Whew!
 

HB, what a memory! :a20::1rotfl: So was I! I think. ????? ????? Oh Lordy! I can't remember. :undecided:

If it has been a really, really, long, time since you have done something you become a Virgin again. "They" say it grows back...your virgin status...like golf for me...:icon_wink:

i'm sitting here laughing about Barefoot's reply to F-16 re barefart. Dear Bare, you need to get on down here.

I just remembered I have a virgin, unopened, 2008 Mah Jongg card.

Must admit I wish I would have used it by now.

HB

Sam, I'm packing! Won't be long now. :clap2::MOJE_whot::clap2:

I'm going to stick F-16's head in the toilet at Crispers next luncheon. Bearfart indeed. ;)

I wanna watch that. It will surely be on CNN right Sam?

GG, I don't think it will be on CNN as she won't be reporting on this incident!!

Chels and I will be in the bathroom with F16. Chels will be holding his head in the toilet and I'll be flushing. You'll be able to hear him over the sound of the water saying "Sorry Bearfart".

I just looked at the helping hands thread. I can't believe how it got hijacked. It went from being something good and noble to a free for all. I am finished with it.
It bears no resemblance to the original intent and I think that is a shame. It is now trivialized. Yuck.

I am about to be finished with TOTV. I am so discouraged. I liked it here because people were my age.

Wrong Person Blamed.
 

awwww, Gracie, I think MOST of us are about the same age. Please don't be discouraged. Hopefully the children will find people their own age to play with.

Sammie, you had good intent, then we followed suit. I don't blame you for being upset. Many of us volunteered because of the basic plan you put forth. I remember the day this all came together. We were all of pm'ing each other back and forth and it was a wonderful feeling.

If someone wanted to start another kind of thread, they should have and not bastardized Helping Hands. Just to help someone move is ludicrous. As I stated earlier, we would be swamped with requests and then fall into the moving business. Everyone wants help with that! And as Johnny rightfully pointed out, there could be liabilities attached to the heavy lifting of boxes or breaking someone's items.

I think the admins were very heavy-handed in this situation. They deleted threads and they blamed one person, Bright, and THAT IS THE WRONG PERSON!

Cassie, hit me with your best shot because I'm really p.o'ed over this. :swear:

Let's see how long this posts stays up!

Bright is just that. She is bright and a Brightspot in my life. She calls things as she sees them and I love that about her. She doesn't play games.
I hope TOTV does not become like The Sun......

Helping Hands debacle
 

Tony, Bright, Gracie, Johnny, Chels, Sam, Bare, all helping hands originators, .....I posted my feelings yesterday and thought long and hard about a peaceful end, on both sides. I recieved thank-you's from both sides. I rationalized the debacle and posted with much thought. I was shocked to see my post removed. The basic reason this all fell apart is the forum chosen. Maybe TOTV is changing. Helping Hands is not for moveing people in. Deleting certain peoples opinion posts is disheartening to say the least. I know. My peaceful, rational post was deleted. The folks whose posts were deleted feel betrayed. They are good people making a statement most agreed with. Guess we will stay clear of the forums, what a shame!! You may lose all your top posters.

My uncontroversial post was removed. Yet I have had my heart warmed a couple of times by people who were new to TV who said my straightforward and honest posts helped them choose this place to live.

I am so dismayed. We as seniors wouldn't go to a college blog and try to be a part of things. Nothing wrong with them. Nothing wrong with us. Our age brings issues only our age understands.

This will be removed too, I guess. Then I am gone for good.

Obviously a lot us are feeling the same .... pretty unsettled, frustrated and unhappy at the way TOTV is trending. Censorship is being directed at the wrong people IMHO. It is just a darn shame. :cus: :rant-rave:

IMHO...:cus:

* cencorship is wrong no matter why.
* individuals will have differing opinions...
* when it gets contentious that is unfortuate but not grounds for deleting posts.
* Let's try to be kind and agree to disagree

Is Crispers in Spanish Springs?

Hummmmmmmmmm!
 

No, rshoffer, Crispers is on 466 in the Southern Trace shopping plaza, at the end of it closer to the CR 101. Its the same plaza that Publix is in.

See ya there. Wear something red if you have it. If not, don't let that keep you away!!

Beady. Will you allow me to try to be your really friend? I so like you and your gentle and intelligent spirit.

GG

Gracie, Beady is all that and more!!!

But Kathie. I didn't attack anyone. I was trying to explain how it is to be older and not be as able to move heavy things. It made me sad to talk about it because most of us want to think we are unbreakable, still young. That post was removed. I believe the bitter feelings were triggered by...a.."You just don't understand" feeling. IN my humble opinion. I know it doesn't take a house to fall on me to understand what is happening and it breaks my heart. This place has become a beloved community to me and I see it changing when we can't really speak our minds.

On Fridays I work in the area of Spanish Springs... that's why I asked. I can't make it to Crispers :( Why do they call it "Crispers"?

I agree.

Amity and I have taken a motorcycle trip and I am currently sitting on the front porch of the Gibson Inn in Apalachicola, Florida. I had hoped to be away from everything for a few days, but it appears that a crisis has arisen here on Talk of The Villages and here I am, back at it.

The three administrators of this board have tried very hard at great personal expense and time to provide a forum where Village residents can enjoy themselves, make new friends and support each other (example the TOTV cruise). We provide this as a "free" service to our fellow members. There is not one member who invests one penny toward the operation of this forum. It is done gratefully by your three administrators. Likewise, not one member spends one second on the administration of this forum, nor do they answer any of the hundreds of emails and complaints that we receive every month about everything associated with this board.

We have a responsibility to all of the members to do our best to provide a place where everybody can visit without fear of being ridiculed or taken to task for their sincere efforts. When a new forum is put up, it is done so by the administrators, and it is we who decide how it will be used and how the rules will be enforced. No forum belongs to any one individual.

Every hour of every day, we each receive emails and personal messages from members who have issues about everything you can imagine. The complaints range from "people are picking on me" to "the in crowd is taking over the board," to "why don't you remove his post" to "my ad is too small" to "this board isn't what I want it to be" to "this is the most confusing forum I have ever seen" to "did you see what she said about me," and so on and so on and so on. We accept the responsibility because we knew is came with the territory.

There is no Talk of The Villages Court. But there are three administrators who are human and want the best forum for all the members. From time to time there is an emotionally charged thread that gets out of hand and it will only lead to further problems. So, a decision may be made to derail the runaway locomotive. That is not censorship.

Now, if anybody has a better idea of how we can manage our board and make everybody happy all of the time, your three administrators would like to hear the plan. This plan has got to include a system by which we can make a decision about hurtful posts that pleases every living soul.

What do you all want this board to be like? A place where everybody can have a good time, or one where there is no order and nobody looking after things. The second option is the easiest for us.

I don't mind telling you that the three of us feel very bad that our efforts to make Talk of The Village a nice place has taken a turn because a few people feel that their right to say whatever they want has been disallowed.

I have know Tony Zona for 42 years. He and his wife are godparents to my daughter. You will not ever find a person who is more eager to do the right thing every time. He does not act out of haste or malicious intent. He is thorough in his thinking and makes decisions based on what is best for a proper outcome.

We don't want anybody to leave this forum, nor will be intimidated into changing our system by threats that an individual or a group will leave. Please use this forum for what it is intended....fun for all.

I appreciate your great efforts. I am sad because I know I am one of the posters that people complain about because I do post a lot. I have made friends on here. Some of them I have even seen and hugged. This forum is the ONLY reason I came to see The Villages and it is a crucial reason why we bought there. I want to tell anyone that reads this that I am sorry if I ever made YOU feel left out. I am a person who really loves to know everyone. I know that anyone who wants to be a part of the TOTV group that meets at Crispers is going to be welcomed. I am sorry Tony if I made your job hard.

Beady!
 

Be careful Gracie. Beady is a nutcase under that calm exterior! :1rotfl:
But she makes a heck of a Coke Cola Cake! Yummmmmmm :laugh:

GG you couldn't make anyone's life harder. You are a ray of sunshine. love, chels

Hi Jan,

First I am sorry you had to cut your vacation short. Since I enjoy travelling I can well understand your feelings.

Some of the members of TOTV have contributed to the cost of the operation of TOTV - this was done some time ago. Perhaps if you put up the old ad you had about making donations to TOTV you will get more financial assistance.

I can only imagine the letters you get. From my own personal experience, people will complain about anything and everything.

Personally I would hate to see this site close down. Is there anyway some of us can assist? Hopefully this would take some of the burden off of the "Administrators" shoulders.

I will be the first to offer my assistance with this endeavor.

To the three of you - THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.

HB

Bare - I want pictures of this event. Do you think you could let Village Kid or Beady in so that she can take pictures? Then you can post them so everyone will see them.

I wonder if Sadie Mae would also like to be included? She may teach you new tricks to do to what is his name? Like have pumpkins fall on his ....

HB

I agree..
 

I agree with HB..If there is any way we can offer assistance, I would be more than willing to help! I will be happy to reply to emails for you! God knows I spend half my life on TOTV Forums and the other half in the chat asylum!..
:024:

The job of adminstrator is by far not an easy one, and we all do appreciate the great job you guys do, the countless hours you spend, and the out of pocket expenses you incur..

In all actuality, we have the best group of peeps around... Sometimes tempers flare but that is common among such a diverse group and the discussions we have.

I wanted to add my two cents and say I am glad to be a part of TOTV, and hope we will all continue to be friends in the many years to come!:clap2:

Our thanks and gratitude to Jan,Tony, and DK for very difficult job well done! :eclipsee_gold_cup:

Rent motorcycles??
 

:agree:

Thanks Donna! TOTV has been my means of finding forever friends.
3 1/2years with a few friends in the villages.

I have since found many, many, forever friends through TOTV. TOTV has made my move to TVs complete. The people are amazing, wonderful, kind and I am such a happy camper!!

Jan, I hope you and Amity have a wonderful road trip! Sounds wonderful!! Does anyone know if you can rent motorcycles???

Beautiful Post, Jan!!
 

As the director of a staff of young engineers for the past 25 -30 years, I can appreciate the stream of complaints and suggestions and persnickety remarks made day in and day out, but as I always said to them, I'll listen to your comments very intently but remember, I AM THE DIRECTOR, and I make the final decision like it or not. So although the suggestion of assisting the admins of their tough task is nice, unfortunately I think that the decision making cannot be dispersed over a few people. And.... IMO I believe Jan, Tony and Darrell have handled all this is the most careful manner trying very hard to be fair and within defined guidelines. They have added new forums for us to enjoy and post into and easy to search useful information.

Oh and by the way, those engineers accepted my edict because I was right!! As a matter of fact, I had the lowest personnel turn over in the corporation and the only way I could get rid of them was when they were promoted. :a040:

My personal thanks to the 3 admins because without TOTV I wouldn't be having the wonderful time I'm having since I moved here, and I wouldn't have the wonderful, giving, caring friends that I have made on this forum...
Thanks guys, !! Kath

Gracie,

Thanks I do try to stay calm and see both sides of a story, and I just do not like seeing the posts become so contentious and consequently deleted. Tony, Darrell and Jan have taken on the task of keeping us all in line,and according to their guidelines they have the right to decide what to delete on their blog. I do not have to like it, but I will abide by their decision. We really are fortunate to have an outlet that is this informative, and, keeps us connected with the fulltime, snowbirds , and future Villagers.

As I said previously....can't we all agree to disagree and keep the comments civil.

On another note:
Chels is right, I make a mean Coka Cola Cake and I will gladly share the recipe.:a040:
I won't comment on being a nutcase:D

Beady, why not put the recipe in The Villages Kitchen board? You saw me on the cruise. You know I will love the cake.

And by the way, folks, thanks for the kind thoughts.

Turn the other way, topicop
 

Beady, nicely said. Now, can I ask you for the recipe or do I have to go to the food channel to request it (oops, I mean the food thread!!:police:)

Oops!!
 

Over to the "Kitchen"
 

Okay, I will post the recipe on the kitchen board.

FYI all:It is beyond delicious and very easy to make...my kind of recipe.:clap2:

I appreciate the time and effort put forth by the admins. I want to know where I can send my donation so I can become vested in this venture.

:cus:

One of my favorite writers Mark Twain said, "It's easier to stay out than to get out." And I have been repeating that quote over and over to myself today as I wander in and out of the kitchen where this infernal computer lives.

Well, finally, I could not stand it anymore and I sat right down and pounded out my opinion on all this.

And I took a deep breath and I read through my post and I played devil's advocate and I thought some more. And then I finally hit send, with my fingers crossed that I had not just stepped into a minefield.

Well, guess what.

This :cus: thing had timed me out.

So I tried to print from the little box -- which I could retrieve. I could see my words there. So I hit Print, trying to get all the paragraphs. (You all know by now how much I like paragraphs.)

Well, anyway, I had to print 3 times, I thought, to try to capture all my paragraphs from that little box where they were taunting me. And I ran back the hall with high hopes to the printer which lives in Mr. Boomer's office. You know those touching scenes in the movies where they run in slow motion, propelled by love. Well, I loved my post. I did. I was in love with those words. And I planned to type it again from the hodge-podge of 3 printings from the little box.

And you know what that :cus: printer gave me back in return for my love. It gave me 3 full printouts of everybody else's responses to TH. My beloved words were nowhere to be found. Do you think maybe I was guilty of hubris or something?

So anyway, I remember one part. It was a quote from Mother Teresa. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

Well, I am no Mother Teresa. But I sure liked that quote.

And you know, if you look back at that quote and you remove the word "kind" and you substitute any antonym you can think of, well I think that gets the message across, too. Only better.

So basically, what I said in my long, long-lost post was, "Stopitstopitstopit." Let the admins make those tough calls. I learned pretty fast that Political is "Enter At Your Own Risk." ( I figured out the lay of the land there. My daggone Libra thing must make me weigh both sides and that just did not work for me there.) -- But I digress.

The point is, I do not want to see the rest of this place turn into "Enter At Your Own Risk."

Boomer

(And I just now looked at the Preview of this. And it told me I could only cuss 4 times and not 6. :cus: -- And the first one I wrote was a lot better.

Mark twain also said "a man who dangles a cat by the tail learns a lesson he can learn no other way."

Boomer. I was kinda hopin' you were gonna Boom. It straightened everybody out the last time we all got in a rats nest.

Boomer. What does hubris mean?

Boom, in my mind you are a combination of Mother Teresa, Mary Poppins and that woman on television that knows about finances. I can't think of her name.

But the best part is that you are a Cincinnati girl. BUT are you EAST or WEST of 75?