Lauriate Roly

My Comments (579 so far…)

To ensure that there are no safe havens for terrorists, would you support keeping troops in Afghanistan for the next five years?

Absolutely.

To ensure that there are no safe havens for terrorists, would you support keeping troops in Afghanistan for the next five years?

Belinda Joy, I look upon your President as a very intelligent man of peace and the only American leader in a long time to effectively portray those treasured attributes. I agree with what you write. Your evaluation is one of encouraging promise and need for an enthusiastic capacity of encouraged waiting for a reasonable length of time to give this new leader a chance to find his way into the many problems that exist so he can evaluate and render the needed method of solving and eliminating these terribly difficult problems. It amazes me no end to witness the agitated impatience of many American citizens who have put up with such careless and ineffective management and control for so many years. The new President needs time and the backing of all Americans.

Caption This!

Sure, I said I love the taste of peanuts but you can buy this stuff already cracked and in a jar you know.

Caption This!

A great caption Green Tears. Very clever, and funny, and should definitely be in the winner’s circle. (I’ll be hoping for you), LR.

Why Women Should Strive for 'A Life Unfinished': A Conversation With Joan Anderson

Joan - no one will ever find me in disagreement with a single word you have just now written on this subject. but this is not the message I got reading the Anderson interview. Your picture here gives me a completely different impression from the one I got reading every single detail of the interview. Anderson’s statements annoyed me because they sounded written in stone, applicable far too generally, as if they would affect all women at that mid-life age, and I know that this is not so.

I become very uncomfortable facing such profound advice, freely offered by a very independent women already suffering from a long period of serious marital discord, who just left everything behind and escaped so she could re-route the paths in her life, which she describes as “unfinished”. Her life was a mess. She ran away from home so she could repair it. That’s not a life “unfinished”.

My response referred to how I have tried to live, and how some, (not all), of my acquaintances live. I did not mean to came across as sanctimonious and preaching.

One may well say that I live in a dream world and I guess it is a dream world to some. But not to me. It’s not a dream, believe me. To me it’s very real.

Anyway Joan, the long and the short of it is that obviously I was impressed and very interested in your interview and I wanted to take the opportunity of responding my feelings about it. Perhaps that was not a wise decision on my part.

Why Women Should Strive for 'A Life Unfinished': A Conversation With Joan Anderson

Hey Julia - you got me. But it ain’t easy being perfect!

Why Women Should Strive for 'A Life Unfinished': A Conversation With Joan Anderson

Joan. I read your interesting interview. Really, in general, I don’t agree at all with Anderson’s outlook on redesigning ourselves. I realize she wrote this mainly with women in mind, but I think the general premise applies to both genders. Many of us are, “Unfinished”, and I agree with her that we’re never finished until we die; but I don’t agree with what she refers to as, “ the second course in life in the mid-years“. That may be applicable in some cases, but the way she speaks, she makes it sound like that is the true course of life, and that isn’t so. I do however agree that it’s a good idea to get away and be alone for a while, to give ourselves a chance to think things out. I think that in a marriage this should be done on a regular basis, and perhaps even, often, if need be. Anderson, and people like her didn’t do this, and that’s probably why she found herself in an impossible quagmire. Marriage shouldn’t be responsible or blamed for this kind of situation. In fact, marriage is designed specifically to prevent this from happening. The joining of two people, who are right together, who understand each other, and who want to be joined as one, in my view, completely overrides the possibility of finding yourself wanting to get away from it all, and be by yourself. A proper mate eliminates this unfortunate situation, because a proper couple, can hardly stand being separated and away from each other for even a moment. If one feels the absolute need to unconditionally escape the scene, to leave their mate, their home and life-style; essentially their whole world for any lengthy period of time, then it is obvious that the proper mate was not been found. The match is wrong and they might as well be divorced. They should forget it, and if they feel that they must, then start over again properly. But, my feeling is that that these people are far better off by themselves, which is what they should have been right from the start. They weren’t ready for marriage, plus they really didn’t know what the meaning of marriage is. Regarding the interpretation of the Washington psychiatrist, who’s name escapes her, I think he is way off. To say that the first stage of adult love is lust, the second stage being functional relationship, supposedly “hard and boring as hell”, and that to get to adult love you must leave the relationship, is absolutely nonsensical and incredibly juvenile. Thankfully the psychiatrist’s name escapes her and it should remain that way. His evaluation and thinking process is certainly not rational or even mildly sensible. Unless you are one of the unfortunate, who chose the wrong mate, those three stages of adult love as described by the psychiatrist are completely incorrect. True love is not lust, or boring as hell, or conducive to compelling a need to escape and run away from it all “ figuratively or literally”. That is absurd and unbelievably simplistic. True love finds it’s own way of telling you when you are in love and completely enamored of the person you have met. It just comes naturally. And, if it’s right, you won’t be needing to escape to some remote spot so you can be all by yourself re-examining what went wrong in your life. I strongly feel however, that life shouldn’t stop because you are married. One’s special dreams can, and should be pursued. Travel, adventure, study and educational advancement, occupational freedom or any other acceptable endeavor should be attainable just as it would be to anyone outside of the normal boundaries of the union of marriage, but, you have to work out these desires and plans together. Mutual agreement must be, and can be reached, by people who deeply love and completely understand each other.

Have you ever had an in-office romance?

“For me, no man is worth all that drama“.

Now Belinda, don’t say that. You don’t know. You’re still working. Maybe you haven’t met him yet. However, I will admit much of what you say is true, unfortunately.

I met my wife at the office where we both worked. Once it became obvious that we loved each other too much so that we couldn’t keep it hidden, I left the place and found a job elsewhere. But we stayed together every possible moment, and we married, and are still together, every possible moment, and it’s been that way for 62 years now. (wonderfully happy years). Gosh, if she had the same restricted standards as you have set for yourself Belinda…she wouldn’t have found me. (That’s too sad to even think about). LR.

Caption This!

Madamme Tussauds said we could stay… as long as we don’t move.

Caption This!

Let’s just keep smiling. Maybe they’ll think somebody else did it.

Announcing the Winner of Our 'Caption This' Contest

Congratulations and Bravo!!! - to the winners. They are both good captions and I must say, there was a wealth of great captions among this week’s entrants. The judges must have worked hard to narrow it down to just two winners. So, Bravo!!! - to them also.

What was/is your biggest dream for yourself?

Joan - already guessed that, but you obviously are not getting your e-mail enquiries there.

What was/is your biggest dream for yourself?

Thank you Joan. I have never been accused of being a poet but you could learn more if the library staff would only pass on the e-mails addressed to a certain trustee. Have you seconded any motions lately? LR.

What was/is your biggest dream for yourself?

Joan Larsen - Had I written “The Little Engine That Could“ about you, I would have written:

she thinks she can, she believes she can, she’s positive she can…

I know she can, I know she will, I know she does,

I knew she would, and knew she could, -

She turned her dreams into her will…

and I know she does it still.

What was/is your biggest dream for yourself?

Thank you Belinda Joy for your reply, but I’m a little baffled. I can’t recall, (or even imagine), that we ever disagreed on anything. I have always found your postings to be so thoughtful and intelligent and always completely on topic. As a matter of fact, I consider them a reliable bench-mark to follow and correctly grasp the nucleus of the subject being discussed. Are you sure you meant me Belinda? Now, if I’m mistaken, I apologize and unconditionally accept your judgment. I refuse to disagree with you. I also wish you a pleasant and enjoyable weekend.