[roscoestring]

Nothing biblical here. Just plain old common sense.

Much like a high ranking officer in the millitary we gain our right to comment on certain things through years of experience and actually seeing the end result of our efforts. I would never dare to suggest that I am more knowledgeable or experienced in life's issues than an eighty year old man because I know that he has been in my shoes many times and has seen the end result of whatever the situation that I'm enduring at the time. That is why I listen. You can learn a lot from listening from someone who has been there. If I don't understand then I ask questions.

We all long to be the wisest bird in the tree. There's nothing wrong with that. But to actually be the wisest we have to experience all of the things that show us the end result of situations that add to our experience.

Kentl, you are too young and immature to have the experience that others here have gained the stripes (as in military) for. It is evident with BPE's every post that he has experienced many of life's challenges. He freely offers his advice in regards to his experience and in my opinion is dead on perfect in his accessment of many situations. Further, he uses the experience of others to back his findings, which means that he is still listening. He also has biblical passages to back what he says - the ultimate backer.

Others here, like thesteve, do the same as Bill. I have yet to see a post where he jumps in and shouts out the first thing that comes to his mind. It, again, is evident that his advise is well thought out and given from experience.

Kentl, your posts come off as a young bratty kid that listens to no one and cares about nothing other than yourself. No matter what the discussion that you are engaging in you take a stance against everyone else. It just seems to me that when everyone is trying to flow in the same direction that you want to swim upstream.

The original poster of this thread came sincerely asking for advice. Those with the experience that have lived long enough to stand and look back on their situations and look objectively have given good, sound advise. Your advise is coming from someone who is living in the moment. You have not lived long enough to stand and look back objectively at anything. Your day will come. Years (YEARS) from now you will have lived through it and then you can take what you have seen and heard and learned to form opinions that are sound and will help a soul that's searching for answers. But until that time you are still in the learning process. Ask questions. Weigh the answers that you recieve and test one answer against another to determine the best answer for your situation. But don't convince yourself that you are the one person on Earth that has the only correct answer.

No one here has all the answers. But there are those here that have experienced enough of life that I would trust, even an educated guess, more so than others.

During the summer, here in Georgia where I live, the gnats have been very worrysum (my grandpa's word). I would swat at them and spray insect repellent but still the gnats would worry me. Crawling in my eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. These same gnats that have just walked on the dogs behind. Don't be like those gnats, crawling in undesirable places and then going into better places so as to be a pest.

[Rainer.]

Off-topic discussion has been split.