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Our Daily Thread 6-25-15

Good Morning!

Today’s header photo is from Cheryl. 

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QoD 

Yesterday I was asked a question. It’s a good question, but one I feel I cannot answer on my own. It requires the input of each and every one of you. So here goes…….

Our former scepter wielding blog administrator turned world-famous author is about to start a blog of her own. She would like to hat-tip us here at WVs and would link to us as well. While I’d be honored to even have our little blog mentioned, we’re kind of a closed community. We’ve all shared things we may not have if it were more open. That appeals to many of us, and some might feel limited by it, and not so free to share were that to change. And being linked there would open us to the world to gawk at. 🙂  While it would be nice to have some more like-minded folks join us, trolls are always a problem too. It probably won’t be many new folks coming, but who knows. I thought it best to get your opinions. 

So what are your thoughts on it? 

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On this day in 1580 The Book of Concord was first published. The book is a collection of doctrinal standards of the Lutheran Church.

In 1867 Lucien B. Smith patented the first barbed wire.

In 1868 Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.

And in 1964 President Lyndon Johnson ordered 200 naval personnel to Mississippi to assist in finding three missing civil rights workers.

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Quote of the Day

“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”

George Orwell

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Today is Jody McBrayer’s birthday.

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72 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 6-25-15”

  1. Good Morning. I have to be in Mobile at 7:30 Ugh
    Just a couple of things to share
    1. I honestly did not know that Alabama was flying a Confederate Flag over our capitol.
    2. My “smart” phone makes me look stupid when I spell a word correctly and it changes the spelling, therefore leaving me open to rude comments about being an ignorant southerner.
    3. I have been a one woman marketeer for Alabama’s beaches and what they have to offer, so take a look at this and come on down. I know some places to take you.

    http://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/9-best-beach-towns-food-slideshow

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  2. Good morning Aj,
    Re: The question
    As you said, there are advantages and disadvantages. Another thing you might consider is that this blog is a ministry of sorts. We have had non-Christians (Anlar and Random come to mind.) who may be affected in some way. I don’t believe any of us would be negatively affected.
    I think the advantages of a link would outweigh the disadvantages.
    Whatever you decide is fine with me.
    Except, we might get some more Tigers during football season. That would be bad. 😆

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  5. QOD:
    While I like our blog just the way it is and appreciate the ability to “vent” my triumphs and tragedies to people I know love and care for me, I also know that change happens. I have long said that stagnant water grows algae, bacteria, and other nasty stuff. I can go along with whatever the majority wants to do. I also realize this will create more work for you, AJ. I think that is a big question. How much time do you have or are willing to devote to policing trolls?

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  6. Barbed wire? How many of you have ever tangled with it? When I was a child and we “went up in the country” to the “old homeplace” the property was fenced with barbed wire on two sides. I don’t care how careful you are slipping between the strands, it will reach out and scratch you. I have never “pulled” barbed wire but I heard enough about doing it to know that I would never want to attempt it.

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  7. Re the question: I’d be OK with it. I’ve always been careful to maintain a certain level of privacy (e.g., not giving my last name or the names of family members–though I have named my dog; not telling my city now; not mentioning any books I’ve written or edited, or even saying “Hey, I’ve actually published a book on that subject” when we get talking about some subject on which I’ve written).

    In my single days, it was because I was a single woman who lived alone in a big city, and I didn’t want some nut using my information to track me down–World did have at least one person who worried me a little bit, who told all sorts of lies about his personal life and who tracked down one unconfident poster’s whereabouts just to prove that he could. And there was no way to know who was lurking. So I was cautious. Now I’m married and not in a big city, and less concerned personally, but my husband values his privacy and so I still can’t do anything that would publicly identify me. But I’ve “gotten around” that mild restriction by being open with those of you I know and trust by e-mail. (I am NOT saying there are people on here I don’t trust, just that what I say on here is OK to say in front of lurkers, and that I willingly say more to those who e-mail me.) I’ve chosen not to be on Facebook, partly for that same reason. The year or so I was on it, I made a policy not to “friend” anyone I didn’t know in real life, and to limit my friendships to actual friends and family, not acquaintances, partly because I know a whole bunch of you are networked, and any lurker had only to find whichever of you was most open with her identity and he could identify all the others through Facebook, too. After a while it became tiresome saying “no” to friendship requests from World bloggers, people I knew casually from church, and so forth. I also didn’t like Facebook’s claim on anything people posted on the site, and the potential serious privacy breaches (identity theft vulnerability) and so I chose to stay with you guys and not with Facebook, though there are aspects of Facebook I really enjoyed.

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  8. Chas I am an hour behind you, although I have witnessed some things on the I-10 Bayway.
    Did you know people drive and read books and the newspaper.
    Did you know that it takes special talent to drive and apply make up. Some are REALLY talented and can talk on their cell phone at the same time.
    Then there was the occasional pot smoker. At least they weren’t going fast enough to do any REAL damage to anyone they hit but they were in danger of being run over. The speed limit is 65 but you can’t go that slow.

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  10. As a long-time lurker, I would favor allowing the link. I come here because I value your perspectives on the daily news, but I would not mind having more people participate in that discussion.

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  11. Good Morning ya’ll! The sun is surely out there somewhere..just not in the forest yet!
    I’ve always viewed this blog as a safe place….I have probably revealed my last name…names of family members, and my place of residence on here….if we were linked I would probably become more discrete. It’s akin to my group of friends I have been meeting with for the past 20 some years….we have had discussion of inviting other friends to the group….finding that we would not feel comfortable sharing with those not closely trusted…we decided against it. AJ you administer this blog and it may become much more involved for you…but then again…more Clemson alumni just may find this blog 😛

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  12. Don’t those wild roses just shout June? I also love the perfect heart-shaped petals.

    The lot that included the wild roses had a for sale sign in it; it was across from our hotel outside Nashville a couple of weeks ago. The field was overrun with these wild roses, bull thistle, and other greenery that would be considered “nuisance” to experts who catalog such things. And I did leave with a lot of chigger bites.

    But there was also a creek, and sulphur butterflies and goldfinches were enjoying the thistle (and providing a lovely yellow-on-purple scene), and in the couple of days we were there I photographed the goldfinches, a yellow warbler and her just-out-of-the-nest chick, an indigo bunting, mockingbirds, eastern phoebes, common grackles and Brewer’s blackbirds, and a few other species, and saw at least three species of butterflies (though the orange ones absolutely insisted on keeping their distance, not allowing me close enough to photograph or identify them).

    My husband has spent time living in California and Florida (as well as a couple of the Great Lakes states), and he finds lakes and oceans and rivers gorgeous. Me, except for my time in Chicago, some of it close enough to Lake Michigan to walk there (and get away from the yuppie neighborhood that felt extremely claustrophobic to me), I’ve never lived on still water and only once lived on running water. But I have a soft spot in my heart for creeks and waterfalls–water that moves and makes noise–and I can take or leave the rivers, lakes, and oceans once I’ve spent 20 minutes near one. Admire the view, take some photos, and move on. But I could sit by a creek for hours. I rented a bedroom in a house on one my first summer in Nashville, and spent quite a bit of time down by it. If I’d known that I would be buying a house that summer and my time was quite limited, I’d have spent even more time there.

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  13. Anyone who thinks that fewer people here provides more privacy is mistaken.
    My oldest GD, Becky has a family blog.

    http://www.beckymuller.blogspot.com/

    I just went over to check and she has visitors from San Francisco and Copenhagen, Denmark. I doubt if she knows anyone in either place.
    Point is, anything that goes out on the web is there for anyone, anywhere and for all time to see.
    Do not, under any circumstances, post something you might not want anyone to know.
    There are no secrets in cyberspace.
    The Chinese, BTW, have everything the personnel office had on me.
    I’m not concerned, it’s old stuff.

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  14. I am back. The Bayway was sane this morning and I made good time. I had to show warehouse space in one of the sketchier areas, but the guy I showed it to is next door neighbors with one of our residential agents so I called him yesterday to make sure I was safe. I spoke with my work child while I was on site and called him to let him know I was headed back to the office.
    My point is that you can be safe or unsafe just about anywhere. You have to learn to take precautions.

    Cheryl, did you read the link I posted above?

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  15. Good morning from San Francisco!!! I’ve sincerely missed all of you and haven’t kept up with happenings, but y’all have been in my thoughts and prayers. We are here for my BIL’s first wedding–he’s 50 years young! Everyone adores his betrothed, so it’s a truly happy occasion.

    Anybody on here live in San Francisco and want to have breakfast? I had a migraine last night and went to bed early, but no one else is awake!

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  16. Also, regarding Aj’s query, I vote to keep it closed-partially because I detest change of any kind–but will support whatever decision is reached. I probably over share–at least on the prayer thread–and have been forthcoming about my identity. Guess I’ll need to tone it down should we become more “public”.

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  18. Thanks for yesterday’s link Donna. Elvera got up early this morning and dumped all of the remainder of those eggs. It is probably harmless, but we didn’t keep them.
    She is out now. Will likely buy some more before coming home.

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  20. My husband left earlier to take one daughter to work, and he was going to stop by the store to get some bananas. When he returned, I opened the door for him . . . and discovered his arms were full of roses (in an exquisite purplish pink shade I’ve never seen before). I said, “Ahhhh,” and he teased, “The bananas or the roses?” I think I gave the right answer: “The man.”

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  21. One reason I went off Facebook when I did was that a few months before, I’d been heading out to California to one brother’s wedding, and one of my friends from church posted on my Facebook page, “Enjoy California!” I took down her post immediately and sent her a note telling her thank you . . . but that I don’t announce online when I will be out of town, so I took her post down.

    When I was getting ready to be married, I didn’t tell the blog my wedding date (though a few of you knew it). But a good number of people in my life knew the date, and it seemed way too likely that someone would post on Facebook congratulating me on our lovely wedding, or saying something about us being away on our honeymoon, or something of the sort. Not only would my house be vacant for our honeymoon, but we were leaving it unoccupied while it was listed for sale (it didn’t sell for about four or five months after we married). It seemed safer to go off Facebook permanently before we married, and thus I did so a few weeks before.

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  23. There’s nothing like the sound of the surf of the beach. I’ve occasionally been close enough to hear it at night going to sleep … Now I hear sea lions barking and ships unloading.

    I’d probably rein in a bit if we were being linked elsewhere, admittedly, mainly due to my work connection. I’ve probably been too free in posting on the political thread in the past (as a journalist), so maybe it would be a good thing, to keep me in check. 🙂 I’m much more cautious on FB with personal and political stuff. I remember when I signed on with the world mag blog I used my “real” first name as they were really pushing that at the time — being transparent. But it’s occurred to me that being maybe a little more anonymous has its perks. But we’ll cope, whatever you decide.

    The neighbors have a new dog and they let her out loose a lot, which is strange where I live. It’s also dangerous for her — it’s sometimes a busy street and she is becoming bolder about going farther from the house (and annoying for the rest of us because she barks and barks at everyone). I’m always afraid she’ll start following us on the dog walk at night (and I think she will eventually). For now she runs across just a couple of the front yards (all raised well above the sidewalk) as we head out, but stops after a few houses.

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  24. I really resent that on Facebook and other places I have to rein myself in because I can’t afford to offend anyone.
    I do like being able to say what I think here, although if someone googles my name it will sometimes lead here.

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  25. So after I posted my comments above, I go and post a long personal opinion on today’s political thread. 🙂 Just can’t help myself sometimes.

    Kim, you’re probably in a similar position as I am in that you use FB professionally (and personally).

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  26. QOD: We are a select group, that is for sure. And we are free to post things here where we are loved. And I have totally enjoyed being able to do so. Though I don’t post the things that would come back to haunt my children (think Duggars), I do send emails once in a while to the real and Cheryl and to Chas and Elvera and a couple of others who have expressed diligence and concern in praying for us.

    However, it is quite possible that God has others who would benefit from our peaceful family. Even some iron sharpeners and people who don’t know the Truth. Open it up. That said, I doubt very much there will be much interest in the big world with our little world If there is, I am amazed that society continues to function at all. Between Facebook, twitter, skype, and wandering views, nobody will have time for anything real.

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  27. I am okay either way, but wondering if the prayer thread could be limited to current members since people have at times gotten more personal there?

    Now I have to dash over to yhe political thread and see what Donna has to say. We say things unlike the other side who rant.

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  32. Whatever the majority wants. My personal opinion is that I would be honoured by the attention. I know less about Lynn than most of you, but I like what I do know. I have long felt that this blog presented a unique opportunity to form an online Christian community and wished others could be included. As to privacy, I have become somewhat more open about my private life here than I was on World, but I have still never mentioned my exact location or used my real name (though most of you know it now). What I discuss here, I might avoid on FB, just because some of my friends and relations wouldn’t necessarily understand my tone or intent, but I would discuss it in person with any of them if the time and place were appropriate. In fact, I would say that I have not noticed a great deal more personal information from most of you than what you shared on Whirled Views. I have also observed that the number of lurkers we have may actually be larger than we suspect. I’m thinking our host, The Real, may find some more work for himself, and if that becomes the case, perhaps he might like to assign some deputy moderators. I would volunteer to help, not to post the main content for the different thread (i.e. chose news articles, etc.) as The Real does a fine job of that – even when I disagree with it 😉 – but just to take down trolling posts, or moderate a conflict the way Mickey Maclean used to do for us on World. However, if The Real and everyone else thinks they can handle it (and who knows, we may not be paid much attention) I think it could be a good thing.

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  36. Kim, you might find the news and politics thread interesting, if you haven’t been over there yet today. . . . I don’t usually read it, and I don’t know if you do.

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  38. Psst, Chas, look at the post at 8:19 and the one at 3:24.

    Kim, I did glance at the link, but don’t want to say anymore about that at the moment.

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  39. Cheryl I understand, but I am trying to convince more of you to come my way like Peter is. Every time I cross the Bayway I try to decide where I am going to meet them for lunch. So if you ever have any family headed this way give me a heads up

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  40. NJ’s avatar looks something like NancyJill, but I don’t know that.
    In any case, don’t get a new identity. The smart ones here will discover it soon enough and those like me will continue making false assumptions.

    .I get a small magazine called Bottom Line. there’s an article that is a study of 3151 adults married just once. It says “…The more expensive the wedding, the more likely the divorce. Spending more than $20,000 on a wedding makes a divorce 3.5 times more likely, compared with spending $5,000 to $10,000. The best odds are for those who spend less than $1,000”

    I told you this before. I spent $13.50 for Elvera. Plus the cost of an orchid corsage. I don’t remember how much that cost. I suspect about $5.00.
    Like I said, it’s been worth every penny. .

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  43. “The best odds are for those who spend less than $1,000″

    Actually, I find that a little hard to believe, and would like to know the circumstances under which they spent that. Are they, for example, elderly people who just want to get married, no ceremony, and the reason the marriage lasts has nothing to do with the expense of it? Because the first thing that comes to mind when I hear “wedding under $1,000” is that they did some version of elopement and didn’t have a wedding at all . . . and I have a hunch that people who do some planning and some celebration have a better chance than those who decide really quickly to get married, and don’t want to bother to take time to plan a wedding, get marriage counseling, invite family, and so forth. (Last I heard, the average expense was something like $27,000.)

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  46. Real AJ – I don’t think I can add much more to what’s already been said. It would cause us to be more careful about what we share or say. But it could also be nice to draw others into our conversation, maybe pointing some to Christ, or encouraging others in their faith. I’m guessing that if more people do check us out, the News/Politics thread might have more differing opinions, which would be interesting. (And hopefully not end up as heated as some comment threads I’ve seen.)

    Another point that has already been mentioned is that it may mean more time & effort from you. How do you feel about the idea?

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  53. Yeah, I guess I assumed the “under $1,000” meant in today’s money. If they meant under $1,000 whatever date you married, that would skew the data toward those who married a long time ago, when money went farther. We married for well under $5,000 in 2011 dollars, which is probably the equivalent of under $1,000 when Mumsee married, under $10,000 when Chas married. 🙂 (It was under $3,000 for us, I believe, which is dirt cheap by today’s standards. The mimimum cost for photography alone is supposed to be $6,000 or something like that, and if you pay less you’re seen to be cutting too many corners . . . but I just couldn’t do that.)

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  54. We paid for the license–25 or 30 dollars
    The minister $100
    Flowers $100

    I wore a dress I already had and he wore a suit he already had. I received his mother’s rings and he received my father’s ring
    BG had just had homecoming so she wore a dress she already had.

    I think only Chas can beat me and THAT!!!

    LOL

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  55. I guess what I’m thinking, with wedding costs, if you change only that one variable, it could tell a very different story. Let’s say you go back seven years, look at people who married in 2008, were 22 to 28 years of age when they married, it was a first marriage for both parties and they did not bring any children into the marriage. You could add that they had not been living together first, but such a huge percentage of today’s marriages have that, so I’m not sure but that it would limit the category too much. Then look at how much they spent, and compare numbers of those who are still together, and those who are legally separated or divorced.

    I suspect that in that category, most of those who spend under $1,000 are either very poor or very hasty, not that they are thrifty. People who are marrying after the age of 40 or 50, and people in a second marriage, and people who have lived together for several years and decide they want to go ahead and get married, often forego a ceremony. But for the most part, first marriages of people in their twenties and thirties are going to have some sort of ceremony where more than two witnesses are invited. I suspect that for people under 25, most people who choose justice of the peace weddings don’t go on to long and happy marriages . . . but I could be totally out to lunch.

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  56. You mean the Benevolent Dictator misses us and wants to reconnect? I never share anything overly personal on here, but I know others do. However, none of those are known as to full name or location outside of the few of us who have shared email addresses or visited each other. I think a little more exposure would be good, as I miss some of the give and take we used to have when there were more of us on the old WMB. So I vote Yes- link us to Lynn!

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  59. Our license only cost $3.50..
    pastor $10.00 (that would be somewhat over $100.00 today, but he didn’t have rehearsal nor anything else. It was at noon right after the morning service.
    We regret that we didn’t have a photographer.
    As I said, I don’t remember how much the orchid cost.
    Elvera may have paid her friend who sang “Seal Us Oh Holy Spirit” before the ceremony. I never knew. I may ask her..

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  64. Well, I fell off the media-fast wagon today (it happens from time to time), and this is an interesting day to do so, because it means I get to answer AJ’s question on the day he asks it.

    I can see both sides, for and against linking. And I agree with a lot of what’s been said already in the comments section, so there’s no need for me to repeat those thoughts.

    One or two of you above talked about lurkers, and I would like to add that I suspect there may already be quite a few more people reading here than we imagine. One of my friends has a blog that gets quite a bit of traffic, and she has remarked that something like only about one-tenth of her readership ever comments.

    I don’t know how she knows that, but if that’s typical, and this blog is similar, then there are many more people reading than commenting.

    And we came from what I imagine was a high-traffic blog, WMB, so there could have been a lot of people who came over here without our knowing. And maybe are still with us? I know that if I had still been a lurker there at the time the blog was shut down (I had de-lurked three months before, after having lurked for about a year), I would almost certainly have followed you over here. You were beginning to feel like family to me even before I joined the conversation at WMB, so it would have been natural to continue on over here, I think, even if I wasn’t yet commenting.

    Maybe we should just have all the lurkers stand up right now and make their presence known. 😉

    There’s something else I want to mention, and that is that, while I didn’t share a lot about myself at first (and still don’t, online, regarding my name and those of my family, and our specific location), I have gotten more open about some things as I’ve become more familiar and comfortable with all of you — for example, I have shared in which region of the U.S. we reside, and that I have a special-needs child — things I wasn’t willing to talk about at first.

    However, I would have to say that after the Share buttons (Facebook, Twitter) appeared on here, I became a bit more cautious again about what I would talk about. Which is probably a good thing, because, if I’m not careful, I could easily end up telling too much. If I were in a closed room with you, there would be more I’d be willing to share, as I trust the regulars on here. But it’s good to remember this isn’t a closed room, and especially if some of these posts are ending up on Facebook or Twitter (do any of you share posts from here on social media, btw?), then the audience has become magnified many-fold.

    Bottom line, whichever way you decide to go, AJ, I respect that. It is your blog, and I appreciate the work you do here, keeping up this meeting-place. Though I’m not always on here (for personal reasons, not having anything to do with anyone here), I enjoy knowing that there is this place to come back to at any time. I’ll be honest and say it would be a sad day for me if you ever shut the blog down, AJ. So if you feel that the possibility of more visibility in the online world would bring more trouble than blessing, such that it might tempt you to shut the whole thing down in frustration, then I would say don’t link. (I hope that doesn’t sound selfish of me.) But if you see the increased visibility as more of an asset than a liability, then go for it!

    Blessings.

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  69. We must be total cheapskates. 🙂

    25 for the license, 10 for Cheryl’s flowers, and the judge married us for free. Honeymoon included the total was under 150.

    Hey, we wanted to get married, not go into debt. 🙂

    Plus, we had just bought a house, so money was tight. 🙂

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  72. Phos, you can afford to get married.
    Kim, Aj and I have shown that you can get married for under $200 in 2015 dollars.
    And they can last a long time if you work at it.

    I asked Elvera about the girl who sang at our wedding. She said it was her friend Gloria Johnson and she gave her a gift. You don’t pay your friends money.
    I didn’t know that.

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