----- Original Message -----

From: Michael D

To: angels2@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, October 26, 2002 9:15 PM

Subject: Re: [angels2] The Labryinth/Some Basic Research

I was on the team that built a labyrinth on the grounds of my church in
Bellevue, WA, and I'm now on the team that's built one labyrinth and
will build another at my church in Santa Fe.  I've also been a member of
the Santa Fe Labyrinth Resource Group.  The best online resources I know
of are:

Labyrinths began many centuries ago.  The one in this episode of TBAA is
a Chartres-style labyrinth, built like the one in the Cathedral at
Chartres, France, which was built, if I remember correctly, in the
Middle Ages.  There are quite a few other labyrinth designs, also.

Some say that labyrinths were originally designed as a poor person's
alternative to a pilgrimmage to Jerusalem.

A common idea about labyrinth walks is that the walk in represents
shedding the worldly and becoming centered in the spiritual.  Time in
the center represents abiding in God.  The walk out represents taking
the spiritual back out into the world.

I have had some amazing experiences from walking labyrinths, including
receiving very clear guidance on issues I was facing in life.

Warmly,
Michael
Santa Fe, NM
ohanamd@...

I was on the team that built a labyrinth on the grounds of my church in
Bellevue, WA, and I'm now on the team that's built one labyrinth and
will build another at my church in Santa Fe.  I've also been a member of
the Santa Fe Labyrinth Resource Group.  The best online resources I know
of are:

http://www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/index.shtml  Veriditas - what I
consider to be the home of modern spiritual labyrinth use - Dr. Lauren
Artress is the director.

http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/

Labyrinths began many centuries ago.  The one in this episode of TBAA is
a Chartres-style labyrinth, built like the one in the Cathedral at
Chartres, France, which was built, if I remember correctly, in the
Middle Ages.  There are quite a few other labyrinth designs, also.

Some say that labyrinths were originally designed as a poor person's
alternative to a pilgrimmage to Jerusalem.

A common idea about labyrinth walks is that the walk in represents
shedding the worldly and becoming centered in the spiritual.  Time in
the center represents abiding in God.  The walk out represents taking
the spiritual back out into the world.

I have had some amazing experiences from walking labyrinths, including
receiving very clear guidance on issues I was facing in life.

Warmly,
Michael
Santa Fe, NM
ohanamd@...

Hi,

Since time tonight does not permit a complete explanation of  the Labryinth
I thought I'd do some searches while I eat my lunch. Here's some of what I
found....

http://www.lindenwood.net/public/labryinth/labryinth.htm  This gives some
background and some of what meanings are contained in the labryinth in the
Christian sense.

http://www.uacastrology.com/labryinthpg.html This takes the history of the
labryinth back before Christianity.

http://www.healingsense.com/labyrinth.html This is the natural healer take
on the labryinth.

http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/kirstimd/artress.htm The Veriditas
Labryinth project. Most of the links don't work but the labyrinth is shown
so you could possibly build one of your own. It might be an interesting
project to draw one out in chalk on a playground or parking lot sometime.

And in Tess' sermon tonight she mentions St. Hildegard. This is also the
basis for the title of tonight's episode.  This link should help understand
a little more about the appropriateness of such a reference...

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07351a.htm

Anyway, this should help with the background. Yeah, I know I'm probably
making more work of this than I should but I just appreciate the layers of
information that are normally contained in an episode of TBAA.



Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

Sorry this is so slow to get posted. Wouldn't you know it that having sat
up late last night for both the wild feed and to finish an audio book on CD
(36 hours long that I've been working on since August) and having my asthma
kick in big time, from the very beginning today I've been busy with
customers since I opened the doors.

I get the impression this episode has been quite anticipated. I'm not sure
of all the reasons that is is. It is a very good one. There is a
significant amount of new elements brought here. Not that the notions are
really all that new because they aren't, it's the way it's presented and
the fact that some of the elements have not previously been seen on network
television.

Better get out the tissues tonight. It is definitely a weeper. Well, being
set in a funeral home will do that to you.  The basic plot is composed of
very familiar devices that TBAA is famous for. But they shake it up and
spill it out in ways you won't exactly expect. At one point even Andrew is
surprised by something. And they refuse to make it all nice in end.  You
get the sense that the story could go on.  In that sense it's very real.

One problem I had with the episode was how Lorena's brain tumor was
portrayed. It's shown as if it really didn't interfere with her doing
things until she just collapses. In reality it doesn't quite work that way.
It's a progressively disabling condition that most always results in the
patient being bed ridden for weeks towards the end. What is shown in this
episode would be true of only the first stages of such a disease. But this
is a deeply personal thing with me. I've been up close and extremely
personal with such and held on with friends and colleagues going through
the same several times. I suppose it isn't all that unusual that I'd be a
great critic of any fictional portrayal of the condition.  But I guess
they'd have to compress the time frame and pretty it up a bit for an hour
show. It doesn't detract from the overall story line. TBAA has done another
episode on brain tumors that did do a very disturbingly accurate portrayal
of the disease that is very hard for me to watch. It isn't necessary here
because it isn't really the central focus of the plot.

We are tantalized with the labyrinth here. Gloria starts to tell us  about
it but never really gets to explain it completely. Sounds like a
interesting concept with some real history but it never gets the time that
I would have liked to have seen. Tess seems to be the expert here but she's
already turning inward which foreshadows the coming plot line of her coming
down with Alzheimer's.  Her sermon is interesting. Again I would have liked
to hear more. Too bad the show doesn't come with footnotes for more
research. I suppose I'll get around to doing that on the computer now.

Clothing wise they seem to be doing a bit better. I get a kick out of the
way they overcome low cut dresses on Monica in this one. They have gone
back to the softer more feminine way of dressing her that reminds me of the
first few seasons. It suits her. Gloria does a little bit better here but
still needs to get more form fitting tops. I would love it if they would
just please tuck in those baggy tops of hers. At least the pants are
better. Andrew in a dark suit as a hearse driver was just too scary for any
good use. I wanted him to turn up in his famous suit for a contrast in his
reveal scene but we only get a crisp white shirt here.

All in all a very good episode. It's worth watching. Now if we could just
get CBS to acknowledge that they actually have a great show on the network
early on Saturday nights and promote it a bit it'd get the ratings it
really deserves. As it is it will probably get lost in the shuffle with the
World Series.






Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi I just wanted to say sorry for not posting. But I was a little
busy. My father in law died on Sat and was busy making arangments.
But now that things are slowly getting back to normal I'll be able to
post more. Dose anyone know what the show is this coming Sat? Like I
said we are still busy getting things done so I may not see what it
is till I watch it. Well I hope to make some new friends in here. But
for now I have to run. Bye for now Tina,.......

Actually the guy's first name is Aaron.  Anyway I'm
sorry for the confusion.

Jana
--- Jana Walker <jana76_2000@...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I was just talking to an internet friend of mine
> named Stephanie.
> She gave me this site http://www.mandyparker.8m.com/
> and it's about
> two of her friends that were in a bad car accident.
> The guy will be
> fine she says but they don't know about the girl.  I
> think you can
> send email to the families on that site I'm not
> sure.  I didn't get a
> good look at it.  Anyway could you pray for those
> two for her?  I
> think their names are Mandy and Parker like the site
> address says.  I
> hope they'll both be ok.
>
> Jana
>
>
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>


=====

I need to get home once a week to keep my sanity- Jeff Hardy

Matt's definitely the more serious of the two- Lita a k a Amy Dumas

Jeff is not with us on Earth he never has been he never will be- Michael P S
Hayes

Jeff is completely and utterly insane-Matt Hardy




__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site
http://webhosting.yahoo.com/

Hi all,

I was just talking to an internet friend of mine named Stephanie.
She gave me this site http://www.mandyparker.8m.com/ and it's about
two of her friends that were in a bad car accident.  The guy will be
fine she says but they don't know about the girl.  I think you can
send email to the families on that site I'm not sure.  I didn't get a
good look at it.  Anyway could you pray for those two for her?  I
think their names are Mandy and Parker like the site address says.  I
hope they'll both be ok.

Jana

> I wonder who he was and how he came to be there.

He was an angel, and he was sent there.  He was waiting for his
assignment to notice him and to approach him and to welcome him.
Whoever his assignment was would have not only noticed him, but would
have put a lot of attention into him.  He or she would have wondered
what he was doing there and might have had the thought to go over and
welcome him - which was exactly what he was waiting for.

Consider this my imagination, a provocative thought, or spiritual
revelation, whichever you prefer.

Namaste,
Michael
Santa Fe, NM
ohanamd@...

Hi,

Just as I was waking up this morning I happened to hear the following
statement on CNN Headline News this morning....

"If like me the only California Angels you know of are Roma Downey and
Della Reese then you understand why this is one of the lowest rated  World
Series ever..."

Well, now. I'm not sure what to think of that. I'm, of course, happy to
hear our angels spoken of on the news but they aren't in California while
filming and they don't play baseball. And please, the show has it's fans
and a very good track record.

And BTW, "Providence" the show created by John Masius, the original creator
of TBAA pilot that has never been completely shown, has been cancelled by
NBC. The last episode will be Dec 20th.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

Jill asked about my reference to Tess' upcoming problems. I guess I just
thought everyone had heard about it.

Tess is supposed to be coming down with Alzheimer' soon. From what I've
heard it is a multi episode arc but not a permanent condition.

I guess we'll see how it all works out.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

Someone interesting turned up in church this morning. Someone new that
turned heads walked in.

The church I go to is still the same one that I switched to during the mold
problem at the house. I guess I sort of got in the habit of getting up and
going to the 7:30 am mass. It used to be the parish church for our
neighborhood years ago before the new parish started up in the late 1970's
out in the far Northeast Heights. It's one of the more traditional and
conservative of the churches in town. And it has a rather firmly
established system in place. Nearly everyone has a normal place to sit
that's sort of an unspoken rule.  Everyone knows where to find the prayers
that no other church uses in the missals. There's still all the up and down
and kneeling etc. to the service. You can even count on the organist
hitting one sour note in one particular response each and every time she
plays it. It's like taking a little trip back into the early 1960's every
Sunday.

Today things got shook up a little. Right after the second reading the man
came strolling in. He walked up one of the side aisles and sat down in a
nearly empty pew near the side of the center portion of the church. I was
over on the east side and just slightly behind where he chose to sit.  He
was awfully hard to miss. He was young, I'd say in his mid twenties. He was
unshaven, dirty and dressed like a homeless person. And he was carrying
what I think was a soft drink in a paper cup with a straw in the top.  If
most of the people in that church saw this guy on the street they would
most likely cross to the other side to avoid him.  And here he was right in
the middle of the church in front of everyone.

He didn't immediately act like he was real comfortable. He sat with his
head slightly down with his paper cup in his hands between his legs during
the homily. I don't know but what Father Chavez might have been a little
curious as to why people weren't looking at him. Most of us were listening.
There was polite reaction in the right spots after all. Let's just say I
was listening but watching everyone else watch this guy.  He didn't
immediately join in the normal actions of the service. One is supposed to
stand when saying the profession of faith and the prayers are said.  He
didn't. He just sat there with his drink in hand.  The organist who
normally hits the sour note in  Holy, Holy, Holy response quite suddenly
didn't blow it. Then came the part I was waiting for. I wanted to see what
everyone would do when the Lord's Prayer came along. That's where everyone
joins hands. It's considered normal to move to join hands with someone else
in the pew if you're sitting way off from everyone or join hands with some
one in front or behind you or both if alone in the pew.  Would he join
hands with anyone else and would anyone else make a move to come closer to
him. He was sort of alone in the pew with only one elderly lady who was
sitting on the opposite corner of the pew in the center of the church.  He
stood up and the elderly lady moved down the pew to join hands with him and
he joined hands with the gentleman in the pew ahead of him! And he greeted
the others just following that as they greeted him properly too. His drink
sat on the pew beside where he had been sitting.  As far as I could tell
from my vantage point this was a measure of acceptance and a demonstration
of the real meaning of that part of the service playing out right there in
the middle of the church.  During communion he got up just a tad early and
sort of looked around as if deciding which direction he should take to the
communion rail. The elderly lady in his pew sort of nodded slightly
indicating that he should follow her up the center aisle which he did.  He
didn't get communion from Father Chavez who was right there but from
the    lady beside him that was handling that line. That lady was doing it
the old fashioned way of placing it on the person's tongue instead of
placing the host in the person's hand. She gave it to him. He then followed
the line across the front to the gentleman who was handling the wine. That
seemed to confuse him. One doesn't have to take the wine. He didn't. But he
stopped and said something to the gentleman who seemed equally confused by
the experience so much so that he actually wiped the lip of the chalice
with his linen cloth as if he had given the man the wine.  The man walked
back to his place in the pew with his hands folded just like the people in
front of him.  At the end of the service I noticed he did something that
many in the congregation don't do. He didn't take the statement by the
deacon of "The mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" as
permission to get up and go.  He waited until the priest, the deacon and
the altar servers walked down the center aisle to leave.

My neighbor Jackie who has gone to that parish since the early 1970's at
least was absolutely transfixed by the deal. We talked about it outside
afterwards.  It even beat out the latest exploits of my cats as a subject.

I wonder who he was and how he came to be there.



Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

I liked tonight's episode - it was interesting and to the point. I used to work as a literacy volunteer when I lived in Maine, and it's amazing what people do in order to survive without being able to read. It always amazes me, with all the programs available, that people are often still too ashamed to ask for help, even if it's free. And as Pat said, folks who can't read are usually very bright - they may have had learning problems, been denied access to education or help as a child and just were too embarrassed or afraid to ask for help. But it's never too late to learn how to read.

Hope everyone is doing okay and have a good night.

Hi,

This week I was ready for them. I was all set to go searching again
especially after I told them last week that I was on to the shifting the
wild feed around. Didn't have to this time. It was back where it belongs.
After all these years I'm good at wild feeding. I even found the wild feed
for "Hack" late Thursday night. Thanks but I'll pass on that one. It's dark
and depressing without any real heart to it. You know it bewilders me why
CBS pushes stuff like that and neglects TBAA. It really does.

Tonight's episode is good solid old fashioned TBAA. They got the obsessive
compulsive disorder down cold. If you want to read up on the facts before
the show tonight you might want to check out
<http://my.webmd.com/encyclopedia/article/2951.747> As peculiar as it would
appear for the mother to have abandoned the family like that it does happen
and for pretty much those reasons too. They don't actually tack down the
exact time she leaves but it's clear that it was late enough in Charlee's
life that she was well aware of the situation. It lays the foundation for
Charlee's condition.

   We all know that there is an overdose of medication at the turning point
of the episode. That has been very clearly shown in the promos. You will
see the name of the medication on the bottle but in my research it isn't a
real medication. I would guess that's because no pharmaceutical company
would want their medication shown in such a situation. I mean four pills is
a very low overdose even for an antidepressant. It sounds good however.
Read the article listed above and you will see the general classifications
of drugs they really use to treat this and you'll see the reasons they do
that. Most of those medications would be dispensed only with some very
direct instructions by both the doctor and the pharmacist and would not be
prescribed over the phone by any competent medical expert. Again this lays
the foundation for the means to handle the father's problem.

One thing that will probably annoy some is the idea that Charlee at 17
would apparently not know that her father couldn't read. Don't be. This is
very real and those of us who have had parents with some condition or
problem can tell you that even if you do really know you don't dare admit
it to anyone even yourself. There are all sorts of semi-polite euphemisms
developed for things like that.  It's the proverbial "elephant in the
living room" no one wants to talk about.  And it really isn't until there
is some intervention that most of this gets addressed. Charlee's father is
probably more of a functional illiterate than anything. And such people are
not stupid. It takes a fair amount of intelligence to successfully cover up
something like that. The only way most of us could understand what people
like him go through every day is to go to a foreign country where no one
speaks our language and the writing looks like chicken scratching.  I'd
like to see most of us get by then. I could, and have, but I'm slow at it.
Everything becomes a New York Times crossword puzzle to solve to do even
the simplest thing. Like he says he knows his numbers and that's what gets
him in trouble.

As to the normal bits and pieces of the show,  this one was most likely the
second one filmed so we don't see any big shifts in the appearances.
Gloria's clothes still aren't flattering. I so want her to tuck in those
shirts. Valerie is way too pretty for the matronly way they are dressing
her character.  I mean, come on, Tess has a much brighter and nicer
wardrobe. I'd be happy to wear most everything I see Tess in.

Andrew gets in a few good scenes tonight but isn't really central to the
story. I think that comes next week. Here he gets to stand over people
secretly encouraging them mostly. And I can see a tiny bit of set up for
Tess' upcoming problems here too. The surprise is Gloria's use of the rules.

Well, that's way more than I normally say so I'll stop.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Jill Wallach wrote:

>  Well I guess I'm going to have to email from this addy for the time
> being. Having problems with outgoing mail from my Netscape browser.
> Haven't heard from folks in a while - I know folks are busy with
> school and work or medical problems. But I'd really like to hear from
> folks to see how you're doing, how you like TBAA so far this season -
> what's up with the world. I miss the chit chat about the show and
> what's going on with folks.Karen - bunnykins - I hope you're doing a
> lot better and that you got to Texas and back home ok, we'd really
> like to have you back in full swing - really miss your sense of humor.
> I'm just finishing up my vacation - just slept and got some exercise
> this week. Nice not to have to get up at 6 in the morning. The cats
> just don't know what to do with me. :o)  Got my computer fixed this
> morning so I can access my C drive again. Is anyone out there?  Let us
> know how you're doing. Thanks and have a great day!
>
> Jill D. Wallach
> Duffy n Ebony Want to Know?
> Have you hugged your kitties today?
> A closed mind is a great thing to lose forever
> A great many open minds should be closed for repairs - Toledo Blade

Jerome Fine replies:

Obviously, your e-mail was received and sent to most of us on
the list.

I send a prayer for everyone to open their hearts and souls to
the energy and Love that God can provide.  It is always being
sent, we have only to acknowledge that we need know it is
our choice to make it available.

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Fine
--
If you attempted to send a reply and the original e-mail
address has been discontinued due a high volume of junk
e-mail, then the semi-permanent e-mail address can be
obtained by replacing the four characters preceding the
'at' with the four digits of the current year.

Hi,

I'm just seeing if Jill can see this.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

I was just paying the digital dish bill and tinkering around with the
programming again. Still don't have the CBS and NBC distant signals. I
really don't see what there is to debate there. I have a grandfathered
status and I should be able to get them and they ban me from getting them
based on my zip code. Never mind Dish Network can technically do it anytime
they please.  But that's not what's so funny.

I dropped the Israeli network for now. I really wasn't watching it. I went
looking for some new adventures in international television. I asked now
much the al Jazeera network was. That's the Arabic version of CNN that
Osama bin Laden loves to use.  I was told they didn't have it. I countered
with the information that I knew they had it as I saw it on the program
guide. The guy I was talking to asked where it was from. I said it was from
the Middle East somewhere. I think it's in Omar or Yemen. Well, it's one of
the Arabic states around there. That did it. He informed me that they did
indeed have an  "a RAB ic" package. He looked up what was on it and the
first thing on the list was something he called "al JAZZ er a" I told him
that I'd take that "air a bic" package that had "al  jazz ear a" on it. He
said he didn't have that. I told him that he just told me he did. His
response was "Huh?" I told him to trust an old history teacher and just
sign me up for that package please.

Should be fun when I get home to see what I did get.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Well, I'm still having problems e-mailing the list from my normal
e-maill addy - for some reason it won't take the mail from it. That's
why you haven't received a welcome from me Shorty - it keeps getting
lost in the ethernet of web space. :o)

You are certainly welcome to the list, but as Pat said, we've been
having some web problems - and I'm apparently still having them.

I'm sure you'll enjoy this list, people are friendly. But it's been
very quiet lately which means people have probably been very busy with
school, work, and just general living. I'm only able to respond this
morning because I'm on vacation this week - for the 1st time in a year
and without being sick as a dog. :o)  I also think people are still a
little pooped from the fight last spring to keep the show on the air
another season.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the list once everyone gets going again and
there's something to really debate. If you have any questions or
issues please feel free to post - we'll be glad to respond.

Hope you have a good day!


Jill Wallach

Duffy n Ebony want to know: Have you hugged your kitties today?
A closed mind is a good thing to lose forever!
A great many open minds should be closed for
                 repairs! - Toledo Blade

At 04:58 AM 10/17/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Hi a few days ago I posted here and no one had even welcomed me to
>the club. I even started a topic about the show. I'm a little upset
>that no one has even said anything to me. Maybe I should leave and go
>to another TBAA club. Well thats all for now Shorty,....


Hi,

Don't worry. We're here. It's just that we seem to have been having some
interesting web problems lately. I personally missed several posts without
knowing it until I didn't see my own spoiler letter and went looking. I bet
your's was one of them that I missed.

I'm up late tonight to do my spoiler letter for CSI tonight.




Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi a few days ago I posted here and no one had even welcomed me to
the club. I even started a topic about the show. I'm a little upset
that no one has even said anything to me. Maybe I should leave and go
to another TBAA club. Well thats all for now Shorty,....

My response to the Tv Queen who wrote the nasty review in the Saturday
evening newspaper that I quoted.

Hi,

Again you seem not to like "Touched by an Angel."  Well, I suppose that's
alright but you're really missing a good show.  I just wish you wouldn't
trash it so much in your column. When you do that you come off sounding
like you support only sex and violence on television. I would certainly
hope that isn't the case.  Please just say in your column that the show
isn't for you and leave it at that.

Actually here's some background about the show and that particular episode
you might not know. This season has been sort of declared the Viewer
Request season by the producer Martha Williamson in thanks for our staunch
and very vocal support that helped  the show get renewed for a ninth
season. The episode that you trashed was one of the most frequently
repeated requests of the fans over the years second only to the idea that
we'd like to see Andrew the AOD (Angel of Death) mistakenly put on trial
for murder. Monique has appeared before and got rave reviews. Yes, the evil
twin bit has been used before but this evil twin is popular. TBAA has
villains and some of them are downright creepy but they are creepy without
resorting to physical displays of violence.    Monique as a demon uses a
form of the familiar TBAA humor with a sinister twist to get the point
across. It shows that even a pretty face and a seemingly friendly manner
can mask a true danger to one's soul.  You referred to Gloria as the "Gump"
angel. We think of her like a newbie to use computer board terminology.
She's still learning although she knows so much by "book learning."  She
represents the younger more technologically inclined fans who still need
some street smarts. You simply can't have a villain like Monique without
someone for her to try to trick. Monique has tried that with all the others
and have lost to them. It was Gloria's turn. Dumb isn't always stupid you
know. Sometimes it's just inexperience.

The story was partially developed by Roma Downey who plays both Monica and
Monique. The script was written by two long time TBAA writers. If you
actually watched the episode, which I sincerely doubt you did, you could
have missed a lot of it because it was a viewer request and contained a
fair amount of fan shorthand. You see we don't need a lot spelled out for
us. We know the drill. We know who is what and what something means without
it being spelled out. For example, we don't need to see a lot of violence
to catch the idea that someone was brutally beaten at the very first of the
episode either.  Andrew's reaction was enough for us to understand that.
And we understood the meaning of the red boots from what he said so we
understood the danger Kristie was in from the cowboy in the red boots.The
story could move at warp speed because we didn't need everything explained
to us over and over. We could fully appreciate Gloria's reveal scene and
Andrew's picking up the fallen cowboy by his collar as totally
justified.  But unless you watched the entire episode and/or were already a
fan familiar with the show you wouldn't understand any of that. It would be
like dropping into the middle of an episode in the middle of a season of
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and not having a single clue as to what a
vampire was.

I'm sure by now you're thinking that all TBAA fans are religious nuts.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, a fair number of us are among
the faithful. But we don't get our religion from a television show. We
simply appreciate a show that reflects positive values and entertains us
without trying to shock us constantly. If you read any of the TBAA lists or
the TBAA boards you would see a number of other shows mentioned from time
to time. We aren't "one note Johnnies"   We even have Buffy fans there
too.  The show is appreciated as both a fantasy and a drama.  You don't
even have to be Christian to love it.  Please don't pre judge the show and
the fans.

Now to be fair I'm going to share something with you. Like you I wrote a
review of the show before it aired.  The major difference is most likely
that I had already seen the entire episode for myself where you most likely
didn't and had only the paltry information put out by CBS on the show. You
see, I have a C-Band satellite dish and I surf the skies for wild feeds. I
watched the show in the very early morning hours of Saturday and wrote up
my spoiler letter from that. I'll tack on a copy of that for you to read. I
think you  might find it interesting that I don't always totally agree with
the show even though I personally love it.  Remember the proper function of
a spoiler letter is not to really spoil the episode for the others but to
sort of direct their attention to things that they will want to be sure to
see.

Hey, the wild feed for CSI is tonight at 11pm if the wild feed holds true
to form. You're invited over to the house to experience television my way
if you would like. Just give me a call.

(won't repeat the spoiler letter here as you've already read it.)


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Good Morning Folks:

I sent a prayer to the list last night from my regular e-mail addy and
it's still not getting through. I'm not sure what's wrong.

Anyway, I was asking that everyone say a prayer for all those who died
and/or were injured in the explosions in Bali.

Also to say a prayer for those who have died at the hands of the
sniper in the Washington area and their families. I just hope they
find this person soon.

Thanks.

Jill W.

I'm still having trouble sending thie email to the list. I don't know
why it's not going from my normal email addy. I can receive messages
from other folks, but my email doesn't go to the list even when I'm
responding to an email from another member.

I'm trying this way to see what happens.

Hi let me start off by saying I'm a lady I'm useing my husbands Id
its easyer for both of us to have one acount. I'm 30 married 4years
no kids Some pets. I live in Kentuckey for 8 years now moved here
from New Jersey. My name is Tina U can call me shorty I like shorty
but u may call me Tina if u want. Ok now that the inturduction is
done. I am a fan of Touch By An Angel. I had no idea it even was on
till I ran across it on cable. My mother in law who is now passed
away was also a big fan of the show she loved Monica and Tess. I love
them all they do a great job. Esp Andrew-John Dye.,I'm sure there are
a lot of lady's who have a big crush on him lol. Who can blame them
he has nice looking body lovely eyes just good looking in gen. And
Monica and Tess seem like old friends and they are friends. But if
you never saw the show in your life that I think would be your first
thought about the way they talk to eachother. Gloria I'm not quiet
sure where she fits in. She is shy and too unsure of herself to quiet
get where or how she is going to act over things. And Monica is
allways holding her hand. Thats fine but isn't time to let her learn
things on her own? Just like in lastnights show I was pleased to see
her go off on her own but Monica worried like a mother watching her
kid crossing the road for the first time. Ok I've spoken enough for
now and if I upset anyone I'm sorry. I hope to make new friends here.
bye for now Shorty,.......

Hi,

The TV Queen strikes again....

"Touched By An Angel" (7 pm KRQE News 13) The "huh?" factor of this awful show
is about to skyrocket, You know they're scraping the bottom of the plot barrel
when they play the old soap-opera favorite, the "evil twin" card. The angels try
to stop Monique, Monica's evil twin (Roma Downey and Roma Downey), from breaking
up a marriage. And Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli), being the Gump angel, is tricked
into helping. Well, stupid is as stupid does. And boy is this show stupid.

---------------------------

And the paper just rewarded her hateful remarks by giving her a weekly column.
It's boring.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

Just working on a problem. Let's see if this gets through.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221

Hi,

Not only is there two sides to every angel there is more than a "wee bit"
of Monique in CBS!  We've put up with the network not promoting TBAA for
quite a while now but this was just going a bit too far. I'm sure they'd
tell me that we don't call 'em wild feeds for nothing because nothing is
guaranteed. And for the most part I know that to be true. But this week
they moved the wild feed off the transponder that it's been on for
virtually the entire series run without notice. I've always accepted that
sometimes the wild feed would not be there for some reason and that the
time and/or day could change from time to time but normally they do put up
a warning slate indicating that it has changed. After all the wild feeds
are for the local affiliates to tape in case of trouble or scheduling
changes make it necessary. Normally trouble reports or schedule changes
will rate a slate saying the feed is cancelled or changed and give a
telephone number at least for the stations to call to get the new
information. There was none of that here. They left TBAA hanging out there
with no way for the affiliates to even find it. Says something about how
the network feels about the show doesn't it?

While the show uses a lot of country music this time for good effect to
back up the story line, I tend to prefer good old rock and roll. And to CBS
I will quote an oldie and say "Shake, shake Sugar but you can't shake
me"  By the time the usual 12:30:30 MDT start time came and still no color
bars I suspected something was up. I went on a pattern search and quickly
found it with the tape rolling. I hit into it right with the title slate
and got the entire thing. Then afterwards I had to make a decision about
whether I'd go for "The Agency" wild feed or not. Now if there was
something wrong with the transponder and that's the reason they switched
TBAA off its usual spot with no warning then "The Agency" which is on the
same transponder would move too. But I thought about it as the credits
rolled and switched the satellite back to the original transponder and left
it for the timer to pick up the much later wild feed for "The Agency."  Was
I right? Yes, I was right. This was clearly aimed straight at TBAA. I'm mad
as "well you know" and won't take it anymore.

Now as for tonight's show. It's a good one. It's an old fashioned style
TBAA that you'll like a lot.  It's basically uncomplicated with all the
usual personality quirks represented. Tess still isn't letting  Gloria
drive her car. There are a couple of minor flashbacks to illustrate
Monique's position in all of this.  Roma gets to give her ability to switch
dialects a real work out here. I counted at least three dialect changes in
there. The major special effect they use is Monique's method of getting
people to do it her way. I had to laugh when I saw it and actually shouted
out to the screen "You know there's some nifty software that cures that red
eye problem now." Roma doesn't need any special effects to get the message
across. One look does it.  Roma does a great job of giving us very subtle
signs when she shifts characters. The expressions you expect but the body
language you don't.  Hair is not quite such a problem tonight. They work
hard at keeping Monique looking like the Monique we've met before when
Monica has changed her hairstyle. There seems to be even a slight color
shift in it. Maybe it's the lighting I don't know.

I'd quote some of my favorite lines in this but I don't want to give it all
away. Let's just say that they have a real good time stopping themselves
from swearing tonight. Some of the substitutions are a hoot.  Love
Monique's nicknames for herself!  And listen carefully when Monique gives
Gloria some explanations as to why things aren't going as she thinks they
should. Talk about a wicked sense of humor! It's real good fun.

One thing I didn't exactly like was the fact that when the barkeep hires
Monique and Gloria he says that there are "uniforms" in the back  He
clearly meant that both were hired. Only Monique gets to wear the cute
tight fitting cowgirl outfit with the straw cowboy hat. Gloria gets to stay
in her almost dowdy oversized duds.  The way they are dressing Gloria right
now reminds me of the old taunt "You're ugly and your mother dresses you
funny." Valerie is a pretty girl and deserves better than that. And frankly
I don't care if she's gained weight or not, there is no excuse for not
letting her wear cute and formfitting outfits anyway. Size and age has
nothing to do with the way we dress. Attitude is where it's at. Regardless
of size I wear what I want and I want my favorite angels to do the same.

Anybody for trying Gloria's new drink? Let's see it's one third cranberry
juice, one third apple juice and one third tomato juice?? Gratefully she
never gets it.  I'll stick to Monica's coffee.

Enjoy. I'm off to quote large hunks of this letter to CBS to let them know
of my displeasure at the way they handle TBAA lately.


Pat Owens

Stitched Together/Stitchers@ABQ Needlework
9800 Montgomery NE Ste 1A
Albuquerque, NM 87111
505-293-2221