[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('spear', 'I') am No one.

[RonMN]

"i am no one" is what linda blaire said backwards in "The Exorcist".

[spear]

Its what Ullyses said when he put a spear in the eye of the cyclops.

[spear]

τοις σοι ,(who you) said the Cyclops.
καν ον ( no being) was the reply.

I read the book in Greek.

Im proud of that

[Heineken]

I should be most proud to be able to read Greek. Alas, it will have to wait until the next lifetime. (And, while I'm at it, I'll need a better brain.)

Every time I see printed Greek I think unavoidably of my brother, from whom I am estranged. He received a Ph.D. in classical philology from Harvard. I grew up stepping over and around the piles of his damned Greek and Latin books. He was a genius, but a rotten human being.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') should be most proud to be able to read Greek. Alas, it will have to wait until the next lifetime. (And, while I'm at it, I'll need a better brain.)

Every time I see printed Greek I think unavoidably of my brother, from whom I am estranged. He received a Ph.D. in classical philology from Harvard. I grew up stepping over and around the piles of his damned Greek and Latin books. He was a genius, but a rotten human being.

[erl]

1. My woodworking (including planting replacement trees)

2. My writing.

3. My kids.

(not necessarily in that order)

[Heineken]

Thank you, Erl.

Anybody else?

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') should be most proud to be able to read Greek. Alas, it will have to wait until the next lifetime. (And, while I'm at it, I'll need a better brain.)

Every time I see printed Greek I think unavoidably of my brother, from whom I am estranged. He received a Ph.D. in classical philology from Harvard. I grew up stepping over and around the piles of his damned Greek and Latin books. He was a genius, but a rotten human being.

[WildRose]

Wow. All parents-to-be should read your last post, Heineken, specifically if they're planning to have more than one child.

And, if I recall, you are the one looking after your parents now. Testament to a man's character.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') should be most proud to be able to read Greek. Alas, it will have to wait until the next lifetime. (And, while I'm at it, I'll need a better brain.)

Every time I see printed Greek I think unavoidably of my brother, from whom I am estranged. He received a Ph.D. in classical philology from Harvard. I grew up stepping over and around the piles of his damned Greek and Latin books. He was a genius, but a rotten human being.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

And it can go too far. My older sister (by 3 years) tried killing me numerous times (pushing me off the roof onto a cement driveway, down 17 stairs to the cement basement floor, chasing me with a knife, trying to break my back on the corner of a dishwasher). But by the time I was 13-14, I got as big as she was and started fighting back.

But that was just what she saw from the adults in our life. My aunt used to use a quirt (small bull whip) on me and feed me things they knew I would throw up. My mother used to pour sunlight dish detergent down my throat and beat me. So really, my sister learned and repeated from example.

Some families use a scapegoat to express their own pain and there is no way you will ever be able to change their view point. To this day, they say I always wanted to be a little princess and treated better than anyone else... regardless of the fact I was removed from the family when we moved back to civilization on the grounds of neglect and made a permanent ward of the courts on the grounds of abandonment.

There are a lot of people who don't like how strong I've become (and strong willed, I've never been a timid retiring woman) but my life demanded that I grow or be a victim.

To overcome the pain of betrayal by those who were supposed to love/protect you (instead of turning a blind eye to the abuse your other family memebers turned on you) is IMO one of the hardest things to heal from.

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

Something interesting I ahve learned is that pain is pain. Each of us is going to experience differing degrees based on how each "thing" is perceived by each of us. My pain is no more or less than anything, anyone else has experienced.

Many have experienced things that would seem more or less horrific or traumatizing than what I have experienced but that does not make those feelings or the depth of that pain any less real.

Its totally amazing when you think about it. We can experience so very much, go through so very much... to think that we puny humans have such capacity.

Or as Mother Adams would say ...The human spirit is an amazing thing, it can survive so very much "even a chainsaw".

[cynicalheretic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('uNkNowN ElEmEnt', 'A')nd it can go too far. My older sister (by 3 years) tried killing me numerous times (pushing me off the roof onto a cement driveway, down 17 stairs to the cement basement floor, chasing me with a knife, trying to break my back on the corner of a dishwasher). But by the time I was 13-14, I got as big as she was and started fighting back.

But that was just what she saw from the adults in our life. My aunt used to use a quirt (small bull whip) on me and feed me things they knew I would throw up. My mother used to pour sunlight dish detergent down my throat and beat me. So really, my sister learned and repeated from example.

Some families use a scapegoat to express their own pain and there is no way you will ever be able to change their view point. To this day, they say I always wanted to be a little princess and treated better than anyone else... regardless of the fact I was removed from the family when we moved back to civilization on the grounds of neglect and made a permanent ward of the courts on the grounds of abandonment.

There are a lot of people who don't like how strong I've become (and strong willed, I've never been a timid retiring woman) but my life demanded that I grow or be a victim.

To overcome the pain of betrayal by those who were supposed to love/protect you (instead of turning a blind eye to the abuse your other family memebers turned on you) is IMO one of the hardest things to heal from.

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('uNkNowN ElEmEnt', 'A')nd it can go too far. My older sister (by 3 years) tried killing me numerous times (pushing me off the roof onto a cement driveway, down 17 stairs to the cement basement floor, chasing me with a knife, trying to break my back on the corner of a dishwasher). But by the time I was 13-14, I got as big as she was and started fighting back.

[WildRose]

Amazing stories. I've got to say that I came from a pretty good home. My parents are decent, loving folks. I think I was my own worst enemy for a while, though.

Regarding sibling struggles, my husband came from a family of 5 kids and had a very competitive relationship with his older brother, who was 2 years his senior. They competed in sports, for girls, you name it. Now they're in their 50's and have a very distant relationship, even though they live in the same city. It seems that the competition really drove a wedge between them.

With my own 3 kids, I've always stressed the importance of supporting each other. They've had fights and times when they're really at odds with each other, but when things start to get mean I step in and remind them that there are many forces in the world that could do them harm, they don't need to hurt each other.

As a parent, I find one of the hardest things to deal with is watching your kids enduring emotional pain, whether it's at the hands of a teacher or a jerk boss. Sometimes the worst pain they feel is when a group of "friends'" shuns them. I thought it would get easier as they got older, but not so.

[Heineken]

I see I have numerous fellow sufferers-as-children in this forum. My heart goes out to each of you.

The thing that was particularly chilling about big-brother Larry was the calculated, almost scientific way he pursued my torture. Remember, he was a future Harvard Ph.D. and regarded as blindingly brilliant by all.

For example, when I finally got too large for him to knock around physically, and had started fighting back, he actually told me (in nearly these words), "I'm going to switch to purely psychological methods now. They're even more effective." And that's just what he did.

As we entered adulthood and our separate lives, Larry and I achieved a slightly more normal relationship. He got married and had a family; I pursued hopeless gay relationships with black men. He became an important software engineer and started his own company, which was eventually traded on the Nasdaq. I became a copy editor, barely scratching out a living and squatting in various roach-eaten dumps in DC. We spoke and met occasionally; once I even spent a few days aboard his yacht up in Boston and played the good uncle to his two boys. But Larry always maintained an attitude of insufferable snobbishness and contempt toward me and everything I said, and was mean toward our parents (whose lives he had actually once threatened in a drunken call from Johns Hopkins when he was a student there). Finally, about eight years ago, after talking the situation over with my parents, I wrote him a letter saying that neither I nor my parents would ever again speak to him or see him, and I threatened retribution if he tried to contact us. My final words were, "Remember, you have more to lose than I do."

I haven't heard from him since, nor he from us. He could be dead for all I know or care. And at 250 pounds of mountainous fat, he might easily BE dead.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mmasters', ' ')It all comes down to taking responsibility for yourself and your situation. It's possible for those even in the most extreme circumstances to set themselves free.

[PenultimateManStanding]

you've come a long way from regarding this forum as a useless exercise in talking to a computer, Heineken. I'm sure I'm not alone in sending you friendly feelings.

[Heineken]

Thank you very much, PMS. I return to you the same warm sentiments.

Yes, I agree that we're doing a lot more than just "masturbating" on the PO.com forums. (I see you remember my little outburst of last year.)

Congratulations on your 8000th post!