"but in his voice I heard decay
the plastic face forced to portray
all the insides left cold and gray..."

Okay, last thread didn't go so well, let us all try to be adults here.

How much do you believe words and what strikes a red flag when someone talks to you? Figure most take a new persons words with a grain of salt, but how do you figure someone to be a liar? I'm not talking about your "magic" abiliby to read a character either, how far do you take it when you want to figure out if they are telling the truth?

Again, we are adults, act like it please.

k well ive been dating this girl who is going through divorce and we seem to fight on weekends all the time mainly when we drink shes mean and says mean stuff and is very flirty,we been dating for 4 months and are trying to make it work she has 4 kids that i have hung out with and they love me to death but we tend to fite and then we dont talk for a couple of days at a time she says she loves me im the love of her life tonite she was with her x getting drunk and when i called her he answered and said shes been lying to me saying she has been telling him that she hasnt spoke to me at all.and she wants me to move in with her this week and have a family with her and her kids .her x was gonna move to texas so she didnt care about him and all she ewanted was me and the kids to make her happy why then is she partying and with him tonite if she loves me

i met this girl online, we exchanged emails for a week then went to on a date on a sunday which went pretty well, we kissed at the end. she said she wanted to see me again so we made plans for the following thursday. she cancelled on me saying she was busy with work things, i understood so we rescheduled things for sunday, she cancelled again. this time her father was in town on a surprise visit, again i didn't mind. throughout all this time we exchanged text messages on a daily basis, i told her that she was worth the wait to see her again, i meant it. i tried calling her twice during this week to ask her out, cause i feel like asking her out in a txt message is a little to impersonal, she didn't answer and left a message, she never returned my call. yesterday a friend convinced me to post a personal ad on a website, i did it. today i get a text message saying that she saw the ad and that she was mad because i lied to her, that i betrayed her trust. i feel a little confused by why she is mad. what would you do in my situation, apologize or not pay attention to her?

After 25 years, that kinda takes the hope for anyone looking to find a true mate and live out the rest of their years. If you couldn't find it in 25 years of marriage, you definitely aren't going to find it here.

> What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look
> for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My
> question is: Would you have made the same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children
> with learning disabilities, the father of one of the
> students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by
> all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
>
> 'When not interfered with by outside influences,
> everything nature does, is done with perfection.
>
> Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do.
> He cannot understand things as other children do.
>
> Where is the natural order of things in my son?'


>
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like
> Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes
> into the world, an opportunity to realize true human
> nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew
> were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think
> they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys
> would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a
> father I also understood that if my son were allowed to
> play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and
> some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his
> handicaps.
>
> I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
> expecting
>
> much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for
> guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the
> game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team
> and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth
> inning.'
>
> Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a
> broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being
> accepted.
>
> In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored
> a few runs but was still behind by three.
>
> In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way,
> he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the
> field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the
> stands.
>
> In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored
> again..
>
> Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential
> winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at
> bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their
> chance to win the game?
>
> Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a
> hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know
> how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the
> ball.
>
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
>
> The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
>
> The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball
> softly towards Shay.
>
> As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow
> ground ball right back to the pitcher.
>
> The game would now be over.
>
> The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have
> easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
>
> Shay would have been out and that would have been the end
> of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first
> baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.
>
> Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling,
> 'Shay, run to first!
>
> Run to first!'
>
> Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to
> first base.
>
> He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
>
> Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second,
> gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.
>
> B y the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right
> fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who
> now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.
>
> He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the
> tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he,
> too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the
> third-baseman' s head.
>
> Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead
> of him circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way
> Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran
> to help him by turning him in the direction of
> third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
>
> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the
> spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run
> home! Run home!'
>
> Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as
> the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his
> team
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now
> rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped
> bring a piece of true love and humanity into this
> world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that
> winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me
> so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully
> embrace her little hero of the day!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
>
> We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a
> second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about
> life choices, people hesitate.
>
> The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message,
> chances are that you're probably sorting out the people
> in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
>
> We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to
> help realize the 'natural order of things.'
>
> So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people
> present us with a choice:
>
> Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do
> we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little
> bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by how it
> treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
>
> 1. Delete
>
> 2. Forward

> May your day, be a Shay Day.

Try it like this:

You hear another person tell this same story... what do you tell this person to do? What if it was your brother or best friend? Does that change anything?

"And I'll substantiate the rumor
that the English sense of humor
is drier than than the Texas sand."

Why are these guys so far away!!!!!!!! I do think that we can follow our feelings to a degree. Also, you allow people to treat you as they do....if it is good, wonderful; if not, you put a stop to it.