RhondaLea

Sad but true. The fucker that killed my sister had 9 priors. Why the fuck did he still have a license? It is stories like Robin's, Sunny, that make me wonder why we do not lock these people up and throw the key away. I'm so angry. I'm so sorry. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Agreed...but no matter how blasted I am, I have never once even thought about driving, let alone tried to. Even totally drunk, one can control at least a few minute things, and one of those is the decision to not drive. Some people are...inflicted with an inability to learn. I know someone who has had three DUIs. This person has spent time in jail...three weeks not so long ago, as a matter of fact. After this person's release, the usual "I won't drink and drive" refrain echoed resoundingly from the rafters. This person's car recently spent some time at the body shop as the result of a close encounter with a tree. One does wonder how that happened, right? I won't even talk about the night the house nearly burned down, because that has nothing to do with drinking and driving. An alcoholic has no self-control while under the influence. That's the point of being under the influence for such people. And because they drink and drive, the rest of us need to be very fearful and extremely cautious when we venture out on the road. Please note that the antiseptic flavor of my response is the result of more self-restraint than I have ever exercised in posting. This subject makes me livid, and if I had my way, people who drive under the influence of anything would spend long periods of time locked away from the rest of us. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

As I said above, we've been down this road before. It won't last long. rl P.S. I agree with everything you wrote. I even understand it. I've had a DWI (that's what it was called where I come from) file pass through my hands a time or two. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

We've been down this road before. At one time, there were "experts" who made their living extrapolating from the breathalyzer test results to determine exactly how intoxicated someone was at the time of the stop. It was a real racket, because they charged big bucks, but their clients did often get the charges thrown out. Eventually, the legal system wised up and fixed the loophole. But what's the difference if the defendant is given full discovery? Is disclosure of the source code really going to change the overall results? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Totally agreed, Jasmin, as to that last line. I was talking about her feelings, though, not about the relationship ethics issue. (Or about the responsibility issue--I agree with you as to that, as well.) I was just trying to understand it from the perspective of a woman who has finally reached her limit and gone straight over the edge. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I didn't get much sarcasm from your post--it was more like, "I'm going to do whatever I can to foil the system." (You said: "So give me the rights to question the validity of the machine that's going to cost me a lot of money, my respect, maybe a job and could even throw me in prison." The two statements aren't equivalent, but they feel like one and the same thing.) That being said, he never even replied to you, so why are you attacking him? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Gets my vote. Wholeheartedly. Why, oh why, do people drink and drive? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

She's talking about Jehovah; you're talking about the Allfather. Totally different gods. Try to understand it from her point of view: She's a normal, apparently God-fearing, woman. She finds this great guy, who is wonderful in all respects except he has this one really bad, potentially lethal habit. How hard would it be to give up a habit? But no. Not only won't he give it up, he loves it more than he loves her, and she knows it. All in all, it's about as bad as if he had a girlfriend on the side. Then he goes off on vacation without her--out-of-country, no less--and he comes home with a broken leg. Worse yet, he tells her that instead of going to the hospital to have his leg treated, he first tried to engage one more time in this bad habit that he loves more than he loves her. In spite of that, she apparently tolerates quite a bit, because it was only when she received the final BD email that she lost it. Given the circumstances, you can hardly blame her. Although I don't agree with her general assessment, I have to agree that it takes more balls than brains to do what he did. rl Edited to add: I can't actually tell from her email if her guy was the guy with the femur. It may be that she's just anticipating that it could happen to him. Even so, for someone trying to live a normal life, the idea of it is probably very trying. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Good for her. But remember: someone with a thyroid condition needs to be aware of mental as well as physical issues. Besides changing ones reflexive response time, a thyroid disorder can cause memory impairment as well as affecting ones judgment. Usually this only becomes apparent in retrospect. I don't think it is. And a major change in attitude is easily demonstrable and documentable over the last 15 years. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

rotflmao! It must have been someone who isn't aware that we had this mutual adoration thingie going for a long, long time before dz.com even existed. If you're going to kiss my ass, though, better you should do it in person next time. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I appreciate the sentiment. Unfortunately, I doubt its veracity. I guess my feeling is that if you do things that obviously hurt people, and you neither apologize nor cease and desist, it is a significant indication of your character, regardless of the lip service paid to holding no ill feelings. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I think you should say it when you mean it...whenever that happens to be. But much like others, I think that actions tell the tale. Love isn't what you say, it's what you do. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I know a lot of skydivers who have other interests. It seems that the more I explain, the more opaque this becomes. But sometime after USPA started marketing skydiving to the masses ("Skydiving: Extreme or Mainstream"), something changed in the sport. And I don't happen to think it's all good. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I like to think that nearly everyone who posts in SC feels the same way, but it's nice to see someone saying it loudly and clearly every once in a while. Thanks for doing so! Walt Before you say that, Walt, go look at some of his posts and the contexts in which they were made. He's using you to justify some really evil behavior on his part. PM sent. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

You're one of the smartest people I know. Were you drinking last night? The one in the middle. And now that I think of it, the first one too. I've never thought you're full of shit. The prime directive is "my right to swing stops at the end of your nose." As to the incident, these guys weren't swinging. I have no answer to the bigger problem. There's just no changing ingrained attitudes: "If you're not like me, you must be bad." I had a lot more fun making that post. Thanks for the opportunity, m'love. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

No, you think you know what I think, but lack the relevent experience with me to make any useful conclusions. Instead you make many semantical arguments of lifestyles versus hobbies. Which is silly if the definition of the terms aren't agreed upon. There are many dangerous sports out there, where you may not return. I participate in several substantially, dabble in others. For me, balance is a key to happiness. Implicit in these discussions about people leaving is that they've 'abandoned' the sport, as if they owe something to it. If something no longer pleases me or a different endeavor is more interesting, I have no reluctance to switch. Live for yourself and your important others. Even without putting yourself in harm's way, cancer could take you out by the new year. If after 4 years of non participation you still view skydiving as your lifestyle...something seems amiss. Of course, what works for you is fine, I just don't see the viewpoint as 'truth.' Like I said before, I don't see dabbling in the DZ social scene as 'putting your heart and sole' into the sport. It's a recreational choice. There are a lot of erroneous assumptions in this post. There is nothing implicit that someone owes something to skydiving, and there's nothing wrong with leaving a sport that no longer gives you pleasure. But if you participate, you owe it to yourself to participate fully. My ex-husband was a dabbler--a yuppie with too much money and too much time on his hands, who was always looking for an activity. He had more sports equipment--all in perfect, barely used condition--than anyone I've ever met. After I left him, he followed me to the dz. It was just another activity, one that he'd not thought of before. He didn't last very long. As for me, I go to the dropzone rarely (even though I live only 3/10ths of a mile away)--as I said, I'm not a skydiver anymore, although I may one day be again if I'm ever convinced I have this thyroid problem under control--and skydiving is no longer my lifestyle, even though I try to stay in touch and up-to-date. But when I was jumping, it was the center of my life. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Yep. If it was a sensitive area, then somebody screwed up by not fencing it off in the first place. In which case, the usual and appropriate response would've been "nothing to see here, move along, move along." Right? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

7 years is also just a good long while in a single hobby. You don't owe a sport your life - supposed to be the other way around. I know you see it as a hobby, based on a discussion in another thread. I see it differently. Skydiving is potentially lethal. I don't know how many of your friends are dead, but most of the time, I feel as if I have more dead ones than live ones. While death waits for us all, and while many people die in other ways, statistically speaking, skydiving is quite a bit more dangerous than day-to-day living and certainly more dangerous than most other sports. The way I see it, any trip to the dz may be the last trip someone ever makes. If you're going to engage in activity that might kill you, no matter how clever or smart or talented you are, you owe it to yourself to put your heart and soul into it. That's how it becomes a lifestyle, not a hobby. If you're treating it more lightly than that, then it makes sense that you see it the way you do. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

i can't help being a window licker, i blame my mum for getting pregnant at such a late age You blame your mum for dying, so you take it out on everyone around you. As I said, Ian, I'm sorry for your loss, but what you're doing is wrong. No one here is pissing on your sorrow. I'm telling you it's time to reciprocate. Now. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

how do you lose a leg on a jump? did he look down and think "oh deary me, i appear to have misplaced my leg and don't seem to be able to remember where abouts i have left it" ? Ian, You have a knack for...everything that goes beyond inappropriate. It's not that your humor is childish...it's something I can't quite put my finger on, but it seems you need to be hurtful and mean to continue to exist in the world. You may fancy yourself clever and witty, but "just kidding" is not an excuse for being evil and for poking at someone's pain. Just because you haven't done anything to handle your own grief appropriately (thereby acting it out in all the worst ways), doesn't mean we should have to handle you. I'm sorry for your loss, but it doesn't excuse your callousness. Get help. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Where's the racism? "...a group of gentlemen gathering in an area not normally used by the public right near the main air intake duct for the stadium, and a food preparation facility," Siegel said. "It was where they were, not what they were doing." The site is now fenced off and is no longer accessible to fans." Playing the race card is not appropriate in this case. Forgetting about semantics completely (what constitutes "race" and such), my question is: if "it was where they were, not what they were doing," then why wasn't the area fenced off to begin with? I mean, if it was such a sensitive area, that would only make sense, right? We can deny until we're blue that this had nothing to do with these men being Muslim, but on the face of it, that's certainly how it seems to me. Do terrorists usually go out of their way to make such spectacles of themselves prior to the singular spectacle of the act of terror they commit? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

When this thread started, the first thing I remembered was the original version of this story. I was wondering if/hoping that you'd post it. It helped me a lot once when I had to make it through a similar situation. Thanks, bill. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I'm having an out-of-control kind of day. What better place to work it out than in one of Sudsy's threads... ...besides which, I find him irresistable... or at least I did until he started having this identity crisis. I mean, WTF? First he forswears his stock-in-trade, and then he morphs into... I can't even think about it. What will that boy do next? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

How do you do it? I mean, seriously.

Uh...