Counting On - Part 6: Benye Wants to Give the Gospel to the "Inner City"

[Carol]

Most people I know who go to Branson go for the entertainment.  Did they go to any shows, do any shopping, get out at all to do anything touristy?  Or was this another forced incarceration made to look like a vacation? 

I have 6 sisters and the thought of spending 3 days cooped up in a cabin with them isn't appealing.  I love them all but I have come close to killing several of them.  Purely accidently.  

[RabbitKM]

34 minutes ago, Ungodly Grandma said:

You can use a rosary as a necklace, but as a (lapsed) cradle Catholic I'm not sure it's appropriate. 

I'm also cradle Catholic, and been to Catholic school for practically my entire education.  It might be a cultural thing? It was given to me by my Salvadoran aunt, and I also remember a teacher in (Catholic) high school complimenting it and telling me that rosaries were originally worn as necklaces (tho could be a wives tale, we have lots of those!), and he's Mexican/Salvadoran.

[Artemesia]

6 minutes ago, Carol said:

Most people I know who go to Branson go for the entertainment.  Did they go to any shows, do any shopping, get out at all to do anything touristy?  Or was this another forced incarceration made to look like a vacation? 

I have 6 sisters and the thought of spending 3 days cooped up in a cabin with them isn't appealing.  I love them all but I have come close to killing several of them.  Purely accidently.  

I also have sisters that I have come close to accidentally killing! But speaking of the sisterly bond, I wonder if some of what seems to be emotional distance among the sisters might be because their parents required them to be accountability partners (aka tattletales) for each other. Usually (but not always ...) once sisters reach a certain age they will cover for each other. Not so Duggars. Maybe the sisters don't trust each other.

[nst]

12 minutes ago, Carol said:

Most people I know who go to Branson go for the entertainment.  Did they go to any shows, do any shopping, get out at all to do anything touristy?  Or was this another forced incarceration made to look like a vacation? 

 

forced incarceration 

 

[Shouldabeenacowboy]

29 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

Still, I know some non-fundy adults who are hesitant about trying new foods, or who just don't. For my brother in law, chicken cooked in a different way was about as exotic as he'd get when eating out or with my family. He's much better now.  My siblings and I were raised to try new foods.

I know what you mean! My sister in law didn't like anything when we met her, i.e. she was not familiar with 90% of the foods we had at the table either at our house or at restaurants, because she was raised knowing a very limited range of foods. Not because of poverty, but due to general closed-mindedness of her family regarding food. She joined a foodie family alright, now she magically likes most things she tries  

[Analytica49]

Was it Jessa who gave the sisterly advice about not asking what job a potential suitor works at? If so, maybe she wants her sisters to marry a do-nothing like Bin.

I think Jessa met Bin, thought "Yay, this person has a penis and is not completely creepy," and decided to marry him. She wanted a man (remember when she used to refer to him as "my man"?) and she wanted to escape.

Who cares that he has no plans of doing any real full-time paid work?

[SassyPants]

Just now, Analytica49 said:

Was it Jessa who gave the sisterly advice about not asking what job a potential suitor works at? If so, maybe she wants her sisters to marry a do-nothing like Bin.

I think Jessa met Bin, thought "Yay, this person has a penis and is not completely creepy," and decided to marry him. She wanted a man (remember when she used to refer to him as "my man"?) and she wanted to escape.

Who cares that he has no plans of doing any real full-time paid work?

Having a reality Teeveee show made that choice easier, I guess.

I cannot see that being a forever, happy union.

[Ungodly Grandma]

22 minutes ago, RabbitKM said:

I'm also cradle Catholic, and been to Catholic school for practically my entire education.  It might be a cultural thing? It was given to me by my Salvadoran aunt, and I also remember a teacher in (Catholic) high school complimenting it and telling me that rosaries were originally worn as necklaces (tho could be a wives tale, we have lots of those!), and he's Mexican/Salvadoran.

It might be cultural. In my Irish Catholic NYC community, it would have been highly inappropriate.

[patsymae]

2 hours ago, imokit said:

I'm all for taking kids out to eat.  I firmly believe that they should go out and be in public and if they scream they scream.  But there's out and there's a posh restaurant with infants who have no chance of even being coaxed into behaving, like a toddler.  The only way that would work would be if they were fed the instant they wimpered...

Couldn't disagree more. If they scream, take them home. The rest of us would like to enjoy ourselves and not have our meals ruined and most restaurant owners don't deserve to have their businesses ruined because same people without screaming children can't enjoy a meal. My kids learned if you want to go out in public and do fun things you have to behave and be considerate of other people. Most of the tome they opted to behave. If not, we went home.

[2manyKidzzz]

11 minutes ago, Ungodly Grandma said:

It might be cultural. In my Irish Catholic NYC community, it would have been highly inappropriate.

I think it is cultural. Raised Irish Catholic and we NEVER would have worn a rosary as a necklace. But, of course, I don't know EVERYTHING. 

[Ungodly Grandma]

4 minutes ago, 2manyKidzzz said:

I think it is cultural. Raised Irish Catholic and we NEVER would have worn a rosary as a necklace. But, of course, I don't know EVERYTHING. 

No, but we were well versed in things Catholic! No, no and no. 

[2manyKidzzz]

I couldn't help but notice that Joy's grammar is lacking. SOTDRT of course. Her outfit was not attractive at all. I feel badly for her. 

I feel badly for all of these young women. I know some disagree, but I just do. Their parents gave them a load of crap and now they are stuck shoveling out of a life full of lies and oppression. Good thing the babies and kids are cute. 

[Georgiana]

10 minutes ago, patsymae said:

Couldn't disagree more. If they scream, take them home. The rest of us would like to enjoy ourselves and not have our meals ruined and most restaurant owners don't deserve to have their businesses ruined because same people without screaming children can't enjoy a meal. My kids learned if you want to go out in public and do fun things you have to behave and be considerate of other people. Most of the tome they opted to behave. If not, we went home.

**RANT TIME**

I agree.  I worked as a hostess in college, and it was always so tough when parents would not remove their screaming kids.  The cry of an infant is STRESSFUL.  It is designed to raise our stress levels and get us to respond immediately. Humans are engineered to be stressed out by a crying infant so that we don't ignore it.  The last thing people want when they are trying to have a nice, relaxing meal is to have it ruined because someone wont care for their baby.  You are ruining the meal of potentially 50-100 people because you are not taking responsibility for your child.  Selfish.

Our manager asked people to leave when they did not tend to their children.  ONE TABLE is honestly no big deal.  You can lose that (terrible) customer.  But you let them stay and ruin the meal for everyone, then you've maybe lost 10 tables.  You're going to end up comping everyone in that room, and they STILL likely wont come back.

Do you know what they other people are there for?  Do you know that the big table in the middle is celebrating the 90th birthday of a grandma who likely wont see 91?  Do you know that the medium size table is surprising the parents with a pregnancy announcement?  Do you know that the table of two is celebrating their first night out together (and away from THEIR screaming infant) since he came back from deployment overseas?  No.  You don't.  So don't let your kids ruin other people's special moments.  If you wanted to have a dinner where your kids couldn't make you step outside to care for them, you should have gotten a sitter.  Otherwise, it is the risk you take.  

[Shadoewolf]

3 hours ago, samira_catlover said:

(Also Dandruff): Don't have cable access and thus mercifully spared---but am a moderate foodie.  Can somebody give me examples of "fancy" and "big words"? Am really confused---help, please, and tyvm!

Tapanede, gastrique, pancetta, aioli  were what I posted like 3 pages back.

As for not asking what someone does for their job, heck yes I want to know! Like no offense to military spouses, but I knew at an early age I never wanted to be one. Too stressful with deployments and constant moving around and the risk of 2 officers showing up at the door. I ended up spending 4 years as an Army wife and while it certainly made me stronger and much more independent, it was really hard on me and my kids.  Luckily my ex was my high school sweetheart and we parted amicably. I met Hubby while he was taking massage therapy at my tech school and found out really quickly his field was culinary.  Which meant late nights, having to celebrate birthdays and holidays on days other than what they fall on because he often has to work. Knowing to keep Nu-Skin and butterfly bandages, making sure he asks his doc for a script for silverdine for burns, etc.  Having to keep a separate area in our closet for his work shirts because the smell and grease NEVER come out. I was glad to know what I was getting into before we got married.

[tcach]

They are all so perfectly willfully ignorant that I can't help but think it is calculated on their part. It seems as if it might be a way of proving how unworldly they are as a means to keep their fan base. How many of their followers have travelled as widely and eaten in restaurants other than fast food establishments?

[2manyKidzzz]

When our oldest were small, we ventured out to a booth at Chili's. Son number two put food in the hair of someone in the booth adjacent, and that was our last trip to a restaurant for quite awhile. 

[Ungodly Grandma]

12 minutes ago, Georgiana said:

**RANT TIME**

I agree.  I worked as a hostess in college, and it was always so tough when parents would not remove their screaming kids.  The cry of an infant is STRESSFUL.  It is designed to raise our stress levels and get us to respond immediately. Humans are engineered to be stressed out by a crying infant so that we don't ignore it.  The last thing people want when they are trying to have a nice, relaxing meal is to have it ruined because someone wont care for their baby.  You are ruining the meal of potentially 50-100 people because you are not taking responsibility for your child.  Selfish.

Our manager asked people to leave when they did not tend to their children.  ONE TABLE is honestly no big deal.  You can lose that (terrible) customer.  But you let them stay and ruin the meal for everyone, then you've maybe lost 10 tables.  You're going to end up comping everyone in that room, and they STILL likely wont come back.

Do you know what they other people are there for?  Do you know that the big table in the middle is celebrating the 90th birthday of a grandma who likely wont see 91?  Do you know that the medium size table is surprising the parents with a pregnancy announcement?  Do you know that the table of two is celebrating their first night out together (and away from THEIR screaming infant) since he came back from deployment overseas?  No.  You don't.  So don't let your kids ruin other people's special moments.  If you wanted to have a dinner where your kids couldn't make you step outside to care for them, you should have gotten a sitter.  Otherwise, it is the risk you take.  

The management risks taking a hit if they ignore brats screaming, people who don't enjoy that (most of us) blame the house if it goes on too long. Tough choice, which customer to placate, in a way. But overall, no screamers! 

I remember one night especially, when we were young and broke and wanted a special night out. We paid someone to watch our children, but someone else chose to bring their  special snowflake, who laid on the floor kicking and screaming literally for an hour. I can still remember this many years later, and my urge to "give him something to cry about" as I heard many times!

[Carol]

It's a pet peeve of mine to let children scream/cry in a restaurant.  A little bit, yes, but when it continues beyond 2-3 minutes it's time to remove the child.  I don't have children but I can't count the number of times I've taken a niece, nephew or friend's child outside so that they and the rest of the patrons can have  a quiet dinner.  I love kids, but parents who don't understand that the other people in the restaurant are paying to have an enjoyable meal are being selfish.  Don't take your kids out to eat at a restaurant to teach them how to behave, make sure they know how to behave before you go.

[ChickenettiLuvr]

I agree with @Carol.  As children, my parents took us out to 4-star restaurants on a regular basis.  You'd better believe we knew proper behavior for these places.  Yes, we practiced at home at every meal.

When my two were small, I began teaching them proper table manners from the get-go.  And anytime we went out for dinner, my kiddos knew that proper behavior was in order.  Only one time did we ever have to leave for a few minutes.  The kids realized it was a privilege to go out with mom and dad.

[RabbitKM]

36 minutes ago, 2manyKidzzz said:

I think it is cultural. Raised Irish Catholic and we NEVER would have worn a rosary as a necklace. But, of course, I don't know EVERYTHING. 

I feel like I've seen Italians wearing prayer bead bracelets..? I really don't want to keep harping on this subject, so I'll just leave it at cultural differences.  I wonder what Jilly Muffin would do if she sees people in SintralMerica wearing rosaries as necklaces lol run the other way probably

[just...sare]

So while watching the episode, I was struck, like most of you, by the ridiculousness of not googling the restaurant menu ahead of time (really?).

 

But since that's been covered, the thing that stuck with me was that, aside from Jessa mentioning that she and Ben had only spent one night apart since their wedding, there was no mooning over missing him. You can bet that if Jill was there without Derick, she would spend the entire time talking about how much she missed him.

 

I also definitely heard Jana call Jessa "Jessie" in the cow-chasing scene.

[Fundie Bunny]

17 minutes ago, RabbitKM said:

I feel like I've seen Italians wearing prayer bead bracelets..? I really don't want to keep harping on this subject, so I'll just leave it at cultural differences.  I wonder what Jilly Muffin would do if she sees people in SintralMerica wearing rosaries as necklaces lol run the other way probably

That was a terrible fad from a few years ago. It skyrocketed here after the 2010 world soccer cup. It looked terrible, and no one used it to pray

[laPapessaGiovanna]

18 minutes ago, RabbitKM said:

I feel like I've seen Italians wearing prayer bead bracelets..? 

Yes many do that. Or wear rosary-rings like this one. It has ten bumps with which you can count the Hail Marys and a cross.

[chris]

A quick recap of the ratings for Jill and Jessa....

12/20 - #20, 0.974 milion viewers

12/22 - #18, 0.775 million viewers

12/27 - #14, 1.12 million viewers

3/15 - #14, 1.91 million viewers

3/22 - #12, 1.55 million viewers

3/29 - #19, 1.29 million viewers

4/5 - #17, 1.3 million viewers

4/12 - #12, 1.34 million viewers

And this week, 4/19 - #14, 1.367 million viewers

From highest rating, the show has lost approx. 550,000 viewers, or dropped about 28.9%. I really don't count the December episodes, ratings-wise; too close to Christmas, which could skew the results. 

Considering that J&J is the highest rated show on TLC and how little it appears they are spending on the show...I'm going to predict a 2nd season. But unless there is a courtship and marriage, the Duggars are going to continue to leak viewers and the show will die a silent death.

 

[ClaraOswin]

Watching the episode now. My thoughts while watching (probably have all been said but I haven't read the thread yet....)

That playhouse is enormous. Doesn't looks super safe to me though.

What's up with Michael and Marcus' weird hair sticking straight up??

A girls trip....to Branson. Hahaha!

"A elephant."  You're killing me, Jessa!  AN AN AN!  "There are days whenever I miss all the time hanging out with my sisters." WHEN WHEN WHEN!

Poor Joy, I bet she'd love to wear yoga pants on a daily basis. Maybe some day she'll move out and be able to dress more comfortably and find her own style.

I wonder who is watching the little kids while all these women are spending a long time packing. And while they are on their trip.

"Walked through." GAG.

This cow business made me think of Anne of Green Gables. And then I got sad thinking these women wouldn't be allowed to read it. And have probably never even heard of it. (Why not just call animal control or the humane society to get the cow back to it's owner?)

Have they ever explained the nickname "choo choo" to us?

"Anything can happen really quick."  Well, yeah, in your messed up family where you say hello to a man and then within a few months you're married and pregnant. I wish they knew it didn't need to be that way. It's so backwards!

"Girls night out" growing up but they wouldn't actually go out. That's so, so sad. 

It's so weird to me that they brought a bin of crap to the cabin for pedicures and whatnot.

What is with Jessa's creepy-ass smile while Anna is talking about Josh?!

Jana on having a husband with an office job - "then you're stuck at home doing nothing while he's working."  WOW. It's really disgusting to me that she doesn't understand what the real world is like. I want to shake some sense into these people. 

OKAY....I'll have to watch the 2nd half later.