Never thought of myself as sounding like Leon Redbone, but I will take that as a compliment, indeed. Thank you.

Mark Schweickart

I don't know why but I suddenly had a flashback to my illustrious job as curtain-puller for our inimitable production of Pride and Prejudice, but I cannot remember much about it. Come on, Dave, time for Mr. Memory to fill in the blanks. I think you were in this weren't you? Darcy perhaps. Oh, and McLeod, you played the father, Mr. Bennet, didn't you. I remember Maxwell was the nefarious Wickham seducing, who was it, Lydia? Who played Lydia? I think Debbie Shaw played Mrs. Bennet, and quite effectively if I remember correctly. Who was Elizabeth? Was that Bonnie Jonas? Not sure? Can't remember if we actually did justice to the play, but I am sure the curtains opened and closed on cue.

David Mitchell

Okay, now who's not payng attention?

Yes, we did P & P in Junior year (?). And for such a bad memory, I think you nailed the cast pretty well. Yes I played Darcy and Bonnie was the apple of my eye (Miss Elizabeth). And I played myself - a bit of an insecure snob with an attitude about the locals and a funny hairdo. I must have drawn the audience to the edge of their seats with "I cannot abide the countryside. One moves in such limited company."

Hey, I was ordered to try out by Sister Constantious - or else! (deal with it!)

I wrote a long post about this way back in the dawn of history (of this Forum). It was about Bonnie's enormous plastic "Butterfly" hair pins, by which I was nearly blinded for life as we practiced our first (non) "kiss". Everyone laughed including Sister Constantious (spelling?). 

And I did a follow-up post about Bonnie becoming the favorite patient of the nurses in my Dad's office as a result of this story  - "Madame Butterfly".

And then Bonnie responded with a post about a long forgotten fact - that she and I actually did kiss on the final night of the three performances. 

So what was your question sir?

-------------------------

Note:  the zenith of my drama career came a year later in a play staring Clare in "Tammy Tell Me True" (senior year?). I was a courtroom lawyer with two lines (and a "pencil thin mustache").

I guess the 8 lines I had in P&P was too much for my adoring public. I recall one of my two lines as I cross-examined the young "Tammy" on the witness stand. She said something about her turtle named Myrtle. And I responced with a very terse "I see,,,, Myrtle,,,, the turtle."  The shock waves of rave reviews have carried with me (and me alone) even to this very day. In fact Mark, as I write this, I am expecting an agent to call from Hollywood almost any moment now - almost ANY moment - - - - almost.

Truth be known, the wait has gotten a wee bit tedious.

-----------

p.s. As I look out from my dock, across a short span of the marshes on the lovely May River (Johnny Mercer's inspiration for his Oscar winning "Moon River"), I  stare at a little "Island" of beauriful old homes along the river in their own little sanctuary - it's called Myrtle Island.  And yes we do have sea turtles nearby. 

David Mitchell

I know we are staying off of "politics" but this is hard for me to avoid.  

(ref: news out of Pennsylvania yesterday - and for the last several generations all over the world)

I hope and pray that someday the Vatican would wake up and smell the coffee. Now I don't expect that married priests would solve this mess entirely, but I'd bet money that it would make quite a noticeable diference - a whole cultural shift.  

My (Anglican) priests are married, and they are simply different. They have a married sexual partner that they love and enjoy (and have disagreements with) - in a healthy, proper, and legal way. They have children, and grandchildren. They change diapers, and go to girl scout meetings. They have to teach their teenagres to drive and worry about them getting home at night. Then they and their wives cry when they have to drop them off at college. 

I understand chastity is a spiritual gift, but maybe not for many. (I must have been behind the door when they passed it out). Our Orthodox  brothers offer the choice before ordination. You can be celibate or married. Make your choice now and then we can ordain you. 

How utterly logical !  Some guys have it - some don't, but woud still make great priests.

p.s. If you're thinking of chimming in with something about chastity being required because it follows the image of Christ, save your breath. Priests were married up until somewhere around 1100. But they also owned the parish church, and then became powerful landlords, and then became temporal princes, and then had their own powerful (and dangerous) armys. The church had to stop the nepotism of hereditary property ownership. This was the way they tried to solve it. And I believe most of the Apostles were married men to begin with. 

And one of the worst ideas  (Dad used to rail on and on against this) - the idea of taking boys into the Seminary out of 8th grade. OMG - How absurd! As Dad used to say, "They take 'em away as young boys, hide then from the world for a few years, and graduate them as young boys." A couple of the finest Catholic priests I ever knew were "delayed vocations". 

I remember one of our career day lectures about the priesthood (which you may recall was alway mandatory for all the boys). We had this young Paulist priest (yes, they are a more liberal order) who was explaining what type of guys they wanted. He said something to this effect, "If you have never been to work in a real job, or been in trouble, or been in love, we can't use you." 

Bonnie Jonas (Jonas-Boggioni)

Dave, I usually just read the first few lines of these Forum quips, but I HAD to respond to this one on P & P!  You did it so well, just one thing to add:  You mad the suggestion on the last night, because our "NON" kisses drew titters and giggles from the audience.  I agreed that we needed the real thing...the nun sucked up all the air in the room and een sent me a note - as IF I was not part of the conspiracy!

I'd have to dig out the program to find Lydia...but you won't find ME in it...I was omitted!

Michael McLeod

That is a really interesting and well thought out take, Dave.

Glad to see something of substance here & hopefully no, it doesn't get censored.

It is such a source of anguish for Catholicism at large and so many, many, many victimized individuals.

Jeanine Eilers (Decker)

I'm with Mike, Dave.  That aspect of a priestly vocation always seemed unnatural to me in many cases.  It almost had a punitive nature which I didn't--and still don't--understand.

Timothy Lavelle

Hey....you guys....

I would love to believe I have always had my ego in control but something has happened this morning to make me shout..."Release the Kracken".

I found this section of my e-mail computer thingy that is named after my favorite meat dish, Spam. Imagine how delighted I was to discover that I had scores of e-mails from Russian and Asian ladies who would like to marry me. I may have a little difficulty with my right leg but as of right now, I limp with a pronounced  swagger.

I'm sure this is hard to believe for some of you but certainly it makes as much sense as Frank saying, "I don't like confrontation" followed almost immediately by "Obama tanked the economy".

Frank, once you pull your head out, check the date of the financial collapse and then compare it to the 2008 election date. Speaking of dates, I have quite a few new Russian and Asian friends that would like to date a aging duffer. Know any?

Kathleen Wintering (Nagy)

I feel just like the rest of you concerning the recent news about the latest batch of child molesting priests. I know this has happened in other Christian religions occasionally ,but Catholic priests have been accused of this for so long. What I never could understand was once a person ( Bishop or higher) knows that a priest has this problem, why would you  TRANSFER the person to another parish and think  you are solving the problem? No wonder other religions have been shaking their heads about Catholicism for so long.  So many people have quit the church and I understand completely, but I think one can stick around and put your hand  up and disagree about the things that need to be looked at in our church. I try to do that by membership in Catholic Daughters, an organization that meets once a month in our parish. I have found that a lot of people share my views and  disagree with many things about the church. If everyone just leaves who does not believe, then the others will never hear a different point of view. Kathy W.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Not to stop the discussion about the Catholic priests' abuse of children scandal or Tim's and Frank's conversation about the economy, but I would like to add a topic that will allow us to "think outside the box", actually, to think outside our world.

We were all raised in the television and movie era that celebrated westerns, cops, private eyes, variety shows, Lassie, Beaver Cleaver and a host of other shows. Among those were several science fiction entries such as The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Startrek to name a few. Today some of these "sci-fi" topics are becoming  real.

I enjoy watching Nat Geo, the Discovery Channel, BBC and others that explore the newer views of our universe, how it is still expanding, how new stars are being "born" and solar systems are formed. I must admit, much of this is far above my comprehension. The knowledge that has been revealed by the Hubble and Kepler telescopes and that will be increased by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which will orbit our sun and be constantly facing earth, is and will be amazing.

What has bothered me in regard to sci-fi shows, UFO sightings and those who claim that they have been abducted by aliens is that these visitors from outer space are always portrayed as being far advanced above us earthlings. Another pet peeve of mine is that so many planetary missions are designed to look for life as we know it on earth which requires water. What if some alien life is based on a different chemical component or components?

Since we now have a much better, albeit incomplete, view of the vastness of the universe, the billions - perhaps trillions - of stars that have orbiting planets many of which could be the correct distance from their suns as is Planet Earth and, therefore, could support life "as we know it", then perhaps we are not alone in the great scheme of things.

I am a big believer in evolution and do NOT see that as a conflict with my belief in God. Where along the evolutionary tract that God decided to add an immortal soul is a theologic question that I cannot answer. Did Neanderthals have souls? How about Cromagnon people? Just some thoughts to ponder...

To my knowledge none of our classmates became astrophysicists but some may have that as an interest or hobby. One of my cameras actually has an astrophotography mode on it's menu which I have not yet tried. Many photographers have captured stunning views of our Milky Way from several areas in Colorado (and other states). But to make a really good picture requires being in a fairly remote place, on a moonless night, at the right time of year, away from city lights, in total darkness and using time exposures of about 30 minutes at relatively high ISO settings. Sounds a bit bodacious for this 70 year old!  Sigh!  I guess I'll stick with fawns and landscapes.

Any thoughts on the universe? Any UFO sightings or alien abductions - Tim???

Jim

Timothy Lavelle

Jim, Let me get the humor out of the way first. 1. Why me? 2. I have believed in "Galactic Tours" for adventure seeking aliens for a long time. I believe they offer an expensive but really fun side trip that allows select (like, REALLY wealthy Martians) to be inserted in a human setting with a requirement that they allow themselves to be made temporarily invisible. While invisible they are allowed to choose one thing of mine to hide from me...glasses, car or bike keys, this computer pad, my wife...and then watch me and howl as I swear to various dieties that "I just laid the damn thing right here" and mumbling "&*$@!!÷% Martians".  They wait until I have checked my pockets twice and then put the item back in my pocket. I haved heard them laughing when I stick my hand in my pocket for the third time in desperation...and there are the keys!

There was another tour that included abduction of a human but it fell out of favor due to the incredible rise in the cost of keeping a spaceship hovering at 50 feet while focusing that tricky elevating beam on a moving 63 Chevy on the back roads near Frank. That and they were just totally bored with always hoovering up "another guy named Darrell".

We have been incredibly fortunate to live during a time when astronomy has been made very affordable as a hobby. I have a couple of telescopes and a good set binoculars to enjoy the skies with so why I moved into a house surrounded by tall trees is another mystery, huh? Personally, I don't think we are alone.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Timothy Lavelle

Damn, man, you're good!

But that DNA thing is just another one of those Martian tricks. I know because, as conflicting as it sounds, I don't have DNA. I have D'NO!   

Janie Albright (Blank)

Jim- funny you should mention ufo’s. 

https://mountvernonnews.com/article/2018/08/10/alien-sighting-north-of-mount-vernon/

Mike - I hope you aren’t thinking I might censor the Forum. Not to worry. It belongs to all of us.  

James Hamilton, M. D.

David Mitchell

Gee whizz! I must have said something that got the girls attention. My apologies to all the guys. I really thought we had put the ladies to sleep many Posts ago. It was so fun having these intimate discussions with just 6 people - and all guys. Sorry guys. My screw up.

---------------

Bonnie,

Seriously, So great to see you back on the Forum again. That will always be a fun memory, but I was not aware that your name did not appear in the cast list. But I guess it was a bit to early in history to blame Russian hackers  - Shame!

--------------

Kathy, Jeanine and Mike, 

First of all I was not trying to put a heavy negative message out there to darken this Forum, but I just couldn't let it pass. And Kathy, I aslo had no interntion of ommiting other religions. There is quite a bit of detailed testimony with other denominations, and even an interesting story about some conservative Jewish Synagogues in the NYC area just a few years back. But the details coming out in this latest story from Pensylvania is more shokcing than anything we have yet heard on this subject. And so widespread (300 priests! - three hundred!) and so sadisitic I just couldn't keep my big mouth shut. Not just a dozens of cases, but an "network" of predators actually sharing their information for the "benefit" of other members of the network. Horrifying!

As for the problem of them simply being transfered back and forth, this is also the point of a story I once shared (way back on the Forum) about two Columbus priests that my dad kept writing to the Bishop(s) of Columbus about - for years - and never getting a reply. I bleive one of those priests is now known to have fathered at least two children by local women.

---------------------  

JIm, I'm warning you - if you continue to use words with so many syllables you will be put on probation until you can convince us that you have paid the proper license fee for transporting big words across state lines.

Seriously though, I do agree with you on Evolution. I get into some pretty interesting arguments with some of my "fundamentalist " friends over this.

----------------------

Tim, 

Maybe you can help me with my problem. I would like to cut my phone bill by eliminating my land line and the large monthly charges it carries. But I need to keep it around because whenever I misplace my iPhone around the house (which occurs approximately every 14 minutes and 37 seconds on weekdays and sometimes on Saturdays,  but almost NEVER ON SUNDAYS, I eventually have to call myself on my land line and follow the ring tone. One of my recent searches cost me about 45 minutes - looking all over the house. I went all over the usuall places and back again over each same location 3, and then 4 times. I finally gave up and decided to go pick up the land line and dial myself.

Aha!   It rang loud and clear - from right there in the shirt pocket that I was wearing at the time!     I guess I better keep my land line. 

Michael McLeod

This is a facebook post by Warren Zanes, a producer and writer. Solomon Burke was a preacher and singer who was one of the founding fathers of rhythm and blues. I am thinking this story about a moment between him and Aretha Franklin will serve as a nice tribute for this page to one of the greatest singers of our generation.

What Warren is talking about here is his memory of a Sam Cooke tribute he produced. There were several old-school r&b singers on the show, all of whom revered Aretha, who waived her fee to be part of the show, and was clearly the biggest star there.

If you are not familiar with what she does at the end - kicking her shoes off - that was something soul singers did, back in the day, to more or less signal to the audience: IT'S ON!!!!!! But her surprise gift to a fellow singer, who was ill and nearing the end of his life,  is what this post is all about.  

John Maxwell

Michael McLeod

Jack: I had the honor of meeting the Champ too. And came to the same conclusion. He never lost the kid in himself. This was after he retired and he was in a made for tv movie called "Freedom Road." I was on the set -- it was somewhere, I think, in MIssissippi - to do an interview with him for the LA Times. The press guy took me over to him and introduced me and Ali looked at me - and turned and walked away! My heart sank. I was young and nervous about celebrity interviews. Then he turned, looker over his shoulder, and motioned for me to follow him. One thing I remember is that we talked about religion, somehow. And he said "How come there ain't no statues of little black angels in church?" 

I had no answer.

But I knew it was a damn good question -- and an example of his unassuming but keen intelligence.

Feel very lucky to have had that moment in my life. I don't ever want to sound like I'm showing off when I talk about the handful of big shots I wound up meeting. I was just lucky to have a profession that gave me that chance. And most of the time I was nervous as hell about it. And pretty much all the time the people I wound up interviewing or meeting were extremely nice.

Michael McLeod

Oh, and Jack: I remember during rehearsal for Pride and Pred that you had an entrance and you always walked in with a smirk on your face and one time I broke out in the giggles when you walked on and I couldn't stop. And the nun who was our director - anybody remember her name? -- just waited in utter silence for me to get control of myself. Which, eventually, I did. Relatively speaking.

And Jim: I have done so much reading about astrophysics. I'm thinking I understand about 5% of what I read, if that. Have to be in the mood to discuss it but what strikes me is that so many twists and turns and happenstance occurrences -- well, seemingly happenstance,  if you're a deist -- are involved in the development of life of any sort, let alone intelligent life,that surely both are rare. But "the universe is a big place, possibly the biggest place" (somebody, probably Kurt Vonnegut, once said that). So the chances are essentially infinite. And in our own tiny solar system we have at least two places -- Mars and i think it's the Jupiter moon of Europa -- where at least one key ingredient of life, water, exists or once existed. Plus there's a decent percentage of the planets we've discovered in other star systems that are earth-like rocky planets orbiting in the so-called, not too hot and not too cold "goldilocks" zone where life might have a chance, and the other elements needed -- nitrogen, oxygen, starlight -- are in abundance, if thinly scattered,  throughout the universe, which turns out to be one big fat sprawling Home Depot store for anybody shopping for the necessary components.

So I'm voting: yes. Life other than ours is out there somewhere -- or has been, or will be.

And the reason we always talked and speculated that what's out there is smarter than us is because we wish we were a smarter, kinder species ourselves. We hope for something better to emerge, if not out of ourselves, from somewhere else. I always thought that gold record we sent out with Voyager describing ourselves was like the pictures and bios people put on dating websites. We said all the good stuff but left out the crappiness.

So we hope better things are out there. If we find a planet full of earthworms -- hmm I guess we wouldn't call them earthworms - after all our searching and questing, how much would that suck? Or would it give us a kick in the butt to clean up our act and make the most of ourselves? 

David Mitchell

Mike,

Sister Constantiuos (or Contstansious?) - (very short - heavy - a bit older - with rosy cheeks) - directed Pride and Predjudice. She was also my junior english class tacher. She was tough, but good.

I just mentioned her name in my post #3792 about the play. .......But someone obviuously wasn't paying attention !!!

--------------------

Oh, and you completely forgot to mention the planet Krypton in the post above. What in the world is wrong with you man?

Michael McLeod

Krypton is a secret, you idiot. They told us not to talk to the earthlings about it. 

David Mitchell

Oh darn, I forgot that- sorry. 

Speakig of Krypton, I need your prayers - all of you (I mean all 6 of you reading this Forum). I have traveled to a far off place very simlar to Krypton for a few days. It's a place known as the "Kingdom of Portlandia" in the region of "Oregonia". Very, very weird place! In my first day here I have already been exposed to more frightening tattoos (in more frightening places) than in my entire prior history of nightmares.

I hope my radio signal doesn't grow weak from here. I will attempt to report my findings over the next few days. God willing?

Joseph D. McCarthy

Mr. Mike, in ressponse to your post 3808.  In a small community North, North-East of Philadelphia, PA is a World Famous Catholic (Polish if memory serves me) church with a Carved Statue of Baby Jesus.  It was carved out of "BLACK" ebony.  A beautiful site to see.

Joseph D. McCarthy

In regards to my earlier post.  "The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochwa near Doylestown, PA".  And now I'm trying to remember if it was a "BABY" Jesus or Jesus on the Cross.  Memoryfails me, sorry.