aarhus2004

I am just seeing your conversation with Twinkie. Its funny how things come full circle...it brings a tear to my eye. Do you remember how you and I met, Ben? I was in the Win Me forum relaying messages for my friend Marlene (angelize56) whose computer was broken down. You gave me advice on what to tell her to do..and I would call her up and read the messages to her over the phone and she would try everything. She knew who you were of course because she seemed to know everyone here.

I dont know if you knew it or not but Twinkie is her twin sister!

Hello, Ben ~

My name is a secret! Not really! You may call me one of the following as you prefer: Twinkie, Twin, or Darlene! I answer to one and all.... and then some... but we shalln't speak of those names here!

I have added you to my friend list and am delighted that you have chosen to do the same! You can never have too many friends.... although how to tend to all of them can be a dilemma at times!

A two finger typist you are! Fabulous! Any attempt to conquer a keyboard in any manner and any means is a feat to be proud of! Keyboards have always been my friends! They have always allowed me to tap away at whatever speed I desired and seemed to prevent mistakes to my utmost astonishment!

Yes.... to go on and on while talking or in this case typing, and entering from one topic to the next whether bumpily done or smoothly and slickly is a talent that most people must learn to acquire! If the secret were to get out that it just involves typing all the random thoughts flying through one's mind at any given moment... conversations would never quite be the same again!

My twin and I would go on and on about mostly everything and nothing at all and keep each other entertained for hours on end! Following along was not for the meek! Interruptions were never a problem as we didn't care where we picked up again so long as one could keep up with the other! And we mostly always did!

So.... I do hope to have interesting conversations with you from time to time! The topic doesn't have to be clear and precise and can be just about anything of your choosing!

Enjoy your day!

Darlene

Hi, Ben.... I hope you don't mind my calling you Ben when we don't even know each other!

I just had to let you know that I have read your conversations with Val.... oh yes up for the public to view I'm afraid.... and I am totally captivated by your use of the language! You have a way of talking that I truly enjoy and I find myself sometimes... well a lot... talking in the same manner! Maybe that is the reason for my taking a liking to you!

You tend to go on and on about a subject in such a manner as to invite the mind to take the walk you are walking with your thoughts as they spring out onto the screen under the guidance of your fingertips! Do you use all of your fingers on the keyboard or are you a two finger typist? Don't take offense... my sister was a two finger typist... mainly... and she could type up a storm!

Do you find that your thoughts come faster than the fingers can plant them before you on the screen? I have that happen at times and it is quite annoying, but I just do what I can with what I have!

Well.... I won't go any further with this particular post, as I want to make sure you are up to adding a new friend to your agenda.... Take care!

oh my gosh, Ben...I dont know where to even start in my reply. That is one of the most delightful messages I have gotten to date!

My husband has tried to teach me to swim several times over the years. The last time he tried, he had me stand in 3 feet of water and practice putting my face in the water. Thats all I had to do..just put my face full into the water with my arms out beside me on top of the water. I started to fall forward and panicked and came up splashing and sputtering like I was going to drown. He had the gall to laugh at me so I promptly burst into tears (to teach him a lesson!) and then stomped off (do you know how hard it is to stomp your feet underwater to get your point across?) and went into the house, slamming the door loud enough to rattle the windows! The very worst part of it all is that all the way to the house, my wet sneakers were making farty sounds every time I took a step and my husband laughed even louder at me! Do you know how hard it is to stay mad when you are wearing sneakers that sound like a bodily function when you walk?

The only other time that I was willing to learn was when a snake tried to make me run 15 feet in a 12 foot boat! It dropped down from under my seat and I was ready to swim or die trying. I was even prepared to abandon my own children and husband to save myself! Isnt that a terrible thing for a mother to do? Hubby caught me by the waistband of my jeans at the stern and reminded me that I was not wearing a life jacket. Common sense prevailed...especially since the snake was long gone, having been thrown overboard by hubby the hero in the moments immediately after he alerted me to its presence in the boat. Still...I made him pull the boat to the bank and we all got out so he could tip the boat over and pound the seats to scare out the mama snake that I was convinced were there. She must have already slithered over the side when all the screaming began, though because she didnt show her face to us.

Yes Ben..there are times when I wish I could swim but I dont see it happening. I am so thankful that my hubby taught our older kids to swim like fishies...our 2 year old will also learn in the next year or two. I hope so anyways. I am counting on them all to keep me safe on future fishing trips (I love to fish!!) I dont want to worry about someone else drowning besides myself! I would like to try scuba diving though! It would be great to be able to breath underwater!

So you know AcaCandy, do you? She is one of the sweetest ladies I know here...what did you do to get on her bad side, Ben? Just kidding...she scares me too and people dont scare me easily (only water, snakes and spiders can do that) She's a lot of fun to pick on though isnt she!

If you can find more time so I can sit here and visit with you instead of doing my chores then I would gladly pay you for it! Maybe I should put my family to work so I can free up more time. I will try the ship bell idea...the only thing is that when I ring it, I suspect half the town will show up expecting dinner! We are in farm country here....far from the sea. A bell ringing out here in the wilderness means "supper is ready..come and get it!"

I have often toyed with the idea of attaching a cowbell to my toddler though...to keep track of his whereabouts, mind you. The only thing stopping me is that I worry people might think its a strange sight.

Once again I read poetry in your words, Ben...It's a gift...I struggle with words...Music is easy, but words are not...Tonight I got back together with the Old Guys, I've been away for a couple of months, and I got inspired again...I've been doing some single stuff and I got lost and happy...Once again I fail to be responsible, but, I'll work on it.

I'm writing a new song about what used to be important to me at an early age, and what's important now...I hope you don't mind if I use a line like: "Old folk are signposts for the kids. And important as such."

So you were a sailor, huh? The very thought scares the dickens out of me. I cant swim! And the worst part is that a river flows by just 50 yards away from my house! I have tried to learn but I dont have anyone patient enough to teach me. How much time did you spend at sea altogether? I can see why letters were important. I bet you love to read too! You have led an interesting life, Ben. You should write your memoirs! You certainly have a gift with words (oh to be as eloquent!)

I'm glad you have the time to write. Me, I will make you wait for a reply more often than not these days. Between my 2 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, a husband and 2 cats....I am lucky to find a block of time that lasts longer than 15 minutes in my day. It drives me crazy because I am a people person and I really love my online friends and getting to know all of you and I hate making people wait for me to write back.

Its wonderful to be able to have a glimpse into the lives of other people who I never would have known otherwise. TSG is a great little town, isnt it?

You asked: "Do we need to count characters?"

My answer: haha! I wonder if there was a limit and if anyone has ever reached it! I think i've met a kindred "wordy" spirit so we shall see. All I can say is that its a good thing Mike keeps upgrading and expanding the site so it can handle more! I bet you and I have the record for the longest visitor messages at TSG!

*hugs*
val

Hey Ben, haven't talked to you in a while...My life is real scatterbrained right now...I'm really trying to understand my grandson since he became a teenager...We still love each other, but what a difference a year makes....And, the studio is taking up a lot of my time, but what's really bugging me is that business has picked, and I don't like that one bit, I'd rather play...Oh well, my rant for now....

You asked, "Val, why is there a plus sign by your name in the list of on-liners?" and "why only one?"

My answer: A plus sign indicates that I am on your friend list...everyone only gets one...but I think I deserve to have at least 3 or 4 pluses! I'll have to take up my complaint with Techguy and demand more pluses!

You asked, "When its sweltering hot in New York (city) does that mean that you have something similar? Do you have weather that makes your children moan when they see it?"

My answer: Our weather here in upstate NY is actually a bit cooler than in New York city...we stay about 5-10 degrees cooler than they do. In the winter time, we also get colder temps than they do. Our forecast this coming week is mid 70's while theirs is 80-85's. We get really high humidity here and that is something to complain about, especially for me, having asthma...hot humid weather makes it hard for me to breathe so I stay inside where its cool. The kids arent bothered by the hot weather...they just go jump in the pool or in the river. I wish I had their energy, Ben!

You asked: "Why do I feel as tho I am tresspassing on your space when I post here?"

My answer: I dont know but stop feeling that way! Its always a nice surprise to see your messages to me...they put a smile on my face! If you want, you can always pm me if you dont like this public visiting. I'm fine visiting with you either way.

You asked: "where do I post my responses to your posts which appear in my profile?"

My answer: You can click on the lower right-hand text that says "view conversation"...it is there that you will see our entire conversation and everything you write there will show up on my profile page. For instance...I will not see this answer to you in my visitor messages unless I click on the "view conversation". Until I do that, it will look like your are talking to me and I am not answering you! To see my conversations with other people, you can click on and of the "view conversation" links in my visitor messages list...ekim68's for example..and there you can see what he and I visit about. But just to look at my profile, it looks like I havent said a word to him! I dont know why its set up this way. Does it make any better sense to you?

It takes some getting used to, thats for sure! But its quicker than sending private messages and its a nice way to say hello without filling up your private message box.

Lastly, you asked "is val or Val your preference?"

My answer: val is fine. Its saves people from having to capitalize the V every time they talk to me!

I think someone should write a tutorial of some sort for visitor messages because it really was confusing at first. If you type a message in your own visitor message box to try and answer someone who has left you a message, they wont see it unless they happen to come visit your profile page...to make sure they see it, you have to either go directly to their profile or use the "view conversation" link.

I hope this helps and I didnt make it worse.

Nothing new going on here in my life...well actually, we had a leaky pipe in the wall and it ended up ruining 2 floors and a wall! What a mess! But its not a major crisis...just an annoyance.

So whats new with you? Click on the "view conversation" in this message box and you'll see our conversation come up and you can answer back when you have the time. *hugs*

Now I have a question for you....do all of my smilie gifs annoy you? I have a habit of using them a LOT!

Thank-you, dear Val, I had no idea, and my poor sons will think the Day went to my head since I was a little tough on them - purely by chance .

And you are most welcome, devil_himself.

Ben - A little ashamed.

Happy Father's Day, Ben!