July 1st Communication: Three Days Early

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Hi Y'all!

('Don't you just love that greeting? If not, apologies. My dad was born and raised in the southern part of the United States, so I associate that greeting with the incredible hospitality of "southern folk." For you folks overseas who are reading this post, a full understanding of same can be accomplished by repeated visits to the most hospitable cities of the American "South." In short--to quote "Uncle Jed" from the tv series "The Beverly Hillbillies" "Y'all come back now--hear?"

On to other things:

First off, I am aware that I am breaking newly established protocol (as in delivering my June 1st message three days early). Please forgive me. My family is preparing for a family reunion beginning July 1st--a reunion that involves siblings from across the country--many of whom I have not seen in at least two years.

Now ask me, am I excited? Well, consider THIS question first:

Have ya' ever headed off to a "family obligation," full well knowing that some of your siblings, in-laws, etc., fit neatly into the stereotype of "the man who knows everything," or "the woman whose sentences are always preceded by the phrase: "You should..."?

If so, you get my drift. It's not that we don't love them. Love them we do. It's possible, however, that the dread we experience prior to these ritual encounters is associated with the possibility that when we once again "connect" with far-flung-- relatives, everyone involved will revert to childhood behavior patterns, forgetting--as the acclaimed playwright Lillian Hellman once pointed out--"People change, and then forget to tell each other."

So, the family stress continues. Good news though on a different front: my daughter's health continues to improve. We had a bad spell one week ago, but I didn't call the doctor, because her temperature had not risen above 101. The next day, she felt better and her temperature returned to normal. What an odyssey, however.

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of an appendix sealing itself off from the rest of the body after beginning the inflammation process, but that may be the ailment with which we are dealing. We remain in a period of "watchful observation."

More good news. Progress continues on the book. The new title has been secured, but cannot be revealed just yet. I will keep you posted.

I truly hope all is well with each and every one of you. I say this, knowing fully how very difficult the "Y2k experience" was for many families. For many, the paramount question was always, "Who should we believe?" Think about where you were one year ago today. That question was probably hovering in the back of your mind.

What to take away from the experience? Lessons learned. So many lessons. Now that we are "six months out of the shoot," you've probably made your own list of those. I certainly have.

On to continuing with life!

Along those lines, you know I love "belly-laughs," because they are so good for one's soul. Accordingly, I just HAVE TO pass on the following: Redistribute as you see fit.

My Episcopalian neighbor today emailed me this. 'Thought you might like it.

"Subject: Jesus v Satan

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on his computer. They had been going at it for days, and God was tired of hearing all of the bickering.

Finally, God said, "Cool it. I am going to set up a test that will run two hours, and I will judge who does the better job." So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused. They did spreadsheets. They wrote reports. They sent faxes. They sent e-mail. They sent e-mail with attachments. They downloaded files. They did some genealogy reports. They created labels and cards. They did every known job. Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency, and Satan was faster than hell.

But ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and -- of course -- the electricity went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the Underworld. Jesus just sighed.

The electricity finally came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming "It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours.

Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait! He cheated! How did he do it?"

God shrugged and said, "Jesus saves."

LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!

Blessings to you all!

Marianne

-- Marianne (scipublic@aol.com), June 28, 2000

Answers

P.S.,

For newcomers to this forum, FM and Marianne Michaels, are one and the same. There is a reason for this, and it has nothing to do with deception.

Blessings!

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), June 28, 2000.


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