Hi, James!  Retitling 2B, and dividing it into three parts:

JB>  Tact to me means you don't say something that could
JB>  come back to haunt you later. Say in a business
JB>  situation, or as a consumer, there are ways to allow
JB>  people grace, while you are tearing their faces off.


           Sounds like a good rule of thumb to me!  I think the same
applies in relationships with one's friends & relatives too....  :-)



JB>  I guess I was blessed with parents that have a sense
JB>  of the ridiculous. They can both be pretty funny.
JB>  Shoot, even the extended family can be pretty funny
JB>  come to think about it.


           IMHO a sense of humour goes a long way....  :-)



JB>  I just need some goals now. 


           There have been times in my life when I wondered what I was
supposed to be doing next.  Maybe you & I are already doing it here in
SURVIVOR....  :-)



AH>  Language is a tool just as a musical instrument is.
AH>  It can limit thought... or help refine it.  And if
AH>  you can express clearly what needs to be said, I'm
AH>  reluctant to interfere....  :-)

JB>  Cheers! You're a bloomers kinda girl. 


           Uh... yeah, I guess I am in some ways.  :-))



AH>  If your sister has actually read the stuff & she
AH>  understands what she's read, I guess it's better
AH>  late than never.

JB>  You got that right. It's just like them to be full
JB>  of their own notions though. I guess that can be
JB>  true for most of us.


           Probably....  :-)



JB>  As long as the song's in "Our key" everything is
JB>  peachy. Comes a minor key, and you can spot the
JB>  Laurence Welk crowd in a heartbeat.


           Maybe they don't "change their tune" when new
information enters the picture, or recognize that the background music
could be a false alarm....  ;-)



AH>  if your earlier attempts to communicate the same ideas
AH>  didn't register and/or if her offerings are biased in
AH>  favour of what she thinks you should do.

JB>  I guess there is some of that. I think most of it made
JB>  me realize *why* I repeat myself so much. "THEY DON'T
JB>  BLOODY WELL LISTEN!" There, I feel better now. {-|


           I can relate.  As I was about to start on my reply to the above,
our doorbell rang.  Two individuals representing an organization unknown to
me were apparently going around the neighbourhood seeking gifts of money. 
One launched into a spiel about how the organization helps disabled people,
at which point I asked "Oh... you realize we have a disabled person
here??"  They hadn't noticed the wheelchair just inside the door &
other clues which would be fairly obvious to somebody with related
experience.  To their credit, however, they offered me a pamphlet about the
good work the organization does & left it at that....  ;-)

           People don't always take in what they see or hear.  They may
believe they're good listeners... others may describe them as good
listeners.  But they may seem deaf to your concerns because the subject
matter is unfamiliar to them and/or because they're preoccupied with an
agenda of their own which has little or nothing to do with you.  Ignorance
is curable, and if a person is willing to learn I'm quite happy to help. 
If the real issue has to do with something else entirely, however, I think
it may be wiser to keep one's own counsel... (sigh).




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+