Hey everyone ~ I'm a newbie. I enjoyed reading your questions and answers so far; hope you don't mind me just jumping in. I've been a lurker for a while, but I finally took the plunge and subscribed last night. (My coat closet dilemma pushed me over the ledge!;) In answer to the above question: I have a talent; I can sing. I've been compared to Irene Cara, Natalie Imbruglia, Paula Cole and Sara McLaughlin at times. (I've also had times that I would've been an American Idol Reject for sure! lol) Singing is a passion for me for sure; I'm luckly to have an outlet for that passion through church. In one of the "do what you love" type things I've come across they ask "what is the one thing you would do even without compensation?" I'd have to say singing/performing would be my answer. I'd sing for anyone, anywhere just for the sheer pleasure of it. LOL I don't brag as a rule; I feel funny saying "I'm a good singer" right out loud. (But we do have to answer the question right?! LOL) Now my question: What's the hardest thing you've ever accomplished by yourself? p.s. I'd love to hear your "passion" as well! Jenn

Wow....what an amazing list of people.... too many of them no longer with us or active here. It is nice to remember some of their names and their struggles that we shared. Thanks for the memories.

Wow, def. touched a nerve here! Great thoughts everybody. Tex, your open plains background and upbringing have shaped your attitudes and understanding of wooded country-no fault in that. I might have difficulty identifying some poisonous (or so-called poisonous) plant species in your area. Doesn't make me a dummy, nor does your relative lack of experience with the plant I mentioned make you one. It's just down to what set of experiences and so on we had and were exposed to earlier in our lives. As to the various generations' attributes, I'm torn between bleak pessimism and guarded optimism when it comes to "the millennials". I do like that these people-as a group-are far less hung up on race, sexual orientation, and a handful of other innate human attributes than probably any other previous generation. There's reason for hope there. But I'm also right there with Gal, wondering about the parents of all these people, instilling fear at every turn. I thin it is that fear that will be our undoing. Take the San Bernardino massacre, a most heinous occurrence. Yet it has zero chance of upending us, destroying our country, ending ur way of life, any of the pablum you hear coming out of various fools who think they should be the president of this country. Utterly out of proportion to the actual threat. Since that happened, hundreds-perhaps thousands of Americans have been shot to death. But to hear these idiots on TV tell it, we've never had our backs against the wall like we do now. Such nonsense, yet it is driving the policy debate. The couple who wouldn't let their boy play in the woods out back are, IK'm afraid, of the same age class as I am. They did come from a more urban background and it is that factor I think that has driven their utter estrangement from nature. I was lucky to have grown up where and when I did. But what's the use of "being lucky" if later, all you see around you is ignorance? In fact, it has been my own generation and perhaps the ones immediately following that called for "tough on crime", for "truth in sentencing" and all the rest. Really, the biggest bunch of babies and hypocrites I've ever seen. It's as if nationally, we've suffered some kind of mass amnesia, forgetting all the things we ourselves were doing just the other year. So dumb. And all of this fear-based crap is what we've got now for a society. I can't come right out and say it but some of the things I've heard people right around my own age saying are just too stupid to believe. In a way, I think of it as, when we were young, there were the people that seemed cool but they were just there out of peer pressure or doing what they perceived as what you should do. Then there were the true believers, the actual trailblazers, the folks who actually lead us all to innovation and new ways of thinking about things. But you mostly don't gain any advantage by being one of these folks, your head tending to get used as a battering ram to open doors for those too timid to do the work themselves. But in general, I've got very mixed feelings about where we're headed. One thing of real concern though is this estrangement from nature. It's going to do no good to have little "preserves" where future people can look at the collection of trees or whatever. The battle will already be lost by that time. +oM

I hope you won't shut up and knuckle under, Bart. Sounds like you came from an intolerant background. But you all do sound like an echo chamber. Guess it's nice to have common values. I think I value human rights too. Maybe re the bathroom issue human rights trump people's comfort zones, but I think forcing people on this issue is itself intolerant. People change gradually. IMO gradual change can be more lasting and more valid as it may come from the heart. Sometimes maybe there is not time to wait around for that. It's debatable. IMO Martin Luther King had it right as he didn't demonize anyone. He treated people like he wanted them to exist, to be around, to contain a different attitude and to relate to better to. Not to pound into oblivion, shame into like mindedness, trivialized, etc. IMO race relations and acceptance of gays got a lot better through the last half of the century and beyond. I think it came from the heart. From just living, discovering friends, finding that relationships were valuable, people who used to live more apart could work together. I know I took joy in it. The demonizing and force work against all that. The appropriation of identity politics issues. Some do it in a cynical way I believe.