Just to say hello

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

I decided to join here because Myrrden from UJ told me about this site. Sadly UJ is closing. I was known on UJ as Loretta Anakin Skywalker. Some people here may know me from UJ or as far back when it was called UJA. I hope to see some old friends and meet some new ones.

[Empress Palpatine]

I just came from there too. It is a shame really, but I hope we can keep in touch.

[Jinsei]

Welcome!

Actually, a good deal of our members are from the UJ... as far back as UJA. It's always nice to see someone new here. Normally I wouldn't advertise the site, because we've managed to stay somewhat hidden and quiet from the Jedi/Sith/Etc. Communities, but since the UJ is closing, I thought there'd be people looking for something to fill the void. We've been here for about three years now, maybe a little longer, and haven't really had any arguments, definitely no bans. Everyone's free to disagree with everyone else, but in the end we usually just agree to disagree, rather than being required to compromise.

I forgot to tell Empress in her welcome post, but one thing that makes us... different... is that we have "Personal Areas" where as of yet there's been no required regulation on them. If it's your area, it's yours and you accept all responsibility for what happens there. If you'd like one, all you have to do is ask.

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

Myrrden Wolfheart.
Thank you for your warm welcome. I am glad to hear that this is a more polite board. Agree to disagree sounds good to me. I also noticed on your location thing it said Occupied Confederate States so the obvious question is what southern state are you from? I live in the west coast of Florida. The guy with the gun reminds me of this saying they used to pass around that said "Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot twice." I liked the quote you chose from Robert E. Lee. When I was in the 8th grade Lee alone with Tomas Johnathan Jackson or Stone Wall Jackson as he was called was my two favorite Civil War Generals. I also did Civil War reenactment. I was in the 40th Georgia regiment.

[Jinsei]

Though, I was born in southern Missouri (I know, it's a debated state), raised in Florida, lived in Illinois for two really long years, then in Arizona for five. Right now I live in Texas... hopefully I won't be moving too soon, unless it's back to Florida or at least southern Louisiana.

If I remember correctly, you once said that you lived near Fort Meyers. Am I right? I grew up in Pinellas County, with a couple of short stints in Hardee County.

The guy with the gun is actually a comic book character named Jonah Hex. He's a former Confederate officer who fought at Gettysburg, then later became a bounty hunter. The grey clothing is actually the remnants of his uniform, normally he'd be wearing his CSA Army jacket. He's one of my favorite characters, because I see so much of myself in him. He's extremely cynical and doesn't take much crap, but is has made it his mission to protect and avenge the innocent.

The picture is one that I edited from a Superman comic. Hex shot Superman in the back with kryptonite bullets in order to capture him. The original line was, "I don't normally shoot a man in the back, but you're such an ornery cuss." He then proceeded to shoot him a couple more times in the chest... just to make sure he stayed down.

I'd love to get into doing reenactments. Recently I found out that about 1 1/2 hours from here they do a large "living history" battle each year. So, I'm hoping to check them out next summer, then see if I can hook up with one of the more local groups, as I haven't found any close enough to really consider joining.

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

I see you have traveled a bit. Well I was born in Massachusetts and grew up there. I then lived in New Hampshire. I then moved to Florida with a short stint in Louisiana. Texas that is real Confederate territory. They are considering succeeding again. Their Governor is a secessionist at least according to MSNBC.

Fort Meyers is about two hours south of me and Tampa St. Petersburg is about one hour north of me. Pinnellas county I lived in that county as well because I lived in St. Pete Florida. I have also lived in Hardee or at least near because I lived at one time in Ocala Florida also.

Sounds like a more cynical charterer than Han Solo. As for Spurned Confederates I like "Out Law Josey Wales" Played by Clint Eastwood.

I am surprised that the nearest Confederate reenactment group is so far away from you. You must live in a small town in Texas. Is your town one of those towns where there is few neighbors and you each have 100 acres or so and the down town is a post office and the fire department? Do you have to drive for miles to the general store? I ask because I figure any town of size would have a unit you could join. I lived in Nashua N.H. where I joined the reenactment group. We had two groups one was Yankee the other was the 40th Georgia which I was in. You could choose to be either Yankee or Confederate. The Yankee group was the 5th Massachusetts.

[Jinsei]

Ah, so you live closer to Sarasota? Too bad, we were just down in Pinellas and Hardee in June. If I'd have realized you were that close, I'd have offered to meet up with you. We drove through Bradenton to get to Hardee to visit some friends for the day. My mother-in-law lives in Seminole, so we stayed in Clearwater and spent most of our time anywhere between Dunedin and St. Pete.

Our town has about 700 people. It's got a post office, one small "superette" that sells some groceries, three schools, a fire department, a gas station, and I think 10 churches. I live four miles south of there, out in the woods. We can't see any neighbors from our house, but have to drive past both neighbors on our road to get home... which is a dirt road. Between our house and town, there's 11 houses... on a four mile stretch.

And... I could never be a Yankee.

[Jinsei]

As for Governor Perry, he's definitely a secessionist, but only advocates secession under certain circumstances. Here's something that was written in the Huffington Post a few months ago...

_____________________________________________________

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up an anti-tax "tea party" Wednesday with his stance against the federal government and for states' rights as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, "Secede!"

An animated Perry told the crowd at Austin City Hall -- one of three tea parties he was attending across the state -- that officials in Washington have abandoned the country's founding principles of limited government. He said the federal government is strangling Americans with taxation, spending and debt.

Perry repeated his running theme that Texas' economy is in relatively good shape compared with other states and with the "federal budget mess." Many in the crowd held signs deriding President Barack Obama and the $786 billion federal economic stimulus package.

Perry called his supporters patriots. Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.

"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

He said when Texas entered the union in 1845 it was with the understanding it could pull out.

_____________________________________________________

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

Sarasota, bingo. That is exactly where I live. You know Florida well. Sorry that we missed each other. Yep, you are in a small town. You live in the woods. That is a good place to be. You can enjoy nature that way. You also have the advantage if America collapses like the former Soviet Union, you are far enough away from civilization to keep going as long as you have supplies.

You can never be a Yankee, well you never have to. Enjoy the south. I on the other hand miss the change of seasons. In Florida we have two climates hot or hotter. I miss the snow which never happens down here. So I guess, guilty as charged because I now could be a Yankee

Sounds like your Governor is a moderate as to leaving the union. There are many here that want to leave period. Others want to stay. So it looks like your Governor is stay unless the union no longer suits us. That puts him in the middle of the three groups. In the south and north west there are people trying to leave the union and become their own country. I wonder if we will copy Russia and actually have break away Republics. If the rest of the south leaves Florida will no doubt join the south. I know some people in Sarasota have predicted a second Civil War. I am just watching to see what happens since I have no idea which way the chips will fall. This is why I am reading my Darwin oriented stuff. I am scientifically trying to guess what is most likely to happen.

[Jinsei]

I miss Florida. While we were down there, it almost seemed like a dream that we actually lived in Texas. Neither of us had been back in eight years, but everything just seemed to fit. Even the kids were hooked once they went to the beaches and flea markets down there. Sure, it's always hot, but at least the Gulf breezes keep things a little cooler. In Texas, Summer means unbearable heat with little breeze. Winter means running the heaters and sleeping under lots of blankets. My bed's winter set is flannel sheets with a faux bear fur blanket. It does a great job of keeping us warm at night.

My wife was born in Ohio and moved to Florida when she was 13, then to Arizona when she was 18. She occasionally says that she'd like to see a nice blanket of snow for the kids to play in, but she wouldn't want to live there anymore. I know that when I lived in Illinois, the snow was pretty cool to go play in for a bit, but once the fingers and toes went numb, it lost its interest for me.

The two seasons that I do love about Texas are Spring and Fall... since we actually do get all four seasons here. It's really cool to see green start to appear after months of Winter, but there's nothing quite as amazing as the colors that show up in the Fall.

As for secession... I'm all in favor for it, provided it's done right. I'd settle for the Confederacy's ability to have its own identity, while still remaining part of the Union. By this, I mean that as a nation we have our own identity and we also have a flag that flies on a pole. We have states that each have their own identity and there's another flag that flies on the pole. Native tribes have their own identities and they usually fly a third flag beneath the other two. The South definitely has its own identity, yet they're trying to outlaw all of our flags, and it's now illegal to fly any of them on government buildings. Beyond that, it really doesn't matter to me if we actually seceed, but if we do then it needs to be done in a steady manner, not like other nations that have to violently split off. There needs to be a set date, elections, and the issuance of money; with a one year period prior to seceeding for lawmakers to review the laws that are currently in effect and make decisions on them. Really, anything other than time beforehand would be the wrong way to do it.

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

Sounds like you want what Robert E. Lee originally wanted, a peaceful transition to the confederacy. Lee also wanted to have a treaty alliance with the northern states but he wanted autonomy and Virginia's right to self determination. I am a little rusty but at one time I was quite a Civil War buff. Yes I even knew where all the mini-balls fell. That is a humorous way of saying at one time I really studied the Civil War.
Wow! you guys really liked Florida. This year we are getting the sea breeze but there has been long drought years where we reached the 100's degrees Ferenhieght. It is too hot for me. Texas sounds worse. I think I would like Virginia part of the south because it does have cold days. I like a break from the heat. Maybe it is because I am French Canadian, Irish and my hot blood is Italian. The other two come from cold climates. My friend is even less heat tolerant than I because she is German and Irish and very fair skinned. How light your skin is does determine how heat tolerant you will be.
On a side note; I noticed there is no place to ask questions pertaining to site stuff like Avatars and so if you are not sure. I thought I would ask here since I can not find an appropriate place. I was thinking of adding an Avatar but I am not sure what to do. Can you down load one from your computer or do you have to get it off the net only? How did you put your bounty hunter where it is?

[Jinsei]

You've got to host the pics somewhere like Photobucket, then link to them. For the avatar under my name, 42, you've got to go to "Profile" then "Modify Profile" and type in the url where it asks for it "Avatar URL"

For the bounty hunter, I typed [/img] and then inside of that typed in the url for the picture, which I have hosted at Photobucket. To move it to the center, I used [ctr][/ctr]

[Loretta Anakin Skywalker]

It is late so I will have to try next time I am on computer.

[Callista]

Hi Loretta

[Adona Mara]

Hi there. Long time no see. Hope you enjoy your stay.