Maxwell 10: Following the 15 minute schedule and the monthly menu

[WonderingInWA]

Sarah, honey, one way to turn those overly-friendly men away is something you do best -- share your testimony and hand out some tracts!  

[catlady]

24 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

And you know what Sarah? My feelings of sorrow for you are tempered by your continuing to buy into the lie that people like me are evil predators, because I'm not your preferred flavor of Christian.

i wanted to like this about a hundred times.  thank you.

[church_of_dog]

2 hours ago, crawfishgirl said:

Even if I had had to get around by myself, it wouldn't have been too difficult, since the language was the same and I had researched the area first.

I completely agree that traveling by oneself is usually not a big deal for folks with a bit of maturity and street sense.

However, I have to relate an amusing story about the bolded -- I happen to have a really hard time comprehending speech in accented English.  I think it's related to the fact that I do best seeing/reading things visually rather than by hearing.  (My physical hearing is fine; this is more a brain processing thing where I will remember and understand much better if I'd read a thing than if I've listened to audio about the thing.)

When I was in my late teens I spent a summer in Spain as a part of a student exchange program.  While my host family enjoyed practicing their English, of course I was steeped in hearing (and attempting to speak) Spanish for those few months.

Then, after experiencing a flight delay while flying from Madrid to London on our way home, our group missed our connecting flight back to the US and had a 24-hour delay, during which we all took off to explore London for the day.  I found that, between having been steeped in Spanish all summer so that any English at all sounded unfamiliar, plus my generally having a really hard time with British accents (not to mention slang and colloquialisms), I couldn't understand a word when I asked someone for directions, etc!  Fortunately some of my companions didn't have my aural handicap, plus we were really just exploring with no real agenda other than seeing London, so if we didn't find one destination, that was ok, because we found another...  But the experience of knowing that English was being spoken and yet not understanding a word was quite amusing!

[Hane]

On 7/15/2017 at 9:44 AM, sparkles said:

You know, given the state of the world today, it's oddly comforting to come back to the Maxwell blog after nearly a year's absence and find that nothing, other than a new offspring or twelve, has changed. Nothing. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's so boring that it's perversely riveting.

And Steve? Swift Otter's chief synergist? Really? Lest you forget, your last name is Maxwell, not Jobs.

@sparkles! Welcome back! We've missed you and your mullet!

[socalrules]

I think the post was two serve to purposes, neither of which was airport safety. 1. Show this world Sarah gets to travel alone and 2. make a little money from their Amazon affiliate link for the phone charger. 

I love airports. I am ok with a four hour layover. I can explore and people watch. It's like sitting by the pool in vegas without the heat. I enjoy talking to people from other places. She should be using some of her great conversation skills Steve keeps trying to say his children possess. 

Bad things happen everywhere, by people of all faiths to people of all faiths. Of course be aware of your surroundings but it doesn't mean to act as though everyone intends to harm you in a public place surrounded by 400 other people by saying hello. Also, no one probably told Sarah that you have to be just as worried about women because I have read enough true crime books to know there are women out there that procure other women for their men. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

42 minutes ago, WonderingInWA said:

Sarah, honey, one way to turn those overly-friendly men away is something you do best -- share your testimony and hand out some tracts!  

And if that doesn't work, introduce him to your parents.

[VodouDoll]

When waiting for a flight, choose a public location and select carefully who you sit near. If you want to be by yourself in a secluded area (such as an area at the end of the terminal where no one is waiting), that’s inviting trouble.

What on earth could anyone possibly do to hurt you at an airport? Everyone is searched! There are no weapons, there are cameras everywhere, and the place is crawling with armed law enforcement. What is there to be afraid of?

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, freejugar said:

But you don't know if a man will end up in the seat next to you!!

Or a tattooed lady.  Or a non-Christian (Catholics included).  Or a member of the LGBTQ community.  Or even - worst case - someone from Free Jinger!

[anachronistic]

I'm nervous about flying because I never do it. I get help figuring out the gate, security, etc, because I have multiple learning disabilities and autism and that makes flying hard for me, especially when I am alone. But I do not understand Sarah aging the same problems I do when she doesn't have any disabilities. There's a term in the disability world called 'learned helplessness' where someone never learns to do something because others always do,it for them. That is Sarah exactly. She has all these abilities but she has been convinced she doesn't.

[Trynn]

I don't fly frequently. I have this death fear (spare me the statistics, I already know my fear is groundless. If knowing that helped, I wouldn't still have this problem.)

I have sat alone in a corner a lot of times and no one has bothered me.

In fact, I'm more likely to bother people I sit next to Because if I let go of the arm rest, the plane will crash.

Oh god, may Sarah never sit next to me on a plane. If she asked me where I was going if the plane crashed, I would probably die of a heart attack on the spot.

[Maggie Mae]

At least I know that Sarah will never sit next to me on a plane; I'll never fly Southwest. 

I've flown a fair amount, both by myself and with others. Finding a spot in a crowded airport that's alone in a corner is basically like winning the lottery. Although I do tend to make sure layovers are very short if possible. Open seating sounds horrible, why would she think that's perfect? What if someone comes and sits next to her that looks scary? Does she get up and move? Why is she judging people by appearance? Is that Christlike? 

Acting confident and walking with a purpose and being aware of your surroundings is good advice for everyone, in every situation. I can't stand the tourists who never fly anywhere who meander about, not paying attention to anything, stopping at the bottom of escalators and looking around while people are forced to dodge around them. Or people at the store who stop as soon as they get inside; or people who stop unexpectedly for no real reason while in places like theme parks, airports, las vegas, supermarkets, etc.  

Every flight I've been on in the last few years, other than one in-state flight, has had outlets to charge devices in the seats. It's important to make sure your phone is charged, but most airplanes have that luxury now, right?  

Do we know where she went? 

[Palimpsest]

24 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

Do we know where she went? 

We think to stay with a married Coral daughter expecting a baby.  They fit the description.

I've been flying unaccompanied since I was 15.  Including on international flights.  I do not like flying.  In fact I am increasingly white-knuckled at the very thought of getting into a plane.

When I was young, I was bored to tears by chatty seatmates on many occasions.  Then I learned the Paddington bear offended stare and used it.  However, I have never been bothered, molested, accosted by a pimp, or felt at all threatened by a fellow passenger.

My idea of a nightmare flight:  Grace Mally in the seat beside me trying to convert me!

[kpmom]

4 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

I know she didn't write them, but I found this one hilarious, too:

 

Yes, it looks like they are giving "our" Sarah Maxwell credit for books written by entirely other Sarah Maxwells.

One book is about gay clergy tolerating hypocrisy!! 

[PennySycamore]

@Maggie Mae,  I want to know where Sarah finds these isolated corners of the airport myself.  Every airport I've been to in recent memory has plenty of people around.

[SPHASH]

5 hours ago, WonderingInWA said:

Sarah, honey, one way to turn those overly-friendly men away is something you do best -- share your testimony and hand out some tracts!  

All she has to do is ask the guy if he knows where he is going when he dies.

[anjulibai]

Actually, why doesn't she proselytize? Isn't that her duty? Aren't Good Christians supposed to use any opportunity to spread the Gospel? She should take a bunch of tracks with her and spread them around. Seriously Sarah, Jesus would be sad at your not following the Great Commission. 

[fundiefan]

9 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Jesus. It's depressing that a 35 year old would feel the need to write that. It's the kind of thing you'd give to preteens/whatever about being safe in public, if you removed the stupid stuff about "over-friendly" men. 

Yet again, I completely cringed while reading a Maxwell post.

What she posts, as a 35 year old woman, is what a 15 year old would post - dire warnings, first time info, etc. Grown, responsible adults functioning in the real world with real people aren't scared of their own damn shadow and have learned, through life experi

As usual, they take what is common sense & common knowledge and turn it into some great enlightenment. Don't trust anyone - really? That's a sad, pathetic, ugly world to live in. If you have experience in the real world you learn to trust your instincts and assess the situation rather than immediately write off every.single.person.ever.

And, of course, there is an Amazon affiliate link. This post wasn't inspired by some great inspiration from Sarah, it was inspired about finding a way to get their affiliate link out there to make money.

[December]

On 7/15/2017 at 6:42 AM, Trynn said:

One of the maxwells even said "I have an english degree and I couldn't find any grammatical errors!"

Of course, English degree = no errors ever! That's why someone getting a PhD in English never has to get their thesis edited, they can catch every single mistake themselves! 

On 7/15/2017 at 6:44 AM, sparkles said:

It's so boring that it's perversely riveting.

That'd make a great tagline for the blog. Also, welcome back!

[Palimpsest]

17 minutes ago, December said:

Of course, English degree = no errors ever!

I will go on record for this.  No Maxwell in Steve or Teri's generation or in their offspring's has an English degree, accredited or not.

I have an accredited BA in English Lit.  I also edit other people's work.  I've been paid to do it.

And I make errors all the time in my own writing. Especially on FJ because I don't proof.

[fundiefan]

I edited the newspaper in college. I also have a writing background. One key thing I learned very early is that editing your own work will not produce results. Not because you are a bad writer or editor, but because of the way our minds work. Written work, in particular, must always be edited by someone else because we wrote it, so we know what it should say and don't always see what it does say. We've already formulated the thought / story / process / point in our mind so as we review what we write, our mind already knows what it's looking for. 

Someone else, who has not created anything about the piece, needs to read it to catch the errors - from spelling to structure to getting the point across. Especially with the use of computers - we can erase sentences & start over, copy & paste, move things around...as the writer, you do it all at once. This makes it even more important for someone else to read because you never really get to step away and view it as 'fresh'. In the past, people may have written things out by hand, then typed it. That transfer from one document to another gave you a fresh view of your own work. Even if you had to completely re-type something from a draft to a new one. Modern writing is a one stop shop and eliminates a lot of what used to be automatic self editing. 

It's nothing a writer should ever be ashamed of and a serious writer would, I would imagine, want as much input from others as possible. It is only an arrogant, self centered fool who thinks they don't need outside editing. 

Steve editing Sarah's writing isn't an outside perspective. He created her, so he created her stories. He dictates her life. He's as close to the writing as she is. 

Sometimes, the arrogance of the Maxwells is more astounding to me than their religious abuse. 

 

[Marian the Librarian]

Quote

So I went over to a group of business travelers (including ladies) and sat with them.

Uh..., Sarah? Those "business traveler ladies?" Didn't you notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to those former female business colleagues of your father's? The ones he couldn't bear to work with, because Jesus? The ones he quit his job over? And yet - somehow - they sure came in handy when you needed to protect your single-woman-flying-alone virtue!

As the Church Lady would say...

 

[Divemaster01]

18 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Have we discussed Sarah's Goodreads page?: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/88574.Sarah_Maxwell

Wow, I didn't even know she had a Goodreads account. I do too. Good find!

[SolomonFundy]

"Act confident and walk with purpose!" from a woman quickly approaching middle-age who isn't allowed to make an unscheduled stop at her sibling's house without calling to ask permission from her parents first, and who is abjectly terrified of "friendly men" speaking to her.

 

Maxwankery level: 11

 

 

[FeministFunPolice]

2 hours ago, SolomonFundy said:

"Act confident and walk with purpose!" from a woman quickly approaching middle-age who isn't allowed to make an unscheduled stop at her sibling's house without calling to ask permission from her parents first, and who is abjectly terrified of "friendly men" speaking to her.

 

Maxwankery level: 11

 

 

Forget the richter scare, Maxwankery is my new scale.

[Trynn]

So I went over to a group of business travelers (including ladies) and sat with them.

Uh..., Sarah? Those "business traveler ladies?" Didn't you notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to those former female business colleagues of your father's? The ones he couldn't bear to work with, because Jesus? The ones he quit his job over? And yet - somehow - they sure came in handy when you needed to protect your single-woman-flying-alone virtue!
As the Church Lady would say...
 



Well. Isn't that special.