posted
actually one of the blessings is that they do not have some of the things that most people in this culture call necessities but are really only luxuries that create overhead and pressure on people. hence the simple life is better. also the people stick together rather than being isolated from each other in air conditioned cells. maybe they have it better than we do ! jmho.
-------------------- I'm from Missouri - Show Me! Posts: 950 | From: Middle of Nowhere, Missouri | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Tex, the wood storage building next to the oven is where firewood is kept. Collecting and preparing firewood is a duty for the women and the children.
For a technical point, the vents on rooftops are twofold. Larger ones are flues for wood burning stoves for heating. Smaller ones are vents for toilets to keep the smell high above the village and in the wind.
See any evidence of electric power? Any power lines to be seen?
There are many things in life we do not need, not at all. We only think we need those things, such as air conditioning, but we would be so much better off without modern toys.
You readers suppose this is an environment friendly village?
Close your eyes and imagine living out here in this Northern Arizona desert. At night, how many stars do you think you would see?
posted
If you think me odd, this is a result of our not being of the same culture.
I can mirror you, we think you Anglos are odd.
Now that you have lived an imaginary life in a remote desert Indian village, have lived the life of one of those kids, cast yourself into a life of being a half-breed such as I.
One side, I am the girl in that village. The other side, I am the girl living next door to you in Hometown, America.
Is it really any surprise Ten of Thirteen believes me to be mentally disturbed?
posted
I know, Tex. You have a good eye for beauty and especially for what lies behind a canvas.
Is not that a simply beautiful picture?
This picture tells a lot more than a thousand words, lots more. I could sit here and write a novel about that village. After reading my novel, doubtful readers would be able to comprehend the depth and meaning of such a lifestyle. This is a lifestyle you must live to comprehend. Readers, though, would develop a deeper appreciation for a culture different than their own.
I have enjoyed some of that lifestyle as a child growing up amongst Choctaw. However, I have not enjoyed being completely submerged in that lifestyle. As a half-breed, I can only comprehend just that, about half of the life.
However, around Eagletown, Choctaws lived in very bad poverty; nothing close to the luxury you see in that picture.
posted
MagicK, I want to be sure you know I am teasing you about your childhood experience. Chances are very good that Indian man did, indeed, bless you and your family. Doing so is tradition within our culture.
quote:Originally posted by Purl Gurl: Picking up where we left off before the crap hit the fan....
"At a town we stopped in there was an Indian Chief in full Indian dress, I assume he was for real because he came over to me, squatted down, looked in my eyes, stood back up and said something to my mother in his native tounge, but of course she nor I knew what he had said."
This is the man from your childhood. He is quite the legend amongst our peoples. He is known as "Heapum Buffalo Chip" because of his talent for bullsh!tting so many Anglos. You know we do not keep bulls, just buffalos, so a name problem.
When you were a child, Heapum bent down, looked you intensely in the eyes, gave a wise knowing nod, placed both hands on your shoulders, closed his eyes, opened his eyes, then slowly stood to face your mother with a dead pan face. He waits for a moment, no offering from your mother.
Heapum utters some magical Indian words.
"Glory be!" exclaims your momma, "we have been blessed by a real American Indian. Our lives will be good, we will live long, we will come into great riches, thanks to this Shaman's blessings!"
Truth is, your momma was suppose to give Heapum a dollar bill for entertaining her son, you. She did not. Heapum is disappointed, so he says, translated to English,
"Ma'am, your son blows bubblegum."
Blessings abound from Heapum the Shaman!
Taha
That's the guy!!! I'll tell my mom she owes him a buck.
Posts: 174 | From: Precipice | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Purl Gurl: MagicK, I want to be sure you know I am teasing you about your childhood experience. Chances are very good that Indian man did, indeed, bless you and your family. Doing so is tradition within our culture.
Taha
Of course I know your teasing, but until now I never thought it might have been a blessing. I always thought it might have been some kind of prediction, something like, "Your son will bring you much grief." or some such thing. Feel much better that it was most likely a blessing.
Posts: 174 | From: Precipice | Registered: Jun 2006
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love the children, running...body language says mirth, tinged with slight danger...
Is a bad horse loose? Is this mini-Pamplona? Is the elder cousin about to emerge, armed with arrow-plant?
lol, remember those? not sure of the name...but they grew tall enough sometimes you could lean over from horseback and pluck the stems? Then you hurl 'em, and the lil "mini-darts" will go through a T-shirt, but you can't really hurt anybody... they sting, but don't draw blood...
Four chieftains representing four tribes. This is one of many powwows we attended, mostly for the benefit of our girl, or to make her crazy.
Chieftains are the only to wear full headdress. Make a note their clothing is actually very plain.
It is the headdress which denotes their status. Much like a medal of honor, chiefs are given instant deep respect.
A headdress is made of different feathers. Long ago, mostly eagle feathers. These eagle feathers were not taken from eagles but rather gathered from their nests or simply found laying upon the ground. No eagles are killed by American Indians. Eagles are sacred spirits.
Today, different bird feathers are used but hand painted, hand crafted to look like eagle feathers. Antique headdress are too valuable to wear for any ceremony, save for small local tribe ceremonies to which Anglos are not allowed to attend; sacred.
Number 41 is the youngest, most likely thirteen to fourteen years of age. Before allowed to sacred dance, a boy must make his transition into manhood. This transition is very rough, almost life threatening. The transition methods differ from tribe-to-tribe.
Hopi use a sweat box deep in the ground, covered on top. Dimensions of the hole are very exacting and cannot be different than tradition. Being deep into the earth signifies being close to the heart of Mother Earth.
A boy will endure a transition ranging from three to five days, often without food, although this is not so strict in our modern age. His body is sweat purified, and he generally loses five to ten pounds in weight. A young boy must pass a series of tests to become a man. These tests are primarily test of ability to endure, to overcome hunger, to remain focused and to travel into the alter world to walk with his ancestors. Hallucinations are not uncommon.
Other tribes have tests of physical endurance, tests of survival skills and similar. For all tests, a boy's mind and heart is tested the most. He must remain focused and brave. A typical test might be running across a desert, for miles under a hot sun, while holding a mouthful of water. He must spit out the water at the end of his run. This is a test of survival, "Can he outrun that which chases him, and keep water for later use?"
Some boys are simply sent out to survive in the wilderness for a week, with only clothes and some tools, no food, no water.
Number 42 is a man, but not yet a brave.
Ceremony dancers wear very elaborate clothing which contain both messages and tradition. You notice they do not wear headdress like chieftains.
Bet you did not spot the Indian sitting in a tree.
Dress is so elaborate, colors are so intense, you have trouble keeping track of body parts. At times, the dancers seem to blend together as one. You should watch these dances at night by firelight. Highly metaphysical, so much so you are drawn into the dance almost as you are hypnotized. Belly dancing is much like this.
I have a real life story about belly dancing at a party up here on our hill, but this story is a bit naughty and some might be offended by what some people truly enjoy. I would provide a link to my website but I must behave so the self-righteous will not have a fit.
Our girl, when very young, just a child, would wig out at ceremonial dances. She would scream, bury her face in my shoulder, wave her hand, "make them go away" and all that. This is my signal to carry her even closer. Yes, I did traumatize her and this is why she is a crazy goth vampiress today.
Around age four or five, she fell in love with powwow and sacred dancing. Had a hard time keeping her off the stage.
No, that is not the stage from the nudist contest. Oh God! Nudists, how dare I mention such a nasty subject in public. Oops.
A little older, best experience and lesson teacher is our summer travels to live with Choctaw relatives, to work with them out in fields as farmers. First she complained about blisters and being sore, but came to love this in time. She knows hard physical labor and knows living a hard but simple life.
Early teens, this was her time to live on reservations in different parts of the Southwest, much like you see in the village picture up there. Sometimes we would leave her alone on a reservation for up to a month.
She never complained and always wanted to return the next summer.
I used to dress her for school in nothing but a loin cloth and some feathers in her hair, but teachers always sent her back home.
Go figure.
I guess high school is not the place for such traditional dress.
I know hard for you to notice this, his facial features, Hopi facial features, are different than what we expect, especially compared to Indians outside the Southwest.
Hopi Indians lived mostly in the New Mexico region and often ventured into Northern Mexico, just as Indians from Northern Mexico came up into the Southwest. In time, a lot of genetic pooling came about sharing Mexican Indian's features with Hopi, and Hopi features with the northern Mexican Indians.
Interesting, as you move towards the Southwest, Indians tend to be thinner, a little bit shorter. In the Southeast, Indians are more short and more hefty of body stature. Plains Indians are tall and skinny. Northwest Indians are very much average build, like Anglos. In Alaska, you know the Inuits are very different, physically.
All of this is a result of Mother Nature's influence upon genetic distribution through Survival of the Fittest.
My butt is big and fat because I am Choctaw, not because I eat too much.
Thank you very much for writing back to the Munchkin Man.
You wrote:
"That was a joke, a jest, ribbing all in good fun." _____
Is that what it was?
Oh darn!
Now the Munchkin Man feels like a fool.
The Munchkin Man has had this problem all his life.
When people are joking with the Munchkin Man, the Munchkin Man thinks they're being serious.
And when people are being serious with the Munchkin Man, the Munchkin Man thinks they're joking. _________________________________
You wrote:
"Now, you are on a powerful narcotic and two anti-depressants. I would be careful. As you stated these are for "other" disorders, not for TPCD." _____
Which one is the narcotic?
As far as the Munchkin Man knows, Klonopin is an anticonvulsant sedative-hypnotic anxiolytic, and a member of the benzodiazepine class of drugs.
Lexapro is an SSRI anti-depressant.
Lamictal is an antiepileptic drug (AED) used in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder.
The Munchkin Man does not have epilepsy, but the Munchkin Man's doctor has diagnosed him as having Type II Bipolar Disorder.
The Munchkin Man has a goal to be off all of these drugs by the year 2010. The Munchkin Man knows better to try to quit any of these drugs cold turkey. It has to be a very gradual and systematic weaning process.
The Munchkin Man is not very happy with the Lamictal. It gives the Munchkin Man chronic constitpation. The Munchkin Man hates that feeling.
In regard to the Lexapro, it has come to light that this is a highly addictive drug. Horror stories abound on the internet of people who are trying to wean away from this drug.
Indeed, the Munchkin Man tried to wean away from this drug about two weeks ago. What happened is that the Munchkin Man ran out of his Lexapro pills and decided to see what would happen if he waited 3 days before he went back to his refill.
It was horrible. The Munchkin Man was almost climbing the walls. The Munchkin Man had heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, and couldn't sleep.
During the 1990s. the Munchkin Man went through another difficult time in his life and was prescribed several anti-depressants:
Anafranil Paxil Zoloft
None of these drugs agreed with the Munchkin Man.
Anafranil was the worst. It gave the Munchkin Man auditory hallucinations, the worst dry mouth of any drug, and excessive sweating.
Paxil had absolutely no effect upon the Munchkin Man -- except dry mouth.
Zoloft gave the Munchkin Man a grand mal seizure.
The Munchkin Man took each one of these for a period of 6 months or longer. The Munchkin Man was able to quit each of these drugs cold turkey with hardly any problem. But quitting the Lexapro is going to be a different story.
The Munchkin Man is also aware that Klonopin, being a benzodiazapene, is also addictive. This will probably be the last one the Munchkin Man will try to kick. __________________________________
You wrote:
"I have seen literally thousands of patients in my time. There indeed have been some gifted ones, in music, ones who almost became doctors. Gifted writers, singers etc. But, these self-same people had difficulty with social skills, daily tasks of living and decision making." _____
The Munchkin Man can very well relate to what you are saying. The Munchkin Man has always had severe social skill deficits.
Overcoming these deficits is an ongoing part of the Munchkin Man's therapy.
Before the year is over, the Munchkin Man is hoping to ask a girl out on a date. ____________________________________
You wrote:
"You did recently state in a thread you've been selling too soon I think it was, not that people without disorders don't. But, if it's a consistent thing. All I'm saying is be careful. If it seems like after awhile your losing your money over and over, maybe take up something else." _____
Thank you very much for your heartfelt advice and concerns.
With respect to his stocks, the Munchkin Man has made some good decisions.
The Munchkin Man has also made some bad decisions.
The Munchkin Man is doing his best to learn from his bad decisions.
Thanks again for writing. You sound like a nice, sincere, and caring person.
Good luck to you.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
Posts: 558 | From: Munchkin Man | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by T e x: kinda what I was I thinking...
***
munchie? do you have any word processing software? (not that I buy the "disorder," but just saying...benefit of the doubt, etc... I remember you claimed experience as some sort of textbook editor, yes?)
______
Hi Tex,
The Munchkin Man thanks you for your questions.
The answer to your first question is no. The Munchkin Man does not have any word processing software.
However, this may very well change in the next few months. The Munchkin Man will be enrolling in some word processing classes which will be starting in September.
The answer to your second question is sort of a yes. The Munchkin Man is more of a textbook proofreader than an editor.
The Munchkin Man proofreads teachers' editions of middle school mathematics textbooks. The Munchkin Man's primary job is to check the answers to make sure they are correct.
In fact, the Munchkin Man's official job title is "Answer Checker."
But the Munchkin Man likes to go beyond that.
When the Munchkin Man spots a spelling or a grammatical error, the Munchkin Man always reports it.
In addition, the Munchkin Man will often propose a rewriting of a word problem if the Munchkin Man thinks it is poorly written.
Sometimes the Munchkin Man will catch some outrageous mistakes in the demonstration examples which precede the chapter exercises. The Munchkin Man reports those too.
The Munchkin Man looks for any and all kinds of mistakes, above and beyond the teacher's edition answers.
When the Munchkin Man finishes an assignment, which usually comes as one chapter at a time, the Munchkin Man sends an email report of his findings to his supervisor.
The Munchkin Man reports on everything he finds wrong -- and not just the answers he finds to be wrong.
And the Munchkin Man usually finds plenty that is wrong in every chapter he proofreads.
This is how the Munchkin Man contributes to the education of our nation's precious school children.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
Posts: 558 | From: Munchkin Man | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
munchkin man over the course of business today i was talking with a lawyer for the eeoc on behalf of a client. when we were finished, i asked him about your TPCD and let him read your posts and your link to MajicK's post yesterday. what he said surprised me so here it is: in his opinion you meet the legal standard of a person with a disability and are entitled to legal protection under the ADA and 26 C.F.R. 1640,1641, 1643. i then had to assure him i was not discriminating against munchkin men. when he got to the part about asking a woman out for a date he laughed and said "he'd have to be crazy to do that !" as long as a qualified madical practitioner is treating it as a disability, and it limits a person in attaining life's goals, it is a disability.
an official,unofficial response from the government, paid for by one of my clients. j/k.
-------------------- I'm from Missouri - Show Me! Posts: 950 | From: Middle of Nowhere, Missouri | Registered: May 2006
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For those boys who have been around long enough and have paid their dues, you will remember my story of our two French lesbian friends, for decades now, and our snow skiing trip up to Sun Valley, Idaho, to ski with Brooke Shields and Clint Eastwood, well..
Sherie and Monique!
Hmm, or is that Taha in the background? Big butt, no tan lines, probably so. I cannot remember been so long ago.
Sure enough cold out there! This I will not forget!
posted
the pool deck is blistering if not wet, but it looks like a thinderstorm maybe ? we have had 2 solid weeks of 100+ in central us. even chicago is in mid 90's and miserable! i could dive face first into that snow right now !!
-------------------- I'm from Missouri - Show Me! Posts: 950 | From: Middle of Nowhere, Missouri | Registered: May 2006
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posted
as a kid in nj i started to build a snow woman once but my parents got mad and made me destroy it. so much for snow sculpture ! please no WWII battleships !
half baked bread - great sense of humor.
you can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd but you can be happy if you've got a mind to - roger miller
-------------------- I'm from Missouri - Show Me! Posts: 950 | From: Middle of Nowhere, Missouri | Registered: May 2006
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