I found Country Families through the greenspun.com service which I also use. Just wondering if Country Families has a website, or is this list the sum and substance? I grew up in the country on and around Crowley's Ridge in northeastern Arkansas, and though we now live in urban Brazil (some change, huh?), still like to keep those rural roots intact. Randal Matheny
Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil
Head in the Clouds Poetry Mag

-- J. Randal Matheny (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 12, 2001

Answers

Welcome to Country Families! This is it, just a question and answer format. There are some old questions below the new ones. This is often referred to as the "archives". I hope you stick around and post. Many young people post here and read as well. I'm sure we would all love to read about "Life in Brazil" if you care to tell us!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), November 12, 2001.

Thanks, Melissa, for the reply. Maybe I can work on answering questions any young whippersnapper may have. Also, I have a very occasional column called Affirmatives at The Morrock News Service with some items there about Brazil. Most of these are probably in my archived page, which can be accessed on my current page.

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 12, 2001.

Hi again, Randal. I just took a minute to look at your poetry, the few I looked at are very good! I hope others take a little time to read some of them, and when I have more time I will take a closer look. To all of you, the poetry is Christian based.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), November 12, 2001.

Thanks for your kind comments. What I mostly do is write and publish these days, though my poems have gotten condensed into the couplet form through the Cloud Couplets mail list (available on the poetry page).

Was really distressed to hear about the plane crash. Looks like we're in for a long conflict.

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 12, 2001.

Randal, how are they reporting the plane crash there in Brazil??? Here they are assuring us that it was an "accident".

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 12, 2001.

Diane, I don't know; I found out from another Internet discussion list hosted by greenspun.com and, through my wife on the phone, from a neighbor kid who consulted the CNN site! Our television is used mainly for videos. I have successfully resisted cable (came recently to our neighborhood) and satellite dish, and we get one channel on our TV, and that badly. My wife said it wouldn't come in this afternoon (bad, rainy weather here today).

Mainly the networks here regurgitate the U.S. news, sometimes with a home country interpretation. So there wouldn't be any reason for the networks here to see anything more than what they're hearing from there. (Several do have their own reporters there in New York, but it's usually the same blather.)

Have I sufficiently avoided your question?

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 12, 2001.

The next time you come here, at the top of the page click on Lusenet, scroll down to Countryside and see the large forum that this one came out of, their about homesteading, farm life, ect.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 12, 2001.

Hi, Mitch, thanks for the tip. I took a look at Countryside as well. It looked a lot more like husbandry and farming, so I didn't spend as much time there as I have here this afternoon. I'm living on the edge of town (500,000 population). I have bookmarked this one; should I that one, also?

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 12, 2001.

yup, you sufficiently avoided the question. Sounds a lot like our government here lol ;>) Welcome to this forum and if I were you I would bookmark them both. I like this one because it is a little smaller and more family oriented, but CS is fun also.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 12, 2001.

Diane, editors can be good at sidestepping questions. Thanks for the welcome. I'll take another look at CS.

BTW, I'm from three to seven hours ahead of U.S. time zones. When you're off DST and we're on it, we go from a normal spread of three hours difference from CST to four. When we go off DST and you go on it, we're only two hours from CDT. It's fun keeping up....

Like the metric system. Works wonderfully until you start to do conversions. An exercise for mathematicians.

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 13, 2001.

I am so excited! I went to the Forthright site and found out that I recognize the names! Gospel Advocate, Jimmy Jividen.... My brother-in-law is a missionary in Ghana, West Africa, based at the Village of Hope. Are you familiar with the work there? He (brother- in-law) is supported by Westside church in Searcy.

-- Jo (mamamia2kids@msn.com), November 13, 2001.

Hey Randal! Welcome to the forum. C'mon in, pull up a chair-take ya'lls shoes off and have some iced T. We'll all praise Almighty God for His goodness and Love.

From the short amount of time I spent on your pages---they appear to be somethng that's needed very much in this lost and dying world. Christians need to get over being lukewarm and get on fire for Christ.

Your appearing on this site is not just an accident!!! Many precious folks visit here--some lost--some not. We all have a job to do and yours is extremely impostant. Now, if ya'll would only pray for my typin and spellin skills!!!!

old hoot, the illinois hillbilly, gibson. Matt. 24:44

-- old hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), November 13, 2001.

Jo, I'm sorry to say I don't know much about the work in Ghana. Glad you saw familiar names on the Forthright site.

Hoot, thanks for your warm welcome. But I fear to say some things, like our spelling and grammar mistakes may fall beyond the pale of prayer. ;-)

I mentioned the time differences above -- I forgot to add -- to say when this board is going strong, I'm fast asleep in my bed, or out giving classes. So I may not get to some posts until the next day. Was what I meant to say and got so wrapped up figurin' the zones, I left off the important thing.

-- Randal (randal@rhyme.cjb.net), November 13, 2001.