I knew that was you following me down the street!

Now THAT's a hoot of a story!!!

lol

The other day someone had written something in the local paper (something derogatory about gay people), and they said: 'God made Adam and Eve, NOT Adam and Steve!!!

Someone wrote back saying "oh yeah?? Well, Who made Steve??

Now that's funny!!!

Kathy, lol, I saw the Sugar Shack guys perfrom at a local facility once. I never made it to the "real" Sugar Shack! Too funny.

I went to see them with a bunch of girls from work. So I felt obliged to help a cowboy make money. I think I gave him at least 50 or more dollars! lmao As I walked out by myself to go home he was walking in front of me. I wanted to run up to him and explain that I normally don't act like I did in there. lmao When I got home Jim casually said "don't even think about getting lucky tonight" hahahahahaha

In my very feeble and humbled opinion, I think this thread, while controversial, is a good thread. It opens up a "taboo" subject that people are afraid to talk about.

And I thought it was well done. And that folks have posted to eachother with respect.

I have enjoyed all the different responses to it

I don't always agree with everything but I try to see things from all sides and this was a great way to see views from all sides.

this thread dealt with "EQUALITY" for all and it dealt with "Love for all" and it dealt with "Perspectives" and "Truth"

We all have perspectives as humans and we all have the right to what we believe in. And I am happy to see that a lot of folks here have respect to others views...it is very hard sometimes....

I am reminded of two stories that have been around for centuries that have been told to me that I really love.

first is the story of 5 blind men (well, it turned out to be 6 blind men and 3 blind mice) and the elephant. To me, that is about perspectives and the truth. In the end, they all felt the elephant even though each felt a different part of the elephant. Most folks probably have read/heard of this already.

the second one is more obscure and I only know about it cause of my great grand uncle. His eyes were bayonetted before WWII (I don't want to get into that part) but he was a scholar prior and loved to tell stories. As a child, I was really ignorant and he alwasy told me stories in hope that it would balance me out. If I was only smart....

I didn't understood them until much much later...I remembered this as being one of them and I've tried to write it myself but thanks to the internet, I have found it. Thank you, bot(internet. LOL)

It is about the equality of life...how all creatures, great and small...have equal rights and belong on this earth/planet...(even when we have to eat some of them...LOL)

I'll include both stories in case anyone is interested in reading them, peace to everyone...on this global village...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Story 1:

six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body.

The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar;

the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope;

the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch;

the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan;

the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall;

and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.

A wise man explains to them

All of you are right.

The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant.

So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned.

*This resolves the conflict, and is used to illustrate the principle of living in harmony with people who have different belief systems, and that truth can be stated in different ways (as noted by the author)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

story 2: (I've edited it a bit to make it more reader friendly, I also rewrote this years ago based on memory from my uncle's tale but couldn't find it, however, the original is way better)

Ray was a righteous king. For kings like him, life never meant anything, only peace and equality to all were everything.

He was a great justice and to fulfill his promises.

So, the wise magicians decided to test his strength of his characters and his righteousness.

Once Ray was sitting in his court, that a dove came flying with great speed and fell in his laps and said - "O king, Please save me. I am in your shelter."

The king had vowed to protect anyone who came in his shelter.

In the mean time a hawk came following him and said to the king - "O king, This is my prey, so give it to me."

The dove tried to hide himself in the laps of the king.

The king said to the dove - "Don't fear from this hawk. You are in my shelter, he cannot touch even your one feather."

So the king said to the hawk - "I am sorry, I cannot give this bird to you, because he is in my shelter."

The hawk said - "But this is my prey. I was hungry and I wanted to kill him and eat him, so please release him so that I can eat him."

Ray considered hawk's demand genuine.

Now what should he do? If he gives the dove to hawk, his vow is broken, and if he doesn't give the dove to eagle, he snatches the hawk's food.

Ray followed the justice and found a way so that the dove is also saved, his vow is also not broken and the hawk also gets his food.

He said to the hawk - "This dove is your food. If I give you this much meat to eat, would you leave him alone?"

The hawk said - "Yes, I need my food, nothing else."

Ray asked his servants to kill some animal and bring his meat for the hawk.

But eagle said - "I wouldn't accept that food for myself which is brought to me after killing an animal specially for my food. This was my prey that is why I want to eat him but otherwise I do not want to kill anybody for my food."

Now Ray was in a great dilemma, how he should satisfy this hawk?

He thought and thought and came to a conclusion that a pound or two flesh of his own body wouldn't hurt much to him and this eagle will also be satisfied

so he asked the eagle - "Would you be satisfied if I give you my own flesh?"

The hawk said - "Yes, But there is a condition for this."

"What?"

The hawk said - "If even a single tear drops from your eye, I will not accept that flesh as my food."

Ray agreed.

He got a knife and a balance to weight the flesh.

On one side he put the dove and on the other side he started putting his flesh cut from the knife.

He started from his right thigh.

The dove always weighed heavier than his flesh, even if he was adding more to the second pane.

He had kept almost his whole right leg on the second pane but the dove was still heavier than his flesh.

At this juncture a drop of a tear came into his left eye.

The hawk noticed it and said - "I cannot accept this food given to me in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are not happy, so give me my prey back to me."

Ray said smiling - "Look hawk, This tear is not for grief, but for joy that my left body will also be used to keep my promise. If only the right part of my body could satisfy your requirement, then the left part of my body would have been denied with the opportunity to serve you. That is why this tear in my left eye is of joy not of grief."

And he started again putting his flesh on the scale.

Even after cutting his both legs and both arms he could not provide the flesh equal to the dove.

So he sat himself on the scale to equal the weight.

As he sat on the scale, sky showered flowers and the hawk and the dove disappeared and there stood the court magicians to bless him

This ultimate sacrifice of Ray illustrated that all life, now matter how grand or how minute, are equal.

I have really loved reading this thread thank you!

I wish I could respond with such wonderful writing as all of you have, but thanks to whatever the heck is going on in my head right now trying to put together words and such is really difficult for me. I am constantly having to backspace and retype a word because of what seems like dyslexia...and I've never been dx'd with it!

Anyway, I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. Who Moi, I love the story of the blind men...my father was blind and he taught me so much about not judging others based on appearence. The most beautiful person on the outside can just as well be the ugliest on the inside. I don't care if someone is black, white, purple with pink polka dots. I don't care if they are fat, skinny, tall or short. I don't care how much schooling they've had or what kind of job (if any) they have. If they love someone of their same sex so what?! Are they happy? Do they care for and respect each other? That's what matters...not what others think. It's not up to me to judge others.

IMHO we are all the same. We are created with the same body parts/organs...we all bleed and we all have a heart that keeps us alive. What we choose to do with ourselves is our choice...nobody else's...and it is our decisions that will determine what happens in the end. It shouldn't be up to someone else, some type of government office or civic group to say we should or shouldn't do with our own lives.

Maybe if we all were to be blind for just a while we would learn to see more with our heart.


(Sorry, I know this probably got way off track or didn't make much sense )

Sandy - Is that how they baptize where you live? I have never heard of Catholics being dunked. Other religions, just not Catholics. That's really interesting. How old were you?

Yeah, I'm curious about that kind of baptism also. I'm a Roman Catholic and as far as I was taught, the priest baptizes you as a baby.

Perhaps when one is older, and converts to being a catholic, perhaps this is a special ceremony (done for many people), and maybe there is a pool or something??

I'd love to know the answer.

Thanks much
Mel

I have charismatic Catholic friends who have had immersion baptism

It's really too bad everyone can't just get along. "love One Another" is the commandment. Learn how to live that way.

All men were created equal, gay straight, black, white. We are all God's children.