Maxwell 55: Anna and Mary Adventures at ABC - Freedom!

[AverageGiraffe]

7 minutes ago, caitrona said:

Quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've ever done.  It's been nearly 20 years since I quit, and there are still days I'd commit several crimes to have one.  The only thing that's come close to that level of difficulty was quitting my 2 a day Diet Coke habit, but now I can't drink it at all so I don't still have a craving. 

My partner said the same thing-- the only thing close to how hard it was to quit smoking was cutting back on caffeine (from several energy drinks a day to one iced coffee in the morning). He quit smoking when he moved in with his now-wife 9 years ago because her kid has cystic fibrosis and can't be near smoke.  He quit the caffeine when he had some serious kidney stone issues caused by it. Says both felt absolutely impossible at the time. He can tolerate being around smokers now but that's because his love for his kid kills cravings faster than anything else and he has no desire to light up. 

[quiversR4hunting]

On 9/16/2022 at 7:32 PM, treemom said:

So I have a weird personal connection to ABC through my time at Liberty, kind of.  Anyhow, sometimes I poke around on that website because it’s crazy to me that someone I knew IRL somewhat well probably interacts with the Maxwell girls.  Luckily I think those two people, while terrible because of the religion they practice, were also nice and kind and definitely not Steve legalistic. The wife of the group said things when she was many many year. Anyhow, being nosey tonight brought me to this when searching on the people I know.  
 

is this Mary’s man? https://abc.edu/news-and-events/doulos/issues/2017/3/3.html

I googled him and found a video from 2021, I haven't been able to watch the entire thing. There is singing and preaching it is 1 hour 8 minutes but at 15:50 he asks for prayer support and funds and "sharing the burden" and really pray for us and if any of you have questions ask him and if they speak Spanish they can speak to his wife. He stops talking about 17 minutes, songs then comes back on, it seems like that is what continues for the hour. He has a gentle (?) voice in his preaching. He is a good speaker, especially after listening to Gwen or BroGary or David Rod, etc. 

His missionary give me money page: David & Silvia Hock - BMW (biblicalministries.org)

 I have

[nelliebelle1197]

On 9/13/2022 at 6:34 AM, danvillebelle said:

I LOVE their house!  But then I also live in a brick ranch built in 1970, so I'm a bit biased.

We are only the second owners of our house, and the former owner was a meticulous housekeeper.  I have paneled walls, glitter popcorn ceilings, a room-length brick fireplace and hearth, wallpaper in the bathrooms and an intact 1970's kitchen, down to flecked laminate countertops, original cabinets and an avocado green sink, all in fab condition.  I love every inch of it.  The only major change we've made/are making is flooring, gradually moving from the old carpet to vinyl planking.  Otherwise - not touching a damn thing.  I love the 70's.

Can you post a pic of your kitchen? I want to see the sink!

[FeministShrew]

I just have to tell you guys I found the perfect house (or so I thought) yesterday: a brick ranch house built in 1979. Newly listed, a price we can afford, great condition, convenient location, one acre of land, 4 bedrooms, two baths, fireplace, 2-car garage, and very, very brown, lol. Every room has original wood paneling, even the bathrooms. Interestingly, the upper kitchen cabinets on the sink wall have been painted cream with a bright green in the grooves, but the rest are the original brown stain.
I got super excited, drove by it, emailed my realtor, and started the pre-approval process with my credit union.

What stopped me? Several things: one, back when the house was built it was common practice to put paneling directly over studs, with no sheet rock underneath. Looks like that’s the case here, and I don’t want to deal with that.

Two, the listing states that the owners replaced the floor coverings with new carpet and vinyl planks, and that was all they did to the interior before listing. My suspicious mind wants to know what they’re trying to hide under that new carpet and vinyl!

Three, the listing also states that, even though the house has four bedrooms, the septic tank is only rated for two bedrooms. So theoretically the county can force the new owners to put in a bigger system or tap into the sewer. Either is a huge expense.

Finally, the house has a new roof, which is covered with solar panels. The listing states “the contract for the solar panels conveys with the house.” Around here it was popular a few years ago to have a company install solar panels, then you pay them for electricity every month, while they retain ownership of the panels and sell the excess energy to the power company. Those contracts are super hard to get out of, and you have to buy the panels. Once again, I don’t want to deal with it. 
So, no dream house for me. Yet.

I was so looking forward to showing off photos of my brown house!

[Loveday]

11 minutes ago, FeministShrew said:

I just have to tell you guys I found the perfect house (or so I thought) yesterday: a brick ranch house built in 1979. Newly listed, a price we can afford, great condition, convenient location, one acre of land, 4 bedrooms, two baths, fireplace, 2-car garage, and very, very brown, lol. Every room has original wood paneling, even the bathrooms. Interestingly, the upper kitchen cabinets on the sink wall have been painted cream with a bright green in the grooves, but the rest are the original brown stain.
I got super excited, drove by it, emailed my realtor, and started the pre-approval process with my credit union.

What stopped me? Several things: one, back when the house was built it was common practice to put paneling directly over studs, with no sheet rock underneath. Looks like that’s the case here, and I don’t want to deal with that.

Two, the listing states that the owners replaced the floor coverings with new carpet and vinyl planks, and that was all they did to the interior before listing. My suspicious mind wants to know what they’re trying to hide under that new carpet and vinyl!

Three, the listing also states that, even though the house has four bedrooms, the septic tank is only rated for two bedrooms. So theoretically the county can force the new owners to put in a bigger system or tap into the sewer. Either is a huge expense.

Finally, the house has a new roof, which is covered with solar panels. The listing states “the contract for the solar panels conveys with the house.” Around here it was popular a few years ago to have a company install solar panels, then you pay them for electricity every month, while they retain ownership of the panels and sell the excess energy to the power company. Those contracts are super hard to get out of, and you have to buy the panels. Once again, I don’t want to deal with it. 
So, no dream house for me. Yet.

I was so looking forward to showing off photos of my brown house!

Oh, what a shame. Still, sounds like you definitely dodged a you-know-what! There's no telling what other problems you might have found. A project for a house flipper, I'd say!

[closetcagebaby]

I love FJ because I learn so many new things. Like they used to allow smoking on airplanes! Wtf!

[SassyPants]

47 minutes ago, closetcagebaby said:

I love FJ because I learn so many new things. Like they used to allow smoking on airplanes! Wtf!

We once sat in the first non smoking row BEHIND the smoking section…there was a curtain separating the 2 areas. This was in the early 90’s, San Francisco to Paris, direct, on Air France. Why was the non-smoking section in the back of the plane forcing all of us to walk through the smoke to deplane?

[anniebgood]

1 hour ago, SassyPants said:

We once sat in the first non smoking row BEHIND the smoking section…there was a curtain separating the 2 areas. This was in the early 90’s, San Francisco to Paris, direct, on Air France. Why was the non-smoking section in the back of the plane forcing all of us to walk through the smoke to deplane?

That is what I used to wonder. TWA had the back 10 rows for smokers, and of course the bathrooms were back there. You'd walk through it to get to the lav. First Class only had 1 row for smokers and it wasn't so bad. (SDad #1 worked for TWA so I got to fly up front quite a bit). I was so glad when smoking was banned on the planes. SDad1 was a smoker but he managed to get by till he got off the plane. Since most terminals allowed smoking, there was always one guy who ran off the plane with a cigarette in his mouth and lighter in his hand and lit up in the jetway,. It's an addiction to be sure. 

[Hane]

5 hours ago, closetcagebaby said:

I love FJ because I learn so many new things. Like they used to allow smoking on airplanes! Wtf!

And in hospital rooms! When my mom had her first big heart attack, in 1978, an orderly came to her room and asked her if she smoked, to see whether she needed an ashtray. To her credit, she said, “Not anymore!”

[sleepygirl1]

17 hours ago, SassyPants said:

We once sat in the first non smoking row BEHIND the smoking section…there was a curtain separating the 2 areas. This was in the early 90’s, San Francisco to Paris, direct, on Air France. Why was the non-smoking section in the back of the plane forcing all of us to walk through the smoke to deplane?

Lol that was always my mom’s biggest complaint. “ walking through the smoking section of a plane defeats the purpose. Plus when all the air was on for people the smoke would travel to the back of the plane. It wasn’t great for non-smokers.“ and don’t even get her started on the cigars and a birthing wing after the baby was born.

[HeartsAFundie]

1 hour ago, sleepygirl1 said:

Lol that was always my mom’s biggest complaint. “ walking through the smoking section of a plane defeats the purpose. Plus when all the air was on for people the smoke would travel to the back of the plane. It wasn’t great for non-smokers.“ and don’t even get her started on the cigars and a birthing wing after the baby was born.

I was born in the mid 60s and my mom told me they allowed her to smoke in the maternity ward in the hospital room while bottle feeding me!  How warped is that?   

Even worse, I had breathing and congestion issues at birth and spent time in an incubator yet was removed for feedings.   

Edited September 24, 2022 by HeartsAFundie

[Foursquare]

The government included cigarettes in military c rations until 1975.

Anybody besides me remember Ed Sullivan smoking during his TV show? 

[usmcmom]

I remember going to the doctor as a young girl and all the exam rooms had ashtrays in them. Our family doctor almost always walked in with a cigarette in his mouth. This was early 1970s. 
 

If anyone is interested in a good historical fiction novel book about the tobacco industry, look into The Tobacco Wives by Adele Meyers. It is set in North Carolina right after WWII. 

[HoneyBunny]

Our family dentist when I was a kid in the 60s (who was also my parents’ dentist when they were kids, at least occasionally since they didn’t often see the dentist) smoked while he was working on us. Smoked while he was working on us. I guess the spit sink served to get rid of any ashes that fell in our mouths. I still can’t imagine how anyone thought that was a good idea. 

[SassyPants]

2 minutes ago, HoneyBunny said:

Our family dentist when I was a kid in the 60s (who was also my parents’ dentist when they were kids, at least occasionally since they didn’t often see the dentist) smoked while he was working on us. Smoked while he was working on us. I guess the spit sink served to get rid of any ashes that fell in our mouths. I still can’t imagine how anyone thought that was a good idea. 

Where is the combined OMG and WTF button? He’s lucky he didn’t burn you. I was a kid in the 60s too and to think of some of the crap we did or adults did…sometimes I wonder how most of us survived. I remember one time my dad was driving a bunch of kids on a field trip and the kid next to me fell out of our car as it made a left turn (residential neighborhood, so no oncoming or busy traffic). My dad, the driver, (and a paramedic and firefighter) just looked her over, she had some scrapes… and put her in the car and kept driving to the destination where the school and her parents were notified. Good Lord!

[LurkerOverThePond]

On 9/20/2022 at 3:02 AM, Caroline said:

...When I arrived I remember being assaulted by cigarette smoke everywhere.  I didn't grow up with smokers, so it was even more shocking.  I got used to it everywhere, but really hated that part of the experience.  The first time I went to Spain about ten years later than that experience I remember thinking that cigarette smoking was really ramped up there.  I used to say that French people smoked excessively, but Spanish people seemed to actually eat cigarettes.  So many years later I have no French or Spanish friends who smoke.  I'm glad the world has changed for the better in that regard. 

Thankfully the world really has changed in this matter. Still, one big difference between US  and Europe (in general) I noticed on my first trip to the States (2008) was how very few people smoked publicly in US. In Europe you still see a lot of people, including younger ones, smoking on the street. At least here in Finland, there are _always_ a lot of cigarette stubs on the ground at bus stops, and at least a few years ago there were still cigarette automats on street corners in Germany (I don't know how it is today). I've travelled a lot in Eastern Europe and smoking still seems to be a norm there, as it is outside of pubs in UK. 

[danvillebelle]

WWII was the reason my grandfather (and I'm sure many thousands of others) became a smoker.  He was not when he enlisted, then free cigarettes from day one till he was sent home from the South Pacific in 1945.  He was a pack a day or so smoker for the rest of his life (and died at 63).

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Thankfully the world really has changed in this matter. Still, one big difference between US  and Europe (in general) I noticed on my first trip to the States (2008) was how very few people smoked publicly in US. In Europe you still see a lot of people, including younger ones, smoking on the street. At least here in Finland, there are _always_ a lot of cigarette stubs on the ground at bus stops, and at least a few years ago there were still cigarette automats on street corners in Germany (I don't know how it is today). I've travelled a lot in Eastern Europe and smoking still seems to be a norm there, as it is outside of pubs in UK. 

In the US, I’ve noticed that a lot of people prefer to smoke in their cars. Maybe they feel judged when they smoke so publicly? 

[Hane]

20 hours ago, HeartsAFundie said:

I was born in the mid 60s and my mom told me they allowed her to smoke in the maternity ward in the hospital room while bottle feeding me!  How warped is that?   

Even worse, I had breathing and congestion issues at birth and spent time in an incubator yet was removed for feedings.   

Unfortunately for kids like you and me, secondhand smoke wasn’t a “thing” till decades later. I was diagnosed with a tobacco allergy when I was a toddler, but that didn’t stop my parents from smoking around me—even in a closed car.

[Howl]

Relatively recently (past 10 years?)  my city banned smoking in public indoor venues.  There was a LOT of screaming and pearl clutching from bars and especially bars that were also music venues, because who would go to a bar if you couldn't smoke?  It all worked out somehow and nobody went out of business. 

Most restaurants with patios have an outdoor smoking section. 

The Big State University I worked for before retiring banned smoking on campus and smokers were penalized on health insurance.  There were a few die-hard smoking employees who had "secret" spots to light up outside. 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I remember working in the Waffle House 2 decades ago when they banned smoking indoors. This was a city ban, not a Waffle House ban. People were so irritated. I was constantly telling people to go outside to smoke. I’m sure you can guess how those people tipped after I told them they had to smoke outside. 🙄

[Howl]

Waffle House has just started making inroads into my part of Central Texas in the last year or two.   My first experience with Waffle House was in Ruston, Louisiana.  The chef was serious about keeping the griddle well oiled!  Grease! 

 

[JoyfulSel]

11 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Thankfully the world really has changed in this matter. Still, one big difference between US  and Europe (in general) I noticed on my first trip to the States (2008) was how very few people smoked publicly in US. In Europe you still see a lot of people, including younger ones, smoking on the street. At least here in Finland, there are _always_ a lot of cigarette stubs on the ground at bus stops, and at least a few years ago there were still cigarette automats on street corners in Germany (I don't know how it is today). I've travelled a lot in Eastern Europe and smoking still seems to be a norm there, as it is outside of pubs in UK. 

This is my biggest pet peeve when I go back home to Croatia, so many people still smoke everywhere. I noticed that when I went back this year it was French people who always had the strongest cigarettes! Not sure what they smoke but that one was always the strongest. It's so unusual here because my state banned indoor smoking in 2006 and I see that just in general smoking has become much less common. I think the ban helped lower the overall amount because smoking isn't allowed in some places outdoors either.

I also never knew smoking was allowed on airplanes, crazy! I have always hated the smell of cigarette smoke and try to stay away from it as much as I can. I was so happy when it was banned indoors.

[hoipolloi]

12 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

WWII was the reason my grandfather (and I'm sure many thousands of others) became a smoker.

Yep, and a related reason is that starting with boot camp, soldiers/sailors/airmen were allowed to have "smoke breaks" during exercise, classes, or other activities, so I knew people in the military whoʻd taken up smoking in order get those breaks.

[molecule]

That's exactly why my husband started smoking. During his Air Force training breaks, smokers could go over to a spot in the shade and sit down. Nonsmokers had to stand at ease in the sun. A lot of people started smoking that first week.