You made the right decision Rob.

[Terry Penrod]

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Before even seeing that a particular heated thread had been reclosed today, I read and replied to a very friendly PM from Rob. This was personally appreciated.

Although Rob assigned none in his note, I accepted partial blame for the digression of that thread and offered an apology to him. I now extend the same apology to the forum community at large.

However, I still feel the thread should never have been reopened and therefore can not apologize for saying so.

Otherwise, as this presidential election will be over in a matter of days, I want to avoid any further bickering over the candidates qualifications or any accusations that have been made about them.

To that end, I will post no futher negative comments, links or articles about John McCain, Sarah Palin or the current administration in the foreseeable future. This I do freely and with no urging from Rob or anyone else. I hope others here will follow that example.

Lastly, my reason for doing this outweighs any petty differences with other forum members. It is because we Americans must come together right now more than at any other point in memory. We are in a genuine crisis and the last thing we need is to perpetuate the deep divisions that still plague this nation - no matter who wins next Tuesday.

Cheers, Terry

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[OldsterHolster]

You folks know I don't care for petty bickering and personal insults, and I personally try to avoid being part of the problem. Argueing is OK, and I like seeing what everybody thinks about any particular topic, but it should always be dignified and above board, I think.

The only reason I hate to see the thread closed is because there is nothing else going on in our forum, and I get bored. Why do you suppose nobody is posting anything about anything, these days? Any ideas about how to whip up a little interest and get people posting, again? I am trying my "Show&Tell" threads, but even that is only attracting a handful of participants, although I am enjoying what those few folks are posting, immensely.

Anyway, no hard feelings, and no harm done, and you do have to admit it was a long-lasting topic with strong feelings on all sides of the issue. I guess it was the thread that was mortally wounded in the end, not Obama, so I will bid this thread adieu; and the only other thing I can think of to say is, "My boy is red hot,...your boy ain't doodely squat!" Heh, heh, heh.

Happy Halloween, and have a great weekend, everybody. Edward.

[Terry Penrod]

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We could always start an NCAA Football thread Edward.

I know that excludes some international forum members. But there are a lot of male Americans on this message board and I assume several like myself that love college ball - especially when the season gets into the meat of the schedule and the big polls begin to come out.

Right now Texas is #1, but they face another very good opponent tomorrow in high-scoring Texas Tech. After one bad game, Florida is still hanging tough in the top 10 too - plus both undefeated Alabama and Penn Sate look extremely strong. Former top-rated Oklahoma, Georgia and USC are still right up there with one loss apiece too, and there are other one-loss teams like Missouri and Oklahoma State that could make a late-season run at the major BCS bowls.

So who do you like so far?

Cheers, Terry

[OldsterHolster]

Naw, I'm a little weird, and I'm only a mild sports fan. I'll watch the Gators or Seminoles games, if it's convenient, same for the three Florida NFL teams, but I just don't get too excited about any of it. I like baseball, and I hated to see the Rays lose, but sports are just not one of main interests. I'm sure others might want to talk about it, but I get all the sports talk I need over at the bar. Edward.

[chip5541]

*blech* I hate sports.

How about the existence of Ghosts? :thumbup:

[Terry Penrod]

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Ghosts are fine Chip. Feel free to start a discussion here in this thread or a new one if you want. Hey, it's Halloween and some of us stopped dressing up and celebrating years ago. So go for it.

I probably won't post much on that tonight though as I have to revise a script asap for a tribute video that's due next week. It's to honor Houston's two biggest philanthropists who are funding a whole new neurological research center as an extension to the work they helped start at the Texas Children's Hospital and over at Baylor. They hope to actual find cures for several tragic diseases that impact nearly a billion people worldwide and I volunteered to be writer / art director on the project.

You might also be interested to know that I did the same (and more) for the Stroke Groups of Texas when they were still small. That organization has gone on to a become a nationwide network that has been responsible for a lot of the cutting edge work in helping stroke victims of all ages cope and recover. The people that started that group were also amazingly gifted and generous. Meeting real-life heroes like that and doing my small part to aid their missions is why I do so much pro bono work. It's probably also why I'm not filthy rich.

But that's a story for another time . . .

Cheers, Terry

[Rob]

We just came back from trick-or-treating with my girls. First time I have gone in 15 years and it was great. It only took my three year old two houses before she understood the concept of push door bell, receive candy.

[OldsterHolster]

I like Halloween, because the day after, all the grocery stores put their left-over candy on sale. I'm partial to candy corn and peanut M&M's, and large bags for a pittance are not to be ignored. Heh, heh. I wonder why I'm such a fat-ass? Edward.

[Gary V.]

Poor decision, Rob. Very, very poor. Horrible.

[Gary V.]

Isn't trick-or-treating with little kids fun? Halloween is my daughter's favorite holiday. My wife was upset that she didn't get to go with us, what with her broken leg.

In one neighborhood a little girl was lost and crying. I can't believe her mom didn't stay with her. Some nice folks helped her find her mom.

[Rob]

It is not my place to dictate to parents how to raise their kids, but I did have a few 'what were the parents thinking moments' when I saw some very young kids going by themselves. It is twofold, safety being the biggest one. But the other is the parents are missing a great opportunity to be with their kids and share a great experience.

[Terry Penrod]

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For the first time in a while, I had some trick or treaters drop by the house last night and was lucky to have some goodies to hand out.

You see, for the past few years, my immediate neighborhood didn't have any young couples with little children. There were a few newborns and lots of older teenagers. But they no longer roamed the streets looking for candy on Halloween. The latter were probably out drinking beer and trying to get laid like most normal teens. The others were still in their cribs.

But now it appears as if a new generation of ghosts, goblins, ghouls and Spiderman wannabes has emerged. One tiny, little girl (or maybe it's her mom) apparently likes Catwoman and her brother likes Batman. Another girl was dressed up as Hannah Montana (I think).

So next year, I'll be stocking up with even better treats.

Cheers, Terry