Shawna

Mairi... wow. I truly love this. You have that wonderful gift of assembling words that give such vibrant description and pain, without insulting the reader - very subtle. I am beyond impressed.

wow EA... how poetic.

Sorry, but someone passed this along to me a month ago... I thought it rang a bell when I read your post... Check snopes.com If you haven't already heard, The Mars thing is a Hoax, It already occurred in 2003 Mars Spectacular Claim: The planet Mars will make a once-in-our-lifetimes remarkably close approach to Earth in August. Status: Multiple: Mars passed extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2003: True. Mars will pass extraordinarily close to Earth in August 2005: False. Mars will pass close to Earth in October 2005: True. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003] The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again. The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with your children and grandchildren. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN Origins: The piece quoted above is another example of an item that was once true but is now being circulated again, long after the events it describes have come to pass. This article was relevant back in 2003, but it is not applicable now, two years later. Mars did make an extraordinarily close approach to Earth which culminated on 27 August 2003, when the red planet came within 35 million miles (or 56 million kilometers) of Earth, its nearest approach to us in almost 60,000 years. At that time, Mars appeared approximately 6 times larger and 85 times brighter in the sky than it does ordinarily. (The message quoted above was often reproduced with an unfortunate line break in the middle of the second sentence of the second paragraph, leaving some readers with the mistaken impression that Mars would "look as large as the full moon to the naked eye" and not realizing that the statement only applied to those using viewing Mars through a scope with 75-power magnification.) Although Mars' proximity to Earth in August 2003 (referred to as a perihelic opposition) was a rare occurrence, the red planet comes almost as near to us every 15 to 17 years. To the unaided observer, Mars' appearance in August 2003 wasn't significantly larger or brighter than it is during those much more common intervals of closeness. Mars will have another close encounter with Earth in in 2005, but that occurrence will take place in October (not August), and the red planet will appear about 20% smaller than it did during similar circumstances in 2003. The Mars phenomenon of 2003 was featured in a couple of articles on the web site Space.com which are still well worth the reading: Mars to Get Closer than Ever in Recorded History in 2003 and Orbital Oddities: Why Mars will be So Close to Earth in August. Interested observers also joined Mars Watch 2003 through the MarsToday.com web site. Additional information: Mars at Its All-Time Finest (Sky & Telescope) Approaching Mars (NASA) Last updated: 17 June 2005 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages ? 1995-2005 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson This material may not be reproduced without permission.

I just joined, but it won't allow me to reply to anything. It says "Permission denied" hmmmmmm

I'll meet you when my chores are through, I don't know how long I'll be ~ "Love Me" ~ Collin Raye Bye bye I'll catchya later, got a lead foot down on my accelerator

And I am you and what I see is me. And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand The best I can. "Echoes" ~ Pink Floyd We share a cast of characters from A to Z We know each other's fantasies

and a heart don't forget something like that... Tim McGraw There's your trouble, there's your trouble - you keep seeing double with the wrong one

Primal Fear

Why is it that everybody else's first loves were so fabulous? Mine wound up in and out of jail for dealing, armed robbery, etc., and now he's missing several teeth and is raising a flock of kids in the hovel that drugs built. If I were desperate, I suppose I could romanticize that this all happened to him because he lost me. I'm not that desperate.

YEA ELVISH!!! Roger made it!! :happybanana: :happybanana: :happybanana:

The Incredible Mr. Limpitt

Why should it be any different here? My co-workers call me that almost exclusively ever since that happened. Awww... I know it's a sign of affection ::

I always knew you were cool, Sammy. Your real name is my kid's name, too. And damn staight, there's nothing girlie about it. I've been called Sha-na-na, Shawnee, Shannon, Sharona, Sharon, Sheila... but by far my favorite was the lady calling the shop asking for "Sha-Wanda." I said, "Uh, nobody here by that name."

the best of all scary movies - and Peaches, based on what you said, you'll agree - is "The Haunting" - the original in b/w. Not the remake. I was just little when I first saw that movie and now I watch it every time I know it's coming on TV.

and Yvonne Elliman played Mary Magdalene in my favorite movie of all time... Jesus Christ Superstar.

Tumbling Dice ~ Stones/Linda Ronstadt? Do I get multiple participation points?? :: :: :: :: :: ::

Pinball Wizard - the Who/Elton John?

"Sentimental Lady" by Fleetwood Mac/Bob Welch?

Don't you know we're just asking for trouble ~ "Ah, Leah" - Donnie Iris Take me if you need me, but never hold me down...

oooo Johnny Depp and chocolate... yum.

I hear you there, Jr. I remember the first time I ever saw one of my teachers outside the classroom it was at the grocery store. It was so weird. I always thought teachers just disappeared into the blackboard at the end of the school day.

...no idea...

how about the female victim always tripping and snapping a dainty ankle, and screaming prettily, while every hair stays perfectly in place.

I'm with you, Sue... but my only date is my son, and he's "too cool" to go and see that movie. I mean, good grief, what if his FRIENDS see him??

all night long all night long you'll be sleeping with the television on - Billy Joel next: I will sing this victory song...