--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Reply below: > ** > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > >**Snip** > > > > I won't accept your challenge as stated, but perhaps > > we can negotiate a compromise: I'll stop fighting with > > Barry if you'll do what you describe. I won't commit > > to a month, but I'll stick with it as long as you're > > doing a good job. And you can quit at any time. > > > > There's one area you'll have trouble with, though, > > which is if Barry tells falsehoods about me that > > you have no way of knowing are falsehoods. I'll > > have to step in in that case to correct the record. > > > > As far as my praising Barry is concerned, if I'm > > moved to do so, I will. I've been known to do that > > anyway. I'm not going to manufacture such occasions, > > though. > > > > Is this do-able for you? > > > **End** > > Just a little bit more of tweaking and we have a deal. We don't > have > to commit for a month, that's fine; we'll just go on until one of us > calls it off. And I will do my best to both monitor and respond as > (and if) I see anything along the lines that suggests that Barry is > not playing fair. > > However, a caveat is necessary here: my view of Barry is not as > jaundiced as your own; if I had any complaint at all it would be > that > he was perhaps more glib than accurate sometimes. But, it is true > that for a long time I haven't read a lot of his posts. > Nevertheless, I will do my best to be rigorous in my scrutiny. > > But I insist that you make an effort to look at his posts with a > fresh eye and really attempt to see what's positive in them, and to > praise what you do find to be positive. He is intelligent, he can > be > funny, he has had interesting experiences, his insight into other > spiritual movements and religions, alone, makes him a valuable > resource. And, you must refrain from criticism of him, even if he > comments on other posts where you have been critical of someone > else. > > If, indeed, he says some falsehood about you that isn't apparent > from > the context then you should correct that, but it seems unlikely that > would happen. > > [An aside to Barry: this has to be one of your more bizarre life > experiences, it certainly is shaping up to be one of mine. I don't > know how you feel about all this, but would appreciate some > feedback. As it is probably clear, I have no personal agenda here > other than some hope that FFL can recover some of the easy going > sweetness it had when I first joined.]
Marek, I have nothing but respect for the intent behind your experiment here, and for you. However, part of me remembers all those 1950s horror movies where some well- meaning fool enters into a deal with the devil for the noble purpose of helping others. As the movie unfolds, the fool discovers that the real point of the supposed deal was to get the fool to focus on the devil. The promises made never really entered into it; the "deal" was always really about sucking the fool's attention. Good luck... > [Back to Judy:] What do you say? Deal? Starting from when? Now? > > -Marek
