Nightingale

I have NOT been lied to. You are the one who has been believing lies. Have you ever sat down and talked with a gay person, and actually listened to their answers to your questions? Have you ever approached a gay person without judgment, but with a desire to understand? Or do you feel you don't need to because you already have all the answers? My two closest friends in the world are gay. My roommate, who I have known since gradeschool is gay. NONE of them have ever tried to recruit someone else to their lifestyle. None of them were recruited either. I was the one they talked with when they were struggling with their sexual identities. I am not gay and did not encourage them to make any choice. I just listened. They would not wish their lifestyle on anyone, simply because it is so hard to be gay, and it would be so much easier for them if they were straight. This is not a choice they made. It is who they are. They didn't choose their sexual orientation any more than they chose their gender. When you've had an open dialogue with someone who is gay, and really tried to understand their position, come back and comment.

Bullshit. Homosexuals don't need to recruit. In fact, many people decide they are homosexual before ever meeting another homosexual. And as for what I'd want for any future children... I'd want them to live in a world where they can love and marry whoever makes them happy, regardless of gender. I'd rather have a happy homosexual kid than an unhappy straight one. I think happiness is what most parents wish for their kids, right?

homosexuals don't want everyone to be gay! They just want to be accepted the way they are and have the same rights and protections that everyone else does. They don't care who YOU marry... they want you to stop caring about who they marry! Homosexuality is not something that's going to "die out". It's been present in the human race for thousands of years at least, and is present in other species as well.

I can remember a time when skydivers didn't cheat skydivers. That time too has passed. sad, isn't it?

I agree with you. I was very, very lucky that when I bought my gear, I had some good people looking out for me. Lord knows I didn't know what the heck I was doing. I had 18 jumps. (much thanks to Raoul and John and Shelly at Perris and Kama and Robert at Elsinore!) It's sad when someone takes advantage of someone who doesn't have the experience to know better...someone needs to ensure that such advantage-taking ceases to remain profitable. Perhaps then it would happen less often.

I think it's sad that someone would misrepresent gear they're selling to a newbie just because the newbie doesn't know any better. If they told him he was getting a PD reserve and didn't deliver that reserve, he should get his money back.

talk to a lawyer about the misrepresentation of the type and condition of the gear.

instant cutaway. a relationship is built on trust. take away the trust, there's no relationship.

yep. prosecute people for their crime, not their motive.

There's a huge X in the student landing area. You can't miss it. Promise.

sigh... my cable tv is out, and the only radio I own is in my car stereo. I shall be seeking transcripts, if they don't replay the debate later on.

I wasn't saying it was unsafe... just not as comfortable.

if I've actually pulled anything (pilot chute out), I'm chopping first. If I couldn't pull or find the main hackey, I'll go straight to silver. Its what we learned at safety day.

you can land any way you want at perris too, so long as you're out of the pattern and away from the main landing area. And tim will even come out to get you so you don't have to walk.

I don't know him.

there are dust devils at elsinore too... you just can't see them as well because of the grass, which makes them even more dangerous.

congrats on quitting!

Lob's heard me say that. LOL. What I don't like is the turbulence from the new buildings that were put in just south of the student landing area.

I'll be at Perris on saturday. I don't much care for the landing area at 'Snore.

if they're living apart and have filed for divorce and its just not final yet, AND we're serious about each other, then yes. in any other circumstance, no.

I'm not sure how it works, but it works amazingly well. When the choir I was in was singing at Carnegie, a lot of us had killer sore throats from the dry air in the plane. The director went out and bought a ton of this tea... It doesn't numb your throat like cough drops, so it was still easy to sing. It just makes it stop hurting.

put it back, ro! its a beautiful pic and doesn't at all resemble a bum. promise.

before I made my first jump, I had Perris fax me the waiver, because I'd heard they were complicated. my lawyer explained to me exactly what rights I was legally signing away, and what rights I still had, despite the wording in the waiver. Legally, there are certain rights you can't sign away. I was cool with my lawyer's explanation, and signed the waiver with full understanding of exactly what I was and was not agreeing to.

it isn't always the person listed as sender, tho. I scan my computer weekly, but a friend's computer got infected. She had me in her addy book, and the virus used me as sender, and emailed her other friends. The virus wasn't even on my system, but I got a lot of angry emails.

there's an herbal tea called "Throat Coat" made by a company called "Traditional Medicinals". It works great. Better than cough drops, because it doesn't numb your mouth, just stops the throat ouchies. Plus, it tastes really good! www.traditionalmedicinals.com from the website: Throat Coat provides a protective coating on the membranes that line the throat.* Throat Coat contains herbs with demulcent (soothing) action, and in a clinical study it was shown to provide rapid, temporary relief of sore throat pain. Ingredients: licorice root 760 mg, slippery elm bark 80 mg, licorice root dry aqueous extract (8:1) 60 mg, organic marshmallow root 60 mg. Proprietary blend: wild cherry bark, bitter fennel fruit, organic cinnamon bark, organic sweet orange peel.