response 100 of 123:

Apr 4 03:42 UTC 2002

Larry *was* 9 feet tall, but I've heard he's down to 8'9" due to 
osteoporosis.

response 102 of 123:

Apr 4 03:59 UTC 2002

What?  Has he shrank even more?

response 104 of 123:

Apr 7 14:43 UTC 2002

Larry's posture has been irregular for years, from all the 7-8 foot ceilings
he's had to duck under.  There is at least one good sign that his height has
been further reduced, though--when he ducks to get under doorways, his torso
is no longer completely parallel with the ground.

response 106 of 123:

Apr 15 16:17 UTC 2002

I am doing a translation for someone who met his fiancee through something
called FriendFinder.  She is in the Ukraine and they are running up phone
bills.  While checking on the spelling of her city, I ran across all sorts
of Ukrainian dating service sites.  Send $15 for email address.  Send candy
and flowers.  The women rate themselves on things like love to animals,
regular, intelligent.  The woman whose entry I stumbled across appeared to
be a model of perfection - all either 1's (selfish) or 5's (kind).

Akshaye, you can participate in our conferences but I doubt that you will get
emails by posting your request here.  Does anyone know a better place for
him/her to look for internet friends?

response 108 of 123:

Jun 14 08:27 UTC 2002

Friends, ah yes.
I have got friends.
Like rane I distingiush between acquaintances, friends, and good 
friends.
The latter I can count on the fingers of one hand. I try to be very 
careful with the few good friends I have got, but the last couple of 
years somehow some of them have slipped between my fingers. No matter 
how I tried the friendships just withered before my eyes. (I can be 
pretty loyal when it comes to friendships) I hurt me. In this manner I 
have lost two good friends, who at some point saw things diffrently 
than I did. One moved without notifying me. I had told him that if he 
was willing to keep up the friendship, initiative shouldn't have to 
come from me alone. I guess he took it in offense. 
The other one found he woman (after being single for more than *** 
before I even met him ** maybe he was a virgin even at the age of 35. 
Well, he is living with her somewhere in Haarlem but I haven't got his 
address. Each time I run into him I ask him to contact me, but he 
refrains. Saddens me we have grown apart, for that's the crux, but I am 
happy he has finally found love.
Fortunately I have got two other good friends.
Friends ... five, maybe six or so. Friends like these come and go. They 
can become dear to me but never reach that final stage of becoming true 
friends.
Acquaintances. The lubrication of my social life. Although they are an 
important factor in my life they never progress beyond the stage of 
liking.
That's about it.
Not more than thirty people in all.

response 110 of 123:

Jun 16 13:51 UTC 2002

I think that is often true. I have especially noticed that friendships 
with my female friends tend to last even after they become involved in 
a relationship although for the first year or two, things change a bit. 

On the other hand, my close friendships with men have changed 
completely after they became involved. I was just thinking about this 
last night, coincidentally. I have a friend who was my absolute best 
friend for years. We did all kinds of things together. We hung out with 
each other almost every day. Then, he met this woman and everything 
changed. His wife is awesome and I am really really happy that he found 
someone who is so suited to him. But I still feel sad that after he got 
married, I didnt get to see him much. 

response 112 of 123:

Jun 17 05:25 UTC 2002

i.e., a person can be single, but a growing worklife can pull them 
away from contact with some friends.

response 114 of 123:

Jun 17 13:58 UTC 2002

I agree, it isnt only marriage that makes friendships change. In fact, 
I would say that *any* major life change can have an impact on a 
friendship. I know I always fall into the trap of always wanting my 
relationships to stay the same but of course they would get dull fast 
if that ever actually *did* happen. 

response 118 of 123:

Jun 18 10:33 UTC 2002

The points that are made are good; things are indeed easier when the 
spouse becomes a friend, too.

Perhaps I'm biased, but I think a really good mark of a friendship is 
when your friend gets married or otherwise is very connected to 
someone, and the other person is confident enough to value you, too.  
Married couples are individuals, but I tend to view the coupleship as 
an entity, too: you are a friend to each one individually, and to them 
as a *couple*.  Does that make sense?

However, sometimes people just still move away.  A very close friend 
of mine still owes me a visit or plans for us to come visit.  He got 
married and had kids before I did, when I was quite single, but I was 
still a good friend of him and his wife.  Then I got married, and he 
was going to school where I was.  No problems there-- they accepted 
Julie quite readily.  And we were still a hit with the kids.

He called a few months back-- managed to get my Yakima number from my 
folks.  We agreed to meet again sometime.  It fell through.  He is the 
oldest of 11 children and a bit of an introvert, so I'm not surprised 
he just faded back into his family.

But this is a friend that was with me through most of high school, 
much of college, and was the best man at my temple sealing and my 
wedding receptions.  He has been there for me.  I know he will be 
there again once our paths converge a bit closer, but ever since we 
had our daughter, I ache a bit.. because I want him to share my joy, 
too.  I wanted to call him so badly when our daughter was born.

response 120 of 123:

Jun 18 13:58 UTC 2002

Re #118: Why didn't you call?

response 122 of 123:

Jun 18 18:00 UTC 2002

555-1212 is a good way to recover lost phone numbers.