h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Pandora,
I have just followed your thread with Walter and Katsy leading from your illness poem. I felt a little uncomfortable reading that to which I had not contributed, but continued in case there was a place for a contribution.
It is clearly inappropriate for me to intrude there, but I do want to say the usual sort of stuff about how I admire your ability to encourage others when you have so many reasons to say "Sod you, I've got enough to worry about." I can't remember who first observed that the English are resilient because of their mongrel genes; but to judge by your ancestry and attitude there may be something in the theory.
I was pleased to note that Walter's observation about a man's potential to improve with age seemed to have proved accurate. I hope it continued. My wife still lives in that (probably vain) hope.
I suppose that you're up to the base of your long hair in snow by now. I hope that the old bones are still fighting back.
I don't think that you need any message of encouragement or good cheer from the likes of me, so I'll send you my thanks for your inspiration.

Speechless is something quiet rare for me to be. Now, I'll just take the next 800 words to express my speechlessness.
I'm flattered that you would take the time to try to "find a place to fit in"to our conversation. (My, but arn't you the polite one!
You could have introduced yourself on any thread & been welcomed...& you still may!
The things you say about me sound as though you are talking about someone else. Insperation indeed...I can feel just as sorry for myself as the next one...I just would rather use humor, in most cases than
We had 'thunder snow' today! Ever hear of it? It's been in the 30's and the rain took most of the snow away. It sounded like a thunder storm, however, we got a dusting of snow instead of rain. Just enough to cover over the dirty snow banks that were left.
'plaguesville', mind telling me how you came to have that name?
If you must kill me after telling me, than just skip it
With regard to the poem about the EMS (muscle disease) Mark Moxon had E-mailed me & told me that I should make the h2g2 community aware of the poem. He gave me instructions what to do. I deleted all he sent. I felt odd about writting it. I write alot of poems & all sorts of things, but when something gets the stamp of approval to be published...I just put it away. I guess that sometimes all I want is to know that 'somebody' thought something I wrote good enough, or interesting enough that they commented on it. That's good enough for me. I don't want to try to show off, or worse, seem as though I want pity for anything that's happened in my life. I wouldn't be who I am at this point in time, had I not gone through everything I have. And neither would you. While I can think of ways that life could have been a bit easier on me, I can sure thank my lucky stars that life didn't bite me any harder than it has, so far anyway...
Thank you for taking the time to say a kind word to a stranger...
it will come back to you many times over, you know that don't you? That's what we Cherokee believe. If you would like to talk, we can do so here, or you can stop by the Pub...it's on my page, sorry I don't have the thread here. We get pretty silly there. I'm also on a spaceship with a few friends, it's the 'hi from Gwennie' thread...if you'd like to fly through space with a motley crew, that would be the place to be...as I've said, you're welcome where you feel comfy...just jump right in & skip the back log...it never takes long to catch up on a thread I'm on, 'cause I never let it get too stale! If you just want a gal pal
we can post to one another right here.
Nice to meet you. Hope we can become great friends! xox~Pan

"Thunder snow".
What a great expression. Is that your own work or in general usage?
You are likely to survive the explanation of plaguesville but it may not seem that way.
When I first signed up for an ISP my first name was already in use but I was offered "xxx27". The same with my surname. That is no way to treat an egotist.
The name of my street is Eyam, which is the name of a smallish village in northern England. During the 17th century the bubonic plague ravaged London and the south and there was an outbreak in Eyam. Half the villagers perished in several months of self sacrificing quarantine:
http://www.h2g2.com/A362143
No one else had selected plaguesville, so I was content.
The End

Hi! Glad you returned. That is a very interesting story. That's what I love about places other than the USA.....there's so much history!!!! *sigh*
There's a bit of local history about the road on which I live. Circa 1870 a rather large, 4 story home had been left to be an orphanage. One night it burned to the ground killing all the 40 some clildren and several adults. They died because all the doors opend IN. As they pushed against them they all perished at the doorways. This is the road boys bring girls to frighten them into sitting closer. I've had more than one good scare here as a teen myself!!! And never in my wildest dreams I would ever have thought I would be living on 'Gore Orpahange Road'. Isn't that an awful name for a road?!? I've been trying to get people to call it GO Road.....sheesh.....I've actually had telemarketers hang up on me when I say the name of the road! HA!
There's a site I've only just started going to, another h2g2 friend goes there all the time...if you're interested let me know & I'll get the info. you need. It's called Ancient Sites (ever hear of it?) They give you a 'home' there...several last names to pick from, you pick your own 1st name. You may choose to live in ancient Rome, Egpyt, etc. I have picked old time New York & the name:
Macheala Smith. Seems like I rarely get to play on the 'puter lately.
No, thunder snow is on our weather stations. It does sound like something I would make up though...I often say I have a Moon-Tan. I have an inground pool that I spend most my time in or around during the Summer.....I get sooooo red & then by morning I am deep brown. (must have something to do with being Cherokee, although I look white) So I just say I got a Moon-Tan
BTW...my muscle disease is seemingly getting better! Although the past few weeks I've been going through a relaspe....but I use to have several relapses each year...this seems to have started Christmas Eve...I had a miscarriage, then I've just not been able to get back to my same old sore self. I am 44 BTW. Still think like I'm 21 (I was smarter back then...wern't we all?) And my Dr. says even with the EMS I have better muscle tone in my belly than most of the teenagers he sees. I no longer even use a cane. *knocks on her head* From wheel chair , to walker, to cane, to doing laps around the pool...to feeling pretty damned good all in 11 years. How could I EVER complain?
How is your health? And that of your wife's? Please feel no obligation to answer....since I'm rather like an open book, I sometimes expect others to be the same.
Well, we have another cold snap.....wind chills 15 degrees F. I hear my heating pad calling, "Valerie, let's 'ave a cuddle!" *my heating pad has a British accent*

pan, my lovely,
great to have the encouraging news despite the bad news.
have spent ages getting my registration sorted. i go. i come back.

I hope you've managed to reactivate yourself- ha! that's dumb. if you read this then obviously .....
missed you on ezgroups/yahoo. several others mentioned you. someone said you'd been unwell. i read your h2g2 posting with some relief then realised that it did not necessarily post date the other info. hope the good news is current.
44 eh? well, in 13 years you'll be old enough to compete - as i have just done - in the TRY TO KNOCK OVER A TRUCK WHILST RIDING YOUR PUSHBIKE contest.
then you can enter the sister contest - contribute to h2g2 using just one hand.
wrap up warm.
xx
p.

Greetings plaguesville.

I've just had an Email from Pan. She's had problems getting back in to h2g2 and has been in touch with Peta who has in turn passed her problem on to someone who should be able to fix it, although this person won't be back from their holiday until next Monday. All being well, Pan should be back sometime next week.

Val says that she's read your postings but has been unable to post replies as yet, so please don't think she's ignoring you.

Hello again, Gwennie,
That postman's hat certainly suits you, and the bicycle too. No wonder you look so well, although cycles have their disavantages too.
Thanks for the message, although I had not considered the possibility that Pan would ignore anyone. Mechanical or medical hitches were the two potential culprits - relieved to hear its the former.
xx
p.

*Doffs her postmans hat*

You're welcome me dear!

Hello P.!!!!! My cousin & I are VERY close & she's told me all about you. So, I feel we are already friends! Pandora feels she a bit too er, shall we say wild?!? To return to h2g2...so, I am taking her place! HA! (Besides being wild...she's 'computerly' challanged...ah, that word was made up BTW
Please let me know what you've been up to? Are you well? Pan
is really doing well...I shall keep you up to date if you like.
It's beautiful Spring here. I went for a loooong drive in the country
so many Amish out in their buggies, flowers blooming everywhere!!!! Ooooo...we just LOVE lovely weather! I also love a good thunder storm...puts all those wonderful negitive ions into the air - everythings so fresh! Nice knowing you didn't forget about me, er I mean Pandora! Take Care~Skylark

~Sky, my Lovely,

Thanks for calling in. Pandy never mentioned that she had an identical cousin. Gwennie passed on her message, which I was relieved to receive. Please tell the old girl (no, not Gwennie) that I send my love, if you think the excitement won't be too much for her. It's a shame that she won't be able to see my new page, I think that she might have enjoyed the irony.

Skylark ... what a lovely name. Inpiration for some beautiful music:
The Lark Ascending - R. Vaughan Williams and perhaps my favourite song: Skylark by Hoagland Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. Singers Unlimited recorded a really tingling version, which I foolishly lent to someone ... ho hum.

~Pan was so highly regarded round these parts that I'm sure you will be warmly welcomed wherever you choose to set your dainty foot. But if anyone is other than kind to you, please let me know and I shall whisper something soothing in their ears.

Hello!!!! I've missed you!!!! And I've got my rotten cousin trapped in a box....last time she pulled a stunt like this I kept her in there 300 years...or was it 400?!? Well at any rate I surprised she tried to horn in on my fun!
Geez, P. you have many kind words for this old gal! And your page cracks me up! Please excuse MY page...time has been very limited these days. Good to be home. ~xox~Pan

Pan, my lovely,
Good to have you back.
That Skylark is a bit of a one, eh? Lively seems only half good enough.
I was emailed by the mods about my page, saying they'd withdrawn it because of copyright issues. Seems a pity, but what can you do?
I remembered the words "For evil to triumph, it is sufficient that the good man do nothing". So I thought about it for a while and decided to join the Procrastinators as soon as I can get round to it. Then I realised that I am not a good man so I didn't have to do nothing so I decided to join the Zaphodistas instead, because they have these real cool berets:

What d'you think?

OH, yes, that suits you very well indeed!
As per the page thingy...well, I just folloed the instructions: it read
put 'something here'...so, I worte the word 'something'

Well, that's ... erm ...
"completely different"

...As am I

P....where have you gone?
I'm working three jobs at the moment. I haven't felt this good in the past 11 years! I'm so excited to be out meeting people & getting lots of hugs from old friends as well as the hugs I get from my clients I wrote my Dr. a thank you note - he's finally found the right combo of meds to have me feeling only the "normal" ouches that one my age, who has played hard her entire, life would feel!
The past two days I've come home from work & inched my way into my cold swimming pool! *brrr* Ah, feels so good on the legs & feet!
During the Grand Opening of the shop where I have a room to see clients, I worked 16 hours! The store was to have closed at 9pm but there were people standing in line to see me so they stayed open way late.
My husband, who has been such a dear throughout all my sickness had said, "You will never make it 12 hours in that place!" HA! He was right & after I packed his lunch for work the next morning, I left him a note telling him he was right...I didn't work 12 hours...I worked 16
He had parked his cadilac in the side yard so I could pull into the garage & be right at the cabin's door. Pish-tosh...I parked in the side yard too, so the next day he could park in the garage. But I had a good laugh at myself...when I turned the car off I heard water pouring out of...OH NO!!! something must have broken on the swimming pool! We MUST have lost thousands of gallons of water!!! EKK! I hurried to the pool only to find he had installed a three teired fountain! HA! What a NICE surprise, esp. since I thought something bad was happening!
The next day I was happily surprised to feel well! (I'd only had 4 hours of sleep before the 16 hour day) I'm so happy to 'just' feel
achs!!! Now I'm back - full steam ahead!!!!
Hope you & your's are well...I'll await your reply. Take care, my friend!!! ~xox~Pan

Pandora - my lovely,
What great news. I'm really pleased.
Sorry I've not picked up sooner things are just a bit hectic. I'm only allowed a few minutes to myself, occasionally.
One of the "things" is a union matter, that's labor union to you.
Wassup wit chu - girl? 16 hours? Join a union.
Gotta go. Baksoon.

*giggles* Do they have Unions for independent contractors?
(still wanting to know who 'THEY' are...)
I know you're busy...I'm just glad that you hadn't forgotten about me! Thank you for the kind words of encouragment...I'm glad I'm feeling better too. Although, I learned last night that if I fall asleep in the chair - in front of the computer - my feet swell! AH-HAAA!
When my hubby (Bear) got up for work he awakened me...I can't believe I sat here all night.
He thought I'd left Belle (our blue doberman) outside all night as she didn't come running to say good morning to him. HA! She was in a deep sleep - snoring - in my bed! What a gaurd dog! HA! Actually SHE was the smart one! *giggle* I just wonder how many neighbors drove by & saw me asleep at the desk? I don't
give a rat's tail, I just wonder!!!

sure do.

Now this needs to be rather delicate. I do not wish to offend your sensibilities. I seek only your well being.
Ahem.

"Do they have Unions for independent contractors?"
How independent can you get?
(Checks behind to see that there is no one who will ask how he knows these things.)
In the UK there is a union (in more than one sense and in all but name) the Commune of English Prostitutes. They have to defend their members against allegations of "feather bedding" and other practices.
There is also the National Farmers' Union. Farmers are mostly self employed many with employees to boot. (Except they're no longer allowed to boot them.)
There is a union for retired persons as well. Must get their address and apply for membership in case I manage to hang on for another couple of years.