Punk, In our church, there is a time when we all hold hands and say The Our Father. When we come to the "kingdom and the power and the glory" part, we all raise our hands (still holding on to the people on each side of us) up in the air, above the level of our heads. I wonder if you and your husband stood next to each other and his son was next to his father and his son was next to him and . . . on the other side, next to you, was your daughter and then her daughter and you all held hands and the held them up high. If you were outside and the shot could be taken from an angle just below the hands . . . Some tree branches with light streaming through could be in the picture . . . Well, I'm not making myself clear, but I bet you could do something rather artsy with it. OA

Faron - I start my Stihl on the floor by sliding my foot through the handle to help keep it steady. However I'm unable to start our generator - the pull cord is too high up and I can't get enough torque - I'd need a stepladder. My profession was dominated by women and I can readily say that I never faced discrimination at work. Of course like most women I've encountered my share of men making crude comments and insinuations and as a young woman was never taken seriously when I took my car in for repair. And there were a few alarming situations where I seriously worried about my safety. When DD was growing up I tried to set an example for her, I felt it was important for her to see me as a capable woman. I wanted her to be strong and independent . When she graduated from college we went to buy her first car. I had already locked in the price online and brought a copy of the sales agreement. However the salesman kept saying that certain items were omitted and he wanted to re-write the agreement and came back with a higher price. I walked out of the dealership. DD was crushed because she thought she wasn't going to get her car. The salesman came running after us and we did get the car - at the original price. It's a story she vividly remembers. However she is now working in a male dominated job and is facing discrimination, ridicule and even career sabotage. There is no HR department, she has to take these issues to her boss - who frequently says that she's whining and then later approaches her when she's alone and rubs her back and says he's sorry. The only other females at her work place are doing clerical or administrative work and are off premises. She's the only woman working on the job with 6 to 8 men. It has become a toxic work environment and she has consulted with an attorney as to how to proceed. I'm proud of her for taking the initiative to get legal advice but she's so disillusioned and stressed that she's also looking for another job.

I had to rub my eyes and pull my ears to open my ear canals to make sure I was reading and hearing this correctly: The most fanatical expression, I think, of wanting to deny history of the U.S. is that of those who would like to 'demote' Thomas Jefferson from his position as a "Founding Father" of the U.S.A. and as founder of the University of Virginia, among other accomplishments. Some have said they would be willing even to scrap! The Declaration of Independence in order to reverse or expunge his influence -- all because Jefferson was a slave owner and he might have fathered at least one child (perhaps more) with his slave Sally Hemings (who also happened to be his deceased wife's half-sister). In some minds it is settled: recent DNA testings of Sally Hemings's male descendants indicate someone in the line of Peter Jefferson (father of Thomas) fathered at least one of Sally's sons. It is very possible it was Thomas, but it's also possible that it was Thomas's brother or either of two nephews who were known to be in the vicinity. So the evidence is not conclusive. Is that reason enough to negate everything else Thomas Jefferson did? These same fanatics would like to see all monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson changed, including Mount Rushmore. They have floated the notion that the heads of Jefferson and George Washington, another slave owner, should be re-carved to represent more worthy presidents. The four with the most mentions are Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. I doubt that anything will come of it -- the hoopla has since died down a bit from about five years ago when I first got wind of it. I would say that nothing ever will be done that drastic, but now I'm not sure that redress seekers for grievances will ever completely let it go.

I love t-shirts. I prefer fitted vnecks, but can appreciate the comfort of a regular oversized tshirt too. I like funny t-shirts or just cutesy ones. I wouldn't wear any with vulgarity, political or religious messages, or anything like that. But I have lots of holiday ones, like my Thanksgiving "strut your stuffing" shirt, my "I got a rock" or "HalloQUEEN" shirts, or my absolutely ENDLESS christmas ones. I recently got several Breast Cancer related shirts,as my sister,who is closest to me in age at 39 years old, recently got diagnosed with it and as she lives far away, asked that me and our other sister and our brothers wear them in support. The ones I got are pink, v-neck, and say "Save the Boo-Bees. It very cute. Sorry its just kinda thrown over my stove. I had just opened the package and took a picture of it to show her it arrived. I get some tshirts as gifts. Mostly from my truck drivers. Here is a couple gardening shirts one of the truckers gave to me. I am forever out in my flower garden at work. And I guess they thought of me when they saw them. They are wrinkled because I let them sit in the dryer so sorry.....but aren't they CUTE!?!?! Otherwise, I wear solid,light colored, fitted t-shirts. Simple and comfy.